Unlock! Is Where Card Games And Escape Rooms Meet

Escape rooms have blown up in popularity over the last few years, giving groups of people the opportunity to use nothing but their wits to puzzle their way out of danger. To capitalize on the fun of riddle-solving and clue-gathering, publishers have released the card game Unlock! Escape Adventures. This dynamic card game gives you three thrilling scenarios to choose from that will force you to put your heads together if you want to make it out alive.

How to Escape

Unlock! is a cooperative card game that works similarly to an actual escape room. Instead of traveling to some in-person escape room at your local mall, you can experience all of the fun of puzzle-solving and teamwork from the comfort of your very own home. Unlock! allows you to search scenes, combine objects, and solve riddles to escape from the room and win the game.

Unlock! is played with cards that each have a number on one side and a detailed illustration on the other. Whenever players enter a new area, they turn over a card to represent the room they’re in. Players will create a map of the room based on the numbers of the other cards they have, giving you a unique experience each time.

You play the game with several different cards. Object cards can be used with other cards to perform tasks, while you may need to study closely the illustrations on the room cards to find hidden clues. Unlock! even comes with a companion mobile app that you can use to perform small challenges and advance throughout the room. This app can also give you hints in case you get stuck.

Choose Your Adventure

Unlock! Escape Adventures comes with three different escape rooms to choose from. The first is The Formula, in which you’re government operatives locked in a secret laboratory and tasks with recovering a mysterious serum. You’ll have to solve the riddles if you want to find the serum in the scientist’s subterranean laboratory and complete your mission.

The Squeek & Sausage escape room casts the players as heroes working against the evil super-villain Professor Noside. This game uses fun object puzzles and a unique visual style to give players a cartoonishly fun time. The last adventure is The Island of Doctor Goorse, where players are stranded on the island of an eccentric antique collector billionaire. Players have to work together to overcome his hidden traps and escape the island with their lives!

Unlock! comes with a ten-card tutorial that helps you to learn how to play without needing to read the rules of the game. The mobile app also includes a tutorial and a demonstration scenario that make it easy for you to pick up the rules of the game. While you do need to download the app in order to play the game, you don’t need an internet connection to use it while you’re playing.

Unlock! Sequels

In addition to the original Unlock! Escape Adventures card game, they’ve released quite a few sequel card games that feature new adventures to escape from. Unlock! Mystery Adventures features three escape rooms, including the sinister haunted house in The House on the Hill and the vicious sea monster that tracks you into the submarine in The Nautilus’ Traps.

Unlock! Mystery Adventures also features The Tonipal’s Treasue, a treasure-hunting theme that forces you to race against another treasure hunter to be the first to find Captain Smith’s hidden booty. If you’ve played through the original three escape rooms of Unlock! Escape Adventures and you’re looking for new challenges, you can choose from any one of the sequels to keep the good times rolling.

Find Your Way Out with Unlock!

Unlock! is playable by 2-6 players, although the game really shines as a 2-player game. It’s suitable for ages 10 and up, as younger players can help the adults unravel the clues and play the short challenge games on the app. Playing time lasts around 45-75 minutes, so you should get a nice, long game out of it.

Buy Unlock! today and enjoy the thrill of a classic escape room from the comfort of your living room!

7 Wonders: A Story of Civilization As Old As Time

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the leader of an ancient civilization? Back in ancient times, when the wonders of the world were an astounding sight to see, inspiring awe in the hearts of man? With the card game 7 Wonders, you get to experience the same sense of awe by building your very own timeless architectural wonder.

In this card game, you’re the leader of one of the 7 great cities of the ancient world. Your job is to gather resources, develop trading routes, and best your competitors in military strength in order to earn points. As you build your city, you’ll also seek to construct your very own wonder that will last throughout time. 7 Wonders has rhythm and a fast-paced sense of fun that makes this dynamic card game one you won’t want to miss.

The Three Ages

7 Wonders lasts for three Ages, with each Age offering players the opportunity to build their civilization by drawing cards. Players will receive seven cards from a deck during each Age, choosing one of those cards and passing the rest to the next player. Once everyone has drawn a card, each player will reveal their cards at the same time.

Players are all given their own boards with which to organize their cards, representing their “Wonder”. In order to play cards, you’ll have to pay the cost, which may require either certain raw materials or manufactured goods. Some cards have no cost to play, however. With these cards, players can add markets and routes to facilitate the growth of their civilization as well as scientific discoveries or military power.

Coins and Resources

Players are allowed to discard their cards to acquire coins. Coins can be used to buy resources from your opponents, allowing you to play more cards. Trading with the other players is a major part of 7 Wonders, so you’ll have to find a strategy that allows your civilization to thrive without giving the other player what they need to beat you.

Certain cards will have immediate effects, while others will give you bonuses you can use later on. Some cards will give you discounts on future purchases, while others will give you military strength. Once each Age comes to an end, players will compare their strength with their neighbors based on their military cards. Victorious players will earn points, while the defeated players will lose points.

