Escape room clue generator
35 riddles and clues with answers that fit a lock, by theme and difficulty. Lock any of them in one click.
- Escape roomeasyNumeric
A date is carved into the oak shelf. The year a famous prison fell in Paris. Four digits.
Hint: The Bastille. Seventeen eighty-something.
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1789 - Escape roomeasyPassword
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?
Hint: Shout it in a canyon.
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echo - Escape roommediumNumeric
The clock in the hall stopped when the lights went out. The hour hand points at 3, the minute hand at 9. Enter the time as four digits.
Hint: Three forty-five, no colon.
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0345 - Escape roomeasyPassword
I am tall when I am young and short when I am old. What am I?
Hint: It burns.
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candle - Escape roommediumNumeric
Count the legs: two spiders, a cat and the butler. Enter the total.
Hint: Spiders have eight each.
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22 - Escape roomeasyColors
Four paint pots were knocked over. Put the colours back in rainbow order, warmest first.
Hint: Red comes first in a rainbow.
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red → orange → yellow → green - Escape roommediumDirection 4
Wet footprints climb two steps, turn left, then go down one. Follow them.
Hint: Up, up, left, down.
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U U L D - Escape roomhardPassword
What has keys but opens no locks, space but no room, and lets you enter but not go in?
Hint: You are probably typing on one.
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keyboard - Escape roomhardNumeric
The inscription reads MDCCLXXVI. Enter it as digits.
Hint: M is 1000, D is 500, C is 100, L is 50, X is 10, V is 5, I is 1.
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1776 - Escape roommediumPassword
I have cities but no houses, forests but no trees, and water but no fish. What am I?
Hint: You unfold me.
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map - ClassroommediumNumeric
How far is the Moon from Earth, on average, in thousands of kilometres? Three digits.
Hint: A little under four hundred thousand.
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384 - ClassroomeasyPassword
Which process lets a plant turn light into sugar? One word, spelling does not need capitals.
Hint: It starts with photo and ends with synthesis.
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photosynthesis - ClassroomeasyNumeric
At what temperature does water boil at sea level, in degrees Celsius? Three digits.
Hint: One hundred.
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100 - ClassroomhardNumeric
Multiply the first three prime numbers together. Enter the result.
Hint: 2, 3 and 5.
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30 - ClassroomeasyPassword
The capital of Japan. One word.
Hint: Not Kyoto any more.
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tokyo - ClassroommediumNumeric
Pi, to three decimal places, without the point. Four digits.
Hint: 3.141 becomes...
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3141 - ClassroommediumPassword
The powerhouse of the cell. One word, plural.
Hint: It starts with mito.
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mitochondria - ClassroomeasyNumeric
The year Columbus reached the Americas. Four digits.
Hint: Fourteen ninety-something.
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1492 - Office and team buildingeasyNumeric
Take the floor of the meeting room, double it, add the number of chairs around the big table (there are eight). Enter the result if the room is on floor 3.
Hint: 3 times 2, plus 8.
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14 - Office and team buildingeasyPassword
The one thing the whole team agrees on before 9 am. Six letters, brewed.
Hint: It comes in a mug.
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coffee - Office and team buildingmediumNumeric
The year the company was founded is on the plaque by the lift. Enter it. (Change this to yours.)
Hint: Look by the lift.
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2014 - Office and team buildingmediumPassword
One word: what the whole trail is about, and the reason nobody can solve this alone.
Hint: Eight letters, starts with team.
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teamwork - Office and team buildingmediumColors
The three colours of the logo in the lobby, top to bottom. (Set these to yours.)
Hint: Look at the lobby wall.
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blue → green → yellow - At homeeasyNumeric
The number on the oven dial when we bake the Sunday cake, in degrees. Three digits.
Hint: One eighty.
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180 - At homeeasyPassword
The name of the family dog. (Set it to yours.)
Hint: Woof.
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biscuit - At homeeasyNumeric
The house number on our front door, then the number of steps up to it. (Set it to yours.)
Hint: Front door first.
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1204 - At homemediumDirection 4
From the front door: straight ahead, turn right into the kitchen, then right again to the fridge. Enter the moves.
Hint: Up, right, right.
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U R R - OutdoorseasyNumeric
Count the slats on the park bench facing the pond. (Set it to yours.)
Hint: Sit down and count.
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7 - OutdoorseasyPassword
The tree by the gate drops acorns. What kind is it?
Hint: Acorns come from...
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oak - OutdoorsmediumDirection 4
From the big rock: north, north, east, then south to the hollow tree.
Hint: Up, up, right, down.
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U U R D - OutdoorsmediumNumeric
Paces from the fountain to the red door. Fifteen, if you take normal steps.
Hint: Between ten and twenty.
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15 - PartyeasyNumeric
The age of tonight's birthday person, then the month they were born, as two digits each. (Set it to theirs.)
Hint: Age first.
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3006 - PartyeasyPassword
The song everybody sings badly at midnight on the 31st of December. Two words, no space.
Hint: Auld ...
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auldlangsyne - PartyeasyColors
The balloons by the door, left to right. Enter the colours in that order.
Hint: Start at the left.
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pink → purple → blue - PartymediumNumeric
Count the guests in the room, add the number of candles on the cake. (Set it to yours.)
Hint: Count twice.
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42
From a clue to a trail
One clue is a moment; four in a row are a room. Lock the first clue, then in the builder switch on multi-step and add the next ones: each reveal becomes the following clue, and players move from lock to lock with one link. Print the QR code of the trail and tape it to the door.
When you need a code rather than a riddle, the lock code generator turns a date or a word into digits with the hint written; the cipher maker hides the answer in Morse or Caesar for a harder step.
Frequently asked questions
- What makes a clue work with a lock?
- Its answer has to be something a pad can take: a number, a word, a sequence of colours or arrows. "Where is the key?" is a puzzle; "the year on the portrait" is a lock. Every clue here is written with its pad in mind.
- Can I change the answers?
- Yes, and for some you should: the clues marked "set it to yours" are frames for your own house number, dog's name or company year. Press "Lock this clue", change the answer on the pad in the builder, and publish.
- How many clues should an escape room have?
- Four to six for a 30 to 45 minute session. Alternate the pads: a number, then a word, then a colour or arrow sequence. Players learn the rhythm and the trail stays fresh. The builder chains locks into a multi-step trail with one link.
- How do players enter the answers?
- On their phone, from a link or a QR code, without an account. The lock checks the answer on the server and shows the reveal, typically the next clue. Wrong answers can be retried, and the hint opens with a button or shows itself after three misses.
- Are these clues free to use commercially?
- The clues are free to use in any way. Running paid escape rooms with Lock Challenge locks is part of the Pro plan; personal, classroom and office use is free.
Free tools
Lock Simulator
Set a combination, a word or a sequence and try the lock as a player would. Publish it in one click.
Lock Code Generator
Turn a date or a word into lock codes with the hint already written: day-month, A1Z26, phone keypad, reversed.
Cipher Maker
Encode a message in Caesar, Morse, A1Z26, Atbash, Reverse or ROT13, then lock the decoded answer.