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Make Your Own Escape Room Blueprint

You've found the Designer's Blueprint you've heard whispered about from master Dwarfs crafters. With it, you'll be creating your 1st escape room pronto.
Start Designing
Or, Download a ready to play Kit
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By following this master plan you'll build your own escape room faster, have more fun, and avoid the pitfalls other designers fall into.

Start by claiming your copy of the builders kit made for this guide:

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These step by step worksheets take you through every stage of building your own escape room game:

Step 1: Sketch a captivating story for your escape room

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Your story is more than the brief intros you've heard before walking into an escape room.

It's the foundation you'll build the rest of your game on.

It ensures every last detail feels designed.

It's also one of the most fun parts of designing your own escape game. (And I should know, I've been doing this for years! Let me tell you the story)

So, grab your inkwell and quill and start by answering these questions:

Can't I just jump right to the puzzles?

Sure, you can just give your players a series of unrelated puzzles to solve, but your game is going to feel super random, and very frustrating.

Part of the fun of escape rooms and similar games is the storytelling element. If people just want to solve puzzles, they can pick up a copy of Games World of Puzzles magazine.

Conversely, when people play adventure games they want to know why the puzzles need to be solved. They want to feel like they're moving toward a satisfying outcome above and beyond just finding the right answer. They want a quest!

Therefore, if you don't plan your story elements first, your puzzles will be unrelated and, thus, not as fun to solve. Additionally, your game will probably become too hard as players won't know which clues relate to which challenge.

For example:

Imagine a problem in which players need to find the unlock code to access an iPhone. You could make a cipher that reveals the answer, but where are you going to write it?

  • Frustration Option: Hiding the cipher under a chair gives the players no clue what to do with it. There's just no logical connection to the phone without trial and error. Trial and error get's frustrating fast!
  • Fun Option: Writing the cipher on the side of an iPhone charge cable shows players that these objects are connected in some way and makes a magical 'a-ha' moment when they realise the connection.

Choosing the Fun Option will mean players don't get frustrated and start yelling at you.

Not being yelled at is great.

Now, let's start writing that story...

Who will be playing your DIY escape room game?

Ask us anything about Rebel Revolt

The theme, game length, and puzzle complexity all depend upon the answer to this question.

For example, your 8-year-old 'My Little Pony' fan and her friends would feel more at home in an enchanted winter wonderland than a suave 1920s-themed mystery. Add puzzles that require advanced logic skills and your little players have already checked out!

So, start with your target audience and work from there.

Our Example:

For our game, we're going to be making a DIY escape room for a 12-year-old kids birthday party. Her name is Eva and she loves playing escape room games on her tablet. She's also annoyed she never gets to play with her parents. Until now...

It will involve 1 adult to introduce the game and answer hints.

How long will the escape game last?

Shirley Watson solving a murder
Most escape rooms last 45-60 minutes, however, this is largely so they can get more players through.

You have the freedom to do whatever you like!

It could be anything from a 10-minute icebreaker for your classroom to a whole day-long scavenger hunt around your neighbourhood. Better yet, why not do a scale-recreation of the One Ring's journey into Mordor!

Here are things to think about:

   • Kids get bored after 30-45 minutes.
   • If you have a larger group, think about how long it will take for everyone to have a go. For example, 5 teams and a single room could require over 5 hours to complete!
   • If it's your first DIY escape room keep the playtime under 30 minutes so you'll be playing sooner and are less likely to give up before finishing. Even this is a lot of work.



OUR EXAMPLE:

We would love to play our escape room at Eva's upcoming birthday party where she'll have 7 of her classmates over.

To allow the kids to play at the same time we'll break them into 2 teams and set up the same escape game in two different locations before the party starts - living room and backyard.

To make setup easier, and cheaper, we'll use a mix of printed puzzles and real locks.

What's your escape room's theme or flavor?

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WE'RE BUILDING AN EGYPTIAN THEMED ROOM SINCE EVA'S BEEN STUDYING IT AT SCHOOL AND CURRENTLY KNOWS KING TUTANKHAMUN'S BIRTHDAY BETTER THAN YOUR OWN...
Here's where your imagination gets to run wild.

Some great sources of inspiration are your favorite movies, games, books, past escape rooms you've played, or our big bag of enchanted escape room theme ideas..

