Exit games are tough to review. How do you review an escape room game without giving away some clues and riddles? Well, this is very fun co-op game, so I’ll do my best to explain it, and keep the review spoiler free.
Exit Games are one-time use! They can only be played a single time. And you cannot give them to someone else when you are done. Why not? Because you will have to cut, fold, tear, and write on the game materials inside the box to solve the puzzles presented to you.
There are over a dozen “Exit: The Game” escape room games available from Kosmos Games. And Exit: The Haunted Roller Coaster is a very good jumping in point for newbies. All of the Exit games are ranked in difficulty from 1 to 5 stars (1 is for novices to Exit games, and 5 is for Experts). The Haunted Roller Coaster is rated a “2” on the difficulty scale.
Below is a list of all the Exit Games and their corresponding difficulties. I have also provided links to Amazon in case you want to read more reviews from fans who have played each game. Note – These are difficulty ratings, not review ratings. Most fans really enjoy these games. 😉
- Exit: The Abandoned Cabin (2.5 stars)
- EXIT: The Catacombs of Horror – This is a 2-Part game (4.5 stars)
- EXIT: Dead Man on the Orient Express (4 stars)
- Exit: The Forbidden Castle (4 stars)
- Exit: The Forgotten Island (3 stars)
- Exit: The Haunted Roller Coaster (2 stars)
- Exit: The House of Riddles (2 stars)
- EXIT: The Mysterious Museum (2 stars)
- Exit: The Pharaoh’s Tomb (4 stars)
- Exit: The Polar Station (3 stars)
- Exit: The Secret Lab (3.5 stars)
- EXIT: The Sinister Mansion (3 stars)
- EXIT: The Sunken Treasure (2 stars)
What is an Exit Escape Room game?
EXIT: The Game is a series of escape room games for playing at home. Players must solve riddles and puzzles and crack codes in order to escape from an imaginary room or environment. Each time you solve a riddle or puzzle, you will be one step closer to exiting the game. Games typically have about 10 unique puzzles to solve.
The Exit games play with 1 to 4 players. The players work together trying to solve riddles and puzzles to escape the room. We have actually played Exit Games with more than 4 players, and I think they play fine with 5 or 6 players if you have a larger group. 5 or 6 players might be “too many cooks in the kitchen” for some people, but I think it works fine if you all get along.
Each game has its own unique setting. Everything you need to “escape” is included in the box. And each game will take 1-2 hours to solve.
If you get stuck along the way, there are 3 hints for each riddle/puzzle you encounter.
What is Exit: The Haunted Roller Coaster?
“Dark corridors, terrifying shrieks, bone-chilling monsters — sounds like a lot of fun, right? At least that’s what you thought when you decided to take a ride on the haunted roller coaster at the amusement park. But suddenly you are stuck in a really freaky place. The ride’s gates are locked tight in front of and behind you. You stumble upon a strange riddle. Can you summon up all your courage to solve the riddles and escape the haunted roller coaster?”
This Exit Game is recommended for players ages 10 and up.
What’s in the box?
The box is about 5 inches x 7 inches x 1.5 inches. As the box is fairly small, I think this game would make a great stocking stuffer.
The box contains:
88 Cards:
- 30 Help Cards
- 30 Answer Cards
- 20 Riddle Cards
- 8 Odd Cards
1 Book
1 Decoder Disk
8 Strange Items
- 1 Folded “Carnivora” sheet
- 1 Mysterious Stranger (Not Pictured)
- 6 Body Parts
You will have to provide your own writing implements, scissors, and paper.
For added enjoyment, you can download the Kosmos Helper App from Google Play or the Apple App Store. The Kosmos Helper App will enhance The Haunted Roller Coaster with music, a timer, and a creepy voiced guy setting up the scenario for you. This is the same story you can read in the guide book, but the guy in the app will probably do it with a little more style than you can. The music is creepy carnival music to help set the mood for everyone playing the game. The App will also tally a final score based on the time it took you to complete the game, and how many clues you needed along the way.
What are the puzzles like? How does the Haunted Roller Coaster Play?
You and your gaming group will have to progress sequentially through 10 riddles and puzzles to escape the Haunted Roller Coaster. The puzzles are: logic puzzles; word puzzles, picture puzzles; riddles; and crafting puzzles. Crafting puzzles include cutting cards and rearranging the pieces, and building items from the box. I don’t want to give much away, but the puzzles are fun to solve.
If you are having any trouble solving a puzzle, each of the 10 riddles give you 3 clues to help you get back on track. So, if you are really stuck on a puzzles, you can get a hint or 2 or 3! The 3rd clue will essentially solve that particular riddle so you can move on.
As you are playing the game, you will use the decoder disk to point you to an Answer Card. The Answer Card will tell you if: 1) you can advance your way out of the Roller Coaster, or 2) if you are still stuck in that section.
When the game is over, you will be given a score from 1-10 stars based on: 1) How long it took you to Exit the Roller Coaster Ride, and 2) how many clue cards you used. The overall score does not really affect how much fun you will have playing the game.
Likes, Dislikes and Final Thoughts
Likes
I like the variety of puzzles in the game. Sometimes you are solving simple riddles. Sometimes you are playing with clues in drawings. Sometimes you are solving logic puzzles. Sometimes you are cutting cards and/or the actual game box and crafting them into something to solve puzzles.
This is great co-op game. Everyone gets a chance to contribute their ideas to solving clues and riddles. And even though the game says 1-4 players, you could even bring in a couple of more players if you want. We played this game with 5 players and it was still enjoyable for everyone.
The Kosmos Helper App is simple, but effective. The App sets up the environment for you, and will act as a timer. We also opted to play The Haunted Roller Coaster with the creepy carnie music to set the mood.
You get a nice sense of accomplishment escaping the Haunted Roller Coaster … even if you need to look at clues along the way.
Dislikes
Some people might think some of the puzzles are too difficult, or maybe even a bit unfair. With more people playing, and more eyes on the prize, it’s fair to say that someone will probably have an idea on how to solve each puzzle.
Exit games are good for only one play-through.
Final Thoughts on Exit: The Haunted Roller Coaster
This is a game you would dedicate most of a game night to. You invite over a few friends, and set aside to 1-2 hours trying to escape the Haunted Roller Coaster. We had 5 people playing last weekend, and the game took us about 90 minutes, and all 5 players thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Haunted Roller Coaster was fun to solve.
Sure, the game retails for $14.95, and the Haunted Roller Coaster is only good for one 1 play-though, but the experience is worth it. Most physical Escape Rooms will cost about $25 per player. So 4 players will be spending $100. The Haunted Roller Coaster will only cost 4 players about $3 – $4 each if people chip in.
The Haunted Roller Coaster’s difficulty is Level 2 out of 5. And if you look at the difficulty of all the games above, there are no games with a difficulty of Level 1. So this actually is really one of the easier Exit Games. The Haunted Roller Coaster is a good beginner game, and a great introduction into the series.
This would make a nice gift for most gamers.
