Unlock! Heroic Adventures

Board Game Geek Reviews

1. 7.5 out of 10

   Cone Defense

   Insert Coin: 7/10 - nostalgic theme, but a couple of wonky puzzles. Sherlock 9/10 - great entry, but the final puzzle is rubbish. Alice 6/10 - Repetitive Play, with a GARBAGE ending

2. 7 out of 10

   churchb3

   Played all puzzles. The easy one I thought was more difficult than the medium level, and the hard one was pretty good. We went way over on time, but had a blast anyway.

3. 8.61 out of 10

   Cerberus777

   [b](2019-06-07: SOLD!) TL;DR: We have played this one-time game.[/b] :!block: [b]IMPORTANT NOTE:[/b] This rating is completely spoiler free. Also, since this game is a "one and done" game, this review is more subjective of the overall experience comparatively to other games in the series and in this genre. Finally, now that the games are sold exclusively in a 3-adventures package, the BGG rating is for the whole box. [b]13-14-15th GAMES IN THE UNLOCK SERIES[/b] **************************************************************************************************** [b] INSERT COIN: Game Played: 2019/03/31 Player Count: 2 players Time Used: 56:32 Bad Combinaison Penalties: 0x for 0 min. Bad Machine Penalties: 0x for 0 min. Bad Code Penalties: 3x for 3 min. Hints Used: 3 hints (but only 2 for real) Final Score: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: :) [/b] [b] :STAR: COMPLETE RATING: [/b] [c] [b]SCORE CRITERIA WEIGHTING ------- STAR RATING SCALE -------[/b] (8.5) FUN (x15): BORING :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::halfstar::nostar: REALLY FUN (9.0) THEME (x3): UNATTRACTIVE :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::nostar: ATTRACTIVE (9.5) MECHANICS (x5): FIDDLY/BORING :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::halfstar: SMOOTH/INTERESTING (8.0) AESTHETICS (x2): UGLY :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::nostar::nostar: GORGEOUS [/c] [b]TOTAL = 218.0/25 = 8.72[/b] :thumbsup: [b]POSITIVE POINTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC GAME:[/b] ++ Nice integration of the nostalgic theme. ++ Great use of the App. ++ The final puzzle was fun. :thumbsup: [b]NEGATIVE POINTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC GAME:[/b] -- One aspect of the game was easily missed and thus caused us some problem. But with the graphic layout, it was easy to realize that something was missing. -- The better use of the App can cause problem with older device that have lower resolution camera. ************************************************** [b] SHERLOCK HOLMES - THE SCARLET THREAD OF MURDER: Game Played: 2019/04/28 Player Count: 2 players Time Used: 58:55 Bad Combinaison Penalties: 0x for 0 min. Bad Machine Penalties: ?x for 5 min. Bad Code Penalties: 2x for 2 min. Hints Used: 1 hint Final Score: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: :) [/b] [b] :STAR: COMPLETE RATING: [/b] [c] [b]SCORE CRITERIA WEIGHTING ------- STAR RATING SCALE -------[/b] (8.5) FUN (x15): BORING :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::halfstar::nostar: REALLY FUN (9.5) THEME (x3): UNATTRACTIVE :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::halfstar: ATTRACTIVE (9.0) MECHANICS (x5): FIDDLY/BORING :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::nostar: SMOOTH/INTERESTING (8.0) AESTHETICS (x2): UGLY :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::nostar::nostar: GORGEOUS [/c] [b]TOTAL = 217.0/25 = 8.68[/b] :thumbsup: [b]POSITIVE POINTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC GAME:[/b] ++ Great theme integrated into the Unlock formula by adding a nice murder mystery solving puzzle to it. ++ Solving the murder was satisfying. :thumbsup: [b]NEGATIVE POINTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC GAME:[/b] -- There was one hidden number that wasn't that obvious and since it didn't detract from progressing, we only discover at the end that we were missing a card to solve the murder. We thus had to make and educated guess instead of having all the information to solve the murder which felt a bit awkward. ************************************************** [b] IN PURSUIT OF THE WHITE RABBIT: Game Played: 2019/05/25 Player Count: 2 players Time Used: 95:38 (90 minutes adventure) Bad Combinaison Penalties: 0x for 0 min. Bad Machine