Clue Escape: The Midnight Hotel Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Object
• Let's Play
  • On Your Turn
• Cards
  • Narrative Cards
  • Puzzle Cards
  • Clue Cards
  • Placement Cards
• Building the Hotel
• Restorage
• How to Solve the Mystery
• Puzzle Solves
• Puzzle Hints

Quick Start

1. Take Board A out of the box and lay it on the table. Place your pawns anywhere on the board. Next, take out the Tutorial Deck and place it next to Board A.

   DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE CARDS.

2. The youngest player goes first. Move your pawn to any numbered location on the board (called nodes throughout these rules), then draw the card from the Tutorial Deck that has the same number on it. The nodes represent different points of interest in the room and the cards you draw will tell you something about what you find there.

3. Read your cards out loud to the table.

   • If it's a narrative card, it will give you information and directions to follow. There may be prompts on the bottom telling you what action to take next, don't miss them! When you're done with these cards, discard them to the lid of the box.
   • If it's a puzzle card, it will have a puzzle piece icon in the bottom right corner that is labelled with a letter and number. Puzzle pieces with the same letter go together. Along the bottom edge, the card will also tell you how many puzzle pieces you need to solve it.

   NOTE: If you don't have all the pieces to solve a puzzle, explore more nodes on the board and leave the unfinished puzzle face up on the table until you find more pieces.

   The answer to every puzzle in the game will be a NUMBER. When you think you've solved and gotten that number, draw the matching card from the deck. If the card you pulled says SOLVED, you're correct! If the number you're looking for doesn't have a corresponding card in the deck, or if the card you pulled doesn't say SOLVED on it, you're incorrect, try again!

4. When the first player has completed their turn, play moves to the left and the next player should move their pawn to an unexplored node and draw the card that has the matching number.

5. The goal of the Tutorial Deck is to escape from the elevator, good luck! If at any point during the game you get stuck, check the HINTS section at the back of this booklet.

STOP. PUT THE RULES AWAY AND BEGIN PLAY. You will be prompted to return to the rules when needed.

Object

Take turns exploring The Midnight Hotel as you work together to solve puzzles and gather clues to escape the hotel and solve the mystery of who tripped the alarm while investigating Black's servers. The more clues you find, the better your chances are of solving the mystery: WHO tried to steal the blackmail files, WHERE is the correct server located in the hotel, and WHAT is the password needed to unlock that server?

Let's Play

The youngest player goes first, then turns rotate to the left.

On Your Turn

The only way to escape the hotel and solve the mystery is to explore rooms, decode puzzles, and gather clues. To do this:

• MOVE your pawn to an unexplored node on the gameboard. Take the card from the deck that has a matching number.
• READ your card aloud to the group and, if there are any actions listed on it, do what it says. If it's a puzzle, lay it on the table for all to see until you find all the pieces needed to solve it. For more information about the different types of cards you'll encounter, see CARDS.
• SOLVE any available puzzles on the board with the help of your fellow players.
• PASS your turn to player on your left if there's nothing left to do.

NOTE: When a turn ends and the next begins is somewhat fluid in this game but do your best to keep track of who performed the last action. One way to do this is to remember who moved their pawn to an unexplored node last.

Cards

Throughout the game, you'll encounter several different kinds of cards.

Narrative Cards

Most of the cards will be narrative cards that tell you pieces of the story and direct your actions while you play. Read these aloud and do what they say. If it has a discard icon, discard it to the lid of the box when you're done.

Puzzle Cards

Puzzles often consist of multiple cards that can be anything from word play problems to visual riddles that you have to piece together. Every puzzle card will have a puzzle piece graphic in the bottom right corner with the letter assigned to that puzzle, and a note about how many pieces are needed to solve it. These cards will unlock new items, locations, and clues and are the key to advancing through the game.

Keep puzzles face up where everyone can see them and do not discard them until another card instructs you to.

Remember, all the solutions for puzzles are numbers. When you think you've discovered the right number to solve the puzzle, look for that card in the deck.

