[Hackannery

One of the massive replayable arenas featured in The Tournament of Puzzles.

Verification: Human verified

Hackannery is one of the massive replayable arenas featured in The Tournament of Puzzles, the major content update for Escape Academy. It's an abandoned fish cannery that has been converted into a hacker enclave, set on a rain-soaked pier and packed with technological and aquatic themed puzzle surprises [src-9c282bac46][src-cf4975b066]. Like the other arenas, it's built for repeat playthroughs, with secret passages and alternate routes to discover [src-9c282bac46].

What to Expect

Hackannery is a full arena rather than a single escape room. The official description establishes two things you should plan around:

• Technological and aquatic puzzle themes are mixed together throughout the space, so expect to switch between tech-flavored interactions and water-themed challenges as you move through the cannery [src-9c282bac46][src-cf4975b066].
• Secret passages and alternate routes are built into the arena's design, meaning there is more than one way through portions of it [src-9c282bac46].

Because the arena is replayable, you aren't expected to find everything on your first run. Treat early attempts as reconnaissance.

How to Play Hackannery

Hackannery is played through the tournament's game modes rather than a fixed story sequence. The modes supported across the arenas are:

• Escape Race — face off against your friends in a puzzle race to the finish [src-9c282bac46].
• Tic-Tac-Toe — the classic connect-three, where the X's and O's are all locked up [src-9c282bac46].
• Scavenger Hunt — search for trophies while you hunt for solutions to tricky puzzles [src-9c282bac46].

Any of these can be run at Hackannery. Power-Ups are also part of the tournament: you can deploy distracting traps against your opponents or use assists to gain an advantage and secure the win [src-9c282bac46].

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. Choose your mode. Decide whether you're racing, playing Tic-Tac-Toe, or hunting trophies, and select Hackannery as the arena.
2. Decide solo or competitive. If you'd rather learn the arena without pressure, Coach Yoach lets any Escapist solve the courses in single player mode [src-9c282bac46].
3. Learn the layout first. On your opening runs, prioritize mapping the arena's secret passages and alternate routes rather than chasing a fast time [src-9c282bac46].
4. Split tech and aquatic puzzles. When you hit a puzzle you can't read, check whether it's one of the technological challenges or one of the aquatic ones — the two themes are deliberately mixed in this arena [src-9c282bac46].
5. Use Power-Ups when contested. In competitive matches, spend traps to slow opponents and assists to push your own progress [src-9c282bac46].
6. Replay for the time target. Once you know the routes, run the arena again aiming to finish a full match in under 10 minutes (see Rewards below).

Tips

• Route knowledge beats speed. The arena's alternate routes are the main lever for cutting time, so explore side paths before optimizing [src-9c282bac46].
• Practice solo first. Single player mode exists specifically for practicing the courses, which makes it the safest way to learn Hackannery's layout before racing friends [src-9c282bac46].
• Expect the unexpected. The tournament is described as full of zany — and occasionally lethal — surprises, so don't assume a puzzle is harmless [src-9c282bac46].

Rewards

Completing a match at Hackannery in under 10 minutes unlocks the achievement Hack n' Splash [src-f825a4961b]. Related achievements in the same update that can be earned while playing the arenas include Junior Varsity Puzzlete (complete 10 matches), Varsity Puzzlete (25 matches), and Senior Varsity Puzzlete (50 matches), plus Occam's Racer for winning 10 matches of Escape Race [src-f825a4961b]. Playing with a second player or co-op opens up additional achievements such as Power-Hungry (activate a power-up box 50 times) and Tic-tac-woah (win 10 matches of tic-tac-toe) [src-f825a4961b].

Notes

The official store text refers to the Egypt arena as "Tomb of the First Escapist," while the achievement list calls it "The Tomb of the First" [src-9c282bac46][src-f825a4961b]; this doesn't affect Hackannery, but is worth knowing when cross-referencing guides. No source provides a puzzle-by-puzzle solution for Hackannery, so the steps above focus on how the arena is structured and played rather than specific answers.

Details

type

Massive arena

Sources

• Steam store page — Escape Academy
• Escape Academy
• 100% Achievement Guide - Escape Academy