Escape from New York
Escape from New York Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Equipment List
This game includes the following components:
- Rules booklet
- Playing board
- 4 playing pieces
- 110 playing cards
- 2 dice
Game Content
The ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK game may be played with 2-4 players. A game normally lasts from 20 minutes to an hour. Each player assumes the role of an agent who is attempting to rescue the President or find the missing tape lost in New York City. To locate these, players move about the board. Players try to avoid, befriend, or defeat encounters, while trying to find the President or tape. Once a player has the President or tape card, he or she must escape. Escape can be done either by returning to the player's starting point or by using a map to cross a bridge. The players must race against time, for the game could end at any moment.
Setting Up the Game
Before the game can start, the card deck must be sorted into 4 groups: Encounters, Clues, Equipment and Special Cards.
The Encounter cards are shuffled and placed face down at the edge of the board within reach of all players. The Clue cards are also shuffled and placed face down on the opposite side of the board. The three Special cards (Game Ends In 3 Turns, The President, and the tape) are set to the side and used later in play.
Players roll dice and the highest roller chooses one of the playing pieces, the next highest choosing second and so forth. Each playing piece has a different starting place.
- The Green playing piece is placed on the World Trade Center.
- The Red playing piece is placed on the East Side.
- The Blue playing piece is placed on Lincoln Center.
- The White playing piece is placed on the Guggenheim Museum.
Each player is dealt one of each of the following cards from the Equipment deck: Rifle, Pistol, Flare Gun, Gulfire, and Homer. Any remaining Equipment cards are put aside and not used in the game.
Equipment Cards
The Equipment cards have the following uses:
- Flare Gun: This item allows the player to add +2 to his or her die roll when attempting to avoid an encounter. The flare gun may only be used once and then the card is discarded.
- Gulfire: This is a specially designed sailplane with jet boosters for independent take off. The player may use this card to escape New York by returning to his or her starting place.
- Homer: This machine gives information on the location of the President or the tape and when used allows the player to draw two Clue cards instead of one. It may only be used once and is then discarded.
- Rifle/Pistol: These are weapon cards and will help the player in combat.
Turn Sequence
There are four separate steps that each player must complete during his or her turn. The player with the white playing piece starts the game and play proceeds counter-clockwise around the table.
The steps of a player's turn are:
- Move
- Draw for encounters
- Collect clues (if any)
- Discard (if necessary)
Movement
At the start of each player's turn he or she must roll the two dice. The number rolled is the number of movement points a player has each turn. To move from one space to another on the board a player must use movement points. Different colored spaces cost different amounts of points as given on the table below:
- Red: 3 points
- Orange: 2 points
- White/Green: 1 point
Players must always move at least one space every turn. Once all the movement points for a turn are used up, a player's piece may not move any further that turn. A player cannot move more points than the dice roll. A player must move along a route that will use all of his or her movement points (or as many possible) for the turn. This may mean moving in a direction not desired. A space may not be entered twice in one turn nor may the player end the turn in the same space he or she began. Pieces may be moved diagonally. A player may always move at least one space regardless of the movement points he or she has.
- Example 1: It is the Blue Player's turn. He rolls two dice and the result is an 8. The player decides to move his piece first in a red space (costing 3 points), then another red space (3 more points) and finally an orange space (costing 2 points). He has now used up all 8 of his movement points for that turn and may move no further.
- Example 2: It is the Red Player's turn. She rolls a 2. However, the only spaces she may move to are red and a red space costs 3 points. Even though she does not have 3 points she may still move into one of the red spaces for her turn.
Encounters
An encounter is a person or a group of people the player may meet during the game.
When movement is finished, the player draws one card from the Encounter deck and reads it aloud. Listed on the card will be the name of the encounter, the color spaces where the encounter will occur, and the chances to avoid, befriend, or defeat that encounter. If none of the colors on the card match the color of the space the player is in at the end of that turn, no encounter will occur and the card is discarded. If the color of the space is listed on the Encounter card, then an encounter will occur. Once an encounter occurs, the player must decide to try to avoid, befriend, or fight the encounter.
