Eila’s Time Travels Lycksele Tour: A 2025 Family Game Review

Frankly, finding an activity that pleases everyone in the family, especially with kids of different ages, is just about the biggest challenge on any holiday. We were in Lycksele, and you know, it’s a beautiful spot, but we really needed something to break up the museum visits and park strolls. So, we picked up the 2025 ‘Eila’s Time Travels’ walking tour game, more or less on a whim. To be honest, we weren’t expecting much, just maybe an hour of distraction. At the end of the day, it actually turned our afternoon into a proper little adventure through the heart of the town. This game, I mean, it kind of presents itself as a simple walk, but it’s really a story you step into, which is something we weren’t expecting at all.

Getting Started with Eila’s Time Travels

Okay, so getting set up was surprisingly simple, which was a pretty big relief. You basically have two choices: you can either download the app or, like we did, grab the physical pack from the local tourist information center. We kind of liked the idea of a real map. Inside the packet was, well, a beautifully drawn, almost storybook-style map of Lycksele, a decoder wheel, and an introductory letter from our guide, Eila. Obviously, the letter explains that Eila is a time-hopper, and she, you know, has accidentally jumbled up some of Lycksele’s history. So our mission, should we choose to accept it, was to walk to specific locations and, I mean, solve the puzzles there to put time back in order. The kids were, like, instantly hooked by this premise; it’s almost as if the game was made just for them.

Actually, the map itself is a real piece of art, sort of decorated with little drawings and mysterious symbols that hint at the stops. First, you use your phone’s camera, or the included decoder wheel, to scan a starting symbol on the map. In that case, this kicks off the whole story. You hear Eila’s voice for the first time – she’s got a really friendly, encouraging tone – and she gives you your very first clue. For us, frankly, the first puzzle pointed us towards the old church, and we were off. It’s really that simple to get going, honestly, with no complicated sign-ups or anything like that.

The Lycksele Walk: Puzzles, Stories, and Discovery

Well, the main part of the game involves walking a more or less two-kilometer loop around Lycksele’s center and the Gammplatsen area. Each location on the map, you know, has a little story snippet delivered by Eila through the app or a text you read from the booklet. These stories, as a matter of fact, were genuinely interesting. Then, you get a puzzle, which could be anything, really. For instance, at one point, we had to count specific types of logs used in an old building to get a code number. At another stop, we basically had to use the decoder wheel to line up Sami symbols with their meanings, which we sort of found on an information board nearby.

The puzzles themselves are, you know, designed pretty well for a family. They are just challenging enough that our ten-year-old had to think, but not so hard that our seven-year-old got bored; he actually loved being the one to spot the physical clues. There was, like, a constant buzz of teamwork, with everyone shouting out ideas. My wife was pretty much in charge of the map, I was the official puzzle-reader, and the kids were the on-the-ground detectives. It’s funny, we passed other families who were just walking, and we felt like we were in on a little secret, like we were seeing a whole different layer of Lycksele. This experience, at the end of the day, was so much more active than just staring at things.

More Than Just a Game: A Dose of History

You know, what really impressed me was how much history and culture was woven into the game without it ever feeling like a lecture. Eila’s stories are, in a way, the key. She doesn’t just give you dates and facts. Instead, she tells you about a market day from 200 years ago or describes what it was like for a Sami family moving with their reindeer. For example, the puzzles often required us to actually look at the details of a building or a statue, things we honestly would have just walked past otherwise. We spent a good ten minutes at the Forestry Museum, seriously, just looking at the different types of old saws because a clue was hidden in their design.

I mean, Eila said this one thing that really stuck with us: “History isn’t in a book, you know… it’s in the wood of the houses and the stones under your feet. You just have to know how to listen.”

So, because of this game, we ended up having these really neat conversations about the Sami people and the old timber trade, topics that just wouldn’t have come up normally. It’s pretty clever, really, how it turns a historical site into a living puzzle. It’s arguably the best way to get kids interested in local history. The whole thing felt completely organic and, to be honest, a lot more memorable than reading plaques in a museum. You’re not just learning the history; you’re sort of helping to “fix” it for Eila, which is a very powerful motivation for a child.

Who is This Walking Tour For?

At the end of the day, who should give ‘Eila’s Time Travels’ a try? Obviously, it’s a home run for a specific kind of group. After spending the afternoon with it, we got a pretty good sense of who would love this experience and who might want to look for something else. It isn’t just a walk, and it is definitely not just for kids, even though they were the most vocal about their enjoyment. We think it appeals to a slightly broader group than the box might suggest, as long as you have the right mindset.

Basically, this is for you if:

• You are a family with children aged 6 to 13. Honestly, this is the sweet spot. The reading, puzzles, and walking distance are, like, perfectly tuned for this age group’s energy and attention span.
• You enjoy being active and solving problems together. You know, this isn’t a passive tour. It’s very much a hands-on, cooperative activity that requires a little bit of brainpower.
• You want to see Lycksele’s main sights in a few hours. The route, as a matter of fact, is really efficient and covers the most important historical spots in a logical, story-driven way.
• You’re a couple or a solo traveler with a playful spirit. I mean, why not? If you enjoy escape rooms or puzzle games, this is basically a light, outdoor version of that, with a really nice historical flavor. You just have to be willing to be a little bit silly.

Read our full review: Eila’s Time Travels Lycksele Family Walking Tour Game Full Review and Details

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