Auckland's a puzzle. Step into it.

Plan for about 4 h 40, including the ferry, plus time to eat. Progress saves, so you can stop for lunch.

A phone with a camera, mobile data and location turned on, charged full before you start. It runs in the browser on any recent iPhone or Android, so there is nothing to install. Bring AT HOP or a contactless card or phone for the ferry, and a layer for the wind.

About 7.3 km at your own pace on waterfront promenades and seafront footpaths, nearly all of it flat. The very end is a short climb onto Maungauika on paths. Take it slowly, the view waits.

When you find the waterfront's last piece, the ferry pass opens with the pier, the next sailings and the fare. Tap on at the gate with AT HOP or contactless. The clock pauses until you step off in Devonport, and your next clue appears there.

Yes. The riddles work for first-timers, and they are written to surprise people who have lived here for years: most of the 25 are things you can walk straight past.

Every stop is in a public place you can reach on foot, and you photograph from where anyone can stand. Quay Street and the waterfront roads are busy: cross at crossings, and look up from your phone at the kerb. On cruise-ship days the wharves get crowded, so keep your group together.

Every find can be photographed outside, so you can play in a shower; a big storm is a good reason to wait. An unused code stays open for a year, so you can wait for a better day.

You never get stuck. Ask for the next clue whenever you like. If all five clues miss, the game shows you where the thing is, and walking within 25 m of it adds the piece. You just score a six for that stop.

The game lets you move on. A patchy location fix or a photo the checker cannot read never ends your day: carry on to the next stop, and that piece shows as unlocked with help on your card.

Yes. Share one phone on one code, or link several phones so a find on one unlocks for everyone. Linked codes can also play Competitive as one team, with one name on the leaderboard, and race each other in VS.

No. Every code can play Solo, Crew, Competitive or VS, and testers pay nothing at all. Linked codes can play both: Competitive as one team, and VS against anyone, crewmates included.

Each mode comes with its own, each once per walk. Easy has its arrow, circle and thermometer built in, plus a Free skip. Medium has its arrow, plus a Free skip and a Thermometer. Hard has nothing built in, plus a Thermometer, a Compass and a Free skip. The Thermometer runs cold, warm, hot inside the search area and the Compass points to it, both until you solve that stop; the Free skip shows the next clue at once, with no wait and no extra move. Every 5 stops a quick question asks what you saw, and every right answer wins another lifeline. Competitive has Hard's three, strictly, and a crew playing as a team shares one set. The ferry quiz is just for fun.

Yes, as long as they have their own Jigwalk code. There is no matchmaking: send the 6-character match code however you like, they choose Competitive and Join VS, and you both press Ready. A match that never starts closes after 12 hours.

Finished Competitive walks in Auckland, on two boards. Best score ranks the fewest moves first, with the faster time breaking a tie. Fastest ranks the quickest finish first, with fewer moves breaking a tie. Ferry time never counts. Each line shows a nickname or a team name, then moves, time and lifelines used.

Not to play: your game code is all you type in. Free tester codes are claimed with an account, one claim per account for each city. The leaderboard only ever shows the nickname you choose at the finish.

English, with places called by their te reo Māori names where they have them, like Maungauika and the Waitematā.

Until 7 days after you finish. If you have not finished, it stays open for a year from when you get it.

Nothing, for now. Auckland is free while we test it. Prices, the boxed puzzle and the finish treat come with the official launch. The ferry fare is yours to pay at the pier gate.