Once the third Age is finished, players will add up the points from all of their cards, military victories, and coins. They’ll also add points from any sets of cards collected as well as if they completed certain levels of their Great Wonder. Whichever player earns the most points is the winner of the game!

7 Wonders Later Editions

7 Wonders has released a sequel card game called 7 Wonders Duel that turns this multi-player card game into a one-on-one competition. In 7 Wonders Duel, players will draw cards from a display of face-down and face-up cards that are arranged each round. You can only take a card if none of the others are covering it, giving you the additional element of timing in drawing cards.

Each player is given four wonder cards at the beginning of the game. If you construct a wonder, you get a special ability. However, only seven wonders can be built, so one player will end up with only three wonders. There are several paths to winning 7 Wonders Duel. Players must either reach the opponent’s capital, acquire six out of seven different scientific symbols, or win the most points at the end of the game.

Explore the 7 Wonders

7 Wonders is playable by 2-7 players, which means you can play the game just as easily with one other person as you can with the whole family. This card game is suitable for ages 10 and up, so younger players can learn about card development and set collection skills. Playing time lasts around 30 minutes, so you can fit in a round or two in a night without losing interest.

Buy 7 Wonders and build your own civilization today!

The Game of Life: When Art Truly Does Imitate Life

Life is one of those classic board games that you played with your siblings growing up—it’s packed to the brim with nostalgia and fun memories. But this old board game more than stands the test of time, as recent versions of it have gotten rid of some of the outdated mechanics of the game and added fun new elements. Life allows you to build a life of your own in a matter of minutes, weaving around the board in an effort to make the most of the short time you have before you reach retirement.

Spinning Through Life

The game of Life is meant to mirror one’s actual life, allowing you to do things like choose a career, marry, have children, and buy a home. Unlike real life, where these decisions are made freely, Life forces you to make your choices based on a spinner. Players will advance through the spaces on the game board by spinning a spinner located in the center of the board.

Some choices give you several options. For example, when you get to the career space, you get to pick several cards to choose from in order to decide which career best fits you. The marriage space, however, is not optional. Players are given a little miniature car to move around the board, adding small pegs to represent a spouse and kids that get added along the way.

Life Tiles

Like real life, one of the biggest goals of the game of Life is to earn as much money as possible by the time you reach retirement. Money is doled out in the form of little pieces of colored paper, which you spend and earn at various points throughout the game. There’s also an option to earn money by buying stocks, which are represented by a number 1-9. Whenever a player spins and lands on that number, you earn money.

Players will collect what are called Life Tiles whenever they land on a space or hit a certain milestone. These tiles can give you money through sudden windfalls such as winning the lottery; or, they can hit you with unforeseen expenses like a midlife crisis or damage to your home. These are some of the most fun and silly elements of the game, as things may be going great for you until botched plastic surgery saddles you with debt!

One of the most interesting things about this board game is that the choices you make may not always be what you would do in real life. Sure, who doesn’t want to own a mansion? But in Life, drawing the mansion card saddles you with a hefty bill and no discernable benefit, whereas the cheap trailer will do just fine. You’ll also be given the opportunity to purchase insurance, which can save you in the event that you land on a space that burns your house down.

Life Sequels

Life has been out for over 60 years, cementing its place in history as a classic family board game. Since its first release, there have been countless sequel board games with new and interesting variations. The Electronic Banking version of Life makes things slightly easier (and more up to date) by tracking everyone’s funds with a card system instead of using cash.

Life: Twists and Turns has several updates, giving you new choices and possibilities as well as a “LIFEpod” that helps you track time and manage your careers and families. There’s also a Star Wars version of the board game called Life: A Jedi’s Path that forces you to do battle, go on missions, and build your lightsaber as you enhance your connection to the Force. Will you choose the righteous Jedi Path or the tempting Dark Path?

Breeze Your Way Through Life

Life is playable by 2-6 players, which makes it the perfect board game for families of all sizes. It’s suitable for ages 8 and up, so it’s a great way to introduce younger players to things like money management. Life has a playing time of around an hour, giving you plenty of time to explore the board and see what fate has in store for your life.

Buy Life today and enjoy the wacky fun of this nostalgic classic!

Wits And Wagers: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Trivia games are usually only really fun for people who know trivia. After all, how are you gonna go up against the guy with an encyclopedic knowledge of history when you barely passed social studies? Wits and Wagers levels the playing field by turning your typical trivia board game into a gambling free-for-all. You’ll place bets on the guesses of your friends, earning points and poker chips every time you get it right. Wits and Wagers proves that you don’t always have to be the brain of the group to win–sometimes you just need to bet on him!

Make Your Guess

One of the coolest parts of the board game Wits and Wagers is that it comes with a bunch of cool components that allow you to make your guesses and place your bets with style. The board game comes with 100 question cards that all have questions on them such as “How many hills are there in Rome?” or “How many feet are there in a football field?”

Players are all given their own small dry erase board and pen on which to write their guesses each round. Those who aren’t widespread in their trivia knowledge have no need to fret. The winner of the round is the person whose bet comes closest to the actual answer without going over it. The game comes with 700 questions in categories such as Pop Culture, History & Government, Sports, and even Wild & Zany.

