Adventure Games: Im Nebelreich Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Materials
Game Setup
A Few Words in Advance
Game Play
Card Rules
Token Rules
Adventure Book + Amira's Diary
Saving the Game
The Game Begins
Hint Tips: General

Game Materials

20 large location cards (A–T)
4 miscellaneous cards (B1–B4)
88 adventure cards (01–69, 81–99)
1 adventure book
1 diary of Amira
4 character figures with 4 stands
16 miscellaneous cards (a1–t5)
4 characters (C1–C4)
62 miscellaneous tokens
7 mission cards (M1–M7)
1 overview card

Game Setup

Place the adventure book, Amira's diary, and the location cards and adventure cards as stacks on the table, with the backs facing up.

Check that the location cards and adventure cards are sorted in ascending order by their letters or numbers (A or 01 on top). Take care that you do not see any of the fronts yet!

It is best to make three stacks from the adventure cards: one with cards 01 to 99, a second with the small letter-number combinations a1 to t5, and a third with the large letter-number combinations B1 to B4, C1 to C4, and M1 to M7. Also set the overview card aside, ready for use. Remember that you may only look at the backs of these stacks until the game instructs you to draw certain cards!

Carefully remove the pieces from punchboard 1 (characters, checkmarks/question marks, trait tokens). Place the 4 character pieces into the matching colored stands. These are your figures. Set the remaining pieces aside as a supply.

Attention: Punchboard 2 holds the non-player characters (NPCs) you will encounter over the course of the game. You may only remove these from the punchboard when the game explicitly instructs you to! You may of course place the checkmarks/question marks from board 2 directly with the other pieces.

The setup should then look roughly as follows: the location cards and adventure cards lie as face-down stacks on the table, the figures are prepared, punchboard 2, the adventure book, and Amira's diary are ready, and the checkmark/question-mark tokens and trait tokens form a supply.

When playing alone, as a pair, or as a trio, you may also play more than 1 character each. However, at least 2 characters must take part in the game — even in solo play.

Now each choose 1 character using character cards C1 to C4, and also take the matching trait cards B1 to B4 and the figures.

On the trait cards, you can improve your characters' cleverness, strength, and stealth over the course of the game. At the start, the trait tokens are not yet placed on the cards. The first time you may improve a trait, place the matching token on the lowest space of that track. Otherwise, slide it one space upward. If you reach the legendary level 7, read the entry given there.

A Few Words in Advance

If a card's text or a text in the adventure book contradicts the rules in this rulebook, the card text or the text in the adventure book applies!

This is a cooperative game. Discuss with each other how you want to proceed, what you want to combine, and which locations you want to look at more closely.
You may look again at entries you have already read in the adventure book at any time.
We recommend that you take notes during your adventure. Especially if you save the game and want to continue playing on another day. Some entries also present you with a choice, but allow you to come back later and decide differently. Or you may be asked for adventure cards that you do not have, or do not yet have. In that case, it can be worthwhile to return to those locations later.
Alternatively, you can use the question marks for this. These tokens are freely available to you. You can use them during the game to mark locations, adventure cards, or other tokens — for example, if you think they might still be important for the progress of the story, if you need an item you do not yet have, to remind yourself to try something with it, etc. Simply place one of the question marks next to the entry or on the adventure card. Also remember to remove the question marks again once they have served their purpose.
If you are ever stuck, use the walkthrough for help, which you can find on our website. To do so, go to www.kosmos.de and enter "Im Nebelreich" into the search field. Then click on "PDF Walkthrough." Or look up the corresponding number of the adventure card, location, or token in the hint tips on the following pages. For all of them there is a resolution telling you what you can do with it or there, or what is needed for it or there, so that the story continues. Attention: The hint tips do not give anything away, and the walkthrough not too much, about the story! So do not hesitate to use them, and just look something up before getting frustrated over a seeming dead end!
You can read the texts aloud yourselves or have them read to you by the KOSMOS Helper App.

Game Play

Whoever last petted an animal begins the first turn with their own character. Once a turn is finished, the next person in clockwise order follows, and so on. Should someone play multiple characters, a separate turn is carried out for each of these characters before the next person begins their turn.

On your turn, you may trade adventure cards, move, and carry out one action.

Trading Adventure Cards

You may trade any number of adventure cards with other characters at any time during your turn. It does not matter where the characters are located, and you may also trade 0 for X adventure cards and vice versa. For a bit more realism, you can also agree that you may only trade adventure cards while standing on the same location card. You may never trade adventure cards that belong to personal missions. You recognize them by the same colored background that the matching character card also has.

