Sebastian Fitzek Safehouse Rulebook

Table of Contents

These Are Your Game Materials
The Plot?
Select a Difficulty Level
How the Book Is Organized?
Game Setup
Hourglass or Original Music?
What Else You Should Know
Start Now! Are You Ready? The Game Begins
Your Turn
Have You Ended Your Turn?
End of a Chapter?
Summary: When Do You Move the Pursuer?
End of Game
Oops! Did You Make a Mistake Under Pressure?
Solo Variant (for 1 player)
Credits

These Are Your Game Materials

40 chapter cards
75 escape cards (with the numbers 1 to 15 in 5 different colors)
15 pursuer cards
1 black playing piece (pursuer)
1 blue playing piece (witness)
25 investigation chips
1 hourglass (2 minutes)
1 book with 5 game boards

The book contains the card area, the investigation area, and the playing boards with special cards.

The Plot?

You are all in this jam together and can only win (or lose) together. Depending on the level of difficulty, sometimes it will be easier and some times more difficult to shake off your pursuer and arrive at the safe house in time to win the game.

Select a Difficulty Level

Before beginning, decide on one of three different levels of difficulty. For the very first game, we recommend the first difficulty level Great Danger as a warm up. You do not need the investigation chips for this level.

Depending on the level of difficulty, you will need the following number of pursuer cards. Shuffle them thoroughly and pick up the corresponding number of cards without looking at them:

Difficulty level	Pursuer cards	Investigation chips
1. Great Danger	10 pursuer cards	without investigation chips
2. Big Thrill	10 pursuer cards	with investigation chips
3. Try to survive	12 pursuer cards	with investigation chips

Lay them next to the closed book for now. Put all the remaining pursuer cards back into the box without looking at them.

How the Book Is Organized?

Have you decided which difficulty level you want to play? Then open the book so that it looks like the illustration on the left and take a minute to look at it. It consists of three parts:

Playing boards: The playing boards are on the right side of the book. There are 5 in total and each one represents another chapter: Hotel room, harbor, city, forest and safe house. You always begin the game in the chapter Hotel room, continuing the game chapter for chapter. In each chapter there is a track that you move both playing pieces (pursuer and witness) on. Once you have successfully fought your way through the track, you open up the next chapter and continue playing in the new chapter with both playing pieces.
Card area: The card area on the left contains designated spaces for the chapter cards and the escape cards, as well as for the draw pile and discard pile.
Investigation area: In the middle, there is a grid of a total of 25 symbols. When playing the difficulty level Great Danger, you can ignore this part. When playing Big Thrill or Try to survive, you have to find out what actually happened before the game is over: Who is the perpetrator? What was the motive? What weapon was used in the crime? Who is the victim? What piece of evidence was used to convict the offender? Later in the game, the investigation chips will be placed on the grid. There is also an additional designated space for escape cards. More on that later. The fields 30 to 2 belong to the timeline for the hourglass.

Game Setup

Put the black playing piece on the white space next to the couch in the hotel room. This is your pursuer. Put the blue playing piece on the blue space with the number 0. This is the witness, your playing piece.

Sort the chapter cards according to each chapter. You can distinguish them from one another according to the backside of the card (hotel room, harbor, city, forest and safe house). Then shuffle each stack of chapter cards separately and lay them face down on their respective designated space in the card area.

Now shuffle all escape cards and, depending on how many players there are, deal out the respective number of cards face down to each player:

2 players: 7 escape cards
3 players: 5 escape cards
4 players: 4 escape cards

Additionally, each player draws 1 chapter card Hotel room from the draw pile, adding it to his hand. Now you have the maximum number of cards in your hand that you are allowed to have. Later, during the game, you can decide how many of the cards in your hand shall be escape cards and how many shall be chapter cards.

Maximum number of cards per player

Players	Maximum hand	To begin
2 players	8 cards	7 escape cards + 1 chapter card Hotel room
3 players	6 cards	5 escape cards + 1 chapter card Hotel room
4 players	5 cards	4 escape cards + 1 chapter card Hotel room

Then, from the remaining escape cards, form more or less the same size stacks, depending on the difficulty level:

Great Danger: 5 stacks
Big Thrill: 5 stacks
Try to survive: 6 stacks

Pick up the prepared pursuer cards and shuffle 2 of them face down into each stack of escape cards. Then put the escape card stacks back into one large draw pile. Important: From now on, you are no longer allowed to shuffle the draw pile. Now, put the draw pile face down on its designated "draw pile" space in the card area.

