Decode 'Da Vinci' At Home
For those of you who are obsessed with all things Da Vinci, there's a new game to check out. It's the only board game on the market that's officially tied to the movie starring Tom Hanks.
But you won't see the movie's stars actually in The Da Vinci Code Board Game, released by Mega games in May through a licensing partnership with Sony Pictures Consumer Products. The game is primarily based on Dan Brown's best selling novel, so Mona Lisa and Mary Magdalene are some of the historic figures who appear.
The major ingredients of the game are 200 playing cards, a 30-second sand timer, a die, and a few cardboard components. There are no flashy video/DVD elements here; the game comes with an instructional DVD guide that is helpful for set-up but you don't need it to play.
The object is to travel around the board visiting well-known landmarks, like Westminster Abbey, Rosslyn Chapel, L'Elgise de Saint-Sulpice, and Temple Church, collecting clues to solve a 20-space "mystery phrase."
There are 15 different mysteries included in the game.
It features cardboard interactive tools like a "sidebar decoder" and "cryptex decoder," used to decipher the clues. There's also a cardboard mirror which is needed for decoding certain things like Shakespeare written in backwards script.
"An honorific before the given name or the full name of baronets and knights" is a clue found on one of the playing card. The clues perplex but also aid you in your "quest for the truth."
"Code-breaking cards" placed in the board's Louvre Library hold the answers to puzzles about language and the bible. "Art cards," emblazoned with a chalice symbol, are located in the Louvre Gallery and they offer details about some of the world's most famous paintings.
"Sir Isaac Newton" is an example of a "mystery phrase" you must piece together in order to win. Newton was an alleged grand master of the Priory of Sion, the secret society that knows the location of the keystone leading to the Holy Grail. But it's not necessary that you know these details in order to play.
Symbols and clues about art, history, and architecture that appear in both the book and movie are seen in the game, though no images from the Ron Howard film are used.
"The Da Vinci Code Board Game" accommodates 2-6 adult players.
By Amy Bonawitz