Exit: The Haunted Roller Coaster

I have done a real exit room once. We managed to escape with 2 seconds left on the clock. That last 5 minutes, however, was basically filled with the operators feeding us obvious clues so we could get out for our picture. It’s safe to say I won’t be entering any competitive escape room competitions in the near future. Since then, I’ve played a few of the escape room in a box games. I’ve mostly played the Exit series though I have also tried the Unlock games as well. They have let me scratch the puzzle itch without the need to go and lock myself in a room on an industrial estate for an hour. Exit: The Haunted Roller Coaster is one of the easier scenarios in the Exit series so it could be an ideal way to give the idea a try if you are tempted. But what’s it like to play?

You Must Be This Tall To Ride

Obviously, I’m not going to spoil anything. I want you to be able to enjoy this box of goodies as much as possible if you decide to pick it up. You’re free to read on without fear of getting puzzle solutions thrown at you.

Exit games will generally give you a few things that are common to each game. You’ll get a code wheel, a deck of riddle cards, a deck of clue cards and a deck of solution cards. This one has a few extra bits alongside those for some specific puzzles. You’ll also have a book, which is the story you’re playing through. Generally speaking, each page will have you draw a few riddle cards which you have to solve. That riddle solution will lead you to a three digit code which you put into your code wheel. That’ll point you at a solution card which will let you know if you’re right or not.

If you’re right, onto the next puzzle! If not, try again and better luck next time. There are 10 puzzles in total in the box and our playthrough took about an hour and a quarter with 3 of us playing. Mostly the puzzles were pretty self-explanatory. That said, I think this has the best collection of any Exit games I’ve played. There was a fantastic variety of logic, physical and wordplay puzzles on show here. There was also one puzzle that was a little on the frustrating side that we managed to half finish but couldn’t get the final detail on. A quick trip to the clue cards let us figure the last bit out, but even then, it wasn’t obvious.

Looping The Loop

That one lowish point aside, the rest of the experience was brilliant. The big downside of these games is that you can only play them once. You now know the answers and in a lot of cases you end up destroying some of the components. So this is a one and done sort of thing. Once you’re over that though, I don’t feel like Exit games are bad from a value stand point. For the cost of a small round of drinks at the pub you can have about an hour and a half of solid puzzling with your friends. And like a round of drinks, the next one could be on one of your friends!

The Haunted Roller Coaster can be played solo but it’s not the way I’d like to play it. A lot of the joy I get from playing them is working the puzzles out with friends. It also allows you to enjoy the way your friends’ minds work. There have been times where I have been absolutely stumped by a puzzle and one friend might pipe up with a train of thought I’d never have considered. It’s a genuinely nice thing to be able to see somebody in a new light and I’m all for that.

Anyway, would I recommend The Haunted Roller Coaster? In a heartbeat. Especially if you’re new to this style of game. The puzzles offer a challenge and you get a feel for what these Exit games can offer. I’ve played them with friends and family and they have always gone down well. The mix of puzzles here is really good and I’d consider this to be one of the best entry points into this type of boardgame.