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Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game: Advent Calendar - The Silent Storm Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Christmas, Adventure Date Played: September 24, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 4/10 Size of Team: 1+ Players (Ages 10+) Time: Approximately 10-15 Mins/ per day (for 24 days) Price: $48.52 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Santa’s workshop is a bustling place, and like all the employees there, you typically spend your days busily making toys for all the nice children. But December 1st isn’t like every other day, and while crafting a beautiful wooden rocking horse, an earthquake suddenly rocks your world! The violent storm disrupts everything and engulfs the workshop in a blizzard of snow! The winter storm also triggered the automatic security system. Now everything is on lockdown! As a long-standing employee, you have the dubious distinction of being named Safety Officer so it’s your job to make sure everyone is safe. You have to find Santa Claus and figure out what is going on! With all the doors looked and Santa nowhere in sight, you’re going to need to be clever to figure a way out of this predicament. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The advent calendar comes in a large box (approximately 2"x13"x18") with a lid that opens to reveal the 24 little doors that comprise the game board. The box features illustrations of things found on your workbench, and as you peek behind each door you’ll discover a new room in Santa’s workshop! Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Each day brings a new puzzle to solve. Begin each day by reading the page in the story book for that day. It will explain where you are on your journey and what you’ve discovered. And it will instruct you on exactly when you should open the next door. Behind the door you’ll find clue cards or small items that you’ll need to combine with the clues peppered in the story, the room itself, and sometimes other things you’ve found along the way to solve that day’s puzzle. The provided instructions are clear and straightforward to follow, and you’ll easily fall into a daily ritual as you count down to Christmas. Along the way, you’ll need a few supplies. You’ll want to have pen/pencil, scissors, and a flashlight on hand. The flashlight feature on your phone works great for seeing into the corners of each little room! Some elements are damaged or destroyed during game play. I abandoned my usual approach of preserving the game for reuse and was happy to have that freedom. The game’s narrative begins with an introductory story to read at the start, then each day more of the story line is revealed in the context of the puzzle you solve, and a conclusion to the story is provided at the end. The amount of reading never feels overwhelming, and the story line has a surprising amount of depth and interest. Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles in The Silent Storm are a fun mix of escape-room style puzzles appropriate for age 10 and up. When you do get stuck on a puzzle (some require some out of the box thinking, so it may happen), hints are provided in one of the booklets. Each puzzle has two hints and the solution given. The layout of the hints allows you to fold the page to see a first hint that will tell you what you need to solve the puzzle and give you a push in the right direction. The second hint is more direct. And the solution gives a wonderfully full explanation of the puzzle and answer along with pictures, so you are never left confused. Solving a puzzle will provide directions to the next day’s door (the doors aren’t numbered as you’d find in a standard advent calendar). Once you solve the day’s riddle, you’ll get a three digit code that points you to the next day’s door using a decoder. The game’s designers have cleverly used the three-step directions to find the door to also provide confirmation that you’ve correctly identified the next door, which allows you to feel victorious and confident about proceeding. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 I love advent calendars (Who wouldn’t? You get a treat everyday in December as you count down to Christmas! What’s not to love?!). And when that treat is a delightful little puzzle, I love it even more. "The Silent Storm" is the third Advent Calendar game from Thames & Kosmos (although it’s the first I’ve played). If you’ve played their “The Hunt for The Golden Book” or “The Mystery of the Ice Cave,” the format will be familiar and you can expect the level of polish and quality of experience that you’ll find in any of their EXIT games. I found that the format and game mechanisms were well considered and effective, the puzzles were satisfying, and the story was compelling. The Silent Storm is a lovely way to brighten each day and get you excited for the holiday—assuming you manage to solve the mystery and save Christmas! 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. #JenMcPhilimy #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #AdventCalendar #Chrstimas #Adventure #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game - The Enchanted Forest Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Fantasy Date Played: August 5, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 3/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 Players (Ages 10+) Time: Approximatley 1-2 Hrs. Price: $14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 While walking along a peaceful forest path, you suddenly find yourself transported to a magical otherworld full of talking animals and fairytales come to life. It’s not all that bad here… but you really would like to go home! Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ In addition to the instruction booklet and decoder wheel typical of Exit games, "The Enchanted Forest" features several paper props that need to be cut out or punched out before use, as well as one small plastic piece. Though the props don’t scream fairy tale quite as hard as they probably should, they do fill out each scene of the story with details that help bring them partway to life. Photo above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Everything you need to play the game is included in the box. You will need to cut, fold, tear, and draw on the pieces, so they can only be used once. Each step of the game involves reading some written story for context, after which you will be directed to some of the puzzle elements on the table. Solutions can be checked via a decoder wheel. Input your answer (always a three digit code) to be directed to an answer card. Guess correctly, and you’ll be given instructions to move the story along. Multiple hint cards per puzzle are available if you need them. The game booklet contains instructions for calculating your score based on how long you took and how many hints you used, or you can use the free helper app to calculate your score faster (and add some fantasy ambiance to the experience). Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The format of the game involves LOTS of reading as each part of the story is uncovered. The story mostly involves being directed from one fantasy character to another and helping them with various tasks along the way. We didn’t find the story particularly engaging, so we raced through each story card as fast as we could to get to the important puzzle bits. Since every puzzle needed to produce a three digit combination, the format was a little bit redundant. Many of the puzzles involved studying pictures and props and making minor leaps in logic or completing simple tasks, though a few of them did a great job of incorporating props in unique and sometimes unexpected ways. The final puzzle in particular was very satisfying to solve, and involved lots of outside-the-box thinking. Some props must be destroyed to progress forward. This can be a little scary if you aren’t sure you are doing what the game expects you to do! Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 This was my team’s first at-home escape kit, so we weren’t sure what to expect going in. What we found was certainly a product of the format’s limitations, though the game designers have come up with some fun ways to go beyond mere riddles and visual puzzles. The puzzles that involved the most unique and clever implementations of the props were the most satisfying, and we both felt very accomplished once we solved the last puzzle. That said, the majority of the puzzles aren’t groundbreaking, and they are couched in so much bland story that the act of completing the game often felt too much like a chore and not enough like exploring a fun world filled with puzzles. There was still some satisfaction, but it didn’t have quite the same magic as a brick-and-mortar escape room. While I wouldn’t recommend this box for adult escape room enthusiasts, I do think it’s a great activity for kids. Indeed, many of the puzzles seemed aimed at kids around 10-12 years old, so the box is probably more enjoyable for its target demographic. Considering the game’s low price-point, it would make a great stocking stuffer or birthday party gift! 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. #KevinHelock #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Fantasy #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game - The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Mystery Date Played: October 21, 2023 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 Players (Ages 12+) Time: Approximatley 1-2 Hrs. Price: $15.81 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 The legendary detective Sherlock Holmes has been framed for murder and forced into hiding, leaving his assistant, Dr. John Watson, to find the real culprit and exonerate his dear friend and mentor before all is lost. To this end, Watson has hired you to help. Do you have what it takes to catch the real criminal mastermind? Or will Holmes forever be guilty of murder in the eyes of the public? Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ In addition to the instruction booklet and decoder wheel typical of Exit games,"The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes" features a number of fold-out location scenes that serve as the staging grounds for the mystery. Each scene is pretty well realized, contributing to an overall feeling of a sprawling investigation across the whole of London. Some punch out and cut out props are included as well. All materials are paper, with the exception of a few wooden dowels used in one puzzle. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Everything you need to play the game is included in the box. You will need to cut, fold, tear, and draw on the pieces, so they can only be used once. Each step of the game involves reading some written story for context, after which you will be directed to some of the puzzle elements on the table. Solutions can be checked via a decoder wheel. Input your answer (always a three digit code) to be directed to an answer card. Guess correctly, and you’ll be given instructions to move the story along. Multiple hint cards per puzzle are available if you need them. The game booklet contains instructions for calculating your score based on how long you took and how many hints you used, or you can use the free helper app to calculate your score faster (and add some music and ambiance to the experience). 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The puzzles involved a mixture of followed instructions, careful observation of clues, and a few deductions. You will need to fold and cut some of the clues along the way. Some puzzles are built up over time as more and more pieces are added, which had the effect of confusing us a good deal about which puzzles we had all the information for, and which were only in their first stages. The result felt like a spiraling series of crime scenes and witness testimonies that matched the narrative, but didn’t lead to the smoothest game flow. Small details matter a lot, though it’s not always clear which are important and which are decorations. Which reached for a lot more hints than we would have liked to find these small clues, and the process wasn’t terribly satisfying. Some puzzles had very clever prop implementation, including one that involved making a small diorama of a crime scene and tracing the flight paths of several bullets. However, more often the props didn’t function as intended. One particularly egregious puzzle asked the player to manually build a spinner wheel from paper, then spin it fast enough to produce an optical illusion. Ours didn’t spin at all, and we wound up very frustrated with this and several other puzzles. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 I’m a little skeptical of the idea of boxed escape-style puzzles in the first place, but the medium has surprised me before with some unique, outside-the-box solutions that are fun and satisfying to solve. While “The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes” had a couple of these moments for me, more frequently I was just fumbling with props that were being pushed far beyond what could reasonably be achieved with the pieces provided. My team considered at least two of the puzzles outright broken, while others just weren’t very fun to interact with. In this case, the frustration of dealing with bad puzzles made it hard to enjoy the good ones, and there weren’t enough redeeming qualities for me to consider it worth recommending this kit to others. I’m not ready to swear off all escape kits, and I’ve had better experiences with Thames & Kosmos products before, but this particular kit didn’t do it for me. 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. #KevinHelock #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Mystery #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game - Kids: Jungle of Riddles Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Adventure Date Played: September 9, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 Players (Kids) (Ages 6-8) Time: Unlimited Price: $19.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 What a lucky day you've been having! First, you discovered this unknown island and now you have stumbled across some treasure chests. As you approach them, a toucan along with other jungle animals stop you, saying that the only way to open these chests is if you can solve these riddles. Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the. box, the game was colorfully designed in the traditional "Exit The Game" style with cards divided into 6 different types as well as different punch out items that will be needed to solve certain riddle cards. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 After reading out the introduction story, we laid out one of each of the 6 different types of cards and all 9 of the treasure chests. Each card will be a different type of puzzle that needs to be solved that is explained in the instruction booklet. If you are familiar with most "Exit The Game" games, they use the same solution wheel that is in most of their set ups. The answer to all the puzzles was 3 animals. When my child thought he had the answer, he would align the 3 animals on the wheel under the correct puzzle symbol and flip it over. If the window on the back showed an "X", he would have to try another puzzle before coming back to this one. If there was a key, he would get a key and place it on a treasure chest. After solving all the puzzles, we unveiled the 6 treasure chests that he chose and what we found. Since there were multiple riddle cards this game is re-playable many times over. The rules were really simple to explain to my 7-year old and was even simpler to set up. Even after the first game, he was able to set up and play the next game without any guidance from me. There was not a huge story here, but my child has a large imagination so he was completely immersed in the game. