FAQ

   

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED

Q: How does it work?
A: Half scavenger hunt, half tour, Stray Boots challenges players to find sites, answer questions, and take silly photos, all from the convenience of their cell phone. Our tours can be played on our iPhone and Android app (highly recommended), traditional text message, or on mobile web.
Q: How do I start ("activate") the tour?
A: Go to the start spot and send in your code!

After purchasing tickets, you'll receive an Activation Instructions email with a starting location and an activation code. When you're ready to start, go to this location.

If you have an iPhone or Android phone, we recommend downloading our app (available in most cities). Otherwise, you can play via mobile web by visiting www.strayboots.com/play and entering your code. If you don't have a smartphone, no worries! Just text your code to the phone number provided in the instructions email.
Q: How far in advance do I need to buy tickets? (Can I buy and play on the same day?)
A: You can buy and play right away!

After you purchase, you'll receive an e-mail with instructions for getting started. You can follow those instructions and start your game the instant you receive them.
Q: When should I redeem my voucher?
A: As soon as you know what tour you'd like to play!

We recommended that you redeem your voucher after you know what tour you'd like to redeem for. This is because it's a lot easier redeeming at home in front of your computer, rather than redeeming on your smartphone right before you're about to play.

After you redeem, we'll email you your Activation Instructions. These will have everything you need to get started. Whenever you're ready to play your Stray Boots tour, just head to the starting location and follow the Activation Instructions!
Q: How long does it take to play?
A: 2-3 hours, but it's up to you!

Each tour takes about two to three hours (museum zones are a little longer), not including taking breaks along the way. How quickly you walk, how many breaks you take, how many hints you use / clues you skip, and how easily you find the answer will all affect how long each tour takes you.

But no pressure to finish. If you can't finish in one shot, you can resume your tour anytime within a year of the day you bought.
Q: Do I need to buy a ticket for everyone in my group?
A: Yes, please!

Tickets are sold per person for everyone who will be enjoying the experience, just like a walking tour or traditional scavenger hunt. Your cell phone just takes the place of a human tour guide or paper packet of clues.

Each team has just one captain who will send and receive all messages on their phone, but captains can be switched if a phone battery is running low, or just to mix things up.

Want to use more than one phone? Ask us about our head to head or large group options: strayboots.com/large-groups
Q: What if we want to play as multiple teams?
A: No problem! We like your competitive spirit.

1. Buy your tickets for the number of people in your group.
2. Forward the "Activation Instructions" email you receive to support@strayboots.com telling us the number of teams you'd like to play with.
3. We'll email you back additional codes
4. Smoke the competition!

NOTE: We usually recommend when playing as multiple teams to stagger your starts by around 5-10 minutes for each team. This way, everyone will have the chance to answer the same Stray Boots challenges independently. And at the end, everyone can meet up at the end location to compare scores and determine a winner based on your final scores!
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General

Q: What is a Stray Boots tour?
A: A Stray Boots tour is a neighborhood or museum where you can play Stray Boots -- e.g Downtown Boston, Georgetown, or The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All of our tours are walkable and generally take 2-3 hours to complete.
Q: How long does each tour take to play?
A: Each tour takes about two to three hours (museum zones are a little longer), not including taking breaks along the way. How quickly you walk, how many breaks you take, how many hints you use / clues you skip, and how easily you find the answer will all affect how long each tour takes you.
Q: What do I need to play?
A: All you need are your cell phone and a pair of comfortable shoes! A map is not necessary, but if you want one you can pick up a free one at just about any hotel in the city or any info booth located around the city.
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Daily Deal Vouchers

Q: I bought a Stray Boots voucher from a deal site. Now what?
A: Simply go to www.strayboots.com/redeem to redeem your voucher!

When you're redeeming, you'll be able to select the tour that you want to play. After you redeem, we'll email you your Activation Instructions that will have everything you need to get started!
Q: What do I do if it says that my voucher code doesn't exist?
A: No problem! We can send you a new voucher code that you can use.

All you have to do is forward your voucher you bought from the deal site to support@strayboots.com and let us know 1) what deal site you bought from and 2) what price option did you purchase. We'll respond as quickly as possible and get you all set to go!
Q: How long do I have to use my voucher?
A: Your voucher is good for a year from your date of purchase!

You'll have a year to redeem and play through the tour of your choice. If you need more time, just email support@strayboots.com and we can extend your ticket.
Q: When should I redeem my voucher?
A: As soon as you know what tour you want to redeem for!