• If you don't find the card in the deck, that means you were incorrect and you'll have to try again.
• If you do find it, you should see SOLVED at the top.
• If you DO NOT see SOLVED at the top, you've pulled the wrong card; put it back in the deck and attempt to solve again.

HINTS: If you get stuck on a puzzle and cannot move on, see HINTS at the back of this booklet and find the hints that correspond with the letter of the puzzle you're trying to solve. There are three hints for each puzzle. The solutions can be found at the back of this booklet.

Clue Cards

Clue cards are kept for the entire game and can be identified by the spyglass icon in the bottom right corner. These are not used to solve puzzles, but will be used to solve the final mystery at the end of the game. Keep them face up on the table where everyone can see them.

Placement Cards

Placement cards change the board either as puzzles or as a way to add additional nodes for you to explore. When instructed by the game to do so, you'll find placement cards in the deck and place them on the board. Line up the art on the card with the art on the board. Any players that were at a location under the card can be placed on top. If applicable, you may now explore the new node.

Building the Hotel

The gameboard grows as you play and unlock new rooms in the hotel. When the game tells you to take a board out, find it in the box and place it beside the other rooms in the game. Similarly, when instructed, find new decks of cards in the box and add them to the game by unwrapping them and placing them under your current deck. Do not look through the decks, and do not shuffle any of the cards.

Additionally, there are window components that you will find during the game to add to your gameboard. These will literally build the hotel upward as you near the end of the game. See diagram.

1. Take your pawns off of the Spa board before you build the windows.
2. Look for the shorter tabs along the bottom of the edge of the windows. These will rest in the slots on the Spa board.
3. Be sure to use the labels on the inside of the windows and the color-coded tabs along the bottom to orient them correctly.
4. Place the Penthouse board on top of the windows using the tabs along the tops. Be sure to orient the Penthouse in the same direction as the Spa. Place your pawns in the Penthouse.
5. Repeat steps 2-3 when you receive Packet B.

Restorage

To restore your game and pass it on to new players:

1. Sort the cards into their individual decks in sequential order. Each deck has a front card that lists which cards are in the deck and act as dividers.
2. After the decks are sorted, store them in the wells along with the pawns and character cards.
3. Disassemble the windows and boards. Store the windows back in their packets-they are labeled A or B on the back sides.
4. Put the Solve sheet back in the Solve packet.
5. Place the components back in the box in this order: Solve Packet, Board F, Packet B, Board E, Packet A, Board D2, Board D1, Board C, Board B, Board A, rules booklet, STOP sheet.

How to Solve the Mystery

At the end of the game, you will have to decide as a team: who tried to steal the blackmail files, where in the hotel is the correct server located, and what is the password for that server?

Use all of the clues and evidence you've gathered during your escape to make a final decision. If you need to look at different rooms or nodes you may have missed, take your time to do so. Try laying out the Clues in the rooms they were found in to create a full picture of the culprit's path through the hotel.

Once you're ready to make an accusation, open the Solve Packet to find out if you were right.

Puzzle Solves

Number	Letter
5	Z
408	W
108	V
475	U
486	T
435	S
412	R
396	Q
343	N
359	M
387	L
354	J
236

Puzzle Hints

Puzzle Letter	First Hint	Second Hint	Third Hint
A	As you press each button in order, you suspect there may be a hidden pattern.	Not only is there a pattern, but you can just make out the shape of a number.	When lit up in order, the buttons will depict a single number that solves the puzzle.
B	After the tutorial deck, all puzzles will solve to a three digit number.	Some of these feathers are a different color than the rest of the wing.	Each red feather represents one of the three digits required to solve this puzzle.
C	There's a grid laid over the luggage cart that the suitcases fit nicely into.	Pay attention to how much each suitcase weighs. You can put multiple suitcases in a row as long as they don't hang off.	Each row of suitcases represents one number in the three digit solve.
D	Maybe this card will unlock the keycard reader next to the door to Black's office.	There are symbols scratched into the wall that seem to match up with the bottom of the key-card as it slides over them.	Pay attention to the first three numbers that you're able to identify.