Moving

You may move your character on your turn to any location on a location card of your choice that is in play, unless an adventure card states otherwise. This may also be on the same location card you are already standing on. You may also forgo your move, but if you do move, your move must take place before your action.

Location cards are the large cards marked with letters, as a whole. Locations are the individual areas on the location cards marked with three-digit numbers.

Several characters may stand at one location. For the sake of clarity, however, make sure you do not place your characters directly on the numbers, but always next to them.

Actions

After your move, you may carry out one action, but you may also forgo it. In that case, it is simply the next character's turn. Each location card has several locations that you can investigate. Each location is marked with a three-digit number.

Each of your possible actions lets you read an entry from the adventure book aloud, which advances the story, reveals location cards, and gives you adventure cards. The entries in the adventure book are sorted. After the prologue come, in alphabetical order, all the location card entries (A–T). After that follow, in this order, the three-, four-, five-, and finally six-digit number entries. At the end you will find the letter-number combinations, likewise sorted alphabetically, beginning with A70.

If you would rather have the texts read to you, select this game in the KOSMOS Helper App and then choose "Adventure Book." Enter the corresponding entry there and the app will read it aloud to you.

The actions are: Investigate and Combine.

Investigate

If you are standing at an uncovered location, you can investigate it by looking up its three-digit number in the adventure book and reading it aloud.

Note: Some locations may seem unimportant at first glance. Later in the story, however, they may well become important! So do not hesitate to return to a location at a later point and combine something with it that you did not have before.

Also keep in mind: you cannot solve every puzzle or task right at the moment you encounter it. Often you first need certain items, and sometimes a task or mission extends across several chapters. So use the question marks as a memory aid!

Combine

Over the course of the game you can and must combine certain game elements with each other in order to progress. What belongs together will sometimes seem obvious to you, and sometimes not. So be creative!

Each combine action combines two game elements with each other. This creates a new number or letter-number combination, which you must look up in the adventure book and read aloud. When you combine numbers with each other, put the smaller of the two numbers first and the larger one after it. So you do not add the numbers together, you simply string them together! When you combine a letter with a number, put the letter first and the number after it.

There are four different kinds of combinations:

Adventure card with adventure card (number with number): This creates a four-digit combination, which usually creates something new out of two items.
Adventure card with location (number with number): This creates a five-digit combination, which usually represents using or investigating something.
Adventure card with NPC (number with number): This creates a four-digit combination, which usually represents a question or a handover.
Location card with NPC (letter with number): This creates a three-digit combination that begins with a letter. This usually represents a conversation with the respective NPC. Should an NPC move to a different location card during the course of the game, this creates a new interaction. Do not forget that!

For combinations with a location or an NPC, your figure must be standing at that location or with that NPC. You can never combine an NPC with a location! The game tells you when adventure cards go into the box after combining. If it does not say so, you keep the adventure cards. If there is no entry for a combination, you cannot carry it out. Your turn ends anyway! You can never combine game elements with your characters.

There are sometimes also special combinations, but these will be explained to you by an entry or an adventure card, and can only be used in the respective situation.

Example: You have found adventure cards 10 (can of cat food) and 11 (can opener). At location 106 you can see carrots. You want to try to liven up the cat food with them. Before that, you first have to open the can. So you combine card 10 with card 11 and look up entry 1011. It says: "Well done, you've opened the can. Put cards 10 and 11 back in the box and take card 12 instead." Card 12 shows an open can of cat food. On your next turn you can hopefully combine card 12 with the carrot at location 106. To do this, look up entry 12106 and read what it says there. You could also speak with NPC 70 on A. Read entry A70 for that. To show him the cat food (12), read entry 1270.

Card Rules

The adventure cards are the small cards showing either a number or a letter-number combination, printed on both the front and the back. Some entries in the adventure book instruct you to take or give up adventure cards. If you are told to:

take one or more adventure cards from the adventure card stack ("take XY"), read them aloud and place them face up in front of you, unless stated otherwise. They are now part of your inventory.
put an adventure card back into the adventure card stack, sort it with the back facing up into its original position in the stack.
put one or more adventure cards back into the box, they are removed from the game! It does not matter where the affected adventure card is located or who has it.

It can happen that you are told to take an adventure card that you already have, or to put back an adventure card that has already been removed from the game. In both cases, you cannot receive or put back the adventure card again, unless the entry explicitly allows it (e.g., "take XY from the box"). Still carry out all other instructions you are given, as far as possible.

At several points in the game, various adventure cards come into play that change the rules. The game tells you whenever this is the case. The cards themselves, or an entry, will then explain how you play with these cards. Simply follow the instructions.

