EXIT: The Game – The Catacombs of Horror
2018
Search the Paris catacombs for a missing friend in a two-part escape adventure for 1–4 players.
240
minutes
1 - 4
player(s)
16+
Medium
About this board game
EXIT: The Game – The Catacombs of Horror is a two-part escape adventure for 1–4 players, with an approximately 240-minute play time. Set beneath Paris, it sends players into a gloomy underground labyrinth filled with secrets and dark mysteries.
A friend has mysteriously disappeared in the catacombs, and the search leads into a cavernous world where light is swallowed by the depths. Players must try to find their friend in time and escape the underground vaults.
Like other games in the EXIT: The Game series, this title includes components designed to be folded, written upon, or torn. These physical interactions are part of the experience, so the game is marketed as a single-use adventure.
- Explore the gloomy catacombs beneath the city of lights.
- Search for a mysteriously missing friend.
- Face two separate challenges across two parts.
- Uncover secrets in an underground labyrinth of dark mysteries.
What distinguishes EXIT: The Game – The Catacombs of Horror from other entries in the series is its structure. The game consists of two parts, and each part presents its own challenge, creating an extended journey through the catacombs.
Released in 2018, this atmospheric escape game is designed for a small group or a solo player seeking a substantial puzzle experience. Prepare to descend into the darkness, search for answers, and discover whether you can escape the cavernous world beneath Paris.
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Board Game Rules for
EXIT: The Game – The Catacombs of Horror
EXIT: Das Spiel – The Catacombs of Horror
For 1–4 players age 16 and up
What’s the game about?
Completely out of the blue, a letter arrives from Ben, your good friend and renowned archaeologist.
He reports on his latest adventure, but fears that it’s starting to get out of hand. If you don’t hear from him in the next few days, he wants you to look for him. The location is not exactly reassuring: the Catacombs of Paris, where the remains of more than six million people lie buried …
Still hoping to hear from Ben, you wait for days without any word. Eventually, there’s no way around it. You have to look for your friend and help him escape from his unfortunate situation. You dig out his letter again. The envelope contains the lines written to you, a Polaroid photo, and an odd disk. You wonder why he chose to send you this information so cryptically.
Only if you can work together to figure out these mysteries and solve all the riddles will you be able to save Ben.
Otherwise, he is not the only one who will remain lost forever in the Catacombs of Horror …
Unlike all the previous EXIT games, this adventure consists of two parts. The entire game has more riddles and takes longer. In the middle of the game, you will have an opportunity to take a break and continue playing later or on another day. Of course, you can also play both parts in one sitting, if you like.
Game Materials
- 118 Cards:
- 42 Help Cards
- 28 Riddle Cards
- 48 Answer Cards
- 1 Locked Box
- 1 Strange Item “ritual candle”
- 2 Strange Item “cult object”
- 1 Support Stand
- 1 Strange Item “bone staff”
- 1 Decoder Disk
- 1 Letter
- 1 Strange Item “Ring”
- 1 Strange Item “Column”
- 1 Sealed Poster
- 1 Picture Frame
- 1 Polaroid
- 3 Strange Item “Skull”
Additional Materials Needed
In addition, you will need writing implements (ideally ball point pens, pencils, and an eraser), one or more sheets of paper, a pair of scissors, a lighter or matches, and 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.
Additional playing materials
- A pencil and paper for taking notes.
- A watch/stopwatch.
- A pair of scissors.
- A lighter or matches.
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!
Game Set-up
- Get the book, the Polaroid, the decoder disk, and the cards ready on the table. Leave everything else in the box for now.
- Sort the cards into three piles in accordance with what is written on their back sides:
- Riddle Cards
- Answer Cards
- Help Cards
Be sure not to look at the front sides of any of the cards yet.
- Check to be sure that the Riddle Cards and Answer Cards are arranged in ascending order by their letters or numbers.
- Sort the Help Cards according to their symbols. Then place them at the edge of the table. Place cards with the same symbol on top of one another with the “1st CLUE” card on top of the “2nd CLUE” card, with the latter on top of the “ANSWER” card.
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 rooms look like. At the beginning of the game, you will only have the letter, the Polaroid, 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 pile and look at them.
You may likewise only use the “strange items” and “locked or sealed things” when explicitly told that you have found them. Until then, leave them in the box!
The game begins
NOTE: Unlike in the previous EXIT games, DO NOT YET start the STOP WATCH! Just start playing the game.
What are you waiting for? You have to save Ben before it’s too late!
Now you are allowed to open the letter and look at the Polaroid and start solving riddles. If anything is unclear, don’t be shy about looking something up in the rulebook during the game.
Course of Play
Your goal is to work together to free Ben from the Catacombs in as little time as possible.