Long story short, just choose an escape room theme you love. As long as it's not boring ...

... But then again, if you're the sort of person who enjoys boring stories, you're probably not reading this article.

Remember:

   • Players will use their imagination. So, use a Post-It-Note to transform that egg flip into a Lightsaber.

   • You're not making this game for publication, so you don't need to worry about copyright issues. Therefore, if your kids know every word to every song on Disney's Frozen it's time to transform your living room into Arendelle. (Tip: Get a head-start by using our Frost escape room kit)

   • Keep the story simple for your first DIY escape room. One overall goal is best.

   • Kids and teens enjoy 'saving the world'. Conversely, adults enjoy nuanced challenges like 'Hacking the office computer to increase the Christmas party budget'.

   • If you're after some inspiration check out our bag of enchanted escape game themes.


OUR EXAMPLE

Eva's been studying Egypt at school and current knows King Tutankhamun's birthday better than your own... so we're going to explore Egypt.

She also loves hiking with the Girl Scouts so we'll have them hiking through modern-day Egypt when they stumble upon an ancient tomb.

(For now, this is as detailed as you want your theme to be. We're covering the story in more detail below).

What's the Quest your players are trying to complete?

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Having a goal, and knowing something dire is in store if that goal is not reached, adds urgency and an extra level of fun to your adventure.

So, you already decided on a theme. What is your player's goal?

"Thwart creepy, evil Sherlock's plan to assassinate the chief of police"? Awesome.

"Help the Wolfpack work out what really happened in Vegas"? Classy.

"Explore the Winter Faire before your magical whisp-friend loses it's memories, forever"? Magical.

"Find a dangerous artifact and return it to its proper place in the warehouse"? Epic.

"Solve a murder before your party runs out of drinks"? Can't beat a classic!

"Save the cheerleader, save the world?" Obscure already?

"Escape from your mom's place"? Ummm … maybe pass on that one …

Hold up... some of those aren't about escaping?!

Although we might refer to your game as an “escape room” or an “escape game,” feel free to move away from the traditional “Escape from Cell Block Z” storyline.

Your players don’t necessarily have to escape from anything; as long as they have a goal and a reason they need to complete it within a given time frame, you’re all set!

Things like breaking into a bank vault, hacking the FBI database, curing a zombie virus, or navigating a psychological journey through depression (how deep do you want to go?), are fair game.

Our Example

Since tombs are everywhere in Egypt, we're going to have Eva and her friends get stuck in a long-forgotten tomb.

Their goal will be to get out!

Download the FREE escape room builders kit made for this guide:

This kit is the blueprint you need to get started crafting your DIY escape room masterpiece. Complete with step by step instructions, editable templates, and fun puzzles. Signup below to download the kit and start designing:

What Doomsday event will happen if players don't succeed?

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Every Hobbit needs a reason to keep adventuring.

Your escape players need a reason to achieve the goal. Something negative that will 'happen' if they don't achieve it.

Obviously, since this horrible thing isn't actually going to happen to anyone in your group, you can be pretty imaginative (and twisted, if that's your thing).

Here are some ideas:

   • Fail to repair the time machine? Get trapped in that past with a bunch of dinosaurs like in our Escape Quest game.

   • Fail to find the secret Nazi plans? Live forever in a world in which the fascists won WWII.

   • Fail to get Princess Peony back to the Garden of Eternal Happiness before she wilts? Eternal Not-Happiness.

   • Fail to defuse the bomb? You'll never know...


You can even add a real-life event like:

   • You'll add extra $$ to the bar tab for each team that completes the escape room at your team building day. So each team wants to succeed to not let their colleagues down.

   • Middle school aged kids will need to drink a 'gross' thick shake made of crisps, M&M's, ketchup, and milk. (Admit it, you were like this once too).

   • The losing team at a dinner party pays for the pizza.


So, what's your Doomsday Event?


OUR EXAMPLE

If Eva and her friends can't get out of the tomb they'll become mummies themselves. Gasp!

They'll also have to drink 'mummy juice' from a canopic jar to survive as long as possible. (Well, survive long enough for you to give them a hint anyway).

What are players doing at the start of the quest?

