Frequently Asked Questions
Escape rooms are live-action adventure games where teams of players work cooperatively to solve a series of puzzles. Our in-person games are played around a table, and the online games are played with a web browser and over video conferencing software (e.g., Zoom, Teams, Google Meet). Our games are designed for 4-6 players, and multiple teams can play simultaneously.
Our misinformation escape rooms involve both the gameplay (about 45 minutes) and the debrief (15 minutes for sharing thoughts about the game and personal experiences and strategies with misinformation)
Loki’s Loop games are designed for a wide range of ages and communities, so anyone is welcome to play! In general:
– Escape Room games are for ages 12-99.
– Kids games are for ages 8-15.
We also create games with and for particular communities, for instance:
– Galaxy (co-design with members of ARMY, the BTS fandom community)
– Bo$$BabyKoin (the creation of BIPOC scholar activists)
The in-person games need someone to serve as the game host. The game host prepares the game (downloads and prints the materials), facilitates the game, gives hints as needed, hands out additional game materials at particular points in the game, and leads the post-game debrief. Game host resources are provided in the kits. In schools and libraries, teachers and librarians play the role of the game host. But anyone can be a game host!
Online games do not require a game host. Just gather 4-6 players and follow the instructions.
The in-person games require downloading and printing the game materials. The only thing you need to provide are envelopes. For school and library settings, we suggest large format printing for some of the materials. Detailed instructions are provided with the game kits. Also, at least one person per team will need a smartphone or a computer (for online access).
The online games require each person to be connected on a computer with camera and mic for collaborating with the other team members. Games are played in a web browser and over teleconferencing software (e.g., Zoom, Teams, Google Meet).
Most of our escape room games should take 60-90 minutes. This includes playing the game (45+ mins) and participating in a post-game debrief (15+ mins). The debrief is really key since that’s when people get to share their thoughts about the game and connect the gameplay with their personal experiences with misinformation.
All of our games involve misleading tactics (e.g., deepfakes, manipulated information) that are found in the real world. But, we use fictitious settings and the power of narrative so that people can experience the tactics in a safe low-stakes environment. Our aim is for people to share their thoughts about the game as well as their personal experiences and strategies when encountering misinformation in their lives.
Each game comes with a resource kit that contains examples of misinformation found in the real world. The kits are intended for librarians and teachers to use in the debrief as well as to incorporate into other learning activities.
All Loki’s Loop games are free to use.
Absolutely! We welcome feedback about all of our games. Please contact us here.
We welcome help localizing our games for different languages. Our Languages page shows what’s available so far. When doing a localization we work with you at every step of the way. In many cases, this involves making tweaks to the narrative so that the story is more relevant to your context. Please reach out to us here to explore this opportunity.
We partner with a variety of organizations to create new games. These engagements typically involve deep levels of collaboration, research, and co-design. For instance, we are working with the Fred Hutch Cancer Center to create a game for breast cancer patients to counter nutrition misinformation. These projects require resources, and we are also happy to explore funding opportunities together. Please reach out here with more information about your ideas.
The Misinformation Play Pack is a set of three different activities and curricula developed to help children reflect on misinformation through creativity, social, and emotional elements. The Play pack includes activities surrounding AI Misinformation, The Rabbit Hole Effect, and Online Video Misinformation.
The Misinformation Play Pack was co-designed with children and teens over the course of two and a half years. During this time, we worked with youth to come up with the ideas for what was important for our Play Pack to explore, the types of activities we should include, and testing aspects of our design.
Our Misinformation Play Pack is designed to be as low tech as possible, relying primarily on paper and drawing utensils to complete the activities. The exception is Starbound Secrets, a game built in Minecraft Education that does require access to a computer as well as the software for the game.
The Misinformation Play Pack is designed to be used with children 8-15. Some activities work better for older children and are mentioned in our provided documentation.
All activities in our modules are designed to take between 45 minutes to an hour. Starbound Secrets is designed to take between an hour and an hour and a half.
Our modules are all free to use!
Our play pack is very flexible! We encourage you to take parts of the pack that you might wish to run, add your own ideas, and
We only provide the Misinformation Play pack in English. We are looking for ways to expand our materials in the future.
Our modules were originally designed to be used in libraries, but are suitable for classroom and other educational settings as well.
No. There are no assessments provided in our designs. Rather than focus on assessment, our designs seek to tackle issues of misinformation via social, emotional, and reflective experiences.
Yes. Our activities align with elements of the Common Core Media Literacy Standards
Yes and No. Our Play Pack focuses on play-based learning experiences, with the exception of Starbound Secrets, which does include a game experience built in Minecraft Education.
