The Mystery of the Ice Cave: A Christmas Countdown Calendar Full of Contemplation

Mystery of the Ice Cave
KOSMOS released an English version of The Mystery of the Ice Cave Advent Calendar for 2021

Fans of the escape room style games from the Exit: The Game series can now take their puzzle solving and sleuthing skills to a whole new icy depth with the release of The Mystery of the Ice Cave! Each day players will try to escape the mysterious frozen grotto by progressing through the provided puzzles and story. The adventure is broken down into twenty-four small chapters with each session taking approximately 10-15 minutes, making individual installments quick yet engaging for participants over the course of several weeks.

The Mystery of the Ice Cave was originally released in 2020 by KOSMOS but has been reprinted with an English translation for 2021. Inka and Markus Brand have teamed up yet again to bring a whole new escape room adventure to puzzle and mystery enthusiasts alike – this time in the form of an Advent calendar! In addition to their many contributions to the deduction and adventure genres, Inka and Markus Brand have designed numerous party and children’s games. Martin Hoffman also rejoins the Exit: The Game team as the illustrator for the Advent calendar. Hoffman has done illustrations for other non-Exit series projects including Roll for the Galaxy, Keltis, and Oktoberfest.

Mystery of the Ice Cave Setup
The box counts as the game itself so all one needs for additional setup is the included decoder, clue book, and storybook!

Upon lifting the lid a series of pockets marked only with strange symbols is presented laid out across a snowy field. A single box is marked as “1” and will be where the advent-ure begins (yeah we went there). Reading through the accompanying story tells us we were caught in an avalanche while skiing and barely managed to duck into a cave before being caught up in the snowslide. Strange things are discovered within and the entrance has been blocked beyond egress. Opening the first space will present players with their first puzzle and they will need to solve it in order to find out which will be the next in line. The game continues in such a fashion by presenting a new piece of story and riddle each day allowing the game to be enjoyed throughout your Christmas countdown.

As is tradition for many families during the winter holiday season, we here at The Cardboard Cantina also partake in the enjoyment of an Advent calendar. In addition to our “Dalek Invasion of the Gingerbread Village” calendar that Krista put together some years ago, we were fortunate enough to get a copy of The Mystery of the Ice Cave to add to this year’s festivities. The concept of being able to open and solve a new riddle every day instantly appealed to us, but what really blew us away was the ingenious use of the actual game box! Each puzzle is unique and engaging, and while some are certainly easier than others, we find them all to be a bright moment in our day as we read aloud that morning’s continuation and congratulated each other at the conundrum’s conclusion. The Mystery of the Ice Cave Advent Calendar is turning out to be an absolutely wonderful project and we can’t wait to find out where it takes us tomorrow!

All photos of KOSMOS products were taken and edited by Krista.