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Most people don't wander around on a daily basis looking for opportunities to save the world.

Unless they're Batman. In which case, you're good to go.

For everyone else, your story should begin with some kind of "Everything is peaceful and ordinary until …" Like:

   • Gulp... the building lift just stopped. And you need to go to the toilet...

   • The dragons used to be kind and caring. However, on your birthday morning you woke up they'd destroyed the party decorations and eaten the cake!

   • You're a team running a busy New York cafe with customers out the door. Everything is good until the coffee machine breaks at 8:45am...


Your players may be themselves. Or you can give them identities that fit within your theme like archaeologists, spies, classy detectives, village-girl-turned-hero, fairy godmothers, soccer moms, or even pizza starved zombies.

Go ahead and write yours down. You can now link your answers together like this:

You're [doing this thing] when [something happens]. You must now [accomplish this goal] before [this horrible thing occurs].

Your escape room theme and story is now well underway. Now it's time to build it out ready to add puzzles too.


OUR EXAMPLE:

Since Eva loves hiking with Girl Scouts we'll start our quest with a group of friends hiking through modern day Egypt. The ground will shake and they'll fall into an ancient lost tomb.

The full story so far for our Egypt themed escape room is:
You're walking beside the River Nile when you feel the ground shift, and you tumble down a stony shaft into a long-abandoned tomb. You must now find your way out before the tomb becomes your own.

Need a hand? Grab this builders kit:

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Our Escape Room Master Class is loaded with printable content to help you design your first escape room game... easy!

All the ready-to-play puzzles, templates, printable props and step-by-step guides you need are here. It's game design simplified.

Perfect for holiday family fun, or super engaging classroom lessons.

Check out the Escape Room Master Class

What are the story building blocks we can attach escape room puzzles to?

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Yes! We're getting closer to putting puzzles in. (Just hang in there, you'll be able to unleash your evil mastermind soon enough!)

The best way to achieve this is to outline the basic building blocks that make up the middle of your story. Each of these will then become a puzzle in your escape room.

So, what do your players need to do to move from the start to the end of your quest? Jot them down as 3-6 dot points like:

In order to [accomplish this goal], you must:
   • [Do this]
   • [Do this]
   • And [Do this].

Keep it fairly simple so your game doesn't get too complex or long.


OUR EXAMPLE

To find your way out, you must discover a way through 3 rooms:

Tomb opening: Open a stone door by decoding an ancient message.

Sarcophagus room: Solve the mummy's riddle by balancing the mummy's heart and the feather of truth.

Maze: Work out the directions to navigate their way through a maze and out of the tomb.

Choose which objects will be in your escape game

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We're jumping ahead a little, but here's what some of the objects ended up looking like in The Lost Mummy.
It's now time to connect your story's building blocks with objects that will exist in your escape room. We're going to directly convert this list into puzzles.

So, open up your imagination and write down what your players will see, hear, and find next to each of the dot point challenges you've written down. Don't worry about making it perfect as we just want lots of ideas to help with making puzzles fit together in a logical way.


OUR EXAMPLE

In The Lost Mummy, players will find these objects:

Tomb opening:
   • Hieroglyphics (I can already tell these will make a great code to decipher!).
   • A hieroglyphic decoder (like the Rosetta stone).
   • Stone walls and doors.
   • Pile of rocks that once fit together.
   • Lots of sand.

Sarcophagus room:
   • A sarcophagus with a mummy inside.
   • Paintings on the walls.
   • Treasure.
   • Canopic jars full of guts

Maze:
   • Engineer's drawings of the tombs maze.
   • Ancient tools for measuring and drawing.
   • Miniature models of buildings and statues.

Finalise your mysterious story plan

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We're ready to pull our story plan together.

Exciting!

Combine all your answers into a short story. Include, and highlight, the objects from your list as these will become puzzles very soon.

Don't worry about making it perfect as this is just the plan to help you make the game. The final story you tell players will be much shorter and not give away what's going on!

Our Example

You're walking beside the River Nile when you feel the ground shift, and you tumble down a stony shaft into a long-abandoned tomb. You must now find your way out before the tomb becomes your own.

Everything around you is ancient, dusty, and silent. You realize that no other human has set foot in here for centuries. Mysterious paintings decorate the stone walls, and priceless artifacts are stacked against the walls.

