Playing games on a smartphone as a family while travelling: a good idea?

It's a familiar scene: you travel to escape everyday life, and everyone ends up with their head bent over a screen. So suggesting that the whole family plays on a smartphone during a trip can seem contradictory. Many parents are wary of it, and they are right to ask the question.

Our answer is nuanced: it all depends on what the game asks you to do. A screen that isolates everyone in their own corner is a bad idea. A screen that acts as a common thread and sends you back to the city, to its façades, its alleyways and the details to spot, can on the contrary bring generations closer together. Let's look at the conditions, and at what this looks like in Marrakech.

The reservations are legitimate

Let's start with what can go wrong. The most common concerns are quite simple:

Eyes down. If the game absorbs all your attention, you walk through a place without seeing it.
Isolation. Everyone in their own game is a way of travelling side by side without sharing much.
Battery and logistics. A flat phone in the middle of the day is one more thing to deal with.
Caution in the street. Walking while looking at your screen is never a good habit, especially in a busy old city.

These risks are real, and they depend mainly on how the game is designed and how it is played. They are not down to the smartphone itself.

What changes when the game sends you back to the place

A good travel game doesn't try to make you forget where you are. It does the opposite: the screen provides a story, an instruction, a riddle, but the answer is out there. You have to look up, compare, spot a detail and agree among yourselves.

That is the principle behind QuestRides' interactive treasure hunts. Players follow an immersive narrative, solve riddles and take on challenges while discovering the historic heritage of the Medina. The phone carries the story, but it is the places that provide the clues. In this case, the screen serves as a guide rather than an obstacle between you and the city.

There is another advantage, a less obvious one: the game gives you an excuse to stop, observe and ask questions. A child who wouldn't have listened to three minutes of explanation about a historic site can get hooked on a riddle connected to it.

Children aged 8 and over: what works

Families with children aged 8 and over are one of our audiences. At that age, children can read a clue, reason and collaborate, without necessarily wanting a traditional tour at an adult pace.

Choosing the right level

The "Les Secrets de Moulay Hassan" treasure hunt offers levels from Easy to Difficult. For a first family experience, an accessible level lets everyone solve riddles and keep wanting to carry on. If your group likes a challenge, the higher level adds some tension.

Cooperative or competitive

The game can be played in cooperative or competitive mode. Cooperative suits families well: you think together, and children and adults complement each other. Competitive is more fun for a group of friends or two teams who enjoy challenging each other. You can talk about it before setting off: it avoids disappointment along the way.

For wider ideas, our page on family activities in Marrakech brings together what suits both little ones and grown-ups.

Marrakech: what to keep in mind

The Medina is the historic old city of Marrakech, and it is best explored on foot. Its alleyways are narrow, busy and sometimes disorienting if you don't know your way around. It is a fantastic playground, as long as you stay alert to what is around you.

A few simple habits help a lot:

Pause to read the screen, rather than walking while looking at it. Step to the side, out of the way of passers-by.
Appoint a reader in turn: only one person looks at the screen while the others observe their surroundings.
Keep children close to you, as in any busy city.
Take water, comfortable shoes and sun protection, as the sun can be strong depending on the season.

If peace of mind is a concern, our safety page explains our approach in detail.

Our tips for keeping the game enjoyable

Whether you are travelling as a family, with friends, as a group or for a hen party, the same common-sense rules apply. Here are the ones that make a difference:

Charge your phone before setting off, and bring a power bank if you have one.
Share out the roles: reader, observer, photographer. Everyone has something to do, and nobody is left as a spectator.
Choose the right time of day. Avoid playing when everyone is tired or hungry: a failed riddle is much easier to take after a break.
Accept slowing down. If a riddle won't give way, look around you: that is often how you find the loveliest detail of the walk.
Keep a memento. At the end of the treasure hunt, you receive a photo and video recap, and a certificate is given to the players. So you can enjoy the moment without spending your time capturing everything.

And if you prefer a more guided format?

Not everyone feels like hunting for clues. If you prefer a more contemplative approach, the interactive guided tours offer a tailor-made route with an immersive narrative: you choose the duration, the theme and the options. A photo and video recap report can be downloaded afterwards. It's a good option for a group with varied tastes.

So, good idea or bad idea?

Playing on a smartphone while travelling is a bad idea when the screen replaces the place. It is a good idea when it brings the place to life: when the story, the riddles and the challenges make you look, talk and search together. In Marrakech, in a Medina rich in details to observe, this second use makes perfect sense.

The best test remains a simple one: at the end of the day, do your children talk about what they saw, or only about their score? With a well-designed game, the two go hand in hand.

Want to try it with your family or loved ones? Discover the treasure hunt in Marrakech, then book on questrides.com. You then request a secure payment link on WhatsApp: a 30% deposit when booking, with the balance paid on site.