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Each type of card was a different puzzle style to solve, each revolving around the animals of the jungle. There was one where you had to identify the animals based on their merged shadows, another required you to search the card and find which animals were missing and others that required the punched out items to solve. Each were different enough and fun for my 7-year old to solve, but also a big thing was none were too difficult that he would get too frustrated. A big win for us on this one was that each puzzle was reading independent so I could explain what the riddle was and he could go about it himself with no guidance from me. There was no hint system, which was find for this game, but there is a list of solutions that could be found in the instruction manual. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Exit The Game - Kids: Jungle of Riddles" was a fantastic puzzle game for my child. I would not call this an escape room game per se, but a fun riddle game with a small story to go along with it. Each of the riddles were reading independent which is great for a young age. With the easy set up and replay value, my child was able to set up multiple games on his own. The box does say for kids ages 6-8, but I feel it can be played with younger kids with a little more guidance and a little bit of older kids if they are into some easier puzzles. This would be a great way to introduce the young ones in your life to a world of puzzle solving! 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. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Adventure #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame #kids

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game: The Cursed Labyrinth Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Fantasy Date Played: March 1, 2023 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 12+) Time: Approximately 1-2 Hrs. Price: $14.99 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 You and your team have made your way to a castle for the weekend when suddenly someone in your group spots an eerie looking gate. The adventure seekers that you are, you venture through and are seemingly transported to another realm where fantasy becomes reality and the way back is no longer an option. You must start pushing forward through the labyrinth and encounter its puzzles, conundrums and tricks in order to make it back to your world. Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ As with a game themed to a mysterious labyrinth, one expects dark dreary spaces filled with mysticism. The Cursed Labyrinth accomplishes that with materials that are easy to handle. The components in this game provide a good usage in puzzle visibility and worldbuilding. If you have played Exit games before, 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. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This game has a very similar gameplay as with other games in the series. Each puzzle you look for a string of 3 numbers to match with a shape on the cipher wheel. When all numbers are put in in the correct shape an answer card number is revealed, look at that answer card and if you get an X you were off in your solution, if you get a card that has a multitude of lockboxes and doors on it, you are on the right track, verify the lock you are trying to open and it will lead you to hopefully the correct answer card. Once arrived at the solution, gather the new unlocked game materials and continue on! Photo above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Everything in and around this box is fair game in regards to puzzle solutions. Similar design with other Exit games, you can find solutions in the most obscure of places so make sure that your team keeps an eye out for anything that stands out on the front, back sides, or even in the rules booklet of the game. Nothing is out of the limits of this game. This is an extremely linear game. The game follows a main booklet that tells you the story of just how your team is managing to get out of the labyrinth. Follow the puzzles step by step and you are left with many different types of puzzles from word games to physical components leading you to each solution. You only have the opportunity to solve one puzzle at a time so more people playing seems to be a hindrance. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "The Cursed Labyrinth" is a standard formula for "The Exit Game" series and can be enjoyed by all. However, with this game's highly linear nature, I wouldn’t play with more than two people. It is rated at a 2/5 difficulty and the puzzles reflect that well. During the completion of the game, there were a couple points where solutions and logic didn’t flow very well but with a couple of nudges, I was back on my way. It is a completely serviceable game that has a mix of puzzles and a fun little storyline to follow. If you are looking for a quick game of puzzling, The Cursed Labyrinth will be a great way to fill the void. 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. #MikeSchnurr #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Fantasy #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: The Abandoned Cabin Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Thriller Date Played: October 30, 2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 4/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-6 Players) (Ages 12+) Time: Unlimited (Suggested 1-2hours) Price: $14.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 After your car breaks down near the edge of the woods, rain begins to pour down. You and your friends head into the woods to find shelter for the night. Luckily, you discover what seems to be an abandoned cabin. Spending the night, you wake up in the morning and find that you cannot leave. There is a combination lock on the door with some items on the table. Looking at these items may be your only way out. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the box, you will find game instructions, the solution wheel, the game book, and a deck of cards that can be split into 3 decks, Riddles, Hints and Solutions. These are all pretty typical for a "Exit The Game" games. In addition, you will find 3 different colored rectangular tiles with a hole in each of them. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 If you are not familiar with how Exit games are played, each puzzle will correspond to a symbol whether it be a star, circle, moon, etc. When you solve the puzzle, you should get three numbers (or colors in this game). Using the solution wheel, match up the symbol and the three numbers or colors and it will reveal a number in the middle. Take that card in the solutions deck. If you are correct, it will tell you which Riddle cards to reveal next. This flow of the game was fairly straightforward. This game in particular has less stuff to sift through which did making puzzle solving a little easier. There was not a lot of depth to the story but throughout the game, different areas of the cabin were revealed which gave us a more immersive sense of what it would be like in there. Exit games were designed to be destroyed and altered which some people may or may not be a fan of. This game in particular has some easy work arounds if you would like to preserve the game and pass it along. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There were some fun, easier puzzles in this game. There were a few “Aha” ones mixed with some good logic puzzles that had us spreading stuff everywhere. Part of the challenge was trying to determine if we had all the pieces to solve the puzzle or not. At any given time, there should only be enough information to solve one puzzle. Once together, the flavor text was quite clear and straightforward on what you needed to do. The hint cards were layered nicely because the first hint will always tell you what cards/items were needed to solve the puzzle before going deeper. Another thing Exit is good at is creating ways of using everything available to them so if the solution leads you to something unconventional, give it a try anyways. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 Having played a few Exit games, this was one of their easier games. This is the perfect game for people who are new to puzzle experiences or if you are an enthusiast, a more relaxing evening. We played with 2 people and as experienced puzzle solvers we found this to be a good number as there was not a lot to hand around. Even with new players, we would not recommend more than 4 people as there will not be enough for everyone to do. One tip we have is if you do not feel you have enough to solve a puzzle, make sure to review every page in the game book. There were a few times, we forgot about a message in the book that we had not used yet. Another thing we liked about this game was that it was completely self-contained. There is no outside knowledge or online presence required to complete. Everything you need is right in the box. If you cannot make it out to a physical escape room or need an escape game to take on a holiday trip, this is one that we would recommend. 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 experience, 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. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #Puzzlebymail #OneOffs #Thriller #Thames&Kosmos #USA #ExitTheGame #TableTopGames #BehindTheMasterMinds

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. #DaveBristol #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Mystery #Thriller #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game: Advent Calendar - The Hunt for the Golden Book Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Mystery, Adventure Date Played: November 12, 2022 Difficulty (based on 3 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 10+) Time: Approximately 5-15 Mins/ per day Price: $49.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 After walking through a crazy snowstorm and entering your front door, you find a message on the table. Santa Claus’ golden book has gone missing, which contains everyone’s Christmas wishes. He needs your help to find it before Christmas Eve or else no presents will be delivered anywhere in the world. Santa was able to track the thief down to a remote mountain village. Sending some special transportation, you are swept away for a magical adventure to save Christmas. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ This is a fairly large box (but what do you expect for an advent calendar of puzzles) with beautiful illustrations of a small winter village and more on all sides. The box flips open, revealing 24 doors marked with Exit’s signature symbols. Also with the package is the story book, the hint book and the decoding table. 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 Reading through the instruction booklet and looking at how the box is set up, you will notice a lot of gameplay similarities to other Exit games. Things like the looking for 3 number codes in the puzzles, using a decoder to see if you are correct or and everything you need is contained in the game. Each day, we had to read a page from the story booklet and open the corresponding door. Inside the door was a tiny, detailed room that may or may not have contents to take out and investigate. From there we had to solve the puzzle to discover the code to the next room. A tip would be to have a flashlight on hand. Sometimes there are details in the room that were difficult to see with just how small the box is. The story was creative in that each room had a fun new theme to it each day with some places and people you might recognize. This was a well thought out game, especially when it comes to the hint system and the decoder. The hints are printed in a booklet but upside down on the back page. That way when flipping the page, we could read one hint at a time. Once we solved the puzzle, there was also a two-part check on the decoder to ensure we opened the right door which was fantastically done. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 There were some great Christmas themed puzzles here with some outside the box thinking (literally and figuratively). If you are familiar with Exit games, you know you will have to look everywhere to solve the puzzles and this game was no different. We enjoyed all the puzzles. For a box of 24 puzzles, each was different enough to keep us guessing and engaged. Some we were able to get quite quickly using minimal items and some had us follow a trail over multiple items to get to the answer. We did play this in a couple of sitting but each puzzle was modest enough that it would be perfect with a cup of coffee every December morning. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "The Hunt for The Golden Book" took us on quite the journey with its daily storytelling and lovely artwork. The story was fun but not too serious and detailed that we felt like we were forgetting things from previous days. The creativity of all the puzzles were brilliant, especially coming up with 24 different puzzles working off the space available to them. One of the other things we loved about this game was the special guest cameos from so many Christmas related characters and stories. There were even some for sure we missed. For any Christmas lovers out there, this got us in the mood for the holidays and found this is a perfect game to enjoy either on your own or with casual players who just need a small puzzle hit daily. This game would turn any puzzling scrooge around and excite them for Christmas. 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. #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #AdventCalendar #Adventure #Mystery #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game: Advent Calendar - The Mystery of the Ice Cave Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Mystery, Holiday Date Played: September 30, 2022 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 5/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 10+) Time: Approximately 5-15 Mins/ per day Price: $49.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 You are out for a lovely ski trip prior to Christmas, enjoying a little solitude and the beautiful outdoors. However, things take a dramatic turn for the worse when you get caught up in an avalanche! As you race down the slope, trying to stay ahead of the rapidly approaching onslaught of snow, you spy a small fissure in some rocks and manage to throw yourself inside - just before the entrance is completely engulfed. As you dazedly take a look around, you realize there is something unusual about this cave…can you solve it’s mysteries and find a way back out of the ice cave? This game comes with a story book that adds a page or so to the ongoing narrative each day, leading you through your cave adventure and the mysteries you encounter along the way. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The concept and execution of The Mystery of the Ice Cave is whimsical and fun, with some highly detailed and lovely artwork that you uncover along the way. This is a paper-based game, from the box itself, to the cards and (for the most part) the objects. It is intended as a one-time use game, and the components are of good quality given that, though not of the durability you might have for some other types of games. They are generally in line with what you might see in many other Exit games, only perhaps a bit smaller! Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 There is a little compartment for each day. The first one is marked, so you know where to begin. You start with the story book to read the narrative for that day; it sometimes has some puzzle elements as well. After reading the day’s tale, you open the compartment. Inside there is artwork on all the walls, and often you will also find cards and special objects. From these materials, you need to deduce the corresponding 3-digit code to plug into your Decoding Table. That, in turn, gives you three directions to lead you to the next day’s compartment, along with 3 symbols to verify that you’ve gotten the right code and found the correct spot for tomorrow. You can then write the next day’s date in the white circle, so that you can easily find it again when it’s time to open it. As with most Exit games, this advent calendar is intended to be for one-time use, and some elements do get modified or destroyed. With some effort, however, it is possible to largely preserve it to be replayable and pass it along. Or you could even supplement it by hiding little treats or notes in each compartment as an added bonus for each day! 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 We are generally fans of the Exit series, but we find the puzzles can be more solid in some games than others. Of course, there are a whole lot of puzzles packed into this advent calendar! Overall, we were really impressed by the variety that they managed to pack in, how well they utilized the space that they had, and how smoothly the gameplay went. These are not intended to be the most challenging of puzzles, as they are to be completed in relatively short chunks each day. We found they usually took us about 5 minutes each, but a few were tougher for us and took closer to 15. We did typically find them to be satisfying solves! If you do need a nudge, they include a “help book” that you can reference with several sequential hints and the solution available. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 While "The Mystery of the Ice Cave" is marketed as the typical 24-day advent calendar to countdown to Christmas, we had such a blast playing it as the countdown to our wedding! (Much more our style than the typical flip-the-numbers countdown to nuptials.) The puzzles are short enough that we could find time to fit them in, even on super hectic days. While you’ll benefit from a flashlight and (depending on your eyesight) perhaps a magnifying glass, the puzzling was satisfying and impressively compact! For us, the story element struck the right balance of creating a developing narrative over the course of the game without requiring extensive reading. The theming is lighthearted and, while very wintery, not super heavy on the specifically-Christmas aspect, so it really can make a fabulous lead up to any special occasion if you’re a little open-minded. Highly recommended, and now we can’t wait to try their other advent calendar, The Hunt for the Golden Book! 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. #DaveBristol #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #AdventCalendar #Christmas #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game: Nightfall Manor Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Horror Date Played: August 24, 2022 Difficulty (based on 1 player): 4/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 10+) Time: Approximately 2-3 Hrs. Price: $27.93 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 After a long time out in the woods, an old man who you are familiar with ventured out days ago. He has not been heard since and you and your fellow townspeople have decided to go and look for this wandering soul. A long trek in the forest opened up to a large manor on the horizon. There are some clues scattered around that the old man may have ventured this way. It is now currently dark for the night and finding some shelter would be a swell move. You make your way toward the castle... 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "Exit The Game: Nightfall Manor" is a well put together game that shockingly puts a lot of components in such a tiny box. You will receive four puzzles and a couple pages of punch outs needed for the adventure. There are a couple of journals that lead you into the completion of the game and depending on how you do and choices made, it opens up different endings. The artwork is clear and defined, all information the game needs to convey is properly explained. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The game takes place in 4 parts, each with 2 phases a piece. Part one is solving a Jigsaw puzzle. These puzzles are not the hardest but they are a large enough size that it takes 15-30 mins for each puzzle. After the jigsaw is completed, observe the image and read the journal that has been unlocked to complete the final solution to the part. In order to solve each puzzle your team will be looking for a three digit code. There is a decoder wheel, which is standard design in most of Thames and Kosmos games. Find the lock that you are solving for, line up the numerical code with that lock, and this game will give you three symbols in windows in the wheel. Each journal has been labeled with three shapes/symbols and if you see a matching order, you have correctly solved the puzzle. Continue on with the story. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Be prepared to use each and every item in this game. Think outside the box, use some upside down thinking. Whatever solution you can come up with, there is no harm in trying it out. A lot of the puzzles had a good puzzle flow and logic which led to a seamless experience in most cases. There are occasional parts where hints are helpful but your mileage may vary. One of the puzzles uses a 3d aspect that wasn’t well communicated on the set up. After looking it up in the hint section, the puzzle made sense. You will be marking up and tearing and destroying pieces in this game. Due to this fact the game can be played only once so be aware that puzzle solutions may hide in all different aspects of the game. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 "Exit The Game: Nightfall Manor" takes jigsaw puzzle nights and makes it more engaging for puzzle lovers of all types. It is a well presented game that uses the medium to its fullest creating unique solutions that can be completed with components to the game. With a lot of the Thames and Kosmos games, be aware that solutions can be found in and around the game box, and while the game doesn’t tell you that they are not involved, it doesn’t let you know that solutions can be found there. This is on the easier side of this company's escape rooms and in that manner, makes the game more enjoyable. The logic leaps are smaller leading to better success. It is a great game for an evening playtime and well worth the experience. 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. #MikeSchnurr #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Horror #ThamesandKosmos #USA #AdventureGames

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: Exit The Game: The Lord of the Rings™ - Shadows Over Middle-earth Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬 Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Date Played: July 30, 2022 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 10+) Time: Approximately 1-2 Hrs. Price: $19.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 If you’re thinking about buying this game, you’re probably already fairly familiar with the core story of The Lord of the Rings™ (LOTR)! While knowing the story isn't necessary to enjoy the box and solve the puzzles, fans will appreciate how it follows some of the larger beats of the trilogy and incorporates some favorite characters. You take on the role of hobbits enlisted by Gandalf to aid Frodo, Sam, and the rest of the crew behind the scenes. Your objective? Buy Frodo and Sam sufficient time (and help them survive!) to complete their critical mission. Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ As with other games in this series, LOTR is paper-based. There is an instruction booklet, game booklet (with some story and puzzles), deck of cards (consisting of “riddle”, “answer”, and “help” cards), a decoder disk, and some supplementary items, most of which you are punching out and some that become 3D. The quality feels really good for the price point, with good weight to each of the items, vibrant art that captures some of the LOTR feel, and an appealing finish. The box itself is only ~5x7”, making it easy to transport, though you will need a bit of table space to actually play. (Though, in a pinch, you probably could manage it on something like an airplane tray table, at least if there were no turbulence!) Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This game plays similarly to others in the EXIT series. You are presented with a riddle or puzzle, which might use pages in the booklet, cards from the riddle deck, and/or some of the other items. Each riddle is represented by a symbol and solves to 3 characters, typically 3 numbers. Entering your solution into the decoder disk yields a card number that you draw from the “Answer” deck, to see if your solution was correct. When it is, you are typically given a bit of story, along with the cards, pages, and/or items to get for the next puzzle. It's clear when to advance through the booklet, and when to use the additional materials. If you get stuck, the Help deck has a 1st hint, 2nd hint, and solution card for each puzzle to help you along. At the end, if desired, you can see how you did, based on length of play and number of hints taken. No internet connection is required, unless you want to use the Kosmos Helper App. (We haven’t tried this, but the instruction booklet indicates this offers a digital timer and atmospheric soundtrack.) As with all Exit games, this game has components that are meant to be permanently altered during gameplay. For the “full” experience, you may wish to enthusiastically cut and draw! In this particular game, we found that by using some photocopies, transparencies, and dry erase markers, it was fairly easy to avoid altering anything so that we could pass it along as a giveaway to friends at our upcoming wedding. You progress through the puzzles sequentially, making it easier to play if table space is limited. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 EXIT rates this as a ⅖ on the novice to expert scale. We ended up requiring hints for two of the ten puzzles, so we found it perhaps a bit harder than 2 stars! One of these gave us the fantastic rewarding “Ahhh - of course!! They’re so clever!” reaction, which is always what you hope for when you take a hint, though there was a bit of an unnecessary red herring that threw us off a little bit. The other we felt was rather ambiguous (and actually counter-intuitive), and clearly we are not the only ones, as they prepare for the possibility that people will do it wrong. Overall, however, we found the majority of the puzzles satisfying and well-designed, with the majority of them being closer to that novice side. They recommend this for ages 10+, and certainly many of the puzzles would be accessible to some of those younger solvers or others new to puzzling. As is typical with EXIT games, we loved the way they were able to incorporate many elements of physical object manipulation and 3D play, even in a paper-based game. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 We got to play out our hobbit dreams, receive a mission from Gandalf, and help Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, and the rest of the crew on their journey! As big LOTR fans, it was fabulous to see how some of the major story points were incorporated into the puzzles, not just as background imagery but as components of the puzzles themselves. This game is a no-brainer for LOTR fans, but no knowledge of the books/movies is required to play. With 1-2+ hours of gameplay (it took us 1:45, plus 10 minutes of initial setup), we think it’s a great value and accessible to many different players. So, whether you’re a fan of LOTR, EXIT games, or are thinking of trying one for the first time, this is a great way to spend an evening (or two)! Hint: In EXIT games, ANYTHING you get is fair play to be included… 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. #DaveBristol #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #LordOfTheRings #Fantasy #ThamesandKosmos #USA #AdventureGames

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: The Forgotten Island Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Adventure Date Played: December 18, 2021 Difficulty (based on 4 players): 6/10 Size of Team: 1-4 Players (Ages 12+) Time: (Suggested 1-2 Hours) Price: $14.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 A relaxing sea trip suddenly takes a turn for the worst as you become shipwrecked on some forgotten island. As you take a look around, you find your ticket to leaving this island, a boat. Upon further investigation, you find it locked up as well as a bunch of other items around the island. Looks like the only way off the island is solving the puzzles to open all the locks and free the boat. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ Opening the box, you will find the typical items in an “Exit The Game” game, which is the game instructions, the solution wheel, the game book, and a deck of cards that can be split into 3 decks, Riddles, Hints and Solutions. In addition, you will find 4 cards with cut out in them and some sort of ruler. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 If you are not familiar with how Exit games are played, each puzzle will correspond to a symbol whether it be a star, circle, moon, etc. When you solve the puzzle, you should get three numbers (or colors in this game). Using the solution wheel, match up the symbol and the three numbers or colors and it will reveal a number in the middle. Take that card in the solutions deck. If you are correct, it will tell you which "Riddle cards" to reveal next. The story to this game had a nice pirate theme laced into the background. Using common pirate items such as a map, journal and compass, the game integrated the puzzles and story together quite well as you learned a little more about the previous inhabitants of the island. Exit games are meant to be destroyed and this one we found needed to be destroyed a little more than normal which for some, could be satisfying to do. On the other hand, there was really no way to salvage anything on the fly for some puzzles unless certain pages or cards were photocopied beforehand. We also did find it easier to play the game as we could rip pages out of the game book so everyone could have a look at things as the game progressed. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 The rating for this game was 3/5 difficulty but we still found it to be a little tricky. A bulk of the puzzles required matching up the correct pieces of information with one another or properly reading into the flavor text. The game also seemed to have a lot more reading than most of their other games, which gave a little more backstory if that is what you like. The puzzles we did solve with no hints or minimal hints were gratifying ones to get. We did have trouble with 2 puzzles though that required us to take the solution after going through all the hints. One we felt could have been clued a little better while another one we still are not completely sure how it was solved, even after looking online for tips. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 It always surprises us how creative Thames & Kosmos can be with their puzzles with so little to work with in the box. There were 4 of us playing through the game, which took us just under 2 hours to complete. Outside of a few hiccups, the game overall was satisfying to play. It played on the theme well with the story and puzzles and there was enough to go around to have everyone included. If "Exit The Games" are what you crave and you have a little experience in them, this is a good choice to pick up. 