Teacher Portal

1. Decide to play solo, in teams of 2-4 students, or as a whole class. Give each team scratch paper, pencils, and one shared device, then have them enter your access PIN at game.playpuzzlepunks.com. A success screen will appear.

2. Walk teams through the setup screen, and allow them to choose their own characters. Then they'll press "Start," which plays a short interactive cutscene to introduce the story. When the cutscene ends, the escape room begins!

3. Teams complete a series of math or reading challenges. After all questions in a challenge are answered, a secret code input appears. Students use clues from their answers to figure it out. Once every challenge is complete, a "Finish" button appears. Pressing it ends the escape room and shows a final debriefing.

Number of players: 3 students per team is typically the ideal number for balancing difficulty and engagement.

Number of challenges: o cover every skill, choose the maximum number of challenges available. Only select fewer for differentiation or timing constraints.

Time limit: Start with 10 minutes per challenge. This ensures excitement and urgency, while still allowing plenty of time to solve each puzzle.

Hints: We recommend enabling hints, which will help students remain independent if they get stuck.

Before doing anything else: Double-check that your device is connected to the internet, and that your browser is updated to the latest version of Chrome or Safari. This will solve most issues.

Website is blocked by district firewall: Contact your IT department and ask them to unblock the site. In the meantime, consider playing Puzzle Punks as a whole class. You can mirror the website from your own personal device to your classroom's smart TV or projector.

Website is loading slowly or not at all: Ensure that you have a strong WIFI connection, your device does not have a low battery, and your device is not in power-saving mode. These three things commonly cause slow loading speeds.

You found a glitch or bug: Visit our contact page and send us an email with the following information:

1. The escape room in question
2. A description of the bug
3. Your device type and browser
4. A screenshot, if possible

If you include these things and it's a legitimate bug, we'll refund your purchase and get it fixed ASAP.

Any issue not stated here: Visit our contact page and send us email.

What's an access PIN? An access PIN is a unique 5-digit code required to play a Puzzle Punks escape room. Each escape room has its own PIN, which is provided after purchase.

Where is my access PIN? It's in one of two places, depending on where you made your purchase.

• If you purchased from our website, your access PIN is on the PDF we emailed you. Please allow up to 5 minutes for it to arrive in your inbox.
• If you purchased from TPT, your access PIN is on the PDF available for download on your "My Purchases" page.

How do I set up a new game? With Puzzle Punks, there's minimal setup involved. Simply have your students visit game.playpuzzlepunks.com and enter your access PIN. Then, as a group, follow the instructions that appear on-screen.

What if my district blocked the site? Contact your district's IT department and ask them to add playpuzzlepunks.com to their list of approved sites. To bypass a firewall, consider mirroring the website from your own personal device to your classroom's smart TV or projector. You can then play as a whole class.

What prep and supplies are required? All you need is a set of scratch paper, pencils, and a single electronic device per team. No prep is required!

What devices does Puzzle Punks work on? Our digital escape rooms work on anything with an internet connection. Chromebooks, iPads, smart TVs, phones, laptops, tablets, PCs, Macs, and much more.

How can I differentiate? The settings screen that appears before each escape room allows you to tailor the experience to meet individual student needs.