EXIT: The Forbidden Castle [pré-joué] (EN)

The games in the L'As des jeux Bazar are pre-played games. They have been inspected by one of our game experts and are certified "Complete." You may find some minor imperfections, such as light wear on the box or on certain game components.

It's finally vacation time. This year, you're headed to a charming mountain village. On the way to your rental, a tourist brochure catches your eye: an old castle is open for free visits, no ticket booth, no set hours. You head over without hesitating... and no sooner have you stepped through the old doors than they slam shut behind you with an ominous creak. The throne room you find yourselves in is filled with riddles, and your host, as charming as he is unsettling, will only let you leave once you solve every last one of them in time.

EXIT: The Forbidden Castle is the fifth title in the EXIT: The Game series, an escape room game you play right at home, with no game master required. Using a decoder disk, numbered clue cards, and strange items to examine, fold, and sometimes even tear, you'll search every corner of the castle to crack its secrets one by one. Like the rest of the series, the game is played cooperatively and only once: the components change as you progress, just like in a real escape room at home.

Fair warning, this chapter is rated Expert level: the riddles come with fewer safety hints than in earlier entries in the series, making it a real test for real-life escape room fans looking for a tougher challenge.

EXIT: The Forbidden Castle is for you if you've already cleared a real escape room and want that same adrenaline rush in your living room, if you enjoy riddles you can work through with your hands as much as your head, and if you're ready to team up to outsmart a castle host who's as charming as he is cunning.

The Forbidden Castle, the fifth entry in the series, was a finalist for Brazil's 2019 Geeks d'Ouro award in the Family/Party Board Game of the Year category. A free, optional companion app is also available: it adds an atmospheric soundtrack, a digital timer, and three bonus riddles.

The game was designed by the German husband-and-wife team Inka and Markus Brand, also behind hits like Rajas of the Ganges and Village; it's their EXIT: The Game series as a whole that won the prestigious German Kennerspiel des Jahres award, given to the best expert-level game of the year. The illustrations are by Franz Vohwinkel, Silvia Christoph, and Michaela Kienle.

To play, you'll need a pencil, an eraser, a few sheets of paper, and something to keep time with (a watch or stopwatch works great). A pair of scissors is handy but not essential: without one, the materials tear apart just fine by hand.

BOX CONTENTS
88 cards (24 riddle cards, 31 answer cards, 33 help cards)
4 strange items
1 booklet
1 decoder disk

Number of players: 1 to 4
Playing time: 45 to 90 minutes
Age: 12+