Gamification 2: Breakout Puzzles

In the second post in our Gamificaiton + Excel Training series, we’ll talk about another fun element used in our training pass: Breakout Puzzles. My family enjoys going to Escape Rooms, and if you haven’t been to one, I’d recommend checking it out.

In summary, you go to the Escape Room and they lock you in. You have 60 minutes to solve puzzles which reveal combination lock codes. One code may unlock a trunk or safe, and inside, you get additional clues to help solve other puzzles. Ultimately, you figure out the code for the door letting you “escape” from the room. It is like a real-life video game, and if you like video games or puzzles or mystery movies, you’ll probably love doing an escape room.

I wanted to do something similar in my Excel training. So, I came up with the idea for an Excel Breakout Puzzle. The idea is that I’ve hidden a code inside an Excel workbook. The student needs to use their new Excel skills to find the code. If they find them all, they can “escape” the “university” … cute, right? This is another gamification element I use to help make learning Excel fun.

If you’d like to give one a try, download the file and see if you can find the code:

• BreakoutPuzzle8.xlsx

And, if you’d like to see a walkthrough, check out the video below:

Our Extreme Gamification strategy uses numerous game-like elements to make Excel training fun. These are available in our Campus Pass. More info below:

• Campus Pass Info

If you solved the Breakout puzzle, share a quick comment below!!!