Escape room game for kids: The Missing Garden Key, an at-home mystery

Escape room game for children and families called The Missing Garden Key, a full mystery you can host at home. It brings 8 puzzles, a guide for the host, clue and hint cards, an answer key and a certificate across 21 pages, made for ages 8 and up. You download US Letter and A4 PDF files instantly.

Nothing is mailed. Print, hide a few envelopes and the adventure is ready.

How the escape room game works at home

All you need to run it is in the file: the host guide, a timeline for setting up, a story letter to read out loud and labels for the envelopes. Preparing takes roughly 30 minutes, and the game lasts 45 to 60 minutes.

Your detectives break a number code, trace the single correct route through a hedge maze, and work through a logic grid, a word search, picture math, a shift cipher and a 4 by 4 sudoku. Every answer then feeds into the 4-digit code that opens the garden gate. Each puzzle has only one solution, so the answer key and solution page make checking quick, and two rounds of hint cards keep the fun going when a team is stuck.

Who this DIY escape room is for

• Children 8 and older who love mysteries, mazes and secret codes
• Families who want a game night at home without screens
• Sleepovers and birthday parties with 2 to 6 players
• Babysitters, aunts and grandparents looking for a rainy day activity that is ready to go
• Homeschool families who like logic puzzles as a fun break from lessons

Design, sizes and printing

• A clean, elegant look: white pages with gentle blush pink touches that are light on ink
• Generous margins all around, so a home printer will not trim anything
• Choose A4 (210 x 297 mm) or US Letter (8.5 x 11 in), both in portrait
• Dashed cutting lines on the clue cards, hint cards, envelope labels and golden key
• No dates or holidays involved, so it fits any season

Inside the escape room game: 21 pages

1. 1A cover with a one line story summary and an index of pages
2. 2The host guide, with a quick look at players, ages and timing, a checklist of supplies, the 5 step game flow, hint rules, ways to make it simpler or tougher and 10 ideas for hiding spots
3. 3A setup timeline covering a few days ahead, the day before, one hour before and ten minutes before, plus a table listing all 9 envelopes and where each one is hidden
4. 4The story, a letter from Gardener Hazel to read aloud, the team's mission with start and finish times, and 6 rules for detectives
5. 5The detective notebook, where players write the answers to Puzzles 1 through 7, the hints used and their time, with 4 boxes for the gate code
6. 6Puzzle 1, Seed Cipher: crack a 7-word message written in number code (A is 1), with a name warm up and some seed math
7. 7Puzzle 2, Hedge Maze: a 12 by 12 maze where only the letters along the correct route matter
8. 8Puzzle 3, Who Planted What: a logic grid with 6 clues linking 4 friends, 4 flowers and 4 seed numbers
9. 9Puzzle 4, Garden Word Search: spot 18 garden words in a 9 by 9 grid and then read the letters left over
10. 10Puzzle 5, Flower Math: 3 equations in pictures where every flower equals a number, plus a line to check your work
11. 11Puzzle 6, Shift Code: a decoder strip and a secret note that relies on the leaf number found in Puzzle 5
12. 12Puzzle 7, Flower Sudoku: a 4 by 4 grid of numbers with one star square
13. 13Puzzle 8, The Gate Lock: 4 dials that turn earlier answers into the 4-digit code
14. 148 cut-out clue cards with lines for writing a riddle or hiding spot on each
15. 158 first hint cards, one per puzzle
16. 168 second hint cards that give more help
17. 179 labels for the envelopes and a seal for the last one
18. 18A golden key to color and cut out, with a thank-you note from Gardener Hazel and space for the escape time, hints used and favorite puzzle
19. 19The answer key with every answer, a brief explanation for each puzzle and the gate code
20. 20Solutions for the logic grid, maze, sudoku and word search
21. 21A certificate of escape for the Master Garden Detectives

Files in your download

• The Missing Garden Key Escape Room in US Letter, a 21 page PDF
• The Missing Garden Key Escape Room in A4, a 21 page PDF
• Read Me First, a brief PDF guide to printing

How to download and print

• Check out with PayPal, a debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Your download page opens as soon as the payment goes through.
• We email the same private download links to you, so you can download your files again later.
• Open the PDF in a free reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader and print at 100% or Actual size.
• Print only the pages you need, as often as you like, for your own personal use.

Before you buy

• You print this game at home. It is not played online or on a device, and a grown-up needs to hide the envelopes and keep the answer key.
• You receive a digital file only. Nothing physical is shipped.
• Printed colors may look a little different from your screen.
• Made for your own family. Sharing, reselling or redistributing the files is not allowed.
• Digital files cannot be returned. If a file will not open or print properly, email us and we will help quickly.
• You will need scissors for the cards. Little ones should cut with an adult close by.

How this was made

Designed and written by PetiteDiary. AI tools helped draft parts of the text, and some background scenes in the preview images were created with AI. Every page was designed, reviewed and checked before release.

Questions about the escape room game

Related searches