The short version
The pupils have just finished a course and a test. This is a low-pressure coding game: three rooms, twelve locks. A pupil writes a Python program,
types its answer on an on-screen keypad, and the lock opens if the answer is right. Nothing needs marking.
Before the lesson
- Pupils open this site’s escape page in a browser (the class teacher will give you the address, or use the link on the course pages).
- On a shared computer, press Reset this computer at the bottom of the page first. Progress is stored in the browser, so a previous class’s locks may still be open.
- Each pupil downloads
escape-pack.zip, extracts it (right-click, Extract All…), and opens the extracted folder in PyCharm (File > Open).
During the lesson
- You can see progress at a glance: the bar at the top of the page shows locks open (for example 5 / 12) and the exit-code letters filling in.
- Everybody should finish the Staff Room. Opening 3 of its 4 locks unlocks the Server Room, and 3 of 4 there unlocks the Vault.
- After 3 wrong answers on a lock, a hint appears. The keypad also makes pupils wait a few seconds after each wrong answer, so guessing does not work.
- If a pupil is stuck, ask them to test their program on the small example shown on the lock. That fixes most problems.
- Pupils may help each other. “Explain it to me” is a good question to ask.
- When all 12 locks are open, the page shows the finish screen and a printable certificate.
Timings
- 1 hour: 5 minutes setup, then Staff Room and as far into the Server Room as they get. Last 5 minutes: ask pupils to show you their lock count.
- 2 hours: same, with a short break at the halfway point. The Vault is the stretch.
If the technology fails
- The page will not load or the zip is blocked: use the pack on the shared drive if the class teacher has put one there. Inside it,
check.py works offline and puzzles-offline.html holds the puzzle text.
- PyCharm will not open: pupils can read the puzzle text and write their solution in pseudocode on paper, then show you.
- Printed copy: the Print puzzle sheets button at the bottom of the page prints every lock without the keypads.