Game Rules for Escape the Dark Castle

Hey there! I want to tell you all about the exciting game called Escape the Dark Castle. It’s an incredible adventure where you and your friends must work together to escape from a spooky and mysterious castle.

So, what’s the deal? Well, every player takes on the role of a prisoner trapped in the castle’s gloomy dungeons. You have to use your wits, solve puzzles, and make smart choices to break free.

The Basics

Before we dive into the details, let me give you a quick rundown of how the game works:

• Playing Cards: The game uses a deck of story cards that drive the narrative. Each card presents a different challenge or event that you must overcome.
• Taking Turns: To progress through the game, players take turns revealing cards and making decisions. You’ll encounter evil creatures, deadly traps, and all sorts of spooky surprises.
• Working Together: Cooperation is key! You and your fellow prisoners must collaborate to defeat the castle’s horrors. Each player has their own set of skills and abilities that can help the group.
• Survival: Your ultimate goal is to survive and escape the castle. But be careful, because danger lurks around every corner. Uncover helpful items and stay one step ahead of the castle’s dark forces.

Getting Started

Now that you have a general idea of how the game plays, let’s talk about how to set it up:

• Character Selection: At the beginning of the game, each player chooses a character. Each character has their own unique abilities, so pick the one that suits your play style.
• Create the Castle Deck: The castle deck is the heart of the game. It’s made up of a series of carefully crafted story cards that create the castle’s atmosphere. Shuffle the deck and you’re ready to go.
• Start Your Journey: With the cast deck ready, it’s time to start your daring escape. You’ll progress through the castle by revealing one card at a time and deciding what to do.

Experience the Adventure

Escape the Dark Castle is all about immersing yourself in an immersive and spooky adventure. The game presents you with thrilling challenges and creepy encounters that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Get ready to test your decision-making skills, work as a team, and outsmart the castle’s sinister traps. Can you make it out alive?

So, gather your friends, grab your courage, and let the adventure begin. Escape the Dark Castle awaits!

Hey there, Prisoner! Welcome to Escape the Dark Castle – a super cool game for 1-4 players. Get ready for a thrilling adventure filled with atmosphere, teamwork, and lots of fun! It’s a great choice, especially if you’re new to tabletop gaming.

This game is quick to set up, taking just 2 minutes. Each game lasts around 30 minutes, and the best part is that no two games are ever the same because the castle is randomly generated every time you play. Talk about excitement!

Now, let me tell you about the rules. They’re nice and simple, so you’ll be up and playing in no time. In fact, you can learn as you play, making it even easier to dive right into the action.

But wait, there’s something you should know. Even though Escape the Dark Castle is a simple game, don’t be fooled – it’s incredibly challenging. There will be times when you’re defeated. But don’t worry, my friend. Just dust yourself off and try again. You see, what makes this game so special is that it’s always a blast exploring the castle, no matter the outcome. I promise you’ll have a blast!

What You’ll Get

• The game includes 45 Chapter Cards.
• You also get 6 Character Cards to choose from.
• There are 9 Chapter Dice included.
• Starting the game requires the Start Card.
• 3 Boss Cards are part of the game.
• 6 Character Dice are also included.
• Don’t forget about the Scorepad – it’s important.
• For writing things down, you’ll find 4 Pencils.
• Lastly, the game includes 35 Item Cards.

What’s the Goal?

You find yourself trapped in The Dark Castle, unjustly imprisoned and desperate for freedom. Alongside your fellow captives, you embark on an arduous journey to escape this wretched place.

This castle is no ordinary fortress; it is fraught with perils, traps, and challenges. These dangers manifest as intricately illustrated chapter cards, each representing a different trial that you must face.

Your objective is to overcome every card in the castle deck while ensuring the survival of your entire group. By accomplishing this, you will successfully Escape the Dark Castle and emerge victorious.

But beware, for in this treacherous game, the demise of any member of your group will bring the adventure to an abrupt end. In such a case, you must summon the courage to try again!

