Wouter & Ymke 
Imagine this: You’re in a race against time to secure the fabled Dragonsteel Shield, but you’re not alone in this quest. While the inquisition takes the main roads toward the chapel, your group opts for a shortcut brimming with traps designed to challenge your wits and resourcefulness.
👥 1-4 players, ages 14+
⌛ Playing time: 90-120 minutes
📝 Designers: Jakub Caban & Bartosz Idzikowski
🎨 Artwork: Zbigniew Umgelter & Aleksander Zawada
🏢 Publisher: Board&Dice (review copy provided)
At its core, SideQuest: 7th Sea is an escape room-style game that unfolds through a deck of cards. The game’s mechanics are straightforward and are taught as you play. With just the game box and a handful of sheets, players craft their own 3D landscape featuring a forest, swamp, and chapel. As puzzles are solved, the environment evolves by inserting new cards between the box and sheets, continuously refreshing the challenges and the storyline.
🧩 The game includes an assortment of vibrant puzzle pieces, each varying in length and adorned with unique symbols. These, combined with clues from your surroundings, are your tools to crack the code. Correctly aligning the puzzle pieces on the answer sheet not only solves the current puzzle but also reveals the next card, propelling you further into the adventure.
⛪ Reaching the chapel and discovering the Dragonsteel Shield is a thrilling moment, but is it truly the end of the journey? Although designed for up to four players, we’ve found that a duo provides the best experience. This setup ensures everyone has a clear view of the game components and actively participates in puzzle-solving. Communication is crucial, especially when players find themselves pondering over the same riddle—a collective brainstorm can shed light on the solution.
🔍 The puzzle-solving mechanism is particularly ingenious. Players construct their answers piece by piece, ensuring the symbols on either end match. Only when the symbols align perfectly does the puzzle reveal the next step in your quest.
💭 Escape room-style games hold a special place in our hearts, and SideQuest: 7th Sea stands out as a top-tier choice. It’s easy to set up, requires no prior preparation, and offers 1 to 1.5 hours of engaging gameplay—perfect for those evenings when you’re itching to play something but don’t have the time to delve into a complex rulebook.
📝 Disclaimer: We received a review copy of SideQuest: 7th Sea from Board&Dice.
