1953 · about 30 minutes · 4 locks

The Boat That Did Not Come Out

Four locks, one lock-keeper's book, and a boat that went in at the top and never came out at the bottom.

Buy the link for your group$5for the whole group
~30 minfor a group that talks1 to 6players, one linkNo appany phone or laptopApproachable

Latchkeys › Escape rooms › The Boat That Did Not Come Out

The situation

You are standing in the lock cottage at Wisbourne at eight in the morning with the keeper's book open on the table and the keeper nowhere, and the Board's man coming at noon to put the book in a case and take it away. Four of its pages are still shut, locked the way he locked gates, and behind them is the boat that did not come out, which is what you are here to find before the book leaves the building. You are the relief keeper, sent up from the sea lock at first light because a boat went in at the top yesterday and never reached the bottom.

OBJECTIVE  Find the boat that did not come out before the Board's man takes the book at noon.
CLOCK      The Board's man comes for the book at noon. It is eight.
PRIZE      The boat that did not come out, and what the keeper did with her for eleven years.
  • canal
  • 1953
  • a lock-keeper's book
  • the Fens
  • four locks
  • online escape room
The kitchen of the lock cottage on a grey morning: a thick ledger lying open on a wooden table, an oil lamp still lit beside it, a coat on a hook, and through the window the beam of a lock gate and flat water. Nobody in the room.The sea lock at the bottom of the navigation: the stone chamber empty of boats, the gates shut, a small keeper's hut with a blank slate on its wall, and the cut running away straight across flat marsh under a wide pale sky. Nobody there.The navigation office at dusk: a plain wooden desk with a single ruled sheet and a fountain pen, a brass lamp lit, a bare wall with one coat hook, and a tall window onto the cut with a lock gate and its white-tipped beam beyond. Nobody in the room.

Play it with your group

$5for the whole groupBuy the link for your group

You get a link. It works for everyone in your group, on any device, and it does not expire.

  • About 30 minutes
  • 1 to 6 players, one price for the group
  • Phone or laptop, nothing to install
  • No account, nothing tracked
  • A key on every step if you get stuck
  • The link does not expire

Questions people ask

Can we play it together over Zoom or a call?

Yes. One purchase is one link, and the link works for everyone in your group at once. Share your screen or all open it; there is nothing to sync, because the puzzle is the pages and the answers you work out together.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. It was built for a phone first: every lock is a text box or buttons you tap, nothing needs a keyboard, a mouse or a printer.

How long does it take?

About 30 minutes for a group that talks; longer if you like arguing. There is no timer and nothing is scored.

What if we get stuck?

Every step has its own key: a nudge first, then a harder nudge, and the answer only if you ask for it. Wrong answers say something in the story rather than just no.

Do we need an account or an app?

No. The link opens in any browser and nothing is installed. Nothing is tracked while you play, either.

Is it suitable for children?

The stories are eerie and never cruel; nobody dies on the page. The puzzles need reading and a little arithmetic, so about twelve and up on their own, younger with an adult.

Can I play it alone?

Yes. It was written in the second person, so it works for one as well as for six.

What if it does not work for us?

Write and say so, and you will have your money back. The link does not expire, so there is no rush to use it.