Digital guide
Authoritative stories and practical information.
No agency, no replay, no reason to continue elsewhere.
Past Forward · Říp
One QR code.One mountain.Six things to notice.
A heritage walk you play with your eyes, not your screen. Scan once at the trailhead, look at real things, keep what you find.
Concept for 2026 · photo: Ben Skála, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Heritage has plenty of information. It lacks continuity.
Location game
Gets people moving, gives instant feedback.
No persistent identity, thin curatorial depth.
Passport or souvenir
Creates ownership, ritual and memory.
No digital continuity, no measurable learning.
The place remains the interface. Technology should tell visitors when to look up, not give them another reason to look down.
The process
One simple loop, repeated across places.
1
Enter
Scan one start code — or tap a field token.
2
Observe
Find something real in the landscape, building or collection.
3
Act
Compare, decode, photograph, discuss, decide.
4
Verify
Submit one QR scan, one image or one short text.
5
Collect
Keep a trace, a story or a reusable skill in your passport.
6
Continue
Earn a badge, unlock a local benefit, find the next place.
place → track → traces → moves → final challenge → badge
Scan to start
Lowest possible barrier
Everything starts with one QR code.
No app to install, no account before you play, no hardware to buy. A single printed code at the entrance opens the route in the browser. Everything else — badges, passport, the physical token — is optional and comes later.
One code, one site
A single laminated or engraved code at the ticket desk or trailhead. Nothing fixed to protected fabric.
Works on any phone
Mobile browser only. Plays fine on patchy signal; the deeper layers load when they can.
Staff can explain it in one sentence
"Scan this, follow the route, answer six short things, get your badge."
Test it at one castle first
Střekov is a natural first test: one gate, one code, one contained route — before Říp's three tracks go live.
Non-negotiable: the route stays playable without buying anything.
Already built
Playable archaeology, running.
Screens from our playable archaeology prototype built with Radek Richter — a Maya excavation where every claim is tagged as evidenced, inferred, disputed or unsupported. Říp uses the same grammar outdoors.
The same four labels travel to the mountain: evidenced, inferred, disputed, unsupported.
What you actually look at
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
Proposed Říp concept
Three tracks. Three badges. One mountain.
Říp is a geological formation, a legend, a medieval sacred site, a nineteenth-century national symbol and a working landscape. The journey doesn't decide which version is true — it teaches visitors to tell material evidence, written source, later interpretation and personal meaning apart.
Working labels only — real route names come from the Lobkowicz route material.
Track 1
Landscape, geology, orientation
Landscape Reader
contour / stone motif
QR entry · image observation · short text inference
Track 2
Legend, written source, material evidence
Sourcekeeper
page / trace motif
QR entry · text comparison · image evidence
Track 3
Rotunda, national memory, present stewardship
Memory Steward
rotunda / ring motif
QR entry · image detail · short reflection
Same structure on every track
- 1 Scan the track entrance
- 2 Complete 3–5 short quests
- 3 Collect route traces
- 4 Complete the track challenge
- 5 Earn the track badge
Two depths, same checkpoints: Play (30–60 seconds — one observation, one decision, instant feedback) and Go deeper (2–4 minutes — source excerpt, curator voice, archival image, competing interpretation). Families move fast; schools and interested adults stay with the evidence.
Example missions
One scan, one photo or one sentence — never a hybrid.
Stop 1
ImageA mountain in a plain
Říp has long worked as a visible orientation point.
Frame the silhouette so the photo shows what makes it legible from a distance.
Move: read the terrain
Stop 2
TextStory, source, evidence
The Forefather Čech narrative is a cultural source; archaeology speaks differently.
Sort three statements into legend, written source and material inference.
Move: separate claim from evidence
Stop 3
ImageThe magnetic mountain
Magnetite in the rock is linked to a local magnetic anomaly.
Photograph a permitted geological feature at a designated safe point. Remove nothing.
Trace: stone / signal
Stop 4
QRA building with layers
The rotunda is first mentioned in 1126; today's look reflects later rebuilding.
Find the point that unlocks a then/now comparison.
Move: read change in a building
Stop 5
TextA symbol is made
A foundation stone for the National Theatre was taken from the mountain in 1868.
Explain which physical act, story and institution turned rock into symbol.
Trace: the travelling stone
Stop 6
TextThe promised-land view
Trees now block the full circular view, so the rotunda offers a virtual panorama.
Name one thing the frame includes and one it hides.
Move: question the frame
Safety, conservation, respect
- No mission sends anyone off marked paths or asks them to collect natural material.
- No marker is fixed to protected fabric without formal permission.
- Opening hours are stated, with an alternative when the rotunda is closed.
- A steep-route warning and a non-climbing alternative appear before starting.
- Reflective reward language at the rotunda — no coins, no conquest metaphors.
- Ownership, parish operation and heritage protection are described accurately.
Digital now, phygital next
Define the experience first. Add hardware only where it earns its keep.
Now
Scan to enter, complete QR/image/text quests, earn a digital badge — on today's capability.
End of 2026
The prototype concept: wireflow, route diagram, sample screens, badge designs. Non-functional.
Later prototype
Play one complete track and keep progress — subject to partner approval, permissions and budget.
Network
The same identity works across museums and sites, with shared but institution-controlled analytics.
The field token
A souvenir that remembers what you did
Not a wristband. A passive NFC medallion or card with a visible QR fallback: no battery, no charging, wearable as a pendant or keyring, and still useful for visitors who never install anything.
