The Hobbit: Riddles in the Dark Becomes First Licensed Game in 18Escape Series

Grand Gamers Guild have announced the first licensed title in their popular 18Escape range of escape room style puzzle card games.

The Hobbit: Riddles in the Dark, licensed from Middle-earth Enterprises and Asmodee, is a narrative driven adventure game that takes place in J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit. Designed by Jonathan Chaffer and illustrated by Kwanchai Moriya, the game reimagines the iconic riddle contest between Bilbo baggins and Gollum as an escape room style experience. The narrative driven format used by Grand Gamers Guild’s 18Escape range has sold over 77,000 copies across 20 titles, including the Holiday Hijinks and Endangered Rescue lines. The games are very compact, easily fitting into your pocket, and only consist of 18 cards in total.

The Hobbit: Riddles in the Dark is expected to make its debut at PAX Unplugged 2026 in December, before getting a general retail release. The game is great for solo play, but can be played as a co-operative effort with more players, is for ages 13+ and takes around 60 minutes to complete.

Imges courtesy of Grand Gamers Guild