As the very nature of this game is that of solving puzzles, I will be trying hard to not give any spoilers or solutions. Any pictures I include for this review will be general pics and pics from the first few puzzles only. How Does it Work? Exit the Game: Advent Calendar is a brilliantly constructed project. It is fun to play through and provides you with varying types of puzzles that can be done as a family. This provided me with many smiles, many head scratching moments, and only one or two gripes. It is much bigger than I expected it to be!

So, I am sure this is the real reason you are here. You need to know what the puzzles are like correct? You need to know how difficult they are, if they are suitable for children, and whether or not you need to eat your Weetabix first. Well, let us explore this in a little depth. I’d recommend this to families with children and adults who aren’t necessarily into puzzles. The very small learning curve and overall accessibility would be perfect for these player demographics. Based on the price however, I’m not sure if escape room enthusiasts will get enough out of this in terms of challenge. The EXIT: Advent Calendar, designed by Inka and Markus Brand and published by KOSMOS, allows you to bring all the excitement and fun of escape rooms to your home this Christmas. With 24 puzzles to solve and a playtime of 24 days – that’s right! – this advent calendar brings the gift of adventure for the whole of December. You’ll only be the hero of the story if – piece by piece – you can also solve the last great puzzle and make your escape.Positively Puzzling – From fun family times together to long term health benefits and day-to-day mindful moments, there are so many positives about the humble Jigsaw! They make a great birthday gift or smashing Christmas gift My only issue with the writing, along with my issue with the puzzles, is that at one point it got a little ‘meta’. At one point in the story, other Exit games are mentioned. This took me out of the story a little as I saw it as a plug for other products. This of course would not phase younger players though. The Components Personally, I went into this game with a bit of an ignorant expectation. I have not played any Exit games prior to this, (although this will now be changing very soon) and was expecting the effort to have only been placed on the puzzles and gameplay aspects. I was very pleasantly wrong. EXIT Advent Calendar is an EXIT game and an advent calendar in one! Every day, solve a tiny puzzle in a tiny 3D room, and each solution brings you closer to your escape. The cave itself looks lived in, with signs of life everywhere, but as far as you can see there’s nothing alive nearby. Traven into the cave itself and break through the other side! Can you solve The Mystery of the Ice Cave and get out alive?

From the door you just completed, you follow the arrows indicated as a path towards the next door, and (brilliantly!) the shapes then act as a sort of ‘key’. If you have solved the puzzle correctly, then the door the path leads you to, will correspond with the shape sequence on your decoder. If they do not match, then you have either not completed the puzzle correctly, or you have done something wrong. Then, if they do match, then well done! You have smashed the puzzle or riddle, and you can now write the next number on the snowball on the front of the door. This shows you what one you will be opening next. You will have to wait until the next day though! Only I am allowed to jump straight from door to door. I had to! Or there would be no review for you to read. I did it for you, my dear reader. The Puzzles All the individual components in the doors are fine. They only serve (mostly) as a onetime use, and sometimes this includes cutting and folding so the quality is really irrelevant.The only issue I had with the puzzles were that at one point, one puzzle got a little ‘meta’. And the solution was in relation to the shapes depicted on the doors and the decoder. I needed to look at the solution for this one, as up until that point, the solutions were in relation to the story and to the rooms themselves. It was a little frustrating that this one puzzle was actually referencing something outside of the game itself. The Writing I was impressed by the variety of puzzle types and the fact that they managed to make the rooms, and even the box itself part of some of the puzzles. The fact that there is so much diversity of puzzles means that no matter your skill level, there will be some that you can do in a breeze, and some that will take some brain juice. This will make the experience different for most people and make it a great talking piece between people. You might also like: New EXIT Advent Calendar 2022 – The Hunt for the Golden Book. And The Silent Storm – New EXIT: Advent Calendar 2023. EXIT: The Game is a popular series of escape room games that deliver a huge variety of puzzles, bringing the escape room experience to your home in a small box.