EXIT: The Game – The Lord of the Rings: Shadows over Middle-earth Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Materials
Additional Game Materials
Game Setup
Where Is the Game Board?
Course of Play
Need Help?
When Does the Game End?
Assessment
The Game Begins
Credits

Game Materials

87 Cards, made up of:
- 30 Help cards
- 30 Answer cards
- 27 Riddle cards
1 Riddle booklet
1 Decoder disk
26 Strange items:
- 9 Black Riders
- 1 door
- 7 fragments
- 8 mountains
- 1 transparency
1 Strange parchment

Additional Game Materials

In addition to the materials contained in the box, you will need writing implements (ideally, a ball-point pen and a pencil), at least one pair of scissors and paper for taking notes as needed. You will also need a watch (ideally, a stopwatch). As an alternative, you can use the digital timer with the atmospheric soundtrack. Just select the game in the Kosmos Helper App and click on the hourglass.

Game Setup

Get the riddle booklet and the decoder disk ready on the table. Carefully remove the strange items (nine Black Riders, door, seven fragments, and eight mountains) from the die-cut sheet and set them aside along with the other strange items (transparency, strange parchment) at the edge of the table. You will not need these materials until later in the game.

Sort the cards into three stacks in accordance with what is written on their backs:

Riddle cards (red)
Answer cards (blue)
Help cards (Gandalf)

Don't forget: For now, be sure not to look at the front side of any of the cards.

Arrange the riddle cards and answer cards in ascending numerical or alphabetic order. Sort the help cards according to the ten symbols. Place cards with the same symbol on top of one another. Place the "Solution" card on the bottom, the "2nd Clue" card on top of that, and the "1st Clue" card at the very top. Then, place the ten help cards stacks at the edge of the table. All of the help cards show the wizard Gandalf, who will hurry to your aid in case of need or doubt. Later in the game, the color of Gandalf's cloak changes from grey to white. Don't let that bother you — it has nothing to do with the riddles.

Where Is the Game Board?

This game has no game board! You will have to figure out for yourselves what you need to find next in the game. At the beginning of the game, you will only have the riddle booklet and the decoder disk available to you.

As the game continues, riddle cards will come into play. They will either be found in illustrations or referred to in written instructions. Whenever this happens, you can take the corresponding cards from the stack and look at them. In this game, you will find the riddle cards arranged in alphabetical order from A to Y3.

Example: You see riddle card A illustrated in the riddle booklet. At that time, you may immediately take the card from the stack and look at it.

You are only allowed to look at an answer card when you have entered a code on the decoder disk and have been referred to the corresponding answer card. You are also only allowed to use the strange items when explicitly instructed that you have found them. Until then, leave them at the edge of the table!

Course of Play

Your goal is to complete Gandalf's tasks as quickly as you can. That can only happen by solving a series of riddles.

IMPORTANT: You can write on, fold, or tear the materials ... To solve the riddles, all of this is allowed, and sometimes even required. You can only play the game once — after that, you will know all the riddles, and you won't need the game materials any longer!

You will work through the riddles in the booklet in the order in which they appear. Each riddle has a symbol assigned to it, and you can only advance if you are able to find the correct three-digit code. When you see a riddle, take a close look at the corresponding pages in the booklet and the riddle cards. Put your heads together to see if you can come up with the solution to the riddle and figure out the three-digit code. Then, enter this code on the decoder disk.

On the outer edge of the disk, there are ten different symbols pictured. Each symbol stands for a riddle and one of the codes you are looking for. Pay close attention to which symbol is shown on the cards and with the riddles in the booklet! Enter the three-digit code under the corresponding symbol on the decoder disk — starting from the outside and proceeding toward the center of the disk. A number will then appear in the viewing window of the smallest wheel of the disk. This number will indicate the number of the answer card that you are then allowed to look at.

Example: You have deduced that a code is the solution to the riddle with a particular symbol. Now enter this combination of numbers under that symbol on the decoder disk. In the little window, you will see the number of the answer card that you are now allowed to take from the stack and look at — in this case, answer card 22.

Is the Code Incorrect?

