OVERALL PRODUCT RATING: 5 Keys

It’s time to Unlock(!) the door for a whole new generation of escape game enthusiasts!

Unlock! Kids: Detective Stories is Space Cowboy’s first commercial outing geared specifically toward kids – packing not one but six different half-length home games inside the box. As with each Unlock! offering, a playable Tutorial is included. It should be noted that the Unlock! Kids Tutorial is unique from that packaged with the traditional Unlock! series, so it’s worth playing once to gain an understanding on how things differ.

Progressing through an Unlock! game will lead players to either a number or letter – and if correct, this will indicate the next card(s) to draw from the deck. Unlock! Kids further mixes things up by also having “special components” – very thick cardstock cut into unique shapes, each numbered to take the place of a regular card. Often, cards and special components combine to create a unique symbol leading to the investigation’s next step.

Unlike traditional Unlock! games, there is no accompanying app to enhance play in the Unlock! Kids series. In its absence, hints and solutions are available in a printed booklet. Unfortunately, this also means that no Unlock! Kids game provides any themed background music to enhance playtime.

Although the Unlock! Kids: Detective Stories box does indeed hold six unique stand alone games, this post will present them as one single review simply because they cannot be purchased separately. As such, this review will be structured a bit differently to feature just one combined general SCENIC section – as all six games have equal quality materials and graphics used. As well, in place of the traditional STORY and PUZZLES sections will be six mini-reviews – one for each included game. Each individual game within the box will get its own score below, while the “OVERALL PRODUCT RATING” above is a combined average.

Being a home game, “Scenic” is defined from a graphic design perspective, as well as the quality, weight and feel of print materials inside the box. As mentioned previously, Space Cowboys goes the route of fully card-based escape home games. Each edition is produced to the highest levels of quality – with thick, glossy textures that have the feel of a upscale deck of playing cards. Unlock!’s sets, however, are larger than a traditional card – measuring in at nearly 4.5″ tall by 2.5″ wide.

Something always enjoyable about Space Cowboys is their use of multiple different artists for each Unlock! box set. What results is a distinctly different animation style, evoking unique moods that help bring each storyworld to life. No two decks within a set ever exist within the same storyworld, or even a slightly similar style, for that matter.

Each traditional Unlock! at home game typically includes three different experiences set in completely unique storyworlds. Unlock! Kids gives this format a very interesting twist. While the pattern of three storyworlds continues here, each one of them has two distinct card-based games to play. Throughout their course, some cards may wind up being used again in fresh new ways. This added layer brings a bit of fun and excitement to these delightfully cartoony scenarios.

Unlock! Kids games are not intended to be a race against the clock, and in fact do not require setting a game timer at all. Instead of the established Escape Authority standard of “REMAINING:” showing the minutes left, this review will pivot to a “TIME PLAYED:” style. Additionally, “RESULT:” which usually states a win or loss status is replaced by “GAME SCORE:” to better represent the number of hidden bonus stars which can be earned in each adventure.

Feather Balls and Mysteries

The Disappearance of Mrs. Hen

RATING: 5 Keys

GAME SCORE: 7/7 Stars          TIME PLAYED: 16:05

You are called upon to solve the disappearance of Mrs. Hen.

Mrs. Hen has gone missing, and now Jack the Farmer is counting on the kids to find her somewhere around the barn yard. Upon learning about the disappearance in The Infarmer – the county’s local newspaper, junior detectives are on the case! There could be clues left anywhere around the farm, from suspicious footprints to fresh bottles of milk, and even a few familiar feathers scattered about. Cracking this case (without cracking a few eggs first) will take a keen eye and a little bit of good old fashion imagination.

Bernard the Duck’s Birthday

RATING: 5 Keys

GAME SCORE: 7/7 Stars          TIME PLAYED: 17:04

Today is a day! It’s Bernard the duck’s birthday, who organizes a party! Your job is to distribute the invites to all of his friends and reunite them!

It’s everyone’s favorite duck’s special day, but there’s just one problem: none of Bernard’s friends have received their party invitations yet! Luckily some of the kids arrived early with their postcard in hand, and they’re ready to help. It’s a race around the farm, and even into town to find Bernard’s bestest barnyard buds – Sam the frog, Tom the cat and James the mouse. The fun can’t start until kids locate all the critters and hand deliver each lost invitation personally. Only then will it truly be happy birthday Bernard!

Unlock! has established itself as one the stronger at home series available today. Their imaginative and always outside-the-box games  have consistently proven to be a breath of fresh air – providing experiences that are clever, fun, story driven and set in a wide variety of unique themes. Their omnipresent ability to inspire the sense of playing a genuine escape game without ever leaving the comfort of our own home is no small feat.

It’s also worth noting that Space Cowboys has a series of free, downloadable games – called Unlock! Demo Adventures –  available through their website, which you can find by clicking here. They range in length, although several are full 60 minute games. To play them, having access to a printer and several sheets of cardstock is advised, as well as a scissors to cut out each individual card. Although it’s technically possible to play these games “fully digital,” with the help of Photoshop to lay out each of the cards on our virtual desktop – and while it did work, and we still were able to enjoy the Unlock! experience, we found this to be far more time consuming than just taking a few minutes and a few sheets of paper to print them out as intended.

Unlock! Kids brings an evolution into a second sister brand geared first and foremost toward families with kids is not only welcome, but frankly long over-due in the at home escape game genre. Unlock! Kids is creative, fun and approachable. It’s always just challenging enough – making it entirely attainable for its much younger target audience of ages six and up, but still a clever, enjoyable adventure even for adults – while bring back fond memories of all that imaginative playtime from years gone by.

*Taron & Mako, Escape Authority’s Co-VPs, Dog Business™ and lead home game correspondents endorse the opinions found within this review.

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Venue:  Space Cow (the kids sub-brand of Space Cowboys)

Location: At Home Game

Number of Games: 50+ (6 + 1 Tutorial game included in this box)

GAME SPECIFIC INFORMATION:

Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 1-6 people

Group Type: Private / You will not be paired with strangers (but if you are, call 911 immediately to report a home invasion.)

Cost (at Publish Time): $29.95 (Amazon.com)