Tomb Opening

The chamber you've landed in is too deep for you to climb out, and a large stone door adorned with hieroglyphic writing appears to be the only exit. There's a large rock, similar to the Rosetta stone you saw on YouTube, as well as a pile of old stones that appear to fit together somehow.

Since you can't get out the way you came in, you must figure out how to open the stone door.

Sarcophagus room

Once you make it through the stone door, you find yourself in a chamber with a large sarcophagus in its center and no apparent way out, aside from the door you just came through. Canopic jars full of guts sit nearby. In order to get past the sarcophagus, you must weigh the mummy's heart against the feather of truth.

If the heart weighs the same, a secret door appears behind the sarcophagus. You crawl through it and find yourself in a third chamber that leads into a maze.

Maze

In order to find your way out of the tomb, you must navigate through the maze by reconstructing the original engineer's plans.

Once you make it through the maze, you discover a tunnel that leads to the surface and you escape to your freedom!

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Boom! You finished Step 1. Onto the escape room puzzles...

Before you go on, are you short on time?

If you're finding this is taking too long why not download one of these printable escape room kits. They're ready-to-play games that you can customize before printing. That way, you get the experience of being the designer without all the grunt work.

Which one looks the most fun to you?

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Adults
Kids
Rebel revolt spy kit half
Rebel Revolt (Spy Mission)
Teen parties (14+)
Treasonous spy mission to take down a government facility.
4+ Players
Show me
FAVORITE
Envy escape room box half logo
Envy (Murder Mystery)
Adult Parties 
1920's Gatsby-style murder mystery of debaucherous luxury.
4+ Players
Show me
Escape room z half
Escape Room Z (Zombies!)
Adult Parties
Comical zombie thriller with a deadly splash of infectious z-virus.
4+ Players
Show me
Frost escape box half
Frost (Magical Quest)
Kids parties
Can your kids help the magical forest Wisp in time?
Ages 8-12
Show me
FAVORITE
Lost mummy kit half
Lost Mummy (Adventure!)
Kids School Parties
Unearth Egypt's ancient secrets in the Lost Mummy.
Ages 10+
Show me
Escape Quest half
Escape Quest (Time Travel)
Younger kids parties
Fix the time machine using relics from across the ages.
Ages 6-9
Show me

Step 2: Plan Some Mysterious Escape Room Puzzles

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Time to get your hands dirty.

Like, real dirty!

Because thinking about making up puzzles is a lot easier than actually doing it. However, the story plan you've written will save you hours of time and days of frustration.

The thing to keep in mind is that you're creating this game for folks you know. It doesn't have to be perfect … it just needs to be fun. So don't go overboard trying to devise the challenge of the century.

Convert your Story Plan into Post-it-Notes

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Go through your story plan challenges and jot down a type of puzzle format that feels natural for it. For example:

   • Navigating from one room in your house could require players to solve a maze (like in our 'Envy' escape game).

   • Opening a lock might require a numeric code of 4 digits. (Or maybe just a secret passphrase, like it does in our 'Frost' escape game).

   • Discovering a secret suggests a cipher like a coded note or postcard.

   • Defeating zombies obviously requires a nerf gun (or you just want to play with a Nerf gun. But hey, whatever works right).

Tip: At this point, you may realize you need to make some adjustments to your story. That's perfectly okay! Your story isn't written in stone … (it isn't, right?) Go ahead and change whatever you need to make your puzzle ideas fit your narrative. Epic quests are rarely linear ... and neither is storytelling.

You can create a few completely separate puzzles or (more fun, but also more work) string several challenges together so that players must find the answer to one in order to solve the next, and so on. (If you're interested in designing a game for publication, you'll definitely want to do the latter; check out the Advanced Tutorial for tips on doing this.)

Either way, if you're making a game for kids, I recommend including at least one active challenge, like tossing bean bag "jewels" into a basket blindfolded, manoeuvring through a "laser maze" made of string, or hitting a target with a water balloon.

What am I saying? Even if you're making a game for adults, throw in one or two of these challenges. Being a grownup is no reason to stop playing with water balloons!

