Have a code? Play
Flinders Street Station, Andrew Mercer, CC BY-SA 4.0
A walking puzzle · About 6.6 km · About 4 hours
Melbourne's a puzzle. Step into it.
Solve a riddle, walk to the spot, snap the photo. Every find adds a piece of the city; finish it and the picture is yours to keep and share. Free while we test.
A walking puzzle · About 6.6 km · About 4 hours
Solve a riddle, walk to the spot, snap the photo. Every find adds a piece of the city; finish it and the picture is yours to keep and share. Free while we test.
Have a code? Play now
Hosier Lane, Linda Xu
How it works
Riddle. Walk. Snap. Collect.
Read the riddle
Every stop starts as a tricky clue. Stuck? Each new clue is easier than the last.
Walk to it
Your phone tells you when you are in the right part of town. Pick your help: a search area of 150 m on Easy, 250 m on Medium or 300 m on Hard.
Snap it
Photograph the object. Your phone checks the picture in seconds, and a match adds the piece to your picture.
Complete the city
25 pieces make the full picture. Finish it and the picture is yours to keep and share.
Try it now
This is the real first stop.
The same five clues every player gets at stop 1. Guess what it is, or ask for an easier clue and watch the difficulty drop. In the game, the clue you solve on is your score, and every stop has a par. This one is par 2.
The other 24 stops stay secret until you walk them.
Federation Bells, Drastic draper, CC BY-SA 4.0
The answer
The Federation Bells
39 upturned bells in Birrarung Marr
Now showing
A day with Jigwalk, in a minute.
Riddles in the laneways, a photo that adds a piece, the arcades and the river, and the city coming together one piece at a time. Tap to play with sound.
The Yarra from Princes Bridge, Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0
The walk
One route. 24 secrets. No spoilers.
A fixed route of about 6.6 km on foot: from the Federation Bells beside the river into the laneways and arcades, west along the Birrarung and over to Southbank, then through the arts precinct and the gardens to the finish. You have already met stop 1. The other 24 stay in the fog until you solve your way into them.
- Distance
- About 6.6 km
- Time
- About 4 hours
- Pieces
- 25, one per stop
- Pace
- Yours. Stop for coffee.
All on foot, start to finish: no tram or train inside the game. Progress saves, so you can stop for a coffee in the lanes or lunch by the river.
Royal Arcade, Diliff, CC BY-SA 2.5
The laneways
Turn off the street. Find the city.
Melbourne keeps its best between the big streets: painted lanes, Victorian arcades under glass, cafe tables down a lane one table wide. The heart of the walk threads them, from Hosier Lane and AC/DC Lane through the Royal and Block Arcades to Degraves Street, under the clocks and down to the river.
Three levels of help
Same clues. Your level of help.
Easy
An arrow leads you to the search area. Inside it, a thermometer runs cold, warm, hot as you close in. The search area is 150 m in radius. Lifeline: one Free skip.
- Arrow to the search area
- "Region unlocked" when you walk in
- Hot, warm, cold inside the circle, built in
Ways to play
Walk it. Share it. Race it.
Same 25 stops, same clues. Walk them at your own pace, as a crew, against the whole city on the leaderboard, or head to head against a friend.
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Casual
Solo
Your pace, your level of help. Pick Easy, Medium or Hard, and change it from the menu whenever you like. Beat par, or just enjoy the walk.
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Co-op
Crew
Link your codes across phones. One find counts for everyone, so you can split up and regroup. Every phone ends with the finished picture.
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Leaderboard
Competitive
Hard rules: a 300 m search circle, no arrow, no thermometer built in. A 60 s wait between clues, and after a photo the checker is sure is wrong. Hard's three lifelines, strictly once each. Play it solo, or as a crew team that shares every find, every wait, the lifelines and the moves. Chosen at the start: switch to another mode later and there is no way back. Your moves and time go on the Melbourne leaderboards for the season, under a nickname or a team name.
- Thermometer
- Cold, warm, hot inside the circle
- Compass
- The arrow to your search area
- Free skip
- The next clue now, no wait, no extra move
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1 v 1
VS
Race a friend, even a crewmate, on Competitive rules, or on Easy, Medium or Hard if you both agree. Start a match and send them the 6-character code. They see the mode before they press Ready, so pressing Ready is agreeing to it. You meet at Town Hall station (the Collins Street exit), press Ready and count down together, then each takes the laneways and the river in a different order, and you both race the same last stretch, through Southbank, the arts precinct and the gardens, to the finish. All you see of your rival is their piece count. First to find all 25 wins. In a match your finds are your own, never shared with your crew.