Token Rules

There are several kinds of tokens: the 4 characters, various NPCs, checkmarks/question marks (simply use whichever side you need at the time), and trait tokens. The game tells you whenever and how these come into play.

When you are instructed to place a checkmark on a location, you thereby cover the matching number so that it is no longer visible. That location is then no longer available to you, and you can no longer combine anything with it. If instead you are told to place a checkmark next to a location, simply place it directly beside the stated three-digit number. It remains visible, and you can continue to interact with it. Its exact purpose will become clear as the game progresses.

Adventure Book + Amira's Diary

The adventure book contains the game's entire story and consists of many individual entries, made up of either letters, numbers, or a combination of both. Almost everything you do over the course of the game will prompt you to read one or more entries from the adventure book aloud. If you would rather have the texts read to you, select this game in the KOSMOS Helper App and then choose "Adventure Book." Enter the corresponding entry there and the app will read it aloud to you.

Be sure to read only the entry you are supposed to read!

Many entries in the adventure book, alongside the story, also contain game instructions. Make sure you carry them out in order, and double-check the entry to be sure you have not forgotten anything.

We abbreviate the phrase "Read entry XYZ" as "XYZ." If an entry continues on the next page, we mark this with "→".

The same notes apply to Amira's diary. Here you learn more about the background of the game world as the story progresses.

Saving the Game

To save, take a photo of the current game setup and your adventure cards found so far with a mobile phone. Alternatively, you can do this with pen and paper. Note down where your figures are standing, which locations you have not yet visited, where you suspect loose ends, where and what you still want to try, etc. Be sure to also use the question marks for this! Then put all revealed location cards, your obtained adventure cards, and character cards into one zip bag. Put the still-hidden location cards and adventure cards into the other zip bag. Leave all adventure cards and location cards that are in the box there. Do you want to continue the game? Then place all location cards and revealed adventure cards according to your photo or notes, and put your figures back in their previous positions.

The Game Begins

This begins the game. Now read entry 100!

Attention! The hint tips follow on the next pages.

Hint Tips: General

Here you will find, in order, hint tips for the adventure cards, tokens, locations, location cards, NPC interactions, diary entries, and traits. Each one tells you how to obtain it, its possible uses, and what you need to do, receive, or require.

Attention: If a hint tip points to something that is not yet available to you, you can of course also look up that entry's own hint tip to find out how to gain access to it. You can also use the walkthrough for help. To do so, go to www.kosmos.de, search for "Im Nebelreich," and click "PDF Walkthrough" on the new page.

"How" = How do I gain access to this, e.g. by investigating or combining. "With what" = What can I combine this with, and what happens then? Where "//" appears, further "How" or "With what" options are listed separately. Attention: It may be that you cannot try out every combination!

Example 1: "10: How: A/106. With what: 11, to receive 14." means that you receive adventure card 10 on location card A at 106, and over the course of the game must combine it with adventure card 11, which gives you adventure card 14. Example 2: "14: How: 10 with 11" means that you receive adventure card 14 when you combine adventure card 10 with adventure card 11 and thereby read entry 1011. Example 3: "22: How: 17 with A/104" means that you receive adventure card 22 when you combine adventure card 17 with location 104 on location card A and thereby read entry 17104. Example 4: "Wicky + M6: How: K76" means that only Wicky can trigger something special in this interaction, and only if she has M6.