When playing the difficulty level Big Thrill or Try to survive, also lay down all investigation chips with the white side facing up and its symbol on its respective field of the grid in the investigation area.

Hourglass or Original Music?

You can play using either the hourglass or the original music from the Sebastian Fitzek Anniversary Show; either way, you have 30 minutes time maximum.

With the hourglass: Place the hourglass on the round field with the yellow 30 on it in the investigation area so that everyone can see it. You can ignore the QR code.
With the original music: The hourglass can be put back into the box. In its place, use the music as a timer. Scan the QR code located in the investigation area. You can either stream or download the music file. If you don't have a QR code scanner on your smartphone, you can also download the file online from www.moses-verlag.de/fitzek. We recommend using the music as your timer.

What Else You Should Know

1. What the chapter cards are for?

For each chapter (Hotel room, harbor, city, forest, safe house) there are corresponding chapter cards. Each chapter card has a certain number of steps on it, with which you can move your playing piece forward along the track of the respective chapter. Depending on the chapter card, you get to move your playing piece 1 to 5 steps. The number in the arrow shows you how many steps you get. However, in order to take advantage of the steps on the card, you must first carry out the missions on the chapter cards. To do this you need the escape cards.

2. How to carry out missions with the escape cards?

The escape cards are numbered 1 to 15 and are in 5 different colors (green, blue, yellow, pink and red). There is exactly one of each escape card in the game. The missions on the chapter cards indicate which escape cards you will need to carry them out. You will need to lay between 2 and 6 escape cards next to a chapter card. The colored symbols on the lower edge of the chapter cards show the number and colors of the required escape cards — the order of the colors does not matter. Pay attention only to the order of the numbers on the escape cards and always place them in an ascending order. That means you always have to place escape cards with the same or a higher number next to the escape cards that have already been laid. The names on the escape cards are of no consequence at this time.

Example: This chapter card requires 2 yellow and 2 green escape cards. In this example, you could lay down these escape cards. You then get to move your playing piece 3 steps forward on the track.

Note: Missions that require only 2 or 3 escape cards are relatively easy to complete. But you are also awarded with less steps for completing them. If you have to lay down 5 or 6 escape cards, you will get more steps.

3. Depicted cards on the playing boards?

The depicted cards are special cards. They offer you an additional mission that you can complete once at any time during the respective chapter. As with the missions of the chapter cards, make sure that you always lay down cards with the same or a higher number next to the escape cards that have already been laid down. In this case, you are only allowed to take escape cards that match the current playing board. The white symbols on the lower edge of the special cards always show you how many escape cards you will need for each special card. Have you completed a special card? Then you get to move your playing piece as many steps forward as indicated by the number in the white arrow. If, for example, you are in the Hotel room, then you will need 3 escape cards with the word Hotel room in the middle of the card. The color of the escape cards are of no importance here. In the illustrated example, you get to move your playing piece 3 steps forward on the track.

4. Pursuer cards?

The pursuer cards are mixed in together with the escape cards in the draw pile; they determine how many steps the pursuer takes in the game. Any time someone draws a pursuer card from the draw pile, he must immediately lay it down on the discard pile and move the pursuer playing piece as many steps forward on the track as indicated by the pursuer card.

These are the pursuer cards:

Numbered pursuer cards: Depending on the number indicated on the card, the pursuer moves forward 1, 2 or 3 steps. There are four cards with the 1, three cards with the 2 and two cards with the 3.
Chapter card pursuer card: Count up all turned over chapter cards next to the playing board that have not been completed and move the pursuer this number of steps forward. Are there no chapter cards? Then the pursuer does not move a single step. Hint: Do not lay down too many chapter cards in front of you. This could be disastrous! There are four of these pursuer cards in the game.
Chapter card +1 pursuer card: The pursuer moves ahead as many steps as there are laid out and incomplete chapter cards next to the playing board. Additionally, move the pursuer 1 step forward. Are there no chapter cards? Then the pursuer moves only 1 step forward. There are two of these cards in the game.

5. For the difficulty levels Big Thrill and Try to survive only: What happens in the investigation area?

You have to fulfill a second requirement to win the game. You have to escape your pursuer and reach the safe house before he does, but what good will it do you to be in safety without knowing what actually took place? No good! That's why you have to discover 5 pieces of evidence in the investigation area: the perpetrator, the victim, the motive, the weapon used to commit the crime and the incriminating evidence. On the grid, there are investigation chips showing 5 perpetrators, 5 victims, 5 motives, 5 weapons and 5 evidences. By the end of the game, you need to have 4 of the 5 investigation chips in each row of the grid turned over so that the black side is facing up. The remaining investigation chip with the white side facing up indicates the actual crime committed.

