EXiT – The Sunken Treasure

Treasure Seaker? I Think So!

Ever since I picked up my first copy of one of Kosmos’ EXIT games I’ve had a passion for them and The Sunken Treasure is no different. As one of the earlier EXIT games I’ve got my hands on, I have to say it left me with a sense of joy and pride as I worked my way through the puzzles, but what is EXIT The Sunken Treasure like really? Don’t worry, there are no spoilers in this review so you’re safe to read as much as you like.

Game Unboxing and Setup

EXIT The Sunken Treasure takes mere seconds to set up, simply open the box and remove the pieces and you’re pretty much ready to go! You’ll find included in the box a very important set of instructions, many cards that will need quickly separating into their three distinct piles, a “decoder disk”, and a number of “strange items” which will be used during gameplay. Simply pop everything where all players can see, and begin searching for the treasure. Just make sure you start with the instructions and nothing else!

Gameplay Overview – No Spoliers!

As this wasn’t the first EXIT: The Game I’ve played, gameplay ran really smoothly. If you are new to EXIT games or escape room and puzzle games in general, not to worry, EXIT The Sunken Treasure is 100% beginner friendly and the easiest EXIT game I’ve completed to date, making it the perfect introduction, but fear not experienced gamers, the puzzles featured in EXIT The Sunken Treasure are interesting and fun to play regardless of your experience in riddle and puzzle solving based gameplay. You may wish to add some scissors and a pencil to your collection of components before you start, they will most definitely come in handy.

Play begins with The Sunken Treasure’s book, which slowly reveals new puzzles for players to solve as the timer ticks away in the background (if you choose to time yourself of course). Whether you choose to combat the riddles solo or play with a friend as I did, you’ll need to use the riddle card deck and answer card deck combined with the decoder disk to check if your suspicions are correct, and see if you can escape with the treasure before it’s too late.

Be warned, this game is not intended to be played multiple times as with the other EXIT games, EXIT The Sunken Treasure has components that are intended to be cut, folded, and written on in order to help you solve the puzzles. This feature really helps you interact with the game, but does leave you feeling somewhat naughty or perhaps a tad guilty for having done so. Even the box in some EXIT games are used as components for the riddles so be vigilant throughout.

Eco warriors fear not! Almost all components of the game including the box are recyclable, and if you’re clever, you can avoid damaging the parts making the game playable again another time. The game can be replayed? I hear you ask… But the components get destroyed? Yes, they do, but read on for a few tips on how you can make the game replayable.

Players can choose to time their game to help them calculate a final score once. Once you’ve escaped with the sunken treasure, stop the timer and use the guide on the back of the rulebook to help you out. Can you score a perfect 10 by completing the game within 60 minutes and without any clues? Or did you need some extra time or perhaps some help along the way? You use your final play time and total number of clues to calculate your score out of 10.

Final Thoughts

I love the EXIT: The Game Series and EXIT The Sunken Treasure is right up there with all the others I’ve completed so far. It was one of the first, but not THE first, EXIT game that I’ve played, and I have to say it was fun and friendly and overall a light and easy gameplay experience. EXIT The Sunken Treasure was the first EXIT game I’ve played where the gameplay is more linear, with the player book taking you through page by page instead of letting you loose with the whole thing in one go, which meant for me it was a more relaxed pace of gameplay, and is what makes The Sunken Treasure a great beginner experience into the world of puzzle solving and riddles.

My Own Playthrough Score?

In case you’re interested in more specifics to learn whether or not this game is the one for you, I played EXIT The Sunken Treasure with my husband, and together we completed the game with zero clues, just scraping a full 10 points with a time of 59 minutes. This is the only EXIT game we’ve ever managed to score a full 10 points on, the third we’ve completed without needing to use any of the provided help cards, and the second we’ve finished with less than 60 minutes on the timer.

So How About Those Cheeky Replayability Tips?

Well Kosmos made EXIT: The Game more interesting and complex by making sure some of the riddles required destroying components of the game, but if you’re clever, you can get away without. Of course, you’d still need to wait a bit before re-playing yourself to get those answers out of your head. Before I play any EXIT game, I cut myself a few card-sized pieces of paper and make sure I have extra paper handy which I can use to draw on, fold, or cut out instead of the original components. Once I’ve played, I then photocopy the parts that required vandalising and pass the game on to my parents so they can play too without damaging the original parts. Why don’t I photocopy them for my own gameplay? Because that would involve knowing beforehand what parts to copy which would spoil the fun!