Game Info
Year
2019
Players
1-5
Age
10+
Playtime
90 min
Collection
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Description
During the Dragul Invasion of Nalos, King Taron’s loyal soldiers throw captured minions into Kulbak Prison, where enchanted gates and Construct guards make escape all but impossible. Once each year, Taron releases the toughest gang of war prisoners into the royal Colosseum.
You command a squadron of these captured Dragul. Gather goons and craft contraband to raise your reputation. Keep your suspicion with the guards low while establishing yourself as the most powerful crew in Kulbak. In six short days, Taron may offer you the chance to fight for your freedom.
Lockup: A Roll Player Tale is a competitive worker-allocation game for one to five players. In the game, players manage groups of minions -- gnolls, kobolds, bugbears, goblins, or insectoids -- locked up in Kulbak Prison.
Each round, players try to keep their suspicion from the guards under control while allocating their crew to different locations within Kulbak. The player with the strongest crew in each location at the end of each round gains the most resources, hires the most powerful crew, and builds the most powerful items, increases their reputation. The player with the highest reputation at the end of six rounds, wins the game.
Lockup is a worker placement game set in the Roll Player universe.
Play takes place over three phases in each round:
Roll Call - Players take turns placing their minions in different parts of the prison, some face up showing a unit's strength and some face down, hiding the strength from the other players.
Lights Out - Each area with minions is scored based on the strength of each player's crew. Players receive resources and have the opportunity to recruit goons and build items.
Patrol Phase - New resources are placed on the gameboard, and the guards patrol the dungeon. Players with high suspicion are raided, and their chambers are searched.
—description from the publisher
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video IwvMhsyE_wM
Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play Top 10 List at 11:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86903 · mention_pk 226435
Click to watch at 11:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- clever dice-drafting twist
- strong solo variant in expansions
Cons
- tends toward a heavier setup than some light coop games
Thematic elements
- cooperative strategy with dice drafting
- fantasy jail / prison escape theme
- thematic dungeon-crawl feel in a light, puzzle-like format
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cooperative Game — work with other players to meet escape or victory conditions
- cooperative play — work with other players to meet escape or victory conditions
- Dice Drafting — draft dice values to assign to character actions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like this game
- the squishy poop is always nice
- you're drafting cards instead of just picking cards
- you are pirates and you are trying to collect little tiles to earn different points
- the solo is done really well as well
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video C9m3Wz_cH0M
Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play Top 15 List at 13:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86239 · mention_pk 222545
Click to watch at 13:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- solid solo mode
- push-pull/decision dynamics are engaging
Cons
- some players may find the prison theme a bit dark
- complex bidding can be dense for new players
Thematic elements
- bid-based room management and resource gathering
- prison / penal system
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- solo mode — spelling out a fully solvable solo version with guards and outbidding dynamics
- Worker tokens — tokens act as workers bidding in prison rooms for resources
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the box cover is awesome
- I love the bumping mechanism
- this game is going to last you a long time
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video m0ybALaZClU
Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play Playthrough at 1:56 sentiment: positive
video_pk 85829 · mention_pk 220719
Click to watch at 1:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Vibrant, tactile components and chunky plastic tiles
- High scoring potential and satisfying end-game scoring
- Engaging phase structure (roll call, lights out, patrol) with clear rhythm
Cons
- High dependency on luck from card draws can skew outcomes
- Rule complexity and learning curve can be challenging for new players
- Occasional risk of lengthy playtime depending on table dynamics
Thematic elements
- Array
- Prison
- Live playthrough with commentary
Comparison games
- Roll Player
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Guards and locations are drawn/revealed as the round advances, guiding guard movement and rewards.
- Deck/Card Draw and Resolution — Guards and locations are drawn/revealed as the round advances, guiding guard movement and rewards.
- End Game Bonuses — End-game scoring combines items crafted, powers gained by crews, and various end-game bonuses.
- Endgame Scoring via Items and Power — End-game scoring combines items crafted, powers gained by crews, and various end-game bonuses.
- Inventory/Storage Limits — A storage limit on the player board governs how many items can be kept before patrol checks discard down.
- Raid/Event Trigger — Raid occurs when suspicion is exhausted or under certain conditions, altering scoring and cube reset dynamics.
- Resource Management — Players collect and manage resources and crafted items to score points and power their crews.
- Worker Placement — Players place goons to claim actions at various locations to gain resources and progress toward end-game goals.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Lock Up: A Roll Player Tale by Thunderworks Games.
- I think I just got the luckiest game of Lot I've ever played.
- That was probably my highest score ever.
- This is an absolute blowout.
- The cards were falling my way.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video icgRhltfq2s
Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play Top 10 List at 5:51 sentiment: positive
video_pk 85703 · mention_pk 220233
Click to watch at 5:51 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Solid solo mode
- Strong theme integration
Cons
- Solo-focused; may not appeal to all players
Thematic elements
- Roleplayable gangs vying for influence
- Prison/underground gang environment
- Solo-focused narrative with guard cards and location control
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Worker Placement — Place characters into prison locations to gain resources and score; in solo mode guard cards determine values you must contend with.
- Worker placement / area majority — Place characters into prison locations to gain resources and score; in solo mode guard cards determine values you must contend with.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- There are 15 game recommendations from 2019.
- Wonder Tales is strictly for two players.
- This is a really fun grid coverage game.
- I really like this whole back and forth of okay, what do I need?
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 2yxN1sAliLg
Watch It Played Rules Teach at 3:53 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 64685 · mention_pk 158178
Click to watch at 3:53 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- prison gang infamy, recruiting goons, crafting items, forbidden knowledge
- A prison where rival gangs vie for infamy
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- crafting and item reserves — Players may craft or reserve items by paying resources, placing items on their board, and crafting to gain reputation.
- crew placement — On a turn, players place crew from their tray to board locations, with some tokens placed face-down to remain secret.
- End Game Bonuses — Leader goals and endgame goals determine scoring in the final tally, with priority given to certain conditions.
- endgame goals and scoring — Leader goals and endgame goals determine scoring in the final tally, with priority given to certain conditions.
- location resolution and rewards — Locations are resolved in order of total crew strength, with enforcer, lookout, and suspicion influencing rewards and losses.
- raids and raids consequences — Raid phase after patrols can cause reputation losses and reset cubes to the supply.
- Resource Management — Resources like power cubes and other tokens are earned, stored, and capped by storage limits; supply is limited.
- round structure and phases — Six rounds, each with Roll Call, Lights Out, and Patrol phases, governing progression and scoring.
- tome cards and library — Tome cards are drawn based on strength, kept secret, and can be played to resolve effects later.
- Variable Phase Order — Six rounds, each with Roll Call, Lights Out, and Patrol phases, governing progression and scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "the board represents the prison which is divided into eight numbered locations"
- "you’re the leader of a prison gang that's working to make a name for yourself by recruiting clever goons crafting secret items and maybe even dabbling in some forbidden knowledge"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5