Unlock!: Mystery Adventures – The Nautilus' Traps
Unlock!: Mystery Adventures – The Nautilus' Traps Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
This Scenario
- Title: THE NAUTILUS' TRAPS (German single-adventure edition: DAS WRACK DER NAUTILUS)
- Difficulty: 2 locks (out of 3).
- Premise: Your submarine, the Lincoln, is diving off the island when you are suddenly attacked by a sea monster. Your only escape is to flee into an underwater cave. Behind you, huge tentacles smash the walls, driving you deeper and deeper into the unknown while your oxygen runs low. Will you find a way back to the surface before time runs out?
- Credits: Scenario by Arnaud Ladagnous. Illustration by Florian de Gesincourt (www.degesart.com). Tutorial illustration by Arnaud Demaegd.
Contents
IMPORTANT: DO NOT LOOK AT THE ADVENTURE'S DECK OF CARDS UNTIL YOU PLAY IT!
- 1 Tutorial (10 cards) — TUTORIAL 2.0, with new rules for machines.
- 1 Adventure (60 cards) — THE NAUTILUS' TRAPS.
Every card has a unique sorting number on its back, so that you can check before or after an adventure whether the deck is complete, or use it to sort the deck.
Game Objective
This deck of cards forms a cooperative adventure. You enter mysterious places and have a set time limit in which to complete your mission. During that hour you must master a wide variety of tasks and challenges.
Game Setup
To learn the game, we recommend that you play the Tutorial first. It teaches the basic rules of UNLOCK! through play. You can play the Tutorial before you have read this rulebook all the way through. Once you have decided on the adventure or the Tutorial, take the matching deck of cards and carry out these steps:
- Place the start card faceup on the table, so that the side with the text is showing.
- Shuffle all the other cards and place them ready as a deck, with the numbered backs facing up.
- Place the device with the app (see The App below) on the table where everyone can see it easily.
- One of you reads the instructions on the start card aloud. And your adventure begins!
Note: You may take notes.
Game Rules
On the start card you will find instructions that in most cases lead you to the adventure's first location. Various numbers and letters are spread across that place. For every letter and every number there is a matching card in the deck, marked accordingly on its back. The basic principle is: whenever you see a number or a letter on a location card or on any other card during an adventure, search out the matching card from the deck, reveal it, and place it faceup on the table.
You are a team and must work together in order to complete the adventure before time runs out. Each of you may search the deck for cards you have found. You can divide that work among you however you like. Only one thing is not allowed: you may split the deck into smaller piles, but you may not spread all the cards out individually on the table.
Card Types
THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF CARDS.
Objects (red or blue stripe at the top)
Objects are normally items that you can combine with other objects (see Combining Objects below).
Object 35 is a chest.
Object 11 is a key.
Machines (green stripe at the top)
You must enter the machine's number in the app in order to use it (see Using Machines below).
Machine 69 is a device with 6 contacts.
Codes (yellow stripe at the top)
These cards require a code to be entered in the app so that the adventure can continue (see Entering Codes below).
Card 21 is a door with a digital code. You must enter the code in the app in order to open it.
Other cards
These cards are, among other things:
- Places, such as a room with the objects it contains,
- Results of interacting with objects,
- Penalties that you receive when you make mistakes,
- Modifiers (see Modifiers below).
Combining Objects
Sometimes it is possible to combine objects with one another. For example, you might "combine" a key with a door. To do so, add together the numbers of the two cards, which are shown inside a red or a blue circle. The sum is then the card number that you must look for in the deck. (Of course it is not possible to add a letter to a number.)
GOLDEN RULE: A red number can only ever be combined with a blue number. Other combinations (blue + blue, red + red, blue + grey, and so on) are NEVER possible.
You decide to combine the key (11) with the chest (35). So you search out card 46 (11 + 35) from the deck and reveal it. It works: you open the chest and discover another object inside.
Discarding Cards
At the top edge of some cards you will find crossed-out numbers or letters. These instruct you to discard the corresponding cards, as you will no longer need them. It is best to put them straight back into the box.
After you have opened the chest (46), you discard the key (11) and the locked chest (35).
Penalties
Some actions get you nowhere and are a waste of time. If you draw a Penalty card, follow the instructions on the card: in most cases a few minutes will be deducted from your time. Such cards are always discarded afterwards.
Press the Penalty button once.
Modifiers
On some cards you will find so-called Modifiers. These are always blue numbers with a "+" in front of them. These numbers never refer to other cards in the deck. You must always combine them with a red number. (Remember the Golden Rule!)
You have restored the power (card 25) and thereby received a Modifier (+6). You can add this to a red number — but not the card number (25).
Using Machines
To use a machine (green stripe at the top), you must enter its card number in the app. On a card with a letter, the number is printed below the letter. The app then displays the machine, which you can use step by step.
If you use it correctly and find the solution, the app tells you how to continue. In most cases you receive a red number (which you can combine with a blue number as usual).
Later in the adventure you work out how machine 69 is to be used: you must connect the two middle contacts with the copper wire. To do this, press the Machine button in the app and enter card number 69. Then select the two middle contacts and confirm your choice. This correct solution gives you a number in the app. You can now combine this red number with the copper wire (16), which leads you to card 25 (16 + 9).
Careful! You can lose valuable time or even receive a penalty if you operate a machine incorrectly. Usually you must first find out how a machine works.
