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Puzzles for adults vs kids


“Wonder, innate in the child, is an inner desire to learn that awaits reality in order to be awakened.”—

- CATHERINE L’ECUYER, EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT, EDUCAR EN EL ASOMBRO™, BARCELONA, SPAIN



So you wanna know... 


IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PUZZLES MADE FOR ADULTS VS KIDS?

What are the differences that make a puzzle age-appropriate?


How do you make a puzzle work for both kids and adults?


Is it even possible to do so? 

FIRST, WHAT IS A PUZZLE?


We wrote a blog article recently that talked about the definition of a puzzle. We said a puzzle is: 


“any sort of construction or communication intentionally designed to mystify the player until a verifiably correct solution is found.”


The interesting thing about kids is that they are in a constant state of learning - thus often mystified!


Conversely, adults grow to learn about certainty and often become less acquainted with mystery.


For kids, wonder and exploration is a normal reality for them. They build upon their knowledge bit by bit and the expansion of their understanding of reality is truly remarkable.


WE LIVE THIS REALITY AT WORK AND HOME


Co-founders Paul and Eric are both dads to little kids and they can attest to this incredible reality. In fact, over the sink in Eric’s house hangs this calligraphic artwork:

SEE THE RISK?


As adults we start to think we know all the things! We lose wonder. But we can recover it. At the risk of stating the obvious, we were all children once!


We have all experienced this rapid progression of knowledge, and in the process, we came upon a reasonable degree of certainty about a great number of things in our lives.


But ironically, our notion of certainty does not always help us solve puzzles, or retain our childlike wonder for that matter. Yet we desperately need it! As this Forbes article states, youth “haven’t formed any judgments about why the world is the way it is. They don’t care about how things have always been done.” 


CERTAINTY IS NOT AN ACCOMPLICE TO CURIOSITY


This is why, as escape room designers, we repeatedly see youth and children do better at some aspects of the escape room than adults.


We’re not blaming adults. We have experienced a great deal more pain, confusion, disappointment etc than our younger selves could have conceptualized. But what if we healed? What if our younger selves could help us heal? What if we let go of that pain and returned to wholeness, what might our lives look like?


ESCAPE MAIL AND #AWAKENWONDER


We have always existed to awaken wonder. And we’ve never sought to exclude young or old in our games, because we believe that wonder is the natural state for the young, and its a healing state for the old.


So how do we make a puzzle work well for both youth and adults?


First, remember that “puzzles develop memory skills, as well as an ability to plan, test ideas and solve problems.” So something that’s very important is to level the playing field. Don’t ask an adult to rely on a highly advanced memory skill or the memories they’ve collected through years of experience. That would give them an unfair advantage. Also, play on the adult’s pre-conceived notions of how things should be. By challenging the norm, you’re offering the youth who does not have years of “norm” experience the opportunity to solve things with fresh perspective. And lastly, make the skill of “planning” very basic.


A great example of this in our escape rooms is the 6-piece puzzle in tomb of the pharaoh.

This is 1 of 6 (or 8) tiles, depending on which level of difficulty you play in Tomb of the Pharaoh.


All it asks you to do as the user is combine 6-8 squares, all with flat edges, into a coherent image. Often, we find that adults assume a specific arrangement and then stop when they think they have it. Youth more often than not will think freely and change their approach, trying again if something does not work.


It’s an “easy” puzzle in that the basic function is simple. What’s challenging is the “unthinking” and “rethinking” that children are often great at.


We hear that in customer testimonials from Escape Mail players, such as Kerry Ann, who commented on the advantage of having younger perspectives while trying to solve episode 1: 


Now, all that being the case, there are some key differentiators that make puzzles more or less age appropriate.


DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KID AND ADULT PUZZLES


The first key difference is the use of language. If a puzzle relies on reading comprehension, then that is a skill that is either present or not in younger persons. The ability to easily scan a document, retain what is read, and understand the mechanics of language, words, syntax and even poetic devices like metaphor are crucial in many Escape Mail puzzles. 


