CASE No. 1: THE WANDERING SNOW GLOBE, a printable family detective escape room game for ages 10 to adult, with no crime in it
The whole family is at Lantern Point on snowy Frostwick Island for the winter weekend. At 5 o'clock comes the family photo by the fire, and Grandma Odile's heirloom snow globe (a tiny golden pyramid on a tiny blue lagoon) always sits in the middle of it. At 4:15 the mantel is empty, and a note in an old family code says the globe is "safe" and "locked away". Nobody here would ever harm it. So WHEN did it move, WHERE is it, and WHO moved it? Find out, then open the three-dial lock before the photo. Tansy the rescue terrier will help.
THIS IS A DETECTIVE ESCAPE ROOM GAME you print, cut and solve together, at the kitchen table or all round the house. It is not a book to read and not a worksheet pack. Every right code opens a sealed evidence envelope; four team facts meet on the Case Board; the mover's Name Pyramid opens the lock. Nothing is taken for keeps, nobody lies on purpose, nobody is blamed.
Self-Checking, So Nobody Needs The Answer Key
- Every code is checked on the Frost Board: the right code wears the same stamp as its puzzle page; every likely slip wears a different stamp
- Three hints for every puzzle (a nudge, a method, a worked first step), a skip card for every puzzle, and three sealed case hints for the finale
- Two levels in one download: Rookie (with Rookie Cards and the Detective Basics pages) and Detective
Learn It, Then Use It
- Two Detective Basics pages teach every skill the case uses, with practice examples of their own: the pyramid rule, adding hours and minutes, clocks that are fast, slow or seen in a mirror, crossing out one clue at a time, repeating patterns, picture alphabets and Name Pyramids
A Real Case File To Read Like A Detective
You get an evidence file: Grandma's letter, the Family List (eight people, their slippers), eight Fridge Notes in eight different inks, a Timeline Sheet, the Plan of the House (three floors, twelve keepsake places) and 12 evidence cards sealed in envelopes, including the Ladder List and five gold TEAM FACT cards.
1 To 4 Team Tracks
- Clock Team (when?), House Team (where?), Paw Team (what was the mover wearing?), Ink Team (what did the mover write?): three puzzles each, easy to harder, played side by side
- 1 to 16 players in 1 to 4 teams: the Team Planner shows how to split them, and one family can play every track
- 15-minute setup: a one-page setup map and 16 envelope labels
14 Puzzles Of 14 Different Kinds
- The Photo Strip (picture order), The Clock Stack (time pyramid), The Three Clocks (fast, slow and mirror clocks)
- The Log Stack (adding pyramid), The Frost Window (a cut-out turning grille), The Plan of the House (floor-plan logic)
- Snowflake Twins (look closely), The Snowball Stack (times pyramid), Tansy's Walk (number path)
- The Gift Tags (number-bank pyramid), The Paper Chain (pattern counting), The Snowflake Alphabet (a picture cipher)
- The Case Board (evidence logic) and The Window-Seat Chest (a Name Pyramid lock)
- 5 kinds of math pyramid in the case: adding, time (hours and minutes), times, number bank and Name Pyramid. 3 more kinds in the free bonus. Every pyramid is new: none appears in our books or other kits
WHAT YOU GET (instant download, 5 PDF files)
- The kit, US Letter (45 pages), full colour, black-and-white safe
- The kit, A4 (45 pages)
- A tablet copy of the kit for the host, with HINTS and ANSWER buttons on every puzzle
- Party extras, US Letter and A4 (6 pages each): invitations, a door sign and detective ID badges with type-in names, a case notebook page, a make-your-own Name Pyramid sheet and thank-you tags
- Free bonus folder (QR code and link inside): The Night Shift, 4 expert puzzles (a wrong-brick pyramid, a three-signs pyramid, a Pyramid Maze and a seating-logic case) with their own self-check board, hints and answers (8 pages), and an ink-saver edition of the whole kit
Inside The Kit
- Host guide: what to print, a 15-minute setup, a team planner, a read-aloud script, an answer card and every puzzle shown solved
- Hint cards, Rookie Cards, skip cards, case hints and 16 envelope labels
- Detective Basics, the evidence file, team sheets, the Frost Board and 12 puzzle pages
- 12 evidence cards, the Case Board, the Window-Seat Chest, the Case Closed ending and certificates with type-in names
Good To Know
- Digital download only: nothing is shipped.
- Ages 10 to adult. About 1 to 2 hours, depending on the number of teams. These times are a plan from our test solves, not a promise: no real group has timed this game for us.
- You need a printer, paper, scissors, pencils and 16 envelopes. Colour looks best; every page also works in black and white.
- Print at 100% (actual size).
- A mystery without a crime: an heirloom moved to keep it safe, found again by logic. All food in the story is plant-based.
- Case No. 1 of a family detective series. Each case is a new story with new puzzles.
License
For one family, one party or one classroom. Print as many copies as you need for your own players. 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.