Avoid: To avoid an encounter, the player must roll on one die a number greater than the number listed on the card. A tie roll will not avoid the encounter. If the player rolls higher than the number, the player may immediately discard the encounter. At the start of an encounter, a flare gun may be used once to increase the chance of avoiding. If the avoid attempt fails, the player must attack the encounter, and the combat value of the encounter will be increased by +1.
- Example: A player attempts to avoid bandits (Avoid: 4). A roll of 5 or greater is necessary, but the player rolls a 4, so the attempt to avoid fails. The player must now attack the bandits. The bandits will now have a combat value of 6 (combat value: 5 + 1).
Befriend: Befriending works the same as avoiding. If the number rolled on the die is greater than the number listed for befriend, the attempt is successful. Befriended encounter cards are picked up and held in the player's hand for later use. If the attempt to befriend fails, the player must attack the encounter and the combat value of the encounter will be increased by +1. An encounter with "—" instead of a number may not be befriended.
Important Note: A player may never have more than 8 cards in his or her hand. Extra cards of the player's choice must be immediately discarded. A player may not befriend and discard the same encounter card in the same turn.
Fighting: When a player decides to fight, or is forced to fight, he or she must first decide what cards to play. A player may choose to use one weapon card and any number of befriended cards in his or her hand. These are placed face up on the table. Weapons add the amount given on the card to the player's combat die roll. Each befriended cards adds +1 to the player's combat die roll. The player rolls one die and adds his or her bonuses for weapons and befriended cards. If this number is greater than the combat value listed on the card (taking into account any bonus the encounter may have), the encounter is defeated and placed on the discard pile.
All befriended cards used in the fight are also placed on the discard pile whether the player wins or loses the fight. If the player loses the fight, the rest of his cards are shuffled and the person to the right of the losing player then draws one card from the losing player's hand and places it on the proper discard pile. Equipment cards are placed on the Clue pile. If a player does not have any cards and loses a fight, he or she is out of the game.
Special Encounter Cards: Certain Encounter cards have special results or rules. Each of these is explained as follows:
- Brain: If a player successfully befriends Brain, he or she is allowed to draw one extra Clue card that turn.
- The Duke: When trying to befriend The Duke the player must first offer him a rifle or a pistol card. The weapon card is discarded and the player must then roll a 4 or greater to successfully befriend The Duke.
- Cabbie: As long as Cabbie is held in a player's hand, that player will be able to move as if he or she had a car card. (See Clues for a description of car movement).
- Drunk: If a player has an encounter with a drunk, he or she will lose one turn. The player may not draw a Clue card when encountering a drunk. The player may not move, draw an Encounter nor draw a Clue card next turn.
- Accident: If a player draws an accident card, the person to the player's right immediately draws the number of cards stated on the accident card from that player's hand. These cards are then discarded on the proper pile. An accident may not be avoided.
Clues
In order to find the tape or the President, it is necessary to collect Clue cards. These cards may only be drawn when a player ends his or her turn in an orange area. If the player loses any cards through an encounter he or she may not draw a Clue card that turn. Only one Clue card may be drawn each turn. Clue cards may be discarded immediately or held in the player's hand (as long as the eight card limit is not exceeded). There are several types of Clue cards:
The Tape Is At or The President Is At: These cards each list three orange locations on the board. They are used to pick up the tape or the President card.
When a player holds 2 of these cards for either the location of the President or the tape that name the same orange space, the player may try to collect the President or the tape card, provided that no other player holds the desired card. This is done by moving to the orange space named on both cards and exchanging the two Clue cards for the President or the tape card, instead of drawing a Clue card during that turn. If a player loses a card during an encounter, the player may not exchange the Clue cards for the President or the tape card.
The President or the tape card is added to the player's hand, and the player must now attempt to escape from New York. These cards may be lost through combat or an accident. If lost in this way the card is removed from play and must be found again through Clue cards. If the card is lost through ambush, however, the card may be kept by the player who ambushed.
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Example: A player has the following two Clue cards:
CLUE: The President Is At CLUE: The President Is At New York Stock Exchange World Trade Center World Trade Center Police Head Quarters East Side Hospitals Both cards name the World Trade Center as the location of the President. For the player to collect the President card, he must move to that orange space without losing either card. If the player does not lose any cards when he arrives at the space he may exchange the two cards for the President card.
