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Prague wasn’t built in a day, but it can be reconstructed in 24 hours or less through a mix of puzzles, trivia, and strategic engineering skills—all from the comfort of your mobile device.
Pull a card, create a pattern on the board, and suddenly, the Powder Gate Tower rumbles from the ground, thunderously rising above. As time goes by, the city of Prague emerges and expands before your eyes. If you’re lucky, you’ll run into Franz Kafka on the street, or even Albert Einstein.
The team at Expats.cz put our urban planning skills to the test “Playing Prague,” the new e-game released by Prague City Tourism. Described as “a celebration of Prague and all those who have shaped and continue to shape this beautiful city,” the free game is part of the Prague municipality’s broader strategy to foster a more intimate and quality-based connection between the city, its residents, and visitors.
Construct your knowledge of Prague, one card at a time
Many of us feel at home in Prague, but how well do you know the City of Spires? The game was a local labor of love developed by the creative young minds at Charles Games to help others (literally) build their knowledge of the Czech capital’s past.
We tried to capture the atmosphere of Prague as we perceive it,” said Lukáš Kolek, the company’s chief executive officer. “It is a city that we love deeply.”
The innovative studio was founded in 2020 and focuses on other socially, culturally, and historically minded concept games: Playing Kafka is a narrative adventure that brings players deep into the author’s twisted fictional universe, while Velvet 89, released last year, showcases the story of ordinary people who took part in the protests that put an end to four decades of communist rule.
Based further back in time, the folks at Charles Games “started brainstorming and playing with physical cards that showed different aspects of what’s most interesting about Prague,” according to Ondřej Paška, chief technical officer at Charles Games. This influence is seen in the game’s elaborately decorated cards, which reference historical Prague house signs like The Three Violins, The Black Sun, or The Golden Goblet.
As our thumbs moved across the screen, we creatively combined different sets of cards to unlock famous sites like Old Town Hall, Charles Bridge, and Petřín Hill.
Insider tips from Expats.cz gamers:
- Don’t pass too quickly on the introductory instructions, as some users have found it difficult to find them again later (PS: It’s in the Settings tab).
- Like in chess, plan several moves ahead of how you’d like to assemble your cards. Otherwise you risk running out of tokens faster than you expect, and have to start the level over.
- The more you play and the better you perform, the more fun facts you collect and the more features you unlock as the city.
The ‘Universal language’ of gaming
After completing all six levels, which correspond to different Prague districts and landmarks, our team assessed that the game playfully mixes historical trivia with gentle urban puzzling. After its initial release, over 11,000 people have downloaded Playing Prague, and the interest appears equally distributed between downloads in Czechia and abroad, Paška says.
“The feedback we’ve had since launching has been overwhelmingly positive, and people are already asking for us to add more levels to the game,” he adds, explaining that he also learned new things about the city’s history, despite living here.
Playing Prague is, above all, a pleasant and simple-to-use e-puzzle game that strikes the right balance between ease of play, ability to progress and challenging prompts. “We see gaming as a universal language of today”, explained Jana Adamcova, vice-chairwoman of Prague City Tourism’s board. “We believe that connecting a city with a quality puzzle game has enormous potential in terms of branding, as well as in deepening the relationship not only of incoming visitors but also of locals with the city itself.”
Whether traveling here, living here, or just interested in the city’s history, Playing Prague is designed to showcase the Czech capital’s rich culture, architectural landmarks, green spaces, and leisure options. The game is currently available on Android and iOS in English, Czech and German, and is completely free to use.
