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Social economyApril 2026

L'Hermitage – Treasure Hunt

A mobile application (PWA) for the woodland estate of Tiers Lieu L'Hermitage. A playful, geolocated experience, installable on smartphones without app stores and working without a permanent connection.

4 weeks
Build time
Gamification
Active estate discovery
Mobile app
Native PWA

Project presentation

Tiers Lieu L'Hermitage — a tailor-made retreat venue for companies and gatherings, set in a woodland estate — wanted to give teams on corporate retreats a playful, interactive way to explore the grounds. The goal: a mobile treasure hunt that runs smoothly deep in the forest, with no app-store download and no dependency on a stable connection.

I built a Progressive Web App (PWA) with Next.js: no dedicated server, no account required. The app runs entirely on the visitor's smartphone and can be installed with a single tap from the browser onto the iOS or Android home screen, in full-screen mode like a native app.

The browser's native geolocation API triggers contextual riddles depending on where the players are in the estate. Progress and scores are persisted locally on the device (LocalStorage / IndexedDB) — the game stays playable offline and resumes exactly where it was left.

The game has been a hit, with stronger visitor engagement and a smooth, immediate user experience suited to outdoor use.

Objectives

  • Build a mobile application to explore the L'Hermitage woodland estate
  • Deliver a playful, geolocated and interactive experience for visitors
  • Enable store-free installation and offline operation

Results

  • Mobile app (PWA) installable without going through iOS / Android stores
  • Riddles triggered by the players' geolocation across the estate
  • Progress and scores persisted locally, offline operation
  • Retreat visitors actively engaged in exploring the estate