Do I need to play the games in order?
Well, it's certainly a good idea. The game assumes you know the basic concepts of its world, and things like the function of Joey's tie are only explained in detail in the first game, Blackwell Legacy.
This game is the second in the series. I recommend you play Blackwell Legacy first, then go for this one. At the very least, you'll appreciate the improvements that were made in the interface (grin).
Guide listing help
Unlike normal walkthroughs, in Nice Game Hints you can select just the puzzle you want hints for. Here are listed the puzzles for "Do I need to play the games in order?" in Blackwell Unbound. The guide you choose only contains information about that puzzle, reducing possible spoilers for other puzzles.
Hints written by Lynn S. Hendricks
Lynn S. Hendricks
Among other things, I write hints for games like Nancy Drew. And I love words!