Escape: The Curse of the Temple Rules & Review

Can you and your fellow explorers escape before the cursed temple collapses? Play the ultimate adventurers board game to find out!

If Indiana Jones and Lara Croft had a love child, and that child invented a board game, it would look a lot like this one! Escape: The Curse of the Temple was published in 2012 by Queen Games, and while it’s definitely not for everyone, those who like the above-mentioned themes are sure to get some enjoyment out of it.

Designed for 1-5 players ages 8+, this is not a long game. In fact, it will last no more than 10 minutes. It’s not a competition either, but rather an exercise in teamwork, wherein all players much reach the goal in order to survive and win the game. If just one explorer is left trapped in the temple when the timer runs out, it collapses, and it’s GAME OVER for everyone!

Escape: The Curse of the Temple Review

The board game comes packed with a lot of equipment; a stack of temple room cards, five color-coded escape pieces, 25 dice (5 for each player), a stack of game tiles, deck of cards and, of course, instructions.

The game starts with each player receiving 5 dice (see Escape/Temple Dice below). Three temple room cards are placed in the middle of the table, adjacent to each other so as to create doorways between them. The center card must be the gray-tiled safe room. This is where every player starts their journey.

The timer is actually a soundtrack to the game, which plays a huge role in its progression. At different intervals, a countdown will begin. All players must either escape the temple, or return to the safe room, before the timer countdown ends, or they will lose one of their dice.

In this way, the game is played in real time, and every player is constantly playing (as opposed to taking turns).

Escape/Temple Dice

Each player is constantly rolling their dice to move around the temple and discover new rooms. The 5 dice consist of:

Green Explorer: Used to move between rooms and activate gems.

Blue Key: Used to open doors and treasure.

Red Torch: Used to activate gems.

Black Mask: Set aside when rolled (requires Golden Mask to activate).

Golden Mask: Activates up to two cursed masks – your own and/or those of other players in the same room.

Progression and Optional Expansion Mods

As you play, rolling the correct combinations of dice will help you navigate the temple and unlock doors to new rooms, creating a maze of chambers with magical entryways. Players can choose to utilize one or both of the included expansion gateways to really liven things up.

Expansion mods include a Treasure mod that puts additional rooms and treasure chests into play, and a fun-tastic Curses mod in which players can be cursed by certain tiles, forcing them to play the game a bit differently, such as playing without talking, or holding a hand on their head for the rest of the game. I highly suggest enforcing the Curses mod!

Winning the Game

The object is to escape the temple before the timer runs out (10 minutes). Every player has to get out. If just one is left behind when the temple comes crashing down, everyone loses! Fortunately, players can work together to make sure everyone gets out unscathed.

When 2 or more travel together through the rooms, they can combine their dice for a better chance of rolling whatever is necessary to advance. And when one player gets out, they can give one of their dice to any other player to help them progress faster.

If you like Escape: The Curse of the Temple, check out these other Escape Room board games.