It’s that time of year again. The holidays are just around the corner, and Daylight-Saving Time is coming to an end, which means the nights will be longer and cooler. And that means more time spent indoors in the evenings.
So, hot chocolate and cat videos, anyone?
At Fundemonium, we’ve got a much better idea: captivating board games for family night!
Not Your Grandma’s Board Game – Exit: The Game
Modeled after the popular trend of “escape rooms” that took much of the world by storm over the last few years, these intriguing board games are great for family nights and party games.
Exit: The Game is a series of board games for up to players that offer unique and captivating gaming experiences. Each game allows you to bring the energy and team spirit that happens in a live escape room adventure right into your living room or den. And, with Halloween upon us, the Exit board game series offers a number of hauntingly fitting game selections like Exit: The Haunted Roller Coaster to spook up your game get-together! Exit: The Game lists 20 games as of October 2021, and you can find a large selection of these here at Fundemonium.
A relatively new entry into the game board field, The Exit series was originally launched in Germany and Italy in 2016. It was then followed by the first trilogy of standalone escape-room puzzles – The Pharaoh’s Tomb, The Secret Lab, and The Abandoned Cabin – which were then released in English versions the following year.
Exit: The Game – An Escape Room Experience in a Box!
In each Exit game, your team starts out locked in an imaginary room or trapped somewhere. You must solve a series of riddles and puzzles in order to unlock doors and reveal new riddles. Each correct solution brings you to another riddle and eventually to freedom. The clock is ticking: You must solve all of the puzzles as fast as you can because the faster your team escapes the room and the fewer hints you use along the way, the more points you earn.
While some might find this aspect of the game a bit frustrating, it does make sense.
You see, each individual Exit game can only be played once since you markup, fold, and tear the game materials in the course of playing the game and solving the puzzle. And there is only one solution to the puzzle. On the plus side, however, each game can easily take an hour or much more to play to the end. And there are almost two dozen versions to play through, with more games being developed all the time. Playing the game requires all the same skills and frustrations that are part of a live escape room experience.
For example, your creative problem solving and logical thinking skills are tested since the official rule book in an Exit game doesn’t reveal all the rules like in other games.! The rule book simply serves to get you started. After that, it’s up to you and your team to discover for yourselves how the room looks, what the clues are, how to decipher them – and how to escape.
Ultimately, the challenge is to crack the codes and escape the room (or an abandoned cabin!).
Playing Exit: The Game – Detection, Deciphering, and Deliverance
As one British game reviewer explains,
“The concept remains true across all the games within the series. Whereby up to four players are placed into the heart of a game scenario. Having gained an understanding of their surroundings the aim is for them to escape or solve the puzzle (sometimes a murder) in the quickest time possible. Doing this while using the least amount of help and solution cards.”
Each game comes with Riddle Cards, Answer Cards, Help Cards, Solution Cards, Strange Items, a Decoder Disk, and a Game Book. You will need to provide your own pens, pencils, ruler, scissors, and a stopwatch. A really cool bonus is the ability to download the companion app. It includes a timer, a custom soundtrack, and tools to determine your star rating at the end of the game
The solution to each game’s puzzle can only be discovered by successfully completing the sequence of challenges presented to players as the game progresses. Players can only use the information they have in front of them, their problem-solving skills, their intuition, and the items discovered throughout the game.
Game Play
Each EXIT game takes 5-10 minutes to set up, while players ensure they have laid out all the parts of the game in front of them, setting aside any items which are not to be discovered until later on in the game. A game typically lasts anywhere between 60 -180 minutes, depending on the complexity of the game and the experience of the players undertaking the game.
The gameplay is relatively straightforward and relatively simple in terms of structure. A game begins with players reading their scenario brief and then working to solve their first challenge. The game then evolves as players discover further game material, riddle cards, and strange items. All of these are required to solve the ten challenges that are presented within the game.
So, ready to get your own Exit games?
To help you choose which game you’d like to get first, each of the Exit game boxes have key statistics displayed on them to help you choose the right game to start with. Each game is rated on factors of Strategy, Luck, Escape Room Fun, or Riddle Solving.
Gametopia at Fundemonium: Where You Can Find Exit and Other Great Games
At Fundemonium, you’ll discover dozens and dozens of great board games for children, teens, adults, and the whole family! Explore our wide selection of board games along with card-based games and other indoor fun products along with toys, crafts, and hobby items.
Fundemonium is more than a store – it’s a fun family experience, where families and fans of card games can meet and play.
We are also a safe and friendly place where adults and children of all ages can enjoy creative fun. In addition, we have a great selection of games, toys, arts and crafts, and hobby products for your entire family.
And you can be sure that our friendly and knowledgeable staff makes it their business to help you have fun.
We always do our best to quickly respond to website inquiries about card games (and more!), or you can also find answers to your questions by calling us at (707) 540-0701.
Just give us a call during our business hours if you’d like to speak directly with one of our Fundemoniacs.
