Room 25: Escape Room Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Summary
• Transformation of the Complex
  • Setup
  • Effect of Transformation
• New Rooms Overview
  • Rooms for Use With All Seasons (Box) of Room 25
  • Ephemeral Room (x8)
  • Only Use if Playing With Adrenaline and Special Abilities
  • Only Use in the Escape Room Mode or in Puzzle Mode
• Escape Room Mode
  • Goal
  • Set-up
  • Scenarios
  • Enigmas
  • Handling Enigma Cards
  • Victory Conditions
  • Progress
  • Activation Conditions of the Secret Code
  • Using the Decoder
  • Level of Difficulty
  • Using M.A.C. Cards
• Puzzle Mode
  • Goal
  • Set-up
  • Victory Conditions
  • Progress
  • Activation Condition of a Secret Code Room
  • Effect of Activation
  • End of the Game: Exit in Room 25
  • Using M.A.C. Cards
  • Puzzle Cards
    • Puzzle Cards Overview

Contents

• 18 new rooms (including 4 exclusive to the new Escape Room and Puzzle modes and 2 requiring expansions to be used)
• 80 Enigma cards (10 sets of 8 cards for the 10 scenarios of the Escape Room mode)
• 20 Puzzle cards
• 2 double-sided sheets with solutions to the enigmas
• 2 decoders for solutions
• 1 Board Orientation indicator
• 8 description sheets for the new rooms
• 1 DO NOT CROSS marker
• 1 Rulebook

Summary

Room 25 Escape Room introduces several sets of rules which you can mix and match to your liking: the Transformation rules usable in all modes of play, new rooms, and two new cooperative modes.

• Transformation of the Complex
• New Rooms Overview
• Cooperative Escape Room Mode
• Cooperative Puzzle Mode

Transformation of the Complex

"After controlling the rooms during season 1 and then adding the M.A.C. cards and robots in season 2, the producers have now introduced some new twists to the structure of the complex."

Setup

When you assemble the complex, replace all empty rooms with Ephemeral rooms.

Create a face-down deck of unused rooms by shuffling together 6 green rooms, 3 yellow rooms and 3 red rooms. The TRANSFORMATION deck consists of these 12 tiles.

• If you are playing with Sarah: she receives 2 empty rooms (set aside beforehand).
• If you are playing with Bruce: he receives 1 empty room (set aside beforehand).

Effect of Transformation

The Transform effect is triggered when an Ephemeral room becomes empty or when a Secret Code room is activated.

The player who triggered the effect replaces the Ephemeral room with the top room of the deck (see above), face down. Unless otherwise specified, that player secretly looks at the drawn room before laying it face down.

As with the Look action, the player may reveal the color of the room.

Example: Alice is the last to leave an Ephemeral room, leaving it empty. This triggers the Transformation effect. The Ephemeral room is removed from the complex and replaced with the top room in the Transformation deck, which is placed face-down. Alice may secretly look at this new room and may reveal its color.

New Rooms Overview

The new rooms are described on the eight description sheets and summarised below. The rooms are grouped as printed.

Rooms for Use With All Seasons (Box) of Room 25

Menace Room

"These lasers must have a use of some kind..."

Harmless until ROOM 25 is visible. This room has the same effect as the Mortal Chamber when ROOM 25 is revealed: everyone in this room is immediately eliminated.

Fragile Room

"Whoever built this room did not have time to finish their work..."

This room collapses and becomes inaccessible when its line or column is moved. When it collapses, place a "DO NOT CROSS" marker on this room. Everyone in this room when it collapses is immediately eliminated.

Note that the room doesn't collapse when targeted by the Hacking Room or Kevin's Special Ability.

Fake Exit

"Stay a little longer..."

If possible, take a character from an adjacent room and place it with you in this room. This new character does not suffer the effect of the Fake Exit.

Hacking Room

"Like the RUBIK'S CUBE, it's time to solve."

Exchange 2 non-blue rooms or hidden rooms adjacent to this room.

Ephemeral Room (x8)

"Are you lost? I'll give you a hint to escape."

As soon as a character moves out of this room, if no other character is still present in the room, the outgoing character applies the Transformation effect on the room (see Transformation of the Complex).

Additional effect for Escape Room / Puzzle Mode: as soon as one character enters an Ephemeral room, they immediately draw an Enigma / Puzzle card. If other characters then return in the room, they don't draw anything.

