Mobile Wooden Escape Room: The Mysterious Disappearance of Johannes Kranjc

This innovative, gamified tool offers a playful way to introduce young people to wood-industry professions and to wood as a raw material of the future. It is primarily aimed at primary school pupils in the final triad (grades seven to nine) who are choosing their path for further education, though it is suitable for all ages and has been enthusiastically played by adults as well. Pupils gain access through their schools as part of career and technical days, where the escape room is complemented by other activities: making products from wood, discovering professions through VR technology, taking on the role of architecture firms, and honing job-interview skills through the card game "Nail the Interview."

Up to thirty participants can play simultaneously. On arrival, they are randomly split into teams using wooden totems, each linked to a box with four drawers of puzzles exploring wood species, professions, products and services, and the effects of pests and natural phenomena on trees. After watching an introductory video with key rules, teams compete to solve their own puzzles — unaware that the final one is shared. Keys and jigsaw pieces from the last drawers open a hidden chest containing planks for Leonardo's bridge, with instructions revealed through the assembled puzzle. Building the bridge together solves the mystery, and a closing video delivers the game's core message: collaboration is key.

The escape room thus makes an important contribution to more informed career decisions among young people, reducing uncertainty in choosing educational pathways and strengthening career maturity — through a genuinely innovative approach to presenting professions.

Developed by Cene Štupar – CILJ to improve employment opportunities in the wood sector, within the project LifeLongWood, Interreg SI-AT 2021–2027. Also implemented by the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of Slovenia (OZS), with the German-language version by FH Kärnten gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mbH (CUAS) and the Wirtschaftskammer Steiermark (WKO).