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You trudge along the dark, rocky coast seeking shelter from the raging storm. Drenched to the bone, you look up to see a brilliant beam of light pierce the curtains of rain. A lighthouse! But suddenly and inexplicably, the light goes out. You glance out into the water and spot a ship. It is heading straight for the cliffs! You realize that it is up to you to race to the top of the lighthouse and turn it on again before the ship crashes on the cliffs! But many puzzling obstacles stand in your way...
In Exit: The Game + Puzzle – The Deserted Lighthouse, there are riddles within riddles, hidden within four 88-piece jigsaw puzzles. Like other Exit titles, The Deserted Lighthouse has no game board, but it also has no riddle cards. Instead, there are four jigsaw puzzles that you will find and assemble, one at a time. Each completed puzzle reveals a location containing more riddles to decipher.
In EXIT The Game: The Deserted Lighthouse, you must work to solve the riddles and reach the lighthouse’s top to activate its beacon, saving the approaching ship before it smashes against the rocks and sinks to the bottom of the sea.
At the start of the game, all you have available to you are the puzzle bag containing pieces with a grayish-blue back and no pattern, and the decoder disk. But there are also strange items to be found within the game that may be used to help solve the riddles found in each of the puzzles.
The game ends when you have solved the last riddle and reactivated the lighthouse beacon to save the ship from sinking.
Difficulty Level: 4 of 5.
—description from the publisher
- puzzles and destruction of components to solve
- Escape room in a box with jigsaw puzzle element
- puzzle-focused, puzzle-box
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative puzzle solving — players collaborate to solve the puzzles under time pressure
- Puzzle solving — puzzles integrated with component destruction and jigsaw elements
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
References (from this video)
- lighthouse theme
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- wallet/dial drafting — compact drafting mechanism with wallet style resource management
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Level Up Retreat is probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite convention.
- If you see me at a convention please come and say hi.
- You are somebody's reason to smile.
References (from this video)
- delicate hand management and card play
- compact and replayable
- cozy, modular hand-management
- hand management in a lighthouse-themed micro-game
- delicate, elegant
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hand Management — carefully manage a small hand to optimize scoring
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a wonderful little family game
- it's relaxing puzzly and a great implementation of the concept
- the puzzly nature really stands out in this version
- Wormspan was a highlight of 2024 for me
- Inventors of the Self Tigress is an achievement
References (from this video)
- Engaging scoring combinations that reward tactical play
- Lighthouse bonus tiles provide clear strategic targets
- Theme and mechanics feel cohesive and flavorful
- Early-game difficulty in achieving high-value combos
- Scoring can feel uncertainty-driven if bag contents don't cooperate
- Rules complexity may be intimidating for new players
- Abstract puzzle-building around lighthouse bonuses and adjacency effects
- Coastal town with a network of lighthouses and pattern-based scoring
- Mechanical, puzzle-driven
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- adjacency_scoring — Points are awarded for adjacency relationships, such as serifs or other tokens near bonus tiles.
- pattern_completion — Players aim to complete specific patterns or requirements to earn points.
- tile_placement — Players place tiles to create patterns and maximize scoring opportunities.
- token_and_bonus_tile_interaction — Tokens (e.g., serifs, diamonds) and lighthouse bonus tiles influence scoring and strategic choices.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I've got a prickly pair which will give me five points if I have at least one pin wheel of serats.
- One point per serif adjacent to this tile.
- That's three points right there.
- That's right.
- And you make a pin wheel with six Sarah's diamonds on your board, right?
- This could work well with these serifs.
- Maybe that's good.