With the blessings of social media, AI and the like come challenges: digital disinformation and fake news have reached a level that can have an enormous impact on private and public opinion and shake political systems. This makes media literacy increasingly important. With our brand-new and first-ever escape game, we want to help teach it better. We developed the game for the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).

In the fictional country of Fontania, players take on the role of 'Fake Busters', a group of young people who have banded together to expose disinformation in the media. They want to help the incumbent president of the Democratic Party find evidence of a targeted disinformation campaign that appears to be being waged against her in the context of the upcoming presidential election. The campaign is believed to be coming from her right-wing populist opponent.

A member of the Fake Busters has already found the first clues, but has been threatened and forced into hiding. She has left the group with coded clues to the locations in the capital of Fontania where evidence of the targeted disinformation can be found. The task now is to identify the locations and secure the evidence. If the group manages to find enough evidence by the time Fontania's main news channel goes on air, the scandal will be covered on the main news. However, they only have 90 minutes to do so.

The Escape Game is modular and can be played with a few tools. The stations can be played in any order. A guide is only needed for evaluation and small hints during the game. The puzzles are designed in such a way that the participants have to deal with the content on their own.

The game is based on four elements: a sketchy city map with a coordinate system, a legend with puzzle locations, a crossword puzzle and an accompanying game website. Everything fits into a folder that can be ordered as a classroom set from KAS. Alternatively, the materials are available digitally and free of charge, along with detailed handouts to print out yourself.

The smoking heads and cries of delight from previous implementations show that the puzzles are challenging but achievable. If you get stuck, there are tips on the website. Will your participants be able to uncover the disinformation campaign? Give it a try! Puzzles have never been so educational!