How to Play

Escape Plan

1-5 players 60-120 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

Post-heist thieves race to escape a police-locked city while recovering hidden money. Players move across modular boards, playing cards to help themselves and hinder rivals. They can hire gangs, bribe police, and betray former partners. Cops pursue relentlessly, forcing quick decisions. Victory goes to whoever escapes with the most cash before complete lockdown.

Published 2019

Escape Plan

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Place the game board
Position the board with the side face-up corresponding to the number of players
2
Set up start tiles
Randomly place the Start City tiles face-up on the 'S' spaces
3
Prepare city tile stacks
Shuffle each letter of City tile into 4 face-down stacks, then flip the top tiles face-up
4
Fill the police bag
Place all Police Officers into the bag
5
Distribute initial police
Draw 2 Police Officers to place on top of each City tile stack and the 'D' Convenience Store on the Board
6
Remove duplicate police
If any City tile now has 2 Police Officers of the same colour, return 1 to the bag
7
Place supply tokens
Place Gas Canisters and Gang Members onto their designated spaces
8
Set the time marker
Place the Time marker on the start of the Time track
9
Prepare patrol deck
Place Patrol cards in a face-down pile on their space, discard the top card unseen
10
Arrange location tiles
Place Business and Safe House tiles face-up on their spaces
11
Distribute keys
Place the Keys randomly face-up in the spaces next to the Safe Houses
12
Stack fixer tiles
Place the Fixer tiles in a face-up stack on their space
13
Prepare locker tiles
Separate the Locker tiles by colour, shuffle and place face-down on their spaces
14
Organize equipment
Separate the Equipment tiles by type and place face-down on their spaces
15
Prepare exit tiles
Separate the Exit tiles by colour, shuffle and place face-down next to the Board
16
Create contract display
Shuffle the Contract cards into a face-down pile, draw 7 into a face-up display
17
Take player components
Each player chooses a colour and receives:
18
Determine start player
The 1st player places their Turn marker on the '1' space, each other player places clockwise in numerically ascending order
19
Place Sandra's pawn
Position Sandra's pawn on the Hospital location
20
Set Sandra's notoriety
Place Sandra's Notoriety marker on a start space of the Notoriety track
21
Establish Sandra's turn order
Place Sandra's Turn marker on the '3' space of the Turn order track
22
Prepare Sandra deck
Shuffle the Sandra cards into a face-down pile next to the Game board
23
Sandra's supplies
Place 4 Notoriety cubes and 9 Income cubes next to the Sandra cards