Adventure Card and Token Hints

00: How: 55 with K/453.
01: How: q1/881. With what: 74 and 75 (017475), to receive 02.
02: How: 01 with 74 and 75 (017475).
03: Wicky + M6: How: K76. With what: 38, to receive 53.
04: Sami + M7: How: O/851. Solution: first digits of the locations on T, O, N, L, C (58563), to receive 06.
05: Sami: How: P/182. Used up together with 04, to receive 06.
06: Sami: How: solve the puzzle on 04 (58563). With what: C/303 (hint from 582 548), to receive 07.
07: Sami: How: 06 with C/303 (hint from 582 548).
08: Zoey + M4: How: g2/707 // 34 with G/702. With what: P/181, to receive 09.
09: Zoey: How: 08 with P/181. With what: a2/107, to receive 98.
10: How: A/106. With what: 11, to receive 14.
11: How: A/106. With what: 10, to receive 14.
12: How: 14 with A/104. With what: 80, to receive 37 // Cleverness on a1 (Za1), to unlock B.
13: How: A/103. Solution: 550, to unlock D.
14: How: 10 with 11. With what: A/104, to receive 12.
15: How: B/202. With what: D/404, to receive 19.
16: How: B/203. Solution: combine 20, 26, and 30 (202630), to receive 31.
17: How: B/102 and E/501. With what: 21, to receive 23 // 104, to receive 22 and place a checkmark next to 104 // Stealth on a1 (Ya1), to unlock B.
18: How: B/204. With what: 80, to receive 37 // Stealth on e1 (Ye1), to receive 20 and 21 and unlock 71.
19: How: 15 with D/404. With what: N/556, to unlock v11 // F/601, to unlock v4 and v11 // Strength on e1 (Xe1), to receive 20 and 21 and unlock 71.
20: How: Strength, Stealth, or Cleverness on e1 (Xe1, Ye1, or Ze1) with 19, 18, or 32. With what: 26 and 30 (202630), to receive 31.
21: How: Strength, Stealth, or Cleverness on e1 (Xe1, Ye1, or Ze1) with 19, 18, or 32. With what: 17, to receive 23.
22: How: 17 with A/104. With what: 80, to receive 37 // H/154, to unlock v9 // Strength on a1 (Xa1), to unlock B.
23: How: 17 with 21. With what: 25, to receive 24.
24: How: 23 with 25. With what: C/301, to receive 26.
25: How: D/406. With what: 23, to receive 24.
26: How: 24 with C/301. With what: 20 and 30 (202630), to receive 31.
27: How: B/208. With what: 28, to receive 29.
28: How: D/401. With what: 27, to receive 29.
29: How: 27 with 28. With what: D/402, to receive 30.
30: How: 29 with D/402. With what: 20 and 26 (202630), to receive 31.
31: How: 20 with 26 and 30 (202630). With what: 70, 71, or 72, to place these on A.
32: How: A/105. With what: 74 or H/154, to unlock v9 and v10 // Cleverness on e1 (Ze1), to receive 20 and 21 and unlock 71.

Location Hints

101: Unlocks a1.
102: Receive 17.
103: Receive 13. Can unlock D. Solution: 550.
104: With what: 14, to receive 369 and 12 // 17, to place a checkmark next to 104, receive 22, and, as Wicky, 111, to receive M6 and 38.
105: Receive 32. Hint, to unlock C. Solution: 426.
106: Receive 10 and 11. With what: 63, to unlock a2 and place 70, 71, and 72 on N.
107: Zoey: With what: 09, to receive 98.
151: Unlocks i.
152: Receive 59.
153: Receive 58. Unlocks v18.
154: With what: 22, to unlock v9 // 32, to unlock v9 and v10.
155: With what: 65, to place a checkmark next to 155, and 174.
181: With what: 08, to receive 09.
182: Receive 50, 84, and 86. Sami: 448, to receive 05.
183: Receive 89. With what: 87, to receive 43.
184: Unlocks Q.
185: Unlocks v37.
201: Info. More info with 2+ Cleverness.
202: Receive 15.
203: Receive 16. Matti: 232, to receive M5 and 36.
204: Receive 18.
205: Receive 97. Wicky + M6: 138, to receive info.
206: Info.
207: 1st character: 422 // 2nd character: 322.
208: Receive 27. Unlocks Amira's diary as well as v1, v2, and v3.
251: Unlocks v12. 6+ Strength, or combine with 70, to receive 60, 61, and 62.
252: Unlocks J.
253: Unlocks K.
254: Unlocks v13. With what: 37, to receive a hint for 62 and unlock v21.
255: Receive 93.
281: Place a checkmark next to 281 and unlock v40.
282: 688, to receive 83. With what: 87, to get rid of 83.
283: With 88: 781 (Solution 5247), without 88: 988.
284: Receive 48. Unlocks v38 and v39.
285: Info.
301: Sami: 333, to receive M7 and 40. With what: 24, to receive 26.
302: Unlocks E. // 2+ Stealth: 245, to receive 35.
303: Sami: With what: 06, to receive 07.
304: Receive 91.
305: Place NPC 74 on C.
306: Info.
321: Complete with Strength (Xa122), Stealth (Ya117), or Cleverness (Za112), to unlock B.
351: 6+ Stealth, or combine with 75, to unlock v14. With what: 6, to unlock j1.
352: With what: 37, to receive a hint for 62.
353: Info.
354: Receive 55.
381: Advances the checkmark.
382: Receive 45. Advances the checkmark.
383: Advances the checkmark.
384: Advances the checkmark. With what: 50, to receive 63 and unlock v44.

How Do I Unlock Location Cards?

