Emergency Exit Only Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview and Goal of the Game
• Components
  • 38 DIRECTION tiles
  • 5 LOST tiles
  • 5 SCORE tiles
  • 7 FLOOR cards
  • 7 DANGER cards
• Setup
• Course of the Game
  • Turn
  • Playing a DIRECTION tile
  • Playing a LOST tile
• End of the Round
  • Revealing the Plan
• LOST
• New Round
• End of the Game
• Clarifications
  • Double Turn and Crossroads tiles
  • Repeat tiles
• Did you know?

Overview and Goal of the Game

In EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY (Plan de Secours), build the path to the exit together without getting lost... which is very likely to happen. Correctly memorize the path travelled so far and be the first to signal at the right moment that the group is lost, to win the round!

Components

38 DIRECTION tiles

They form the path. Some show a pictogram (a diamond-shaped danger sign) containing a symbol.

• 1 START tile
• 7 straight lines
• 6 left turns
• 4 right turns
• 5 double left turns
• 3 double right turns
• 6 crossroads
• 6 repeats

5 LOST tiles

They tell the other players that you think you are lost. (If you are opening this game for the first time, remove the small protective film from these tiles.)

5 SCORE tiles

They show your victory points.

7 FLOOR cards

Each indicates a condition under which your group is lost. One of them is the INITIAL FLOOR card (it shows "LOST!" with three conditions: Reverse direction, Loop, Dead end).

7 DANGER cards

These cards are used for the DANGER mode.

DANGER mode: If this is your first game, we advise you not to play with the DANGER mode and to put these cards back in the box. In that case, ignore the DANGER boxes (in yellow) in the rest of the booklet.

Setup

1. Each player takes 1 LOST tile and 1 SCORE tile of the same colour and places them in front of them.
2. Place your SCORE tile on the correct side (2/3 players or 4/5 players) and orient it so that the "0" is in your reading direction.
3. Place the START tile face up in the centre of the table to form the start of the pile. This tile is easily recognisable: its two sides are identical.
4. Shuffle all the DIRECTION tiles and form a face-down draw pile.
5. Each player draws 3 DIRECTION tiles.
6. Place the INITIAL FLOOR card face up at the edge of the table. Shuffle the remaining FLOOR cards and form a face-down draw pile next to the initial card.
7. The first player to point a finger at the exit of the room where you are playing becomes the first player. They then orient the START tile in their reading direction.

DANGER: Shuffle the DANGER cards and form a face-down draw pile. Reveal the first card.

(An example setup for 3 players is illustrated in the rulebook.)

Course of the Game

A game of EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY is played over several rounds. During each round, create the path to the exit together until all players except one have played their LOST tile or until all the DIRECTION tiles have been played. Each player takes their turn, starting with the 1st player and then continuing clockwise.

Turn

On your turn, play 1 DIRECTION tile OR your LOST tile.

Playing a DIRECTION tile

1. Choose 1 DIRECTION tile from your hand. Place it face up on top of the pile in the centre of the table, so as to completely cover the previous tile. Orient it in the direction of the exit arrow of the previous tile, so as to continue the path logically.
2. Draw 1 DIRECTION tile to have 3 in hand again. If the draw pile is empty, ignore this step and continue the round normally.

(Illustrated example: a straight line, then a left turn, then a right turn are stacked in sequence, each oriented along the exit arrow of the one below.)

DANGER – DANGER cards: Each time you play a DIRECTION tile containing the pictogram (danger sign) with a symbol that matches the one on the DANGER card visible during the round, immediately apply the effect of the DANGER card.

Example: 1. On their turn, player 1 plays on top of the pile a Left Turn tile bearing a particular danger-sign symbol. 2. It is the same danger sign as the one visible on the DANGER card. They therefore immediately apply its effect: they rotate the pile of tiles 90° clockwise. (DANGER card: "Rotate the pile 90° clockwise.")

Playing a LOST tile

1. If you think your group is lost (see the LOST section below), play your LOST tile on top of the pile.
2. Starting with the player to your left, then continuing clockwise, each player who still has their LOST tile may decide to play it or to do nothing. The last player still having their LOST tile can never play it during this step.

After a trip around the table, if there is only one single player still having their LOST tile, the round ends immediately. If at least 2 remain, the round continues normally. Players who have played their LOST tile no longer play during this round.

Example: On their turn, player 1 thinks the group has gone astray on the path. They play their LOST tile on the pile (1). Player 2 thinks the same thing and also plays their LOST tile (2). The third and fourth players think the path is still valid and decide not to play their LOST tile (3). Player 1 and player 2 leave the round. It is player 3's turn to continue the round.

Note: It is possible to empty the draw pile and play all the DIRECTION tiles during a round.

It is now the turn of the player to your left. If you have played your LOST tile, you leave the round.

Clarification: IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN TO LOOK AT OR REVEAL THE TILES IN THE PILE BEFORE THE END OF THE ROUND.

End of the Round

When all players except one have played their LOST tile, or when all the DIRECTION tiles have been played, it is the end of the round.

Revealing the Plan

Turn the pile of played tiles face down. Starting with the START tile, reveal one by one and lay out the tiles of the pile next to each other to reveal the path you created.

• As soon as you are lost (see the next page), stop revealing the path. The first player to have played their LOST tile in the rest of the pile gains 1 point. If several players played it during the same turn, they all gain 1 point. They then rotate their SCORE tile. Go to the NEW ROUND step.
• If one or more LOST tiles are revealed while you were not actually lost until then, the players concerned score no points. Set aside the LOST tiles and continue to reveal the path with the following tiles.
• If the path is valid until the end of the pile, the players who kept their LOST tile all gain 1 point. They then rotate their SCORE tile. Go to the NEW ROUND step.

LOST

You are lost as soon as the path fulfils the condition of at least one FLOOR card revealed during this round. (During the first round, only the initial FLOOR card is visible.)

The initial FLOOR card always indicates that you are lost if the path goes in the reverse direction or forms a loop or a dead end.

(The card shows three pictograms: Reverse direction (two opposite arrows), Loop (four tiles forming a closed circuit), Dead end (a path running into a tile with no way through).)

Example: The second FLOOR card revealed indicates that you are lost if there are 5 different characters on the path. (FLOOR card text: "LOST! If there are at least 5 different characters on the path." Another FLOOR card reads: "LOST! If there are at least 2 identical characters on the path." In the illustration the path is lost at the tile where the fifth different character appears.)

New Round

Then put the elements back in place for a new round:

1. Each player takes back their LOST tile and places it in front of them again.
2. Shuffle all the DIRECTION tiles (except the START tile) to form a new draw pile.
3. Reveal 1 additional FLOOR card. Its effect is added to those of the other FLOOR cards already revealed for the following rounds.

DANGER: Reveal 1 additional DANGER card. Its effect is added to those of the other DANGER cards already revealed for the following rounds.

4. The player who played their LOST tile first during the previous round becomes the new first player. They orient the START tile in their reading direction.

End of the Game

The first player to reach 3 points (in a 2- or 3-player game) or 2 points (in a 4- or 5-player game) wins the game.

Clarifications

Double Turn and Crossroads tiles

Some tiles feature two paths. The first path used is the one with an arrow indicating the direction (1). The second path may be used depending on the route created during the revealing step (2).

Example: When the plan is revealed, the secondary paths of the Double Turn and Crossroads tiles are used to continue the path. Reveal the following tiles in their continuity. (Illustrated with tiles numbered 1 to 11 in reveal order.)

Repeat tiles

Repeat tiles always copy the direction of the previous tile in the path during the revealing step.

When a Repeat tile is played, the next player may orient their tile in any direction to destabilise their opponents. Its real orientation will be imposed during the plan revealing step.

Example: Player 1 plays a Double Left Turn tile (1). On their turn, player 2 plays a Repeat tile which copies the direction of the Double Left Turn tile (2). On the pile, the next player orients their tile so as to confuse the other players. During the reveal, the path passes a second time over the Repeat tile. The Straight Line tile is therefore repeated, which makes the path go in the reverse direction. The group is therefore lost (3)!

Did you know?

The ISO 7010 standard is an international standard invented in 2003 which standardises safety symbols to ensure clear and universal communication of risks and safety measures. The goal is simple: that warning and safety signs be immediately understandable, whatever the language spoken. Whether you are in France, in Japan, or even on Mars, the symbols must be universal. Thus, even aliens will know where the emergency exit is!

(Note: the French rulebook states that the game was first published in Japan by Locogame, in an edition illustrated by TopeconHeroes, with some rule modifications made by IELLO. Credits block omitted.)