All 9 Puzzle Types Explained

Which Type Fits When?

A good outdoor escape course is not about making every station as complicated as possible. It is about players doing something at the place: looking, counting, comparing, sorting, moving, recognizing details and talking to each other. Puzzle types are tools for that. You do not have to use every type, but you should switch consciously. Most important: this is not a test and not exam pressure. Players should have fun, arrive at ideas together and enjoy finding a solution.

The editor selection: each type asks for a different kind of observation.

1. Photo Task easy

The photo task is the lowest-threshold type. Players do not solve a classic riddle; they complete a small camera action. It is ideal to get groups moving, create a memory and give everyone a breather after a harder station.

You mainly enter a clear task. The app does not check an answer word.

When to use it?

Best in the first third or after a demanding station. As the very first station it is often too thin because players have not yet learned how solving in the app works. As a small reward or group moment it is very strong.

Best Practices

• Make the instruction so clear that the group immediately knows what must be visible.
• Use it for emotional moments: selfie at the goal, celebration pose, team photo, birthday person in front of the clue.

2. Question with Answers very flexible

This is the most flexible puzzle type. You ask a question, define one or more accepted answers and can add a task photo plus hints. It works for counting questions, inscriptions, hidden details, simple codes, wordplay and observations.

Question, answer rules, hints and optional task photo.

The search image belongs to the course-wide matching task: at every station players pick the matching image.

The Three Answer Types

Best Practices

• Use the task photo whenever possible so players know which detail is meant.
• Accept variants if people might spell the answer differently.
• For numbers, use the number type. It reduces frustration and avoids letter guessing.
• Stage hints: first narrow the topic, then give a time or factual context, then almost reveal the solution.

3. Multiple Choice easy

Multiple choice is the tap-based version of a question-answer task. Players choose from several options. The station is solved only when exactly all correct and no wrong answers are selected.

When to use it?

Use it when players should compare several things: Which animals are visible? Which colors occur? Which names are on the board? Which statements match the monument?

Best Practices

• Mix correct and wrong answers meaningfully. Avoid obvious nonsense options.
• Make wrong answers plausible but verifiably wrong on site.
• If only one answer is correct, the type still works, but the question must be very clear.
• Use a task photo if players would not know which board, facade or figure you mean.

4. Digits as Symbols medium

This type turns numbers into a small code system. You enter a question with a visible number, for example a year on a building. The app replaces digits with symbols and creates calculation clues that let players decode the digits 0 to 9.

Enter a number, encode it, then digits are replaced by symbols.

When to use it?

Use it when a longer number is visible: year, row of house numbers, bridge date, monument inscription, kilometer marker, sign number, inventory number. A four-digit number works best because players already know several symbols from the context.

Best Practices

• Do not use a number that is tiny or hard to access.
• Four-digit years are ideal. Two-digit numbers often provide too little context.
• Do not hide the number completely. The challenge is decoding, not endless searching.

5. Swap Tiles medium

For swap tiles you photograph a motif. The app splits it into 9 or 12 pieces and shuffles them. Players swap tiles until the picture is correct again. The picture should be visible on site.

Take a photo, choose the grid size, done.

When to use it?

Use it for facades, gates, fountains, murals, mosaics, sculptures, signs or distinctive natural details. The tiles must be distinguishable. A uniform brick wall is boring; an archway with ornaments works well.

Best Practices

• Make sure players can really see the original.
• Use 9 tiles for short courses, early stations or motifs with many similar areas.
• Use 12 tiles deliberately: it is much more difficult and fits later in the course or with very clear motifs.
• Avoid photos with lots of similar sky, grass or paving.

6. Spot the Difference medium

Here you photograph a real motif and edit a copy: add small gadgets or mark areas that differ from the original. Players compare the app image with reality and tap the matching fields.

Take the original image and add differences.

When to use it?

Use it when the place has a stable, comparable motif: monument, bench, sign, mural, gate, fountain, window front. The motif should not often be blocked or change too much with light conditions.

Best Practices

• Use gadgets that fit the image. A small symbol on a monument works better than a huge foreign object.
• Do not place differences directly at the edge if they are hard to tap on small screens.
• The invisible marker is useful when you use an externally edited image and only want to mark changed spots.
• Do not use too many differences. Two to four are usually enough.

7. Direction Walk medium

The direction walk is a small navigation puzzle. Players follow a sequence of directions and instructions using the compass. At the end they answer a question. This type is perfect when the path itself should be part of the puzzle.

Intro, route segments and final question.

When to use it?

For parks, avenues, squares, courtyards, castle grounds, harbors or paths with several branches. It is especially nice when the movement itself is fun, not just another “read the sign” moment.

Best Practices

• Use at least three segments. A single right angle quickly feels arbitrary.
• Do not use only 90-degree turns. Small angles make the compass more interesting.
• Every segment needs a visible intermediate goal or players walk too far.
• Plan a safety question at the end so it is clear that the group arrived correctly.

8. Sort Images complex

For image sorting you create six images and six terms. You decide how the task is meant: players may assign terms to images or assign images to terms. The order in the editor is the solution; in play the matching is shuffled.

Six photos, six terms, one correct matching.

When to use it?

Use it when several things at the place can be compared: six coats of arms, figures, reliefs, plants, window shapes or historical stations. It also works when players assign terms to objects while the photos show only small close-up details. These details must be clear enough to recognize on site.

Best Practices

• Images must be distinguishable, but not trivial. Good differences are in the details.
• Make sure all six terms can be found on site or logically inferred.
• Avoid orders only you know. Players need a verifiable match.

9. Crossword complex

The crossword is the most extensive puzzle type. You enter five questions and five solution words; the app automatically builds a grid. Players solve the clues and enter the words into the grid.

Enter five questions and answer words.

The grid is generated automatically and can be rearranged.

When to use it?

Use it when a place offers several pieces of information at once: castle grounds, museum courtyard, monument ensemble, historic square, nature trail, viewpoint with many details. The crossword works well as a highlight later in the course.

Best Practices

• Do not use too many long words. One long word and several shorter ones usually make better grids.
• Give every word a clear place reference. Pure general knowledge feels less like outdoor escape.
• Avoid ambiguous spellings. If needed, make the clue explicit.
• Test the grid in preview and rearrange it if it looks hard to read.

Mini-games before puzzles

Mini-games are not a tenth puzzle type. They are short gates before the actual station task: players first complete a quick action on the phone, then the real puzzle appears. This adds motion, surprise and a small success moment without changing the puzzle content itself.

Which mini-games are available?

When to use them?

Use mini-games when a station should feel more physical or playful before the thinking part begins: a short movement at a viewpoint, a reaction task before a simple question, a compass alignment before a direction-heavy station or a memory sequence before a code. They are especially useful on routes with many text-heavy tasks.

Best Practices

• Think of mini-games as rhythm, not as the main challenge.
• After two or three reading-heavy stations, a short motion gate can make the course feel alive again.

Good Mix in a Course

A course with 12 to 20 stations should feel like a small story. At the beginning players want confidence, in the middle it may get trickier, and at the end everything should feel like the final stretch. Puzzle types help you build that rhythm.

One possible 15-station mix

Common mistakes

• Too little place reference: The question could be anywhere. Better: use a detail visible only right there.
• Too narrow answers: Players write “post office”, but you accept only “post”. Use “contains” or several answers.
• Too hard first station: The start should build confidence, not block the group.
• Unclear photos: Search images must be clearly assignable per station; task photos must narrow down the puzzle spot.
• Hints reveal too much at once: Better in stages: area, viewing direction, concrete detail.