Escape Academy Entrance Exam Walkthrough: Full Name Puzzle Solution

Beat the Escape Academy entrance exam in under 15 minutes with this full walkthrough: surname clues, the 253 suitcase code, and the name machine.

The Escape Academy entrance exam is the first genuine filter in Coin Crew Games' puzzle gauntlet — a locked headmaster's office, a 15-minute countdown, and a name you have to reconstruct from three separate clues scattered around the room. Unlike the tutorial lesson, this one doesn't wait for you: memory-erasing gas starts pumping in as soon as the Headmaster finishes her speech. This guide walks through the entire Escape Academy entrance exam in the order that wastes the least time, covering the padlocked drawer, the suitcase combination, the bookshelf sequence, the UV-light trick, and the door machine that ends the level.

What the Escape Academy Entrance Exam Actually Asks You to Do

The premise is simple and the execution is not. You are locked in the Headmaster's office, and the only way out is to prove you know who she is. The metal exit door is wired to a wall-mounted name machine, so you need her first name, middle name, and surname — each hidden in a completely different way.

Before the gas starts, you solve a short warm-up puzzle she sets herself. After that, the timer is live and the room is yours to tear apart. Here's the full picture:

DetailWhat to Expect
LocationThe Headmaster's office, plus a hidden office behind the bookcase
Time limit15 minutes, starting after the opening dialogue
Fail stateTimer expires and the gas fills the room
Core objectiveRebuild the Headmaster's full name and enter it at the door machine
Puzzle typesItem chaining, counting, photo ordering, UV-reveal, elimination logic
DifficultyModerate — observation-heavy, almost no reflex requirement

The good news is that nothing here is randomized. Every code, every book, and every name is fixed, which means the Escape Academy entrance exam is fully solvable in one clean run once you know the route.

Step 1: Find the Surname First

Community walkthroughs agree on one thing: start with the surname. It's the longest chain of item pickups in the room, so front-loading it gives you the most breathing room later. Work through this sequence:

OrderItemWhere It IsWhat It Does
1Small keyIn the bag and coat hanging near the big red doorOpens the padlocked desk drawer
2ScrewdriverInside the desk drawerRemoves the vent bolts
3Vent accessFloor/wall vent once unscrewedLeads into the crawl space and the surname clue

Grab the key on your very first pass — it's the one item players most often walk past because it's tucked into scenery next to the exit rather than sitting on a desk. From there, the drawer, the screwdriver, and the vent form a straight line, and the crawl space is where the surname information lives.

Don't skip the receipts scattered around the office, either. They're not required, but they act as a built-in counting aid for the next step, and reading them takes a few seconds.

Step 2: Crack the Suitcase Code and Open the Secret Office

The bookcase in the Headmaster's office is fake. Behind it is a second, smaller office, and the trigger is the leather suitcase sitting out on the desk. Its lock has three symbols across the top: a clock, a potted plant, and a trophy.

The digits are the number of each object in the main room. Count carefully, because one clock is easy to miss on a shelf.

SymbolObject to CountDigit
ClockClocks in the office2
Plant potPotted plants5
TrophyTrophies3
Code—253

Some players report the in-game receipts display the trophy line in an odd order, which causes people to try 235 or 523 first. The correct entry is 253, in the order the symbols appear on the lock.

Inside the suitcase you'll find three photographs of the Headmaster standing in different countries in different years. Take all three. Sorting them chronologically — oldest photo to newest — gives you both the countries and the order in which to interact with the bookcase. The books are grouped by country, so the sequence is: earliest photo's country, middle photo's country, newest photo's country. Push those three books in that order and the bookcase swings open.

If you want a second opinion on the room layout while you work, GameRant's Escape Academy entrance exam solution guide covers the same progression with screenshots.

Step 3: Recover the First and Middle Names

Before you step into the secret office, make sure the floppy disk is in your inventory. It sits in the main office, and inserting it into the computer is what triggers the next chain. The screen resolves to the word DEAD — not a threat, just a pointer.

That hint sends you to the diploma alcove. Interacting with the computer reveals a UV lightbulb, which you pick up and place in the lamp fixture next to one of the Headmaster's framed diplomas. Under the UV glow, an invisible name appears on the document. That's your middle name.

The first name is the only part of the Escape Academy entrance exam that asks for actual deduction rather than scavenging. You get a group photo featuring several members of the Academy staff, and you have to reason about who could plausibly be the Headmaster. Not every figure in the photo is a candidate. The secret office holds the final nudge that narrows it down to one.

Name PartHidden InMethod
First nameGroup photo plus a clue in the secret officeProcess of elimination
Middle nameInvisible ink on the framed diplomaUV lightbulb in the alcove lamp
SurnameCrawl space reached through the unscrewed ventItem chain from the coat pocket key

Step 4: Enter the Full Name at the Door Machine

With all three names in hand, walk to the wall-mounted machine beside the metal door. It cycles through name options rather than offering a keyboard, so you're selecting, not typing. Set the first name, the middle name, and the surname to match your clues, then confirm.

If the machine rejects your entry, the problem is almost always the first name — it's the one piece of the Escape Academy entrance exam based on inference instead of a direct read. Recheck the group photo and the hint in the secret office before you burn more clock.

Here's a sensible time budget for the level, based on player experience:

Time ElapsedWhat You Should Have Done
0–3 minutesKey collected, drawer open, screwdriver used, vents unscrewed
3–6 minutesSuitcase opened with 253, photos taken, bookcase solved
6–9 minutesFloppy disk inserted, UV bulb placed, middle name read
9–12 minutesCrawl space explored, first name deduced from the group photo
12–15 minutesName entered at the machine, door open, level complete

Escape Academy Entrance Exam Tips and Common Mistakes

A few habits separate a first-try clear from a third attempt:

  • Loot the starting area before you think about puzzles. The key in the coat and the floppy disk are both easy to overlook, and both are mandatory.
  • Count objects with the camera, not your memory. Sweep the room clockwise once, tallying clocks, plants, and trophies as you go.
  • Sort the photos by year before you touch the bookshelf. Guessing at the order costs more time than the sort itself.
  • Place the UV bulb before you leave the main office for the secret room. Backtracking is the biggest time sink in the level.
  • Read the diploma closely. The revealed name is faint under UV, and players frequently misread a letter and then blame the machine.
MistakeWhy It HurtsFix
Trying 235 or 523 on the suitcaseWastes 30–60 seconds on a dead endThe code is 253
Skipping the receiptsNothing, but they speed up countingGlance at them once
Entering the secret office without the floppy diskForces a return tripGrab the disk early
Guessing the first nameLocks you into repeat attemptsUse the group photo logic

One more note: the door machine does not punish wrong entries beyond lost time, so if you're genuinely stuck on the surname, brute-forcing the last slot is a legitimate emergency option. It's just slower than walking back to the vent.

FAQ

How long is the timer on the Escape Academy entrance exam? You get 15 minutes once the Headmaster's opening dialogue ends and the memory-erasing gas begins filling the office. The warm-up puzzle before that point is untimed.

What is the suitcase code in the Escape Academy entrance exam? It's 253 — two clocks, five potted plants, and three trophies, entered in the order the symbols appear on the lock.

Can you fail the entrance exam? Yes. If the timer runs out, the level resets and you start over from the beginning of the room. There's no partial credit, but there's also no penalty beyond replaying the puzzle.

Do I need the floppy disk before opening the secret office? You don't technically need it to open the bookcase, but grabbing it first saves a round trip, since the computer chain is what hands you the UV lightbulb and the middle name. Players who clear the Escape Academy entrance exam fastest treat the disk as part of the opening sweep.

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