Investigate the past, change the future

Escape Fake is a free-to-play, augmented reality game, which takes the players through a digital escape room in order to fix the future by debunking fake news.

What we offer
Escape Fake is available in 8 languages – your choice:

#escapefake

Trailer

Our offer

Immersive XR

Game

The game app offers an engaging and immersive way to learn about mis- and dis-information. Two missions are free for everyone — newer missions unlock via the Plus License or the Starter-Kit.

About the Game

Educational

Toolkit

Lesson plans, walkthroughs, and worksheets — everything you need to run Escape Fake confidently in your classroom. Included in our free membership. Also printed inside the Starter-Kit box.

Use the Toolkit

Classroom-ready

Starter-Kit

The classroom-ready box with markers, printed toolkit, three card games, plus licenses for our newest missions. Launch Edition limited to 200 German boxes. Want digital-only? See the Plus License.

See the box
For institutions and teams
Plus License

Annual digital access for teachers, classrooms, and institutions. Every premium mission, every language the app supports. From €49/year. → See details

Workshops

Train your team to run Escape Fake well. Half-day taster or full-depth deep dive — for educators, multipliers, or organisational teams. → Book a workshop

Exhibition

Bring Escape Fake to your venue as a self-running media-literacy installation — for schools, libraries, museums, and cultural institutions. → Get in touch

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Game story

In a not too distant future, humanity is living in a post-truth world. Escape Fake starts with a friend request on social media from a quantum reality hacker. By scanning the markers, combining 3D objects, and answering quizzes, you will uncover the truth and “escape the fake”.

Who is it for

  • Young people, aged 12-18
  • Teachers and educators bringing it into the classroom
  • Schools sharing across subjects and grades
  • Libraries and media centres usage across schools and classes
  • Parents and families
  • Anyone who enjoys an escape room game

Why Escape Fake

  • Playful learning
    With Escape Fake, learning about fake news is exciting, challenging and rewarding.
  • Immersive experience
    By exploring augmented objects, Escape Fake feels as real as any escape room.
  • Engaging storyline
    Interact with a history hacker, to find out what is fake about the story and change the future.
  • Critical thinking
    Explore objects, find clues, solve riddles and put everything together to find out the truth.
  • Play anywhere
    You can play Escape Fake in the classroom, during a workshop or at home. Print the markers for free, or get the Starter-Kit with everything pre-printed.
  • Ideal for educators
    Use the free Toolkit for lesson plans and walkthroughs, or scale across your school with the Plus License.

Will you uncover the truth and escape the fake?

#escapefake

Testimonials

What educators say

"Escape Fake is a great way to deal with the topic of fake news in a playful way. The game offers many points for implementation in practice and is a great addition to other methods on the topic of fake news."

Dennis Kranz
media pedagogue, City Library Rostock

"Through the interactive format of Escape Fake, varied and interesting experiences can be gained. The topic is conveyed in a low-threshold and vived way. It does not feel forced or school-like."

Lucas Opheiden
media pedagogue, City Library Minden

"Easy to integrate in workshops, but - especially in libraries - also a self-runner! Hang it up and everyone can use it whenever he/she feels like it!"

Michelle Milz
Librarian, City Library Wolfsburg

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About Us

The team behind Escape Fake

Polycular is an interactive design and technology studio that pairs creativity and technological innovation to create experience spaces in the real and virtual world. With over 20 years of work experience, we create meaningful and playful experiences in AR and VR that make products, concepts or brands stand out from the crowd. Well-crafted storytelling, state-of-the-art technology, and a gameful approach are underlying qualities that shape our products and services. Alongside our work for clients, we develop self-driven projects rooted in the sense of social responsibility about the role of technology in shaping a future world.

Partners

The Escape Fake development team covers a wide range of skills including creative production, design and development, media education and user-centred design. We are supported by our partners who bring complementary knowledge in media education, media monitoring, learning, journalism, rule of law and cultural production: Dpa (Deutsche Presse Agentur, Germany), Waag Futurelab (Netherlands), Expert Forum (Romania), La Fabbrica (Italy) and ProProgressione (Hungary).

Escape Fake is co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for. Escape Fake is co-funded by EMIF managed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. 

Awards

In 2024, we received the Ars Electronica x Culttech Award for our innovative approach to enhancing media literacy among the next generation. We previously received the Vienna Content Award (2019) and were the Austrian winner (2019) at the World Summit Awards in the Education category.