Paper and Pencil

Puzzles like crosswords and word finds are a common feature in newspapers and other periodicals. Such paper-and-pencil puzzles can be featured as part of an escape room.

That said, escape room players probably have not come to simply solve paper-and-pencil puzzles, which are readily available in books and the internet. Rather, the escape room should add a twist to the puzzle. The paper-and-pencil puzzle will likely be fairly simple because it is really serving as a key to a more unfamiliar puzzle.

Here are some suggestions on how to turn a simple paper-and-pencil into a puzzle to incorporate into an escape room.

	Crossword Lookup Use the solution of a crossword puzzle as a word lookup to find a code.
	Horizontal Fill In Solving for words in a list reveals a crosswise code word.
	Symbol Algebra Make a simple algebra problem with symbols instead of letters.
	Word Find Hide a code in a word find puzzle.
	Nonogram Use logic to fill in squares that reveal a code.