Here's a big list of DIY escape room puzzles you can create at home. Pick out your favorites (or make up some of your own!) and decide how you'll present them to your victims players.

Finding the best escape room puzzle ideas

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As I was writing the narrative for The Lost Mummy, I was already imagining some of the puzzle possibilities.

Challenge 1: Figure out how to open the stone door

For this puzzle, I decided to give players a set of "stones" that needed to be arranged in the correct order to find a numeric code.

Once players found the numeric code, they'd receive a cipher puzzle using hieroglyphics. The solution to this earned them the next set of cards.

Challenge 2: Weigh the mummy's heart against the feather of truth

For the second challenge, players had to determine which organs were stored in which jars, then solve a simple riddle to place the jars in the correct order (from left to right).

Once this was complete, the weight of the heart could be calculated and compared to the weight of the feather. If they matched, they received the final set of cards.

Challenge 3: Navigate through the maze by reconstructing the original engineer's plans

Here, players had to use clues to determine where certain landmarks would be found within the maze, then use their cipher-decoding skills to find the correct path to the end.

If you'd like a head start there's some easy to edit puzzles in this free downloadable.

This kit is the blueprint you need to get started crafting your DIY escape room masterpiece. Complete with step by step instructions, editable templates, and fun puzzles. Signup below to download the kit and start designing:



Decide How You'll Present Each puzzle to Your Players

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I know what you're thinking.
"Didn't we already do this?"

The answer is, "Kind of."

We came up with some awesome ideas, but now we have to figure out exactly how they'll look when players encounter them. This is where evil genius begins getting practical!


Here are some examples:

   • Physical challenges may need props or setup (a string laser maze is only cool if you - you know - get string and tie it to stuff).

   • Pencil-and-paper puzzles can be presented on a (wait for it …) piece of paper. Obviously, this is way more fun if you give your piece of paper some thematic touches.

   • Riddles can be written or spoken aloud.

   • You can hang signs on things around your house to tell your players what imaginary objects they're looking at ("This door is a portal to Pylea. You can only go through it in the convertible.")

   • You can tell your students the floor is lava, or you can place red construction paper in the areas where they can't touch the floor.

   • You can use real combination locks (players will know if they got the right code if the lock opens) or you can give them a picture of a lock and tell them if they got the code right. (This youth pastor made a simple combination lock the centrepiece of an exciting escape room event for his group)

   • Got clues the escapees will need? Hide, stash, and store them anywhere hard to find.

Designing the escape room puzzles

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First, I realized that The Lost Mummy players aren't psychic. They're 12, so they will need a set of clues. I created a simple clue-delivery method in the form of an explorer's journal, filled with scribbled notes that would come in handy during the game.



Challenge 1: Figure out how to open the stone door.

For this puzzle, I decided to give players a set of "stones" that needed to be arranged in the correct order to find a numeric code.

The stones became game pieces that could be cut out with scissors and arranged on another image.

Once players found the numeric code, they'd receive a cipher puzzle using hieroglyphics. The solution to this earned them the next set of cards.

Clues in the journal and a cipher-key game card provided players the information they needed to solve the cipher. Again, I added game pieces that could be cut out with scissors and arranged on a game card to add interactive fun.

Challenge 2: Weigh the mummy's heart against the feather of truth.

For the second challenge, players had to determine which organs were stored in which jars, then solve a simple riddle to place the jars in the correct order (from left to right).

This challenge included clues in the journal, an anagram, and a series of arithmetic equations to figure out the contents of the jars.

A jigsaw puzzle (again, pieces players cut out with scissors) revealed the riddle for the jar order.

Once this was complete, the weight of the heart could be calculated and compared to the weight of the feather. If they matched, they received the final set of cards.

The equation results from the jars came into play here to calculate the weight of the heart. Players then had to figure out the weight of the feather using visual clues on the card.

Challenge 3: Navigate through the maze by reconstructing the original engineer's plans.

Here, players had to use clues to determine where certain landmarks would be found within the maze, then use their cipher-decoding skills to find the correct path to the end.

This was the final challenge, so I wanted to make it particularly exciting. It involved cutting out pieces, then folding and taping them into three-dimensional objects (four obelisks and a pyramid). Using hints in the journal, these items could be arranged upon a map on a game card.

