Gamenight with Chara Games- Unauthorized Homeschool Review Crew Review

 
We are always excited when we hear from Chara Games! We have had the privilege of reviewing their board game Commissioned, and it is still a family favorite.  We also love their first card game, 3 Seeds, which is for 2-5 players.  So yes, we were excited to try out and review their newest addition, Unauthorized.

Unauthorized is described as a "30 minutes social deduction game."  Unlike so many "group" games, it  is intended for 6-12 players, making it truly a group game, not just a "couple of people" game.  It is intended to be played by ages 12 plus, but we have found we can lower that with a little help and some patience.


The goal of Unauthorized is to either grow, or stamp out the church.  Each player has special qualities that that can ultimately help them sway the other players to their side.  Yes, sides change throughout the game!  Twelve role cards, or characters, are included and tell the way they can influence the other players.  The Experience cards determine the players' loyalty.  How the cards are played and traded will determine whether the church or the state wins.  As with other Chara Games and in line with their purpose, the game is intended to show the plight of the underground churches and their ever present uncertainty and instability in the real world.

Our experiences-

Unauthorized is a somewhat tricky game for us to play a family.  Though we are a family of 6, one or more of us is often not home, especially now that our second daughter is back at college.  Luckily, our oldest has a group of game loving friends, so she snuck off with it one night for them to play.  I will let her speak for herself-

I had a chance to play Unauthorized with a group of friends and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you have a larger group of people. The downside to so many games is that you can only pay with 2-6 players, so having a game that you can pull out for larger groups is awesome! I played with a group of pretty serious gamers, and we all agreed we would play again! (Serious praise from people who play new games all the time!) It only took us, (well, a few of us Alpha gamers ((code for us bossy gaming friends))) about 10 minutes to read the instructions and get the cards passed out. Basically, each player is handed a role card and is loyal to either the church or the state. While a few players have fixed allegiance, most change depending on what other cards they are holding. When we first got started it seemed like the Church was going to win by a landslide, and we were a little concerned that the game was skewed. A few rounds later and it had totally turned, and the state ended up winning, much to our surprise! So no, it isn’t skewed toward the church, and, just like in real life, sometimes the bad guys win a round from our human perspective. ;) I’m actually really looking forward to having another big group over so we can play again!

And yes, we did finally manage to get a group together and play here at home as well.  Our group was multi-generational, but I love that!  It proved that yes, Unauthorized appeals to many ages and can be played by even slightly younger ages with a little guidance.

A few notes from me-
-Watch the instructional video!  Really, just do it!
- Be patient.  The first time playing you will be just trying to get it figured out.  A few times later you will feel more secure in your understanding, promise.
- Strategy wise, it is probably better to stick with the recommended age range.
-Finding games to play with more than 6 people is hard, so we are thrilled to have this one in our home.  When friends come over, they are doomed, I mean sure to get sucked into our madness.
- I am NOT a strategy game gal.  I like them, really I do, but I think some minds are just wired that way.  Mine is clearly not.  I always have fun playing, but let's just say you do not want me on your side.  When I play, I was on the side of the state.  The state lost.  Just saying.

As always, I would recommend this, or any game by Chara Games.  Patrick and his wife Katherine have a heart for God and want to make games that create discussions about Him, possibly by people who would otherwise never have those discussions.  They hope to create joy in the Christian games they develop and make them relateable to persons of all faith and backgrounds. And, this is just a quality game, and lots of fun!

Instructional Video