Puzzles, games and puzzle hunts · Maths CAS idea
Build a maths escape room
CreativityServiceProject-ready
Design an escape room where teams solve a chain of original maths puzzles to get out, and run it for younger students or at a school event.
Where the maths comes in
Writing puzzles that chain together, checking every solution and balancing difficulty.
Which CAS strand it fits
- Creativity: The arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
- Service: Unpaid, voluntary work with others that also has a learning benefit for you.
Your CAS coordinator decides how an experience counts at your school. Strand summaries are provisional (our words, being checked).
How to run it
- Choose a theme and sketch the puzzle chain.
- Write and test each puzzle on players outside your team.
- Build props and a hint system.
- Run sessions and time each team.
This can grow into a CAS project if your CAS coordinator agrees: see planning a maths CAS project.
How to evidence it
- Puzzle chain diagram and drafts
- Test-play notes
- Times and player feedback
Date everything and keep it in your school's CAS portfolio as you go. More on what counts as evidence.
Reflection prompts
Questions to think about, not answers to copy. Write your reflections in your own words, in whatever form your school accepts.
- Which puzzle needed the most rewriting, and why?
- How did you decide when to give hints?
- What did watching players stuck teach you?
Learning outcomes this often gives a chance to show
- Challenge and new skills. What could you not do at the start that you can do now? Which moment felt most uncomfortable, and what did you do next?
- Initiative and planning. What did you plan, and what did you have to change once you started? Who did you need to ask for permission or help, and how did you go about it?
- Collaboration. What did someone else bring that you could not have done alone? Describe a disagreement or a mix-up in the team. How was it resolved?
Whether you meet an outcome depends on what you actually do and reflect on, not on the idea. Outcome labels are our short summaries, being checked.
Safety and ethics
- No locked doors: the room must always be possible to leave.
- Write every puzzle yourself.
Agree every plan with your CAS coordinator first. Safety and ethics for maths CAS.
For puzzle ideas to adapt (never copy), browse competition maths.