Leaderboard billing Two boards. Best score: the fewest moves. Fastest: the quickest finish, timed from your first photo in the first search area.
Scoring
Golf rules. Beat par.
Each stop scores the number of the clue you solved it on. Get it on clue 1 and it costs one move; miss all five and walk in, six. Every stop has a par: 2 for most, 3 for the sneakiest. Par for the whole walk is 55, and a perfect game is 25. In Competitive, the same moves rank you on the Best score board.
- −Under par
- EPar
- +1One over
- +2Two over
- +3Three or more over
- WWalked in
- HUnlocked with help
At the finish you get a share card, Wordle style: your grid, your score, your mode and the distance you walked. No stop names, so it spoils nothing for your friends.
Melbourne · Medium
Groups and co-op
Better with your crew.
Link your phones into one team. When anyone photographs a find, the piece lands on every phone within seconds, so you can split up, race to a clue and regroup.
Every linked phone ends with the finished picture and its own keepsakes. Sharing one phone works too.
Flinders Street Station, Andrew Mercer, CC BY-SA 4.0
The finish
Finish the city. Keep the picture.
The finished picture. Every game deals your pieces to different spots on the board. Drag each one into place yourself, or let them fly home.
Keepsakes to share. A share card with your score, and a collage of your own 25 photos, saved to your phone.
Free while we test. The boxed jigsaw and a finish treat come with the official launch.
Pilot season
Free for testers. Right now.
Jigwalk is brand new and we are looking for its first players. Claim a free code, walk the city, and tell us how it went. Be one of the first to finish Melbourne.
Testers can claim codes for up to 4 players, linked as one team. One Melbourne claim per account, while tester places last. Prices, the boxed puzzle and the finish treat come with the official launch.
Every code includes
- All 25 stops and their riddle ladders
- Easy, Medium or Hard, your choice
- Competitive leaderboard and VS races
- Co-op sync across linked phones
- The finished picture, share card and photo collage
- Progress saved if your battery dies
- Valid until 7 days after you finish
Good questions.
How long does it take?
Plan for about 4 hours, plus time to eat. Progress saves, so you can stop for lunch.
What do I need?
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 a layer too: Melbourne's weather can change in an afternoon.
How hard is the walk?
About 6.6 km at your own pace on city footpaths, laneways and riverside paths, with only gentle slopes. Some lanes are paved in old bluestone, so wear comfortable shoes.
Where does it start?
At the Federation Bells in Birrarung Marr, on the river just east of Federation Square. From Flinders Street Station, come out of the Swanston Street entrance under the clocks and walk about 10 minutes east past Federation Square. The Federation Square tram stop is in the Free Tram Zone.
How do we get home?
The finish is in Kings Domain, about 5 minutes' walk from Anzac station (Domain Road exit): the Metro Tunnel takes you one stop to Town Hall in the city centre. Or take any tram north up St Kilda Road to Flinders Street. Both are outside the Free Tram Zone, so tap on with a myki card or a contactless card or phone.
Do we need a tram or a train?
Only to get to the start and home. The game itself is all on foot, with no ride in the middle, so the clock never has to pause.
I live here. Is it still for me?
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.
Can we bring kids?
Yes. The route is on footpaths, lanes and park paths with gentle slopes. Trams run through some of the streets you cross, so hold little hands at the tracks.
Where can we eat?
The laneways are full of cafes and the riverside at Southgate has places all along it. Progress saves, so stop whenever you like.
Is it safe?
Every stop is in a public place you can reach on foot, and you photograph from where anyone can stand. The city streets are busy and trams run through them: cross at the lights, and look up from your phone at the kerb and the tracks.
What if it rains?
Every find can be photographed from a public place, 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.
What if I get stuck?
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.
What if GPS or my camera fails?
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.
Can we play as a group?
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.
Do Competitive and VS cost extra?
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.
How do lifelines work?
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. A VS match plays the lifelines of the mode you both agreed on.
Can I play VS with a stranger?
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 see the match's mode: Competitive unless you picked Easy, Medium or Hard when you made it. Pressing Ready means you both agree to it. A match that never starts closes after 12 hours.
What do the leaderboards show?
Finished Competitive walks in Melbourne, VS matches on Competitive rules included, on two boards. A VS match on Easy, Medium or Hard is a friendly race, so it does not go on the leaderboard. 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. Each line shows a nickname or a team name, then moves, time and lifelines used.
Do I need an account?
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.
What language is it in?
English.
How long is my code valid?
Until 7 days after you finish. If you have not finished, it stays open for a year from when you get it.
Does it cost anything?
Nothing, for now. Melbourne is free while we test it. Prices, the boxed puzzle and the finish treat come with the official launch.
Degraves Street, Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0