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Play three rounds
The game is played over 3 Rounds, each consisting of 6 Phases
2
Collect income
Gain Income equal to the lowest visible number on your Income track
3
Optional asset unlock
If your position on the Notoriety track is less than 3, you may spend $3 to unlock an Asset tile
4
Reveal patrol cards
Reveal the top 2 cards of the Patrol deck (In Round 3, draw last card) and place on the indicated Patrol space(s)
5
Block exits
If a 2nd card is placed on a Patrol space, that Exit is blocked; place Exit tile stack on it when revealed
6
Place city tiles
Each player in player order places 1 new City tile with Police Officers on it, until all 4 are placed
7
Tile placement rules
Place City tiles adjacent to at least 2 others with at least 1 Land type matching if possible
8
Add location tiles
If the City tile has a Business/Safe House, place an available Business/Safe House tile on the Location
9
Add gang members
If the tile has a Gang, place 2 Gang members on the Location
10
Refresh city display
Flip 4 new City tiles face-up and draw 2 Police Officers to place on top of each City tile stack
11
Remove duplicate police
If any City tile now has 2 Police Officers of the same colour, return 1 to the bag
12
Adjust turn order
Adjust Turn Order to correspond with positions on the Notoriety track; highest position becomes first player
13
Break ties
If players are tied, reverse their relative positions
14
Complete required turns
During each of 3 Required Turns, all players in turn order either REST or MOVE, and perform any number of Executive Actions
15
Complete optional turns
During 2 Optional Turns, players must discard an Extra Action disc to participate
16
Pay escape penalty
If at least 1 other player has escaped, you must pay $1 at the start of each turn otherwise you are ARRESTED
17
Update notoriety
Once participating players finish each turn, move the Turn Order marker to adjust the Notoriety Track
18
Perform once per round
Rest can only be performed once per Round
19
Flip rest token
Flip your Rest token to the Moon side
20
Reset used items
Reset your First Aid token, all used Contract cards and Equipment tiles
21
Unlock asset
Unlock an Asset tile
22
Use movement points
Players have 3 Movement Points (MP); they must move and must end on a Location
23
Spend gas cans
You may spend Gas Can tokens to gain 1 extra MP per token
24
Move to land
-1 MP to move from a Location to a Land space
25
Move to location
-1 MP to move from a Land space to an adjacent Location
26
Cross terrain
-1 MP to move from 1 type of Land to a different type of Land
27
Use subway
0 MP to move between Subway Stations; gain +1 MP when leaving the destination Subway
28
Use heliport
-1 MP to fly from a HELIPORT Location to any Location/Land space up to 2 City tiles away
29
Use helipad
-1 MP and 1 Gang Member to fly from a HELIPAD tile to any Location/Land space up to 2 City tiles away
30
Enter water
Water may only be moved into if at least 1 City tile in that Water area has a Ferry
31
Avoid police
Players need to attempt to avoid every Police Officer on each City tile they left
32
Air/subway/sewer travel
For travel by Air, Subway, or Sewer only avoid the Police Officers on the starting tile
33
Take wounds
For each Police Officer you cannot avoid, gain 1 Wound
34
Handcuff penalty
If you need to gain a 4th Wound, instead heal 1 Wound and use 1 Handcuff card to block the rightmost card space on your Player Board
35
Visit location
After movement, visit the Location
36
Visit restriction
You can only visit each Business once per game
37
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety for each other player (including Sandra) there
38
Place income cube
Take the top-most cube from your Income track and reference your Escape Plan card
39
Gain contact card
Gain 1 Contact card
40
Close business
After 2 visits in a 1-3 player game, or 3 in a 4-5 player game, flip the tile to Close the Business
41
Visit closed business
You can only visit a Closed Business by flipping an unused Key
42
Complete business group
If you visit all 3 Businesses in the same group either: Gain an Extra Action disc OR Unlock an Asset tile and lose 1 Notoriety
43
Visit restriction
You can only visit each Safe House once per game
44
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety for each other player (including Sandra) there
45
Place income cube
Take the top-most cube from your Income track and reference your Escape Plan card
46
Lose notoriety
Lose 1 Notoriety
47
Take key
Take 1 available Key from the area above the Safe House
48
Buy fixer tile
You may buy 1 Fixer tile face-up from the stack; you may make space by discarding 1 tile you own and gaining 1 Notoriety
49
Complete safe house group
If you visit all 3 Safe Houses either: Gain an Extra Action disc OR Unlock an Asset tile and gain Income
50
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety for each other player (including Sandra) there
51
Take gas can
You may take 1 Gas Can token; you can hold a maximum of 2
52
Buy equipment
You may buy up to 2 Equipment tiles face-up; you may make space by discarding 1 tile you own and gaining 1 Notoriety
53
Open locker
You may open 1 Locker using a Key:
54
