Exit The Game – Game Review

Exit The game is for 1 to 4 players aged 10 and up (depending the game) and will take 1 to 2 hours.

Are you a puzzle master? We like to think that we are, well at least that we’re decent at solving puzzles. We love deduction games like Clue, Mastermind, and Codenames. But are we clever enough to solve an Exit game?

First, although we are intrigued, we have yet to be to an escape room. When they first became popular, our kids were too young. Through the years, though, we have tried several different at home ones and have even made some of our own. (Stayed tuned to the Store to find out when they’ll be for sale.)

So, when we heard about the Exit line of games, we thought why not? They sound fun and they’re for ages 10 and up and we can do them right in our own home (no late night trips into the city for us.)

So far, we’ve tried The Forgotten Island and The Mysterious Museum. The Forgotten Island is a level three difficultly and was our first game. The Mysterious Museum is a level two difficultly.

In this post we’ll go over how to play and set up but we will be sure not to give any spoilers away.

The Exit Game Box

The game it’s self is quite small. Inside you get an instruction book, a game book, a decoder disc, a set of cards and some extra items that are unique to each game. To play the game you will also need some other items like a pen and paper, scissors, and a timer.

The Cards

There are three types of cards. First, there are the riddle cards. These give you actions to do or are part of the puzzle.

Next are the help cards. You can chose to take a hint and take a peek to help you figure out the answer. There are three for each riddle. The cards help you know what pieces you need to figure out the riddle and then give some clues as to how you might figure it out. The last help card will give the answer to that riddle.

Last are the solution cards. These cards are numbered and will tell you if you’re correct, incorrect or will send you to a different answer card to find your fate.

The Theme

Each Exit Game is unique. Each one has a backstory and a reason you need to solve the riddles. You game material is done so that it puts you in the story.

Playing Exit The Game

The first step when playing an Exit the Game, is to read the instructions. This is a very important step as it will tell you what to set aside until you earn it, what you are allowed to do and how to play. Each game is different so you do need to do this step.

After you’re done reading the instructions, you are allowed to open the book and figure out the first riddle.

At any time when you’re playing and you feel stuck, you are allowed to find the help card for that riddle and read it.

Each riddle has a shape. This helps you find pieces you need.

For each riddle, you are looking for a three digit number. When you think you have found this number, you move the decoder rings to line up the number with the symbol. Next, you find the number revealed and then find that card number in the answer deck.

From there, you either go back to the drawing board and find a different code to try or more on and follow the directions on the answer card.

The game does warn you that this is a single use game and that some of the game pieces will have to be cut, folded or otherwise used in a destructive way. This is hard to get use to.

Winning The Exit Games

When you have solved the last riddle, you reveal the answer card that will congratulate you on winning the game and completing the mission.

There is also a chart in the instructions to gauge how well you did. The chart takes into account how long it took you and how many help card you used to give you a rating out of 10 stars.

What we Like

First, the games are very well done. They are clever and the best quality—especially as a onetime use game. We like that there are different materials for each game and that the riddles are truly unique to the game; they don’t just recycled the same style of riddle with different words.

We also like that there are helper cards. These are very useful. The first time we played we didn’t want to take the hints, thinking that it was bad to do so. But we learned that there is no shame in it and some were very helpful.

Next, we like that the theme of each game is well carried throughout the game. The art and words are well done.

We also like that the answer cards will sometimes tell you to keep going through the stack, not just telling you yes or no. This adds to the excitement.

What We Didn’t Like

First, we thought this would be more fun than difficult. We were wrong. And we started with the level three first. The first game we played, we were not expecting it to take so long. In fact, we were all frustrated and done with the game so we left it and had to force ourselves to go back to it the next day. That is why we thought we’d give it a try with a less difficult one.

Next, some of the answers have you thinking outside the box—really outside of the box. Even on our second game, we took a hint card and still didn’t get the answer. We would never have gotten the answer without the help cards.

Next, we found that it is really easy to have one or more members of the group get disinterested. The level two game had us figuring out just one riddle at a time. When there is only one book or one card it makes it hard for all players to stay engaged. The level three game sometimes had more riddles to solve at one time. Hoverer, this sometimes led to confusion as to what pieces we needed for what.

Overall Thoughts on Exit the Game

We have mixed feeling on these games. On one hand they are expertly done. And it’s a great feeling when you figure out a riddle, especially if you did it without any help cards. However, we all felt a little, well, dumb. Like I said at the beginning of this review, we have never done an actual escape room and then ones that we have done at home we haven’t done exceptionally well at. I have a feeling that we just don’t think the way that you need to to be successful.

At the end of the second game, we all said that we would be willing to try another one, but none of us were super enthusiastic about it. I do think that if we were to play another one in the next little bit of time, that we would do better. We found that if we thought back to what happened in the first game, it made it easier to think about the possible ways to find the answer.

Should you Add The Exit Game to your Family Game Shelf

This is a big question. First, the price of these games is very good. They also seem to come on sale fairly often. If your family is into escape rooms and are good at riddles then I would say to try out the Exit line of games. Maybe start with a lower level game to start to get the hang of how these games work. And know that it will put your brain to work and hopefully give you a great memory of working together.

To find an Exit the Game tile, click here. Canadians can find all the Exit Games here. These games are made by Kosmos.