Exit capacity: why escapes switch off

The nastiest surprise in the escape system: exits have a hard capacity. After roughly four escapees, an exit switches off — and a team that funneled everyone toward one open door discovers it standing in front of a dead one, with residents stacked up and Michael inbound.

The rule

Around four people through, the exit closes for the match. "People" includes the residents you're scored on — which means a single exit cannot carry a good civilian game: four players plus Special Targets plus regular residents is three exits' worth of traffic, minimum. The Escape command greys out for residents when an exit is closed, unreachable, or full — the game is telling you the capacity math if you watch for it.

Planning around it

1. 01

   Open more than one route. The requirement chains differ enough that two cheap routes (a clean hatch + the wagon) often beat one expensive one.

2. 02

   Spend capacity on the right passengers. Gold-dot residents first — they're the scoreboard. Player heroes should be the last through, both for score and because you're the escorts.

3. 03

   Watch the counter in your head. If a hatch has taken three, it has one left. Don't route a group of five at it.

4. 04

   Remember the sedan is capacity on wheels. A repaired car carries a load out in one trip and doesn't have a "switch off" — the driver escapes with it. See driving the sedan.

The Michael angle

Capacity is his friend too: a nearly-spent exit is barely worth defending, and he can re-close a freshly opened one quickly Reported — the reason smart teams open doors when the passengers are staged, not before.