Warsaw launches augmented reality game to educate public about Vistula River

This year, authorities will be boosting their efforts to get people familiar with different sides of the water body

Last week, Warsaw reported on the launch of a new digital attraction for the local Vistula River – a mobile game, based on augmented reality (AR). The interactive game allows users to answer questions and learn new facts about the river, uncovering little known facts about the it. What is more, the first to complete all challenges will get prizes.

Digital transformation of local tourism

Vistula, the longest river in Poland and one of the largest in Europe, has always been a unique meeting place on the tourist map of Warsaw. With its beaches, bars, promenades and beautiful sceneries, the river and the surrounding districts have become a favourite spot for nights out, sports and relaxation.

But on top of these qualities, authorities assure, the river has multiple other advantages and sites that remain hidden from the common eye. This includes a historic ethnographic microregion of Urzecze near Warsaw, extending on both banks of the Vistula, which coexists with the modern architecture and vibrant city life of the Polish capital.

That is why this year the Vistula District conducts educational and informational activities emphasizing the unique identity of the river. One of them is a game developed in AR technology and available on Instagram.

By answering simple questions, participants will be able to discover facts and curiosities about the Vistula District. They are presented in the form of collages and narrative boards telling the history of selected places by the water basin.

To take part in the game, one must visit five points of Warsaw Beach (starting on the Saska Kępa beach at the Warsaw Beach point) and use the filters assigned to the profile of the Vistula District on Instagram. After activating the appropriate filter, the user scans a poster, which then activates the effect.

He or she can get acquainted with the topic presented and answer the question. After that, the user goes to the next points - Warsaw Beach at Poniatówka, Warsaw Beach at Rusałka, Educational Pavilion Kamień and the Żoliborz beach - where he has to complete other tasks.

The first 50 people who give correct answers to all questions and present them to authorities will receive posters with popular graphics by Ola Jasionowska, The respective filters will be active any time until the end of September, which is the period when the game can be played.