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"!) #MatthewLui #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Adventure #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: The Gate Between Worlds Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Sci-Fi Date Played: November 4, 2021 Difficulty (based on 1 players): 6/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-6 Players) (Ages 12+) Time: Finished in 2 Hrs. & 20 Mins. Price: $14.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 After your last adventure you found an ancient map that leads you to a hidden portal. Once you arrive in the cave where the portal is found, you have two main goals: Figuring out how to activate the portal and learning where it will take you… Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ The box is compact, clean, and has nicely done components. The game comes with cards, mini-posters, a cipher wheel (the gate), and several other items used to solve puzzles. I like how they are packed and even have warnings on the top and bottom cards in the deck so you don’t accidentally spoil a part of the game. The cards have a nice feel to them, the mini-posters are well done, and the extra components worked nicely. The one complaint is the dark colors on dark printing, which make certain color-based puzzles a challenge, and would be impossible if you are color-blind. Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 This game is a sequel to EXIT: The Cemetery, but luckily you don’t need to have played it to play this game. I like having a through-line between some of the games, it adds a bit more immersion to a game, especially a game that feels very much like a game versus an immersive experience. The game materials are nicely done and contain cards, mini posters, strange items (cardboard cutouts) and a decoder disk. This game definitely falls more in the category of “game” with some narrative on top, versus an immersive game with realistic props. To play, you are also required to have pens, scissors, paper, and a stopwatch (or game app). To start the game you can download the free helper app from Kosmos (I used the QR code provided and it was quick and easy to download and set up). The next step is to fully read the instructions and the setup guide inside. The basic mechanic took me a few moments to grasp, but is logical enough and I was able to catch on fairly quickly. Basically, for each of the symbols on the wheel, you can enter a three digit code by turning the wheels, and an answer # is provided that will correspond with an answer card. That card will let you know if you are correct, or wrong. There are also hint cards that can be used. This mechanism feels like a nice game-mechanic that avoids the player from having to enter answers into websites or apps and allows you to play offline. 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 I found the puzzles quite enjoyable for the most part. This is a puzzle game, where each part of the game is just solving puzzles. Each world has one or more puzzles to solve, and I really enjoyed the variety of puzzle types, especially in such a small box. These puzzles are not just logic puzzles or deduction puzzles, some of them require manipulating the items, cutting out others, and other methods of physically using the game to solve the puzzles. While the usage/destruction of several items keeps you from replaying or lending this game out, it was generally fun solving puzzles through manipulation. There were only a few logic leaps I had a little trouble with, but the super helpful hint system (a series of progressive cards for each world) was able to nudge me in the right direction without spoiling the puzzles. The major complaint I have is that I struggle at times with the colors and thus the color puzzles and I am not color blind. It would be nice to see sharper color delineation or other designs in the future to accommodate this issue. Photo above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 This was my first experience with an Exit game, and based on this experience, it will not be my last! The game was fun, with a variety of puzzles and a great hint system to push me along if needed. It was refreshing playing a game not connected to the internet (except for the music/timer app), and manipulating pieces to solve puzzles was fun (even if occasionally frustrating). 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 experience, 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. #BrentPrice #AtHomeGames #Puzzlebymail #OneOffs #Thames&Kosmos #USA #ExitTheGame #TableTopGames #BehindTheMasterMinds #SciFi

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: The Deserted Lighthouse Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Suspense Date Played: October 10, 2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 Players) Time: Unlimited (Suggested 2-3 hours) Price: $22.83 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Along the dark, rocky coast is a lighthouse, beating back the raging storm. As you make your way to its beacon, the light suddenly goes out. Out in the turbulent waters, a ship is hurtling towards the shark rocks! You must make your way to the top of the lighthouse to light the beacon again quickly or witness a tragic shipwreck in the dark waters below. 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ "The Deserted Lighthouse" consist of four illustrated puzzles with 88 pieces each, 12 riddle documents, a treasure map, a decoder you must assemble, one strange item, and booklet containing instructions, hints, and solutions. The box and illustrations are clean and very detailed so make sure to take a moment to appreciate the artwork! Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 In “The Deserted Lighthouse” you have the option of playing the game at your leisure or to score yourself a based on your time and the number of hints you used. The booklet provides instructions on how to begin the game by directing you to the first puzzle you must assemble (designated by the designs on the back of the puzzle pieces) and how to assemble your decoder ring. If you haven’t played an Exit The Game before, the decoder is the key piece you will need throughout the game. Around the outer part of the decoder are a series of coloured locks. Using the assembled puzzles and riddle documents (when you have them) you solve for a three-digit number that you input into the decoder to gain three shapes that will direct you to the next riddle document. To double check your answer, simply flip the decoder over and if you see the matching coloured lock then you know your answer is correct. I found the set up for the game to be easy to follow and interesting. The checks and balances they provide create a smooth experience and you can easily play this without any internet access thanks to the hints and solution in the back of the book. As someone new to these games I was easily able to jump into the game with minimal instruction. The gradually increase the puzzle difficulty made the experience fun but challenging. It complimented the urgency in the narrative progression. Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 I loved how well the puzzles used the jigsaw illustrations and the documents. They managed to create a series of puzzles that were not tedious and were also different throughout the experience. You not only solved riddles but also had to manipulate the papers and puzzles to gain your solutions. Many of the puzzles utilize the element of making connections between items and images so always keep an eye out. The use of the decoder also gave the satisfaction as you were able to easily double check your answers without spoiling the game. The format of solving is a rinse and repeat with the solutions, but the puzzles had enough variety to keep engagement. I highly recommend taking the time to really look around the puzzle after you assemble each one. The hidden elements and detail were superb and adding to the atmosphere of the game. Make sure you keep all the puzzles assembled as you play as sometimes you must refer back to them in later puzzles. As this is an Exit game, some components will be altered during the game play (ie. You will have to cut or draw of them). 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 “The Deserted Lighthouse” does an excellent job in packing a lot of gameplay into a small package. The artwork was filled with clues that fit within the story and theme beautifully while also providing challenge using a variety of puzzle types. The dimness of some of the puzzle pieces does require good lighting while you play. I think this is a great game to play with friends as you can easily work together on each puzzle. There were quite a few times where I and my partner uncovered a piece of the puzzle to then come together with the all awesome “aha” moment! If you love the idea of the format of these games but are looking for a bit more adventure, check out our review of “The Sacred Temple!” 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. #JillianRaymond #AtHomeGames #Puzzlebymail #OneOffs #Adventure #Thames&Kosmos #USA #ExitTheGame #JigsawPuzzle #TableTopGames #BehindTheMasterMinds

Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers Company: Thames & Kosmos Game: The Catacombs of Horror Country: USA 🇺🇸 Language: English Type of Game: Puzzles By Mail 📬 Genre: Occult Date Played: September 20, 2021 Difficulty (based on 2 players): 7/10 Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 Players) Time: Unlimited (Suggested 2-4 hours) Price: $24.95 🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈 Your dear friend and renowned archaeologist Ben has gone missing. A few days prior he had sent you a letter expressing his fears that he was getting into something a bit too deep. He was going into the Catacombs of Paris to investigate...but hasn’t been heard from since. Now it’s up to you to discover what is going on and try to find your friend! 🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞ If you have played Exit games before, this one has a somewhat similar look. It features high quality paper materials as well as some very cool tangible items, like a candle and the three skulls shown below. Having such a large market relative to many creators in the puzzle industry, Exit games can really get more and higher quality items in the box than you might expect for the price point. In addition to the instruction booklet, there is 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. Everything is of a good quality, with various artwork revealed along the way. There was one thing that you have to kind of “assemble” that was a bit fiddly. Except for what is in the sealed box, you do see everything openly as soon as you open the main box, even though you will only “find” and gain access to most of the items along the way as you play. We just left them in the box and pretended we didn’t see them until we explicitly “found” them! Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos 🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈 The Catacombs of Horror is unique in the Exit series in that it is a longer, 2-part game. Naturally, you start by reading the instructions. There is an optional Kosmos Helper app you can use for a game tutorial, music, and timer if you like. (We did not play with the app, as it was not compatible with our tablet, so we can’t comment on that.) They give a very nice overview of how to play, including an introduction to the Exit solution system using their cipher wheel. The way this works is that each puzzle you solve will have an associated symbol and a solution in the form of a 3-digit code. You dial in the code under the correct symbol on the cipher wheel, then you pick up the Answer card with the number that is revealed in the cipher wheel window. In the example below, if you solved 802 as the solution for the square puzzle, then you would take Answer Card 28. To help make sure you got the card the right way, Card 28 will then verify which puzzle you solved to get to this card, and send you to a different answer card. (Since, for instance, you could also get Card 28 by having solved the moon puzzle with 680, the cross puzzle with 468, etc.) The 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 a specific Riddle card and potentially some other items. This is a cool system, though it is not perfect. Entering 602 for the square, for instance, also leads you to card 28. There was one instance where we got the right card with the wrong answer (which we only realized later). 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. You start the game with the cards, the wheel, and a few other select items. You need to figure out which puzzles you currently have all the information to solve, use the wheel to find the right Answer card, figure out which new cards/items you have acquired, and repeat! At one point, one of the cards will let you know that it is a good time to rest, ending the first section. You can then decide if you want to pause and do the second section another time or simply carry on. The game play in the second section follows a similar mechanic as the first. As with all Exit games, this game has components that are meant to be permanently altered during gameplay. This is often a subject of heated debate among puzzlers! We tend to be the type who prefer games that are replay-able, and this Exit had some aspects that made it harder to do that than some others in the series. (There was also one card that confused us in that we thought it was meant to be altered but the writing was actually just guidance for a different card.) Photos above are property of ESCAPETHEROOMers 🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂 Exit rates this game as a 4.5/5 on the Novice to Expert scale, and it was certainly one of the more challenging ones that we have played in this series! There are only 14 puzzles in a 2-4 hour game; it took us 2:35 to play it (and we took two hints). So, you can imagine that some of the puzzles can take you a while! I think the puzzle flow may actually be quite linear, though it does not always feel that way. You often have access to at least some parts of multiple puzzles and need to figure out which one you actually have sufficient information to solve. We enjoyed the fact that there are some things you might find early on that don’t actually become relevant until much later, and the way you need to combine multiple pieces. Keep your eyes open and try to remember everything you see! You also may need to use items more than once. There is a lot of satisfying physical manipulation of objects and observation necessary, in addition to some more traditional puzzling. 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂 We were surprised by how immersive this Exit game was! There was a full story that emerges through the game, with pieces and puzzles that all fit well. The ending is particularly memorable! It reminded us a bit of another, higher-end, more artisan puzzle game that we will never forget. While it did not reach quite the same level, we loved the idea of giving such an immersive experience to the mass market audience that Exit reaches and at such an affordable price point. If you prefer to avoid occult themes, then this game is not for you. Kosmos advises that this game be played by those 16+. This may be merited simply by the difficulty level; however, in terms of the theme and story, we would feel comfortable playing with kids about 12-13+. (In fact, we think our kids, who are particularly big fans of Halloween, would have really enjoyed this one.) Aside from those restrictions, we can definitely highly recommend this game. It really packs in a lot of experience for a great price! 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. #KristaJones #AtHomeGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Occult #Horror #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame