Base price: $32.
1+ players.
Play time: 30 – 45 minutes per mystery.
BGG Link
Buy on Amazon (via What’s Eric Playing?)
Logged plays: 1

Full disclosure: A review copy of EXIT Family: The Mystery at Meanstone Manor / The Caper at Candy Castle was provided by KOSMOS.

Jesus, that’s a doozy of a game name. And that’s even cropping some of the game’s name off to fit in my format. Oh well; that’s life in the city sometimes. But we’ve blown through a ton of mysteries and escape rooms this week, and so there’s a lot to talk about! Maybe a dexterity game in the near future; we will see. I still have a wedding to attend soon and then a trip to Chicago; it’s a whole thing. But once I do that, the next big trip is Gen Con, so there will be plenty to talk about there and thereafter. Lots of games to cover between now and then! Given that I’m writing three reviews in one night, however, we should probably get to it, so let’s try this EXIT Family thing! I’m a little intrigued, having previously said that I’d love something between EXIT and EXIT Kids. Let’s see what’s up!

In EXIT Family: The Mystery at Meanstone Manor / The Caper at Candy Castle, you’re in with the EXIT Heroes: superpowered animals who are trying to help out and solve crimes around town. A mysterious disappearance and an even more mysterious stomachache? The EXIT Heroes are going to solve both! Heck, they might even be connected. So run around town, figure out puzzles, and maybe, save the day?

Contents

• Setup
• Gameplay
• Player Count Differences
• Strategy
• Pros, Mehs, Cons
• Overall

Setup

There’s not a ton of setup, as the game is kind of designed to get in and get going. The rulebook walks you through the entire thing, but you’ll essentially set out the Adventure Cards and the Riddle Cards, along with the disk and just kind of get right to it.

Note that this setup covers the first game; there are specific instructions on setting up the second game when it’s relevant. You have to get there first!

Gameplay

In general, the EXIT Family pair of games play about identically to the EXIT games. They’re a bit more complicated than EXIT Kids and a bit less complex than the mainline EXITs.

Here, you’ll be solving puzzles on the Riddle Cards, and from there, you’ll get a three-digit code. When you input that code below the relevant color on the disk, you’ll flip the disk over (like EXIT Kids). If the color on the window in the back matches the color of the Riddle Cards you’re using, you’re close! Then, check the bronze, silver, and gold icons on the front of the disk and check the Adventure Card matching that set of symbols. If you find one and it tells you to keep going, you solved it! If you can’t find one or you get an X, try again. This isn’t quite the multi-level confirmation of the EXIT series’ Answer Cards, but it’s got a bit more effort to it than the EXIT Kids’ color confirmations.

Keep going after that! You’ll have to solve the mystery at Meanstone Manor first, and then you’ll unlock the second mission!

Player Count Differences

I think the ideal setup for this is 1-2 adults and 1-2 younger players. I played with two total adults, and that worked out perfectly because we could split up tasks and work together. With younger players, it’s probably not the worst idea to have someone supervising (depending on how much you trust your young gamers with scissors; again, I have no kids and no idea). I think it largely supports independent play for younger players without much supervision, though. That said, I still did find it fun to play with multiple adults. Again, it’s a lower ceiling than the standard EXIT games, but it’s still a lot of fun. Not sure I’d want to go with four active players, though; that’s a lot of hands for a small area.

Strategy

• Your code might be incorrect, but not because it’s the wrong code. Unlike EXIT Kids, where the disk is entirely unique, EXIT Family has the same set of numbers on each ring, so you may have put the code in the wrong order. Try double-checking the puzzle. Similarly, make sure that your code is under the correct color. I’ve made all of these mistakes before.
• The Hint book is there to help you! If you’re stuck, use a hint. Sometimes you just are missing some context or didn’t grab the right thing.
• I think a major component of this game is scaffolding, so if you’re supervising younger players, give them a bunch of space to figure things out on their own. I think it’s rated for 8+, so this is a great spot to get players excited about this game style. Let players make some mistakes and learn about how these things work, but also support them! This is less on how to win the game and more on how to get folks excited about diving into a genre.
• I think with younger players, also making sure that players take turns and take different roles is important as well. Have someone read, someone work the disk, and someone handle the puzzle or the components. This prevents fights and, as someone who gets worn out of reading out loud too long, it gives players a break. I prefer that.

