EXIT: The Game – Family: The Mystery at Meanstone Manor/The Caper at Candy Castle
EXIT: The Game – Family: The Mystery at Meanstone Manor/The Caper at Candy Castle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
CAUTION
Do not yet look at any of the game materials (puzzles, riddles, documents, etc.) before starting the game! First, read this ebook together out loud, and carefully follow all of the instructions.
Would you like to have the game explained to you without reading the rules? Then download the free Helper App.
Introduction
The Mystery at Meanstone Manor and The Caper at Candy Castle are two separate adventures! First, play the adventure at Meanstone Manor. That's the only way to unlock the materials for the second adventure at Candy Castle. Then, when you've completed the first adventure, you can start The Caper at Candy Castle at any time.
Adventure 1: The Mystery at Meanstone Manor
What is The Mystery at Meanstone Manor about?
Mysterious! Animals are disappearing all over town. No one knows why or where ... sounds like a case for the Heroes! Your search leads the animal heroes to the scary Meanstone Manor, where they get into real trouble ...
IMPORTANT: You are not allowed to look closely at the game materials before starting the game! Wait until the game instructions tell you that you are allowed to do so.
Game materials
- 1 Decoder disk
- 36 Cards: 9 Adventure cards, 25 Riddle cards, 2 Additional cards
- 1 Help book
- 1 Town image (in box lid)
- 8 Strange items: 5 Pixelated images, 1 Strip of sticker dots, 1 Mirror sheet, 1 Strange cage (locked with 6 bars)
WARNING: Do not take out this box until the game tells you to do so!
Additionally-required game materials: In addition, you will need at least one pair of scissors and possibly some paper and pencils for taking notes.
Game setup
Place the decoder disk on the table. Carefully remove the five pixelated images from the cardboard sheet and lay them on the edge of the table along with the mirror sheet and the strip of sticker dots. You will not need these materials until later in the game.
Be careful not to look at the fronts of the cards yet!
Sort the cards based on what is written on their back sides:
- Place the adventure cards in a row next to each other face down at the edge of the table, so that you can clearly see their symbols.
- Place the riddle cards in a stack in the middle of the table. Do not shuffle the cards.
Where is the game board?
This game has no game board! The cards will tell you what you need to find in the game. To begin the game, you will read the introduction to the adventure in this handbook. It will tell you which adventure card to start with. After that, the decoder disk will be your guide.
During the course of the game, you will uncover additional riddle cards and game materials like strange items and more adventure cards. You may need to use other parts of the game — like the cardboard insert inside the box — to find the solutions to riddles. When the game tells you to, you may take the specific cards and/or items and look at them.
To solve a riddle, you will usually need to find a three-digit code. Enter this code on the decoder disk. You can then only look at a new adventure card if you entered the correct code and the decoder disk shows you symbols that match an adventure card.
Gameplay
Your goal is to work together as a team to solve all the riddles as you progress through the adventure riddle by riddle.
IMPORTANT: To solve the riddles, you can write on, fold, or cut 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!)
You'll puzzle your way through the cards in order. When you get cards and strange items, look at them carefully and read the cards out loud. Put your heads together to try to figure out how to solve the riddle. Usually, the answer will be a three-digit code. Enter this code on the decoder disk.
On the outer edge of the disk, there are seven areas in different colors with question marks on them. Each color stands for a riddle. Pay close attention to which color is on the riddle cards! Enter the three-digit code under this color on the decoder disk. It's important to remember that the code is always entered FROM THE OUTSIDE IN.
Flip the decoder disk over. There you'll find a small solution window. The solution window will tell you whether or not the code might be correct.
Example: You think that the code 1 2 3 is the answer to the purple riddle. You enter the code under the purple question marks from the outside in. Then, turn over the decoder disk onto its back and check if the code is correct.
Is the code INCORRECT?
If so, the solution window on the back of the decoder disk will show an X or a color that's different from the riddle's color. Double check the riddle color and the code on the front of the disk. If that doesn't help, take another look at the riddle and try to come up with a different code. Or maybe you just entered the numbers in the wrong order? Remember: always from the outside in!
Is the code POSSIBLY CORRECT?
If so, in the solution window on the back side of the disk, you will see the color of the riddle that you want to solve. Turn the decoder disk back to its front side. In the three viewing windows on the three smallest wheels of the disk, you will see three symbols. Reading them from outside in, they will form a very specific sequence. Look for this exact combination on the backs of the adventure cards you laid out!
Example: You want to solve the purple riddle. You entered the code 1 2 3 on the decoder disk and the solution window on the back of the disk shows the color purple. In the windows on the front of the disk you now see — read from outside in — three symbols. Now look for this exact combination on the backs of the adventure cards you laid out.
Is the code REALLY CORRECT?
If you find an adventure card with the same symbol sequence shown on the decoder disk, your code is CORRECT! Take this adventure card immediately and read it out loud!
Don't see an adventure card with a matching symbol sequence? Then your code is ACTUALLY INCORRECT! Check these points again:
- Did you enter your numerical code in the correct order — from outside to inside — on the disk?
- Did you enter the numerical code under the color of the riddle that you're currently trying to solve?
- Are you looking for the symbol sequence in the correct order on the adventure cards?
If you've checked all these points and still can't find an adventure card with the correct symbol sequence, look at the riddle again carefully and try to find a different code.
IMPORTANT: You must solve the riddles in order! You may only take the next cards when you have cracked the previous code and the game tells you that you're allowed to move on!
Need help? Grab the help book!
If you get stuck, the game can help you. In the Help Book, you will find two hints and the solution for each riddle:
- Every "1st CLUE" will remind you what you need in order to solve the riddle. It will also show you what you need to be paying attention to.
- Every "2nd CLUE" will give you more concrete help to solve the riddle. Only look in this book if you are stuck on a riddle!
- The "Solution" will tell you how to solve the riddle and give you the correct code and symbol sequence for the riddle.
Don't be shy about using clues if you aren't making progress. Instructions on how exactly to use the hints can be found in the help book in the section How does the help book work?
When does the game end?
The game ends when you've solved the last riddle in the adventure. Then the game will tell you that you can read the END OF YOUR ADVENTURE in this handbook. Don't read the ending before then!
LET'S GO!
What are you waiting for? The Heroes need you! Read the beginning of your first adventure: The Mystery of Meanstone Manor. Follow the instructions you find there.