Setting up for the Escape

1. Constructing the Castle

To begin your escape attempt, shuffle the chapter cards and deal out a set of 15, placing them face-down to create the castle deck. Take the boss cards, shuffle them as well, and then conceal one beneath the castle deck, keeping it face-down.

Hey there! Let’s get started on setting up the game, shall we?

First things first, grab the Start Card and place it on top of the castle deck. Make sure you have the image of the castle facing up. Easy enough, right?

Now, take the item card deck and give it a good shuffle. Once you’re done, place it face down on the right side of the castle deck. We want everything to be fair and unpredictable!

Almost there! Now, take the chapter dice and create a little pool of dice right above the castle deck. That’s where we’ll be drawing from.

And there you have it! The setup is complete and we’re ready to dive into the game. Have fun!

Step 2: Pick Your Characters

Okay, let’s get into the nitty-gritty and choose our characters! Lay out the character cards and the dice that match each character. Take a look at the etchings on each character’s cell wall – they show how strong they are in various traits.

Ever wondered why certain symbols on character dice appear more frequently than others? Well, I have too.

You see, each symbol represents a specific trait or ability of the character it belongs to. And these traits or abilities are not created equal. Some are more significant or useful than others, which is why they appear more frequently on the dice.

Let me break it down for you. The number displayed next to each symbol on the dice tells us how many times that symbol can be found on that specific character’s dice.

For example, if a character has a symbol with a “3” next to it, it means that symbol appears three times on that character’s dice. On the other hand, if a different symbol has a “1” next to it, it means that symbol only appears once. Simple, right?

So, next time you’re playing with character dice, take a closer look at those symbols. They hold the key to a character’s unique traits and abilities.

Note: Did you know that two sides of each character’s dice are doubles? These doubles are special because they look a little different. Keep that in mind as we dive into the game!

Alright, let’s get started! The first thing you need to do is choose which character you want to play. Place that character card face-up in front of you and grab the corresponding character dice. Remember, choosing a balanced team will give you the best shot at success!

Step 3: Set Your Health Points

Now we need to keep track of our character’s health points (HP). You can use the pads and pencils provided for this. The starting HP for each character depends on how many players are in the game:

• 1 or 2 players: 18 HP each
• 3 players: 14 HP each
• 4 players: 12 HP each

Remember, your character’s HP will go up and down throughout the game, but it can never exceed the starting HP.

Let the Game Begin!

So here’s how the game works. We take turns flipping over the chapter cards, one by one, and doing the challenges they have on them.

But here’s the thing: there’s no specific order for taking turns. We all have to agree on who goes next. Just keep in mind that some challenges will only affect the person who flipped the card. You’ll know because it’ll say “you” in bold.

Taking Turns with Chapter Cards

When you flip a chapter card, put it face-up to the left of the castle deck. It’s like turning the page of a book, you know?

Then read the fancy-looking italic text out loud to the group. That sets up the story for that chapter. After that, just follow the instructions to finish it.

Tip: Make sure you read that fancy italic text. It’s what makes this game so cool and exciting!

Finishing Chapters & Winning the Game

Hey there! Let me break it down for you. The instructions on each chapter card will tell you what you need to do to finish the chapter. Sometimes you’ll have to make choices, roll dice, use items, or fight an enemy. It’s all part of the game!

Once you finish a chapter, keep going! Flip more chapter cards until you defeat the Boss and win or until one of your characters dies and you lose. So, try your best and good luck, prisoners!

Item Cards

Drawing Items

Whenever the instructions tell you to draw some item cards, grab them and put them face-up where everyone can see. Then, as a group, decide how you want to divide the items.

Carrying Items

Remember, each character can only carry two items, sort of like having one in each hand. Place the items your character is carrying next to their character card.

Some things in this game are called ‘two-handed’, which means you can’t hold anything else while you have them.

Trading Things

You can trade things between characters, but only after we finish a section or when we draw new thing cards. We can’t trade things during a section or while we’re fighting.

When we trade thing cards or choose which cards to take from the ones we just drew, we can put down things we already have, use things, give things to each other, or do any combination of those things.

If we don’t want something, we leave it behind and put it face-up in a pile next to the deck of things.