Entering Codes
Sometimes in an adventure you will come across things that require a code (yellow stripe at the top). These can be, for example, combination locks or entry fields. To get past such cards, you must first press the Code button in the app (see The App below). Then you enter the code; you do not need to enter the card number.
A code always consists of 4 digits. If the code you entered is correct, the app will tell you how to continue. If you enter a wrong code, it may well be that a few minutes are deducted from you.
Hidden Objects
You will not always spot every object at first glance. You must therefore look at the cards very carefully, because sometimes you can discover hidden numbers or letters in this way. These refer to cards that you search out of the deck and reveal as usual.
Note: If you get stuck at some point, you can press the "Hidden Object" button in the app, which gives you a clue about the next hidden object. In addition, at the start of an adventure you can activate the automatic help function for hidden objects. The app will then help you automatically at the right moment.
Do you see the hidden number (16) inside the chest?
Hints
If you get stuck, you can request hints. To do so, press the Hint button in the app and enter the number of the card you are stuck on.
If there are hints for a card with a letter, its card number is printed in small type below the letter.
Note: For some cards you can request a further hint in the app (which is sometimes the solution), should the first hint not give you enough information.
Game End
The adventure ends once you solve the last puzzle and the timer stops. You can then look at your evaluation and see how well you did. The evaluation ranges from 0 to 5 stars.
The adventure does not end automatically when the timer runs out. You can keep playing until you have completed it. Only your score will not be as good if you needed more time than allowed.
The App
You can download the UNLOCK! app free of charge from the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android). You need it as a timer and also for penalties, codes and hints. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PLAY UNLOCK! WITHOUT THE APP. After downloading, no internet connection is required for play. Launch the app and select your language. You then reach the adventure selection screen.
Adventure Selection
- A First choose your edition (in this case Mystery Adventures). Reminder: we recommend that you begin with the "First Steps" Tutorial.
- B Then start this adventure (that is, The Nautilus' Traps) by selecting it.
In Play
- A Remaining time: When the timer reaches 00:00, it counts upward from that point.
- B Start/Pause: You can pause the game (and with it the timer) and start it again.
- C Hint: Enter here the card number for which you need a hint.
- D Penalty: Some Penalty cards tell you to press this button. You then lose a few minutes of time.
- E Code: Here you can enter a code for a puzzle.
- F Machine: Here you can enter the card number of a machine in order to use it.
- G Log: Here you can look again at all the hints you have already requested.
- H Hidden Object: If you get stuck, you can sometimes request clues about hidden objects here.
- I Settings: Here you can adjust the music, the timer, the help function for hidden objects, notifications and the language.
Hints / Codes / Machines
When you press the Hint, Code or Machine button, a number pad is displayed with which you can enter a card number (for Hint/Machine) or the digits of a code.
- A Number pad: Enter a number or a sequence of digits. Delete what you have entered so far with the delete key.
- B Confirm: Confirm your entry by pressing "OK".
- C Close: This closes the number pad without entering a number or sequence of digits.
Evaluation
As soon as you have finished the adventure, you automatically reach this screen.
- A Statistics: These numbers give you a summary of your adventure. The first line shows the time you needed and the number of hints requested. The second line shows the time you lost through penalties (and the number of penalties received, in brackets). The third line shows the time lost through wrong codes and machines (and the number of incorrectly entered codes, in brackets).
- B Evaluation: The number of stars awarded (0 to 5) depends on how well you did, and is based on the time you needed and the number of hints requested.
- C Share: You can share your evaluation with your friends (internet connection required).
A Few Tips
Get organized:
- Split up the deck so that each of you has a small pile, or place the sub-piles within reach of all players.
- Read the texts on the cards very carefully! Talk to one another and "think out loud".
- The crossed-out letters and numbers can help you keep track and avoid mistakes. When you combine cards and thereby obtain a new card, that card will usually tell you to discard the combined cards. Only discard cards when you are told to.
Stuck?
- Sometimes you have to keep playing in order to get more information about a combination, a code or a machine.
- Do not forget that you can also get a hint for many of the cards.
- If you are completely stuck somewhere, it is usually because you have not discovered a hidden object. In that case, look carefully once more at all the cards you have not already discarded. You can also use the "Hidden Object" button in the app to obtain clues.
Really stuck?
- The solution to this adventure can be found on the Unlock! product page. Warning — spoilers!
Player Aid
Card Types
- Object (door, key, etc.) — Add.
- Modifier (+?) — A BLUE NUMBER (which does not match the card number). Add.
- Code (combination lock, safe, etc.) — Always consists of 4 digits. Is entered in the app.
- Machine — Enter the card number in the app. Solve the puzzle that is displayed.
- Other cards — All remaining cards, such as places, interactions and penalties.
THE GOLDEN RULE: A RED NUMBER (OBJECT OR MACHINE) CAN ONLY BE COMBINED WITH A BLUE NUMBER (OBJECT OR MODIFIER). OTHER COMBINATIONS ARE NOT POSSIBLE.
Credits
THE NAUTILUS' TRAPS — Author: Arnaud Ladagnous. Illustration: Florian de Gesincourt (www.degesart.com). Tutorial illustration: Arnaud Demaegd.
German edition — Asmodee Germany: Simon Blome, Sebastian Rapp, Sebastian Wenzlaff.
Published by SPACE Cowboys – Asmodee Group, 47 rue de l'Est, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France. © 2019 SPACE Cowboys. All rights reserved.
Find out more about UNLOCK! and the SPACE Cowboys at www.spacecowboys.fr and @SpaceCowboysFR.