Place Your Bets

The thing that sets Wits and Wagers apart from other trivia board games is that it adds a gambling component to the game. If you have no idea what the answer to the question is but you believe one of your friends knows the answer, then you can bet on the answer you believe to be correct using poker chips. These come in different colors to signify 1, 5, and 25 points per chip.

The board game also comes with a large felt mat where you lay down your chips to make your bet. Once all the players have made their guesses and revealed their answers, they’ll lay the dry erase boards down on the mat from lowest to highest. Players then get 30 seconds to place their bets on any player’s guesses. This is where it pays to know people because if your dad is a history buff, chances are he’s the guy who would know which year the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Cashing In the Chips

Each slot pays out a different amount in the event that the answer is correct. While the middle slot pays out 2-1, the slots go up to 3-1, 4-1, and even 5-1 for the guesses on either side. If the correct answer turns out to be even smaller than the smallest guess or higher than the highest guess, then whoever bets on that slot will be paid out 6-1 for their bet.

Wits and Wagers Sequels

Wits and Wagers has released several sequel games that add new themes or rules to the original board game. Super Wits pits heroes against villains, using the original rules of the game while adding special powers that each player can use. If you bet on your own answer, you can do things such as change the payout odds or switch the bet of one of your friends after the answers have been revealed.

Wits and Wagers Family simplifies the game to make it easier to play and more appropriate for kids. It also removes the gambling element of the game by using a “Meeple” playing piece to place bets and score points instead of using poker chips.

Wits and Wagers: Where Trivia Meets Gambling

Wits and Wagers is playable by 3-7 players, which makes it a great game for small parties or family game nights. It’s also suitable for ages 10 and up, as younger players can easily enjoy betting on one of the adults’ answers rather than having to know the trivia themselves. Playing time lasts around 25 minutes, which is perfect for a small icebreaker game. Buy Wits and Wagers today and put your money where your mouth is!

Coup: All’s Fair In The Quest For Power

Abuse of power runs rampant in the corrupt world of Coup, in which each player is the head of a family in an Italian city-state. In the game of Coup, your goal is to successfully manipulate and bluff your way to power by destroying the influence of your rival families. This card game pits players against each other by forcing them to lie, cheat, and steal while fighting to be the last one standing. If ruthless competition and backstabbing sounds like your idea of a fun time, then Coup is the card game for you.

Make Your Move

Each player beings Coup with two coins and two character cards, which are also known as influence. The game goes in turns, with each turn giving you three distinct options. Your first option is called taking Income, which allows you to take one coin from the treasury.

The second option is called taking Foreign Aid, which allows you to take two coins from the treasury. However, Foreign Aid can be blocked by the Duke character, so it’s important to make sure there are no Dukes on the board before risking being blocked.

The final option is to launch a coup against one of your opponents, which costs seven coins. This forces that player to give up one of their influence, shedding whichever character card they choose. There is no defense against a coup, so it pays to make friends rather than enemies and avoid becoming the target of anyone’s wrath.

Get To Know The Characters

The card game comes with a card deck of fifteen different cards, which consists of three copies of five distinct characters. Each character has their own special powers or defenses that can help you take down the other players or protect from deadly assassinations.

The Duke is one of the most powerful cards in the game. He has the special ability to take three coins from the treasury at a time as well as block other players from taking foreign aid. The Assassin, on the other hand, is another powerful player in that they can attempt to assassinate another player’s character for only three coins.

While having an Assassin card may seem like a sure fire way to win the game, the Contessa character can save a player from assassination by blocking it. The Captain character is another powerful choice that can both take two coins from another character as well as block any attempts by other players to steal their coins. Lastly, the Ambassador can both block people from stealing and allow you to swap out one or both of your character cards for another.

Bluff, Bluff, Bluff

The real luck of this card game comes from your ability to bluff. All of your character cards are hidden, which allows you to perform pretty much any action you want if you’re willing to back it up. Other players are allowed to challenge you, however, forcing you to reveal your character card.

If you don’t have the card, you will lose one of your character cards. If you do, then the challenger loses one of theirs. A challenge can still hurt you, though, as you will be forced to put the card you reveal back in the deck to be shuffled and redrawn. The last player to still have one remaining character card wins Coup!

Coup: Rebellion G54

There is a sequel card game to Coup called Coup: Rebellion G54 that has similar rules but many more cards. This card game has a much larger deck with 25 characters, five of which you choose to play each game with. This can allow for much more variety with each game, giving you countless advantages and strategies to navigate on your path to victory.

Bluff Your Way To The Top With Coup

Coup is playable by 2-6 players, which makes it the perfect card game for parties or as an icebreaker. It’s also suitable for ages 13 and up, as its mechanics are simple enough for most kids to understand. Playing time lasts around 15 minutes, but you’ll definitely want to play multiple rounds as you get used to the way the game works. Coup is a delightfully competitive and tense card game that offers plenty of opportunity for fun. Practice your poker face and buy Coup today!