Do you know your Czech history? Prague's new open-air quiz game rewards trivia buffs

As the pandemic keeps foreign tourists away (for now) and Prague's city center remains the domain of locals, one enterprising Prague resident has developed an outdoor treasure hunt designed for adventurers with a passion for the past.

Find & Win was developed in the spring of 2020 against the backdrop of the first wave of pandemic restrictions. The concept is simple: after registering online, each player receives an SMS with a riddle and has three hours to solve the riddle and find the treasure – a cash prize of CZK 3000. The riddles cover topics such as Czech history, renowned figures, and famous events in Prague.

Find & Win was inspired by the anti-epidemical restrictions which changed the face of the historical center overnight. Where once there were large swarms of tourists, there were now strolling residents, enjoying the opportunity to experience their city without the crowds.

“Walking around the city has remained one of the few entertainments for city residents,” says Find & Win's founder Aleksandra Meshcheryakova. “We thought, why just walk around the city, when you can look for hidden treasure at the same time.”

For each edition of the game, the prize can be found at an undisclosed location, guarded by the flagbearer who carries a small flag carrying the Find & Win logo. It’s not enough to simply guess the right location, players must find the flag in order to claim the prize money.

The organizer explained that in a recent game, there were six people who guessed where the prize was hidden, but none of them noticed the flag. “It was very interesting to watch the players walk past the hidden treasure,” he says.

Find & Win is not a traditional treasure hunt, by which participants go from clue to clue, but a more cerebral guessing game where players receive a series of clues by SMS to their phone. Each set of clues is thematic, linking to topics as varied as Prague's musical heritage, political figures, architecture, industrial advancement, and even natural disasters.

Starting vague, and becoming more concrete, each clue points to the location of the prize. Once the player has figured out the location of the prize, it becomes a race to get there first. When one of the competitors finds the prize, the other players will receive a message saying that the game has ended.

Find & Win is aimed at students, trivia geeks, and people who enjoy engaging with the history in Prague. It also suits nimble-fingered-googlers and those who can quickly navigate their way around a Wikipedia page. Find & Win is aimed at residents, rather than tourists, and each player must have a Czech telephone number in order to take part.

The first clue is released at the start of the game, followed by the second clue, one hour later. Both of these clues are free. In case players haven’t figured it out after two clues, they can opt to purchase the third clue for CZK 99. Players who purchase the third clue are also issued with a voucher for coffee or a glass of beer, just in case they don’t find the big prize on time.

The clues are written in Czech, English, and Russian. Of course, being able to read Czech is an advantage. “You don’t need to speak Czech, but you do need to be able to use Google, look for information and guess where the treasure is hidden today,” says Find & Win's organizer Aleksandra Meshcheryakova.

Organizers are confident that the future is bright for Find & Win. “We really hope that people like our game. We believe that the game offers players the chance to get to know the city better and discover new facts about its history. If we have more players taking part in the future, we will complicate the questions and increase the size of the treasure.”

This article was written in association with Find and Win. To read more about our partner content policies see here.