Design of an Open-Source Decoder for Educational Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are a popular recreational activity which involves solving a series of puzzles within a time limit to `escape' the fictional setting they are in. As a fun, collaborative learning activity, escape rooms are increasingly finding their way into the classroom. Players know if they have solved a puzzle by finding a `key' which they use on a lock. A lock and a timer, therefore, are a minimum resource requirement for supporting classroom escape rooms, aside from the puzzles themselves. In this paper we present an open-source, reprogrammable numerical keypad-based lock (decoder) with an integrated timer. The complete design, bill of materials and assembly instructions are globally available to anyone wishing to use them. The cost of a single complete system is $30.00 AUD. The design provides a platform to suit educators who are interested in implementing escape rooms in the classroom and want complete control of their own keys. The escape room decoder has been used for escape room scenarios by over 450 participants and has shown great flexibility over many different subject areas.