The investigation chips can be turned over using your escape cards. On the lower edge of the escape cards there are 1 to 3 symbols depicted that match the symbols on the grid. The lower numbered escape cards (1 to 5) have 1 symbol on them, the mid-range cards (6 to 10) have 2 symbols on them and the higher numbered escape cards (11 to 15) have 3 symbols on them.

Hint: When beginning the game it makes sense to play high numbered escape cards in the investigation area. The higher numbered escape cards have 3 symbols on their lower edge, which means you get to turn over 3 investigation chips to start things off. Near the end of the game, the lower numbered escape cards are more advantageous when it is time to turn over specific investigation chips.

An example of a solved case at the end of a game could be: Professor Luft executed Josy Larenz with a saw for no other reason but a twisted desire to kill someone. Unbelievable! But true! His crime was captured by a camera.

Start Now! Are You Ready? The Game Begins

Are you playing with the hourglass? Then turn it over and place it on the field with the yellow 30 of the timeline. Or are you playing with the music? Then press play. Look at your chapter cards and escape cards and discuss among you, who will go first. Then take turns in a clockwise direction.

You are not allowed to show each other your chapter cards or escape cards, nor are you allowed to mention the exact number on them. However, you can paraphrase them: In the illustrated example, these two chapter cards are lying face up. One of the players could say: "I don't have any yellow escape cards in my hand. But I could play a mid-range red card next to the other chapter card. Does anyone have a high blue and pink escape card to complete the mission?" However, he would not be allowed to say: "I have a red 7."

Hint: Good communication is important to win the game. Talk to one another, but don't get lost in discussion and waste too much time. Time waits for no one.

Your Turn

On your turn, you can play as many of your escape cards and chapter cards as you like. However, you have to carry out at least one of these actions per turn:

Play one or more chapter cards

You can lay down one or more of your chapter cards face up for everyone to see.

Lay escape cards next to chapter cards

You can lay as many of your escape cards as you like next to your own chapter cards or chapter cards that have already been laid down, face up. Have escape cards already been played? Then, be careful to lay only escape cards with the same number or higher. You don't have to worry about maintaining the same color order of the chapter card. All that matters is that the number of required escape cards of each color matches. Have you completed a chapter card? Then move the witness as many steps forward as indicated on the completed chapter card. Now put the used escape cards face up on the discard pile. The completed chapter card is removed from the game and put back into the game box.

Note: If the witness lands on a space with a pursuer symbol, you also have to move the pursuer 1 step forward. If the pursuer then lands on a space with a pursuer symbol on it, nothing happens.

Lay escape cards next to a special card

You can play as many escape cards belonging to the respective chapter as you like. Look at the middle of your escape cards. Does one of the escape cards belong to the current chapter? If so, lay it down on the depicted special card on the playing board in ascending order. The colors do not matter. Have you completed the special card? Then move the witness as many steps forward as indicated by the special card. Now put the used escape cards face up on the discard pile in the card area.

Note: Don't forget that you are only allowed to use the special card once per chapter. The same also applies here: If the witness lands on a space with a pursuer symbol, you also have to move the pursuer 1 step forward.

Turn over investigation chip (for the difficulty levels Big Thrill and Try to survive only)

If you want to turn over investigation chips, then lay one or more of your escape cards, one after the other, on the designated space in the investigation area. Here, you have to lay the escape cards in descending order. That means, as soon as an escape card has been laid, you are allowed to lay only escape cards with the same number or lower next to them. The colors do not matter. Then turn over all investigation chips matching your escape card(s). It may also become necessary that you have to turn over the investigation chips back again that were already lying with the black side facing up.

You may also be forced to play a higher numbered escape card than the one that has already been laid. In such an unfortunate case, you have to move the pursuer 1 step forward.

Note: All escape cards in the investigation area stay where they are until the end of the game and are not put back into the discard pile. However, you can look at them at any time. So consider very carefully which escape cards you want to lay here at which stage of the game. You might need them later in the game.

Have a bad hand?

You can't or don't want to play an escape card? Then discard as many of them as you want, face up, on the discard pile in the card area. Do you want to get rid of one or more of your chapter cards, too? Then put them back into the game box and draw new escape cards and chapter cards until you have reached your maximum number of cards allowed per hand.