That would definitely be easier if every lock were not guarded by a riddle. As soon as the game starts, you may take a look at the letter and the Polaroid.
As the game continues, you will keep finding objects that are locked with the three-digit code. To open them, you will have to figure out the matching code and enter it on the decoder disk. On the outer edge of the disk, there are 5 different symbols pictured. Each symbol stands for a code to be solved.
But which symbol belongs to which code? You will have to figure that out for yourselves. So it’s advisable to pay attention to every detail. Do you think you can crack a code? If so, enter the code under the corresponding symbol on the decoder disk. A number will then appear in the viewing window in the smallest wheel on the disk.
This will indicate the number of the Answer Card that you are then allowed to look at. If the code was wrong, you will have to keep looking for the answer or try a different riddle for now.
If the code was right, the Answer Card will tell you how to continue.
symbol, you have come up with 3 4 9 as the code. You enter this combination under the symbol on the decoder disk. In the little window, you will see the number of the Answer Card that you are then allowed to pull out of the stack and look at — in this case, 1.Checking the Answer Card
➜ Is the code incorrect?
If so, the Answer Card will tell you. In that case, simply return the card to the pile and take another look at the riddle that you failed to solve. Maybe there’s something that you overlooked. Or it may be that you simply don’t yet have the hints that you need to solve it. Then you will just have to continue someplace else.
➜ Is the code possibly correct?
If so, the Answer Card will look something like the following:
➜ Where can you see the code symbol?
Good question! To answer it, you will have to take a close look at the pictures on the Polaroid, the Riddle Cards, etc., where you will find all sorts of locked objects. All of these objects are marked with a symbol. In our example, we have a safe deposit box with the symbol on it. So look at the Answer Card next to the lock box and you will see that you are now supposed to take Answer Card 25 from the pile.
Note: You must see the object with the symbol on the Polaroid, on a Riddle Card, or someplace else to be able to open it. You cannot open what you have not yet found — just like in a real escape room.
➜ Is the code really correct?
If so, the 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 pile and look at right away.
➜ Is the code really incorrect?
Well, in that case you must have made a mistake, and you will just have to think again and come up with a different code.
- Whether wrong or right — return all Answer Cards to the Answer Card pile.
- All codes can be solved logically. You shouldn’t just try all possible combinations on the disk.
Need some help?
Of course, 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 symbol on their back sides.
- In addition to giving you an initial useful clue, each “1st CLUE” Help Card also tells you what you will need in order to be able to solve the corresponding riddle.
- The “2nd CLUE” Help Cards will give you somewhat more concrete assistance in finding a solution to the corresponding riddle.
- The “ANSWER” Help Cards will tell you the approach to take in solving the riddle and what the correct code is.
So have a little patience — some of the riddles can only be solved with the help of several Riddle Cards. You won’t always have all of them available to you right away. Sometimes, you will first have to grapple with other riddles to get more cards. But don’t be shy about using Help Cards if you get stuck. Once you have used them, place them on a discard pile.
When does the game end?
The game ends when you have solved the last riddle and (hopefully) rescued Ben. A card will tell you that.
You can look at the table on the next page to see how well you did.
When calculating the number of Help Cards used, of course, only the ones that gave you new hints or solutions should count. If a Help Card only had something that you already knew anyway, do not include it in the calculation.
Assessment Table
| Time | No Help Cards | 1–4 Help Cards | 5–8 Help Cards | 9–15 Help Cards | > 15 Help Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 120 Min. | 10 stars | 8 stars | 7 stars | 6 stars | 5 stars |
| < 140 Min. | 9 stars | 7 stars | 6 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars |
| < 180 Min. | 8 stars | 6 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars |
| < 200 Min. | 7 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars |
| > 200 Min. | 6 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars | 1 stars |
Certificate
The following players: ____________________, ____________________, ____________________, ____________________, ____________________, ____________________ on ____________ in ____________ successfully escaped from the Catacombs of Horror.
- Did they perform the final ritual correctly? [ ] Yes (+2 stars) / [ ] No
- To do it, it took them ______ minutes and ______ seconds.
- They used a total of ______ Help Cards.
- This earned them ______ stars in the assessment!
- The coolest riddle was: ________________________________________
- The trickiest riddle was: ________________________________________
- The player who solved this riddle was: ________________________________________
Information about the game
This game can only be played a single time. In order to solve the riddles, you will need to write on, fold, and cut the playing materials. This allows the most diverse array of riddles to be included in the game.
We at Kosmos take great pride in producing our EXIT games in Germany. All the paper and cardboard components are recyclable!
This game is recyclable. Separate the plastic from the paper/cardboard. Or, if you completed the game without damaging any of the materials, you can give it to someone who has not already solved it.
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.
Ralph Querfurth is a game editor. Along with Sandra Dochtermann, he had the idea for the EXIT games and asked Inka and Markus in 2015 whether they would like to develop games like that. The two of them showed no hesitation.
Inka & Markus Brand, Ralph Querfurth, and Kosmos thank all the test players and rule reviewers.
Credits
- EXIT concept: Kosmos (Ralph Querfurth, Sandra Dochtermann)
- Illustrations: Martin Hoffmann
- Cover illustration: Silvia Christoph
- Title graphics: Michaela Kienle
- Graphic design: Sensit Communication GmbH
- Editing: Ralph Querfurth
- Translation: David Gamon
- English edition editing: Ed Gartin, Ted McGuire
Introduction & Overview
EXIT: Das Spiel – The Catacombs of Horror
For 1–4 players age 16 and up
What’s the game about?
Completely out of the blue, a letter arrives from Ben, your good friend and renowned archaeologist.
He reports on his latest adventure, but fears that it’s starting to get out of hand. If you don’t hear from him in the next few days, he wants you to look for him. The location is not exactly reassuring: the Catacombs of Paris, where the remains of more than six million people lie buried …
Still hoping to hear from Ben, you wait for days without any word. Eventually, there’s no way around it. You have to look for your friend and help him escape from his unfortunate situation. You dig out his letter again. The envelope contains the lines written to you, a Polaroid photo, and an odd disk. You wonder why he chose to send you this information so cryptically.
Only if you can work together to figure out these mysteries and solve all the riddles will you be able to save Ben.
Otherwise, he is not the only one who will remain lost forever in the Catacombs of Horror …
Unlike all the previous EXIT games, this adventure consists of two parts. The entire game has more riddles and takes longer. In the middle of the game, you will have an opportunity to take a break and continue playing later or on another day. Of course, you can also play both parts in one sitting, if you like.
Components & Required Materials
Game Materials
- 118 Cards:
- 42 Help Cards
- 28 Riddle Cards
- 48 Answer Cards
- 1 Locked Box
- 1 Strange Item “ritual candle”
- 2 Strange Item “cult object”
- 1 Support Stand
- 1 Strange Item “bone staff”
- 1 Decoder Disk
- 1 Letter
- 1 Strange Item “Ring”
- 1 Strange Item “Column”
- 1 Sealed Poster
- 1 Picture Frame
- 1 Polaroid
- 3 Strange Item “Skull”
Additional Materials Needed
In addition, you will need writing implements (ideally ball point pens, pencils, and an eraser), one or more sheets of paper, a pair of scissors, a lighter or matches, and 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.
Additional playing materials
- A pencil and paper for taking notes.
- A watch/stopwatch.
- A pair of scissors.
- A lighter or matches.
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!
Setup
Game Set-up
- Get the book, the Polaroid, the decoder disk, and the cards ready on the table. Leave everything else in the box for now.
- Sort the cards into three piles in accordance with what is written on their back sides:
- Riddle Cards
- Answer Cards
- Help Cards
Be sure not to look at the front sides of any of the cards yet.
- Check to be sure that the Riddle Cards and Answer Cards are arranged in ascending order by their letters or numbers.
- Sort the Help Cards according to their symbols. Then place them at the edge of the table. Place cards with the same symbol on top of one another with the “1st CLUE” card on top of the “2nd CLUE” card, with the latter on top of the “ANSWER” card.
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 rooms look like. At the beginning of the game, you will only have the letter, the Polaroid, 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 pile and look at them.
You may likewise only use the “strange items” and “locked or sealed things” when explicitly told that you have found them. Until then, leave them in the box!
The game begins
NOTE: Unlike in the previous EXIT games, DO NOT YET start the STOP WATCH! Just start playing the game.
What are you waiting for? You have to save Ben before it’s too late!
Now you are allowed to open the letter and look at the Polaroid and start solving riddles. If anything is unclear, don’t be shy about looking something up in the rulebook during the game.
Course of Play
Course of Play
Your goal is to work together to free Ben from the Catacombs in as little time as possible.
That would definitely be easier if every lock were not guarded by a riddle. As soon as the game starts, you may take a look at the letter and the Polaroid.
As the game continues, you will keep finding objects that are locked with the three-digit code. To open them, you will have to figure out the matching code and enter it on the decoder disk. On the outer edge of the disk, there are 5 different symbols pictured. Each symbol stands for a code to be solved.
But which symbol belongs to which code? You will have to figure that out for yourselves. So it’s advisable to pay attention to every detail. Do you think you can crack a code? If so, enter the code under the corresponding symbol on the decoder disk. A number will then appear in the viewing window in the smallest wheel on the disk.
This will indicate the number of the Answer Card that you are then allowed to look at. If the code was wrong, you will have to keep looking for the answer or try a different riddle for now.
