Family Gathering Breakout Box

My family does a large Thanksgiving every year. To add a fun activity I have in recent years been including a Breakout Box activity for family to patriciate in. Similar to an escape room, just on a smaller scale, a Breakout Box is some kind of container that you put a series of customizable padlocks on with a series clues that players will use to figure out the various combinations.

With this Instructable I hope to give you some inspiration as I break down some of the various clues I have used for the locks. Hopefully they will provide you with a jumping off point for setting up your own set of clues to use at some gathering. While I use an actual Breakout EDU set that I've purchased for use in my classroom, this can be done cheaply with any lockable container and customizable locks that can be picked up at Lowe's or online.

Obviously you will have to gather your own family pictures, however done right you can get people reminiscing and interacting with each other as they work to figure out the information they need to unlock each of the locks and spark some great conversations.

Coming up with workable clues can be the most time consuming process. Collecting pictures and doing the background research can take time, but can be enjoyable. This has been a hit every year I've done it and is well worth the time I invest. I am going to share a handful of clues that I have used, they will be specific to my family and available resources of course, however could easily be altered to fit your situation. I find when I am working on coming up with new clues I just need a bit of inspiration and I can run with it. I hope my ideas give you that inspiration to set up your activity.

Box and Locks:

-Breakout EDU Kit: https://store.breakoutedu.com/products/breakout-edu

Or

-Lockable container (simple toolboxes work great): Example from Amazon

-Multi lock Hasp: Example from Amazon

-3# Lock: Example From Amazon

-4# Lock: Example From Amazon

-Word lock: Example from Amazon

-Directional Lock: Example from Amazon

-Keyed Lock: Example from Amazon

-Lock with color code: I could not find the same one I got on Amazon, getting an extra word lock and painting colored dots over the letters would work. You could also just skip this lock if needed.

Optional Tools:

-Invisible Ink Pen & UV Light: Example from Amazon

-Red Film for viewing secret message: Example on Amazon

Other Stuff:

-Prize for inside the box, such as a bag of candy and a "We Broke Out" sign

-Family pictures (Facebook stalking is a good source of getting pictures)

-A family tree makes a good source of clues

-The ability to print out your clues

-Specific materials for clues will vary

***The Amazon examples I show are not the same as what I have, they are just examples. There is no need to get the most expensive locks out there, you can likely find cheaper ones that work or use what you have around. These are just examples to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.***

Clue: Going through the family tree I find there are certain names that have appeared numerous times. I printed out name tags with the appropriate number of duplicate names and mixed them in with the other clues. Once collected they can match the tags with the colors on the "We Recycle" sheet. The number of name tags correspond with the number pattern on the the 3# lock.

Clue #1: I took a popular old family photo and pasted it onto a background of licence plates. The hint being the 4 numbers on the licence plate of the car correspond with the 4# lock. Photos like this always inspire a great deal of conversation as they try to identify each of the great aunts and uncles, and share stories.

Clue #2: Another clue I have used for the 4# lock is a set of pictures of family members with their birth year on them missing the last number of the year. They need to work together and collaborate to figure out each persons correct birth year. They then needed to determine the correct order in which they go in. In this case I used chronological order. (I also had a printed copy of the family tree available for them to reference to find birth years.)

Clue #1: I used an online Ticket Generator to make fake travel tickets, along with a map of travel. The three tickets indicate the initial 3 family members who emigrated to the American Colonies in the 1600s. On one of the tickets I smudged out the name. Using the family tree to look back to the appropriate timeline and to identify the family group they can then determine the missing name which would then correspond with the word lock.

Clue #2: I made a simple crossword with clues that referenced a set of pictures. Once completed the secret word "Thank" is spelled out. In my example I colored in the corresponding boxes with invisible ink so that when exposed to a black light it would highlight the word. This could also be done simply by making the boxes of the secret word bolded to indicate the word to use.

Clue #1: I used the photo albums to find pictures of family members posed in positions that clearly indicated a direction. You could put the images on one page in the proper order to make it easier, or you could give them individual pictures with some kind of clue to figure out the order. A simple method would be to cut them out so they fit together like a puzzle. In my example I put their year of birth on the picture so participants needed to put them in the correct order and then determine which way they were pointing. In one of the pictures there were two people pointing in different directions, they needed to correctly identify the right person in that picture.

Clue #2: In this picture I wrote a little story that corresponds with the picture. By carefully reading the story and identifying the location of each person in the picture they would then identify the direction of each arrow in the pattern.

Clue: I dug into the photo albums for this one again. I found pictures of family members wearing distinct colors that would align to the dots of color on my lock. Depending on the level of challenge you could arrange the pictures on one page in the order of the lock. To step up the challenge I gave them the pictures individually and they had to arrange them in order by age first, then they could use the colors to unlock the lock.

Clue #1: For the keyed lock I have used several messy options to hide the key. I have used whip cream pies with the key in the bottom of the pie, I have cut open a pumpkin and hiden the key in the guts. When I have done this I will put the pie or pumpkin on the table with the other clues and not given any other information. Inevitably someone will realize that the key is hidden inside and they will need to go digging for it.

Clue #2: If you want a cleaner activity to hide the key I have also used a hidden message to reveal the location of the key. When I do this I will put the tool required to read the message inside the small box. It could be done using invisible ink and a UV light or hide a word in a anaglyph jumble and give them a red film to see the word. This Anaglyph Generator from Khan Academy could help you make one like my example.

Small Box: To add an extra challenge and to direct the order in which clues are solved I will add a second smaller box that will contain some of the needed tools to solve some of the clues, such as the black light, red film, or additional clues. They must first get into this box in order to solve other clues.

Timing: I find that it takes most groups roughly 5 minutes per lock, so depending on how long you want the activity to take you can adjust the number of locks you use to make the activity shorter or longer.

Prize: Don't feel the need to go overboard with this, a sign that reads "We Broke Out" that you can take a group picture with can be plenty. I tend to dump in a bag of candy or other treat. Other times I've made little keepsakes on my 3D printer that I may put in.

Other Thoughts: Don't feel limited to using the clues the way I have them set up. Mix and match them to fit what tools and resources you have. Incorporate things like QR codes to send people out looking for their information, though I tend to keep things hands on and stay away from sending people into their devices. Hide things around the room or place them on a single table. Don't be too quick to give out hints, the struggle part of the fun. If a hint is needed try to point them in the right direction rather than giving something away. Keep it positive, don't create a clue that might stir up animosity.