No good cards laid out?

Are one or more laid-out chapter cards causing you stress and preventing you from completing a mission over multiple rounds? Then, on your turn, you can remove them from the game, putting them back into the game box. Have escape cards already been laid? Then put these face up on the discard pile. By choosing this option, however, you have to move the pursuer forward on the playing board. How many steps you have to move him ahead depends on how many chapter cards you take out of the game. For every removed chapter card, you have to move the pursuer 1 step forward.

Have You Ended Your Turn?

Have you completed at least one action? If so, you can end your turn at any time. Draw as many cards from the piles until you have the maximum number of cards allowed in your hand again. You can choose if you want to pick up escape cards and/or chapter cards. However, you are allowed to pick up only chapter cards from the current chapter. If there are no chapter cards of the current chapter left, you can pick up only escape cards. Then it's the next player's turn to your left.

Did you pick up a pursuer card when drawing new cards?

When you pick up a pursuer card, you ALWAYS have to play it immediately, and lay it face up on the discard pile. Move the pursuer forward the corresponding number of steps. Then draw a new card (escape card or chapter card). Did you draw another pursuer card? Then play it immediately again, and move the pursuer forward the corresponding number of steps once again, etc.

No cards left in the draw pile?

If there are no cards left in the draw pile, simply turn over the discard pile. But do NOT shuffle the pile.

Has the hourglass run out or the horn sounded?

Hourglass: Are you playing with the hourglass? Make sure you always keep an eye on it. Each turn of the hourglass lasts 2 minutes. As soon as it has run out, you have to move the pursuer 1 step forward. Then immediately turn over the hourglass again and place it on the next field of the timeline.
Original music: The horn will sound every two minutes. When you hear the horn, move the pursuer 1 step forward.

End of a Chapter?

Has your playing piece reached the space End of chapter? Then put all escape cards that are lying next to the special card back on the discard pile facing up.

Remember the space number that the pursuer is on. Take both playing pieces from the playing board and turn the page to the next chapter. Put the witness on the blue space. Put the pursuer on the space with the same number that it was on in the previous chapter. If the number doesn't exist, put the pursuer on the space with the lowest number.

Are there any chapter cards laying face up that have not yet been completed? If so, leave them where they are. You can complete them in the next chapter, too.

Note: The end of a chapter does not mean that your turn is over. You can continue or end your turn in the next chapter.

Can unused steps be carried over into the next chapter?

No, any unused steps cannot be applied in the next chapter. The witness always begins on the blue space in each chapter, even if you have reached the end of the chapter with fewer steps than indicated on the chapter card.

Do you still have chapter cards in your hand from the previous chapter?

If so, immediately put them all back into the game box and pick up the same number of chapter cards from the new chapter. Remove the pile of chapter cards of the completed chapter from the card area and put it back into the game box. This of course can happen during a player's turn.

What happens if the horn sounds or the hourglass runs out at the end of the chapter?

If you hear the horn or if the hourglass runs out as you move from one chapter to the next, immediately move the pursuer 1 step forward in the new chapter.

Summary: When Do You Move the Pursuer?

The pursuer is always hot on your trail. Always move the pursuer when …

… the hourglass has run out or the horn sounds. Immediately move the pursuer 1 step forward.
… the blue playing piece lands on a space with a pursuer symbol on it. You have to move the black playing piece 1 step forward. If, however, the pursuer lands on the space with the pursuer symbol on it, nothing happens.
… you draw a pursuer card from the draw pile. The pursuer card indicates how many steps the pursuer has to be moved ahead.
… you remove chapter cards from the game that have already been laid down and you want to lay the escape cards that are lying next to them on the discard pile. The number of steps that you have to move the pursuer forward depends on how many chapter cards you have removed from the game.
… you play a higher numbered escape card in the investigation area than the card that has already been laid there. In this case, move the pursuer 1 step forward. This applies only when you're playing the difficulty level Big Thrill or Try to survive.

