id: magicians-dressing-room engine: story category: escape-room title: The Magician's Dressing Room tagline: The Great Marvello vanished mid-show. Now you're locked in his dressing room. Coincidence? Never. estimatedMinutes: 25 difficulty: 3 players: { min: 2, max: 2 } theme: { primary: "#5b2a86", accent: "#f9c74f", background: "#0e0716", headingFont: "Playfair Display" } rules: hintPenaltySeconds: 180 roles: A: name: The Assistant blurb: You're in the dressing room itself. Mirrors, cabinets, cards, and the stage door. B: name: The Stagehand blurb: You're behind the trick wall in the prop store. Scripts, charts, and the magician's secrets. intro: | Front-row seats at **The Great Marvello**'s farewell show. Mid-act, he steps into his Vanishing Cabinet... and genuinely vanishes. The theatre panics. An usher asks you two to "check his dressing room". The door clicks shut behind you. A playing card slides under it: > *"Every great trick needs two. Find your way out, and you'll find me. — M."* One of you is in the dressing room. The other fell through a trick wall into the prop store behind it. You can hear each other through the mirror. chapters: - id: ch1 title: The Magic Square narrative: | The makeup table drawer has a 4-digit lock. Its lid is painted with a 3×3 grid of numbers, some rubbed away. clues: A: - id: a1-grid title: The painted grid on the drawer type: diagram body: | ``` ┌───┬───┬───┐ │ 2 │ ? │ 6 │ ├───┼───┼───┤ │ ? │ 5 │ ? │ ├───┼───┼───┤ │ 4 │ ? │ 8 │ └───┴───┴───┘ ``` *Tiny print under it: "Read the missing ones top to bottom, left to right."* B: - id: b1-notebook title: Marvello's notebook, page 1 type: note body: | *My drawer square is MAGIC: every row, every column and both diagonals add to the **same number**. Use each number 1 to 9 exactly once.* lock: id: lock-square prompt: Open the drawer. inputType: code format: 4 digits answers: ["7913"] hints: - Find the magic total first. The diagonal 2, 5, 8 is complete. - Every line adds to 15. The top row needs 15 − 2 − 6. - "Missing: top 7, middle-left 9, middle-right 1, bottom 3. Reading order: 7, 9, 1, 3." successText: | **7913.** The drawer opens: a top hat, and a deck of cards with six cards turned face up. keyName: Top Hat Key - id: ch2 title: What's in the Hat? narrative: | A brass plate on the hat stand reads **"WHAT'S IN THE HAT?"** with a six-letter tile lock. Six cards are laid face up on the table in a row. clues: A: - id: a2-cards title: The six face-up cards (left to right) type: diagram body: | ``` 5♥ A♠ 2♠ 2♠ 9♠ 7♥ ``` B: - id: b2-cipher title: Marvello's card cipher (prop store wall) type: table body: | | Suit | Ace | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | |------|-----|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|----|---|---|---| | ♠ Spades | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | | ♥ Hearts | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | *Clubs and diamonds mean nothing. Decoys.* lock: id: lock-hat prompt: What's in the hat? inputType: text format: 6 letters answers: ["RABBIT"] hints: - Spades are A to M, hearts are N to Z, by card value. - "5♥ = R. A♠ = A." - R-A-B-B-I-T. successText: | **RABBIT.** The hat's false bottom drops open. Out falls a velvet card with a grid of little squares, and a note: *"Picture my favourite thing."* keyName: Rabbit Key - id: ch3 title: The Picture Puzzle narrative: | A wall panel has a 5×5 grid of light switches. Turn on the right ones and the panel shows a picture. Then say what it is. clues: A: - id: a3-rows title: Velvet card, side 1 (rows, top to bottom) type: table body: | | Row | Clue | |-----|------| | 1 | 1 1 | | 2 | 5 | | 3 | 5 | | 4 | 3 | | 5 | 1 | *Each number is a run of switches ON in a row, in order, with at least one OFF between runs.* B: - id: b3-cols title: Velvet card, side 2 (columns, left to right) type: table body: | | Column | Clue | |--------|------| | 1 | 2 | | 2 | 4 | | 3 | 4 | | 4 | 4 | | 5 | 2 | *Same rules, but reading each column top to bottom.* lock: id: lock-picture prompt: What does the picture show? inputType: text format: One word answers: ["HEART", "AHEART", "LOVE", "LOVEHEART"] hints: - Rows 2 and 3 are fully ON. Start there. - Column 1 has a run of 2 and rows 2–3 already give it that, so the rest of column 1 is OFF. Same for column 5. - "Row 1: switches 2 and 4. Row 4: switches 2–4. Row 5: switch 3. It's a heart." successText: | **A heart.** The panel glows red. Behind it, a card table with a spread of cards and a stage door with four suit symbols. keyName: Heart Key finale: type: escape prompt: The stage door has four dials, one under each suit. clues: A: - id: af-door title: The stage door type: diagram body: | ``` ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] ``` *Engraved: "Count my table. Every card counts."* B: - id: bf-table title: The card table in the prop store type: table body: | | Card | Card | Card | Card | |------|------|------|------| | K♥ | 3♠ | 7♥ | Q♦ | | 2♥ | J♠ | 9♦ | A♥ | | 5♣ | 8♠ | 4♥ | | lock: id: lock-stage prompt: Set the four dials. inputType: code format: 4 digits (♠ ♥ ♦ ♣) answers: ["3521"] hints: - Count how many cards of each suit are on the table. - "♠: 3♠, J♠, 8♠." - "♠ 3, ♥ 5, ♦ 2, ♣ 1 = 3521." successEnding: | **3521.** The stage door swings open onto the empty stage, under a single spotlight. The Vanishing Cabinet's door creaks. The Great Marvello steps out, bows deeply, and hands you two a pair of tickets: *"Front row, for life. You make a marvellous double act."* **You escaped!** 🎩🔑