Genially is still the stronger tool for rich visual scenes: rooms to click through, animated pages, a whole story on screen. People look for an alternative when they want to go faster, when students find the answer by clicking everywhere, or when the game needs a real code to type. Here are seven tools, each described from its own site on 18 October 2026, with when to pick it.
Every fact about another tool on this page is what that tool's own site says, read on 18 October 2026, with the source linked. Prices and limits change, so check them there before you choose. Lock Challenge makes this page, which is why its own card comes last and is written only from its code.
Quick pick: which tool for which job
If you need
Look at
A gamified lesson laid out as a path of activities
Deck.Toys
An interactive image, video or 360° scene
ThingLink
Open-source interactive HTML5 activities
H5P
A simple free padlock for a class
Lockee
Virtual locks for a one-time payment
CrackAndReveal
A quiz that collects every answer
Google Forms
Codes checked on the server, 15 lock formats, multi-step trails, a link and a QR code, no student accounts
Lock Challenge
Try it: what a player sees after scanning the QR code
A four-way directional lock, the kind a Genially escape game usually fakes with buttons. Read the cat, enter the arrows.
Someone locked a message for you
Clue:
🐱 Follow the cat's gaze. Twice.
•
Choose a sequence of 2 directions
The cat isn't staring at the ceiling, it's judging the fridge.
💡 Hint: This pad has no diagonals.
Seven alternatives, from their own sites (checked 18 October 2026)
In no particular order, Lock Challenge last. Each card says what the tool is for, what it does well, where it stops, and when it is the one to pick.
The lock-first option, made by this site: each step is a lock players open from a link or a QR code, with the answer checked on the server.
Strength: 15 lock formats, all free, chained into multi-step trails. Players need no app and no account; you build and test before signing up, and the account is only needed to publish.
Answers are checked on the server, never in the page, at most 30 attempts per minute per IP, and the reward is sent only after the right answer. The hint and step titles are in the page, and the repeat-a-melody musical lock sends its notes to the browser.
Free: 3 locks of up to 3 steps each, which never expire, with no cap on players or attempts. Event Pass, paid once: $7.90 for 15 days or $9.90 for 30 days. Pro: $14.90 a month or $99 a year.
Limit: no slides, no canvas, no scene editor. Each step is one lock screen with a brief, a hint and a reveal.
When to choose it: the heart of the game is a code players must type right, checked where they cannot read it, with no student accounts.
Only what each official page states. Anything not stated there, such as a Google Forms price, is left out rather than guessed.
What genially.com says about Genially (checked 18 October 2026)
Free plan
Games, challenges and activities, branching scenarios, sharing with anyone who has the link, 2 GB of storage, 500 AI credits a year and live sessions of up to 50.
From EduPro
Password protection, restricted access and hiding from search engines start with EduPro, at €4.99 a month billed annually.
Links
A link can be put on any element and opens in a new tab by default; the account must be verified.
Only what genially.com's education plans page and its help centre state. Anything we could not confirm there is left out.
Keep the scenes in Genially, put the final code behind a lock
Build the rooms, the story and the clues in Genially as usual. For the moment that matters, the code that opens the last door, add a button that links to a Lock Challenge lock. Genially lets you put a link on any element, and it opens in a new tab by default.
A link works on every plan, free included
Every Lock Challenge lock has a short link and a QR code on every plan, so a Genially button that opens it needs nothing more than the free plan. The player types the code, the server checks it, and the reward comes back only after the right answer: the next clue, a link back into your Genially, a picture or a file.
Showing the lock inside the Genially is Pro
Embedding the lock inside another page by iframe is a Pro feature ($14.90 a month). Check in Genially how an embedded page behaves for your players before you count on it; the link in a new tab is the simple route.
When Genially is the better choice
Stay with Genially when the visuals are the game: rooms to explore, animated pages, a story told across many scenes, with the puzzle as one moment among many. Its free plan already includes games and challenges and sharing by link. If nobody competes and it does not matter whether the answer can be found, you may not need anything else.
When Lock Challenge is the wrong choice
Lock Challenge is the wrong choice if you want slides, a free-form canvas or a scene editor: it has none, and each step is one lock screen with a brief, a hint and a reveal. For a lesson run with class data, Deck.Toys fits better; for an interactive image or a 360° scene, ThingLink does.
FAQ
Is there a free Genially alternative for escape rooms?
Yes, several, read on their own sites on 18 October 2026. Lockee is free within 60 padlocks per account. CrackAndReveal's free plan has unlimited locks and 30 attempts in total. Deck.Toys has a free plan for 2 classrooms. Lock Challenge's free plan publishes 3 locks of up to 3 steps each, with no cap on players or attempts, and they never expire. ThingLink and H5P.com have trials rather than free plans; the H5P software itself is free and open source.
Can students see the answer in the page source?
Not on Lock Challenge. The answer is checked on the server and the reward is sent only after the right answer: written answers, codes and patterns are stored as bcrypt hashes, and GPS, number and Wordle-type answers are checked against parameters the page never receives. What is in the page: the hint, the step titles, and the notes of a repeat-a-melody musical lock. For the other tools, check on their own site.
Do students need an account?
Not on Lock Challenge: players open a link or scan a QR code in their browser, with no app and no account. Only the creator needs an account, to publish, and can build and test before signing up. Lockee asks the creator for an account, per lockee.fr.
Does it work with QR codes?
Yes. Every Lock Challenge lock gets a short link and a QR code on every plan, free included: print it, stick it in the room or show it on a slide, and players scan it with their phone. CrackAndReveal also shares by short link and QR code, per its own site.
Can I use Lock Challenge inside my Genially?
Yes, as a link: a Genially button that opens the lock's link in a new tab works on every plan. Embedding the lock inside the Genially page by iframe is Pro.