- 35–45 mm basalt-like wood, mineral composite or bio-resin
- Tactile topographic relief or Říp silhouette
- Passive NFC inlay, discreet engraved QR fallback
- Unique anonymous ID — personal data stays in the account
- Site-specific front, shared Past Forward identity on the reverse
- Limited 2026 “900 years” edition as the first test souvenir
Global field guide
What already works — and what doesn't transfer.
Fourteen systems we studied before designing anything. Each card answers: what is physical, what is digital, what is collected, what works, what fails. The assessments are LIMINAL's, based on published product documentation and research.
Super Nintendo World
Universal Studios JapanA passive Power-Up Band records coins, stamps and keys at physical interactions; three keys unlock a finale.
- What works
- A complete loop: tangible action → instant feedback → collection → threshold → finale.
- Limitation
- Dense proprietary infrastructure and staffing; the object means little outside the ecosystem.
Lesson: Copy the three-stage rhythm, not the infrastructure.
Disney MagicBand+
Walt Disney WorldA wearable combines entry, hotel access, queue check-in, payment and photo linking.
- What works
- Utility before novelty; hands-free identity removes friction across the whole visit.
- Limitation
- Closed commercial ecosystem; the 'plus' device needs charging.
Lesson: Solve identity and access first, delight second.
Cooper Hewitt Pen
New YorkVisitors tap NFC labels to collect objects, then reopen the visit through a unique URL.
- What works
- The gesture means 'I choose this'; collecting leads to creating, not just accumulating.
- Limitation
- Bespoke loan hardware, tables and staff operations; indoor only.
Lesson: Every tap should be an intentional act of curation.
HistoPad
Chambord and other monumentsA loaned tablet recognises 'time portals' and shows 360°/3D reconstructions with a family treasure hunt.
- What works
- Spectacular before/after comparison; works for visitors without a suitable phone.
- Limitation
- High content cost; reconstruction can look more certain than the evidence allows.
Lesson: Use AR only where it reveals an invisible layer — and label certainty.
Venku.app
Czech orienteeringPlayers find checkpoints on a map and confirm them by QR, location or a four-digit code.
- What works
- Czech context, multiple verification modes, very low installed infrastructure.
- Limitation
- Built around finding and scoring rather than interpretation.
Lesson: Borrow the verification mix; make the reward a trace or a skill.
Geocaching Adventure Lab
GlobalGeofenced locations unlock stories and questions; completion creates a digital postcard.
- What works
- Almost no installed infrastructure, huge discovery network, persistent completions.
- Limitation
- GPS drift, platform dependency, fragile sequential routes.
Lesson: Never let one broken location block the whole visit.
Skryté příběhy
Czechia290+ routes use historical characters, narrated problems, field tasks and a completion selfie.
- What works
- Strong Czech family fit; narrative gives people a reason to move.
- Limitation
- One formula can flatten contested or layered history.
Lesson: Use narrative as invitation, but keep fact, source and inference apart.
GEOFUN
CzechiaCzech geolocation games guide visitors around towns, castles and landscapes.
- What works
- Proves Czech institutions and visitors already understand app-led field games.
- Limitation
- Usual one-off trail friction; little persistent identity.
Lesson: Past Forward must solve the next problem: continuity between institutions.
Smartify
GlobalVisitors scan artworks, access official tours and build a personal collection across institutions.
- What works
- Scan-to-recognise is intuitive; the collection survives the visit.
- Limitation
- Suits bounded objects, not landscapes; the phone stays the interface.
Lesson: 'Collect this real thing' beats 'collect points'.
Bloomberg Connects
1,500+ institutionsA free app carries institution-curated guides, on site or at home.
- What works
- Enormous distribution, low institutional barrier, strong accessibility.
- Limitation
- A guide platform, not a persistent game or passport.
Lesson: Don't recreate the guide — own the participation layer.
Seek by iNaturalist
GlobalCamera recognition prompts real observation of species; badges reward repeated noticing.
- What works
- The player must observe the world, not read a label.
- Limitation
- Badge accumulation can become box-ticking without context.
Lesson: Design missions around looking and testing.
Passport To Your National Parks
USAVisitors buy a physical book and collect free place/date stamps across 400+ units.
- What works
- A long-lived ritual that works without battery, account or explanation.
- Limitation
- Minimal analytics, manual upkeep, weak proof against proxies.
Lesson: The physical passport is not decoration — it is the retention engine.
Camino de Santiago credential
SpainPilgrims collect stamps along the route; the completed credential earns a certificate.
- What works
- Progress means something because it evidences effort, sequence and community.
- Limitation
- Manual validation, rules can confuse.
Lesson: A badge should mean 'I did and understood something'.
Goshuin
JapanShrines and temples add hand-brushed seals to a visitor-owned book.
- What works
- Human ritual, local distinctiveness, respectful pace, direct revenue.
- Limitation
- Staff time; risk of turning a sacred act into a checklist.
Lesson: At Říp, the souvenir should feel earned, not dispensed.
Why Past Forward is different
| Capability | QR guide | Location game | Analogue passport | Past Forward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works across institutions | No | Platform-dependent | Yes | Yes |
| Institution controls interpretation | Yes | Varies | Manual | Yes |
| Persistent player identity | No | In-app only | Physical only | Digital + physical |
| Tangible souvenir | No | Rare | Yes | Field token |
| Low-screen mode | Sometimes | Weak | Strong | Designed in |
| Measurable learning | No | Points only | No | Moves and traces |
What Past Forward is not
- A replacement for existing ticketing and tourism portals.
- Opaque collection of children's data.
- A one-off campaign that dies when a grant ends.
From one mountain to a shared heritage world.
Institutions choose their own access, reward and revenue model. We bring the learning design, the research and the network.