Penalties: 1x for 1 min. Bad Code Penalties: 0x for 0 min. Hints Used: 4 hints Final Score: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: :) [/b] [b] :STAR: COMPLETE RATING: [/b] [c] [b]SCORE CRITERIA WEIGHTING ------- STAR RATING SCALE -------[/b] (8.0) FUN (x15): BORING :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::nostar::nostar: REALLY FUN (9.0) THEME (x3): UNATTRACTIVE :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::nostar: ATTRACTIVE (9.5) MECHANICS (x5): FIDDLY/BORING :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::halfstar: SMOOTH/INTERESTING (8.0) AESTHETICS (x2): UGLY :star::star::star::star::star::star::star::star::nostar::nostar: GORGEOUS [/c] [b]TOTAL = 210.5/25 = 8.42[/b] :thumbsup: [b]POSITIVE POINTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC GAME:[/b] ++ Some puzzles were fun and original. ++ The final puzzle was really fun to do. :thumbsup: [b]NEGATIVE POINTS FOR THIS SPECIFIC GAME:[/b] -- Some puzzles were a bit stretch and thus way less fun, especially one that was just dumb in our opinion (and we lost a lot of time on it adding to our frustration). Sound-based puzzle are never really appreciated because they just make us feel dumb because we just don't hear what we should hear. **************************************************************************************************** [b] THIS BOX OVERALL: [/b] [b]TOTAL = 8.61[/b] :thumbsup: [b]POSITIVE POINTS FOR THE 2018 UNLOCK HEROIC ADVENTURES SERIES:[/b] ++ As the other Unlock series: A more visual version of Escape Room games(feel different than the EXIT series). ++ As the other Unlock series: Good sense of exploration that remembered me some memories of old "point and click" adventure PC games. ++ As the other Unlock series: Non-destructible (With a small caveat with one game in the series), so the game can be passed along when done (so it's a better value in the end). ++ As the other Unlock series: It uses an App for the timer, the hint system, some code validation and the Machine cards. The use of an App add so much possibilities to the game system and this series continue using the App more and more, offering new and fun stuff to the game system. ++ As the other Unlock series: The App also feature some music that add to the theme and feel when playing the game, which is also nice. ++ As the other Unlock series: Good artwork. :thumbsdown: [b]NEGATIVE POINTS FOR THE 2018 UNLOCK HEROIC ADVENTURES SERIES:[/b] -- As the other Unlock series: The hint system is not great. When you are stuck, you may have to ask for several hints to know in which direction you should go. Also, some hints are worthless to you, as you already know this information when asking for hints and these hints still count against your final score (in a real Escape Room, the game master will check where you are at before giving you a hint, so they are usually all good). The hint system should probably be done something like this instead: 1) Player ask for help, 2) the App ask some numbers of the last few puzzles that were solved and check the last code entered successfully, 3) then the App give a hint about a numbered card but that is useful at this time for the players (the same way that real game master ask check the progress of the players before giving a hint). This way, the hint would always be useful to, at least redirect the players on the right path (to know where they should focus) and players would not waste time on hints about a card that should not be worked on at the moment. -- As the other Unlock series: Using a bad code or a bad combinaison should not give you a 3 minutes penalty (it's kind of harsh, especially if you just make a mistake when entering the numbers). You already lost time trying stuff instead of thinking about the puzzle. In a real Escape Room, if you decide to use this "technique" of trying out stuff instead of thinking, you just lose the time you took trying out stuff, not more. -- As the other Unlock series: It's a one-and-done game. But hey, every escape room game are (board games or the real deal). :arrowE: [b]OTHER GAME INFO:[/b] [b] Game Weight = 2.0/5 Release Date = 2018 Number of Player = 1-6 2-player length = 45-90 min. Player Count Preference = Best at 2, probably great at 3 and 4! (Not recommended over 4) :thumbsup::thumbsup: [/b]