Washington DC National Mall Self-Guided City Exploration Game

Explore Washington's National Mall with a self-guided mystery on the Questo app, available 24/7 and paced entirely by you.

Getting started

Download the Questo app in advance, create your account using the same email as your purchase, and arrive at the National Mall with a fully charged smartphone. Once you open the city exploration game on your phone, you can start the mystery, then pause and continue whenever you like. There is no physical guide, so you choose when and how to move between locations.

What to expect

Washington National Mall mystery route

This self-guided city exploration game turns the Washington National Mall into an open-air investigation led by your phone. You move between key sites linked to Philip Reid, Japanese American history, and landmark public institutions, all while avoiding crowds and staying outdoors.

Features

• Follow the story from a Yale historian perspective on Philip Reid, the enslaved man who helped raise the Statue of Freedom, and stand where Philip Reid stood when the Statue of Freedom was raised.
• Walk through the Japanese American Memorial and learn shared histories as the game reveals story content about this site and its connection to broader civil rights narratives.
• Reach the Peace Monument to uncover historical court documents and meet a Washington Post journalist within the storyline, tying legal records to modern reporting.
• Explore landmarks including the U.S. Capitol, the Library of Congress, and the Botanic Garden along a set route that anchors the mystery in real locations.
• Use full 24/7 availability year-round to start the city exploration game on the Questo app at any time, with the flexibility to start, pause, and continue at your own pace.
• Experience a self-guided, open-air format that helps you avoid crowds while relying on 24/7 in-app customer support if you need help during the game.