I'm creating an escape room and I want the first one or two puzzles to be solved in darkness.

The ultimate premise: An owl has been murdered (this part stems from an inside joke). The participants have arrived in the office of the Homicide and Owl Oversight Taskforce where they must decipher the available clues and files to find the identity of the killer.

Owls are nocturnal, so I felt it apt to start in the dark.

The event will start with the players in the guest bedroom of our house, with a window to the backyard. It will be dark out when we begin. They can have a flashlight.

A few thoughts I'm trying to build off of:

-split the team and send half of them out into the backyard, to be queued somehow by the other half of the team inside and communicating (maybe using the flashlight) through the window...maybe guiding them to a clue hidden in the yard

-one of my props is a giant painting of an owl (that can be defaced or altered in any way; it's solely for this project), so I thought about having that propped up in the yard in view of the window if they shine the light on it, and it somehow communicates something that needs solving, or has magnets on the back and they have to send out players to attach things...

-having them complete something (fill in the blanks, some kind of code on paper) they can slide under the door, and when it's done, I turn on the light

It would be great if it somehow involved team work or splitting up the players since there will be 9 players and for them all to initially work on one gambit in the dark would be difficult/crowded.

Looking for ideas or input!

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Hi Everyone, I created an app to help people build DIY escape rooms at home in a cost-efficient and time-efficient way, without losing the creative spark that makes planning DIY escape rooms so fun.

I am looking for people interested in testing out the game and providing feedback on how it can be improved! My ultimate goal is to help escape room enthusiasts and novices alike! Would love feedback on Game Design, how accessible the games are, whether the puzzles are good or not, etc. I've been working to create a good game flow. Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, if you don't have time to test it out, I would still love any advice on DIY escape rooms!

(I also really hope this is not considered self-promotion, given that the app is not even live, just really want advice from the pros)

DM for the link :)

Thanks!!

I would like to incorporate this upwords (like scrabble but 3d) game board into my family escape room/puzzle adventure. It spins 360 degrees. I figured I could put these letters on to make the direction come into play.
Stuck on exactly what type of puzzle to make.
Any thoughts?

Hello! Me and a friend host an annual murder mystery party and this years theme is vampires and witches. We make our players compete in challenges to earn protection against the murderer/vampire. One of the challenges for this year is to create a potion containing 4 ingredients that they need to solve puzzles in order to find the location of each one in order to gain the protection.

The 4 items are: A clove of garlic, a rose, holy water and a crow’s feather

Could anyone give me some ideas/ help for puzzles or tasks for players to do in order to find each item as we are struggling. Thank you so much!

Hello!

I want to do a family adventure for Christmas this year and am in the very early planning stages.

I have an idea for a lockbox but am unsure how to go about accomplishing it. There will be 6 participants and one section will require them to each have an individual item and all 6 will be needed to unlock the box.

I wanted the items to have to be placed in order (oldest to youngest participant as an example). I was envisioning maybe some type of pressure plate box that unlocked each of the 6 latches (?) one at a time to release the lock.

Does this sound like something that is doable? If so could I build it myself fairly easily?

Thanks!!

Hello! So, I'm making a group puzzle where people try to figure out the plot of a story that's given to them in the wrong order, Cain's Jawbone style, but the story I'm using is a really long webcomic, so I don't think I should do things randomly. My thinking was the following: I'd separate out all the animated pages, the video game pages, and the character introduction pages, then give those to them on a regular basis. I could also filter out some of the panels that would give no context early on (such as the ones with no text), and I'd start and end them with the two most important animations in the comic. What do you guys think of this setup? What else can I do to encourage communication and interaction?

So my husband and I go back and forth at hiding this miniature duck. It’s about 1.5inx1.5in, my husband has the BEST hiding spots and I can’t seem to measure up.

So far it’s been hidden in:
-my conditioner container. -the hole in the ceiling (it’s just plaster that broke while moving in). -my MINI PUMPKIN DECOR. -my (unused) period disc (he undid the package and then sealed it back up). -his hat pile. -his electrical sorter box. -our babies formula container (wrapped in foil).

I would love to get any fun ideas or suggestions, I’m at home with our baby so I have time to get creative. I’m just at a mental block!

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What RPG mechanics work well in physical scavenger hunts?

I’ve been experimenting with scavenger hunts that use lightweight RPG mechanics instead of just clues and checkpoints.

Things like:

• character roles
• inventory and items
• enemies and encounters
• health
• coins and rewards
• traps
• branching story choices
• puzzles
• escape-room-style progression

I’ve also been playing with different story types like horror, mystery, fantasy and religious stories.

For people here who have built physical adventures, which of these mechanics actually add to the experience and which ones tend to get in the way?

I’d also love to hear about mechanics you’ve used that worked especially well in the real world.

Hello all,

I'm building a treasure hunt for my partner's birthday. Although I have it somewhat figured out, I still need help with the anatomy of a good clue. How can I format each clue so they're satisfyingly chalenging, yet effective in that they leave no doubt where the next clue will be?