Once the pieces were arranged correctly, the cipher key from the original challenge and hints in the journal were used to translate the directions (right and left plus numbers of "turns").

Make a "Shopping List"

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Now that you've decided how you'll present your puzzles, make a list of the items you'll need to completely create each one. (Note this is a list of items that you need. If your list includes an enchanted sword and a warp-drive, you're probably doing something wrong... or very, very right!)

This is easy for the physical challenges. If you need balloons or string or hoola-hoops or bean bags, write it all down.

If you need a series of signs, write down what you need and what they'll say.

Of course, you'll need drinks and snacks if you're going to host a fashionably high-brow house party.

If your players will need a cipher key, write down whether it's going to be in a conveniently placed book or hidden in the image on one of your game cards or spelled out in refrigerator alphabet magnets.

Also, if you plan to use a cipher, you'll need to write down your original message and then write it out as it will look in the cipher. For now, it's enough to just have these things figured out. When you get to Step 3, you can make them look all cool and stuff.

For example, if one of your puzzles is a cipher written in Morse code, write out the actual message as it will appear. Then, since few people know Morse code these days, you'll also need to determine how to provide a lookup chart somewhere, either in your game cards or in the room where you'll be playing the game.

Example shopping list when we made our own escape room

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Because I wanted The Lost Mummy game to be playable as soon as it was printed, I didn't include any puzzles that required props (although there were plenty of places where props could add to the fun!).

Here's what I needed to create:

   • A set of cards to stand in for the journal with clues scattered throughout the pages.

   • An image of the "door" with "recessed spots" where a set of "stones" would be positioned and hints regarding their correct placement.

   • Images of the four "stones" containing images that matched up to the hints on the door.

   • A card containing a "Rosetta stone" displaying part of a cipher key and a set of cut-out pieces to complete the key.

   • A message written in hieroglyphics.

   • A card containing an image of a set of four canopic jars with anagrams and equations on them.

   • A card containing a cut-out jigsaw puzzle with a riddle written on it.

   • A place to record the jar placement with another arithmetic equation on it and a picture of a feather with clues to calculate its weight.

   • A card containing a map with spaces to place the three-dimensional pieces.

   • A set of cards containing the outlines of each three-dimensional piece that would fit perfectly on the map once cut out and taped together.

   • A few cards introducing the story, explaining the transitions, and congratulating players at the end.
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Step 2 done. Let's Start Building!

Step 3: Build Your Escape Room

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What You'll Need:
 • 1. Your imagination
 • 2. The items on your shopping list
 • 3. A decision: Do you want to make digital or non-digital (analog) cards?

Digital Format:
   • This PowerPoint template
   • Theme-related images (downloaded)

Analog Format:
   • A set of 5" x 8" index cards
   • Theme-related images (drawn, printed, cut from magazines … it's up to you)
   • Art supplies if drawing; glue if using printed or cut-out images
   • A goblin workforce (ok, not essential, but super helpful!)


Time to Complete Step 3:
4-6 hours

Step 3 Roadmap:
   • Decide How Many Cards You'll Need
   • Show Off Your Mad Design Skills

Should I use the PowerPoint template or the index cards?

I prefer using PowerPoint because:

  • My handwriting's terrible.
  • I can download pictures from the internet and paste them onto the slides instead of drawing my own or physically gluing images to index cards.
  • The slides have a polished, professional look when I print them.

Having said that, as long as each puzzle's entirely solvable, it doesn't matter how your game is made. So if inkwell and goose feather is your thing, go nuts!

Use This Free Downloadable To Start Making Puzzles The Easy Way:

This kit is designed to help you through this blueprint's guide and comes with a bunch of easy to edit puzzles that get you started right now. Drop your name in below to get going:



Decide How Many Cards Or Pages You Need

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Everyone knows counting cards in Vegas is a great way to get banned from the city for life.
In this case, though, I recommend it.

Look over your story and figure out which elements need game cards and which do not. Some of this will be determined by how much of your narrative you want to share out loud and how much of it will be written down.


Here are some tips:

   • If you want to give your game an extra little professional flourish, create a title card with the name of your game and a picture that sets the mood. Add "An Escape Adventure By [Your Name]" to it if you want. Take pride in your work!

