Escape room: The Most Embarrassing Bank Robbery
A comedy escape room for teens and adults: three robbers locked themselves in the vault. Logic, digits and a balance scale get them out.
The story
Three amateur robbers got into the bank vault, and slammed the door behind them. Now they’re stuck inside and calling you, the rescue team, with a desperate plea: “Get us out of here!”
The robbers would like it noted that this is their first robbery and they are very sorry.
5 story stations · online you can pick a level that adds more locks.
Run it at home or in class
What to prepare
- Printed station sheets
- Character cards for the three robbers
- Toy coins
- A box with a 4-digit lock
- A “PUSH” sign for the ending
Tips for the facilitator
- Give players roles: investigator, calculator and note-taker, so everyone is involved.
- At the gold-bar station, hand out 9 bottle caps and a kitchen scale or a coat hanger to try it for real.
- Stick the “PUSH” sign on the final box; it always gets a big laugh.
Difficulty level for “The Most Embarrassing Bank Robbery”
The story clues stay the same on every level; harder levels add more locks in between. You can ask for a hint at every stage.
🏦 The Most Embarrassing Bank Robbery
Three amateur robbers got into the bank vault, and slammed the door behind them. Now they’re stuck inside and calling you, the rescue team, with a desperate plea: “Get us out of here!”
0 of 6 stages solved
Stage 1: Who holds what
1/6Each of the three robbers, Bob, Rob and Lou, holds one thing: a key, a torch or a sandwich. Bob is not holding the key or the torch. Rob is not holding the key.
Facilitator guide: 🏦 The Most Embarrassing Bank Robbery
What the room practises
Elimination logic, digit rules, the balance-scale puzzle and coin equations.
The 5 stations (without the answers)
- Who holds what: Which robber is holding the key?
- The vault dial: What is the code?
- The gold bars: What is the smallest number of weighings that is guaranteed to find the fake bar?
- Rob’s sack: How many 10-cent coins are in the sack?
- The vault door: What is the code?
Preparing and printing
On the easy level the printed kit has 7 pages: a facilitator sheet with the opening story, the setup list and every answer, plus an A4 card for each of the 6 stages. Besides printing, get ready: character cards for the three robbers and a “push” sign for the ending.
Most important: Give players roles: investigator, calculator and note-taker, so everyone is involved.
Age and group size
Best with teams of 4–6 players. With more people, split into two teams racing the clock, each with its own kit.
Giving hints in this room
Online the hints open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit in the facilitator table next to each answer. Give the first hint after a couple of minutes of silence, not at the first wrong guess.
Frequently asked questions
What age is “The Most Embarrassing Bank Robbery” for, and how long does it take?
It was written for teens 13+ and adults, at medium difficulty, and usually takes 30–40 minutes. It has 5 story stations, and online you can choose between three difficulty levels that add more locks.
What do I need to run “The Most Embarrassing Bank Robbery”?
A printer and these props: Printed station sheets; Character cards for the three robbers; Toy coins; A box with a 4-digit lock; A “PUSH” sign for the ending. The printable kit includes a facilitator sheet with every answer and a card for each stage.
What if the players get stuck?
Every stage has graded hints. Online they open one at a time; in the printed kit they sit next to each answer on the facilitator sheet. The first hint never gives the answer away.
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