EXIT: The Game – Advent Calendar: The Hunt for the Golden Book Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Components
Game Preparation
Additional Game Material Required
Where Is the Game Board?
Solve Riddles Step by Step
What Door Do I Continue At?
- Have You Found the Correct Destination Door?
Do You Need Help?
When Does the Game End?
The Game Begins
Credits

Game Components

1 Story block: tells the story further day by day
1 Help block with rule sheet: get help here if you ever can't move forward
1 Decoding table including 3 decoding strips
and secret additional material for the riddles, hidden behind the 24 doors of the advent calendar

Game Preparation

Before you can start, you need to prepare the decoding table. Take a pair of scissors and carefully cut out the three decoding strips shown on the table along the dashed lines.

Now thread the three decoding strips horizontally through the corresponding holes on the decoding table, exactly as shown here – the red one at the top, the blue one in the middle, and the yellow one at the bottom.

Attention: It is important that you insert the strips in exactly this order! Make sure you don't mix them up, otherwise you won't be able to solve the riddles.

The numbers are now visible on the front of the decoding table through the central holes.

On the back, you will see a direction arrow and an EXIT symbol on each decoding strip. Always pay attention only to the arrows and EXIT symbols that are directly in line with one another in the center.

The decoding table is now ready for use. Place it on the table together with the story block.

Additional Game Material Required

You will also need pens (a ballpoint pen, a black waterproof pen, and a pencil work best), at least one pair of scissors, and, if needed, paper for notes.

Everything else you need, you will find behind the doors of the advent calendar.

Where Is the Game Board?

In this game, the advent calendar itself is your game board. In addition, there is the story block. There you find out exactly what happened, and each day you will find an introductory chapter that continues the story. Otherwise, nothing else is available to you at the start of the game.

Solve Riddles Step by Step

Carry out the following steps each day:

Carefully tear the current calendar sheet out of the story block along the perforated line. You will find the date of the current day at the top of the sheet.
Read the introductory chapter.
Open the next door as soon as you are prompted to do so in the text. Behind it you will find various things that will help you solve the riddle of the day. These can be riddle cards and various strange parts or objects.
Solve the riddle. As a rule, you may and must use everything you find in the current room or in the story block. This is the only way you can solve the current riddle.

ATTENTION:

To solve the riddles, you may label, fold, or cut up the material — everything is allowed, and some of it is even necessary.
Keep all of the game material until you have reached the last day of the advent calendar. Do not throw anything away! You might need it again.
Only ever read the current calendar sheet. Only read the next one once you want to start the next riddle.

What Door Do I Continue At?

Don't be surprised that the doors of your calendar have no numbers. Only the first door is labeled.

To find the golden book, you puzzle your way step by step from door to door. The solution to the current riddle shows you where to continue the next day. Here is how it works:

The solution to every riddle is always a three-digit numerical code. Using the three decoding strips, set the numerical code you found on the decoding table. Make sure to pay attention to the correct order of the digits.

Have you set the code? Then turn the decoding table over without shifting the strips. Now look at the back of the decoding table so that you can read the text and the tower is not upside down. Now, in the area marked in white, you will see three direction arrows from top to bottom.

These three direction arrows show you the way to the next door. Your starting point is always your current door. From here, follow the arrows from one door to the next. If you have followed all three direction instructions exactly, you will have landed at a destination door. In the next step, you check whether it is also the correct one.

Example: The solution to your current riddle is 533. You set this code on the decoding table and turn it over. On the back you find the direction arrows: left, upper-left, down. If your code was correct, you will find the door for the next day at the indicated location. You can check this in the next step.

Note: The arrows will never lead you beyond the edge of the advent calendar during the game. If a direction instruction should lead you beyond the advent calendar, your solution code was probably not correct.

Have You Found the Correct Destination Door?

To check this, compare the three EXIT symbols on the destination door with the three EXIT symbols on your decoding table.

Do the EXIT symbols NOT match up? Then check your route again carefully. Have you followed the direction instructions from the start door to the destination door exactly? If so, then your solution code is probably not correct. Take another look at the riddle. Have you overlooked something?

Should you ever get stuck and unable to continue, don't despair. Take a look in the help block. There you will find hints for every riddle that will help you along. An explanation of how to use the help system can be found below.

Do the EXIT symbols match up? Then you have solved the riddle correctly and have arrived at the next door. Write the date of the next day on the lock of the new door. Tomorrow, the next riddle will then start here — of course, only after you have read the next chapter in the story block.

Example: You have solved the riddle for the 1st day. You enter the solution code and follow the direction arrows on the decoding table. At the destination, you compare the EXIT symbols on the new door with the decoding table. They match, so you write a "2" on the lock of the destination door.

IMPORTANT:

You must solve the riddles in order! This means: you can and may only continue with the next riddle and open the next door once you have cracked the code beforehand and the game allows it in the text!
All codes can be decrypted logically. It is not at all about simply trying out all the possible combinations on the decoding table.
Don't forget to label the next door! This is the only way you will know immediately the next day where to continue.

Do You Need Help?

If you should ever be unable to continue, the game can give you hints. You will find them directly following this rule sheet. There is a separate help sheet for every code. On it you will find three hints to help you find the solution.

Would you like to use a hint? Then look for the help sheet with the corresponding date in the help block. Now fold the bottom edge of the sheet up to the corresponding mark, and the respective text will become visible.

Each "1st Tip" gives you a first useful hint and tells you what you need in order to be able to solve the corresponding riddle.

The "2nd Tip" helps you more concretely to find a solution to the corresponding riddle.

The "Solution" reveals the solution path and the correct code for the riddle.

Don't be afraid to use the hint texts if you can't continue.

Note: All the components of this game were designed and packaged with care. Should the cards and strange pieces in a room ever get mixed up, you will find a REFILL PLAN for the advent calendar at kosmos.de/goldenesBuch. This shows you where the individual components belong. Have the calendar sorted by a person who is not involved in the game. Then you can easily continue the game.

Please note: The advent calendar is packed with varied riddles. For all of them to work, every single copy must be assembled by hand. Although this is of course done with the utmost care and strict quality controls, errors unfortunately cannot be 100% ruled out. Should a part be missing against expectation, please contact our spare-parts service at [email protected]. We will endeavor to help as quickly as possible.

When Does the Game End?

The game ends when you have solved the last riddle and found the golden book. A hint will inform you of this. Then read the closing chapter in the story block.

The Game Begins

What are you waiting for? Let's go! Take the story block, open the first page, and start reading the introduction. The first riddle begins on the calendar sheet "1st December."

We wish you a lot of fun with EXIT – The Game: ADVENT CALENDAR. The Hunt for the Golden Book.

Inka & Markus Brand and KOSMOS thank all playtesters and rule readers.

The authors: Inka & Markus Brand live with their children Lukas and Emely in Gummersbach. Together they have published numerous children's and family games and won many awards. Of course, they are enthusiastic puzzle and live-escape fans.

Credits

EXIT concept: KOSMOS, Ralph Querfurth, Sandra Dochtermann Illustration: Florian Biege Cover illustration: Martin Hoffmann Graphic design: Fine Tuning Story: Lena Ollefs Editing: Christian Sachseneder Technical development: Monika Schall Proofreading: Christian Wöllecke