Dig Your Way Out is a game created by David Simide in which you play the role of an inmates trying to escape from prison. Be the first prisoner to dig your hole. Craft tools with salvaged materials, buy them with cigarettes, or extort them from other players, the end justifies the means!
The main goal is to reach the required tunnel points (which can change according to the number of player) representing the progress of your tunnel.
On his turn, a player has 2 actions, which he can choose to spend in:
- Searching: he draws the number of Search cards indicated on the place he's in
- Moving: he rolls the die to determine where he can go
- Joining a gang if he has the matching accessories, and get their passive buff
- Crafting if he has the corresponding cards
- Playing an action card
- Extorting another inmate (extortion is divided into 2 stages:
- Intimidation in which the attacking player names the tools he wants to extort (a shovel, a pick or a spoon). The targeted player may then cooperate and give it right away, avoiding combat. Or defend himself, launching combat.
- Combat: Taking turns, the two players play before them Weapon cards form their hand, beginning by the defender. Once a player can’t or won’t play a Weapon card, they loose the combat.
If the defender looses, they have to give to the attacker the Tool they ask for. If the defender doesn’t have this card in hand or if the loser is the attacker, the winner picks one card, randomly chosen, from the loser’s hand. The loser takes 1 Beating.
Some actions can only be performed in certain locations:
- cell block: dig, place one and only one Tool card (Spoon, Pick or Shovel from your hand on your Prisoner board. You immediately score the number of Tunnel points indicated on the card.
- recreation area: Buy and sell, the local currency is cigarettes.
- infirmary: Heal, remove 1 beating.(a player with 1 beating can't perform the craft action, a player with 2 beating can't perform neither the craft nor the dig action.)
- cafeteria: steal a spoon.
Dig your way out requires to permanently be aware of what other players have in their hand. Thus you can know who to extort and who is a threat for you.
Although picking up tools or weapon is visible to everyone, there are plenty of ways to prevent other inmates from being too pushy: action cards, gang passives and above all your background card.
Background cards are powerful one-shot abilities, which can change the game when used at the right time. And this is even more true when you belong to the relevant gang.