EXIT: The Game – The Circus Mystery
EXIT: The Game – The Circus Mystery Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Helper App
Would you like to have the game explained to you without reading the rules? Then download the free Kosmos Helper App and start playing without reading the rules.
Important: Every copy of this game is packaged with the greatest care. Unfortunately, mistakes can happen from time to time. Before playing, please check to make sure that all the materials are present. If anything is missing, do not start playing and contact us.
Game Materials
87 Cards
- 26 Riddle cards
- 31 Answer cards
- 30 Help cards
1 Decoder disk
5 Folded sheets
1 Circus ring sheet
18 Strange items
- 3 Swords
- 3 Poles
- Assistant
- Flyer
- Weight measure
- 8 Tightrope walkers
- Card sleeve
In addition, you will need writing implements (ideally a ball-point pen, a pencil, and an eraser), one or more sheets of paper, a pair of scissors, and a watch (ideally, a stopwatch). As an alternative, you can use the digital timer with the atmospheric soundtrack. Just select the game in the Kosmos Helper App and click on the hourglass.
Game Setup
Place the strange items and the circus ring sheet at the edge of the table. Place the five folded sheets in the center of the table. You may look at them, but you may not open them. The game will tell you when you are allowed to open the folded sheets.
Sort the cards into three piles in accordance with what is written on their back sides:
- Riddle cards (A to Z)
- Answer cards (1 to 31)
- Help cards
Sort the help cards according to their symbols. Place cards with the same symbol on top of one another, with the "1st Clue" card on top of the "2nd Clue" card, and the latter on top of the "Solution" card. Then place them at the edge of the table.
Be sure not to look at the front sides of any of the cards yet.
Where Is the Game Board?
This game has no game board! You will have to figure out for yourselves what you need to find in the game and what the locations look like. At the beginning of the game, you will only have the five closed folded sheets and the decoder disk available to you. As the game continues, you will add riddle cards — either to be found in illustrations or referred to in the text. Whenever this happens, you can take the corresponding items and look at them. Likewise, you may not use the strange items until you have been explicitly told that you have found them. Until then, leave them at the edge of the table!
Example: If you see an illustration like this, you may immediately take the corresponding riddle card (in this case, riddle card D) and look at it.
Course of Play
Your goal is to solve the case together in the shortest possible time. That would definitely be easier if every lock weren't sealed with a riddle. As soon as the game begins, you may look closely at the outside of the five folded sheets, but you may not open them yet! During the course of the game, you will keep finding objects that are locked with a three-digit code or a color code. To open them, you will have to find the correct code and enter it on the decoder disk. On the outer edge of the disk, there are ten different symbols pictured. Each symbol stands for one of the riddles to be solved. So pay close attention to every detail. If you think you have cracked one of the riddles, enter the code under the corresponding symbol on the decoder disk. A number will then appear in the viewing window of the smallest wheel of the disk.
This number indicates the number of the answer card that you are then allowed to look at. If the code is wrong, you will have to keep looking for the solution or switch to another riddle for the time being. If the code is correct, the answer card will tell you how to continue.
Example: You believe that the code 1 1 0 is the solution to the riddle with a given symbol. Enter the combination of numbers under that symbol on the decoder disk. In the viewing window, you will see the number of the answer card that you are then allowed to take from the stack and look at.
Is the Code Incorrect?
If so, the answer card will tell you that. In that case, place the card back in the stack and take another look at the riddle. Maybe there's something that you overlooked. Sometimes you don't even have all the clues you need to solve the riddle yet. In that case, you will have to continue someplace else.
Is the Code Possibly Correct?
If so, the answer card will look something like an overview showing locked objects and where they can be found.
Where Can the Code Symbol Be Seen?
Good question! To answer it, you will have to take a close look at the pictures on the riddle cards or the sheets. There, you will find all sorts of locked objects. All of these objects are marked with a symbol.
So look at the answer card next to the locked object and you will see which answer card you are now supposed to take from the stack.
Note: You must see the object with the symbol on a riddle card or on a sheet in order to open it. You cannot open what you have not yet found — just like in an actual escape room.
Is the Code Really Correct?
If so, the answer card will tell you how to continue. For example, it might give you one or more riddle cards that you may then take from the stack and look at right away.
Is the Code Actually Incorrect?
Well, in that case you must have made a mistake, and you will just have to think again and come up with a different code.
IMPORTANT:
- Whether wrong or right, return all answer cards to the answer card stack.
- All codes can be solved logically. You shouldn't just try all possible combinations on the decoder disk.
Need Help?
The game can provide you with assistance if you get stuck. For each code, there are three help cards that can be recognized by the symbol on their back sides.
In addition to giving you an initial useful clue, each "1st Clue" help card also tells you which game materials you must have found in order to be able to solve the corresponding riddle.
The "2nd Clue" help cards will give you more concrete assistance in finding a solution to the corresponding riddle.
The "Solution" help cards will give you the solution to the riddle.
IMPORTANT: Always take the help cards for a specific riddle card or a specific riddle on a sheet. These riddles are usually identified with a symbol (just like on the decoder disk). It won't help you to use help cards if you have not found a riddle with the corresponding symbol.
So have a little patience — some of the riddles can only be solved with the help of several riddle cards. You won't always have all of them available to you right away. Sometimes, you will first have to grapple with other riddles to get new game materials. But don't be shy about using help cards if you get stuck.
Once you have used them, place them face up on a discard pile.
Additional Game Materials
In addition to the materials contained in the box, you will need paper and a pen for taking notes and a pair of scissors. You will also need a watch or stopwatch.
IMPORTANT: You can write on, fold, or tear the materials ... All of this is allowed, and sometimes even required. You can only play the game once — after which you will know all the riddles, and you won't need the game materials any longer! This enables the game to contain the most interesting variety of riddles.
When Does the Game End?
The game ends when you have solved the last riddle and have discovered who committed the burglaries. A card will tell you that.
At the beginning of the game, start a stopwatch so that you will know how much time you required to finish the game.
You can look at the table below to see how well you did. When calculating the number of help cards used, of course, count only the ones that gave you new hints or solutions. If a help card gave you information you already knew, do not include it in the calculation.
Assessment
| Time | No Help Cards | 1–2 Help Cards | 3–5 Help Cards | 6–10 Help Cards | > 10 Help Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤ 60 Min. | 10 stars | 8 stars | 7 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars |
| ≤ 90 Min. | 9 stars | 7 stars | 6 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars |
| ≤ 120 Min. | 8 stars | 6 stars | 5 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars |
| > 120 Min. | 7 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars | 2 stars | 1 star |
One Final Tip
Any game materials that you successfully used to help solve a riddle should be set aside. That way, you will be able to keep track of the materials more easily and won't get them mixed up. You will only need the illustrations of the locations for several riddles.
The Game Begins
What are you waiting for? Start the stopwatch and start investigating the burglaries.
You may now look at the outsides of the five closed folded sheets and start solving riddles. If anything is unclear, don't be shy about looking something up in the rulebook during the game.
Certificate
The following players — on ______ in ______ — successfully solved the case.
What an outstanding achievement, and what good fortune that you were able to discover who committed the burglaries.
- To do it they required ______ minutes and ______ seconds.
- They used a total of ______ help cards.
- This earned them ______ stars in the assessment!
- The coolest riddle was ______
- The best moment during the game was ______