Invitation Only: How The Colonel's Game Brought a Historic Irish Hotel to Life for Northslope
Client
What the customers say:
"It was 11:30. I had my PJs on, I was in bed, hitting the cartoon yawn. And then I saw the envelope, opened it up, and immediately got out of bed. I was out in the fields at 1 AM. I was at the cemetery. I was finding the potions on the floor in the rain. Everyone at the bar was laughing at me and wanted to know what all the clues were. They all went out and started finding them too!"
The Challenge: A Reason to Explore
Northslope was bringing its team together for an exclusive offsite at Killashee Hotel, a 19th-century manor on 140 acres of Irish countryside. The setting was extraordinary — the challenge was making sure the experience lived up to it.
They wanted something that would pull a sharp, distributed team out of the conference rooms and into the grounds: a reason to wander the halls, talk to people they'd never met, and walk away with a unique shared experience.
The brief: blend the game into the property in a way that made it feel like it had always been there, waiting.
The Handstand Magic: The Colonel's Game
We invented The Colonel, a long-dead, puzzle-obsessed eccentric whose game had gone unsolved, and treasure undiscovered, for centuries. The content and props were woven directly into the hotel's decor, gardens, speakeasy, and hidden corners.
🤯 Surprise & delight
Every layer wowed players and rewarded their curiosity. Seemingly inconspicuous portraits lit up when touched. A stack of books held a hidden peephole behind a magnetized spine. A 24-hour gated finale led to a locked briefcase with a custom prize.
🤝 Engagement, All Hours of the Day and Night
Folks were solving at 3am. Between sessions. In bed. During dinner. The game didn't stay confined to a scheduled block of time; it ran alongside the multi-day retreat itself, whenever people wanted to play.
🗣️ Virality Through Word of Mouth
Onboarding spread organically, by one excited Northslope employee pulling the next one out of the bar and into the gardens. Players who'd already finished went back out to solve again with friends who were just starting.
🧑🤝🧑 Organic Team Formation
About 20% of the game required teaming up to solve, and it showed. Groups formed on the spot and were legitimately running through the halls and gardens together.
Some highlights:
• The Colonel's Letter
• Interactive Portraits
• The Hidden Library
• The Gated Finale
• Custom Web App
Case Study Video
Custom Web Experience
A fully custom web app brought The Colonel's world to players' phones — real-time quest tracking, an immersive map of the grounds, and a live leaderboard that turned the property into a competition.
Player-Generated Avatars
Players generated their own on-theme, animated characters with Handstand's custom avatar service.
Each avatar was uniquely generated by Handstand's custom service.
What We Built
The Colonel's Letter
Every employee entered their room to find a letter from The Colonel. Solving this letter granted them web app access to begin their journey.
Interactive Portraits
Framed portraits blended into the Killashee Hotel's decor, held critical riddle answers, and lit up when touched, revealing hidden information.
Working Together
Players enjoyed having to team up with others to solve ~20% of the game! Groups were legitimately running around the hotel and garden.
The Gated Finale
24 hours into the game, the Finale puzzles were released, which led to a locked briefcase containing a custom prize.
Favorite Moments
Client
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