Game Review: Exit the Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express

Exit the Game: Dead Man on the Orient Express designed by Inka and Markus Brand

See my review of previous Exit the Game games here.

The Exit the Game series is a bunch of at-home escape rooms in a box. Designers Inka and Markus Brand craft various puzzles that players have to solve in order to complete the mission or story in the game. In Dead Man on the Orient Express, they give a new twist to the final puzzle.

As the title suggests, the game is inspired by Agatha Christie's famous novel Murder on the Orient Express. The game's story includes the iconic train and has a "master detective" (named Achilles Pussot). He was solving the murder of Edgar Ratchington, a lone traveler on the train. Unfortunately, Pussot has disappeared in the midst of his investigation but has left many cryptic notes that should lead to the murderer's identity. Eight other passengers are on the train, all claiming to have alibis and having no relationship to the victim. Of course, someone is lying.

Play proceeds like most other Exit the Game games until the final puzzle. In order to find the code for the final puzzle, players have to identify the killer. Clues are found on various game components and can be put together to narrow the field of suspects down to one.

Various game components

One new and different component is the train compartments which are opened individually as the game proceeds. The compartments reveal more puzzles and more evidence for the murderer's identity.

Inside the compartment from the components above

We enjoyed all the riddles and were very close to discovering the identity of the killer. One small detail went unnoticed by me so I accused the wrong passenger. I was glad that I put together other clues that supported the other passengers' alibis. If it wasn't for one detail, I would have solved it completely. Even so, I enjoyed sifting over the evidence and coming to conclusions, even if I was ultimately wrong.

Highly recommended, especially for Agatha Christie fans and gaming fans.