We recommend that you redeem your voucher after know what tour you'd like to redeem for. This is because it's a lot easier redeeming at home in front of your computer compared to redeeming on your smartphone right before you're about to play.

After you redeem, we'll email you your Activation Instructions that will have everything you need to get started. Whenever you're ready to play your Stray Boots tour, just head to the starting location and follow the Activation Instructions!
Q: What do I do if my voucher is expired?
A: Just forward your voucher to support@strayboots.com and we can create a new voucher code that you can use!

If you can't find your original voucher, you can just email us your voucher code.
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Purchasing Tickets

Q: How do I purchase tickets?
A: There are two easy ways to purchase tickets.

If you've already downloaded our iOS or Android app, you can simply purchase the tour you'd like to play directly in the app.

Another way is right through our website. Find your City, then add the tour (or package of multiple tour) to your shopping cart. Make sure to add a ticket for each person participating. When you're ready to buy, just Check Out as you would on other sites and enter your credit card info. We accept all major cards.
Q: How are tickets priced?
A: Tickets are sold per person for everyone who will be enjoying the experience, just like a walking tour or traditional scavenger hunt. Your team has one captain who will have the tour on their phone, but you can switch the captain to any other phone if you run low on battery or just want to mix things up. Drop us a line if you'd like to play as more than one team (using more than one phone at a time).
Q: How long after I purchase tickets do I have to play?
A: You have one full year to activate your ticket after you make your purchase, so if your plans change, you don’t have to worry about tickets going unused. And if you need more time, just shoot an email to support@strayboots.com and we can extend your ticket!
Q: How far in advance do I need to purchase tickets?
A: You can buy tickets and play on the same day or buy up to a year in advance of when you want to play! Just make sure you have email access so that you can view the activation instructions that we email you. Or, give us a call toll-free at 877-787-2929 after you purchase.
Q: Can I add more people to my ticket?
A: More people joined your group after your purchase? No problem! Just call our toll-free customer service number: (877) 787-2929 and we’ll walk you through the easy steps.
Q: What payment methods do you accept?
A: We accept all major credit cards: Visa, American Express, Mastercard, Discover
Q: How do I purchase a Stray Boots tour as a gift?
A: Select the tour you want to gift and purchase from our website using your information. Afterwards, we'll send you an Activation Instructions email that will have a link to a gift certificate at the bottom. You can either just print that out or send it via email along with the Activation Instructions and give it to your lucky recipient!
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Teams

Q: How many phones can I activate on my team?
A: You can only use one phone per team at any given time, so choose a team captain to on the Stray Boots tour on their phone. You can switch who is captain mid-game at any point. Just have someone follow the initial instructions you received from us on a second phone and it will switch which phone controls the game.
Q: How many people should be on a team?
A: You can have as many people on your team as you’d like but only one phone is used per team. We recommend teams of up to 6 people. If you have a larger group, drop us a line for other options.
Q: Can my group play as more than one team?
A: Yep! Drop us a line with the tour and date you’d like to play and we’ll get you all set up. You'll do the same path of challenges so you just need to give a 10 minute head start to one team. That way you get the same experience and end at the same spot, making it easy to meet back up and compare scores.

We're working on expanding this functionality, too.

If you have a group larger than 15, we offer competitive private hunts that are great for corporate teambuilding, birthday parties, school groups, and more.
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Getting Started

Q: How do I activate my phone after I purchase my tickets?
A: Go to the starting location and enter in your activation code!

After purchasing tickets, you'll receive an Activation Instructions email with a start location and an activation code. When you're ready to start, go to the start spot.

If you have a smartphone, we highly recommend playing either on our iOS or Android app.

If not, no worries! Just text your code to the phone number provided in the instructions email.
Q: Where do I go to start my tour?
A: Check out the City page of your city to see where each our starts.

If you bought more than one tour (or one of our multi-tour packages), you can start with whichever tour you'd like. And because you have access to all the tours you purchased, you can switch between tours at any time.
Q: Do I need to make a reservation or select a specific time I want to play?
A: Nope.

Once you have your activation instructions, you just send in your code when you're ready to start. No need to let us know the specific time!
Q: Is there a specific time of day or day of the week I have to play?
A: Nope, but we do have recommended playing times for each of our tours.

The recommended playing times we have just ensure that all of the challenges are open for you to play through. You can definitely still play outside the recommended playing times, but just be aware that you might have to skip a handful of challenges.

