– Thames & Kosmos - EXIT: The Abandoned Cabin - Level: 2.5/5 - Unique Escape Room Game - 1-4 Players - Puzzle Solving Strategy Board Games for Adults & Kids, Ages 12+ - 692681

Daughter got this for Xmas and we played it last night. Two adults and two kids (15 and 12) and it took us two and half hours to solve. We did use a few hint cards but only the first (occasionally the second) hint card was actually needed and we found it was a case of almost being there but just missing a tiny bit. Once we got the hang of it (realising we could look through the book rather than the clue just being on page one) we found it quite easy to understand and was quite pleased with ourselves when we finally got a tricky one. Be prepared to cut things up and fold things so it is only a once only game but we enjoyed it and will be buying more in the series. Highly recommend for an evening of fun.

My 13 year old daughter loves puzzles. She would happily plough through the Puzzler in one sitting and when she prepared for the 11+ exams a few years ago, she whizzed through the non-verbal reasoning questions. So I thought as a treat she could invite one of her good friends to come over and have a 'play-date' (although teens don't call it that - it's only reserved for primary school kids and toddlers). Anyway, the two of them cooped themselves up in her bedroom and emerged two or three hours later having solved the thing. I could hear them laughing away and having a good time - so if they hadn't been gossiping away, perhaps they might have completed it sooner. Anyway, she said she enjoyed the concept very much although wants something a little more challenging but from the same series of puzzles. So I would say it's a winner and a good one to start on, if you are interested in this series of puzzles.

A little tricky to get started but fine once we got going. The riddles do come in order and you pretty much solve each one before you move on. They are challenging and we did use a few hints to point us in the right direction. Very satisfying when you work them out though. We had 2 players (1 x adult, 1 x 15 year old) and I don't think we would have wanted more because you really need to be handling and peering at the cards so additional people would have just sat around getting bored. One thing that could be improved is making the cards bigger because I really struggled to read / count / find things on the cards.

These games are excellent. Once you solve a couple you start to think in the way to get to the answers highly reccomend. Not fone any really difficult ones yet. The advent calendars are brilliant. Little hint don't alter anything or throw anything away they are so well thought out you can use any of the parts included in the game box and all

Love these games

There can’t be many (if any) board games you can play where you cut up a booklet, some of the playing cards and even draw on them! Probably wrong to call this a ‘board game’ as there is no board. Someone reads out the scenario and you are given your first clue. Then off you go! We downloaded the app so we could keep an eye on the time. There is no limit on how long you can take but your final score is partly based on it. There are clue cards if you get stuck and the number read is also used to determine your final score. We played with four adults and found it great fun. It actually took us an hour and a half to finally escape! It is a one off...you can’t play it again. But then, what would be the point as you would know all the answers? We will certainly try one of the others in the series.

We really enjoyed this game and it proved a great activity for 2.5(!) hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The puzzles and riddles were good and the hint system worked well. The quality of the materials were good too, although the ‘mysterious objects’ were basically three more cards, which felt a bit cheap considering the price point. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want it filled with horrible plastic, but maybe some nice slot assembly card objects would have been fun. I have a minor and a major gripe though. Minor one first is that we hit a dead end a third of the way through and I’m not sure where we went wrong, but there was no way out and now I can see all the game materials in full, I’m not sure what we missed. Without giving any spoilers, there isn’t a picture of two key items and what shapes relate to them and it felt like this was missing rather than us just not seeing it. Had to guess an answer which luckily was correct, but didn’t feel in the spirit of the game. Maybe this was just us though! My major gripe is with the one-use feature. I hate waste, but embraced the firm instructions to cut, fold and write on the materials as the promise of “more diverse puzzles” written on the box seemed legit. However, you only need to cut a few cards and one page of the booklet up, and fold one page, so for two-ish puzzles the whole game is rendered useless at the end. This is EASILY solvable by having the bits that need cutting out supplied alternately as punched cards in the same style as the ‘mysterious objects’ and/or in a simple envelope with the riddle number on it. That would mean you can gift the game to others afterwards. I’ve concluded it simply isn’t enough to say the game is fully recyclable afterwards; the game is too nicely put together to toss in the green bin at the end! Kosmos need to do better here. The price point should allow for the materials presented in this way; they are not cheap and yes, a cinema ticket is around the same price for a few hours entertainment, but this doesn’t negate the waste. I’ve assuaged my guilt by painstakingly reconstructing everything so I can pass it on to charity or another player, but it would be so easy to make it reusable. My recommendation is add a few sheets of tracing or baking paper to your stack of materials before playing, and you can quickly reproduce the ‘destructible’ elements and allow you to regift to someone else.

Great game that’s perfect for date nights and parties. Having done escape rooms in person before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I would recommend this one for someone who hasn’t done one before as it made you think but wasn’t too difficult. The theming was great and all fairy tails we knew. Worth noting that these can only be used once and you will need pens and scissors to complete! Was very pleasantly surprised And have brought another one!