Escape room: The Mixed-Up Megillah
A Purim escape room for kids 10–12: put the story of Esther in order, crack a number cipher and count the mishloach manot. Free to print.
The story
Just before the Megillah reading, the cantor’s gragger fell on the table and all the pages of the scroll got mixed up! The cabinet holding the scroll is locked with a code. Solve the riddles and save the reading.
5 story stations · online you can pick a level that adds more locks.
Run it at home or in class
What to prepare
- A gragger (noisemaker)
- Printed station sheets
- Four cards with parts of the story
- An envelope or locked box
- Pencils
Tips for the facilitator
- Print the four parts of the story on separate cards and shuffle them.
- Give each team a gragger; whoever solves a station gets to make noise.
- At the end, hand out a small mishloach manot to every player.
Difficulty level for “The Mixed-Up Megillah”
The story clues stay the same on every level; harder levels add more locks in between. You can ask for a hint at every stage.
🎭 The Mixed-Up Megillah
Just before the Megillah reading, the cantor’s gragger fell on the table and all the pages of the scroll got mixed up! The cabinet holding the scroll is locked with a code. Solve the riddles and save the reading.
0 of 6 stages solved
Stage 1: The scroll cipher
1/6A name is carved on the cabinet in a number cipher. Every letter is worth its place in the English alphabet: A = 1, B = 2, C = 3 … Z = 26. The name is ESTHER.
Facilitator guide: 🎭 The Mixed-Up Megillah
What the room practises
A letter-number cipher, multiplication and ordering a story.
The 5 stations (without the answers)
- The scroll cipher: What is the total of the letters in ESTHER?
- Mishloach manot: How many foods were sent in the whole class?
- The mixed-up pages: Write the part numbers in the order they happen in the Megillah (four digits in a row).
- Listening twice: How many chapters does someone hear if they hear the whole Megillah both evening and morning?
- The cantor’s code: What is the code?
Preparing and printing
On the easy level the printed kit has 7 pages: a facilitator sheet with the opening story, the setup list and every answer, plus an A4 card for each of the 6 stages. Besides printing, get ready: a gragger (noisemaker) and an envelope or locked box.
Most important: Print the four parts of the story on separate cards and shuffle them.
Age and group size
Best with teams of 3–5 children. In a class or a big party, print a kit per team and run the room in parallel.
Giving hints in this room
Online the hints open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit in the facilitator table next to each answer. Give the first hint after a couple of minutes of silence, not at the first wrong guess.
Frequently asked questions
What age is “The Mixed-Up Megillah” for, and how long does it take?
It was written for kids 10–12, at medium difficulty, and usually takes 20–25 minutes. It has 5 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.
What do I need to run “The Mixed-Up Megillah”?
A printer and these props: A gragger (noisemaker); Printed station sheets; Four cards with parts of the story; An envelope or locked box; Pencils. The printable kit includes a facilitator sheet with every answer and a card for each stage.
What if the players get stuck?
Every stage has graded hints. Online they open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit next to each answer on the facilitator sheet. The first hint never gives the answer away.
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