To see the recommended playing times for each tour, see the City page for the location you would like to play.
Q: Once I start, how long do I have to play?
A: 1 full year!

You have a full year from the time you purchased to finish up your tour, regardless of when you got started.

So, if you start playing 1 month after you bought, you can take 11 months to finish up all the tours on your ticket. Just re-send your activation code to resume at a later date.
Q: Do I have to play with the phone number I entered when I purchased tickets?
A: You can play using any phone you'd like, so long as it's one at a time. The one we ask for on signup is for contact purposes in case we need to reach you while you're playing.
Q: Will my tour start as soon as I buy tickets?
A: Nope, your tour won't start until you send in your activation code per the instructions email we send you.
Q: Do I need to be physically standing in the right place before I can activate?
A: No, you can actually activate in advance of playing if you'd like to test things out before you leave. No matter where you are, Stray Boots will respond to you.

Since you have a full year to play, you're welcome to activate a few hours, days, or even weeks in advance of when you plan to play. Just respond back when you're actually ready to get rolling.
Q: Do I have to pick up game materials or print anything out to play a Stray Boots game?
A: Nope.

All you have to do is activate your phone and go. Your phone will give you all the info you'll need (though you may want to jot down your activation code and the starting spot for your tour).
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Playing A Stray Boots Tour

Q: Once I start playing, do I have a time limit for completing a tour?
A: 1 year!

You have a full year from the purchase date to finish playing. You can take as many breaks as you want during that time. As long as it’s within 365 days of when you purchased, you'll be able to pick up your tour from where you left off.

If your ticket expired or need more time, just shoot us an email at support@strayboots.com and we can extend it for you!
Q: What if I have trouble with my phone or it runs out of batteries during a tour?
A: You can switch phones!

You can easily change to using another team member’s phone. Just follow the initial instructions you received from us on a second phone and it will switch which phone controls the game, picking up right where you left off.

If you only have 1 phone you can play on, we can either credit you a different tour for later or issue you a refund. We want you to have an awesome time or it's on us!
Q: Can I switch which phone controls a Stray Boots tour?
A: Absolutely!

Just follow the initial instructions you received from us on a second phone and it will switch which phone controls the tour, picking up right where you left off.
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Cell Phones & Playing Options

Q: What's the best way to play a Stray Boots tour?
A: If you have an iPhone or Android phone, we highly recommend playing either on our iOS or Android app.

If you bought tickets from strayboots.com, you can use the activation code in your Activation Instructions email and enter in it in the app. Otherwise, you can purchase the tour you want to play directly in the app!
Q: Does the tour work with my cell phone plan provider?
A: If you don't have a smart phone, you can still play our tours via text messaging!

A Stray Boots tour can be played by text message on phones with plans on any US provider. It can also be played by phones on international providers if the phone has the ability to send a text message to a 10-digit US number.
Q: Will I be charged for the text messages I send and receive while playing a Stray Boots game?
A: You'll be charged for texts as you normally are according to your agreement with your carrier. We recommend having a member of your team with an unlimited text plan use his/her phone to play.
Q: What if I don't know what my text message plan is?
A: Try calling your provider to find out. Many will be able to upgrade your plan for just the month for only a few bucks. You can revert back to your old plan the following month at no cost or penalty in most cases. The phone numbers of some major carriers are below:

- AT&T: 800.331.0500
- Verizon: 800.922.0204
- Sprint: 888.211.4727
- T-Mobile: 877.453.1304
- Metro PCS: 888.863.8768
- Boost Mobile: 866.402.7366
Q: If I'm from another country, will my phone work?
A: Your phone may work by text message if you are able to send texts to a 10-digit US phone number. You will be charged for the texts you send, which for some people can be costly.
Q: Approximately how many text messages will I send and receive?
A: The number of text messages you send and receive will depend a bit on how many hints you use during a game. The number of combined messages you send and receive ranges from about 90 to about 120 messages for each zone.
Q: If I'm from another country (and don't have a phone to play on). Can I rent a phone?
A: We do not currently rent out phones, but you can buy a U.S. SIM card or prepaid phone that will be very useful for your stay in in the U.S. even after playing a Stray Boots game! Contact your wireless provider for more information.
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Credits & Refunds

Q: What’s your refund/return policy?
A: Just call us toll-free at (877) 787-2929 and tell us why you need your money back. If you haven't started your Stray Boots tour or have played for less than an hour, we'll refund your money to your credit card. If you have started and played for an hour or more, we'll handle it on a case by case basis.
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