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The new card game Locke and Key, by Cryptozoic, is inspired by the graphic novel series. If you have not read the graphic novel series, and are a fan of horror...well, that's for another day. The card game and novels share the most basic of themes: keys and artwork. The goal of the game is something completely different and unrelated to the plot. This being said, if you are a fan of the graphic novels and like card games, Locke and Key has my vote.
What's in the box: Like other Cryptozoic games there is a little punch-out cardboard title board with the logo and name of Locke and Key on it. There are 19 Challenge Cards, 150 Strength Cards, 15 Key Cards, a lock token, and a rule book. The quality of the game pieces is average. The cards aren't thick, but they aren't paper either. The token is chip board, but there really isn't a reason for it to get terribly over-used or broken.
What's the point?: Beat the Challenge Cards by playing up to three Strength Cards that are the same color (black, white, or blue) as, and (as a group together) equaling or surpassing the difficulty of the Challenge Card. Whichever player gets the most points for the round takes the challenge card and puts it in their scoring pile; the player with the second most points gains the second-place benefit from the bottom of the Challenge Card (generally additional Strength Cards). There is a twist to this: Some Strength Cards allow you to build combos to score points in alternative ways to winning the challenge. Another twist is the Key Cards, which can be obtained in several different ways and give the player special conditions or apply them to other players. Whichever you concentrate on during the game (Keys, combos, or Challenges), the only way to win the game is to have the highest score when you flip over the "Game Over" card hidden in the Challenge deck.
What's with the artwork on the cards? Oh! Ya, there is a Locke and Key graphic novel series. It is a disturbing story of three siblings living in an old family home after their dad is murdered. There are a series of keys in the house that don't open doors as much as they change the holder into a ghost, a different gender, allow a person to open their skull to put in or take out knowledge, and so on. Does this play into the theme of the game? Not really. There are keys, but other than the names of the keys and the artwork, the game has little to do with the graphic novels.
Color me confused: I understand that black, white, and blue are easily distinguishable for people who are color blind. In the game, black and white are not easy to tell apart as one is white text on a black border, and the other is black text on a white border. After playing this game at least a half dozen times with several different groups of people, at least two people from each group found themselves saying, "Oh! I thought it was a black challenge or I would have played those cards!" The blue cards were much easier to discern, though one player did say they would have been easier to read if they were a brighter or more contrasting shade.
Geeky Goodness: After setting up Locke and Key once, the game is simple and easy to follow. There is strategy and twists that allow you to help yourself and affect others' play without being too difficult. The artwork is dark and satisfying. The keys look really neat (shiny!). It's a quick play and can probably be played by younger players who are still too young to read the graphic novels.
Meh: Set-up the first time was a little confusing. The colors are difficult to tell apart. Because of the adult nature of the books -- and the art -- I wouldn't say this is a family game. It takes a minimum of three people which means it is out of the mix for a quiet game for you and your significant other to play after the kids go to bed.
I really like this game. Even with the three player minimum, and a distinct lack of people in my house with ages in the double digits to play, I have found many opportunities to play this game. Since the game plays so quickly, it's easy to find people to play in a game-night setting. I can give it a mom stamp-of-approval. Just make sure you know which cards are black and which are white before you make your play.
Locke and Key
**I received this game for review purposes.**
