Tips and tricks to unlock all the Star Wars ’Find the Force’ characters and collectibles

There are 15 characters to unlock across three days during the 'Find the Force' Star Wars event. It's much easier than you think to find and unlock them all.

It may seem like a daunting task — finding all 15 Star Wars characters in a bunch of different locations across three days. Luckily, it's not as difficult as you might think. In fact, you might be able to find them all with just one stop every day. Here's everything you need to know about the best places to unlock Star Wars Find the Force augmented reality (AR) characters and what is unlocked every day.

Everything you need to know about the Find the Force event

Where is the best place to unlock all the Find the Force characters?

I made the pilgrimage this morning to my local mall, where I knew that dozens of participating retailers would all be in one convenient location. However, my first stop, a Target store, proved to be the only place I needed to go.

Different stores will have a different number of displays, but I definitely suggest visiting one of the bigger stores, like Target, Walmart, Toys 'R' Us, or Best Buy to see if you can get all of the characters in one stop.

Otherwise, you should definitely head to your local mall because many of the participating stores can be found under one roof.

What characters are unlocked?

There are different QR code logo displays in different locations throughout participating stores, each with a different Star Wars character.

The QR logo displays include:

• Rey
• Poe Dameron
• Kylo Ren
• Stormtrooper
• Praetorian Guard

Friday, Sept. 1

• Rey unlocks 2BB-2
• Poe Dameron unlocks BB-9E
• Kylo Ren unlocks Chewbacca
• Stormtrooper unlocks Stormtrooper Executioner
• Praetorian Guard unlocks Praetorian Guard

Saturday, Sept. 2

• Rey unlocks Rey Hologram
• Poe Dameron unlocks BB-8
• Kylo Ren unlocks Kylo Ren Hologram
• Stormtrooper unlocks C-3PO
• Praetorian Guard unlocks R2-D2

Sunday, Sept. 3

• Rey unlocks Admiral Ackbar
• Poe Dameron unlocks Maz Kanata
• Kylo Ren unlocks Captain Phasma
• Stormtrooper unlocks Stormtrooper
• Praetorian Guard unlocks Porgs

What collectibles do I get?

When you collect five data chips from scanning and unlocking characters, you'll earn two digital rewards. Collect 10 data chips to earn two more rewards, and collect all 15 to earn a total of six digital rewards.

Acquire five data chips

• Unlocks a digital blip (a cartoon short) of BB-8 and BB-E9.
• Unlocks a BB-9E moving emoji that you can copy and paste anywhere.

Acquire 10 data chips

• Unlocks a digital blip (a cartoon short) of R2-D2.
• Unlocks a Porgs moving emoji that you can copy and paste anywhere.

Acquire 15 data chips

• Unlocks a digital blip (a cartoon short) of a Porg's adventure on the Millennium Falcon.
• Unlocks an Elite Praetorian Guard moving emoji that you can copy and paste anywhere.

Can I unlock all of the Find the Force characters online?

From my experience so far, there are only a handful of characters you can unlock by visiting participating retail websites While it will get you part of the way there, you'll still need to find another way to unlock all of the characters each day.

Characters you can unlock at participating online retailers include:

Friday, Sept. 1

• Rey unlocks the Porgs
• Fin unlocks BB-9E
• Rose unlocks Elite Praetorian Guard

Saturday, Sept. 2

• Rey unlocks the Porgs
• Fin unlocks BB-8
• Rose unlocks R2-D2

Sunday, Sept. 3

• Rey unlocks the Porgs
• Fin unlocks Maz Kanata
• Rose unlocks the Porgs

Secret trick to unlocking all the characters online

There are hundreds of people taking and sharing pictures of the AR characters they unlock at participating retail stores. Those cardboard displays in the background of the photos include the QR code, which you can use to unlock the characters yourself, without having to leave the house. Just point the Star Wars app Find the Force camera at someone else's picture. If the QR code is within view, it'll work. Go ahead — try it.

Any questions?

Check back every day to find out what characters and digital rewards are unlocked during the Find the Force event. If you have any questions, put them in the comments.