Only Use if Playing With Adrenaline and Special Abilities

The printed page places this heading above the Treatment Room and the Hypnosis Chamber.

Treatment Room

"There's no doctor in the area but you will find everything you need to recover your health."

Get your Adrenaline token or one Action token back if you had lost one (due to Punishment MAC card or other effect).

Note that if you use Adrenaline to get into the Treatment Room, you can get your token right back.

Hypnosis Chamber

"This room is so fascinating that you may well stay there..."

You can not program a "MOVE" action while in this room. You can only leave the room with your Adrenaline token, outside help or, for some, your special ability. Max can CARRY anyone out of this room, Jennifer can CALL a trapped character, and Sarah can SABOTAGE the room. Since they do not program their actions, revealed guards are immune to the effect of the Hypnosis Chamber.

Only Use in the Escape Room Mode or in Puzzle Mode

Secret Code Rooms (4 rooms)

"Candidate, it is your turn to speak. Have you any last words?"

4 different blue rooms, each with a combination of 3 letters, 3 figures, 4 letters or 4 digits. In the Escape Room mode and the Puzzle mode, the 4 Secret Code rooms are used (see Set-up in the Escape Room mode and the Puzzle mode below). Players cannot escape the complex until all four Secret Code rooms have been activated. The rooms have no effect before they are activated.

To activate a Secret Code room, a character must:

• meet certain conditions (the conditions are described in the Escape Room and Puzzle mode sections below, according to the selected mode);
• perform the Control action.

Effect of Activation (all these effects apply):

1. Eject: each character present in the room is moved to an adjacent room of their choice.
2. Transformation: the player who performed the Control action applies the transformation effect on the room (the tile is placed aside to account for Secret Code rooms activated).
3. Overtime: all turn markers are backed up one space on the time tracker. Now you have one more round in which to get out of the complex. Continue the current round normally, without any changes.

Escape Room Mode

"The complex is full of surprises! There's no escaping now without solving intricate riddles. Search for clues and activate all four Secret Code rooms."

WARNING: do not look at the Enigma cards before the game. It would ruin all the fun!

100% cooperative mode for 2 to 6 players.

Goal

All prisoners play together without guards. They must discover the hidden Enigma cards, solve the puzzles they contain to derive codes they need to activate the Secret Code rooms. Only then can they leave the complex together by gathering in Room 25 and moving out of the complex following the usual rules.

Set-up

Place the Turn-Counter board on the "8 rounds" side.

The countdown based on the number of players is:

• 4 characters (single player, 2 or 4 players) = 5 rounds
• 5 characters (5 players) = 4 rounds
• 6 characters (3 or 6 players) = 4 rounds

Note: the number of rounds may seem very short but don't worry, you'll be able to gain additional time by activating Secret Code rooms (see Effect of Activation above).

Assemble a complex with:

• 4 Secret Code rooms
• 8 Ephemeral rooms
• 3 Green rooms, chosen at random
• 5 Yellow rooms, chosen at random
• 2 Red rooms, chosen at random
• 1 Vision Chamber
• 1 Room 25
• 1 Central Room

Then:

• Set up the complex following the usual rules.
• Compose a Transformation deck as explained in Transformation of the Complex.
• Choose a scenario. Shuffle the 8 cards of the chosen scenario without looking to form a deck next to the game board.

Scenarios

This extension offers 10 different scenarios. Each scenario consists of 8 different Enigma cards. To prepare a specific scenario, take all the Enigma cards marked on the back with that scenario number. Scenarios increase in complexity, so we advise that you play them in numerical order.

Enigmas

Each scenario features 8 clues to obtain 4 codes: a 4-digit code, a 3-digit code, a 4-letter code and a 3-letter code.

In scenarios 1 through 6, the Enigma cards come in pairs: to discover each of the 4 codes, you only need 2 Enigma cards for each. Also, each of these Enigma cards is only for one code.

However, starting with the 7th scenario, some puzzles are solved through the use of 3 or 4 Enigma cards (sometimes even more!). And some cards can be used to solve more enigmas!

The enigmas require logic, a little thought, good communication between the players, a good sense of observation, and sometimes the ability to take a step back from the problem. In any case, if your thinking on a code takes more than 2 minutes, it's probably because you're thinking in the wrong direction; do not hesitate to think differently or ask for help from other players!

Handling Enigma Cards

Only the player who receives a card can see the Enigma. He keeps it in front of him and can consult it whenever he wants. He may not show this card to the other players. He can describe the card to the other players as much as he wants and however he wants to do so.

