Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment
Escape Room in a Box: The Werewolf Experiment Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What You Need
- The box and everything inside it (do not open any envelopes, boxes, or tins before you are told to)
- A timer or clock, set for one hour
- A pencil for each player, and paper for taking notes
- Hot (not burning) water, ready to bring to the table when the game calls for it
- Baking soda and vinegar on hand, in case the group attempts the bonus puzzle for extra time
- (Optional) A smart phone, tablet, or computer with internet access, if you want to log your results on the Escape Room Passport App
The Rules
Doc Gnaw, the mad scientist behind the experiment, lays out the rules before the box is opened:
You'll have ONE HOUR to discover the clues and solve the puzzles to find the antidote. If you want to be internationally famous on the leader board, you can download the Escape Room Passport App.
Put your phones away! This is a screen free lab. And don't break anything! You may open, untie, and unscrew.
You might think you're super smart for guessing a lock combination. Well, guess what? If you brute-force or pick a lock, the antidote won't work. Automatic werewolf.
You'll need a leader. Who's it going to be?
This is a cooperative game, but unless you want to run out of time: Divide and Conquer! If you get stuck, switch puzzles.
Everything has a purpose, some things have more than one. There are no intentional red herrings. The timer starts the moment the box is opened.
Using the Hint and Answer Booklets
The box includes a Hint Booklet and an Answer Booklet for the group to fall back on. Both carry the same warning printed on their cover:
Only look in here if all hope is lost. If you look in here more than once, the antidote will not work. It's science. You lose the game.
Looking at the Table of Contents does not count against your time.
The Answer Booklet's final page holds the combination for the last jar. Its cover carries an extra warning: never look at that page until the group has already finished the game, or the antidote will not work and the group loses.
Earning Extra Time
Halfway through the hour, a group that is running behind can attempt to earn thirty extra minutes before the deadline. To do this, the group must solve two riddles and gather the components they point to:
Find a powder between me and the earth's core, to stop your body from going full carnivore.
Find the room with paper on which no one will ever write, and the bowl from which no one will ever take a bite. In the corner you'll find what you need to slow my evil vapor's speed.
Once the group has gathered both components, they bring a cup, mix the two ingredients together, and watch them fizz. Doing so adds thirty extra minutes to the clock.
Winning and Losing
The group wins the moment they open the Antidote Bag. Everyone rubs the antidote-coated prize inside and keeps their humanity.
If the hour (plus any extra time earned) runs out before the Antidote Bag is opened, the group turns into werewolves and loses the game.
Hosting a Replay: A Game in the Life of Doc Gnaw
By Ariel Rubin & Juliana Patel
You played Escape Room In A Box: The Werewolf Experiment and escaped (or not)! Now you want to see if your friends are as brilliant as you are. This is an optional script to help them avoid becoming werewolves — you don't have to help them, but if you want to let your theatrical flag fly and become the hilariously maniacal Doc Gnaw, this script is for you.
Before hosting, read over the Answer Booklet so you can see how all the puzzles work, since you may not have gotten to see them all when you played. Keep it close by during the game in case you're not sure exactly how to solve a puzzle your friends are stuck on.
You will need to provide pencils and hot water for your guests. You will also need baking soda and vinegar if your friends choose to do the special bonus puzzle.
The full script tells you what to read at the start of the game and at the 15, 30, and 45-minute marks, plus general comments and actions you can use at any point throughout the game. If your friends need help, its table of contents directs you to an in-character hint for whichever part of the game they're stuck on — but give them time to puzzle through it before jumping in. The script is a set of suggestions: feel free to improvise, and read through it before the game so you're familiar with the moments it covers.
Please note: if you are using this script, refer to the Host Repack instructions instead of the Basic Repack instructions — there are elements that, as Doc Gnaw, you don't put back in the box and therefore get to control.
Finally, get in costume! Doc Gnaw is part mad scientist, part valley girl, so costume ideas include: lab coat, scrunchie, fingerless latex gloves, safety goggles and, of course, werewolf fangs and make-up.
Credits
Designed by Ariel Rubin and Juliana Moreno Patel of Wild Optimists. Published by Stay At Home Werewolves, and later by Mattel, Inc.