Thames & Kosmos - "Exit The Game: The Return to the Abandoned Cabin"

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos

Company: Thames & Kosmos

Game: Exit The Game: The Return to the Abandoned Cabin

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Date Played: November 5, 2022

Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10

Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 12+)

Time: Approximately 1-2 Hrs.

Price: $17.95

Dr. Funbeq, the madman who previously toyed with you in The Abandoned Cabin, has escaped from prison! The police need your help trying to find him…they think they have identified that infamous cabin in the woods, but they need your help to confirm its identity. As it turns out, they were right! But can you help find any clues in what Funbeq left behind to facilitate his capture or might he find you first…?

While this is a “sequel” to the original Exit: The Abandoned Cabin game, you don’t need to have played the first one! We have not; though now we’re curious!

Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos

If you have played Exit games before, this one has a somewhat similar look but with a twist. It features the usual high quality paper materials: an instruction booklet, a cipher wheel (as part of the answer-checking system), 3 types of cards (riddle, answer, and hint/solution), a sealed box, and various other pieces. However, unlike other Exit games we’ve played, you actually “build” the cabin (including some of the furniture) with items from the box, which introduced a really fun and more immersive element with cool table presence.

Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

"The Return to the Abandoned Cabin" plays very similarly to other typical Exit games in certain ways. The instruction booklet gives a nice overview of the backstory and how to play, including an introduction to the Exit solution system using their cipher wheel. It’s a fairly clever but simple system, whereby each puzzle is associated with a symbol and solves to a three-digit code. When you enter the code under the appropriate symbol, the disc will direct you to an Answer card. This one sends you to another card, depending on which puzzle you are solving. That second card will either tell you that you are wrong, or (if your code was correct) it will give you a short story blurb and tell you that you have found specific items or otherwise direct you to the next puzzle. If at any point you get stuck, there are two hints and the solution available for each puzzle through the Help cards. In a nice touch, you only take a hint penalty for Help cards that actually help you. If you don’t gain any information from a hint card, you don’t have to count it! The penalty only impacts the number of stars you receive at the end of the game, which is a function of completion time and hints used.

Unlike other Exits that we have played, this one does not have a game booklet. Instead, you rely heavily on the diorama-like scene that you have created, along with a few “envelopes,” “newspaper clipping,” and the usual mysterious objects. You will inspect various parts of the scene throughout the game and even open some of them, like the cabinet. We really enjoyed feeling a bit more like detectives investigating a real scene! There is an optional Kosmos Helper app you can use for a game tutorial, music, and timer if you like; it provided an appropriately spooky soundtrack for the perfect ambiance!

As with all Exit games, Return to the Abandoned Cabin has components that are meant to be permanently altered during gameplay. This is a much-discussed topic among puzzlers! We tend to be the type who prefer games that are replayable and found that it was possible to play in such a way that we could pass the game along. However, those who wish to play the game as designed (and the most straight-forward way) should expect this to be a one-time-use experience.

Exit rates this game as a 3/5 on the Novice to Expert scale, and that seemed about right to us. It took us a little over an hour (and we took two hints). As with most Exits, you will find a variety of puzzle types throughout the game. Though, in this case, there were a few puzzles that we found a bit ambiguous or unsatisfying. Nonetheless, there were still puzzles that we thoroughly enjoyed!

We loved the new twist on a classic Exit game, with the addition of building an entire scene you could then explore throughout the experience! It’s also fun that it carries on the story from a previous game, though it is standalone. From a puzzle perspective, it wasn’t one of our favorites in the series, but we still had an enjoyable time playing. (The Catacombs of Horror has been our top of the classic series thus far…you can see our review here.) It was also our first time playing with the app, which added some flavorful ambience. Together with the scene you have recreated, it definitely heightens the immersion. If you’re a fan of the original “The Abandoned Cabin” and curious about the next chapter of the story, or are looking for a fresh approach to a typical Exit game, this might be for you. And we are definitely excited to see what more innovations Exit has in store - from their advent calendars to jigsaw games to novel variations on the classic Exits - they have been doing an incredible job of mixing things up and finding new ways to surprise, delight, and confound us!

Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of the game:

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Thames & Kosmos for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

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