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Imagine you’ve been preparing for Thanksgiving for weeks. Everything is set, the food is prepped and you’re excited for the guests to arrive, but when you go to check on the turkey, you discover that it’s gone! Someone stole your Thanksgiving turkey! Help save Thanksgiving with the Best Free Thanksgiving Escape Room game!
This free printable escape room can be printed and quickly set up. It doesn’t require any special materials and the game can be played virtually anywhere. The puzzles vary in difficulty and are created for children.
Whether you use the game for a fun family night activity or a center in your classroom, you’re going to love the puzzles and Thanksgiving theme.
I loved using this game at the kids table this year. It kept everyone busy, learning and working together. There are five puzzles to solve and all are Thanksgiving themed. Add this game to your celebrations and set the table with all the Thanksgiving food cards and puzzles!
If you’re looking for more Thanksgiving activities and challenges for kids, try these Top 3 Thanksgiving STEM Activities, each with a hands-on challenge and free printables!
More Free Escape Rooms
Escape rooms have become very popular over the last several years. I love visiting escape rooms in my area, but it can be hard to find escape rooms that are also fun for kids. My children love the experience of an escape room, but the puzzles are often too challenging for younger kids.
If you’re looking for more escape room games and activities, check out Teachingideas.ca popular collection of free printable escape room games. They’re similar to the Thanksgiving escape room, but without the seasonal theme.
- Free Printable Escape Room
- Free Escape Room for Young Kids
- Free Escape Room for Kids and Teens
- Free Escape Room Game for Kids
You can also create your own escape room with hands-on puzzles, with 40+ Escape Room Ideas.
Free Printable Escape Room Materials
For this free Thanksgiving escape room, you will need:
- Free Printables
- Scissors
- Envelopes/Bags x6
- Paper + Pencil + Marker
Make sure to print each of the pages in color. It is best if you print on slightly thicker, good quality paper especially for the Thanksgiving dishes cards. The cards have instructions on the back. If the paper is really thin the instructions/clue may show through.
I have used this game and the puzzles several times, so I use dry erase pockets and dry erase markers so that the puzzles can be reused. If you are only doing the game once, you can just solve the puzzles on the paper (without laminating).
This escape room can be played virtually anywhere, but it’s fun to set up at a decorated table so players feel like it’s Thanksgiving. Grab some Thanksgiving decorations to make it even more fun. You can put on themed music and set a timer, if you wish. If you have younger players a time restriction can make the game more challenging, and maybe less fun, but it’s up to you.
Thanksgiving Escape Room Set Up
The set up is fairly quick and easy with this escape room game. Most of the puzzles just need to be printed, but a few need to be cut.
Please read the printing instructions carefully in the resource. The first ten puzzles are printed single sided. The final six pages in the game are to be printed double sided. Instructions on printer settings are included in the resource.
**If you do not print the final six pages correctly, the game will not work. Pages need to be printed double sided and printer setting set to print on short edge. Please check your cards before playing. Below tells what the back of your food cards should say:
- Mashed Potatoes – Open Clue #2
- Ham – Open Clue # 5
- Gravy – Try Again
- Turkey – Blank
- Pumpkin Pie – Open Clue #3
- Cornucopia – Try Again
- Glazed Carrots – Try Again
- Stuffing – Open Clue #6
- Apple Pie – Try Again
- Cranberry Sauce -Try Again
- Corn – Try Again
- Peas -Open clue #4
On each puzzle, the clue number is written. For most of the clues, there is a puzzle page and an instruction sheet to be placed together. The background for each puzzle and instruction page match.
The instruction pages need to be cut around the background and then placed with the matching puzzle page. Each puzzle is then placed in a bag or envelope of some kind. If you don’t have envelopes, you can simply fold the pages and seal with tape.
On the front of each envelope/bag write the clue number and place the puzzle and clue inside.
There are three pages with four pictures of Thanksgiving dishes on each. These pages have writing on the back and need to be printed double sided. Each of these meal cards can be placed on the middle of the table where you will play the game. Place picture side up. The envelopes are placed around on the table.
Below are the set up and playing instructions. Printable set up and answer pages are available for purchase at the bottom of this post. They are the same as what is included below by available if you want a printable copy vs. reading online.
Thanksgiving Escape Room Game
Please note that as players solve the puzzles, they may begin to figure out some of the solutions before fully solving the puzzle based on the number of letters in the answer etc. If players are able to solve it quickly, that’s great. It can also be an opportunity to let younger children work on some of the easier puzzles.
Alternatively you can print several copies of the puzzles and everyone playing has to solve the puzzle before moving on.
Free Thanksgiving Escape Room Clue #1
When players first see the escape room, they will notice six bags numbered 1-6. They will also notice that there are twelve images of food. One of these food images tells them to open clue #1. They will likely also notice that the card says turkey, but does not have a picture of a turkey on it.
Once clue #1 is opened, players will find a note and another smaller card with instructions and a word/letter match.
Players read the letter to find out that the Thanksgiving turkey has gone missing! It is their job to solve the clues to find this stolen turkey and save Thanksgiving.
Players must read through the note and locate each of the words printed below the instructions on the smaller page. Once the word is found, print the letter that is beside it. For example, the first word in the note that is also on the list is Thanksgiving, therefore the first letter of the clue is M.
The second word is thief, which matches the letter A. Continue through the note, matching words in the order that they appear. Finally, when all words have been found, players will have the clue, MASHED POTATOES.
Players pick up, and flip over the mashed potatoes picture card on the table, which says, “Open Clue #2” on the back. They solved the puzzle correctly!
Printable Escape Room Clue #2
Puzzle #2 shows a table and the names of twenty Thanksgiving dishes. There is also an instruction card that tells players clues to narrow down the dishes to just one.
The clues are:
•The food is not a type of bread or meat. (Eliminate: dinner rolls, cornbread, ham).
•The food is not a sauce. (Eliminate: gravy, cranberry sauce).
•The food does not have the letter ‘C’ in it. (Eliminate: coleslaw, apple cider, corn, carrot cake, glazed carrots).
•The dish does not have side by side double letters in its name. (Eliminate: apple pie, stuffing, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, green beans).
•The dish does not end in the letters ‘es’. (Eliminate: roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes).
Once each of the dishes have been eliminated, players are left with PUMPKIN PIE.
On the back of the pumpkin pie, players are instructed to open clue #3.
Free Thanksgiving Escape Room Clue #3
Clue #3 is a maze. Players must quickly start at each pumpkin and draw a line. If the line leads out of the maze, and to another pumpkin, then players shade in the whole path. If the line leads to a dead end and not to another pumpkin, then the line is erased.
There are four paths that lead from one pumpkin to another. When these four paths are shaded, they spell out the word PEAS. Players flip the pictures of the peas and open clue #4.
Free Thanksgiving Escape Room Game Puzzle #4
Clue #4 is cute and easy for younger children to help and be successful with. The puzzle includes a typical image of a Thanksgiving celebration; however, there are three things in the image that don’t seem to fit. Players search the photo to find these things.
The items are, hairdryer, ants and a monkey.
The first letters of these pictures can be unscrambled to spell out HAM. This is the next Thanksgiving dish picture to be flipped. Players are instructed to open clue #5.
Printable Game for Kids Clue #5
This puzzle can take a bit of time to solve. If you have lots of kids playing the game, consider printing several copies of this page. Each player can choose a few pictures to search for at a time. There are lots of images to look through.
Players are searching for the one image that is found four times. Some images are found two or three times, but only one is in the grid four times. Once players have searched through, they will eventually find the image of the yellow leaf.
The yellow leaf is in the grid four times in the coordinates, GN SF UF TI. When these letters are unscrambled, they tell the next Thanksgiving dish card to flip – the STUFFING.
Escape Room Completion Certificate
The picture of the stuffing, tells players to open clue #6. When this clue is opened, players discover that they have solved the escape room and saved Thanksgiving!
Players find out that it was the neighbor that stole the turkey. They were able to recover the turkey and enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner together. In this envelope, players will also find a completion certificate for correctly solving the escape room and the turkey!
You can include a small prize or treat with the completion certificate, or players finishing the puzzles can lead to the start of Thanksgiving dinner!
I hope your kids, family or students enjoy this game as much as mine did and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration.
Printable Instructions + Solutions
The free printables only include the puzzles. The instructions and solutions are all included above. However, if you prefer to have printables for everything you need for the game, the set up and answers are available for purchase.
Free Download
Download all of the puzzles featured above to set up your Free Thanksgiving Escape Room game at home or school. All of the pages are included and can be downloaded right away. Sign up through Grow by clicking the (grey box that says, “Free Printable”) below. When you subscribe you will get the PDF and you will also unlock all of the other free printables on this site. Once subscribed, the box will simply shows as “Click Here’ and you can open any freebies.
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