Sections

Guide sections

Every educational game rests on a few pillars. First, you need a story and a route for the teams to follow. Then come tasks that are fun to solve and right for the players' ages. Next come the people: the hosts and the rules that keep the game fair and friendly. And finally, safety and inclusion: a venue free of hazards and tasks that everyone can take part in.

The story makes a quest memorable, the tasks make it exciting and an attentive host makes it kind. If one part falls short, the others can carry it, but it's safer to think everything through in advance.

— Editor's view

These sections include only techniques you can use without special props and without putting players at risk. We write in general terms, with no prices or product names, and we clearly point out where decisions belong to the adults responsible for the venue and the kids.

Story and route

The story explains why teams travel from station to station, and the route turns it into a real journey from start to finish.

Theme and age
How to choose a theme that will grab your particular players, and how to account for age differences within a team.
A story in a few sentences
Why a short setup and a clear goal are enough, and why it's better to hand out the rest of the story piece by piece at the stations.
Route sheet
How to set the order of stations so teams don't run into each other or go around in circles.

Tasks

Tasks are the heart of a quest. It works best when they vary in type and difficulty and the answers can be checked without arguments.

Riddles and ciphers
How to write a riddle with a clear answer and a cipher that can be cracked with a key hidden at the station.
Attention and logic
Spot-the-difference, logic chains and observation puzzles: why they work so well for teams with players of different ages.
General knowledge without cramming (in Russian)
How to ask about nature, art or the past so that the answer can be found or worked out, not just remembered.

Hosts and rules

The hosts set the mood of the game, and rules announced before the start prevent arguments along the route.

Host roles
Who keeps track of time, who greets teams at the stations and who comes to the rescue when someone gets stuck.
Fair play
What to agree on in advance: whether hints from others are allowed, how answers are counted and who settles disputes.
A finish with no losers
How to recognize every team's effort and why a shared finale works better than a strict leaderboard.

Safety and inclusion

The game should be safe and accessible to every player, whatever their abilities.

The venue
How to walk the route in advance, rule out hazardous spots and agree on a meeting point.
Tasks for everyone
How to set up a station so it works for players who find it hard to run, read for a long time or speak loudly.
Adults nearby
Why younger kids need a chaperone and how to place adults along the route so nobody is left unsupervised.

Guides
How to design an educational quest with stations: preparation, steps with sample ideas, mistakes and a checklist. The article catalog is here too.
Questions
Short answers about preparing a quest, what to do during the game, and kids, age and safety.
Collections
Reading paths: a rainy-day quest at home, an outdoor journey game, a quiz for a big family.
Reference
The host's glossary: station, route sheet, hint, cipher, rebus, anagram, briefing, meeting point.

Sources

General experience of people who host family and children's games
The safety rules of your venue or organization

The advice in this guide draws on the shared experience of people who host family and children's games and is written in general terms. If your venue, camp or club has its own safety rules, they take priority over our suggestions: whenever the two differ, follow those rules and the decisions of the adults responsible for the players.