A tip for outdoor games/tour in urban area with weak GPS signal

Have you ever offered an outdoor game or a tour in an old town where GPS signals are weak due to narrow streets and metallic structures that absorb the signal? These areas are also prone to road closures due to frequent renovations. Well, I have good news for you—I’m going to share a useful tip!

Game mechanism

Let’s outline the game mechanism:

Currently, in Loquiz, a player reaches a location, activates the radius, and a task opens. But what if the GPS fails to detect the player within the radius? Expanding the radius (e.g., to 30 meters) might help, but sometimes it still doesn’t work.

Here’s a better approach: Players enter a larger radius (50 meters or more) and receive a message: “Search for the point of interest (e.g., a statue), then click on the pin to start the quiz. Good luck!”

This way, players have more flexibility to find a better spot before solving their next riddle. Not only does this method work when GPS is unreliable, but it also ensures tasks can be accessed regardless of roadwork or other obstacles.

So, how can we set this up in Loquiz Creator?

Creator Mechanism

Here’s what a usual outdoor task activation looks like:

Now, let’s build the mechanism as I described previously. Remember: We want player to arrive first, and then enable them to open the task by click:

As you can see, I’ve set a much larger radius. It covers multiple streets around the monument, so players don’t need to be exactly on the spot to solve the riddle. They will then see this message:

Then, Task 2 will appear. It has a 0-meter location radius, meaning it won’t open based on GPS at all. Here’s what it looks like:

But how do you open it? Let’s have a look at the Activation settings:

The task can be opened “on click”. We use this feature. As simple as that!

Besides, don’t forget to select the settings “Allow opening specific tasks on map”. You’ll find it in 3. Configurations > Map

Further thinking

Instead of using the map, you can also use the list or the playground to let the player open the task by clicking.

The list offers a clear way to organize tasks that can be opened from the device. And it’s simple to set it up.

On the other side, if you want something more cosmetic, you can also use the Playground. It takes more time to edit, as you’ll need to make the design yourself. But you’ll end up with an interface that looks coherent with your game.

Here’s my advice on creating an outdoor task in areas with weak GPS signals or frequent roadwork. If you have any ideas to implement in Loquiz or challenges to overcome, feel free to contact me or book a free 30-minute demo. I’d be happy to help you use my expertise to build your own game!