This service design project was a collaboration with the Museum Rietberg, with the aim of attracting new visitors to the museum. Das Rietberg Rätsel is a game inviting families and other visitors of the Rieter Park to explore the park in a playful and engaging way while getting to know the offering of Museum Rietberg more intimately. The game is part of a wider concept of guiding system which aims to deliver relevant information at the right time, in the right place and in the right form to the visitors through a variety of touchpoints as it accompanies them throughout their experience of Museum Rietberg.

As the Rieter Park is an asset that especially demarcates this museum, we focused on blurring the boundaries between Museum Rietberg and its surroundings and on generating awareness and emotional connection to the museum’s collection among the visitors of the park. As they are the second largest demographic visiting Museum Rietberg, we decided to concentrate our efforts on families of locals and tourists who are planning a visit to the museum or stumble upon it while visiting the park. Therefore, all elements of the game are designed to appeal to them.

The players have to find three different tokens in the park with the help of a printed map and webbased application. When the players search for and find a token, they get information about its backstory and how it is connected to the Museum Rietberg. We aim to blur the boundaries between the park and the museum, which is why das Rietberg Rätsel starts at the entrance of the park and ends in the museum. When the players have collected all the tokens they receive a reward.

The tokens that the players have to find, are animals from different cultural artifacts that are a part of the collection of Museum Rietberg. They came alive and have spread to various locations in the park. With the help of „Rieti the Riethörnli“ – our mascot – they get help, hints and guidance to bring the animals back to their origin. In this way we let Rieti tell the story and not the religious and cultural artifacts themselves, as they need to be handled sensitively.