EXIT: The Game - The Lord of the Rings - Shadows Over Middle-earth

There were maybe three puzzles that were actually enjoyable in the whole game. But then there were SEVERAL where it’s unclear how you should go about a puzzle. The final puzzle (not the bonus puzzle) literally has you take something apart without ever indicating that that’s a step you need to take. Would not have ever guessed to do that without a clue card, which just… feels like being punished for something that you were told in the first place? Least favorite one I’ve done so far.

My husband received this game as a gift and I was a bit apprehensive about playing because I know very little about LOTR, but I quite enjoyed it. Didn’t need prior LOTR knowledge.

The puzzles in this one weren’t as fun as in other exit games I’ve done—way too much reading involved to get the story across. Still a pretty fun time, though.

As a major LotR nerd I can safely say they put too much effort in writing a story that went along with the books & movies and not enough time making fun puzzles set in Middle Earth. It was alright, but I basically read a short novel to play this game.

I’ve been a huge LOTR fan for over a decade, so I was really excited to play this game. However, I felt like the makers were so focused on making the story make sense and fit the theme that they didn’t put much effort into the puzzles. For example, one puzzle I solved correctly according to the answer card, but it was like there were two possible ways of doing it and only one was actually correct. I usually enjoy the tabletop escape games, but this one didn’t impress me.

Fun, loved the LOTR theming!

The second (Sherlock Holmes being the first) Exit Game with IP attached. The Exit Game delivers on many levels. 1) Range of Difficulties 2) inexpensive for a group 3) Take Home fun 4) well designed 5) high quality This stay at home option for obsessed escapists is definitely a great option. It’s a great option for large families (that suffer the burden for the entire rooms price). There is a scoring feature and clues/hints are available which reduce your score.

This is a pretty good tabletop escape game for fans of Lord of the Rings. As a warning, you can only technically play this once since you have to break down parts and cut things up. The puzzles are actually pretty neat and mostly revolve around looking at pictures and riddles in a booklet. But there are also some clever literal out-of-the-box solutions. It took us a while to finish but since it’s all at home, it can be as laid-back of an experience as you like!