   • You can tell your players who they are, where they are are, and what their mission is, or you can make an introductory card that introduces the story and fills the players in on their quest. Use images that establish the setting and tone of your narrative.

   • When you completed Step 2, you figured out how each puzzle will be delivered. If the delivery method for any of your puzzles is paper, that's a card (or several)!

   • Make cards for any cypher keys you don't plan to use actual objects for. Blend the key in with the images or text on the card. Don't make it too easy to find!

Example from our escape game

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The Lost Mummy game has 18 cards.

    • 1. Title page

    • 2. Story intro

    • 3-6. Journal pages (to provide clues)

    • 7. Door puzzle

    • 8. Rosetta Stone

    • 9. Cipher puzzle

    • 10. Story transition from first chamber to second chamber

    • 11-12. Canopic jar and weight-of-the-heart puzzles

    • 13. Story transition from second chamber to third chamber

    • 14-17. 3-dimensional pieces and map for final maze puzzle

    • 18. Final story card heralding escape

Show Off Your Mad Design Skills

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At this point, you've already done all the hard work. This step is just taking all the ideas and sketches and puzzle designs and turning them into a playable game.

You can draw on index cards.

You can glue pictures you printed or found in magazines to index cards.

Or you can use the PowerPoint template I've provided. This gives you a lot of extra design options since you can find images online that match what you want, use fancy fonts to write your instructions, and even print the whole thing on thick cardstock at an office store if you want it to look super polished and professional.

It's just a matter of adding spit, shine, and a little magic!

Here's the Final Escape Game I Made:

Lost mummy kit half

The example storyline, puzzles, and photos in this guide are from The Lost Mummy, a kid's escape room kit I co-designed.

Although it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun.

You can download the final game here. It's a great activity for birthday parties, Ancient-Egypt units in school, youth groups, and more!

$29

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You did it! Your escape room should be ready to play.

Step 4: Theme it up with these escape room design hacks

Dress the Part with themed costumes

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If your crew's up for it, breaking out the costumes is one surefire way to heighten the fun and boost the imagination!

    • Sherlock theme? Grab an overcoat and scarf.

    • Frozen? Glam up your princesses (or use the printable dress-props that come with Frost)

    • Escaping from Cell Block 52? Rock up in your pyjamas.

    • Wizarding school? Break out your finest dress robes.

    • Zombie theme? Um ... tomato sauce?

Add props to your escape room

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Buy some cheap DIY props that get the atmosphere cranking.

    • Candles or battery powered lanterns take your crew back to the past.

    • Glow sticks add a futuristic or post-apocalyptic dynamic.

Make some photo booth props

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For at least one of your friends this will be as much fun as the entire rest of the escape room. No joke, prepare to facepalm when they've said 'just one more photo' for the 7th time...

We've bundled extra photobooth props in both our Frost Escape kit and Envy Escape kit. And they're a riot of fun! Depending on your theme you can either make these by hand, and stick them onto sticks for awesome posing, or jump on Etsy to look for a kit that matches your tastes.

Pro tip: this is a great way to have fun with your crew while waiting for everyone to arrive. As each person drips in, get them to peruse the photo booth offerings and tape the props to their costume for the night.

You can even go all out and ask each player to role-play a character complete with accent and ridiculous personality. This ups the laugher count on the night to no end!

Psst... you can download the photo booth props in the pic above for free here:

The props above come for free in our DIY escape room Builders Kit. It's totally free and a great way to start theming up your game. Just drop your email in below and we'll send the kit to your inbox.



Use background music to set the feel

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The only issue with doing an escape room at home is that your TV and couch combo aren't exactly Sherlock themed ...

Here's where background music totally crushes it!

There are a bunch of free soundtracks on this background music site.

You can also search YouTube for "[theme] background music," and you may find exactly what you're looking for.

For example, typing in "zombie background music" takes you to this page, which features a number of different options of different lengths.

Finally, you can search for music genres (like jazz or swing) on Spotify and make your own playlist or use a pre-made one. Start it up as your guests arrive to set the mood.

Host a Fabulous Feast

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If you're a foodie (or you just want an excuse to use blue food coloring in something), make the evening an escape dinner party and theme up the menu.