That’s why we recommend our games for age 10+, and even then, adult accompaniment is extremely helpful.


Another differentiator is the use of supports (or clues/hints). Many adults do not like to use hints or clues. They view them as a crutch, or a lack of independence. If an adult uses a clue, there’s often a sense of let-down or disappointment. For younger players (and this is more true the younger you go) we often see immense joy and satisfaction from receiving a clue. In the escape room context, offering a clue to a younger person often elicits a wide-eyed, exuberant, “THANK YOU”. 


Why is that?


We think it’s because youth have not yet been trained to think that getting help is a sign of weakness. They don’t have the awareness of social dynamics and competition and doing “better” than others. Sometimes competitiveness can drive adults to succeed, but often it can inhibit a spirit of collaboration, openness and curiosity.


RECOVERING THE WONDER OF YOUTH


So how do you (assuming “you” is an adult!) recover and maintain a childlike sense of wonder.


Surprisingly, the answer is not as simple as “play more Escape Mail.”


Simply purchasing a product does not inherently change your outlook on life. No one can do that for you. Only you can decide how to be.


  • Only you can decide to take a closer look at something when it piques your curiosity.
  • Only you can choose to become a willing participant in a game when more “practical” matters could be attended to.
  • Only you can allow yourself to wonder about things, and to delve into researching them and uncovering their secrets.
  • And since beauty is what triggers wonder, then only you can attune to beauty through sensitivity (more on that below)!


YOU HAVE THE KEY TO CHILDLIKE WONDER


All you have to do it use it.


PS. At the start of this article we quoted Catherine L’Ecuyer who has written an incredible article called “The Wonder Approach to learning”. There are so many good parts, but let’s just look at one. In the article, they make this phenomenal statement, “Beauty is what triggers wonder. Wonder attunes to beauty through sensitivity.” We endeavour to make our puzzles beautiful: to ensure the design is congruent, the images are appealing, the text is laid out well, etc. And in the process, by creating and communicating beautifully, we hope to trigger that wonder response in you, the puzzler. We’ll continue to get better and better at this as we develop more and more games, and we appreciate you following along on the journey. 

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We do our absolute best to be 100% totally honest and truthful in our business. No fake reviews, no artificial scarcity, no phony countdown timers. What you see here is completely real. If we get something wrong, let us know and we will fix it.

REAL CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS

Every review posted to a product is a real customer who has purchased, tested and shared their experience with an Escape Mail product. If you want to know what a product is like in real life, take a look at what real people have to say about it.

Honesty
Wide Selection

WE ARE GENUINE

We do our absolute best to be 100% totally honest and truthful in our business. No fake reviews, no artificial scarcity, no phony countdown timers. What you see here is completely real. If we get something wrong, let us know and we will fix it.

REAL CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS

Every review posted to a product is a real customer who has purchased, tested and shared their experience with an Escape Mail product. If you want to know what a product is like in real life, take a look at what real people have to say about it.

Honesty

WE ARE GENUINE

We do our absolute best to be 100% totally honest and truthful in our business. No fake reviews, no artificial scarcity, no phony countdown timers. What you see here is completely real. If we get something wrong, let us know and we will fix it.

Wide Selection

REAL CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS

Every review posted to a product is a real customer who has purchased, tested and shared their experience with an Escape Mail product. If you want to know what a product is like in real life, take a look at what real people have to say about it.

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Our support team is available for your questions 24/7 and will do everything they can to answer your queries or resolve your issue quickly. Feel free to get in touch! And if you call us during business hours, you will speak to a real person!

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Every order over the free shipping limit gets automatically upgraded to FREE worldwide shipping! How great is that? The free shipping limit is different for domestic and international customers – make sure to check the shipping information for all the details.

Order Tracking
Reviews

HELPFUL CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Our support team is available for your questions 24/7 and will do everything they can to answer your queries or resolve your issue quickly. Feel free to get in touch! And if you call us during business hours, you will speak to a real person!

FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY FOR QUALIFYING ORDERS

Every order over the free shipping limit gets automatically upgraded to FREE worldwide shipping! How great is that? The free shipping limit is different for domestic and international customers – make sure to check the shipping information for all the details.

Order Tracking

HELPFUL CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Our support team is available for your questions 24/7 and will do everything they can to answer your queries or resolve your issue quickly. Feel free to get in touch! And if you call us during business hours, you will speak to a real person!

REAL CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS

FREE WORLDWIDE DELIVERY FOR QUALIFYING ORDERS

Every order over the free shipping limit gets automatically upgraded to FREE worldwide shipping! How great is that? The free shipping limit is different for domestic and international customers – make sure to check the shipping information for all the details.

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If your product arrives damaged or it doesn’t show up at all, then we will happily either refund your purchase or send you the same replacement product free of charge – simple!

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You can track the status and location of your order in real time as it travels from our warehouse to your door with our handy order tracking tool.

Free Shipping Options
Fast Shipping

SIMPLE REFUND POLICY

If your product arrives damaged or it doesn’t show up at all, then we will happily either refund your purchase or send you the same replacement product free of charge – simple!

REAL-TIME ORDER TRACKING

You can track the status and location of your order in real time as it travels from our warehouse to your door with our handy order tracking tool.

Free Shipping Options

SIMPLE REFUND POLICY

If your product arrives damaged or it doesn’t show up at all, then we will happily either refund your purchase or send you the same replacement product free of charge – simple!

Fast Shipping

REAL-TIME ORDER TRACKING

You can track the status and location of your order in real time as it travels from our warehouse to your door with our handy order tracking tool.

Refund
Customer Support

FAST AND EFFICIENT SHIPPING OPTIONS

Thanks to our network warehouses and strategic logistics partners, we are able to offer fast and affordable delivery across the world. Most products are shipped out within 2 business days, and we offer free worldwide delivery on orders over the free shipping limit.

BEST VALUE GUARANTEED

As our customer, your satisfaction is our number 1 priority, and we will do everyone we can to make sure you are happy with your purchase.

Refund
Customer Support

FAST AND EFFICIENT SHIPPING OPTIONS

Thanks to our network warehouses and strategic logistics partners, we are able to offer fast and affordable delivery across the world. Most products are shipped out within 2 business days, and we offer free worldwide delivery on orders over the free shipping limit.

BEST VALUE GUARANTEED

As our customer, your satisfaction is our number 1 priority, and we will do everyone we can to make sure you are happy with your purchase.

Refund

FAST AND EFFICIENT SHIPPING OPTIONS

Thanks to our network warehouses and strategic logistics partners, we are able to offer fast and affordable delivery across the world. Most products are shipped out within 2 business days, and we offer free worldwide delivery on orders over the free shipping limit.

Customer Support

BEST VALUE GUARANTEED

As our customer, your satisfaction is our number 1 priority, and we will do everyone we can to make sure you are happy with your purchase.

SEE OUR PRODUCTS
SEE OUR PRODUCTS

See what people are saying!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

When I first opened this newspaper, I was a little overwhelmed with the information and confused about what to do with it that I almost looked up some hints.  But when I got that "ah-ha" moment where I understood what I was supposed to do I realized just how brilliant this episode really is. This envelope was so well written and conceptually thought out, I felt like it was just speaking my language. Seriously, these just keep getting better and better. Whatever the electronic version of a standing ovation is- that's what I'm sending to you guys!


- Colin, Escape Mail Customer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Chapter 9 was by far the most challenging episode for me.... It's worth it, though, because the story is pretty awesome!  What a cliffhanger!  Please mail the next episode ASAP!  I'm on the edge of my seat!


- Donna, Escape Mail Customer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

We LOVED this experience! A perfect variety of puzzles for a fun afternoon - it's amazing how much content is put into a regular envelope :) These escapes are so well done. I'm blown away every time.


- Noemi, Escape Mail Customer

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This was awesome! Such a great thing to do with the roommates while we are all stuck at home. Challenging yet very satisfying when we figured something out.


- Gregory, Escape Mail Customer

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