Secret Shelter Challenge: time-travel deep underground

This game is part of the Musemio app, which is designed for children aged 8-11 with a curious and open mind. The experience has been co-created and tested with children of different ages.

Secret Shelter Challenge is available on the Musemio app, which offers both mobile VR and 2D gameplay. The game is fully interactive and players complete a variety of challenges that involve quizzes, riddles and scavenger hunt to unlock the hidden past.

The app’s unique movement style allows players to move smoothly around the game-world and a simple click of a button or tap of the screen means players can interact with objects and characters they encounter.

Musemio collaborated with the Museum’s Hidden London team to bring this story to life. Historic photos and videos of Clapham South Shelter allowed the Musemio team to recreate and interpret the space, maintaining the dimensions and overall atmosphere of the shelter. The storytelling aspects of the game set out to deliver an exciting but factually accurate historical account with a hint of magic to evoke curiosity and inspire children’s imaginations.

Before scriptwriting began, London Transport Museum and Musemio ran child-led workshops, where 12 children imagined themselves in 10-year old Margaret’s shoes and helped us curate the adventures that await in Secret Shelter Challenge.

Children have helped us to create a narrative rooted in 1944, but with strong relevance to their modern life. Children told us what questions they wanted to ask Margaret, many of which they would ask their own friends. For example, does she go to school? Or does she have friends in the deep-level shelter? Additional characters include Queen Mouse and a Grumpy Teddy left behind by a young visitor. All of these elements were brought to life and originated from our young creators’ imaginations.

Musemio and the Museum decided where it would be appropriate to introduce an element of creative interpretation to fully integrate children’s ideas into the experience. For example, a storage room or ‘a secret hatch’ is not part of the real Clapham South deep-level shelter, but was added into the game following children’s recommendations.

Secret Shelter Challenge is available in mobile VR (which requires a cardboard headset) and 2D. The app is compatible with most modern smartphones and can be played on various tablets.

The app works best VR on iPhone X and higher, Samsung 10 and higher, or similar. The game also works well on most tablets released after 2018. Depending on the usage of your device and the capacity of different phones to process the game assets, in some cases it can also work with older versions of the devices.

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about using the app and playing the game on the Musemio FAQ page.

If you have any problems starting the app, please email [email protected], mentioning your phone model and operating system version, for help.

Yes, the mobile Virtual Reality used to deliver Secret Shelter Challenge, involving a cardboard headset and a smartphone, is safe for children.

The experience was designed together with children, and tested with different age groups, in sessions lasting no longer than 30 minutes. There are no sudden movements (as in the VR rollercoaster experience) that can cause children to feel nauseous, and it was optimised to make it as comfortable as possible for children to play. If the child feels uncomfortable at any point, we advise them to remove the VR headset. VR should always be played under parents’ supervision.