Jiří Filip It's only been a few days since we informed you in our magazine about the creation of the new Loxper platform, which is supposed to bring its users fun routes through traditional and non-traditional places. As this concept caught our attention in the editorial office, as it can without any exaggeration be described as quite unique (at least in Czechoslovak glades and groves), we decided to try it out for ourselves. You will find out what impression Loxper left on us after one of the walks he accompanied us on in the following lines of our review.
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We were really curious about Loxper in practice. In addition to interesting routes, its creator also invites you to find ciphers or puzzles similar to those from escape games, the solution of which is supposed to point you in the right direction on your journey. Of course, everything is implemented directly in the application available on iOS and Android, with the fact that at the time of our testing, a total of 20 routes in Prague and Brno were available in it, which is definitely not bad. According to available information, Loxper is also planning to expand its scope to, for example, Karlovy Vary, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, Pardubice or Náchod. It's also great that the creators are open to other interesting routes from other cities - just let them know about them. In short, the dream come true of every active technology fan, which I consider myself to be.
We're hitting the road
Although Loxper is paid, the first test is completely free thanks to the ticket that the application gives you after downloading. I was therefore happy to take advantage of this opportunity. However, I have to say that even the ticket prices for individual routes seem perfectly fine to me. One will cost 50 crowns, which is not a big expense at all. In addition, according to available information, the developers are preparing a subscription for all routes, thanks to which it will be possible to save, which will definitely please.
I decided to test the platform specifically in Prague, on the Jan Žižka route, as it was supposed to tell the life story of this military leader in connection with Prague at the head of the Battle of Vítkov, which are topics that I enjoyed already at school.
The route started at Karlov náměstí near the New Town Hall. The application tells you that it was from its windows in 1419 that a disgruntled crowd, including Jan Žižka, threw aldermen into the street and thus started the Hussite revolution. I was really pleased with the informative interface of the application, as it was very clear, graphically well done and overall pleasant. The same can be said for the first task that the application gave me at Novoměstská radnica. It was specifically about finding out the number of aldermen who were thrown out of the window. However, this is nothing complicated - the number can be easily found out from the attached image in the application. So I successfully counted the aldermen and thanks to that I scored my first game points. However, if this question does not warm you up too much, you can listen to the application and run up the 221 steps to the observation deck of the town hall tower. However, I declined this with thanks, as I tested the application in pleasant weather and, moreover, I didn't quite know what was waiting for me next.
The application then directed me to the streets of the New Town of Prague to the second stop - specifically to the Bethlehem Chapel. I probably don't need to remind Hussite experts that it was here that Master Jan Hus preached, whose teachings became the basis of the Hussite movement, and his burning in Constance in 1415 was the trigger for Hussiteism as such. Since I don't want to spoil the next question, I'll just say that I sweated a lot more to solve it than in the first case, and since I wasn't at all sure of the answer (and I wanted to really test the platform as deeply as possible), I chose the 50:50 hint . This confirmed my assumption and earned another 5 game points on my account, so I already had 15 in total. By the way, the platform developers have big plans for the future with game points, but more on that later.
With my fifteen points, I went on to Na Příkopy, where the house that Jan Žižka bought when he served in the court of King Václav IV stood. Here, the application threw another question at me, which I (fortunately) managed much better than the previous one and therefore scored the full number of points - i.e. ten. My next steps were directed, for example, to today's Municipal House, where the King's Court used to be, which served as the seat of Wenceslas IV. After answering another question, the application "driven" me towards Karlín and Vítkov Hill. Along the way, I had to complete a few more tasks that occupied my brain for quite a few minutes, so much so that I decided to capitulate and skip them. The cool thing is that Loxper doesn't mind at all. After all, you are robbing yourself of the points - the platform does not push you to get them at all. The goal was the aforementioned Vítkov, where he learned the last interesting information, could get the last points and, above all, enjoy the view of Prague.
Bottom line, the bottom line – according to my Apple Watch, I covered a little over five kilometers while completing tasks, with the distance taking me about three hours due to visiting a lot of places and completing tasks. So it was a really relaxing walk with a leisurely pace, during which there is no problem to admire the surroundings.
Summary
If I were to evaluate the platform as such, I would say that it offers a really nice overall experience and maybe even a whole new perspective on places you think you know like the back of your hand. When I add to that fun tasks and game elements, I get a thing that can simply entertain and which, in my opinion, can gain a very decent reputation among active smartphone users. It can be seen that the creators really put a lot of work into the creation, as at least my route was thought out to the smallest detail. In addition, the difficulty of the tasks and games is of a simpler nature, and if you are not interested, you can simply skip the given task. It is also nice that the tasks and games are processed in a very comprehensible form, and if even that is not enough, there is an advisor with basic game principles available. As a result, all you have to do is pack your mobile phone at home and go on your journey. Personally, however, I would appreciate it if the application made more use of audio, video or AR. After all, it runs on devices that handle these things without a problem. Still, it's worth a try.
