Room Escape Artist

How the Grinch solved Christmas

Location: at home

Date Played: October 16-17, 2026

Team Size: 1+; we recommend 1-4

Duration: average 15 minutes/ day for 24 days

Price: about $49.95

REA Reaction

I have played the EXIT Advent calendar for many years in a row, and always looked forward to a daily bite-sized puzzling session in December. If you have previously encountered any of the numerous EXIT the Game boxed offerings, you know what to expect, stylistically, from this calendar. There was a rather substantial story book, along with a wide variety of creative puzzles, as the box got progressively destroyed. It was definitely NOT reusable. It worked well as a solo activity, and would also have served a small group well. The artifacts were tangible, the stories were brought to life in the lovely illustrations, and it required strong searching skills.

Fans of puzzle-based Advent calendars and EXIT the Game should absolutely pick this up for your holiday season daily dose of puzzles. EXIT the Game provides a quality product each year, and The Magic of Christmas is an excellent addition to this lineup.

For those exploring the tabletop game puzzle Advent calendar genre for the first time, The Missing Hollywood Star has been my favorite over the years.

Who is this for?

• Puzzlers who enjoy thinking outside the box
• Any experience level (there is a robust hint system)

Why play?

• Fun escape puzzles in a small daily dose during a busy time of year!

Story

The story is revealed over the course of the month. So skip this section if you want to avoid a spoiler.

You have been turned into a green, hairy monster. Making your way through a magical forest, then a castle, you meet animals who have also been changed from their original forms. Help them solve various problems and solve the mystery to save everyone!

Setup

The box came with perforated doors to open. Solving each daily puzzle led to the door to open the next day.

Gameplay

The Magic of Christmas was was a standard play-at-home escape game in the form of an Advent calendar. It had a moderate level of difficulty.

It emphasized observation, searching, and making connections between related information. EXIT the Game used more aha-style riddles than I’ve seen in standard escape-style tabletop games, which may increase the difficulty for players used to the latter. Everything included in the kit was fair game, from the story and instruction books and the decoder, to every part of the box. Be prepared to cut things open!

The puzzle for each day solved to a 3-digit number. Putting a number in the included decoder provided a sequence of 3 arrows and 3 shapes. From at the current day’s door, moving in the directions indicated by the 3 arrows, brought the player to a new door. If it had the same 3 shapes from the decoder, we would know that we had found the correct solution and door.

Analysis

➕ I loved how creative and novel the puzzles were; they stumped me quite a few times.

➕ The puzzles felt a little more fair this year, especially the aha-style riddles. They weren’t always straightforward, but context clues were more clearly indicated and puzzle elements were easier to find. This always lends itself better to a group of players brainstorming to find solutions.

➖ The Magic of Christmas had a fun final payoff, however, it felt a little less rewarding than it had been in previous editions.

✂️ This is a hallmark of EXIT the Game boxed escape games, but note that the game set got destroyed. The Magic of Christmas was not replayable. Players familiar with other tabletop escape room may expect a product like this one to be reusable. However, given the price and the amount of puzzle content included, I found it reasonable for this to be a one-time-use product.

➕ I enjoyed the story, even though, as an escape room player, I often ignore backstory.

Tips For Players

• Space Requirements: I recommend table space of at least 20″ x 30″ for ease of play.
• Required Gear: Pen to write the date on the next door; scissors required some days; phone with internet access; flashlight helps to look into the small doors.

Buy your copy of The Magic of Christmas, and tell them that the Room Escape Artist sent you.

Disclosure: EXIT: The Game provided a complimentary game.

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