IQ Files: Escape Room – Liberation Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Components
• Game Setup
• Iconography
• The Puzzles
• Moving On to the Next Room
• Combinations
• Wounds and Deaths
• Clues
• The Final Solution
• End of the Game
• Scoring
• More Information
• Jorge's Story

Object of the Game

In "IQ Files", the players take the role of criminals locked in a room that is connected to others. Each of them has its own traps. The goal is to get through the final room without dying.

Components

• 90 game cards (5 character cards, 12 letter cards, 73 number cards).
• 1 code card / 2 Stop cards / 2 Attention cards.
• 1 rules summary card.
• 1 rulebook.

Game Setup

Separate the cards into these groups according to their back:

1. Character cards: show the information about the characters. Spread them out with the coloured side face up. You must not assign them by player. All players use all the characters!
2. Letter cards: contain the rooms in which the characters are locked up and events related to them. They must be sorted in ascending order (do not look at the fronts!).
3. Number cards: contain puzzles, objects, events and other elements necessary to beat the game. They must be sorted in ascending order (do not look at the fronts!).
4. Code card: used to decipher some puzzles. How to use it is explained later.
5. Rules summary card: leave it somewhere within everyone's reach in case you want to check something quickly.

Example layout: the "Characters" cards spread out, the "Letters" deck and the "Numbers" deck, with the card groups numbered 1 to 5 as above.

Once these groups have been created:

1. Read the information on the character cards.
2. Turn over the letter card marked IQ on its back. It is the room in which the characters wake up after having been imprisoned.
3. Regarding playing time, there are two options:
   • A. If you want to recreate an atmosphere of tension, play with time. Before taking more cards, start a 90-minute timer.
   • B. If you prefer to enjoy the story, the puzzles and the deaths of the characters (you sadists), you can play without time. If at any point you are asked to consume time (subtract minutes, start an additional timer...), simply ignore it.

If you end up with a card that has nothing to do with what you were doing, it means you have got yourselves in a muddle. In designing the game we have tried to reduce the chances of this happening as much as possible, but unpredictable things can go through each person's head ;)

Iconography

On the front of the cards you can find the following icons:

1. Card identifier. In the bottom right corner. It matches the number or letter on the back of the card (except the character cards, which have no identifier).
2. Numbers inside a black circle. You can take the corresponding card from the number deck and turn it over.
3. Numbers and letters inside a black circle with a red character icon next to them. Same as the above, but in this case, before taking the corresponding card, you must assign a character. The importance of this is explained later.
4. Numbers inside a gold circle. Used to make combinations. They are explained in detail later.
5. Numbers inside a gold circle with a red character icon next to them. Same as the above, but in this case, before making a combination, you must assign a character. The importance of this is explained later.
6. Numbers next to a wastebasket. Cards that you can remove from the game. They will not be used any more.

Sign: In every ROOM there is a sign with a number inside a black circle. Sometimes it contains the instructions for getting through the room it is in, so you must read it before taking other cards.

(The illustrated example shows a ROOM card with its sign and numbered icons 1 to 6 as above.)

The Puzzles

Throughout the game you will come across various puzzles.

1. A puzzle must result in a number or a letter.
2. If a puzzle results in a number of 1, 2 or 3 digits, take the corresponding card from the number deck. Example: a puzzle whose solution is 839.
3. If a puzzle results in a number of 4 digits, look for it on the code card (the next section explains how to use it). Example: a puzzle whose solution is 4257.
4. If a puzzle results in a letter, take the corresponding card from the letter deck. Example: a puzzle whose solution is K.
5. If a puzzle results in a number or letter for which there is no card, or a 4-digit number for which there is no code, it means you have solved it wrongly or that this number or letter must be used for something else.
6. And of course, if as a result of solving a puzzle you take a card that has nothing to do with it, it means you have got yourselves in a muddle (see Game Setup).

Moving On to the Next Room

Some puzzles will give you a letter as the result. When that happens, you can take the corresponding card. If it is the correct one, you will move on to the next room.

IMPORTANT! If you see a letter written in isolation (for example, painted on a wall), DO NOT TAKE THE CORRESPONDING LETTER CARD. You may only take a letter card when you have found the letter as the solution to a puzzle or when the letter is inside a black circle. The same applies to numbers.

Combinations

The numbers inside a gold circle, or combination numbers, are used only to make combinations. Never take a card that corresponds to one of these numbers!

To make a combination:

• Step 1. Choose two numbers, each corresponding to a gold circle.
• Step 2. Create a four-digit string with those two numbers, ordering them from lowest to highest. For example, if one card has a gold circle with a 47 and the other has another with a 29, first order them from lowest to highest (29, 47) and then join them (2947).
• Step 3. Look for that four-digit string on side A of the code card. It will lead you to a code made up of the letters IQ and two digits (for example: IQ39).
• Step 4. Turn the code card over and look for the new code IQxx on its side B. In general, this will lead you to a number of one to three digits. Take the card corresponding to that number, except in the following exceptions:
  • A. If it leads you to an ERR, the combination you have made is of no use in the game.
  • B. If it leads you to HER, the character used in the combination receives a wound. This is explained in the next section.
  • C. If it leads you to MUE, the character used in the combination dies. This is explained in the next section.

