Wellington's a puzzle. Step into it.

Plan for about 4 hours, 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 water, comfortable shoes and a layer you can put on and take off: Wellington's weather can change within the hour, and the breeze off the harbour is part of the deal. In summer, add a hat and sunscreen, because the New Zealand sun is strong.

About 6.5 km at your own pace on city footpaths, Cuba Mall and the waterfront promenade, nearly all of it flat. The last stretch climbs Matairangi, Mount Victoria, about 170 m up from Oriental Bay on streets, steps and a short bush track, steep in places. Take it slowly and wear comfortable shoes.

On Cuba Street at its corner with Vivian Street. Buses stop a few minutes away on Willis and Manners Streets, and the railway station is about 1.3 km away. A VS race starts somewhere else: you meet at Oriental Bay, on the promenade outside Freyberg Pool before the countdown.

Getting back: the game finishes near the top of Matairangi, Mount Victoria. Courtenay Place is about 1.4 km back down by road, around 20 minutes' walk, with buses, food and toilets.

No. The whole game is on foot, with no Cable Car, bus or ferry in the middle, so the clock never has to pause. A bus can get you to the start and home again.

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.

Yes, if they are happy with the distance and the climb at the end. The route uses public footpaths, Cuba Mall, the waterfront promenade and a hill track, and Oriental Bay's beach is right beside it if anyone needs a break. Hold little hands near traffic and the water's edge, and take breaks whenever you need them.

Cuba Street has cafés from the very first stop, Floriditas among them. On the waterfront, Gelissimo on Odlins Plaza at Taranaki Wharf has gelato, and Raglan Roast on Chaffers Dock has coffee before the climb, both in the daytime. Check their hours on the day. Progress saves, so stop whenever you like.

Every stop is in a public place you can reach on foot, and you photograph from where anyone can stand. Cross at the lights, keep an eye out for bikes and scooters on the waterfront, look up from your phone at the kerb, and take care on steps, slopes and beside the water.

Every find can be photographed from a public place, so a shower need not stop you: bring a rain jacket, and a café is never far away. If the day looks wild, an unused code stays open for a year, so you can wait for a calmer one.

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. A VS match plays the lifelines of the mode you both agreed on.

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.

Finished Competitive walks in Wellington, 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.

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.

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. Wellington is free while we test it. Prices, the boxed puzzle and the finish treat come with the official launch.