Crossword Lookup

The crossword lookup is a 2-part puzzle. In the first part the players solve a crossword puzzle. The crossword puzzle should be easy because really it is just a distraction. In the second part, the players have to realize that the words in the crossword answers match a sequence of objects or words elsewhere in the room. The players can then replace the words with the number of the word in the crossword to get a number code. (This is much like the code-word lookup puzzle except the word lookup is less obvious.)

Here is an example of how this puzzle might work. We could start with providing this crossword.

Players need to solve this puzzle. Here is the completed crossword.

Again, the crossword should be easy to complete. You can provide some answers before you start to help.

At first, solving the crossword does not seem to have helped. But, the second part of the puzzle is a sequence of items. For example, this shelf of animal figurines.

On this shelf are 4 animals in the following order: dolphin, rabbit, dragon, and seal. The trick is to recognize that these words are also in the crossword. As with any crossword, each word has a number associated with it. In this case, dolphin is clue 3, rabbit is clue 1, dragon is clue 2, and seal is clue 6. Doing the word-number substitution we get the code 3126, which can be used on a combination lock to open a box or room.

Note that you will probably need to create your own crossword to implement this puzzle with words that match what you are matching them to. Because the crossword is meant to be simple, creating it should also be simple. To help, you should be able to find several sites to create a puzzle from words that you provide with a simple internet search.

Horizontal Fill In

In the horizontal fill in puzzle, players must fill in a list of words based on clues and information about the escape room. When filled out, a vertical column reveals a code word. This puzzle is similar to a crossword lookup except the players are not expected to solve the clues with prior knowledge. Instead, items in the room provide hints on the proper words.

The horizontal fill in puzzle starts with a piece of paper with a grid with a clue along each row. One of the columns will have a bold box. Here is an example of a horizontal fill in.

Given only this grid, there is no reasonable way the players can be expected to fill it in. But as they explore the room, they will find innocuous items that hint at the answers. One such item could be a business card like the following.

The players might not know what a sommelier is, but the description at the bottom should lead them to know that “Fortunato” is the “wine expert” of the first line.

Likewise, there might be a portrait like the following on the wall.

The players need to make the connection that the “general” in the picture fits the clue for the second line in the puzzle.

Once players find all the items around the room and make the connection to the puzzle, they can complete the puzzle and get a result like this.

With the puzzle filled out, we can read a code word in the vertical column with a bold outline: RAVEN.

Symbol Algebra

A symbol substitution cipher replaces a set of symbols/images/icons with letters or numbers. But to ad a challenge to the puzzle, don’t simply give the players the lookup. Make them work for it.

Hide a conversion from symbol to number in a simple math problem. This takes the form of solving algebra, but with pictures instead of letters for the variables. Here is a simple example.

Note that this problem is straightforward to solve. You don’t need a technique like Gaussian elimination. The system is easily solved from the top down.

The first line has 3 🍗 equal 12. Thus, 🍗 must be 4. The second line has 🍗 + 🥖 + 🥖 = 20. Thus, 2 🥖 sum to 16, and consequently 🥖 is 8. By the third line, it is clear that 🍮 must be 1. From there, it is easy to get that 🧀 is 2, and by the fifth line 🥗 3.

OK. The players have solved the puzzle. Now what? These values are not useful until coupled with another clue. This could be coupled with any puzzle that involves listing symbols in a certain order such as grid lookup. Here is a simple example using a code-word lookup with a clue containing a list of food for a meal.

To completely solve this puzzle, the players have to (1) solve the algebra, (2) notice that the images used for symbols in the math are referenced in the menu, and (3) list the numbers associated with each food symbol in the menu’s order: 82341.

Word Find

A word find is a simple puzzle with a grid of letters and a list of words hidden in the grid. Players need to find the sequence of letters in the grid matching each word and encircle them.

The trick it to recognize that the bands around the words themselves form a pattern to reveal a code.

Here is an example of a word find.

As with any word find, the target words are difficult to spot. With some searching, the words can be found as follows.

Looking carefully, we can see the marks are arranged in the pattern of a 4-digit code: 4710.

Nonogram

A nonogram (also known as a picture cross) is a grid of squares with a list of numbers along a horizontal and vertical axes. The object of the puzzle is to fill in squares to reveal an image.

The numbers on the axes each dictate a group of squares that need to be filled in. For example, if a row has the numbers “2 3 1”, then that row has a group of 2 consecutive squares filled, followed by 1 or more empty squares followed by 3 squares filled, followed by 1 or more empty squares followed by 1 filled square. There could be empty squares on either end.

Here is an example of a nonogram puzzle.

The secret to solving a nonogram puzzle is to find places where squares must be filled in. In the previous example with a 9x9 grid, two of the columns has “6 2”. Because the two blocks plus the minimum separator of one square takes up a total of 9 squares, there is only one way to fill in those columns. You can also sometimes deduce squares in rows or columns that are not totally full. For example, the topmost row has a “6”. Regardless of where this block is placed in the row, the middle three rows must be filled. Because there is also a “1”, two more squares to the left must be filled. As deductions are made, mark squares that both must be and cannot be filled.

The previous puzzle can only be filled as follows, revealing a lock code.

When you make a nonogram, it is best to go back and attempt to solve it. It is possible to make a nonogram that does not have a unique solution. I find it is a bit easier to make a solvable nonogram by filling out the background and making the digits the negative space.