Unlock!: Exotic Adventures

In each set of games Unlock! releases, the third game has always been the one rated with the highest difficulty, has been the most innovative and ambitious in design, and - so far - has been my favourite of the box. Expedition: Challenger continues that trend on all three points while still suffering from several weaknesses; the Exotic Adventures box impressed me less than its predecessors, and if Challenger is the best of the three games in it, that's mainly thanks to the low bar set by the oth...

Second in Unlock!'s Exotic Adventures set, Scheherazade's Last Tale dives into the mythology of Arabian nights, with the premise that Scheherazade has run out of inspiration on her final night, and needs you to save her. It's a romantic and distinctive setting that's reflected well in the artwork and audio, as well as in a great many nods to the most famous of the tales; so it's a shame that it's hard to enjoy the story amid the flurry of dead ends and logic leaps the game throws in your path.

Unlock! are nothing if not experimental. I imagine it's due to the variety of designers involved, typically a different designer for each game, but the way each game is distinctive not just in presentation but in gameplay is one of the series's particular strengths - although that comes with the drawback of inconsistent style of play.

Each set of three games tends to come with a spread of difficulties, and Boogeymen is the game rated 'easy' in the Exotic Adventures set. (Yes, they're clearly ru...