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Mixed-Reality Complex Learning Scenarios (MRCLSs) are comprised of a series of puzzles and riddles to move the learner through the learning experience. One key piece of the development (see last week’s InterCom Topic of the Week for more on scenario development) is the design of puzzles to fit the language function and the task. While they can be used across a variety of learning tasks, a good understanding of possible puzzles can be helpful when designing your own experiences. Here, we summarize a few possible puzzle types to get you started.  This week’s Activity of the Week provides an example of each.

1. Cipher: A visual representation of letters and shapes which can be decoded to discover secret messages. You can create your own or use the common Freemasons Pig Pen Cipher to write secret messages. 
2. Clues & Letters: In these puzzles, learners use clues to fill in a series of blanks. Then, the highlighted letters are unscrambled to reveal another clue.
3. Acrostic: A text in which one set of words, such as the first word or third word, form a phrase when read vertically.
4. Hidden Messages: Letters are hidden in a text to form a phrase or word. This can include misspellings, extra capital letters, italics, or another type of formatting to make the letters distinct from the rest.

Regardless of the puzzle type(s) you choose, their use can create conditions for learners to read texts closely, delve into content, and use language in ways not typically done.