Puzzle Days in the Exit: Advent Calendar – The Silent Storm
Progress through a monthly story surrounding Santa and Christmas with the Exit: Advent Calendar – The Silent Storm.
Another Advent calendar challenge was completed this month! After I enjoyed my experience last year, it was only fitting that the Exit: Advent Calendar – The Silent Storm made it into my collection to enjoy throughout December. Take a look back at some general information without any spoilers to celebrate the end of the month and 2023!
Spoiler Alert
Nothing is mentioned in particular, aside from a few glimpses into the components and elements that are visible either on the box exterior or right at the very start. I include a chart ranking my favorite days, yet this is still very generic without giving away any specifics. Still, this is a game best experienced with all the surprises, so skip on by if desired!
Game Overview
Game Name: Exit: Advent Calendar – The Silent Storm
Publication Year: 2022
Designers: Inka Brand & Markus Brand
Artist: Thomas Hussung
Publisher: KOSMOS
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Daily puzzles progress through a story with all sorts of challenges to work through! There are fun discoveries along the way, yet a help book ensures that it’s never possible to get stuck for long. Christmas is in danger of not happening… Save the holidays with these solutions!
First Play
December 1, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
December 24, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
24
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
24" x 24"
Low Score
N/A
Opening Little Doors
Aside from the first door being numbered, part of the puzzle is to figure out where to go for the next day. Very clever! This system is done really nicely with the codes.
I enjoyed the interior artwork for last year’s Advent calendar much better, although I understood the reasons for this presentation. At least there was a cool nutcracker!
Each daily puzzle usually takes somewhere in the range of 10 to 20 minutes to complete, which is awesome.
However, know that I’m one inpatient person… If I can’t figure something out, I go to the hints pretty quickly!
Stories & Puzzles
As the story unfolds with a chapter for the day, the specific puzzle is presented. These span everything possible, with none that feel like copies of one another. Plenty of variety!
I felt like the story wasn’t as strong, though. Reading the introduction to each day took a fair amount of time, and I didn’t feel like it was advancing much of anything.
Santa’s personality felt a little off, too, in the way he was presented throughout the text. He seemed… Too generic?
Don’t get me wrong: This story isn’t meant to be the greatest! It just didn’t grab me the way last year’s tale did.
Interesting Warnings
Throughout the adventure, I had to hunt everywhere for clues… Which led me to the warning section on the back of the box. A risk of blinding?! And fires?! Accurate, actually.
Reminds me of part of what I do and the fun with safety testing in board games. Not at all consumer-friendly, yet there are requirements that absolutely must be present.
Anyway, I found some puzzles to be absolutely amazing, and not just because the solutions were easy to come by.
There were a fair amount of clever designs that made me absolutely delighted to open up each door in the morning!
Ranking the Exit Advent Calendar Puzzles
To keep up the tradition from last year, time to rate all of the days and pick out my favorites! For comparison, my spread last year was 10 excellent, 8 great, 2 good, and 4 mediocre puzzles. It’s hard to split up everything accurately, yet there were definitely certain days that stood out, either for good or bad reasons. Lots of fun for 24 days, though!
Day 1
Great
Day 2
Excellent
Day 3
Excellent
Day 4
Excellent
Day 5
Mediocre
Day 6
Excellent
Day 7
Excellent
Day 8
Good
Day 9
Great
Day 10
Great
Day 11
Great
Day 12
Mediocre
Day 13
Good
Day 14
Great
Day 15
Mediocre
Day 16
Excellent
Day 17
Mediocre
Day 18
Excellent
Day 19
Mediocre
Day 20
Good
Day 21
Excellent
Day 22
Mediocre
Day 23
Good
Day 24
Great
Getting Unstuck
I’m not the most patient person when it comes to working out these puzzles on my own. Thank goodness for the included help book! Absolutely no chance of getting stuck.
There were a few solutions that seemed opposite of any intuitive clues, yet those days were few and far between.
Generally speaking, I had another great time with this Advent calendar! It didn’t quite work for me as well as the first one, but I’m sure that might be the novelty factor.
I found ways to take photos or preserve the components, so this is off to a new home to be played through again!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-24
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Days 1-24
Outcome: 24 Wins
It was a tricky sort of situation on a few days, but the help book and clues got me through everything. Having that extra way to double-check my solutions was also excellent for enjoying all of the puzzles solo! One funny component came into play with the wrong door solution once… Very clever, as are the vast majority of these puzzles. Glad I had a chance to run through another fun December activity!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
8
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each day features a different sort of puzzle, and never does it feel like anything is repeated across any of the days.
- Figuring out the solutions can be very fun, especially since the help book provides clues and verifies answers.
- Play time is very reasonable, with most days taking about 10-20 minutes, depending on how obvious the clues are.
- Little rooms add lots of atmosphere to the experience with plenty of details and hidden clues to discover.
- Despite being designed to be a single-use game, the component quality is pretty decent and the doors don’t rip.
- It’s awesome to see how much fits inside the box, and finding unrelated clues on other components is quite fun.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Some puzzles are very unintuitive or require specific thought processes that aren’t obvious or clear from the clues.
- Compared to the previous year’s Advent calendar, this one involves a lot more component destruction and tearing.
- The interior artwork is a bit bland for being the main focal point of each day, especially as it seems washed out.
- Many of the chapters don’t feel particularly interesting, and the overall storyline doesn’t add to the puzzles.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Puzzle
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete all 24 puzzles.
Continue the Conversation
Did you play through the Exit: Advent Calendar – The Silent Storm? What were some of your favorite puzzles? After this year, I don’t know if I plan to keep up the annual tradition… Maybe I’ll find another way to fill in my Advent calendar time next year! This series is certainly a lot of fun, though, and makes December special. At least I saved Christmas!
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