CIPHER WHEEL GIFT HUNT: follow Cashew's coded trail to a hidden present
A printable puzzle treasure hunt that turns any present into an adventure. Cashew the chipmunk has hidden the gift and written every hiding place in picture code. The finder solves a puzzle on each clue card, uses the answer (the KEY) to set a cut-out Cipher Wheel, decodes the next hiding place and goes searching, card after card, until the last code leads to the present.
THIS IS A PRINTABLE TREASURE HUNT GAME with escape-room-style puzzles, not a book: you print it at home, build the wheel, tick the hiding places and hide the cards round your home.
How It Plays
- Solve the card's puzzle: its answer is the KEY
- Turn the small wheel until the gift picture points straight at the KEY number (a gold arrow marks it)
- Each picture now points at a letter: decode where the next card is hiding
- Wrong KEY? The code turns to gibberish, so every answer checks itself
- Every card also gives a gold letter; together they spell a password that the gift tag on the present asks for
3 TRAILS IN ONE KIT (pick one per hunt, or run two at once)
- Ribbon Trail, ages 6-8: 8 clues, adding and taking away, about 30-45 minutes
- Bow Trail, ages 9-12: 10 clues, times tables and trickier logic, about 45-60 minutes
- Gold Seal Trail, ages 13 to adult: 12 clues, a full puzzle evening for teens, partners and grown-ups, about 50-75 minutes
Puzzles get harder clue by clue in every trail.
30 Clue Puzzles, 15 Different Kinds
- 10 kinds of math pyramid puzzle: Gift Stack, Bow Bag, Ribbon Run (pyramid maze), Balloon Totals, Equal Steps, Glitter Blots, Times Tags, Parcel Scales, Gap Bows and Wrapped Bundles
- 5 more kinds: Ribbon Tangle, Toy Grid (picture sudoku), Word Wrap (word search), Pixel Present (picture logic) and Who Wrapped What (logic grid)
- Every puzzle is new and has exactly one answer; 3-step hints (a nudge, the method, the answer) and a full answer key with solved pictures
Fits Any Home
- Every clue card offers two hiding places (A and B) that decode with the same KEY: tick the one that suits your home (for example a closet or under the bed, a bathtub or a towel)
- Blank clue cards let you add places of your own
- Set-up plan for each trail: about 30-45 minutes to build the wheel and hide everything
WHAT YOU GET (instant download, 5 PDF files)
- Full kit, US Letter (64 pages)
- Full kit, A4 (64 pages)
- Tablet edition with tap-to-jump links and fillable names (the hunt itself needs printed cards)
- Hunt Extras, US Letter and A4: envelope labels, door sign, spare wheel, thank-you notes, colouring page
- Free bonus folder (QR code inside): the Garden Trail (6 outdoor clues, ages 6-10) and ink-saver versions of every page
Inside The Kit
- How it works, trail chooser, Cipher Wheel (true size, two discs), a worked example of reading the wheel, Cashew's code school with a practice code
- Hiding plan for each trail, Trail Cards for the gold letters, gift tags with To / From
- 30 full-colour clue cards, hints, answers, three certificates (fillable names), make-your-own clue cards
You Will Need
Printer (colour or black and white), scissors, pencils, 1 paper fastener (or a pencil tip), card stock for the wheel if you have it. Envelopes optional.
Good To Know
- Digital download only: nothing is shipped, and the present is yours to choose.
- Print the wheel at 100% (actual size).
- For birthdays, anniversaries, a holiday gift or any day: the story and pages fit every occasion.
- Love math pyramids? Creouts Publishing also publishes math pyramid puzzle books in paperback: see creouts.com/pyramid-puzzle-books/.
Personal Use License
For your own family or a single classroom. Print as many copies as you need. No resale, sharing, uploading or claiming as your own; no AI training.
Digital download, nothing is shipped. Because files can be copied at once, we cannot take them back after download; if something is wrong with your file, write to us and we will fix or refund it.
