Unlock! Secret Adventures: The Adventurers of Oz

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Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion must work together to find a way for Dorothy to get back home in the latest from the Unlock! series. Playing as these characters, you will find yourself travelling through Oz as the story unfolds while you search for clues and solve a variety of puzzles.

If you’ve played any of the Unlock! Games before you will be familiar with the general setup of the game: a deck of cards and an accompanying app that keeps track of time, penalties, and hints. In addition to the standard set introduced in the first series, there is also a map that guides you along the storyline and other puzzle mechanics that add to the overall experience. Everything is at the high standard expected with good quality cards adorned with beautiful artwork, and the app even plays different music as you progress through the story which was a nice touch. It’s also great that it comes in a fairly small box, making it portable enough to take anywhere.

The story element of Oz follows the original narrative, and while familiarity with the book or the movie may help in fully understanding what is happening, the story and the characters are developed as you make your way through the puzzles. We found the that map really helps to draw you into their world as it gives context to the cards and more than the other games of the previous series, you feel like you are playing the characters and are making decisions that will determine their fates.

This review is a compilation of the separate experiences of ERA Toronto and ERA Colorado. While we all enjoyed the quality of the game and the immersive story, we differed on views of the puzzles and the overall game experience. The puzzles themselves are well-thought-out, with a greater variety and challenge than usual, including some that are more hands-on. We were all delighted that there was not that much searching involved. One group felt the puzzles were all intuitive and fair (save for one that may require some knowledge of Oz lore), while the other group felt there were some frustrating leaps in logic that made for an uneven gameplay. The Adventurers of Oz is listed as the most difficult of the series, and we all agreed that this is a tough one. Neither group finished the full game within the 90-minute time limit. We would not suggest this as your first dive into the Unlock! universe.

This is certainly a dark yet light-hearted adventure and although it wasn’t a walk in the park, one group thought this was the most fun they had playing one of these card-based escape experiences. However, the other group thought the confusing puzzles zapped the fun out of the game. Everyone liked the team aspect built into the gameplay with each player taking the role of one of the characters. We enjoyed how each character was involved in the story and puzzles and that you had to keep referring to your character card as you journeyed through Oz. It’s hard to predict how your night of gaming will progress, but it’s certainly an interesting interactive experience at home. Give it a try and let us know what you think!