Breaking out of the slam? Pass around cheap white bread and water instead of hors d'oeuvres.

Stealing a senator's little black book at a gala fundraiser? Fancy canapes on silver trays are just the ticket.

Trying to find a cure before zombies break through? Might be a good time to pass around some green and red jello.

Wizard school hijinx? Bring on the Butterbeer!

Play Your New Escape Room Game!

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You did it!

You designed a DIY escape room adventure kit!

I told you it wasn't easy, and you just jumped in and crushed it anyway! Legend!

So, obviously "play your game" wasn't one of the three steps to designing your game, but now that your game is finished, it shouldn't just live on your hard drive or in a drawer somewhere!

You've worked hard on this. Go ahead and show it off!

Invite your friends and family over.

Play it in your classroom or at work!

Finally, if you're planning an epic escape party, consider going all out with these bonus tips.

You crushed it!

You did it, you sly, devious mastermind, you!

Maybe you tried your hand at designing a game. Maybe you decided to purchase one of our ready-to-play kits. Either way, you stretched your imagination muscles, and I'm betting you had a ton of laughs.

Plus, escape games encourage folks to use their imaginations, to think critically, to use their problem-solving and communication skills, and to live in the moment. Notice how everyone put their phones down when the game began? You made that happen.

Take yourself out to dinner, enjoy some champagne or sparkling juice, and feel like the rock star that you are!

If you did design a game, drop me a line and let me know how it went. Did your crew enjoy it? What did you learn from the process? Why not use what you learned creating this one to start another one? You'll find that the more times you go through the process, the easier it becomes.

OR, try this! Design a game with your kids or students! Teach them to use their imaginations to develop stories and think through puzzle elements. They'll learn invaluable skills and have a ton of fun sharing their games with their friends.

Finally, if you design a game that works out really well, Lock Paper Scissors is always looking for game-design partners to join the ranks of the escape wizards. Make sure you read these advanced tips and make the applicable adjustments to your game, then shoot us a message and we'll talk it through.

These printable escape room kits are ready to play right now!

 In a hurry? Grab one of these printable escape room kits.

They download instantly and are ready to print and party.

You can even edit the game using PowerPoint to add your own style and puzzles.

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Adults
Kids
Rebel revolt spy kit half
Rebel Revolt (Spy Mission)
Teen parties (14+)
Treasonous spy mission to take down a government facility.
4+ Players
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Envy (Murder Mystery)
Adult Parties 
1920's Gatsby-style murder mystery of debaucherous luxury.
4+ Players
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Escape room z half
Escape Room Z (Zombies!)
Adult Parties
Comical zombie thriller with a deadly splash of infectious z-virus.
4+ Players
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Frost escape box half
Frost (Magical Quest)
Kids parties
Can your kids help the magical forest Wisp in time?
Ages 8-12
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FAVORITE
Lost mummy kit half
Lost Mummy (Adventure!)
Kids School Parties
Unearth Egypt's ancient secrets in the Lost Mummy.
Ages 10+
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Escape Quest half
Escape Quest (Time Travel)
Younger kids parties
Fix the time machine using relics from across the ages.
Ages 6-9
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Save massive $$ by grabbing a whole box of escape kits:
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    KIDS BOX $49
    4x Escape Room Kits
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    Rebel Revolt
    Escape Quest
    Frost
    Bonus: Treasure Map Pack
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    $49

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    HALLOWEEN BOX $49
    4x Escape Room Kits
    Envy
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    $99

Kids escape room box
KIDS BOX $49
4x Escape Room Kits for
Lost Mummy
Rebel Revolt
Escape Quest
Frost
Bonus: Treasure Map Pack
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$49

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BIG BOX $49
4x Escape Room Kits
Envy
Escape Room Z
Lost Mummy
Rebel Revolt
Bonus: Skulls Card Game
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$49

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VIP BOX $99
Our Biggest Box
All our escape kits (6x)
Envy, Lost Mummy,
Escape Room Z, Rebel Revolt, Escape Quest & Frost
VIP early access to games
5x kids edu-venture games
Valentine's, Halloween, Thanksgiving, & Christmas packs
Bonus: Treasure Map pack
Bonus: Skulls Card Game
Lifetime FREE copies of all future games. Boom!
Show Me

$99

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