Escape Room: The Game 3 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• THIS IS CRUCIAL INFORMATION!
• Contents
• 1. Foreword
• 2. App and Website
• 3. Preparation
• 4. Aim of the Game
• 5. The Game
• 6. Chrono Decoder
  • Entering a code
• 7. Keys
• 8. Hint Cards
• 9. Winning!
• 10. Important Tips
• Room 1: Panic on the Titanic
  • Engine Log and Manoeuvres
  • Engine Log Example
  • Water Drain Controls
  • Pipes
  • Water Drain Board
  • Intercom Instructions
• Room 2: Dawn of the Zombies
  • Playing the Expansion

THIS IS CRUCIAL INFORMATION!

Read the rules of the game carefully and completely.

Or watch the video about the rules of the game on the website.

You need the rules in order to be able to escape!

IMPORTANT: READ, LOOK & COMMUNICATE!

Contents

• Chrono Decoder
• 16 Keys
• 8 Hint cards per adventure
• Hint Decoder
• The 4 adventures (increasing difficulty level):
  1. Prison Break — difficulty 2 of 5
  2. Virus — difficulty 2 of 5
  3. Nuclear Countdown — difficulty 3 of 5
  4. Temple of the Aztec — difficulty 4 of 5

1. Foreword

Hello, welcome to ESCAPE ROOM by Identity Games. As is the case in many Escape Rooms across the world, you are "locked in" in this game and the object is to find the codes to "escape" within 60 minutes by solving puzzles and riddles.

Use your brain! Teamwork, good communication, ingenuity, creativity, logic and attention for detail are also very important.

This box contains 4 thrilling adventures in ascending order of difficulty. Just like in a 'real life' Escape Room, you can only play each game once. You can buy the extensions once you've played them all.

Are you ready for the ultimate challenge?

2. App and Website

Download the app for extra (thematic) background music and to share a photo of your team and your moment of victory on social media.

Check out the website www.escaperoomthegame.com for FAQ's, videos about the rules of the game and introduction letters of each of the adventures. You will also find parts that you can print yourself. After finishing an adventure you can read how you should have solved the adventure and where you could have found the hidden clues…

3. Preparation

Place 3× AA batteries in the Chrono Decoder and collect all the keys. Find the components and the hint cards that correspond to the adventure you are going to play. Always play adventure 1 (Prison Break) first, then adventure 2, and the other adventures due to the increasing difficulty level. Make sure everyone has pen and paper ready. Make sure you have good lighting and sit together so everyone has a good view of everything. Carefully examine the details on the keys and the Chrono Decoder before you start the game.

4. Aim of the Game

Each adventure has 3 parts. In each part, you must find a code consisting of 4 keys that you enter into the Chrono Decoder. Find 3 correct codes within 60 minutes to win the game.

5. The Game

Never open an envelope or sealed item unless you are specifically indicated to do so.

Take envelope part 1 of the adventure that you have chosen and calmly read out loud the introduction letter on the back of this envelope or watch the video on the website. You may then open the envelope. Check if the contents of the envelope match the description under the back flap. Is it complete? Remove all items from the frame.

Then switch on the Chrono Decoder by sliding the button on the bottom to 'on' and then press START. The clock will start counting down exactly 60 minutes and the game has begun!

If you want to play the extra music using the app, press the play button in the app at the same time that you press the start button.

All the players proceed to check all the provided materials very carefully on front- and backside. Search for clues, codes, riddles and (parts of) puzzles and work as a team. Once you find the first of the 3 codes, take the 4 matching keys and enter these into the Chrono Decoder. If the code is correct, you hear a 'confirmation' sound. You can open the next part of the adventure and proceed to decipher the second code. After the third correct code has been entered, you will hear victory music and the time will stop.

6. Chrono Decoder

During the game, you will occasionally come across the text or logo ER. This is important information as it means that you must convert something using 1 of the decoder systems on the two sides of the Chrono Decoder or use information from the top and front of the device. Never use the Chrono Decoder unless you get the text or ER logo. Each adventure requires only 1 cipher type. Study the ciphers carefully before starting the game.

The decoder systems printed on the Chrono Decoder are:

• Cipher Disc Digits
• Cipher Disc Alphabet
• Rosicrucians secret code
• Polybius square (M = 32)
• Morse
• Ruler (a scale numbered 0 to 12)

Entering a code

Once you find a code, place the 4 keys from left to right into the Chrono Decoder.

If the code entered is incorrect, you'll hear an 'error' sound and 1 minute will be deducted from the remaining time. Try to find the right code again. You cannot continue until this code has been cracked. If the code is correct, you'll hear a 'confirmation' sound and the clock will continue. Always remove the keys from the Chrono Decoder after entering a code.

Any questions? Check the FAQ on the website.

7. Keys

THIS IS CRUCIAL INFORMATION!

The game includes 16 keys. These 16 keys have 6 different key sides, each stating different information corresponding with the codes you will find during the game. The other keys are exact copies. If you look closely, you will see that 2 keys (with the circle and the square) have exactly the same front and back. The other 2 keys have a different front and back. Examine the keys carefully before starting the game!

There are 4 key designs, 4× each. Two of them (circle and square) are identical front and back; the other two have a different front and back.

The details printed on a key side are: Shape, Letter, Roman Number, Dot, Zigzag edge, Arrow, Shape bottom and Digit.