WATCH OUT! There are combinations and numbers inside a gold circle that have no use. They are false clues that will make you waste time and that increase the difficulty of the game (yes, we are mean).

Example of a combination:

• STEPS 1 and 2: The players choose 2 cards with the combination numbers "35" and "19". They order them from lowest to highest and obtain the code "1935"...
• STEP 3: ...they look for the code "1935" on side A of the code card. In this way they obtain the code "IQ10"...
• STEP 4: ...which they must look for on side B of the code card, thus arriving at the result "409". They therefore take card "409" from the number deck and reveal it; from now on they have this card available.

Wounds and Deaths

Throughout the game, characters can suffer wounds and even die:

• WOUNDS: when a character receives a wound, turn over their card. Their black-and-white side will be face up. If a character who already had a wound receives another, they die (see below).
• DEATHS: if a character dies, they are automatically eliminated from the game. You can still consult their card, but you cannot combine them or assign them to anything.

In which situations can a character receive a wound or die?

• With a red character icon. Remember that, before taking the card or making the corresponding combination, you must assign a character (it is enough to say "we assign this character"). The cards of the game will tell you whether that character receives a wound or dies.
• When making an improper combination between two cards. For example, combining a character with a bottle of acid (who would think of that?).
• When requesting a clue (see below).
• In other special circumstances. You will see it indicated on some card, and you will ALWAYS be warned that a character may receive a wound or die BEFORE those circumstances are triggered. For example, a card that asks you to choose among three others, telling you that two of them contain something that may cause a wound to each character.

REMEMBER: Numbers inside black circles are safe if they are not accompanied by a red character icon. Taking the corresponding cards never causes wounds or deaths.

(Illustration: "No need to assign a character. No risk of wounds or deaths." versus "A character must be assigned. Risk of wounds or deaths.")

Clues

On the back of each card there are two QR codes. You can scan them with your mobile phone at any time and read a clue or a solution related to the scanned card. Nowadays all smartphones come with a built-in QR scanner; if not, there are free apps for it.

How can you tell which are the clues and which are the solutions? Very easy:

• The QR codes in the top right corner are always clues.
• The QR codes in the lower area of the card are always solutions.

You must know the following about these QR codes:

• Not every QR hides a clue or a solution. Some will indicate that there are no clues or solutions for that card. These are false codes so that the true clues cannot be easily identified (yes, we are the worst).
• There are harmless clues and solutions, that is, ones that "come free" to you. Others will include the word "HERIDA" (wound) and there will even be some with the word "MUERTE" (death) (the latter can only happen with solution QR codes, not clue ones). If you see these words in the QR, a character of your choice will receive a wound or die, respectively. Thematically, this is represented by the electronic collars that the characters wear around their necks: when they ask for an important clue, the Global Government activates one of them and the character wearing it receives an electric shock.
• If a clue reveals information that you already knew, you do not have to apply any wound or death even if the words "HERIDA" or "MUERTE" appear in the QR.

A couple of other optional aspects regarding QR codes:

• If you want to reduce the difficulty of the game, ignore the words "HERIDA" or "MUERTE" when they appear on scanning a QR.
• If you want to play without a smartphone, you can download from the website www.iq-files.com, in the section of the corresponding adventure, a PDF with the transcription of all the QR codes. However, we do not recommend it, since you can always give yourselves spoilers by accidentally reading a text while looking for another one nearby.

The Final Solution

If, despite the clues you request, you remain stuck, you can consult the solutions sheet of each adventure on the website www.iq-files.com. This should be the last option and we only recommend it if you are very lost, since it can also cause self-spoilers.

End of the Game

The game can end in three ways:

• A. All the characters die. You lose the game and can start it again or continue it without taking the score into account.
• B. Time runs out (if you decided to play with it). In this case, all characters who are still alive die (the Global Government kills them using the electronic collars). You also lose the game and can start it again or continue it without taking the score into account.
• C. The characters get through the final room by crossing the exit door, whose card will indicate that it is the end of the game. Calculate your score.

Scoring

You can calculate your score as follows:

1. Add 2 points for each character without any wounds.
2. Add 1 point for each character with one wound.
3. Dead characters do not add points.

You will obtain a score that will tell you your final rating:

• 10 points: Perfect! When you reintegrate into society, you will be able to do great things. If you do not stray again, of course.
• 7-9 points: Very good. You have the potential to reintegrate and do worthwhile things with your life, such as not committing crimes again.
• 4-6 points: Well... Just the bare minimum to live safely a few years locked up.
• 1-3 points: You have saved yourselves by a hair. By the hair of a kiwi peel.
• 0 points: We are not going to say anything because you are all dead and it feels odd to talk to thin air.

More Information

More information at www.iq-files.com

You can now prepare the game, take the IQ room and start playing. Good luck!

Jorge's Story

Meet Jorge. Jorge has behaved badly and now, to earn the right to go to prison, he must pass a series of tests with deadly traps. From the Global Government, we want to interact with him while he solves puzzles. See that collar fastened around his neck? In certain puzzles, if he solves them wrongly, we will flip a switch and Jorge will receive an electric shock through that collar. If he cannot get through some test by himself and asks us for a clue, he will also receive an electric shock. And if he asks us for a solution, the electric shock may be so strong that it ends up killing him. This happened to him for not respecting our laws. If you do not want to end up like him, do not misbehave. Do not be like Jorge.