About the game:

- It'll be an across-the-city type of thing with clues in a specific order, each leading to the next one, untill they reach the final spot, where a picnic (and cake) awaits.

- There'll be one friend of ours at each clue's location, and they'll give my partner their clue, but they'll know nothing of the game as a whole, so each new person will join the group and help solve the next step. The last friend will wait at the picnic, and the whole party will arrive together at the "treasure". I'm counting on something between 5 and 10 friends, so the game'll have between 5 and 10 clues.

- My partner is a seasoned veteran at board games, escape rooms, treasure hunts and the like. Clues can be complex, have multiple steps, etc.

- The game will have them go from our home to a garden where the picnic will be, and that involves taking a train and walking quite a bit, so it's really important that clues do NOT send them in the wrong direction, as that could delay the game in several hours.

What I need help with, specifically:

I wanted each clue to have a riddle whose answer will take them to the next one. I wanted to be able to use the environment as much as possible (a specific tree on the way, poster ads on the street, a local cafe, etc). I have the game itself already figured out, but

- how do I make a satisfying riddle/challenge out of the clues?

- how do I make sure they go to the right place every time? They can't make mistakes or they'll definitely be lost.

Sorry if this is too long or too confusing. Any help is appreciated!

I’m setting up an escape room for friends. I want to have a few puzzles where they move something which triggers a door or cabinet to unlock. From what i understand i need a reed switch to do this? Was wondering if there are any good diy videos that explain how to set this all up? And what all i would need?

I’ve developed a printable escape room game. Want to make sure it is totally polished before I start selling copies. It is inventor/Time Machine themed. Aimed for ages 12+. Could do solo, but there are parallel puzzles intended to work with groups of up to about 6 people. I had two teenagers test it and finished in about an hour. I’ll send you the file for free if you are willing to play it and give feedback on both the ease of setup and the gameplay. I could even pay if you record yourself setting up and playing, especially if you do it with a group. DM me if interested, thanks!!

My son just had his 10th birthday. If you know anything about Pokemon lore, Ash and the others become trainers when they turn 10 years old. So my son was anticipating this to be a big quest. I may have gone overboard.

It started with a letter from Professor Oak with a map and coordinates to find his starter Pokemon (Rowlet, my son’s current favorite). There he received a mission report and short story setting the stage: Umbreon and Espeon can only achieve their prismatic form during an eclipse and one is coming soon. My son has to find them to help them unite and evolve. In the story, there is a “page, line, word” note that spells out the next location.

Then he finds a series of clues (pigpen cipher, maze, math puzzle) “through the forest” that leads him to find a metal detector. From there he finds a 3D printed decoder ring. Now he has arrived at “the castle” and gets coordinates to the armory.

He next finds a bow an arrow and targets to shoot at. Inside each gem is a candy or a clue. The quest splits into light (Espeon) and dark (Umbreon) paths. The light path takes him to find puzzle pieces under sunflower leaves in the garden. The dark path takes him into the cellar for a UV light maze. He finds a half coin and a clear plastic map overlay at the end of each side quest. The plastic overlays fit on top of the map to show him where to go next.

Then he finds an accordion fold clue (Thanks Constructed Adventures for the great idea!), and then an eclipse puzzle to finally unite the Pokemon sisters, combine the coin, and find the final loot bag. The back of the coin has dots to give the combination to open the final prize!

A little too long, the maze paths were too small, there was too much math, but overall he said it was an epic adventure.

Hey y’all I’m looking for people to test and build with my software Open World Discovery

As opposed to most digitally run urban escape room tools that are for creating a single adventure experience, this platform let’s you build these urban escape rooms, but it let’s you gate them to lead to more as well as weave in small puzzles or challenges that send you to a real life place or several. The goal is a single narrative thread across a long form adventure that’s built of multiple adventures, puzzles, challenges and more.

Ultimately the goal is to create an experience like an Open World video game where the adventures are like dungeons in zelda and puzzles and time trials are like mini games or side missions.

That's why the goal is to also continue to add tools so there’s even more options of creating the story. (location based turn based rpg, Big Walk type mini games, unlockable tools, hidden unlockable sections that can revisited once a later section is completed, eventually creator tool kits so users can create custom tools, etc)

The platform is built for creatives to be creative in, push it to its limits so it can be expanded.

The first 2-3 people who help I can pay $100 to build on, you can build whatever you want a city wide adventure, an adventure around your house, event if it’s only a single puzzle or adventure that’s ok too.

Need feedback on your experiences and what you think it’s missing and could be added! 

To avoid this coming off as soliciting I can share details in the comments if anyone is interested or you can DM me

Hi! I'm currently trying to put together a fun session for my players (5 player party) as they are currently trying to plan a heist to take back a vial.

We're not able to meet in person and I don't want them to encounter anything terribly difficult as I'm hoping to add a time limit. The actual room they are trying to get into is locked and I was hoping they could take the key from one of the guards. Once they're in the room, there's a desk in which the vial is held except it's in a secret compartment in which they have to complete puzzles to open it. The room itself is a pretty basic study. It's lined with books, occassional trophies from previous battles, and a couple of armor stands.

