March 2018 Game of the Month & Drink Pairing
Today I’d like to highlight escape room board games this month. This lumps the Exit/Unlock/Deckscape series together. However, I’d particularly like to highlight one of the games from Unlock’s second round of releases, The Tonipal’s Treasure. This particular escape game had everything you could hope for based on the title and cover artwork: swashbuckling buccaneers, a talking parrot, secret maps promising hidden treasure, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! I hope anyone reading this won’t feel like I’ve given too much away. I’m not going to specify any of the puzzles, but I will say that I particularly enjoyed one of them.
In the Dice Tower’s podcast with Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer, Tom described The Tonipal’s Treasure as being his favorite of the Unlock series so far, as well as being the most similar in feel to a T.I.M.E. Stories adventure. I’m not really sure why he made the comparison. When I think of T.I.M.E. Stories, I think of the way that game forces you to repeat a loop over and over until you find the right path. I’d say it’s nearly impossible to make all the right moves on your first trip through, unless you get incredibly lucky at guessing. There’s simply not enough time to explore every avenue in T.I.M.E. Stories, and I feel like the game is structured so that you pick up necessary information in the first round that you can apply to a repeat round. I don’t feel like that was the case in Unlock: The Tonipal’s Treasure.
I suspect Tom’s comparison might be due to the ability of players to make different choices, leading them down divergent paths that ultimately lead back to one correct path forward. If this is the situation, then making the “right” decisions all along would lead to a more efficient route to the end goal, while other roads may meander before getting to the end. However, since I didn’t look at all the cards after I finished playing, I can’t say if this is the case. Ultimately, though, I was pleased with how the game drew me in, allowing me to become immersed in the pirate theme and have fun hunting down the clues.
As for pairings, there’s more than one good option, especially for The Tonipal’s Treasure. Here’s someone else’s list of pirate beers: http://bit.ly/2G1TCFx. From beer aged in rum barrels to beers with pirate-themed names, the choices range from IPAs to Porters. However, I like to drink local craft beers when I can, so my recommendations reflect that regional bias. Specifically, I’d like to highlight Burnt Hickory Cannon Dragger, an IPA having 8% ABV, and Monday Night Blind Pirate, another IPA at 7.4% ABV.
According to other reviewers on beeradvocate.com, Cannon Dragger has a “dank” or “earthy” flavor along with mild hops and a bit of spice on the back end. To me, Cannon Dragger’s flavor profile is that of a typical IPA, so I wouldn’t necessarily agree with other reviewers. As an IPA fan, this is a solid choice. I will note that I don’t typically like mild-flavored IPAs and tend to go for ones with bigger flavor, including ones that--as my friends would say, “punch you in the mouth”. Cannon Dragger isn’t a “punch you in the mouth” type of beer, but its combination of flavors keeps me happy.
Blind Pirate has a bold citrus flavor, which should come as no surprise, since Monday Night has tinkered with this recipe to create what is currently known as Blind Pirate Blood Orange. I think using blood oranges was just to increase the foodie/cool factor, or perhaps to evoke mental imagery with “blood” and “pirate” in the same title. I enjoyed Blind Pirate’s citric tanginess even before they added blood oranges. Although blood orange fruit has a pretty color that is even richer than a ruby red grapefruit, I’m not convinced anyone would be able to taste the difference between a blood orange and a regular orange. At any rate, this beer’s clear, copper/amber color evokes feelings of home for me. I grew up in Florida near citrus groves and have always loved the bite of citrus fruit—the best ones are sweet with a bit of bitter bite.
I don’t have a good suggestion for non-IPA fans, but let’s face it, a piratey game like The Tonipal’s Treasure really should be paired with a citrus beer, so you don’t get scurrrvy, mate!
Finally, a good beer to pair with any escape room game is Wild Heaven Emergency Drinking beer. This Pilsener style beer has a low 4% ABV, which makes it perfect for drinking when you want to keep your head in the game.
That’s all for this post. I’d like to hear other people’s recommendations; what pirate themed beer do you enjoy?
