I know there is a games thread running, but this caught my eye and seems more of a PSA

BGG rates these as very good (some in the series better than others), but they are ‘one-shot’ as some of the components are destroyed playing the game. I guess a certain poster (ex-Moderator) may have an opinion which I would be interested to hear.

I have one sitting upstairs as a Christmas present for me 🙂 It’s obviously no surprise, but the real gift will be the ability to use emotional blackmail to get others to play with me 🙂

OH HAI

Two things you need to know about Exit games. The first, as you say, is that they are destructive. If you want to pass them on afterwards then you need a date with the photocopier before you start. And at their price there must come a point where, well, are you marring your own enjoyment in trying to keep it intact?

The second is, they’re a mixed bag. Some are brilliant, some not so much. I was soured on them after the one I played, I found out later that the one I’d chosen at random was widely regarded as the worst in the series to date.

I’m currently working my way through the Exit advent calendar. Today’s puzzle was lumpy but on the whole it’s been decent so far.

Yoikes!

There are three in LIDL, maybe I need to review which ones are good/bad….

Which one did you dislike?

We’ve enjoyed a couple of these. Probably worth a punt

Also,

There are many “play at home” escape-room-in-a-box affairs. If you struggle to find team mates, Box One is designed as a single player game (and was created by ER enthusiast and all-round geek Neil Patrick Harris). It is superb. I bought it with the intention of moving it on afterwards but it’s such a Nice Thing that I can’t bring myself to part with it.

I quite like the Unlock! series. These are three unrelated games in a box and each game is basically a deck of cards. Cards combine in a clever way, like if you get a key on card 7 and a lock on card 15 then you turn over card 22 to continue. 100% resettable, just put the deck back in order when you’ve finished if you want to sell / gift it onwards. Fun, challenging, and to date has never felt unfair.

Further reading.

Which one did you dislike?

It was called something like Polar Station.

What irked me most was, there were stuff you had to cut up but it wasn’t clear and you can’t un-cut something if you cock it up. Maybe this experience will come after playing a few of them?

I’m finding with the calendar, there’s almost a mindset you need; it rewards thinking outside the box but it can overcomplicate things sometimes. Today’s puzzle was simple in hindsight but it gave you a bunch of stuff you didn’t really need and even the hints were like “have you checked the stuff really carefully?” which turned out to be misleading.

But, eh, don’t panic. Take your time, measure twice and cut once, I’m sure you’ll be reet.

The Exit games got us through a chunk of lockdown last year. yes, bit of a mixed bag but there are some very good ones. There are few recurring themes to some of the puzzles which tend to mean I always start a game by checking the games box lid by looking at it carefully with a magnifying glass, just in case…

oh and yes, you do need to photocopy everything.

The ones available (according to the website) are:
The Haunted Roller Coaster
The Stormy Flight
Theft on the Mississippi
The Sinister Mansion

Any recommendations?