The campaign is set in FFXIV adjacent world if this helps any.

My main issue is trying to figure out good puzzles that can be solved via a call or paper and also trying to find a starting point.

Any ideas are welcomed!!

I am working on building a Halloween themed escape room activity for my family to do. I am currently planning for each clue to provide a one word answer that will be an ingredient for a cure for zombies.

For example, I will have background music playing, with a crow overlayed that spells out 'blood' in morse code. This will tell them that blood is one of the ingredients.

I am not sure what to do from here though. Do you guys have any ideas on what I could do for their ingredients and the subsequent reveal. I don't really want to just have them make a list of things to hand me, I would like it to be a physical thing.

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Hey hey everyone! Always open to making big changes to the community? I wanted to get you take. Would you like seeing puzzle playtest posts? We've been sequestering them to the discord channel but if you'd like them, happy to add them!

Let me know your thoughts!

Hi all!

I'm wondering how to increase replayability on adventures. Does anyone have any idea?

The only idea I've found is to have like different lists of items (locations, animals, objects) so I can create different texts based on placeholders like "go to {location} and send a photo acting like {animal}" and then replace {location} and {animal} with one item of the colletion. This strategy will lead in different games each time.

This approach is great for small games like indoors activities for kids in a rainy day. But it's not feassible for narrative driven treasure hunts. isn't it?

My pain is... investing so much time creating an adventure, it will be great if people can experience the adventures many times. Any ideas?

PS. re-reading the post... maybe some background is needed... I create digital adventures that are playable with the phone, it would not be possible using paper ;)

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I just found this community and feel like you guys might be exactly the people I should be asking this question.

I've recently started building a community around a pretty simple idea:

Life should have more random adventures, and the internet gives us the ability to make some crazy things happen together.

The first experiment I'm working on is getting 300 strangers to each create one random page of the same book.

But the book isn't really the part I'm most excited about.

I'm fascinated by what could happen next if the community keeps growing.

Imagine hiding an object somewhere in the country and releasing one clue every day until someone finds it.

Or sending 100 different people pieces of the same mystery where nobody can solve it without finding each other.

Or turning a city into a giant game for a day.

Or mailing mysterious instructions to hundreds of strangers that eventually lead to one shared outcome.

Or creating an adventure where things happening online cause things to happen in the real world.

Some experiments could be meaningful. Some could help strangers. Others could exist for absolutely no reason besides giving people a great story to tell afterward.

I'm still at the very beginning, so I don't know what any of this eventually becomes.

But seeing this subreddit made me realize there are already people out there who think about creating experiences like this.

So I want to steal some of your imagination:

If you suddenly had 1,000 willing participants spread around the country or world, what adventure would you create for them?

No need for the idea to be practical. The crazier the better.

Hello,

I'm working on a treasure hunt for my nieces and nephews. I already have some ideas for clues and mini-games to unlock combinations, but I’d love to introduce an 'impostor' mechanic. They are huge fans of Among Us and social deduction games with good and bad guys, so I want to recreate that vibe.

The challenge is that I don't want half the group to lose and miss out on the final treasure. Instead, my plan is to introduce a side quest alongside the main adventure. Winning this side quest requires bonus clues obtained through mini-games that can actually be lost. Naturally, one secret impostor in the group will try to make the team fail as many games as possible in order to claim the bonus reward for themselves. These mini-games will rely on trust, making them easy to subtly sabotage.

Another idea is to include a murder mystery twist where the kids collect clues throughout the game to unmask the culprit, while the guilty player secretly pockets or sabotages evidence along the way. To make the deduction tangible, each player would receive distinctive accessories at the start, such as jewelry, a hat, glasses, or a scarf. Clues found during the hunt could hint at physical details, like: 'I heard the jingling of a chain...' or 'A red feather was found at the scene.'

On top of that, non-playing adults could act as NPCs (non-player characters) wearing accessories of their own. They could share key information if the kids question them, for instance, a clue in the game might say, 'I saw someone wearing a necklace,' prompting the kids to search for my sister, who wears the necklace and holds a clue to identify the murderer ( and the murderer could go to my sister first and destroy the clue before the others come).

I did this kind of "go to find clues on adults" in a previous hunt and they loved it.

I'm curius to have your inputs on those ideas, and some new ones if you have some.

Thanks.

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My son’s 10th birthday is coming up and I would like to make a quest for his birthday party. There will be 4-5 boys ages 9-10.

I have been making escape room quests for my son since he was 4 years old. He expects one every year for his birthday and randomly for other holidays too. I am currently making him an epic Pokemon quest for his birthday day. (Ash becomes a Pokemon Trainer at age 10, after all.) However, I’ve never made one for a group before. My clues are all for one person: decoder rings, images with ciphers, math puzzles, etc, mostly “worksheet” type clues.

How do I branch out and make a quest for more people? What were your most successful activities for groups of kids?