Using Things

Hey there! I want to talk to you about using items in the game. It’s really cool because you can use them anytime you want, unless the item card says otherwise. Each item card tells you what the item does. Some items have to be thrown away after you use them, but if it doesn’t say that, you can keep it as long as you want.

Here’s a tip for you: when you have to roll a specific number in one try, you can use an item to help you. For example, you can use a Liquid Luck potion to roll the dice again, and it will still count as one try.

Now, let’s talk about combat

When the game tells you to start fighting, here are the steps you need to follow:

Before the Battle

When getting ready to face the enemy, I start by placing some dice below my chapter card. The symbols on these dice need to match the ones shown on the bottom of my chapter card. These dice will determine what it will take for me to defeat the enemy.

When you come across this symbol, it’s time to roll a chapter dice for each player in the game and place those dice underneath the chapter card, along with any others shown. Let’s say you have 4 players – in that case, when you see this symbol, you should roll 4 additional chapter dice.

Now it’s time to get into combat.

Engaging in Combat

Combat is broken down into rounds, with each round consisting of two simple steps: Attack and Defend.

Attack

When we start a round of combat, all of us roll our dice at the same time to make an attack. If you’re resting, you don’t roll. Then, we can resolve the attacks in any order we want, one by one. Here’s how it works: If what you’ve rolled on your character dice matches any of the chapter dice under the chapter card, you’ve hit and can take away the corresponding chapter dice, putting it back in the pool above the castle deck. If you roll doubles, that’s considered two hits for the trait you rolled, so you can remove two dice. Doubles also have a shield symbol around them. This means that, on top of any hits you’ve scored, you’ve also blocked (more on that below).

Tip: When you’re dealing with attacks, it’s really important to look at the stuff each character has. Switching up the order in which players defend or use their stuff can lead to some really cool combos.

Guard

If there are any remaining chapter dice after everyone has finished attacking, that means the enemy is still alive and it’s going to retaliate! If you didn’t roll a block, you’ll take damage equal to the enemy’s attack value. Subtract that from your health points and keep track of your new total. But if you rolled a double, you’ve successfully blocked and won’t take any damage this round.

And that’s the end of a combat round.

The next round begins with everyone simultaneously rolling their dice to launch another attack. Keep fighting in rounds until either the enemy is defeated or one of the players is killed.

Defeating an Enemy

If you successfully finish a round of player attacks and there are no chapter dice left, that means the enemy has been completely defeated and won’t get a chance to strike back.

After Combat

After defeating an enemy, you get to draw a card that contains an item. It’s a nice little reward for your victory!

Now it’s time to move on to the next chapter card. You get to choose which player turns it and keep the game going.

Combat Specials

Watch out for enemies with special combat abilities. These abilities are explained on the enemy card. They can totally change the rules of combat, making the fight even more challenging. So, be prepared!

Resting

Before each round of combat begins, one player has the option to rest. It’s like taking a breather and regaining some strength.

When you choose to rest, you don’t participate in the attack, take any damage, or use items. Instead, you gain 1 health point (hp) for each round of rest.

You can jump back into the fight whenever you’re ready, or you can choose to keep resting for the entire combat if you want to.

Tip: Hey, did you know that although only one player can rest each round, it’s totally possible for multiple players to take turns resting in different rounds of the same combat? Pretty cool, huh?

Solo Play

In Escape the Dark Castle, you can play by yourself or with up to four people. So, if it’s just you, don’t worry! You can still have a great time.

When playing solo, all you have to do is choose two characters. Go ahead and start the game like you normally would. The best part? You get to make every decision and roll all the dice on your own. Cool, right?

Now, there are just a couple of things to remember:

1. Before flipping each chapter card, you need to decide which of your two characters is in charge. Why? Because any cool stuff mentioned in that chapter only applies to that character. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
2. Whenever the game tells you to do something “per player,” just remember that, in a solo game, it actually means “per character.” So, if you’re supposed to draw cards, roll dice, or do anything else “per player,” just consider it as “per character.” Easy-peasy!