After escaping from the ice cave last December, we decided to partake in a trip to an isolated mountain village with another Exit Series Advent(ure) Calendar from KOSMOS. In The Hunt For The Golden Book, players aren’t so much trying to escape the village as they are searching through it for Santa’s stolen tome filled with children’s Christmas wishes. Moments after arriving in the village, it becomes quite obvious that not everything is as it seems! To find the book before Christmas Eve, players must work together to solve the riddles behind each door while working against a countdown that is progressing each day.

Upon lifting the front cover, players will find not only all of the tools they need to help Santa Claus and save the approaching holiday but also 24 small pockets hidden behind sealed panels. The included storybook will guide players through the riddle each day and maintain the continuity between puzzles. Should players get stuck, there is a book of clues that allows them to have several hints before giving away the actual solution to each puzzle. Upon reaching a potential solution, players will use the decoder to determine if they are correct or need to rethink their logic. The decoder will provide a series of directions and symbols for players to follow based on their input. If the results match up, they have found the puzzle for the next day.

One of the main differences we noticed between The Hunt for The Golden Book and The Mystery of the Ice Cave was the change in difficulty. Though we feel that the catacombs of ice and snow were not overly difficult to traverse, nor was this sequel overly easy, we both agree that making the Advent calendars more accessible by lowering the difficulty is a smart move. We are excited that we now have options when choosing which calendar to gift to friends and family based on their experience with the genre and who they are playing with. Much like with the other Exit Series games from Inka and Markus Brand, players will need to use their collective thinking caps and creativity to solve the mystery. There are a variety of puzzle styles to be found and having a group, while not required, does help with skill diversification. Without giving away any spoilers, we loved the cleverness and imagination that went into this year’s puzzles. The narrative we have uncovered so far at the time of this review, however, feels a little less engaging than that of the Ice Cave but is by no means lacking in whimsy or fun. We are looking forward to completing the story and are already keeping an eye out for the English release of Exit: The Game – Advent Calendar: The Silent Storm for next year!

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