EXIT: The Game – Advent Calendar: The Magic of Christmas
EXIT: The Game – Advent Calendar: The Magic of Christmas Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Material
- 1 Story Block: tells the story further, day by day
- 1 Help Block with rules: here you find help if you ever get stuck
- 1 Decoder Board incl. 3 Decoder Strips
- and secret additional puzzle material, hidden behind the 24 doors of the Advent calendar
Game Setup
Before you can start, you must prepare the Decoder Board. Take a pair of scissors and carefully cut out the three Decoder Strips shown on the board along the dashed lines.
Now thread the three Decoder Strips horizontally, exactly as shown in the illustration, through the corresponding holes on the Decoder Board: the red one at the top, the blue one in the middle and the yellow one at the bottom. Attention: it is important that you insert the strips in exactly this order! Make sure you do not mix them up, otherwise you will not be able to solve the puzzles.
On the front of the Decoder Board the numbers are now visible through the middle holes. On the back you will see on each Decoder Strip a direction arrow and an EXIT symbol. Always pay attention only to the arrows and EXIT symbols that stand exactly in the middle, one below the other.
The Decoder Board is now ready for use. Place it on the table together with the Story Block.
Additional Game Material Required
You additionally need pens (ideally a ballpoint pen, a black waterproof pen and a pencil), at least one pair of scissors, a mobile phone with a flashlight function and, if needed, paper for notes.
Everything else you need you will find behind the doors of the Advent calendar.
Where is the game board?
In this game the Advent calendar itself is your game board. In addition there is the Story Block. There you learn what exactly happened, and each day you find an introductory chapter that continues the story. Otherwise nothing else is available to you at the start of the game.
Solving Puzzles Step by Step
Carry out the following steps every day:
- Unless stated otherwise, carefully tear the current calendar sheet along the perforated line out of the Story Block. You find the date of the current day at the top of the block sheet.
- Read the introductory chapter.
- Open the next door as soon as the text tells you to. Behind it you find various things that help you solve the day's puzzle. These can be puzzle cards and various strange parts or objects.
- Solve the puzzle. As a rule you may, and must, use everything you find in the current room or in the Story Block. Only this way can you solve the current puzzle.
ATTENTION: To solve the puzzles, you can DAMAGE THE MATERIAL. Writing, folding, cutting up ... everything is allowed, and some of it is even necessary. Keep all the game material until you have reached the last day of the Advent calendar. DON'T THROW ANYTHING AWAY! You might still need it.
Always read ONLY THE CURRENT CALENDAR SHEET. Read the next one only when you want to begin the next puzzle.
Which Door Is Next?
Do not be surprised that the doors of your calendar have no numbers. Only the first door is labelled.
To explore the enchanted forest, you puzzle your way step by step from door to door. The solution of the current puzzle shows you where to continue the next day. And it works like this:
The solution of each puzzle is always a three-digit number code. You set the code you found on the Decoder Board with the help of the three Decoder Strips. Always observe the correct order of the digits.
Have you set the code? Then turn the Decoder Board over, without shifting the strips. Look at the back of the Decoder Board so that you can read the text and the squirrel is not upside down. Now, in the white marked area, you see three direction arrows from top to bottom.
These three direction arrows show you the way to the next door. The starting point is always your current door. From there you follow the arrows from one door to the next. Once you have followed all three direction instructions exactly, you have landed at a target door. In the next step you check whether it is the right one.
Example: The solution of your current puzzle is 533. You set this code on the Decoder Board and turn it over. On the back you find the direction arrows: left, up-left, down. If your code was correct, you find at the indicated place the door for the next day. You can check that in the next step.
Note: In the game the arrows never lead you beyond the edge of the Advent calendar. If a direction instruction does lead you beyond the Advent calendar, your solution code was probably not correct.
Have you found the right target door?
To check this, compare the three EXIT symbols of the target door with the three EXIT symbols on your Decoder Board.
Do the EXIT symbols NOT match? Then check your path again carefully. Did you follow the direction instructions from the start door to the target door exactly? If yes, then your solution code was probably not correct. Look at the puzzle again. Did you overlook something? If you ever get stuck and cannot go on, do not despair. Take a look at the Help Block. There you find hints for every puzzle that will help you along. An explanation of how to use the help system is found below.
Do the EXIT symbols match? Then you have solved the puzzle correctly and have arrived at the next door. Write the date of the next day in the field provided on the new door. Tomorrow the next puzzle starts here, of course only after you have read the next chapter in the Story Block.
Example: You have solved the puzzle of day 1. You enter the solution code and follow the direction arrows on the Decoder Board. At the target you compare the EXIT symbols on the new door with the Decoder Board. They match, so you write a "2" in the empty field of the target door.
IMPORTANT: You must solve the puzzles in sequence! That means: you can and may only continue with the next puzzle and open the next door once you have cracked the code before and the game allows it in the text! All codes are to be deciphered logically. So it is not about simply trying out all possible combinations on the Decoder Board.
Do not forget to label the next door! Only then will you know immediately the next day where to continue.
Do You Need Help?
If you ever get stuck, the game can give you help. You find it directly after these rules. For each code there is a separate Help sheet. On it you find three hints that help with the solution.
Do you want to use a hint? Then look for the Help sheet with the corresponding date in the Help Block. If you now fold the lower edge of the sheet up to the corresponding marking, the respective text becomes visible.
Each "1st Hint" gives you a first useful clue and tells you what you need in order to solve the corresponding puzzle.
The "2nd Hint" helps you more concretely to find a solution for the corresponding puzzle.
The "Solution" reveals the solution path and the right code for the puzzle.
Do not hesitate to use the help texts if you get stuck.
Notes
Note: All components of the game were designed and packed with care. Should the cards and strange parts in a room ever get mixed up, you find at kosmos.de/ZvW a FILLING PLAN of the Advent calendar. It shows where the individual components belong. Have the calendar sorted by a person not involved in the game. Then you can continue the game.
Please note: The Advent calendar is full of varied puzzles. For everything to work, every copy must be assembled individually by hand. This is of course done extremely carefully and with strict quality controls. Nevertheless, errors cannot unfortunately be ruled out 100%. Should a part nevertheless be missing, do not hesitate to contact our replacement parts service at www.kosmos.de/servicecenter. We help as quickly as possible, often within a day.
When Does the Game End?
The game ends when you have solved the last puzzle and revealed the secret of the enchanted forest. A note will tell you this.
The Game Begins
What are you waiting for? Now it begins! Take the Story Block, open the first page and read the introduction. The first puzzle begins on the calendar sheet "1 December".
We wish you lots of fun!