I played Race Across the World through York, one of the exciting interactive adventure games designed by CityDays founder Tom Rymer

If you’ve not seen the BBC show, produced by Studio Lambert, it follows pairs of contestants as they race across vast distances without flying or modern technology, armed only with the cash equivalent of a one-way plane ticket.

This year, a replica experience has been set up in York, taking players through the streets of the historic city tackling escape-room style puzzles at key checkpoints. Along the way, participants visit partner venues, cultural hotspots and famous landmarks including The Shambles, York Minster and Dean’s Park.

Just like the show, they’re given a budget to manage as they race through the city, spending in-game cash to unlock clues and choose routes for the next leg of the journey – and they can decide whether to play it safe or take risks in pursuit of victory, with every decision shaping the outcome of the race.

“I think if you are sat there watching Race Across the World on TV, a lot of people are like, I could do it like this. Why are you making that decision when you should make this decision?,” says Tom Rymer, the Yorkshireman behind the company that runs the experience.

"Everyone instantly puts themselves in the shoes of being a team on the show, thinking if we were there taking part and making our own decisions we'd have done it differently. I think that the beauty of what we've made here (with the RATW experience) is that people are getting to make those decisions if they want to.”

Harrogate-based Tom is the brainchild behind CityDays, which runs the game. The company specialises in making interactive experiences that blend technology, storytelling and exploration in cities across the UK and abroad. The formats range from murder mysteries to food trails to classic treasure hunts and bespoke team building events.

A self-described ‘tecchy’, 33-year-old Tom began teaching himself web design after studying engineering at Loughborough university and started making puzzle trails for his friends to complete in Harrogate.

That grew into the idea of turning walking tours into digital products, guiding people around a city in interactive ways. Since the launch of what is now CityDays in 2017, the company has grown to provide more than 60 experiences in the UK and around the world and has received corporate commissions from the likes of Facebook, Unilever and Google.

Tom hopes that the games allow people to see cities in new and interesting ways, and visit places they wouldn’t previously have considered. “People will walk on the same street every day and they never look about, or might not read that plaque next to them- and there’s always that little bit of history or a story that you don’t know about,” he previously told The Yorkshire Post.

He is always looking for new ideas – and, seeing the popularity of the TV programme, he approached Studio Lambert and All3Media International about developing a Race Across the World experience game.

“There’s lots of similarities between the show and what we do (at CityDays),” says Tom. “We like to show off the secret hidden sides of a city.

"We like to provide players with an adventure so they get to experience it themselves. They get to make decisions that influence where they're going or how they are interacting with it. And that all aligned with Race Across the World.”

“On the show, you can see people going off the beaten track, not seeing stuff that you would if you took the main roads or the tourist route,” he adds.

“I think that's kind of similar to what we've done with our city games. You could walk anywhere in York, but would you necessarily go away from the flow of people onto the back roads and through other bits of history that you might miss unless someone told you to do so or someone guided you that way?”

After launching the first Race Across the World experience in London last May, Tom was determined to also bring it to his home region, starting the York edition earlier this year. “We have always had products in York,” he says. “We know the level of history there. The architecture is amazing and if you look at a map of York from above, you can see it's almost like a maze in itself - and we’re able to guide players through all that.”

“There's loads of amazing pubs, cafes, and businesses that were excited to kind of become checkpoints and be part of this,” he continues.

“They help us to run a great experience and at the same time we're bringing them customers through their doors. So we end up building these harmonious relationships that show off not just the city streets but also the businesses we partner with.”

The latest development for the company is the recently-launched The Traitors: Anywhere product, bringing the social deduction game from the small screen into WhatsApp group chats.

“You can play with friends over a number of days,” says Tom. “People can get into character as much as they want about being a faithful or a traitor. There's something fun about being sneaky amongst all your friends and hiding your identity and then there’s the grand reveal at the end.”

Just like Race Across the World, the game offers another chance for people to live out a television experience – and with Tom’s track record, I’m sure it won’t be the last opportunity. Visit raceacrosstheworldexperience.com