Thames & Kosmos - "Exit The Game - The Enchanted Forest"

Photo above is property of Thames & Kosmos

Company: Thames & Kosmos

Game: Exit The Game - The Enchanted Forest

Country: USA 🇺🇸

Language: English

Type of Game: Tabletop Games 📬

Genre: Fantasy

Date Played: August 5, 2023

Difficulty (based on 2 players): 3/10

Size of Team: Unlimited (Recommended 1-4 Players (Ages 10+)

Time: Approximatley 1-2 Hrs.

Price: $14.99

🆃🅷🅴 🆂🆃🅾🆁🆈

While walking along a peaceful forest path, you suddenly find yourself transported to a magical otherworld full of talking animals and fairytales come to life. It’s not all that bad here… but you really would like to go home!

Video above is property of Thames & Kosmos

🆃🅷🅴 ❞🅻🅾🅾🅺🆂❞

In addition to the instruction booklet and decoder wheel typical of Exit games, "The Enchanted Forest" features several paper props that need to be cut out or punched out before use, as well as one small plastic piece. Though the props don’t scream fairy tale quite as hard as they probably should, they do fill out each scene of the story with details that help bring them partway to life.

Photo above are property of Thames & Kosmos

🆃🅷🅴 🅶🅰🅼🅴 🅿🅻🅰🆈

Everything you need to play the game is included in the box. You will need to cut, fold, tear, and draw on the pieces, so they can only be used once. Each step of the game involves reading some written story for context, after which you will be directed to some of the puzzle elements on the table. Solutions can be checked via a decoder wheel. Input your answer (always a three digit code) to be directed to an answer card. Guess correctly, and you’ll be given instructions to move the story along. Multiple hint cards per puzzle are available if you need them. The game booklet contains instructions for calculating your score based on how long you took and how many hints you used, or you can use the free helper app to calculate your score faster (and add some fantasy ambiance to the experience).

Photos above are property of Thames & Kosmos

🆃🅷🅴 🅿🆄🆉🆉🅻🅴🆂

The format of the game involves LOTS of reading as each part of the story is uncovered. The story mostly involves being directed from one fantasy character to another and helping them with various tasks along the way. We didn’t find the story particularly engaging, so we raced through each story card as fast as we could to get to the important puzzle bits.

Since every puzzle needed to produce a three digit combination, the format was a little bit redundant. Many of the puzzles involved studying pictures and props and making minor leaps in logic or completing simple tasks, though a few of them did a great job of incorporating props in unique and sometimes unexpected ways. The final puzzle in particular was very satisfying to solve, and involved lots of outside-the-box thinking. Some props must be destroyed to progress forward. This can be a little scary if you aren’t sure you are doing what the game expects you to do!

Photo above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

🅲🅻🅾🆂🅸🅽🅶 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂

This was my team’s first at-home escape kit, so we weren’t sure what to expect going in. What we found was certainly a product of the format’s limitations, though the game designers have come up with some fun ways to go beyond mere riddles and visual puzzles. The puzzles that involved the most unique and clever implementations of the props were the most satisfying, and we both felt very accomplished once we solved the last puzzle.

That said, the majority of the puzzles aren’t groundbreaking, and they are couched in so much bland story that the act of completing the game often felt too much like a chore and not enough like exploring a fun world filled with puzzles. There was still some satisfaction, but it didn’t have quite the same magic as a brick-and-mortar escape room.

While I wouldn’t recommend this box for adult escape room enthusiasts, I do think it’s a great activity for kids. Indeed, many of the puzzles seemed aimed at kids around 10-12 years old, so the box is probably more enjoyable for its target demographic. Considering the game’s low price-point, it would make a great stocking stuffer or birthday party gift!

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Check out our interview with the creators to understand more on the development side of the game:

Video above is property of ESCAPETHEROOMers

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(If you do decide to try this game, give us a shoutout or tag us on social media so we know you heard it from "ESCAPETHEROOMers"!)

Disclosure: We thank Thames & Kosmos for providing us with samples of the game. Although a complimentary experience was generously provided, it does not impact our opinion on the review whatsoever.

#KevinHelock #AtHomeGames #TabletopGames #PuzzlesByMail #OneOffs #Fantasy #ThamesandKosmos #USA #ExitTheGame