Two players who are in the same room can show their Enigma cards to one another and can give or exchange them freely. All players can take notes on the Enigma cards (theirs or those of the other players) but can not show their notes to players who are not in the same room as them.

Victory Conditions

It is impossible to escape without having activated the 4 Secret Code rooms (see Activation Conditions of the Secret Code below). ALL characters must escape before the end of the countdown. Once a character dies, the game is lost.

Progress

Follow the same rules as the base game by adding the elements described below.

Clues to solve enigmas: when a character enters an Ephemeral room, he draws the top Enigma card from the stack. If one character joins another character in an Ephemeral room, he does not draw an Enigma card: only draw one card per Ephemeral room.

Once you believe you have solved an enigma, you need to go and activate the correct Secret Code room.

Only when all four Secret Code rooms have been activated will you be able to escape the complex and win the game.

Activation Conditions of the Secret Code

To activate a Secret Code room, the player must:

• be in the room;
• have programmed the Control action.

When that player's Control action is resolved, they must give the code that corresponds to the room. Each room requires a specific type of code (which can be seen in the room's illustration). The player then verifies the accuracy of this code with the decoder (see Using the Decoder below).

• If the player is correct, the room is activated.
• If he is wrong, the room remains deactivated and nothing happens.

The Effect of Activation (eject, Transformation and Overtime) described above applies in full.

Using the Decoder

Assembling the decoder:

1. Place the latch as shown and fold both flaps over it.
2. Secure everything by sliding the clips into the corresponding slots.

Using the decoder:

1. Pull on the latch to hide the little slits.
2. Choose the side matching the Secret Code room you wish to activate (3 letters, 3 digits, 4 letters or 4 digits).
3. Place the large slit on top of your proposed solution. Solutions are listed in 3 columns in alphabetical or numerical order. If you cannot find your solution, then it is wrong!
4. Make sure the decoder is straight using the white lines, push the latch to reveal a number. If that number corresponds to that of the scenario, you've found the right code!

Example: Max is on the 3-letter Secret Code room. He uses his Control action to activate the room. He checks whether he's found the right code with the decoder. He has! Max and Jennifer are ejected from the Secret Code room towards an adjacent room of their choice. The Secret Code room is removed from the game and replaced by the first room of the Transformation pile. The player whose character is Max may look at this new room. It is then placed face-down. All the turn markers are back up one space on the time tracker, leaving the candidates with two rounds instead of one to escape the complex!

Level of Difficulty

After your first few games, you can increase the difficulty by moving the markers on the turn track one space to the right. The challenge will thus be even greater.

Using M.A.C. Cards

• The Escape Room mode is completely compatible with the Cooperation mode that uses M.A.C. Cards.
• The 4 Secret Code rooms replace the Key room, which is not used.
• The Madness Mode makes the game that much harder! This is definitely an interesting challenge for the most avid players!

Puzzle Mode

"The complex sets its own rules. Rooms have to be positioned according to the instructions on the Puzzle cards. There is no other way out!"

This mode is different each time and can be played endlessly, with each game playing out differently.

100% cooperative mode for 2 to 6 players.

Goal

All prisoners play together without guards. They must discover the 8 Puzzle cards hidden in the Ephemeral rooms. Each Secret Code room is activated by 2 Puzzle cards. When all 4 Secret Code rooms are activated, players must position Room 25 based on the 8 Puzzle cards found in order to escape.

Set-up

Turn counter: "8 rounds" side.

The countdown based on the number of players:

• 4 characters (single player, 2 or 4 players) = 7 rounds
• 5 characters (5 players) = 6 rounds
• 6 characters (3 or 6 players) = 6 rounds

Level of difficulty: after your first few games, you can increase the difficulty by moving the markers on the turn track one space to the right. The challenge will be even more difficult.

Assemble a complex with:

• 8 Ephemeral rooms
• 4 Secret Code rooms
• 4 Yellow rooms, selected at random
• 2 Green rooms, selected at random
• 4 Red rooms, selected at random
• 1 Vision Chamber
• 1 Room 25
• 1 Central room

Then:

• Set up the complex following the usual rules.
• Create a Transformation pile as explained in Transformation of the Complex.
• Shuffle the 20 Puzzle cards and draw 8 randomly to form a deck face down next to the game board.
• Place the map Board Orientation indicator next to the board; it will not move.

