Can you tell? Unstable Unicorns Edition

What’s up good people? Hope all of you are having a great 2019 thus far.

You know what? A number of you have been asking me this question for quite some time, how can you tell if this copy of Unstable Unicorns is an authentic copy or fake copy?

All this while, I’ve been giving answers from the Board Game Geek forums, like “Oh. The colors on the fake copies are highly contrasted or badly faded,” or “The cards are rough and not of the same size.”

Then again, I got curious. So I went online, read some soccer news, got a McDelivery, watched some cute cat videos of the day and  ordered some copies of Unstable Unicorns from a reputable shopping platform in Singapore.

So to the 3 of you that asked me how to tell the difference, here’s your answer.


Cover vs Cover

Side vs Side

Side by Side Cover Comparison

After receiving my purchases 1 week later, I gave the seller a 5 star rating and commented “Looks good.”

Placing both covers side by side, there doesn’t seem to be much difference in box size and design.

The only difference that I could possibly find would be the height of the box, with the authentic box being slightly taller.

Back of the Boxes

Looking at the back on both boxes, things get slightly clearer and I do mean slightly only.

In case you are still wondering, the authentic copy contains more details, including a copyright claims and a lot number.

The clearer tell tale sign is actually the flying unicorn picture on the right. The fake copy has way too much contrast and the image isn’t as sharp as the other.



Let’s look inside

Into the Box

Can you even tell? Lol.

Everything does look similar upon box opening. The only thing original here about the dubious copy would be the glossy rulebook, where lights will probably blind you if you tried reading the rules.


Playing Cards

What’s good if the cards are not playable? The cards are playable alright.

But all the ink seems to have been used on that unicorn on the back cover because the cards here are lacking the color vibrance here.

The words on the playing cards are fairly inconsistent too. Some are quite clear while some text are faded.

Bet you can’t tell now

Looking at the back of cards, gotta give credit when it’s due.

Despite the color difference, the printing on the fake copy is rather even, so it doesn’t give away what cards you are holding. You know, unlike mahjong, where you can tell sometimes what tile that is when the tile is slightly discolored.

Oh. And the back of the cards feel slightly rough. I’m not sure why this is too but I found it easier to handle and shuffle the original copy.


Bonus Black Box

So there you have it. I bought the fake copies so you don’t have to, unless you want to.

The authentic copy is more pleasant to look at and cards feel easier to shuffle.

As an added bonus, I bought the famous black box too. While it does look nice to look at, there’s a strong glue smell in the box. Other than that, it suffers from the same card quality as per the cards in the white box, being rough and faded.

While I personally understand regardless of where you get your copy of Unstable Unicorns from, I cannot tolerate verified, preferred or even Mall sellers on shopping platforms selling fake copies.

So please, if a deal is too good to be true, even from these sellers, be skeptical. You deserve better.

P.S. If you like this, let us know. Perhaps we can make “Can You Tell?” into a monthly series.