Thinkabara

📚 Escape room: The Locked Library

Google Classroom

A word escape room for the whole family: ABC order, a book on the shelf, a hidden word and a letter-shift cipher. Free to play or print.

The story

The library has closed, and the book that holds the last clue has vanished from the shelf. The players must find the right order of the clues.

The librarian left a note: “The right book appears only to readers who pay attention to titles, to order and to the small letters.”

Run it at home or in class

What to prepare

  • Word cards
  • A shelf with 7 books (one of them red)
  • A coded note
  • An envelope taped to a window

Tips for the facilitator

  • Line up 7 books on a real shelf, with the red book third from the right.
  • Put the coded note on top of the seventh book and tape the last envelope to a window.
  • For adults: add a time limit and allow only one hint.

Difficulty level

The story clues stay the same on every level; harder levels add more locks in between. You can ask for a hint at every stage.

0 of 6 stages solved · Easy · 15–25 minutes

Stage 1: The title clue

1/6

Run it in real life too

Print a facilitator kit for the easy level: a sheet with the opening story, the setup and every answer, plus a big card for each of the 6 stages.

📚 The Locked Library: facilitator kit

Kids, teens and adults · 15–25 minutes · Level: Easy · 6 stages

Opening story: The library has closed, and the book that holds the last clue has vanished from the shelf. The players must find the right order of the clues. The librarian left a note: “The right book appears only to readers who pay attention to titles, to order and to the small letters.”

Setup

  1. Word cards
  2. A shelf with 7 books (one of them red)
  3. A coded note
  4. An envelope taped to a window
  5. Print the 6 stage cards and put them in order, or hide each card around the room so every answer leads to the next one.
  6. Read the opening story to the group and start a timer.
  7. When the group gets stuck, give one hint from the table, one at a time.
  8. Line up 7 books on a real shelf, with the red book third from the right.
  9. Put the coded note on top of the seventh book and tape the last envelope to a window.
  10. For adults: add a time limit and allow only one hint.

Answers and hints (facilitator only)

StageAnswer / codeHints
1. The title cluebookLook at the first letter of each word: W, L, B, D.
2. The shelf clue7There are 2 books to the right of the red one and 4 to its left. · Don’t forget the red book itself.
3. The letters clueaboveLook only at the first letter of each word.
4. Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock4Every symbol is a number. What is one symbol worth? · Add: 2 plus 2.
5. Warm-up route · The number board10Look at the last number in the sequence. · Add 2 to it.
6. The last cipherwindowX ← W, J ← I, O ← N… · The word already appeared in the first stage!

Read at the end: You found the envelope on the window! Inside is a golden reader’s card and a note from the librarian: “Careful readers always find the way out.”

📚 The Locked Library · Stage 1 of 6

The title clue

Four books have these words on their spines: WINDOW, LIGHT, BOOK, DOOR. Put them in alphabetical order. Which word comes first?

✍️ Our answer:

📚 The Locked Library · Stage 2 of 6

The shelf clue

There is a row of books on the shelf. The red book is third from the right and also fifth from the left. How many books are on the shelf?

✍️ Our answer:

📚 The Locked Library · Stage 3 of 6

The letters clue

Inside the red book five words are underlined: APPLE, BRIDGE, OCEAN, VELVET, EAGLE. Take the first letter of each word. Which word do you get?

✍️ Our answer:

📚 The Locked Library · Stage 4 of 6

Warm-up route · The symbols on the lock

On the way to the last clue of “The Locked Library” you find another corridor of locks. Every 📚 is worth 2. Add two symbols.

📚 + 📚 = ?

Which number opens the lock?

✍️ Our answer:

📚 The Locked Library · Stage 5 of 6

Warm-up route · The number board

Each step to the right adds 2.

2 → 4 → 6 → 8 → ?

What is the next number in the sequence?

✍️ Our answer:

📚 The Locked Library · Stage 6 of 6

The last cipher

X J O E P X

Above the seventh book you find a note: “The envelope is taped to the… XJOEPX”. Every letter was moved one place forward in the alphabet (so A was written as B). Decode the word.

✍️ Our answer:

Facilitator guide: 📚 The Locked Library

What the room practices

Alphabetical order, left-and-right positions, first-letter words and a shift cipher.

The 4 stations (without the answers)
  1. The title clue: Four books have these words on their spines: WINDOW, LIGHT, BOOK, DOOR. Put them in alphabetical order. Which word comes first?
  2. The shelf clue: There is a row of books on the shelf. The red book is third from the right and also fifth from the left. How many books are on the shelf?
  3. The letters clue: Inside the red book five words are underlined: APPLE, BRIDGE, OCEAN, VELVET, EAGLE. Take the first letter of each word. Which word do you get?
  4. The last cipher: Above the seventh book you find a note: “The envelope is taped to the… XJOEPX”. Every letter was moved one place forward in the alphabet (so A was written as B). Decode the word.

Age and group size

Best with teams of 4–6 players. With more people, split into two teams racing the clock, each with its own kit.

Giving hints in this room

Online the hints open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit in the facilitator table next to each answer. Give the first hint after a couple of minutes of silence, not at the first wrong guess.

Questions and answers

What age is “The Locked Library” for, and how long does it take?

It was written for kids, teens and adults, at medium difficulty, and usually takes 25–35 minutes. It has 4 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.

What do I need to run “The Locked Library”?

A printer and these props: Word cards; A shelf with 7 books (one of them red); A coded note; An envelope taped to a window. The printable kit includes a facilitator sheet with every answer and a card for each stage.

What if the players get stuck?

Every stage has graded hints. Online they open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit next to each answer on the facilitator sheet. The first hint never gives the answer away.

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