Victory Conditions

You can not escape without having activated the 4 Secret Code rooms (see Puzzle Cards below) AND Room 25 must be positioned as required by the 8 Puzzle cards (see Puzzle Cards below).

ALL characters must escape before the end of the countdown. Once a character dies, the game is lost.

Progress

Follow the same rules as the base game by adding the elements described below.

When a character enters an Ephemeral room, he draws the top Puzzle card of the stack. If a character joins another character in an Ephemeral room, they do not draw Puzzle cards: only draw one Puzzle card per Ephemeral room.

Activation Condition of a Secret Code Room

To activate a Secret Code room, as described in New Rooms Overview, this room's Secret Code must respect the constraints of two previously revealed Puzzle cards.

To activate a Secret Code room, the player must:

• be in the room;
• have programmed the Control action.

When this Control action is resolved, the player must nominate two revealed Puzzle cards not yet used. If the conditions of the two cards are met, the room is activated. Both Puzzle cards are discarded and are then temporarily set aside, pending the end of the game. They can not be used to activate another Secret Code room.

Example: Max is located in a Secret Code room. 4 Puzzle cards have already been revealed but not used. To activate the Secret Code room he uses his Control action and chooses cards number 2 (the Secret Code room is not in one of the crossed-out positions) and number 3 (the Secret Code room is adjacent to a green room). He could have used card number 1 because the Secret Code room is adjacent to a red room, but not card 4 because the Secret Code room is adjacent to a yellow room.

Effect of Activation

The Effect of Activation (eject, Transformation and Overtime) described in New Rooms Overview applies in full, with these Puzzle mode points:

1. Eject: each character present in the room is moved to an adjacent room of their choice.
2. Transformation: the player who performed the Control action applies the transformation effect on the room (the tile is placed aside to account for Secret Code rooms activated).
3. Overtime: all turn markers are moved back one space on the time tracker. Now you have one more round to get out of the complex. Continue the current round normally, without any changes.

End of the Game: Exit in Room 25

When all 4 Secret Code rooms have been activated, it is possible to escape in Room 25.

BUT, to achieve that, there is a final test: when taking the Control action that should move Room 25 out of the complex, ALL conditions of all 8 Puzzle cards that have been used this game must be valid for Room 25. If this is the case the game is won; otherwise it is impossible to escape at that time, and you must continue to play until Room 25 meets all 8 requirements.

Note: some cards have conditions that will be very easy to meet, because they are already met by output constraints for Room 25. For example, the Puzzle card stating "All characters must be on the same line as the room" is obviously met if all players are in the same room, namely Room 25.

Using M.A.C. Cards

• The Puzzle mode is completely compatible with the Cooperation mode which uses M.A.C. cards.
• The 4 Secret Code rooms replace the Key room, which is not used.
• The Madness Mode is only recommended for the most daring and experienced of players!

Puzzle Cards

Each card shows the positioning constraints. All cards are described below.

When a card is drawn, it is placed face up in the same orientation as the Board Orientation indicator. It must naturally be read in this direction when it indicates full positions. The maps will be used to activate the Secret Code rooms and allow escape in Room 25 at the end of the game.

The same Puzzle card can not be used to activate more than one Secret Code room, so when a Puzzle card has been used to activate a Secret Code room, it is set aside until the end of the game where it will be used again to exit in Room 25.

Puzzle Cards Overview

To be activated, the Secret Code room must not be in one of the crossed-out positions.

The overview page prints seven board grids showing crossed-out positions above this line. They are illustrations and are not reproduced as text here.

The overview page prints the following condition cards, each with its illustration:

• The Secret Code room must be adjacent to a red room.
• The Secret Code room must be adjacent to a green room.
• There must be 2 or more additional characters on the same column as the Secret Code room.
• There must be 2 or more additional characters on the same row as the Secret Code room.
• The Secret Code room must not be adjacent to any yellow room.
• The Secret Code room must not be adjacent to any blue room.
• There must be 2 or more green rooms in the same row as the Secret Code room.
• There must not be a red room in the same row as the Secret Code room.
• There must be 2 or more characters in the rooms on the edges of the complex.
• There must not be any 2 identical rooms in the same row as the Secret Code room.
• There must be 2 or more identical rooms in the same column as the Secret Code room.
• There must be 3 or more characters in the Secret Code room.
• The Secret Code room must be adjacent to 3 or more different rooms.