Room Escape Artist

Panic Slowly … Detours ahead!

Location: at home

Date Played: November 6, 2025

Team Size: 1+; we recommend 1-2

Duration: about 5 hours total, or 10-15 minutes per day for a whole month

Price: about $49

REA Reaction

Alternatives to the traditional chocolate Advent calendar have proliferated in recent years, but the EXIT Advent Calendar is the first escape Advent calendar that I noticed, and they have been consistent in publishing a new one every year.

EXIT’s offering is also the puzzle-related Advent calendar that I look forward to the most. If you have ever played one of their standard boxed escapes, you will have a sense of how they hide clues in unconventional ways. The Advent calendar is more of the same, and I love how it challenges my assumptions of how an at-home game can be played.

I have played all the Advent calendars that EXIT has published in the United States so far (REA Advent calendar reviews, including these.) This year’s Advent calendar The Intergalactic Race, like every previous year, included new puzzle mechanics, which kept solving it refreshing. It also felt as though in The Intergalactic Race, EXIT had somewhat reduced the amount of puzzle content that was hidden in the room art. I appreciated this because it is always hard to see clearly inside the dark little box. If you have to choose between the different annual editions, this one is my favorite so far!

Note that this is not a calendar that can be reused — by the end of my play session, it had been reduced to rubble, though I received a nifty little gift for my efforts. Overall, I found it the perfect mix of challenging riddles, cheeky storytelling, and progressively unhinged scissor work. EXIT continues to out-do itself in its ability to find new ways to incorporate every bit of the physical materials into the puzzle.

Who is this for?

• Story seekers
• Puzzle lovers
• Any experience level
• Fans of EXIT: The Game’s normal escape game boxes
• Those looking for a daily bite-sized puzzle experience to liven up December

Why play?

• Daily puzzles are more fun than chocolate!
• EXIT: The Game puzzles are creative and more than a little delightfully unhinged.

Story

This year’s theme was a mixture of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Amazing Race, and Christmas all rolled into one. I was a sidekick in a competitive space race and, together with my pilot, I encountered all sorts of hijinks on the way.

Setup

The calendar came with a story book, a clue book, and a decoder. Each day, I read a new installment of the story, which sometimes included some new puzzle material. I then opened the door for that day and pulled out clue cards or physical artifacts. I solved the daily puzzle with the provided materials, sometimes including information found behind the door, occasionally the calendar package itself. The solution for each day was a 3-digit number, which when entered into the decoder, provided 3 directional movements and 3 shapes. If I followed the movements, the next door would have the same 3 shapes on it. I would then write the next day’s number on the door, ready for use the next day!

I played through the entire calendar prior to writing this review, and each day took on average 10-15 minutes to play, including the daily story time. I used the hints on a couple of occasions when I knew that I just wasn’t getting the aha myself. Each day had 3 levels of hints, so I could read just up to the point that was helpful, without spoiling the entire puzzle. The answer is also always provided, just in case you’re not feeling it that day.

Gameplay

EXIT: Advent Calendar’s The Intergalactic Race was a standard play-at-home escape game in the form of an Advent calendar. It had a moderate level of difficulty.

The puzzles emphasized observation, decoding, and creative thinking.

Analysis

➕ The damage I was expected to inflict on the puzzle materials became progressively more destructive. This was a delight to my inner kindergartener.

❓Due to my prior experience with this brand, I was slightly trigger happy and ripped up parts of the game when I was not supposed to. Fortunately, I was still able to solve the puzzle (and could have resorted to the clue book if not). Player beware!

➕ The amount of play time (~5 hours total for this reviewer) for the cost ($40-50) was very reasonable.

➖ The accompanying story book tied the puzzle narrative together well, but was somewhat lengthy. Many players that I play with don’t have the patience for a long story-time before getting into the fun part of the game.

✂️ Unlike many other play-at-home escape games, this product absolutely cannot be reused to be given away.

➕ I love that successfully solving the final puzzle resulted in a prize.

Tips For Players

• Space Requirements: You need enough space to lay the box flat, with the lid open, and some room to lay out any provided cards for the day.
• Required Gear: You will need a marker for labelling the doors, and scissors are definitely required. Pen and paper may be useful. Tape as well.

Buy your copy of EXIT: Advent Calendar’s The Intergalactic Race and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: Exit: The Game provided a complimentary game.

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