End of Game

There are different ways to end the game:

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive: Wow, who ever would have thought?! You've brought yourself to safety and have made it to the safe house. You absolutely deserved this win! Respect! You also managed to solve the case in the difficulty level of Big Thrill or Try to survive? Congratulations! You survived a thriller! So, who chased you and what was his crime? Look at the white investigation chips and name the perpetrator, the murder weapon, the motive, the victim and the incriminating evidence.
Time to say Goodbye: Did the pursuer catch you? That's too bad. You've lost the game. Did you play the difficulty level Big Thrill or Try to survive and the pursuer caught you? Unfortunately, you have lost the game, even if you were able to discover everything in the investigation area.
Time's not on your side: Has the hourglass run out while it is on the field with the 2 on the timeline? Or has the music stopped? It's not a good sign, if you have not yet reached the safe house and if you still have not managed to solve the case in the difficulty level Big Thrill or Try to survive. That means you've come up a bit short. The pursuer has a big smile on his face. He's got the upper hand and has won the game.
For Big Thrill and Try to survive: You have made it to the safe house, but you were unable to find out what happened? And now the pursuer has made it to the safe house, too? Not good! Not good at all! You have lost! It was an honor to have played with you.

Oops! Did You Make a Mistake Under Pressure?

Did you have more cards in your hand than what is allowed, but only noticed it later? Then immediately lay the extra escape cards face up on the discard pile.
Did you draw the wrong chapter card? Then exchange it. Remove your chapter card from the game.
Whatever was played, was played: Once an escape card has been played, it stays next to the chapter card, special card or in the investigation area.

Solo Variant (for 1 player)

This section is translated from the official German rulebook of the 6th edition (2019), moses. Verlag GmbH, which added the Solo-Variante; the 2017 English rulebook does not contain it.

Do you want to play alone? No problem! With the solo variant you can face the challenge entirely without fellow players: can you make it to the safehouse on your own?

If you are playing Safehouse for the first time, read the rules for the basic game first before you read on here. The solo game works in much the same way as the basic game — with the following changes:

Game setup

Depending on the difficulty level, you use exactly the pursuer cards given in the table:

Difficulty level	Use these pursuer cards	Investigation chips?
1. Great Danger	three "1" cards, two "2" cards, one "3" card, two "chapter card" cards (8 in total)	No
2. Big Thrill	three "1" cards, two "2" cards, one "3" card, two "chapter card" cards (8 in total)	Yes
3. Try to survive	two "1" cards, two "2" cards, two "3" cards, one "chapter card" card, one "chapter card +1" card (8 in total)	Yes

Find the matching pursuer cards and shuffle them briefly. Form 4 stacks from the escape cards and prepare the draw pile with them as usual. Start the music or turn the hourglass over, and the chase begins.

New: face-up chapter cards

Unlike in the basic game, you never play chapter cards from your hand. Instead, before each turn you decide how many chapter cards of the current chapter you want to turn face up. However, a maximum of 5 face-up chapter cards may lie out at the same time! If face-up chapter cards are still lying out, you can top them up to 5 before each turn.

Careful: In the solo game you can NOT simply remove face-up chapter cards from the game. You can only set them aside if you fulfill the corresponding missions! At the end of a chapter, chapter cards that lie out of course also stay where they are.

New: how your turn works

At the beginning of each turn you draw 5 cards from the draw pile.

Did you draw pursuer cards while doing so? Then you discard them immediately and move the pursuer as usual. Careful: you do NOT draw replacement cards for them.

You can lay escape cards next to chapter cards or special cards as usual to fulfill missions, or use them for the investigation area. Unlike in the basic game, however, there is no obligation to carry out an action on your turn. You decide for yourself how many cards from your hand you want to use and when your turn is over.

Careful: In the solo game you can also use the new "help pile" action on your turn (see below).

At the end of each turn you must place all cards from your hand that you cannot or do not want to use on the discard pile.

New action: the help pile

You can play escape cards from your hand onto a special pile — this is your help pile. Here you can store escape cards temporarily in order to use them later in the game. To keep an overview, you can lay these escape cards down slightly offset. You may "park" any number of escape cards here. You always place further escape cards on top of the help pile. As soon as escape cards lie on the help pile, you may no longer change their order. Afterwards you can only ever use the topmost card, like a card from your hand. Only after that may you use the escape card lying below it, and so on.

Careful: You may NOT take cards you have laid down here back into your hand, and you may NOT put them on the discard pile either. Likewise, you obviously may not simply move escape cards that have already been laid out onto the help pile.

Credits

Author: Marco Teubner. Inspired by Sebastian Fitzek and Jörn Stollmann. Illustration: Jörn Stollmann. Design: Kreativbunker. Product Management: Anneli Ganser. Copy-Editing: Elke Vogel. Production: Brigitte Merkt, Jessica Stöhr. Translation: Birgit Irgang. Pop-ups: Marco Teubner, Brigitte Merkt. Music: Peripherique.