Teacher note
Enter the teacher password to see the answers and testing tools.
How it runs
- Teams of 3 or 4 share one Chromebook. The game tells them to pass the mouse after every puzzle so everyone gets a turn to drive.
- Plan on 60 to 75 minutes (it can be split over two class periods with progress codes). Students explore 10 places at Hollow Hills Elementary plus the Costume Closet, help 9 people, collect 9 clues (Chief Biscuit the detective dog gives a 10th at the start), then build a Deduction Board with red string to prove who took Spike the Hedgehog, the school mascot costume.
- The school opens up as they go: Principal Pemberton's Hall Pass opens Upstairs, Mr. Mopsworth's Gym Key opens the Gym Wing, and Coach Pepper opens the Costume Closet.
- Skills: likely, unlikely, certain and impossible (prize wheels), a scaled bar graph (each line counts by 2) rebuilt from word clues, a shift cipher on a turning decoder ring (finding the key from a word you know), fingerprint patterns (loop, whorl, arch) and careful matching, cube nets (which flat patterns fold into a cube), measurement conversions (gallons, quarts, pints, cups), fractions on a number line (including fractions greater than 1 and equivalent fractions), ordering decimals to the hundredths (with the science of sound: longer bars make lower notes), truth and fib logic with witness statements, and deduction with 10 clues on a board (every clue is needed).
- Wrong answers lock that puzzle for a short wait (15 seconds, then 30, 45, 60) so teams talk instead of guessing. Mr. Mopsworth's twins come apart after a wrong check. The witness puzzle starts with a Truth Tester table (12 true or fib boxes) that must be all correct before the questions open, so clicking through the four cheerleaders does not work. A wrong Deduction Board waits 20, 40, then 60 seconds, and it never says which string is wrong. Hints: 3 per puzzle (the Deduction Board has 3 too), one every 45 seconds.
- The Suspect Board button on the side lets teams pencil in their thinking any time (cross out, circle). The real board with strings opens in the Costume Closet once all 9 clues are found.
- Bonus: 11 gold badges are hidden in the rooms for teams that like to explore. The count prints on the award.
- Progress codes: after every puzzle the team gets a 10 letter code (like
KDHTM-7XQMP), also shown on the side. Have one student write the newest code on paper. If a browser resets or the team switches Chromebooks, they type it on the start screen and get back their team name, every solved puzzle (in any order), open areas, items, hints and time. Made-up codes do not work, and after 3 wrong tries the box makes them wait 20 seconds. Typing their own code again on the same computer keeps any wait that is still running, so reloading the page cannot skip a wrong answer wait. A code always brings its own team name, and that name prints on the award. - The "Left this page" counter on the side goes up every time someone switches to another tab or window. It does not stop the game. A high number can mean someone went looking for answers, for example by taking a screenshot to an AI helper, so it is worth a quick check in.
- Everything in this room (the school, the characters and the story) is original, so it is safe to share. The facts on the clickable spots are real.
Timer
Minutes until the big game: (teams can keep playing in overtime; the award says "Solved in overtime")
Answers
- Front Office, Principal Pemberton: note 1 (certain) is Wheel 3 (all stars), note 2 (impossible) is Wheel 6 (moons and hearts), note 3 (equally likely) is Wheel 2 (3 stars, 3 moons), note 4 (less likely but possible) is Wheel 5 (2 stars, 4 moons). Gives the Hall Pass, which opens Upstairs.
- Cafeteria, Ms. Ladle: the bars that are left show apples 12 and yogurt 7. Rebuild pretzels 11, crackers 6, pickles 4 (total 40).
- Library, Mr. Pagely: the shift is 5 (coded H = real C). The note says COACH, BACK BY SIX. On the ring, that is 5 clicks of the left turn button.
- Science Lab, Ms. Fizzwick: door handle = Mr. Mopsworth (loop opening left, scar), light switch = Maestro Toot (whorl, dot), costume hanger = Coach Hart (arch), cooler lid = Ms. Ladle (loop opening right).
- Art Room, Ms. Doodle: patterns 1, 3, 5 and 7 fold into a cube. Patterns 2 (a 2 by 3 rectangle), 4 (has a 2 by 2 block), 6 and 8 (two flaps land on the same face) do not.
- Supply Room, Mr. Mopsworth: twins are 1 gallon and 16 cups, 3 quarts and 12 cups, 5 pints and 10 cups, 2 quarts and 4 pints. No twin: 3 pints and 1 quart. Gives the Gym Key, which opens the Gym Wing.
- Gym, Coach Hart: top track (fourths): 3/4 on the 3rd tick, 1 1/4 one tick past 1, 6/4 halfway between 1 and 2. Bottom track (sixths): 1/2 on the 3rd tick, 2/3 on the 4th tick.
- Band Room, Maestro Toot: lowest to highest: 31.2, 30.5, 30.25, 29.8, 29.75, 28.6, 28.06, 27.9.
- Trophy Hall, Coach Pepper: Truth Tester rows (Ana, Bo, Cleo, Dev): into the Gym T F T F (2 fibs), up the stairs F T T T (1 fib), out the front door F F F T (3 fibs). Only one row has exactly 1 fib, so the figure went up the stairs and Ana is fibbing. Opens the Costume Closet.
- The Deduction Board: 1 no pickles clears Principal Pemberton, 2 not in the Front Office clears Nurse Patch, 3 not in the Cafeteria clears Mr. Pagely, 4 not in the Library clears Maestro Toot, 5 no arch print clears Coach Hart, 6 no sandals clears Coach Pepper, 7 no boots clears Ms. Ladle, 8 has a gym key clears Mr. Flash, 9 no pretzels clears Ms. Fizzwick, 10 not in the Gym clears Mr. Mopsworth. The culprit is Ms. Doodle, who borrowed Spike to fix his torn tail as a surprise.