About the Game

“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.

Trailer

How to play

Downloads

Marker-Set
Tutorial
Cheat Sheet
FAQ

FAQ

Escape Fake is an ideal tool for workshops and school classes in media literacy and fake news education. You can also play Escape Fake in non-formal education contexts, as a family, or alone.

The game is designed for 12 to 18 year old students, but can also be played as early as 10 years old. If you are playing it with younger students, they might need a bit more support or more time to solve the rooms.

The game is free to use for everyone, has no in-app purchases and is free of ads. We are grateful to our donors and sponsors for supporting the development of the game, so we can keep it free for students, educators and families.

The game consists of two escape rooms. Each room takes about 30 min to play, so the whole game should be solvable in an hour. Advanced players who are used to problem solving games can finish both rooms in about 40 minutes.

In classes and workshops, we strongly recommend that you pair 2-3 players as a team using one device. The team experience and solving riddles together make this game so much more fun. 

We recommend that you use this game in a 1,5 to 2-hour workshop format. You can start with a presentation or input on fake news, and continue with the game. Alternatively, you can start directly with the game, after giving a basic briefing and instructions, and follow-up with theory at the end. 

Escape Fake works best as a tool to become engaged with the topic of fake news. We are currently working together with partners in advocacy, journalism and non-profit sectors to develop a toolkit and a training course for educators, offering additional input and exercises for educators. Please check back on our website for updates.

So far, the game is available in English and German, and we are working on translating the game to Hungarian, Italian and Romanian. If you would like to have the game in your language, and would like to volunteer with translation, feel free to contact us.

We are currently working on an update for the Escape Fake game, which will be released in 2023. If you would like to support us financially or put us in contact with grant-givers and donors to develop more rooms on different topics, feel free to reach out to us

  • Download & Install the game app Escape Fake on your mobile device (available on iOS & Android).
  • Download the Marker-Set (here) print it on A4 or A3 and place the prints according to the instructions in the room.
  • Play and enjoy it.
  • Any feedback? You can fill in the feedback questionnaire for educators, or for players.  You can sign up for our newsletter to receive regular updates on Escape Fake. Additional comments and ideas? Contact us 

The marker-set is what is required for the augmented reality experience, so the camera of your phone or tablet can augment your physical room with the play elements and riddles. The markers work in the same way as QR codes. The marker set can be found here.

All the required images/marker-sets can be found here with all the instructions on how to use them properly.

 Spoiler alert! All the instruction on how to complete all the levels can be found on this link and/or on this video

Please check the following: 

  • Have you accepted the use of your smartphone or tablet camera? This is a must as the app must see through the camera to augment the physical room with virtual objects.
  • The game only works if you place the images you printed on the walls of your room or floor, and then scan them with your mobile phone or tablet.
  • Still having trouble? Contact us
  • You can fill in the feedback questionnaire for educators, or for players.
  • Additional comments or ideas? Contact us 
  • Don’t forget to comment and rate us on mobile stores 
  • Want to stay in touch? Sign up for our newsletter to receive regular updates on Escape Fake.
  • If you want to be a part of the Escape Fake community, please subscribe to our newsletter to stay in touch and follow us on our social media channels (Facebook). 
  • If you would like to support us with translations in other languages, please contact us
    • If you are a non-profit or media organisation, donor, sponsor or interested in supporting the further development of the game, please get in touch with us to see how you can support us. info@polycular.com
  • Follow us  

We take data privacy very seriously and are not collecting any information about our users, especially due to their young age. We only track the number of downloads and times the game was played on a device

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”.

Will you uncover the truth and escape the fake?

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
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
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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Artistic Residencies

As part of Escape Fake, we are hosting artistic residencies for four teams / artists from Austria, Hungary and Romania. Find out more. 

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Awards

Escape Fake won the Advocate Europe Award, out of 500 submissions. We also received the Vienna Content Award for the most creative project and were the Austrian winner in the education category at the World Summit Awards. 

About us

We are 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: 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. 

Will you uncover the truth and escape the fake?

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