echoes: Das Orakel
echoes: Das Orakel Rulebook
Source: official German-language instructions PDF (Ravensburger article 22452; no English edition has been published), from Ravensburger's product-files CDN (product-files.ravensburger.cloud/manuals/663323.pdf), linked from the "echoes: Das Orakel" product page on ravensburger.de. Translated into English for this transcription.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 6 object boards (chapter markers)
- 18 object cards
Setup
- First, download the free Ravensburger echoes app onto your smartphone or tablet. You need the app to play.
- Take all the game material out of the box.
- Lay out the 6 boards (with glowing frames) in front of you.
- Choose a difficulty level and lay out object cards accordingly:
Difficulty: Professional Investigators
Lay out all 18 object cards (with black frames) face up in front of you.
Difficulty: Hobby Detectives
Turn the 18 object cards (with black frames) face down and pick out the cards marked with a symbol. Set these 9 marked cards aside face down. At first, play only with the 9 unmarked cards, which you lay out face up in front of you. With these you can already solve parts of the story. Only when you have managed that do you take the cards set aside (the marked ones) to solve the rest.
- Start the app and select Das Orakel. As soon as you click "Start game", the prologue starts and you dive into the story.
Note: For better readability only, the generic masculine is used, which is meant to be gender-neutral in all cases.
How to Play
Your task is to put the 24 parts of the story into the correct order together. Each part is represented by an object (board or card) and its associated echo. Using the conversations and sounds in the echo, you try to find out how the individual parts fit together. The graphics also provide you with clues now and then – so do not overlook any details.
With the help of the app you can scan the cards and boards and so hear the sounds associated with them. If your device does not support image recognition, or an object is not recognised, you can enter the codes on the backs into the app.
Use the Listen mode in the app to play the sounds:
1. Listen
Both the 18 object cards and the 6 object boards each have their own echo. Together they make up the 24 parts of the story. Scan any object with the camera to listen to its associated echo.
Do you want to hear the prologue of the story again? Then enter the following code in the app in Listen mode: PRL
Tips:
- You can listen to all echoes and repeat them as often as you like.
- Time jumps are possible in the story. So the echoes do not always flow smoothly into one another.
Have you found some objects while listening whose echoes you think belong together? Then you can use the app at any time to try to solve parts of the story:
2. Solve
The story is divided into 6 chapters. Each chapter begins with a chapter marker, one of the 6 object boards. It is always followed by 3 object cards. When solving, you therefore always check the order of the objects of one chapter.
To do this, switch the app to Solve mode. Then scan first a board and afterwards 3 cards in the order in which you think they belong in the chapter of this board. The app then tells you whether you have solved the order of these cards correctly.
Are you wrong? Then you receive one of the following hints from the app:
- 0: None of the 3 cards you scanned belong in this chapter. Perhaps they fit together in a different one, though?
- 1: Only 1 of the 3 scanned cards belongs in this chapter. Whether it is already in the right position is, however, uncertain.
- 2: Exactly 2 of the 3 cards belong in this chapter. The positions of the cards remain uncertain.
- 3: All 3 scanned cards belong in this chapter. However, the order of the cards is not yet correct.
If you have set the difficulty in the app to "Easy" or click "Hint", you receive an additional aid. Based on the colours and symbols you can then see which cards do not belong in the chapter (A: red X), are still in the wrong position (B: blue arrow) or are already correct (C: green check mark).
Are you right? Then you immediately have the option to listen to the entire chapter again in one go. It is worth it, because new, additional hints can be heard there. To listen to the solved chapter again later, scan the corresponding board in Listen mode.
Difficulty: Hobby Detectives
Have you solved three complete chapters with the 9 object cards laid out at the start of the game? Then take the marked cards that you set aside earlier. With these you can now solve the remaining chapters in the same way.
End of the Game
After you have solved all 6 chapters, one last challenge remains: put the chapters into the correct order so that the whole story makes sense. Only then have you solved the puzzle and won the game. To do this, scan the 6 object boards one after another in the app's Solve mode, in the order you think is correct. If it is correct, you have solved the case together! In the epilogue that follows, you find out how the story ends.
In the app's main menu you have the option to listen to the whole story again.
By the way: even though we name real places, all events and actions are entirely fictional.
Tips for Scanning with the App
If the app has trouble recognising the game material, try the following:
- Make sure the scanned card or board is easily recognisable to the app and that no other game material is in the picture.
- Ensure good lighting of the material. If, for example, you are sitting between the playing surface and your lamp, move slightly to the side so that you do not cast shadows on the cards.
- Hold the cards and boards in your hand to scan, or hold your device very close above them. This can help the camera find the right focus.
- You will find more tips and information in the FAQ at ravensburger-echoes.de