"Guardians of Legends" is the first board game in the world that takes players far beyond its box: real treasure worth 210,000 euro is hidden somewhere in the world, waiting to be discovered! And at the origin of this world premiere are Walloons !
"I have wanted to create this kind of game, involving a real treasure hunt, since I was 16," explained Vincenzo Bianca, 33-year-old Belgian game designer and the game's co-creator. It had its world premiere at the South by Southwest festival in which N-Zone, Vincenzo Bianca's company, took part together with Awex and WBI.
Guardians of Legends is a traditional "board" game and includes cards, counters and tokens. Aesthetically, the game world reflects adventure and travel, immersing players in an exploration of authentic legends from cultures around the world. The Egg itself was not chosen at random, since it represents the origin of the world in at least five different cultures. "We never took the easy way out, we were very generous. For example, the game contains 35 postcards, each of which required a week's work," said Vincenzo Bianca.
It can be played as a family, from the age of 8, but the game is scalable and offers different levels of complexity depending on the astuteness of the players. The aim? To discover the secrets of the other players... and let them discover yours. Puzzles, strategy, exploration, risk: whatever it takes to win the most gold coins! A game lasts between 30 and 45 minutes. However, Guardians of Legends is much more than just a board game. As well as offering online extensions, it also contains a series of puzzles that will allow players to take part in a real treasure hunt. "This is the first cross-media game in the world: board, digital media and full-scale. Players can enjoy the board game without solving the real treasure hunt, and vice versa. Seeking the Golden Egg allows players to continue the adventure beyond the game board," said Vincenzo Bianca.
The treasure is a Golden Egg, a unique creation by two jewellery craftsmen from Liège, Olivier Gangi and Cédric Sansen, who have worked for a supplier to the Court. It is an object forged from 24-carat pure gold, enhanced with three 18-carat white gold leaves on a black gold base (weirdium), set with nearly 600 precious stones and partly designed by Vincenzo Bianca himself, after taking a year-long jewellery course. "After the first telephone contact, we were doubtful," explained Cédric Sansen. "We even hesitated before meeting Vincenzo because we have sometimes spent time on projects that never came to fruition. But despite everything, he soon convinced us; it was both fun and challenging.”
To take part, simply connect to the site's forum using the unique code contained in the game box. Once the puzzles are solved, they will give the exact location of a real wooden chest that is hidden somewhere in the world. It can all be done from your chair until that moment, when you have to go to the site, arming yourself with a shovel to dig up the chest that has been buried since... 2012! Once in possession of the chest, all that remains is to contact the Guardian of the Treasure to exchange it for the Golden Egg.
This is the first time that a game of wits of this magnitude has been created; it is currently the treasure hunt with the highest value in the world. The connoisseurs are not mistaken, as more than 8,000 pre-orders have already been taken from all over the world before the game is even released.
The game is published by Belgian publishing house Lubee, a subsidiary of N-Zone. It is available in 10 languages: English, Dutch, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Russian and French. And if they want to add a language? "Nothing could be simpler because nothing is written on the components of the game: we will just need to translate the rules," said Cannelle Charlet of Geronimo (Fernelmont), which distributes the game. "We met Vincenzo at a trade fair (where we were "treasure hunters" ourselves, looking for gems like this). We couldn't miss this world first, especially since it is 100% Made in Wallonia!"
The game is available for pre-sale on the dedicated website: www.guardiansoflegends.com.
It will be available in stores from 2 April 2019 at a price of 36 euros.