Die verlassene Bibliothek
Die verlassene Bibliothek Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Attention!
Please read these instructions first, before you take the cards out of the box!
Contents
88 playing cards:
- 1 Puzzle deck: 18 tasks, 18 clues, 2 exit cards, 2 cover cards
- 1 Hint deck: 46 hint cards, 2 cover cards
We additionally recommend pens and paper for notes, and a stopwatch.
Setting Up the Game
Take the two card decks out of the box. Please do NOT shuffle these decks and do not look at the other side! That is where the solutions are. Very important: never turn a card over "just like that"!
1. The Puzzle Deck
Take the "Puzzle deck" in hand first.
- The cover card: Put the cover card of this deck straight back into the box.
- The Exit cards - the final puzzle: The next two cards are the Exit cards. Put them aside as a stack of 2, with the door facing up. This is the final combination lock that you must open at the end. You only need them once you have opened all the other locks.
- The 18 lock cards: Prepare the next 18 cards as a stack: these are your tasks. Each of these cards shows a bookshelf with a combination lock. For each combination lock you must find the matching number code in order to open it.
- The 18 clue cards: Now lay the next 18 cards next to each other in the middle of the table. These are the clues you need in order to get the number codes. Exactly one clue always matches each lock. Spread the clues out visibly on the table. You can put the last card back into the box as well.
2. The Hint Deck
Now take the "Hint deck" in hand.
- Put the top cover card back into the box. The remaining stack goes aside within easy reach. These hint cards give you help if you get stuck on a lock.
Let's Go
Now draw the top four tasks from the stack and, without turning them over, lay them in the middle of the table, each with the lock facing up. These are your four current tasks. Now look for the clues that match them. Please keep in mind that you may not turn any cards over "just like that".
Note: You can tackle your current tasks in any order.
How the Game Is Played
You all play together and there is no player order. Each of you may contribute your thoughts at any time. Talk to each other and share your approaches to solutions, because every idea can help the others.
To increase the challenge and the tension, we recommend playing against the clock. Do you feel like it? Then start a stopwatch (e.g. on a smartphone) or note the time when you start. Can you crack all 18 locks and escape from the library in less than 75 minutes?
Which Clue Do We Need?
At the start you have all 18 clues laid out on the table. You must first find out which of them belong to your four current tasks. Pay attention to details (objects, shapes, colours, etc.) that can be seen on the shelves. When you have found the matching clue, you can lay it next to the respective task.
Now Brainpower Is Needed
Look at the current tasks. On the bookshelf you always see a combination lock. Your goal is to open this lock. To do so you must find the right number code. This number code always consists of the digits 1 to 9! The digit 0 is never part of the solution!
Each combination lock shows you how many digits the code you are looking for has. If you see [0|0|0], you need a number code with 3 digits, for example 353. In addition you sometimes find information about the order in which the digits are to be entered. Pay attention to everything you can see on the two cards.
Task and clue together show you ALL the information you need for the solution. You do not have to find anything else anywhere else in the game.
Attention: You do not need to fold, write on, or even cut up the cards. At the end you can put all the cards back into the box as two separate stacks, so that other players can later also enter the abandoned library.
Help! We're Stuck!
Have you looked at both cards and simply cannot get any further? Then you can have a hint given to you.
All hint cards show a particular detail that matches a task or one of the clues. Look for the matching hint cards and turn over the "1st hint" of them. Does that help you already? If you need a further nudge, turn over the "2nd hint", and so on.
Note: Depending on the lock, there are different numbers of hint cards.
Have you turned over the last hint as well and still cannot get further? Then you can either continue with another task for the time being, or you try to guess the number code. And who knows, maybe it is right!
Aha! I Think We Have Found the Number Code!
Have you worked out the number code? Then turn over the two cards (task and clue). Lay them next to each other so that the light lines at the edges fit together neatly. If the two cards belong together, they now show you the correct number code for this lock.
Does your code match? Great! You have come a step closer to the exit. Put the clue back into the box. You do not need this card any more. Put the task (the card with the lock) aside. You need it once more at the end to open the final lock of the Exit card. Now take the top task from the stack and add it (without turning it over) to your current tasks.
Wait, what? Task and clue fit together, but our number code was not correct! Too bad, you must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Put the clue back into the box; you do not need this card any more. You still put the task aside. So you are a step closer to the goal. But because you did not enter the number code correctly, you do not get a new task from the stack this time. So you now have one current task fewer. But do not worry: for the next correct number code you of course get a new task again, as described above!
Oh no, task and clue do not fit together at all! If the backs of task and clue do not match each other at all, you turn the clue back over and put it back in the middle of the table. You also turn the task back over and look again for the clue that matches it. Whenever you assign a clue and a task wrongly, you must add 5 minutes to your solving time at the end.
We Are Running Out of Current Tasks!
You can take the top task from the stack at any time and add it to your current tasks. This gives you one more task that you may work on immediately. However, for this you must add 10 minutes to your time at the end.
Where Is the Exit? And When Is It Over?
Have you solved all 18 tasks? Then it is time to face the final Exit cards. You set these two cards aside at the start.
On the top Exit card you see a door. To open it, you need a four-digit number code. Now look at the 18 solved tasks. If you bring all 18 cards together in the right way, they show you the solution. Have you found the code? Then turn the door over.
Was your code correct? Congratulations! You have solved all the tasks of the abandoned library. On the second Exit card you see what is hidden behind this door. And on the back your puzzle adventure comes to an end.
Was your code not correct? Then unfortunately you must add 10 minutes to your solving time. Of course you still find out how the adventure ends on the next Exit card.
And? How long did you take? Did you add any penalty minutes and still manage it in 75 minutes? Great performance!