Break in Area 51 Board Game – The Alien 3d Exit Game | Review

A break-in game with a matryoshka effect! The Break In Area 51 board game is a home escape game where players work their way into the heart of Area 51, puzzle by puzzle. The final mission in breaking into the forbidden zone: find your spaceship and leave Earth! 

You know those brightly painted nested egg-shaped Russian matryoshka dolls? You pull a larger doll apart and a smaller one is hidden inside. And so on until you get to the smallest one. The Break in Area 51 board game works on exactly this principle.

At the beginning you hold a hexagonal game box in your hand, which rattles quietly when you shake it.Opening it reveals cards stuck in the lid, a Quizer Tasch-Ehn knife and 3 deformed cows, the game box shows a simple map of the buildings in Area 51. The aim of the game is to work your way deeper and deeper into the inside of the game box, puzzle by puzzle and layer by layer. What a brilliant idea for an EXIT Game… or rather Break in Game! We were so excited about this alien game from Schmidt Spiele that we had to unpack and play it as soon as we received it!

Exit Games to Play at Home

Breaking in, solving puzzles and mastering the final mission, what works as an escape game in atmospheric locations also works as a board game. This game principle is so well received that there are now many different Escape Game adventures for the home from small and large game publishers, which differ greatly from each other in the game mechanism. The common denominator is the puzzles that have to be cracked in order to master the mission.

We have already played many missions and thus cannot avoid always comparing an exit game with the competition. In our Game Tips you’ll find many more reviews of Escape Games for the home, from the puzzle-heavy Exit Puzzles by Ravensburger, to story-heavy games like the dark and exciting Escape Tale the Awakening to the outstandingly sophisticated Exit games with and without puzzles by Kosmos, the puzzle-focused card escape game Deckscape, Escape Room books and many more…

Transparency note: Schmidt Spiele kindly provided us with a copy of a Break in Area 51 board game free of charge for review. However, this review and in particular the rating is unpaid and reflects our own independent opinion.

Break in Area 51 Board Game at a Glance

• Game type: Brain teaser, Escape game for home, Puzzle game
• Age: 12 years and up
• Players: 1 – 6 players
• Duration: approx. 120 minutes (no time pressure!)
• Publisher: Play Monster LLC / Schmidt Spiele
• Game author: David Yakos
• Year of publication: 2020
• Game objective: Solve puzzles and venture deep into Area 51 to find your spaceship and successfully launch it to leave Earth.

Schmidt Spiele Militaire 49380 Break In, Area 51, Rätselspiel, Actionspiel

Außergewöhnlicher Schachtelaufbau, Mehrere physische Entdeckungsebenen; Kooperatives Rätselspiel

17,88 EUR

*

Game Material and Game Principle

Game box and Escape Room

The hexagonal game box is not only the packaging but also the retractable 3D game board. The game box also contains large-format puzzle cards, help cards, cardboard cows, accessories for solving, mysterious plastic parts and the instructions.

Setting up the game is quick, you just have to stack the cards, put the cows and solving aids next to the box and off you go.

There are brightly highlighted symbols on the box that belong to either puzzle cards or solutions. Once all the puzzle symbols have been solved and the final solution puzzle has also been solved, we penetrate deeper into Area 51. To do this, you undo the plastic studs and unfold the box and move deeper and deeper into the forbidden zone.

We also took a notepad and a pen to help us solve the puzzles.

The Exit Rooms in the Break in Area 51 Board Game

The game box is also Area 51. As the game progresses, the game box unfolds to reveal new exit rooms. At the heart of Area 51 is the smallest exit room with the final puzzles. As in a real Escape Room, you have to thoroughly examine all sides and corners of the room.

It is important to play the game at a table that offers all players good access to the game box. So it is better to have a small table than a large one where you can see most of the game box from above. Be sure to pass the game box around so that everyone can play equally.

The Puzzles

Puzzles on the back of a symbol card

To go deeper into Area 51, you have to find the symbols on the game board, uncover and read or look at the matching card and solve the puzzle. To do this, you need the Exit Room, where clues and help are hidden. There are riddles that only lead to the matching card via a symbol and are read aloud. The main puzzles consist of three components that have to be solved. You have to find a puzzle symbol, a colour and a number.Once you have found the solution, you check it with solution strips and look through a small window in the game box. If the solution symbol is correct, the mission continues and you are directed to the next puzzle.

All in all, all the puzzles are logic puzzles, as they are typical for analogue exit games. In terms of difficulty, the manufacturer rates the puzzles as 3/4. For puzzle game newbies, some solution methods may cause a headache, but those who are already familiar with Exit games should not have too much difficulty solving them.

Rating and Conclusion

Is the solution right? Check with the solution strip

Search for clues, puzzle and penetrate into the heart of the foldable 3D game board. The Break In Area 51 board game differs from the competition in its game material, but in its game principle it is a typical Escape Game with familiar puzzle types. This exit game is first and foremost a puzzle game, the story is brief and serves primarily to advance.

Rating

Pro and Con of the Break In Area 51 Board Game

The game box as the main setting of the exit game: the idea of designing the game plan in 3D and moving deeper and deeper into the forbidden zone by unfolding it is fun. In contrast to other exit games, you don’t just examine maps and objects, but have vivid 3D rooms in front of you, which also contain a few nice little features. However, we would have liked to see a bit more 3D effect here, for example through puzzles with objects that are found. For most of the puzzles are typical logic puzzles that are easily solvable for experienced puzzle players. If you get stuck, you can get step-by-step help tips to avoid frustration.

We played Break In Area 51 as a foursome and had no problems solving any of the puzzles. Because you don’t have time on your hands. The duration of the game is irrelevant for the successful completion of the mission, so you can take your time solving the puzzles. The path is the goal!

There is also a small puzzle in the game, but it is more of an accessory. We would have liked it to be part of a more complex final puzzle. But this is definitely a point of criticism that can only come from real puzzle freaks like us… 😉

No game material is consumed while playing. So even though an Exit Game is a one-time play experience, you can pass it on or lend it out.

For Whom Is the Break in Area 51 Board Game Worthwhile?

This Escape Game is suitable for advanced puzzle players and exit players. It is ideal for playing in pairs or in a small group on a game night. However, we think more than 4 players is too many, because otherwise you should split up into small groups to puzzle in parallel and not just watch.

It is a nice game for families with teenagers who like to solve logic puzzles.

Conclusion

3D escape room game where you have to puzzle your way to the spaceship in the heart of Area 51. An extraterrestrial, entertaining adventure for advanced puzzlers.

Schmidt Spiele 49381 Break In, Alcatraz, Rätselspiel, Actionspiel

Außergewöhnlicher Schachtelaufbau, Mehrere physische Entdeckungsebenen; Kooperatives Rätselspiel

17,90 EUR

You love games? So do we! On Abenteuer Freundschaft we regularly publish our new discoveries. Every week there is inspiration for special activities with friends, partner and family to discover on our leisure ideas portal.

Don’t want to miss any more ideas and tips from Abenteuer Freundschaft? It’s easy: follow us on Facebook, Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter! ? *The affiliate link is a so-called affiliate link.

* This post contains so-called affiliate links. This means that if you order a product through it, we receive a small sales commission. However, this does not change the price.