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety for each other player (including Sandra) there
55
Open exit option
If the Exit is open you may receive Income
56
Closed exit options
If the Exit is closed you may either receive Income or take 1 Exit tile
57
Gain contact card
Gain 1 Contact card
58
Take exit tile
Draw a number of tiles equal to the number of Contact cards you own; gain 1 face-down; return others and shuffle
59
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety for each other player (including Sandra) there
60
Pay to lose notoriety
You may pay $1 to lose 1 Notoriety
61
Unlock asset
You may unlock an Asset tile
62
Gain contact card
Gain 1 Contact card
63
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety for each other player (including Sandra) there
64
Unlock asset
You may unlock an Asset tile
65
Heal wound
You may heal 1 Wound
66
Gain contact card
Gain 1 Contact card
67
Pay to heal
You may pay $1, $3, or $6 to heal 1, 2, or 3 Wounds
68
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety
69
Visit restriction
You can only visit if no other player or Gang Control marker is on the Location
70
Pay fee
Pay $5
71
Gain gang members
Gain both Gang Members from the tile
72
Place control marker
Place 1 of your Gang Control markers on the Location
73
Use contact card
Pay the cost depicted on the card; if star is shown, gain 1 Notoriety; use the benefit; flip it face-down
74
Perform first aid
Flip your First Aid tile to heal 1 Wound
75
Use fixer tile
Flip the tile face-down to gain its benefit
76
Use unlocked asset tile
Pay the value indicated below the tile; gain its benefit; flip the tile face-down
77
Use equipment tile
Flip the tile face-down to gain its benefit
78
Use gang member
Return 1 Gang member to a Location where you have a Gang Control marker; then either: lose 1 Notoriety, fly from a HELIPORT Location up to 2 tiles away, or ignore all Police Officers on a tile of your choice
79
Track notoriety changes
During each turn, track any gain in Notoriety by moving 1 cube into the Red box, and any loss by moving 1 cube into the Blue box
80
Update notoriety track
At the end of each of the 5 turns, each player updates their position on the Notoriety track
81
Cross threshold benefits
Each time you cross a threshold, all players with less Notoriety must move 1 Police Officer towards you
82
Maximum notoriety penalty
If your token is at the top of the track, gain 1 Wound for each additional increase
83
Move any distance
Players may take Police Officers from any City tile and move them to any other tile, regardless of distance
84
Limit per tile
No more than 1 Police Officer of each type can be on the same tile
85
Hospital restriction
No Police Officers can ever be on the Hospital tile
86
Choose from display
When you take a Contact card, choose 1 from the face-up Display; slide all Contract cards to the right to fill gaps; draw another card to refill
87
Place on board
Place the card face-up on the left-most empty Contact card space of your Player Board
88
Replace card option
Gain 1 Notoriety and use the card to replace a Contact card on your Player Board, discarding the old card
89
Discard option
Discard the card
90
Move to asset space
To unlock an Asset tile, move it to the most expensive empty Asset tile space on the left of your Player Board
91
Discard if no space
If you have no empty spaces, discard the tile from the game
92
Shift remaining tiles
Move the remaining tiles to the right on the row the Asset tile was taken from
93
Reset rest tokens
Reset each player's Rest token to the Sun side
94
End game trigger
If this is the end of the 3rd Round, perform END OF GAME scoring
95
Reveal location
Reveal Sandra cards until a Location on the Board is revealed; place Sandra there
96
Ignore exits early
Ignore open Exits on Rounds 1 and 2; Sandra can always visit Closed Businesses
97
Gain notoriety
Gain 1 Notoriety for each other player on the Location
98
Perform location action
Perform the appropriate action based on location type

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Escape timing
On Day 3, you may Escape from the Unblocked Exit
2
Avoid police at exit
You still need to avoid any Police Officers on the Exit tile
3
Pay escape cost
Pay the Escape Cost depending on the number of players that have already Escaped
4
Arrested players score zero
Any player who was ARRESTED has a score of zero
5
Handcuff penalty
Discard 1 Contact card per Handcuff card on your Player Board
6
Calculate final score
Add together:
7
Apply penalties
Potentially lose $ according to your position on the Notoriety track
8
Wound penalty
Lose $20 for each Wound
9
Determine winner
THE PLAYER WITH THE MOST MONEY WINS
10
Break ties
Ties are broken by most $ behind screen, then least Notoriety, then least Wounds

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Apertura y Sinopsis - Escape Plan

Apertura y Sinopsis - Escape Plan

Unboxing

Board Game Advent Countdown | #21 Escape Plan

Board Game Advent Countdown | #21 Escape Plan

Other

MORE VIDEOS

FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

Play Board Games Online

Explore breakout hits and fan favourites with no downloads, setup or paywalls. Just click and play.

Play Now

more GAMES LIKE THIS