Odd Rock OutOdd Rock Out

You hid your spare key inside a fake pebble. Good idea, until you locked yourself out and couldn't remember which pebble it was. There are 5,000 of them on the lawn, they all look alike, and only one of them rattles.

Pick it up, shake it, listen

Walk the lawn, pick up a pebble and hold it to your ear. Silent? Put it down or toss it onto the pile. Every pebble you touch is a real object that stays where you leave it, so the growing piles become a record of your search. When one finally rattles, slide open the little hatch underneath and let yourself in. Every game is a new garden, and the search takes from fifteen minutes to an hour, depending on your luck.

And keep an eye on the squirrel. It steals pebbles, and it isn't fussy about which one.

Grandma is sending help

Grandma has heard about your little situation. Her drone, Pip, flies in with parcels of Grandpa's old things: a slingshot, a rake, chalk, a toy megaphone, a leaf blower, a potato cannon and, after dark, a lantern. Every box comes with a letter. None of them will find the key for you, but each one changes how you search.

Every wrong rock goes somewhere

Throw the silent ones over the fence and see what they hit: a rubber duck on the pond, the scarecrow's hat, a kite stuck in a tree, five hidden gnomes. With the slingshot you can reach the neighbours' windows, the Pyms' TV aerial and Timmy's birthday piñata. With the potato cannon, the church bell at the end of the road. The neighbours notice: dogs bark, lights come on, and someone looks out to see who did it. Sorry, Mr Pym.

Under the rocks

Lift a pebble nobody has touched and you might find a woodlouse, a snail or an old penny underneath. Turn some over and there's a fossil on the bottom, for Grandpa's box. Everything you find stays in your pocket from one garden to the next.

From golden afternoon to starry night

The search starts at half past four. The light turns gold, then blue, the porch light comes on and the sky fills with real constellations, shooting stars and the Milky Way. Bats come out, the frogs start singing, a hedgehog crosses the lawn and a pair of eyes shines back from the dark. There's no countdown. Sit on the bench and watch, if you like.

Search together

Invite up to four friends into the same garden: 10,000 pebbles, still only one key. Split up the lawn, share the piles and watch each other's throws. Friends can join a garden that has already started. When a pebble finally rattles, tell the others: only the person shaking it can hear it.

Halloween in the garden

From late October the garden dresses up: carved pumpkins, little ghosts in the trees, mist over the pond and a costume in the post. You can also switch it on any time from the options.