The Debt Escape Room is a free debt payoff game for anyone in the UK. You’re locked in with five debts and 36 months on the clock. Can you break every padlock and get out before time runs out?
You're locked in with five debts and 36 months on the clock. Can you break every lock and get out?
Ready to escape?
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How to play the debt payoff game
Each game takes about ten minutes. Better still, the balances and events change every time, so no two escapes are the same.
Step 1: Enter the room
First, you meet your five debts: a credit card, a store card, an overdraft, car finance and a pay later plan. Together they come to around £10,000. You have £450 a month to deal with them.
Step 2: Handle what life throws at you
Every three months, something happens. It might be a “pay in 3” offer, a broken boiler, Christmas or a work bonus. Some choices add new debt and snap a padlock shut again, so think before you tap.
Step 3: Crack the padlock puzzles
Next, a puzzle appears every other turn. Answer a quick money question to win a key. You can spend keys on a free debt adviser, a call to haggle down a rate or a hunt for hidden money.
Step 4: Throw your spare money at the locks
Then you plan your payments. After the minimums, you decide where every spare pound goes. A live forecast shows the month you’ll escape, so you can see straight away which plan works best.
Step 5: Break the last lock and escape
Finally, watch three months play out as the balances fall and the padlocks crack. Break the last one and the exit door swings open. You then get a score, badges and a comparison with paying only the minimums.
Avalanche or snowball: which works best in the debt payoff game?
There are two popular ways to clear several debts. Both start the same way. You pay the minimum on everything, then put any spare money on one debt at a time.
Why the avalanche method wins the debt payoff game
With the avalanche method, you target the debt with the highest interest rate first. As a result, you pay the least interest overall. In the game, that usually means the overdraft or the store card goes first.
The snowball method
With the snowball method, you clear the smallest balance first instead. It usually costs a little more in interest. However, seeing a debt disappear quickly can keep you motivated, and that matters too.
What the debt payoff game teaches you
Minimum payments keep you locked in
Card minimums are set low on purpose. In the game, paying only the minimum on the credit card and store card takes well over a decade to clear them. Meanwhile, an overdraft has no minimum at all, so it just keeps growing.
Payday loans are expensive, even with a cap
The FCA caps payday loans at 0.8% a day in interest and fees. Default fees are capped at £15, and you never pay back more than double what you borrowed. Even so, borrowing £300 for 30 days can still cost you up to £72.
A safety buffer stops emergencies becoming new debt
When the boiler breaks in the game, you can only pay for it in cash if your buffer is big enough. Otherwise, it goes on a card or a payday loan. Even a few hundred pounds put aside makes a real difference.
Tips for winning the debt payoff game
Build your safety buffer early
Windfalls and refunds feel like a chance to treat yourself. However, putting a few hundred pounds aside first means the next emergency won’t end up on a card. That saves you more than it costs.
Watch the escape forecast
Before you run each turn, check the forecast at the bottom of the screen. If it says you’ll escape after the clock runs out, move more money onto your locks. Even £50 can bring your escape date forward.
Save your keys for the right moment
A free debt adviser pauses interest for two months, so it’s worth most when your balances are biggest. Similarly, haggling works best on the card with the highest rate. Use your keys early rather than hoarding them.
Where to get free help with real debt
If debt is worrying you in real life, you’re not on your own. MoneyHelper can point you to a free, confidential debt adviser online, by phone or near you. So there’s no need to pay a company for help you can get for free.
In England and Wales, a debt adviser can also apply for Breathing Space for you. It pauses most interest, charges and creditor action for up to 60 days while you make a plan.
Turn the debt payoff game into a real plan
Once you’ve escaped, why not try it with your own numbers? The free debt payoff planner shows your real escape date and how much interest you could save. You can also sort out your monthly spending with the budget planner.
Fancy another challenge? Try Survive the Month or run the country in Balance the Books. You’ll find them all in our money games.
The interest rates, balances and events in this debt payoff game are example figures. It’s a learning tool, not financial advice.
Play more free money games
Escaped the room? Try another challenge. Make your pay last 28 days, run the country or grow a pot from 22 to 67. Or see all money games.
Ready to tackle real debt? Use the free debt payoff planner, try the mortgage overpayment calculator or read our UK saving and budgeting guide.