The park you have visited your whole life is hiding something.
Two miles of lawn between a marble spire and a columned temple, lined with the things a country chose to say about itself out loud. Three self-guided games send you along it with your phone, reading what is actually carved there and collecting what it spells. Everything is outdoors, open around the clock, and yours to take at whatever pace suits you.
These games are walked end to end on paved paths, with no admission and no set start time.
“Don't just read the history,
experience it.”
Pick your game and purchase for your group.
Your game opens immediately after purchase. Head to the Mall to begin at the first stop.
Send the link to your group so everyone can follow along on their own device.
$17.91 per group · Any group size · Link valid for 7 days
Count what the builders hid. Decode it. Carry the word home.
Count real things at each monument, decode the numbers with an agent codebook, and unscramble the letters.
Follow the argument around the water. Finish what the stones started.
Seven carved words around the Tidal Basin and inside the temple each surrender a letter — together they name what the whole argument was always about.
Read what the stones have kept. Then let them finish the sentence.
Three memorials to the war dead, each holding one carved word — and a second message hidden inside the words you gather.
Each game is a self-guided mystery played entirely on your phone — no app download required.
You will visit 5 to 7 real memorials and inscriptions across the National Mall, solving a clue at each one.
Every answer is engraved on a permanent, publicly visible feature — a carved wall, a dedication stone, a bronze medallion. You have to be there to solve it.
These games are walked end to end on paved paths, with no admission and no set start time.
Routes run about 1.2 to 3.2 miles of walking depending on the game, and take roughly 1 to 3 hours.
Each game link is valid for 7 days from the time of purchase — plenty of time for a full visit.
The memorials and grounds may be visited 24 hours a day; rangers are on duty from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (nps.gov/nama).
All of the major monuments and memorials are wheelchair accessible (nps.gov/nama).
The Deep Dive game walks among memorials to the war dead. It is written to be played slowly and quietly, and it is the one to set aside unhurried time for.
