EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan Review

Got any sheep?

The first escape room I ever found myself in remains one of my core memories. My wife and I had just started dating, and I was hoping to introduce her to some good friends of mine. I knew that she was a fan of the setting that the local escape room was based upon, and as I was interested and willing to try out some new experiences, I figured it would be a great way to get all of us interacting. What I found was not just a great way to commingle, but a fully immersive investigative experience. One in which each person was invested in working together to not only solve the obtuse riddles of the room, but also to assist one another and lift each other person up in the process.

I suppose that’s the beauty of an escape room. Each person is able to work to their strengths, solving puzzles in an open format by cooperating with one another. The tangible aspect of it is no doubt a huge part of that — each turn of a key or new door opened creates a real sense of success. In this respect, EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan does an excellent job of simulating a more curated escape room experience.

Product: EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan

Designer: Inka Brand, Markus Brand

Publisher: Thames & KOSMOS

Price: $19.95

Age: 10+

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As stated earlier, escape rooms excel at creating an immersive atmosphere to the action you find yourself in. That is a tall task for a such a small box to emulate, but EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan attempts to do so by providing you narrative hooks in writing and giving clues and elements that are representative of the simulated setting, such as resource tokens and tiles that are drawn straight from CATAN. This isn’t as effective as being in a room wholly dedicated to your immersion, but if you let yourself roleplay, you may find it works well enough to remain engaging.

In order to avoid spoilers, I am not going to discuss the specifics of the puzzles or contents of the box, but the puzzles here did surprise me in terms of their difficulty. The clues provided are adequate for solving each task, and the actual act and experience of doing so goes extremely smoothly. There aren't any elements of unwanted or undue friction. Instead, what you get is a series of tests meant to challenge the group and inspire everyone to work together, crafting a delightful and rewarding scenario that always sparks joy when you find success. 

There is a bit of a caveat here in the sense that the game is explicitly marketed as a beginner EXIT title, with the age rating starting at 10 years old. I frankly would not expect a group of ten-year-olds to be able to complete an EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan scenario, though that doesn’t mean no 10 year old would be able to participate.

That said, the game works its setting into the process wonderfully. Resources are gained whenever you solve a puzzle, generating a number equal to the number token placed on the resource board tiles, evoking the mechanics of the CATAN game itself. Then, resources are traded to gain new clues for further puzzle solving. It creates this great flow of mechanics where something is always being gained and lost as the game progresses.

...the game works its setting into the process wonderfully. Resources are gained whenever you solve a puzzle, generating a number equal to the number token placed on the resource board tiles, evoking the mechanics of the CATAN game itself.

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One aspect that EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan does have over traditional Escape rooms is the inherent destructibility of the materials. While in a normal escape room you would take care not to damage the objects in a room out of fear and respect for the owners, here it is key to success. Parts are destroyed in the reveal process or as part of a puzzle solution, markings are made on the objects themselves and so on. It allows for solutions or processes that a normal escape room wouldn’t allow for.

When all 10 puzzles are finally solved, the game is won. Interestingly, though this was done with an entirely separate group, I couldn’t help but remember the elation and excitement I felt at my first escape room experience. There’s something so affecting about getting a group together to collaborate and conquer something of this nature. EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan elicits that same feeling when done properly, and that’s a thing of beauty.

Verdict

EXIT: The Game – Adventures on Catan is an excellent take on the escape room format for home play. Utilizing the setting of CATAN to great effect, this game is full of difficult but rewarding puzzles that will keep the group engaged the entire time.

Image Credits: KOSMOS

Disclosure: We received a free review copy of this product from the publisher.