A little paper. A first adventure.
Try a free printable puzzle sample
A maze, a mirror message and a number code: try two real pages from our printable games for ages 6 to 12. Free, no sign-up and no email needed. Download Letter or A4, print at home and grab a pencil. Younger children may need a reading buddy.
Two pages per PDF. The PDF download is the recommended way to print. Answers are tucked into the reveals below.
From Save the Sleigh!
Reindeer Runway
Trace the clear path from the reindeer to the sleigh, then write down only the letters you pass, in order. Ignore letters on dead ends.
This is the Junior maze, page 10 of the full kit. The envelope instruction belongs to the full adventure; for this sample, finish by checking your five-letter word below.
Reveal the maze answer
COCOA. The letters along the correct path are C, O, C, O, A.
Ready for the whole mission? Explore Save the Sleigh! for nine puzzles, a final code, Junior and Expert modes, hints and answer keys.
From The Case of the Missing Star
Days 1 and 2
On December 1, hold the mirrored message to a mirror, or read its mirrored letters from right to left. On December 2, use the printed A=1 key to turn each number into a letter and decode the name.
These are the first two day cards, page 6 of the full kit. Try both now or save one for tomorrow. The tracker and Suspect Board are in the full kit; use scrap paper for your letter and clue in this sample. The optional Senior challenges reach the same answers.
Reveal the day card answers
December 1: RED. Keep its first letter, R. For the Senior challenge, shifting HIV back four letters gives DER; reversing that gives RED.
December 2: PUDDING. The code 16 21 4 4 9 14 7 spells PUDDING. The clue says the star-snatcher is NOT Pudding, leaving 11 elves in the full game. The Senior A=26 code gives the same name.
Keep the case going: explore The Case of the Missing Star for all 24 day cards, the Suspect Board, hiding-place tracker and answer keys.
Printing tips
Choose the PDF that matches your paper: US Letter or A4. Print at actual size (100%). If your printer clips an edge, choose fit to page instead. Plain paper and black and white printing work for these ink-light pages.
Printing this web page also prints just the two puzzle images, one per sheet. The PDFs keep the original page detail and are the recommended choice.
More festive adventures
The Christmas Quest Bundle on Gumroad includes both Save the Sleigh! and The Case of the Missing Star, plus Christmas Morning Gift Hunt.
For personal, home and classroom use. Print copies for your own events. Do not resell, share or upload the files, or sell printed copies. Share this page's link so other hosts can download their own sample. See the full draft licence.