Finnish Book Institute & Museum of Finnish Book Pukstaavi: GETTING EXCITED ABOUT BOOKS THROUGH GAMING – A digital escape room about authors and illustrators from Pirkanmaa

The project creates a digital escape game that draws its contents from writers and illustrators from the Pirkanmaa region, their work and home municipalities. The digital game combines a literary-themed online exhibition and escape game-like puzzles in a new way.

The game was published in the end of 2023: press release and the link for the game page (3rd Jan 2024).

The digital game is open to everyone and is provided free of charge. The main objective of the project is to get children and young people to read more through new, inclusive experiences, and to increase awareness of the work of writers and illustrators from the Pirkanmaa region.
 
The game will promote knowledge of literature, strengthen understanding of the cultural history and social significance of books, improve access to literary culture, and develop the field of tourism and culture. 

The project is part of the objective of the Finnish Book Institute and the Museum of Finnish Book Pukstaavi to use gaming in literary education. Experience has already shown that escape rooms are an inspiring and interactive way to learn something new.
 
The Finnish Book Institute and the Pukstaavi Museum have previously implemented various literary escape rooms for audiences of different ages. In the spring of 2019, the first Escape from the Museum Exhibition was opened at the Museum of Finnish Book Pukstaavi showcasing Finnish crime fiction through the means of an escape game.

In the spring of 2021, the new Escape from the Museum II – The Lost Masterpiece escape game was opened, its themes being the writing profession and the creative process of writing books. The Finnish Book Institute, in cooperation with teachers, has implemented mobile escape games aimed at primary and secondary school pupils with the aim of inspiring pupils to read. 

Mapping of the project’s partners will take place in autumn 2022, and the project will start in 2023.