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Hallway Hideaway cover art, a 3D just-for-fun game for Grades 1–12 3D 20 free levels

PlayTime · Puzzle Gardens

Hallway Hideaway

It's Lantern Night at Hootwhistle Academy: sneak, crouch, crawl and toss a coin to get the trophies back without the friendly prefects spotting you.

Grades
1–12
Levels
44 in 4 tracks
Free
20 levels
Session
4–20 minutes

What it is

A third-person 3D stealth adventure in a made-up school after hours, with a first-person view on the V key. Walk, jog, crouch behind desks and crawl under tables through classrooms, corridors, the library, the science lab, the sports hall, the cafeteria and a moonlit courtyard on two floors. Friendly prefects and teachers patrol, chat, tidy and mark papers; they see what is in front of them and hear footsteps on creaky floors. Throw a coin to make them look somewhere else, hide in a locker or under a desk, search drawers, find keys and crack symbol codes, and carry each trophy to where it belongs. If someone spots you it's no problem: you start again at the last lantern you lit. Relaxed exploration turns pursuit off. Three chapters of eight levels and a 20-level campaign.

What children learn

PlayTime is played for fun. Hallway Hideaway practises planning a route, watching patterns, timing and reading simple clues, but it is never counted as learning evidence and is never required by a learning path.

What it teaches

  • Hand–eye coordination
  • Puzzles for fun

How to play

W A S D or the arrow keys move and the mouse looks around (click to lock the pointer, or drag). Hold Shift to jog; C crouches; X or Ctrl crawls (or hold C); E, Space or Enter uses things; hold G or the right mouse button to aim a coin and release to throw; V switches between third and first person; M shows the school map; H shows the controls; P or Escape pauses. Touch: the stick moves, drag to look, and the Use, Crouch, Crawl, Throw and Camera buttons. A gamepad works too.

Plays with: Touch Mouse Keyboard

Accessibility

  • Read-aloud on request
  • Fully playable with a keyboard
  • Calm mode with reduced motion
  • No timers or time pressure
  • Never relies on color alone
  • Quiet mode turns off sound effects

Level maps

Tracks and levels

Each track is made for a grade range. Start anywhere that fits — you don't have to play the younger tracks first. As a guest, your stars are saved on this device.

20-Level Campaign

Twenty school-wide errands on Lantern Night, from one wing to both floors of the whole school, with saved checkpoints. The three chapters are below.
1–12 20 levels · 5 free

20-Level Campaign

Twenty school-wide errands on Lantern Night, from one wing to both floors of the whole school, with saved checkpoints. The three chapters are below. · 1–12

Levels 1–5 free
  1. 1 Olly's Errand ☆☆☆
  2. 2 Under the Art Tables ☆☆☆
  3. 3 Pennies for the Prefect ☆☆☆
  4. 4 Locker Dash ☆☆☆
  5. 5 Showcase: The South Wing ☆☆☆
  6. 6 Teacher on the Prowl Plan level
  7. 7 The Spare Key Plan level
  8. 8 Upstairs, Downstairs Plan level
  9. 9 Crunchy Gravel Plan level
  10. 10 Showcase: Courtyard and Cafeteria Plan level
  11. 11 Vent Crawler Plan level
  12. 12 The Head's Dial Plan level
  13. 13 Cocoa Break Plan level
  14. 14 Night Climb Plan level
  15. 15 Showcase: The Upper Floor Plan level
  16. 16 Kitchen Raid Plan level
  17. 17 The Workshop Key Plan level
  18. 18 Late Practice Plan level
  19. 19 Three Locked Doors Plan level
  20. 20 Showcase: Lantern Night Plan level

Levels after 5 are part of a PlayOwl plan. Free levels, saving and basic reports stay free.

Start 20-Level Campaign

Chapter 1: Lamplight Classrooms

The north wing on a sunny afternoon after school: the guided tutorial, then crouching behind desks, a first patrol, crawling under desks, your first coin, the teacher's desk drawer and locked doors. One new idea in every level.
1–12 8 levels · 5 free

Chapter 1: Lamplight Classrooms

The north wing on a sunny afternoon after school: the guided tutorial, then crouching behind desks, a first patrol, crawling under desks, your first coin, the teacher's desk drawer and locked doors. One new idea in every level. · 1–12

Levels 1–5 free

Levels after 5 are part of a PlayOwl plan. Free levels, saving and basic reports stay free.

Start Chapter 1: Lamplight Classrooms

Chapter 2: Moonlit Courtyard

The courtyard, cafeteria, kitchen, sports hall and staff room in the evening: hiding in lockers, timing several patrols, creaky floors and sharp ears, chatting teachers, vents and a cook behind the counter.
1–12 8 levels · 5 free

Chapter 2: Moonlit Courtyard

The courtyard, cafeteria, kitchen, sports hall and staff room in the evening: hiding in lockers, timing several patrols, creaky floors and sharp ears, chatting teachers, vents and a cook behind the counter. · 1–12

Levels 1–5 free

Levels after 5 are part of a PlayOwl plan. Free levels, saving and basic reports stay free.

Start Chapter 2: Moonlit Courtyard

Chapter 3: The Grand Exhibition

Lantern Night itself: up the grand stairs to the library, the science lab and the gallery, down the fire escape, into the head teacher's office and finally across the whole school for the exhibition.
1–12 8 levels · 5 free

Chapter 3: The Grand Exhibition

Lantern Night itself: up the grand stairs to the library, the science lab and the gallery, down the fire escape, into the head teacher's office and finally across the whole school for the exhibition. · 1–12

Levels 1–5 free
  1. 1 Up the Grand Stairs ☆☆☆
  2. 2 The Quiet Library ☆☆☆
  3. 3 The Lab Code ☆☆☆
  4. 4 The Fire Escape ☆☆☆
  5. 5 Cloakroom and Art Room ☆☆☆
  6. 6 The Head Teacher's Office Plan level
  7. 7 Against the Clock Plan level
  8. 8 Grand Finale: The Grand Exhibition Plan level

Levels after 5 are part of a PlayOwl plan. Free levels, saving and basic reports stay free.

Start Chapter 3: The Grand Exhibition

Keep exploring

Guide for grown-ups

More from Puzzle Gardens

Other playtime games, each with its own free levels.