8. Hint Cards

Each adventure contains 8 numbered hint cards. You will occassionally hear a 'beep-beep' sound to indicate that you can take a hint card. You can opt not to read it (yet), but that is challenging. To read the hint card, slide it into the Hint Decoder. All adventures require the use of the Hint Decoder that you will find in adventure 1. Always read hint cards carefully and completely! If you do not need the hint, this means you are on the right track and on schedule.

Each hint card shows:

1. Number: this is the order in which you have to take the hint cards.
2. Part 1, 2 or 3: the hint concerns that part of the adventure.
3. Answers: some hints contain the answer to the correct code. Decide together if you want to use these now, later or not at all.
4. Time: never read a hint card before the time that is shown on the card, has passed.

9. Winning!

If you have entered 3 correct codes into the Chrono Decoder within 60 minutes, you'll hear 'victory' music and you have won the game. Congratulations, you now belong to ± 75% of the players who got out of the Escape Room in time!

Take a picture of the group showing the time on the display and share this on social media using the app. If you were unsuccesful in finding all correct codes within 60 minutes you will hear the 'losing' sound and the time wil start counting up. You can still proceed to find the code(s). The decoder will work the same way it did before, but without final 'victory' music. Don't forget to switch off the Chrono Decoder when you're finished.

Were you unsuccessful or are you curious which clues you missed, then have a look at www.escaperoomthegame.com and read how you should've solved the adventure… If other people want to play the game too, you can print all the 'used' parts with a print icon on it and replace them in the game. Make sure you put everything in the correct envelope.

Once you have played all 4 adventures, you can expand the game by purchasing new thrilling adventures!

10. Important Tips

• Tip 1: Keep the communication open, share all information, time is precious!
• Tip 2: You do not need to break anything to find clues, but you are allowed to fold or write on some items. This is indicated by a print icon.
• Tip 3: Take as many notes as possible, it may help you to see new connections.
• Tip 4: No foreknowledge is required to solve the adventures. Anyone can do this.
• Tip 5: Use helpful devices on your phone like: flashlight, calculator, etc.
• Tip 6: Read the rules out loud before playing and keep them nearby.
• Tip 7: You will become frustrated, but that is part of experiencing an Escape Room. Go through all of the steps together one more time to see if you can discover any errors in logic. Study all materials again, front and back, and check and compare all notes everybody wrote down! Never give up! The answers are literally in front of you!

IMPORTANT: READ, LOOK & COMMUNICATE!

Room 1: Panic on the Titanic

Source note: the room's English component booklets (Identity 2020), transcribed in the Panic on the Titanic rulebook. Only the rules-like text is reproduced; puzzle clue sheets and solutions are excluded. Played together with the base rules above.

Engine Log and Manoeuvres

Book 1: Engine Room & Manoeuvres Manual.

The engine log records the activity of the engine of the previous 30 minutes. To find the engine log, look for the engine sign: a cog-shaped emblem followed by the letters "ER".

Some manoeuvres can only be performed when the engines are on, others only when the engines are turned off.

• A double solid line (═══════) means: engine on.
• A dotted line (...............) means: engine off.

Engine Log Example

The example engine log is a single trace, labelled ENGINE ON at its top, ENGINE OFF partway along, and EMERGENCY SHUT DOWN at its bottom.

Water Drain Controls

Book 2: Water Drain Controls.

When the hull of the ship is breached and the ship is filling up with water, release the water by turning the valves of the water drain controls.

Make sure that the engine and storage rooms are never flooded.

Pipes

• Two layers of disconnected pipes: one behind the other.
• Connected pipes: water will flow in all three directions.

Water Drain Board

The water drain board shows three rooms on the left — Storage Room, Boiler Room and Engine Room — and a Water Drain outlet on the right. Pipes run between them, and the board carries a number of valve wheels. One valve is marked OPEN.

Intercom Instructions

Book 3: Intercom Instructions.

The intercom has a bell, a receiver, a mouthpiece, and buttons. The buttons are six in number.

To dial a room:

• A. In order to dial a number, first press the ON button. This is one of the six buttons on the intercom and has the emblem of the shipping company on it.
• B. Then, push the button of the room you want to call.
• C. Speak.

Room 2: Dawn of the Zombies

Playing the Expansion

1. You need the base game, Escape Room – Das Spiel (Escape Room: The Game), to be able to play this expansion. Set aside the Chrono Decoder, the 16 keys and the Hint Decoder from the base game. On the envelope marked Part 1 you will find information on which further components from the base game are needed. We recommend inserting new batteries into the Chrono Decoder.

2. Before playing, read the base game's rulebook once more carefully and look closely at the keys! Don't forget that you can solve puzzles using the letters ER with the help of the Chrono Decoder.

3. This game contains 3 envelopes, 1 game board, 10 hint cards and this rulebook. Before the game begins, remove the hint cards from the frame. Set the envelopes and the game board aside, closed/sealed.

4. In contrast to the base game, this expansion also contains two solution cards, which reveal the solution for the first or the second part respectively. Do not read them before the note on the card allows you to.

5. You can use the Chrono Decoder from the base game without any changes. It will recognise that you are playing an expansion!

6. After your adventure, you will find the solution on the homepage www.escaperoomthegame.com/de-de, along with a short story to round off the adventure.

7. Now read the text on envelope 1 aloud, set out the components from the base game and face the adventure together!

Have fun!