Review: Chara Games – Unauthorized

My big kids are totally into board games and card games lately for our family night activities.  When this opportunity came around with the Homeschool Review Crew, I wanted to be on board.  I was eager to check out this new game from Chara Games called Unauthorized and it has definitely put a new twist on our typical family night plans.

About the Product:

If you have a large family, enjoy having friends over, or need something for your kid’s youth group, look no further than the new game Unauthorized by Chara Games.  Chara Games was created by a husband and wife team who wanted to find ways to build new friendships and strengthen existing ones through play.

A product of a Kickstarter campaign, Unauthorized has just been made available to the public on Amazon.  Designed for 6-12 players ages 12 and over and lasting approximately 3o minutes through 4 rounds of play, Unauthorized is a social deduction game where players manage to grow or illiminate an underground church.  Throughout the game, you don’t know if your neighbor is loyal to the church or to the state until the end.  Loyalty is determined by the cards in your hand and throughout the game.  Loyalty can change!

Below, you can watch a video outlining how the game is played.

Each player has a role to play in the game and it will change each time.  Roles include Matchmaker, Police, Thief, Clerk, Merchant, Pastor, and more.  During each turn, you have the opportunity to use your unique role to change the game or you can sneak a peek at a neighbor’s cards to try and determine where their loyalties lie.  The Police can even conduct a “public execution” to eliminate a player during the game.  The ultimate goal is to see which side will win – the State or the Church.

My Thoughts:

At first, the game sounds complicated, but once you start playing, it makes sense.  I encourage you to use the first game to familiarize the players with the rules and play  sequence and then you’ll quickly get down to business afterward.  We went to my mom’s house with my brother’s family and played this game with my older kids, my sister-in-law, and a couple nephews.  Although the game says ages 12 and older, we found that my 10 year old son and 9 year old nephew quickly picked up on it as well and so they were able to join in on the fun.  We played the several games with 6 players and then several more times with 7 players.

I also think that the topics on the cards brought out some great discussions with our older kids about how certain things in your life can effect you positively or negatively.  Some cards can go either way such as the “Serious Illness” card above, and it’s up to the player to determine how that event will effect their life and play it accordingly.

Trying to figure out where each player’s loyalty was held turned quickly into lots of laughter.  I definitely see this game staying in our game closet and coming out whenever we have company over or as my younger kids get older.

For More Information:

For more information, please visit the Chara Games website.  To purchase, you can find Unauthorized on Amazon.  You can also find out more on their social media channels, Facebook and Twitter.  For more reviews on this product and more, please click the banner below.