Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward
A Victorian Mystery Printable Escape Room

Welcome to the thrilling world of Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward, an escape room experience you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home.

In this printable adventure, you'll find yourself immersed in the shadows of the infamous Hawksley Asylum, a place where secrets linger and mysteries await.

1-6

players

14+

age

7.5/10

difficulty

45

clues

1.5-2 hours

of fun

10 minutes

story audio

With just a few simple steps, you can transform any room into a riveting escape room journey for your family or friends. Print out the carefully crafted clues, set the stage, and prepare to step into the shoes of Detective Nathan Reed.

Are you ready to embark on this captivating journey and discover what lies within the walls of Hawksley? Prepare to solve the puzzles, reveal the hidden, and experience the thrill of Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward.

Print & Play How to — Transform any room into an exciting escape room!

Puzzles

The book is filled with a set of unique puzzles in the areas of Logic, Language, Spatial Perception, Mathematics and Numeracy.

Story

The date is March 7, 1933. You are Detective Nathan Reed, renowned for unraveling the mysteries of Hawksley Asylum thirteen years ago. Your quest began when you sought to save your fiancée, Jasmine Bloom, and led to the exposure of the dark secrets of the asylum. Now, the asylum stands abandoned, a relic of its haunting past.

Twenty four hours ago, you received a mysterious letter from an unknown sender.

A few hours later you find yourself standing before the derelict building once again. As you navigate the decaying halls, you notice strange markings on the walls. Following them, you realise that this mysterious sender was telling the truth.

Will you manage to uncover this new mystery of Hawksley?

Sarah & Nathan — Who is the mysterious sender of the letter?

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Reviews

PnP Time

“The integration of analog and digital elements in the game has been spot on."

“A dance of paper and pixels… Absolute cinema.”

“Stands out from all the escape rooms I have experienced, even before I started playing it!"

🎥 Watch PnP Time’s hands-on teaser, with gameplay, impressions, and a glimpse of the printed puzzles:

Read the full review on PnP Time’s website.

ESCAPETHEROOMers

“First, there was the detailed artwork. It was fantastic with the pieces and was all thoughtfully designed.”

“We were really impressed by the variety of puzzles throughout the game.”

“This is a perfect pick for introducing someone to escape games or just enjoying a casual, puzzle-filled evening with friends."

“The puzzles were solid and was perfect that we could all work through together. We had 5 players but the pieces were large enough for us to see gathered around the table."

“Even though it was all paper-based, there were some surprisingly creative puzzles that made clever use of just paper that had us manipulate, match and equate things"

Read the full review on ESCAPETHEROOMers.

Playtesters

“It was my first time trying something like this and I was honestly impressed!”

John S.

“The puzzles were really fun, and just hard enough to give you a sense of accomplishment but not so hard that you go stuck. Very much recommended."

Stavros K.

“I loved the puzzles. The variety and the challenge kept me hooked the whole time.”

John S.

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Cutscenes

Fully voiced cutscenes bring the story to life, one room at a time.

Carefully crafted, with mystery background music and audio narration, each cutscene draws you deeper into the story. They don’t just tell you what’s happening; they make you feel like you're there, standing in the room, breathing the same stale air, hearing the creak of the floorboards.

It's one of the things that makes Forsaken Souls different. You don’t just solve puzzles; you live the escape.

🎥 Here’s a short excerpt from the opening of Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward:

Art

Game Master Guide

Graphics & Guide — Immersive illustrations. A meticulous guide. Everything you need to enter Hidden Ward.

Where print-and-play becomes a full escape room experience.

Most printable escape games stop at rules and clues, but Forsaken Souls includes a detailed 16-page Game Master Guide that transforms your home into an immersive mystery adventure.

From setup to delivery, it walks you through everything: which clues to place where, how to manage flow and structure, and how to guide your group during the game. You won’t need any prior experience. Even first-time GMs can host with confidence.

You’ll still see the clues, but you won’t know the solutions. Multiple testers -and a reviewer- confirmed: the guide reveals nothing about puzzle answers, while still helping you manage over 40 unique clue components with ease.

This is how Forsaken Souls bridges the gap between a PnP and a real escape room: through thoughtful preparation, atmospheric tools, and an experience you build yourself.

FAQ

What exactly is Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward?

Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward is an escape room game you can play at home with your family or friends. As a team of players, you need to work together to discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms.

Is this a physical game?

Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward comes as a digital file that you download. You need to print the clues on a home printer, and place them around your home.

Do I Need to Play the Original Forsaken Souls Before Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward?

You don’t need to play the original Forsaken Souls puzzle book before playing Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward. While Hidden Ward is set later in the timeline and is related to the original book, it can be enjoyed independently. The two stories are linked but contain no spoilers for each other.

What do I need to set up the game at home?

One person is needed for setting up the game at home and facilitating it during game play; this person is called the Game Master. The Game Master will need the following:

a printer, to print the clues and other components
scissors, to cut the printed items
several containers, to put the clues in (or you can print some envelopes from our Extras PDF)
sticky tape, to stick the printed padlocks on the containers

How long does it take to set up the game?

Setting up the game takes some time. The Game Master needs to make sure to start the preparation at least 2.5-3h before they plan to start playing. To avoid giving away spoilers for other players, it's best to do everything while the rest of the group is away.

Can the Game Master play with the rest of the players?

Yes! Although the Game Master will have knowledge of what the clues are and where each one is placed, they can still meaningfully participate in the solution of the puzzles together with everyone else.

How do I know if I have solved a puzzle correctly?

When you find the solution to a puzzle, you need to check if it is correct before moving on.

Go to the online validator and enter your answer. The key you see on the screen should match the key shown on the padlock. If it doesn't, that's not the right answer.

What type of mental challenges should we expect?

The puzzles in Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward cover the following five areas: Language, Mathematics and Numeracy, Logic, and Spatial Perception.

What if we get stuck?

The game comes with a progressive Hint System. Each puzzle includes a series of gradual hints, ensuring that you receive assistance without inadvertently encountering spoilers. The last hint for each puzzle reveals the actual answer.

Buy Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward

Forsaken Souls: Hidden Ward is available on Itch.io and Etsy.