If so, the answer card will tell you that with a cross. Double check that you entered the code that you intended under the correct symbol. If that doesn't help, take another look at the riddle and try to come up with a different code.

Is the Code Possibly Correct?

In that case, you will get an answer card with an overview.

Where Can You See the Code Symbol?

On the answer cards with the overview, you will find an example image arranged in order for each riddle. Each riddle is marked with the corresponding symbol.

In our example, you want to solve the riddle about Gollum with a particular symbol. The image of Gollum with that symbol on the card will then point you to another answer card. In this example, it points you to card 28. Find this card and take it from the stack. Only this second answer card will tell you whether the code is really correct.

Is the Code Really Correct?

If so, the second answer card will tell you how to continue. You may find new riddle cards, for example, which you are allowed to take immediately from the stack of riddle cards and look at.

Is the Code Actually Incorrect?

Well, in that case you will land on an answer card with a cross. Check the order of the numbers in the code and compare the symbol on the decoder disk with the symbol on the riddle cards. If the code is still wrong, take another look at the riddle to see if you can come up with a different code.

IMPORTANT: You must solve the riddle cards in order! In other words: You can only continue to the next riddle or turn to the next page of the booklet if you have cracked the previous code and the game tells you that you are allowed to proceed!

Don't forget! The riddles are shown in order on the answer cards with the overview — starting with the left column from top to bottom, and then moving to the right column. Return all answer cards back to the answer card stack when told to do so, whether they are correct or incorrect.

All codes can be solved logically. Don't simply try all possible combinations on the decoder disk.

Need Help?

Gandalf can provide you with assistance if you get stuck. For each code, there are three help cards that can be recognized by the symbol on their back sides.

Each "1st Clue" help card tells you what you need in order to be able to solve the riddle and gives you an initial useful clue.

The "2nd Clue" help cards will give you more concrete assistance in finding a solution to the riddle.

The "Solution" help cards will give you the solution to the riddle.

Don't be shy about using the help cards if you get stuck. Place the used help cards face up in a discard stack.

When Does the Game End?

The game ends when you have solved the last riddle and Frodo has safely reached Mount Doom. A card will tell you that.

Assessment

Solving all the riddles is a great achievement! If you also want to assess how well you did, you can take a look at the table below. When calculating the number of help cards used, only count the ones that provided you with NEW information or solutions!

Time	No Help Cards	1–2 Help Cards	3–5 Help Cards	6–10 Help Cards	> 10 Help Cards
< 60 Min.	10 Stars	9 Stars	8 Stars	6 Stars	5 Stars
< 90 Min.	9 Stars	8 Stars	7 Stars	5 Stars	4 Stars
< 120 Min.	8 Stars	7 Stars	6 Stars	4 Stars	3 Stars
> 120 Min.	7 Stars	6 Stars	5 Stars	3 Stars	2 Stars

The Game Begins

What are you waiting for? Start the stopwatch or the timer! Now you are allowed to open the riddle booklet and begin the game on page 2. We hope you have a lot of fun with EXIT: The Lord of the Rings - Shadows Over Middle-earth.

The authors and Kosmos thank all the test players and rule reviewers.

Credits

The Authors: Inka & Markus Brand live with their children Lukas and Emely in Gummersbach, Germany. They have published many children's and family games together and won numerous prizes. Of course, they are avid riddle and escape game fans.

EXIT concept: Kosmos (Ralph Querfurth, Sandra Dochtermann)
Illustrations: Mihajlo Dimitrievski
Cover illustration: Martin Hoffmann
Graphic design: Fine Tuning
Editing: Christian Sachseneder, Niccolò Riedel
Technical development: Monika Schall
English text editing: Hannah Mintz, Ted McGuire

Based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings and the characters, events, items and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company dba Middle-earth Enterprises (SZC) and are used under license by Sophisticated Games and its sublicensees.

Distributed in North America by Thames & Kosmos, LLC. Providence, RI 02903. Phone: 800-587-2872. Web: thamesandkosmos.com

Distributed in United Kingdom by Thames & Kosmos UK LP. Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HE. Phone: 01580 713000. Web: www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk