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 rooms on 3 levels of a magic castle plus the Headmistress's Study, help 9 characters, collect 9 clues, find the hidden Master Wand, then solve the Great Rune Lock.
- The castle opens up as they go: Barnaby Bookworm's Stair Spell opens the upper floor, Hootsalot the owl's Tower Key opens the towers, and Knockworth the door knocker opens the study.
- Skills: order of operations with a starting number, reading a picture graph with a key (each picture = 4), ABC order to the third letter, a 3 by 3 magic square, finding a number rule (input and output), shortest route with addition, plotting points on a grid (over, then up), area and perimeter, a picture logic grid (nonogram), elimination from 10 clues (every clue is needed), and a 4 by 4 symbol sudoku.
- Wrong answers lock that puzzle for a short wait (15 seconds, then 30, 45, 60) so teams talk instead of guessing. Puzzles with pieces (the potion line, the bookshelf, the owl route, the dragon pen) also clear after a wrong check. A wrong search adds 2 minutes to the clock plus a wait that grows each time (1, 2, 3, then 5 minutes). A wrong Rune Lock waits 20, 40, then 60 seconds. Hints: 3 per puzzle (the Rune Lock has 3 too), one every 45 seconds.
- Bonus: 11 lost stars 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 crew name, every solved puzzle (in any order), open floors, items, the Master Wand, 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 crew 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 teachers, the creatures and the spells) is original, so it is safe to share.
Timer
Minutes until the hourglass runs out: (teams can keep playing in overtime; the award says "Finished in overtime")
Answers
- Potions Dungeon, Professor Fizzwig: Frog Spit, Moon Dust, Snail Slime, Dragon Pepper. Strength 2, plus 4 is 6, doubled is 12, minus 2 is 10, tripled is 30. It is the only order that makes 30.
- Greenhouse, Professor Thistle: 68 plants in all (20 + 14 + 24 + 10) and 14 more Glowcaps than Puffballs (24 minus 10).
- Library, Barnaby Bookworm: Snails and Snakes, Sneaky Shadows, Socks That Fly, Spells for Beginners, Spooky Soup, Star Charts. Gives the Stair Spell, which opens the upper floor.
- Charms Classroom, Professor Sparkwell: rows 2 7 6, 9 5 1, 4 3 8.
- Transfiguration Room, Professor Pemberton: the rule is times 3, plus 1. 9 goes in, 28 comes out. 10 goes in to make 31.
- Owlery, Hootsalot: Greenhouse, Bell Tower, Lake Tower, Village (or the same trip backward) for 26 minutes (6 + 3 + 6 + 7 + 4). Gives the Tower Key, which opens the towers.
- Astronomy Tower, Professor Stargazer: stars at (2, 1), (1, 5), (2, 8), (4, 6), (6, 8), (7, 5), (6, 1). They make a cat face.
- Dragon Loft, Saffron: a 3 by 6 rectangle (or 6 by 3) anywhere on the grid. Area 18, perimeter 18.
- Study Door, Knockworth: the picture is a wizard hat. Rows from the top: 1 square (column 4), 2 (columns 3 and 4), 3 (columns 3 to 5), 4 (columns 2 to 5), 4 (columns 2 to 5), 6 (all). Opens the Headmistress's Study.
- The search: the Master Wand is in the Starry Hatbox (Transfiguration Room). Every one of the 10 clues removes a different object.
- The Great Rune Lock: rows from the top: star, moon, sun, cloud / sun, cloud, star, moon / moon, star, cloud, sun / cloud, sun, moon, star.