A: The game starts with A.
a1: A/101.
a2: 63 with A/106.
B: Strength (Xa122), Stealth (Ya117), or Cleverness (Za112) at a1/321.
C: A/105. Solution: 426.
D: A/103. Solution: 550 // E/503.
E: C/302 // D/403.
e1: E/502.
F: A70 // A71 // A72.
G: F/602 with C/111, to unlock H.
g1: G/705.
g2: Start of Chapter 2 (G/705 … 200).
H: Start of Chapter 2 (G/705 … 200).
I: H/151.
J: i/252.
j1: 56 with 351.
K: i/253.
L: M/553.
L1: L/652.
M: K/454.
N: solve 60, 61, and 62.
O: Strength (Xj166), Stealth (Yj182), or Cleverness (Zj181) at j1/821.
o1: O/855.
P: Start of Chapter 3 (O/857 → 300).
Q: P/184.
q1: Q/283.
R: Q/283 → 781. Solution: 5247.
r1: checkmark on R reaches the topmost space (via R/381, R/382, R/383, R/384, R/385, and R79): 387.
S: R/386. Solution: 2415.
s1: solve the puzzle from 44, 45, S/482. Solution: 240.
T: S/485.
t1: solve the puzzle from 44, 45, S/482. Solution: 240.
t2: t1/586 → 363.
t3: 69 with t2/463.
t4: t3/682. Solution: 359 (page numbers of 64 and 97, added together).
t5: 96 with t4/689. Solution: YOHA (64 is reversed).

How Do I Unlock NPC Interactions?

A70: 31 with 70.
A71: 31 with 71.
A72: 31 with 72.
A78: N78.
B70: 55 with K/453.
B71: 55 with K/453.
B72: 55 with K/453.
B73: 55 with K/453.
C74: C/305.
D71: A71.
D72: A72.
E70: E.
E71: Strength (Xe119), Stealth (Ye118), or Cleverness (Ze132) at e1/432.
E72: E.
H74: 47 with 74.
H75: H.
H80: J80.
i80: 12, 18, or 22 with 80.
J80: J.
K76: Strength (XL166), Stealth (YL167), or Cleverness (ZL159) at L1/675.
N70: 63 with A/106.
N71: 63 with A/106.
N72: 63 with A/106.
N73: solve the puzzle from 44, 45, S/482. Solution: 240.
N77: solve 60, 61, and 62.
N78: N/555.
N79: 95 with R/385.
R79: R/385.

How Do I Unlock Diary Entries?

v1: B/208.
v2: B/208.
v3: B/208.
v4: 19 with F/601.
v5: F/603.
v6: 3+ Stealth at G/701.
v7: 3+ Strength at G/703.
v8: H/153.
v9: 22 with H/154 // 32 with H/154.
v10: 32 with 74 // 32 with H/154.
v11: 19 with F/601 // 19 with N/556.
v12: i/251.
v13: i/254.
v14: 6+ Stealth at J/351 // 75 with J/351.
v15: K/451.
v16: K/456.
v17: 55 with K/453.
v18: H/153.
v19: 57 with 75.
v20: 57 with 58.
v21: 37 with 74 // 37 with i/254.
v22: 47 with 74.
v23: 6+ Cleverness at i80 // 72 with 80.
v24: M/551.
v25: L/651.
v26: 67 with 74 // 67 with N/556 // Stealth (YL167) at L1/675.
v27: Strength (XL166), Stealth (YL167), or Cleverness (ZL159) at L1/675.
v28: solve 60, 61, and 62.
v29: N77.
v30: 77 with 97.
v31: Strength (Xj166), Stealth (Yj182), or Cleverness (Zj181) at j1/821.
v32: O/852.
v33: solve the puzzle at O/853. Solution: 609853 (the number on Hermine's inn).
v34: 10+ Strength at O/854.
v35: 10+ Stealth at O/854.
v36: 10+ Cleverness at O/854.
v37: P/185.
v38: Q/284.
v39: Q/284.
v40: Q/281.
v41: complete q1/881.
v42: Cleverness (Zr141) at r1/777.
v43: Stealth (Yr143) or Cleverness (Zr141) at r1/777.
v44: 50 with R/384.
v45: T/584.
v46: T/585.
v47: T/585.
v48: 96 with t4/689.
v49: t1/586.
v50: t4/689.

Where and How Can I Improve My Traits?

a1: complete 321.
e1: complete 432.
C: 24 with C/301.
—: 20 with 26 and 30 (202630).
E: heal with 70, 71, or 72 combined with 31.
G: 33 with 702.
K: 55 with K/453.
—: 70 with 93.
—: 71 with 91.
—: 72 with 92.
C: 47 with 74.
L1: complete 675.
—: solve 60, 61, and 62.
j1: complete 821.
q1: complete 881.
r1: complete 777.
A: 63 with A/106.