Getting Started with The Exit Game
So, the other night, we decided to finally crack open one of those ‘The Exit’ board games. Heard a lot about them, you know? Like escape rooms but in a small box you play at home. Picked one up a while back, I think it was ‘The Abandoned Cabin’ one, sounded kinda spooky and fun.
First thing, opened the box. Not much inside, really. A rulebook, a decoder disk thingy, a bunch of cards split into Riddle cards, Answer cards, and Help cards, and then some weird little paper items. Looked a bit thin, but hey, maybe that’s the point.
Figuring Things Out
We dumped everything out on the table. The rulebook was pretty short, which was nice. Basically said, “Read this story book, start solving puzzles, use the decoder disk.” It also warned us we’d probably have to, like, destroy stuff. Cut things up, write on them, fold them. Felt weird doing that to a game, but okay, instructions are instructions.
We read the little story booklet first. Set the scene, you know? Locked in a cabin, gotta get out. Standard stuff. Then it pointed us towards the first puzzle, usually hidden somewhere in the booklet or on one of those strange items.
Solving (and Failing)
Okay, the actual playing part. We grabbed the first Riddle card it told us to. Looked at the clues in the booklet and the weird items. At first, we were just staring at everything. Pointing at stuff. “Maybe this fits here?” “What does this symbol mean?” Lots of that.
We needed to get a three-part code (numbers or shapes, depends on the puzzle) to put into the decoder disk. This disk thing is clever. You line up your code guess under a specific symbol shown on the Riddle card. Then, it points you to a number on the outer ring. You find the Answer card with that number.
Our first attempt? Totally wrong. The Answer card basically said “Nope, try again.” Bit frustrating, but fair enough. We went back, looked closer. Maybe we missed something? Then someone noticed you could fold one of the strange paper items in a certain way, and suddenly, letters appeared! Aha!
We figured out the code from that, punched it into the decoder disk again. This time, the Answer card showed a picture matching where we found the next Riddle card symbol in the game materials. Success! Felt pretty good.
The Process Repeated
It kinda went like that for the next hour or so. Find a puzzle symbol, grab the Riddle card, stare at everything like confused monkeys, try stuff out. Sometimes we needed a Hint card. They have three levels: first gives a small nudge, second a bigger hint, and the third usually spells out the solution if you’re really stuck. We tried not to use the third one too much.
- Found clues in the booklet illustrations.
- Cut out a piece from one strange item as instructed.
- Folded another piece into a shape.
- Drew lines connecting things on a page.
- Used the decoder disk constantly.
Some puzzles were quick, like five minutes. Others had us scratching our heads for ages. We definitely cut up some cards and wrote all over the booklet. Felt wrong but also kind of liberating? Like, we were really interacting with it, not just looking.
Wrapping It Up
Eventually, after solving maybe ten puzzles, we got to the final one. It used elements from a few previous puzzles, which was a neat touch. Put that last code into the decoder disk, flipped the final Answer card, and boom. Escaped! Or, well, the card said we did.
Packed up what was left. Which wasn’t much, honestly. The box is pretty much useless now since we wrote on and cut stuff. But that’s the deal with these Exit games, they’re a one-shot experience. Overall, it was a fun evening. A bit brain-burny, but satisfying when we figured things out. Definitely different from your usual board game night.