Car: This card allows a player to move up to 3 additional free spaces per turn (as long as the card is in the player's hand). The player may choose in which spaces to use the card. A player may never have more than one car card in his or her hand. If additional car cards are drawn, these cards must be discarded immediately.
Crossbow, Club or Molotov Cocktail: These are weapon cards. Remember that only one weapon may be used in a fight. A Molotov Cocktail card may only be used once and must then be discarded.
Map to Bridge 1, 2, 3, or 4: A map card may be used to escape across a bridge. The number on the card matches the number of the bridge on the board. If a player does not have a map card which matches the number of the bridge the player may not cross that bridge. To cross a bridge a player must move to the space next to the bridge and draw an encounter card. Next turn if the player still has the map card he or she may cross the bridge.
Ambush
Any time two or more players end in the same space, one or more may attempt to ambush one of the other players and take two of his or her cards.
An ambush takes place before a normal encounter. Any player who decides to ambush another player rolls one die. On a roll of 1-3 the player does not find the other and no combat occurs. If the players find each other on a roll of 4-6, both place any weapon and befriended cards they wish to use for combat on the table and roll one die each. The player with the higher roll (including bonuses) wins the fight. Ties are rolled again. The winning player draws two cards from the losing player's hand, after all befriended cards used have been discarded. The cards drawn may be added to the winning player's hand or discarded (a befriended card can be kept by the winning player). The losing player then moves one space away from the winning player. This is the only time a player may move out of turn.
Escape
Once a player has obtained the tape or the President card, he or she may attempt to escape from New York. If the player has a Gulfire card, he or she may escape by returning to the player's starting point. Once there, the Gulfire may be used at the start of the player's next turn to leave New York. If a player does not have a Gulfire card, the player may still escape across a bridge if he or she has a map card. If a player has neither a Gulfire nor map card, the player can try to obtain one of these cards by ambushing another player or finding Clues in an orange area.
How to End the Game
Game Ends in Three Turns: To recreate the suspense of the movie this cards has been added to note when time will run out for the players to escape. After drawing all of the encounter cards once, the cards are reshuffled and this card is inserted in the bottom half of the deck. When this card is drawn, all players have only three turns before the game ends.
Winning the Game
The first player to escape from New York with either the President or the tape card wins the game. If none of the players have escaped from New York and if the game is over because of the Game Ends in Three Turns card, the winner is determined in the following order:
- The player with the tape card wins.
- The player with the President card wins.
- The player with the most Equipment cards wins.
- The player with the most Clue cards wins.
- The player with the most cards wins.
Character Descriptions
- Snake Plissken: Formerly a veteran officer for a special United States military task force, Snake is now a master criminal forced by the U.S. government to find the President.
- Brain: Brain is a criminal mastermind who enjoys tinkering with all sorts of machines and devices. At one point, Brain was a friend of Snake until Brain betrayed him. Brain now works for the Duke, making crude gasoline for the Duke's gypsy caravan. Brain also attempts to map the mines on each bridge so that the Duke's gang can parade triumphantly out of New York once the President is traded for the prisoners' freedom.
- Cabbie: Before New York City was turned into a prison, Cabbie managed to hide his old cab and plenty of gasoline. Because he respects the Duke's authority, Cabbie is free to drive his cab amidst the new challenges of the streets.
- The Duke: The leader of the gypsies, this man is also the Boss of New York City. The Duke has caught the President and is holding him for ransom. In exchange for the President, the Duke is demanding amnesty for all the criminals in New York.
- Maggie: Maggie is Brain's girlfriend. She is desperate for the both of them to escape from New York.
- The President: Our nation's leader hopes to stop the strife torn countries of the world from erupting into a third world war. To do so, he must escape from New York within the next 24 hours and attend an important world summit conference.
- Romero: As the Duke's lieutenant, this nasty character is known by his teeth which have been filed to points.
- Slag: This barbaric giant is one of Snake's enemies. Slag is also the champion of the arena of death at Madison Square Garden.
- Crazies: The criminally insane have been placed among the common criminals of New York. They live in subways and sewers among their own kind. The crazies come out only at night seeking food. They may be encountered as a hungry horde or as a single crazed individual.