If the code was right, the Answer Card will tell you how to continue.
symbol, you have come up with 3 4 9 as the code. You enter this combination under the symbol on the decoder disk. In the little window, you will see the number of the Answer Card that you are then allowed to pull out of the stack and look at — in this case, 1.Checking the Answer Card
➜ Is the code incorrect?
If so, the Answer Card will tell you. In that case, simply return the card to the pile and take another look at the riddle that you failed to solve. Maybe there’s something that you overlooked. Or it may be that you simply don’t yet have the hints that you need to solve it. Then you will just have to continue someplace else.
➜ Is the code possibly correct?
If so, the Answer Card will look something like the following:
➜ Where can you see the code symbol?
Good question! To answer it, you will have to take a close look at the pictures on the Polaroid, the Riddle Cards, etc., where you will find all sorts of locked objects. All of these objects are marked with a symbol. In our example, we have a safe deposit box with the symbol on it. So look at the Answer Card next to the lock box and you will see that you are now supposed to take Answer Card 25 from the pile.
Note: You must see the object with the symbol on the Polaroid, on a Riddle Card, or someplace else to be able to open it. You cannot open what you have not yet found — just like in a real escape room.
➜ Is the code really correct?
If so, the 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 pile and look at right away.
➜ Is the code really incorrect?
Well, in that case you must have made a mistake, and you will just have to think again and come up with a different code.
- Whether wrong or right — return all Answer Cards to the Answer Card pile.
- All codes can be solved logically. You shouldn’t just try all possible combinations on the disk.
Hints & Help Cards
Need some help?
Of course, 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 symbol on their back sides.
- In addition to giving you an initial useful clue, each “1st CLUE” Help Card also tells you what you will need in order to be able to solve the corresponding riddle.
- The “2nd CLUE” Help Cards will give you somewhat more concrete assistance in finding a solution to the corresponding riddle.
- The “ANSWER” Help Cards will tell you the approach to take in solving the riddle and what the correct code is.
So have a little patience — some of the riddles can only be solved with the help of several Riddle Cards. You won’t always have all of them available to you right away. Sometimes, you will first have to grapple with other riddles to get more cards. But don’t be shy about using Help Cards if you get stuck. Once you have used them, place them on a discard pile.
End of Game & Assessment
When does the game end?
The game ends when you have solved the last riddle and (hopefully) rescued Ben. A card will tell you that.
You can look at the table on the next page to see how well you did.
When calculating the number of Help Cards used, of course, only the ones that gave you new hints or solutions should count. If a Help Card only had something that you already knew anyway, do not include it in the calculation.
Assessment Table
| Time | No Help Cards | 1–4 Help Cards | 5–8 Help Cards | 9–15 Help Cards | > 15 Help Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 120 Min. | 10 stars | 8 stars | 7 stars | 6 stars | 5 stars |
| < 140 Min. | 9 stars | 7 stars | 6 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars |
| < 180 Min. | 8 stars | 6 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars |
| < 200 Min. | 7 stars | 5 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars |
| > 200 Min. | 6 stars | 4 stars | 3 stars | 2 stars | 1 stars |
Certificate & Additional Information
Certificate
The following players: ____________________, ____________________, ____________________, ____________________, ____________________, ____________________ on ____________ in ____________ successfully escaped from the Catacombs of Horror.
- Did they perform the final ritual correctly? [ ] Yes (+2 stars) / [ ] No
- To do it, it took them ______ minutes and ______ seconds.
- They used a total of ______ Help Cards.
- This earned them ______ stars in the assessment!
- The coolest riddle was: ________________________________________
- The trickiest riddle was: ________________________________________
- The player who solved this riddle was: ________________________________________
Information about the game
This game can only be played a single time. In order to solve the riddles, you will need to write on, fold, and cut the playing materials. This allows the most diverse array of riddles to be included in the game.
We at Kosmos take great pride in producing our EXIT games in Germany. All the paper and cardboard components are recyclable!
This game is recyclable. Separate the plastic from the paper/cardboard. Or, if you completed the game without damaging any of the materials, you can give it to someone who has not already solved it.
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.
Ralph Querfurth is a game editor. Along with Sandra Dochtermann, he had the idea for the EXIT games and asked Inka and Markus in 2015 whether they would like to develop games like that. The two of them showed no hesitation.
Inka & Markus Brand, Ralph Querfurth, and Kosmos thank all the test players and rule reviewers.
Credits
- EXIT concept: Kosmos (Ralph Querfurth, Sandra Dochtermann)
- Illustrations: Martin Hoffmann
- Cover illustration: Silvia Christoph
- Title graphics: Michaela Kienle
- Graphic design: Sensit Communication GmbH
- Editing: Ralph Querfurth
- Translation: David Gamon
- English edition editing: Ed Gartin, Ted McGuire
