EXIT: The Game – The Enchanted Forest
EXIT: The Game – The Enchanted Forest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Materials
- 88 Cards
- 30 Help cards
- 30 Answer cards
- 19 Riddle cards
- 9 Strange cards
- 1 Book
- 1 Decoder disk
- 10 Strange items
- 6 pieces of furniture
- 1 "Cindy/lentils"
- 1 ice crystal
- 1 falling star
- 1 red leaf
Additional Required Game Materials
In addition, you will need writing implements (ideally a ball-point pen and a pencil), at least one pair of scissors, a ruler, and possibly a sheet of paper for notes. 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 book and decoder disk ready on the table.
Carefully remove the six pieces of furniture and the falling star from the die-cut board and set them at the edge of the table along with the other strange items (Cindy/lentils, ice crystal, red leaf) and the strange cards. 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 back sides:
- Riddle cards (red)
- Answer cards (blue)
- Help cards (green)
Don't forget: Be sure not to look at the front sides of any of the cards.
Check to be sure that the riddle cards and answer cards are arranged in ascending order of their letters or numbers. Sort the help cards according to their ten symbols. Place each group of three cards with the same symbol one on top of another with the "SOLUTION" card on the bottom, the "2nd CLUE" card on top of that, and the "1st CLUE" card on the very top. Then place the help card sets at the edge of the table.
Where Is the Game Board?
This game has no game board! You will have to figure out for yourselves what you need to find in the game and what the spaces look like. At the beginning of the game, you will only have the book and the decoder disk available to you.
As the game continues, you will add the riddle cards — either to be found in illustrations, or referred to in the text. Whenever this happens, you can take the corresponding cards from the riddle card stack and look at them. In this game, you will find the riddle cards ascending alphabetically from A to S.
Example: You see riddle card A illustrated in the book. You may then immediately take that card from the stack and look at it.
You are only allowed to look at an answer card if you have entered a code in the decoder disk and have been referred to that card.
Likewise, you may not use the strange items until you have been explicitly told that you have found them. Until then, they have to stay at the edge of the table!
Course of Play
Your goal is to work together to find a way out of the Enchanted Forest as quickly as you can. You can only do that by solving a series of riddles.
IMPORTANT: To solve the riddles, you can write on, fold, or tear the materials … All of this is allowed, and sometimes even required. (You can only play the game once — after which you will know all the riddles, and won't need the game materials any longer!)
Solve the riddles in their proper order as you work through the book. Each riddle has a symbol assigned to it, and you can only make progress by finding the correct three-digit code. If you see a riddle, then closely examine the corresponding pages in the book and your riddle cards. Work together to figure out how to solve the riddle and find the proper three-digit code. Then, enter the code into the decoder disk.
On the outer edge of the disk, there are ten different symbols pictured. Each symbol stands for 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 book! Enter the three-digit code under this symbol on the disk — from outside towards the center. A number will then appear in the viewing window in the smallest wheel on the disk. This number indicates the number of the answer card that you are then allowed to look at.
Example: You have calculated the code 8 6 1 as the solution to the riddle with a particular symbol. Now enter this combination of numbers under the matching symbol on the decoder disk. In the little window, there appears the number of an answer card, which you are allowed to take from the stack and look at — in this case, 21.
Is the Code Incorrect?
If so, the answer card will tell you that with an X. Check the symbol and the code. 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?
If so, you will get an answer card showing an overview of objects and cards.
Where Do You See the Code Symbol?
On the answer card with an overview, you will see a sample image for each riddle shown in order. Each riddle is marked with the matching symbol.
Example: In our example, you want to solve the gingerbread riddle with a particular symbol. The illustration of the gingerbread with that symbol on the card will then point you to another answer card. In this example, you are pointed to card 15. Find this card in the stack. Only this second answer card will tell you if the code is really correct.
Is the Code Really Correct?
If so, the second answer card will tell you how to continue. You will find one or more new riddle cards which you will be allowed to pull from the stack and look at right away.
Is the Code Actually Incorrect?
Well, in that case you must have landed on an answer card with an X. Check the sequence of 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, then take another look at the riddle and try to find a different code.
IMPORTANT: You must solve the riddles in order! In other words: you can only continue to the next riddle or turn to the next page in the book if you have cracked the previous code and the game tells you that you are allowed to proceed!
Don't forget!
- The riddles are illustrated in order on the answer cards with overview — starting in the left column from top to bottom, and then in the right column.
- Whether right or wrong, return all answer cards to the answer card stack when requested to do so.
- All of the codes can be solved logically. Don't just randomly try out all possible combinations on the decoder disk.
Need Help?
The game can provide you with assistance if you get stuck. For each code, there are three help cards that can be recognized by the symbols on their back sides.
In addition to giving you an initial useful clue, each "1st CLUE" help card also tells you which riddle cards you have to have found in order to be able to solve the corresponding riddle.
The "2nd CLUE" help cards will give you more concrete assistance in finding a solution to the corresponding riddle.
The "SOLUTION" help cards will tell you the approach to take in solving the riddle and what the correct code is.
Don't be shy about using help cards if you aren't making any progress. Return all used help cards face-up to a discard pile.
When Does the Game End?
The game ends when you have solved the last riddle and escaped from the Enchanted Forest. A card will tell you this.
Assessment
Solving all the riddles is a great achievement! If you want to go beyond that and see how well your achievement stacks up, you can take a look at the table below. When calculating the number of help cards used, only count the ones that told you NEW hints 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 timer! Now you are allowed to open the book and begin the game on page 2. We hope you have a lot of fun with EXIT: The Enchanted Forest!
Inka & Markus Brand 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: Michael Menzel
- Cover Illustration: Martin Hoffmann
- Title graphics and graphic design: Fine Tuning
- Editing: Sandra Dochtermann, Christin Ganasinski
- Technical development: Monika Schall
- English text editing: Ed Gartin, Ted McGuire
This game is recyclable. Separate the plastic from the paper/cardboard.
© 2020 Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5–7, 70184 Stuttgart. Tel.: +49 711 2191-0, Fax: +49 711 2191-199, [email protected], kosmos.de. Printed in Germany.
© 2020 Thames & Kosmos, LLC, Providence, RI, USA. Thames & Kosmos® is a registered trademark of Thames & Kosmos, LLC. All rights reserved. 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
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