Pros, Mehs, and Cons

Pros

• I’m glad to see the EXIT Heroes are becoming a thing. I was wondering if they were going to be a one-off, but it looks like there’s another EXIT Family game that features the same crowd. I love when long-established series try new things, but I also worry that they might not gain traction and then be one-and-dones. So far, it seems like it’s gotten a second game; we’ll see if a third one is coming?
• It’s nice to keep the large-format Riddle Cards from EXIT Kids. I think that’s better for a variety of reasons. It’s easier to read, the large-format makes it nice for younger readers, and you can fit more relevant information on the card to add story and plot details for readers. It’s, as is going to be common here, a nice stepping stone between the two.
• Two games in one box is interesting since the last instance of this was Catacombs of Horror. I wonder if they’ll repackage Catacombs at some point? They seem similar in vibe, and it is my favorite. Who knows. I do like the double-size package, though.
• Two shorter games is also nice since it gives you a clearly-marked stopping point between them. I like it! It’s an easy way to split without having to pause between puzzles and then come back confused.
• This is the perfect way to close the gap between EXIT Kids and EXIT proper. Yeah, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. It’s lightweight, still digestible, and works as a great ramp-up. It’s about twice as long as an EXIT Kids session and half as long as a standard EXIT, and the puzzles sit nicely in the middle. They’re pretty tactile, too.
• I do think that Candy Castle is a slight step up in complexity over Meanstone Manor, and that’s good. Again, the goal in my mind is to ultimately lead to a standard EXIT, and I think ramping up the challenge (even a little bit) between the first and second games is good.
• There’s a particular puzzle interaction type that I’ve been waiting for at least 30 EXIT games, and it’s not disappointing. It’s absolutely up to scratch, and I’ve been waiting for it forever. I’m so glad it’s included in this box.
• They focus on a fair amount of physical and tactile puzzles in this, which I think is great. I think tactile puzzles resonate with younger players a bit more than just straight-up logic puzzles.

Mehs

• There’s a specific physical engagement puzzle that definitely plays better with younger players than my old and tired group. We were a bit too tired to be interested, but I think with either more energy or more enthusiastic players
• There’s an audio challenge that you kind of need to repeat three times, unless you catch it early enough and you have multiple people working in parallel. It’s a little annoying, largely because I didn’t realize it until the second iteration. By then, it was useless. Alas.

Cons

• I think it’s kind of funny to have a semi-precision cutting puzzle in a game that’s ostensibly targeted towards families. Granted, the older players may need to be the ones doing the cutting, but you can absolutely goof a few things in this game if you’re not careful about who gets to handle the scissors. It’s worth noting.
• That same audio puzzle I mentioned doesn’t have great captioning. I think for any audio challenge there needs to be an equivalent transcript for accessibility, for a variety of reasons.

Overall: 8.5 / 10

Overall, EXIT Family: The Mystery at Meanstone Manor / The Caper at Candy Castle is exactly what I was looking for as a bridge between EXIT Kids and EXIT proper! I was super excited to try it because I wanted to see if it was going to fit in that niche and it absolutely does. There’s a lot going for it. It’s got a bit more reading and plot than EXIT Kids, which, yes, it should, given its target audience. The puzzles also have more complexity, which is obviously a nice step up as well. The puzzles have a bit to them that play in the visual, physical, and tactile spaces, which are all great ways to ramp up. There’s not a ton of, say, math here, which is also good. The EXITs aren’t terribly math-heavy, but you still don’t want to go too hard on a game rated 8+. The plot is a little saccharine, given talking super-powered animals, but even then, sometimes it’s a little funny. The only major issues that come up are around implementation of some puzzles, and those might be places where a supervising player might be helpful. Audio puzzles, some puzzles with scissors; things like that. They don’t tie down the fun of the experience; it’s just a bit better if you can smooth over some of the more challenging things that come up. Beyond that, though, it’s a good time! I know there’s another one, so I need to check that out at some point as well. If you’re looking to move upwards from the EXIT Kids series, you enjoy talking pets, or you just want an EXIT game at a lower complexity than the standard ones (and there’s nothing wrong with that), I’d definitely recommend checking out EXIT Family: The Mystery at Meanstone Manor / The Caper at Candy Castle! It’s a great middle ground for the series.

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