Trying Out a Required App with Unlock!: Escape Adventures

Experience a trio of adventures filled with clues to put together and mysteries to solve with Unlock!: Escape Adventures.
While helping my parents prepare for a recent garage sale, they found a copy of Unlock!: Escape Adventures tucked away in a closet. It wasn’t quite up their alley, so I gladly scooped it up to try it out! Although my collection is way too large, I can’t pass up free solo games all the time. Ha! Onto a handful of adventures to see what I might find here!
Game Overview
Game Name: Unlock!: Escape Adventures
Publication Year: 2017
Designers: A. Carroll, T. Cauët, and C. Demaegd
Artists: Many (4 Credited)
Publisher: Space Cowboys
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
A series of different adventures are driven by cards that may include objects to combine or machines to work out. The tutorial sets the stage, and then 3 very different sets provide mysteries to solve. With a required app, time is tracked and answers may be checked very easily.
First Play
July 18, 2023
Complexity
1
Latest Play
July 18, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
40 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
22" x 16"
Low Score
N/A
Required Technology
To be clear, this wouldn’t have been a game I normally would have purchased because it absolutely requires an app to play. It tracks time, but is also simply needed.
I don’t mind some technology, yet this one definitely wasn’t my favorite implementation, as I’ll elaborate on.
However, the idea of working on a trio of adventures was very interesting! They seemed to be very different, too, so it was likely that I would find a favorite in the mix.
The need to use an app isn’t a problem, but it’s important to understand how it’s integrated before buying.
Solving the Formula
After I dove into the tutorial and got an idea of how the app worked, it was time to try out the first adventure!
This one was interesting at first, although I immediately got stuck. Luckily, the app offers hints so it’s pretty to get back on track once the clues make a little more sense.
It wasn’t particularly memorable, though. I felt like I had played something similar in the past, which may or may not have been accurate. This mystery was just acceptable.
Many clues were less than intuitive, but I had the ability to combine items. Cool! I was excited to test this out.
Nonstop Penalties
But then I discovered that combining items in the wrong way still resulted in a valid card… Which was a penalty. So my timer ticked down faster thanks to me experimenting.
Oddly, this felt counterintuitive. I remember having so much fun with point-and-click adventures back in the day! The goal was to find those weird combinations.
Instead, this felt like I had to think exactly as intended so I wasn’t penalized. This made me less likely to try more.
I understand this in the grand scheme of things, yet this was another element I wasn’t a big fan of, unfortunately.
Required Audio Clues
Having the app constantly open drained my battery a lot faster than usual… But I wasn’t done with grimacing. Ha!
I could see things getting set up for a neat puzzle at one point. And then I got to this card. That’s right: Audio clues are another requirement to actually solve these cases.
Granted, these clues are used sparingly, but there is no non-audio alternative. I had to turn on my sound.
That was even more jarring when I realized there were background sounds that came on immediately. And then I didn’t quite feel like the payoff was there for these clues.
Reflecting on Board Games and Technology
Despite it sounding like I am absolutely against app-assisted board games, I do think this blend of analog and digital can work in some cases. But I am much more open to apps that offer assistance instead of being a required main part of gameplay. Checking answers is useful, yet having to use an app to listen to clues or input numbers isn’t for me.
I’ve even played some mysteries and adventures that either use an app or online website pretty regularly. For instance, Awkward Guests, Blackbrim: 1876, and La Famiglia all heavily utilize technology. But the focus isn’t on playing digitally: Most of my active game time is spent with the physical components… With no sound required, thankfully!
There are very different preferences out there when it comes to blending technology and apps with board games. My opinion is only true for me, so I wasn’t too upset to discover that this app wasn’t my cup of tea. I think the best thing to do is to understand how a required app works with a board game before buying to see if it will be a fun experience.
Squeek & Sausage Fun
After mediocre experiences, I will say that the second puzzle turned out to be the best one in the bunch! The art style was more like a cartoon, and far more interesting.
I still struggled to see some hidden numbers, though. These are integral to advancing, but most of them are so faint as to fade into the surrounding elements.
But this adventure saw me entirely engaged and only getting stuck a few times. Thank goodness for hints!
This is the one set of cards I would actually recommend. It redeems the other adventures in a way that’s needed.
Fun and Games
The adventure and art style brought back those old point-and-click video games I enjoyed from years and years ago. I loved the atmosphere and all of the neat things to find!
Traveling to these different locations was interesting and I had to think a little more about how to solve the puzzles.
It was challenging in a way that didn’t feel like too much work. And I enjoyed laying out all of the cards to try to find out what I might be able to do with the clues!
Still, in a fairly large box, this was the only adventure I truly enjoyed for the majority of its play time.
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 4 Wins
The last adventure isn’t even recommended for solo with the way it’s supposed to be played by teams… So I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say nothing! I appreciate the variety in the puzzles and the fact that this box pulled together the adventures, yet it didn’t feel like a satisfying solo experience. My parents were right in not trying this one out… Definitely not up their alley, either! Yet I can see the puzzles being fun for the right audience.
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
3
Quality
Components & Rules
5
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
3
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
1
+ Pros (Positives)
- Items can be combined in interesting ways, although penalties ironically discourage a lot of experimentation.
- Play time usually moves along quickly, especially since hints are available in the app to not get stuck for too long.
- Squeek & Sausage is an absolutely charming adventure that is reminiscent of older point-and-click video games.
- Although cards spread out in the play area, advancing means discarding some so it never gets too large to handle.
- No outright issues or errors are present throughout the entire adventures, both on the cards and in the app.
- Without branching paths, solutions are pretty easy to find without worrying about red herrings or distractions.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The required app is far too central to gameplay than I prefer, and also requires sound in order to get some clues.
- Cards are presented in a random order that can be very frustrating, so my copy is reordered for the next player.
- Adventures are entirely different, which means that only 1 of 3 main card sets might be thoroughly enjoyable.
- Hidden elements fade too much and are just plain difficult to find in the busy artwork on standard sized cards.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Adventure
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Complete Squeek & Sausage.
Complete The Formula.
Complete The Island of Doctor Goorse.
Complete the Tutorial.
Continue the Conversation
What do you enjoy about Unlock!: Escape Adventures? Are there other solo mystery games you enjoy solving? I know this one wasn’t quite up my alley with the app requirement, yet Squeek & Sausage was most certainly a pleasant surprise! It was nice working through these, and I’m happy to pass this copy onto someone else to have fun with.
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