Forbidden Desert Board Game

This was a Christmas present for my nine year old son. I had played it before and though he would like it, but I was surprised to see how easily his younger brother, my seven year old son, picked it up. The game play is actually very simple with players competing against the storm that moves around the board burying locations deeper under the sand. All players win or lose as a team, with the team losing if the storm becomes too ferocious, the board gets buried in sand or any of the team dies of thirst. Each player has different abilities to help them discover pieces of the flying machine you need to escape. Combining this with the desert constantly shifting and items in random locations, each game feels different to keep it fresh each time. What has impressed me most is how well balanced the game is. The difficulty level of the game can be varied nicely, by simply changing the strength that the storm starts at. All the different characters feel nicely balanced too, with distinct strengths, none of which are too insignificant or too powerful. Most importantly, they are sufficiently different to encourage the players to adopt unique roles within the team. The game is driven by collaboration, with the storm taking a go for every player's. If players don't work together, the team will fail quickly due to dying of thirst. If they don't utilise their unique individual strengths for the benefit of everyone, the storm will usually overwhelm them before they escape. If you've not tried a collaborative game before, this is a great one to start with. I can thoroughly recommend it for younger players too. The fundamentals of the rules are easy to grasp. The instructions are well-written and most eventualities are covered. But there will never be an argument as everyone is on the same side. And when someone loses a game, there is no-one who has won to wind them up. Perfect for competitive siblings!

Co-operative games are becoming a favourite in our household. We have Pandemic - Game in English (in my opinion one of the greatest of all board games) which I play with adults, not with our children who are aged 5 and 7. The first co-op game the children played was Castle Panic Board Game , which is a great game, and it was almost played every day: TV was forgotten, troll slaying was in! Then we got Castle Panic: The Wizards Tower , a brilliant expansion for Castle Panic, but one that in a strange way left Castle Panic in the cupboard unplayed. The main reason for this was that the new Wizard cards required reading, and the 5 year old, as a result, lost interest. It was difficult to revert to the original version as it was so basic by contrast. Plus, Castle Panic can easily go on for over an hour, and during the game the children will say "I want to do something else" and off they go. Enter Forbidden Island. Reading all the other reviews I'm sure you'll get an idea of what the game is about. A game takes about 30 mins, so it's easy to sneak a game in before bed time. The game doesn't rely on reading, with cards having pictures that says it all, so even the 5 year old can shout out "Sandbags!" or "Airlift!" or feel dismay when drawing a Water Rise card. The adventurer roles also capture the imagination of the younger players (with perhaps the exception of the Navigator, whose ability to move other players is a bit more subtle), whether it be a diver, a pilot, or Explorer. The treasure figurines also look good, and help to the atmosphere that you're risking your lives to get something truly valuable. For me, the genius of the game comes from setting up the tiles to form the island, so that the layout is never the same. What's more, you can alter the shape of the island (check out the variant rules on the Forum website) which alters the difficulty of play. In Pandemic (by the same author) which has notable similarities, you win when you cure all 4 diseases. What is different with Forbidden Island is once you gain all 4 treaures, all players still have to get to the helipad, known as Fool's Landing, and use the Airlift card to claim victory. This adds a sense of complete closure to the game, and also added tension as there are still oppurtunities to loose before everyone is lifted to safety. And full marks for presentation. The game comes in a tin box with well presented instructions, and is easy to take around. I wouldn't take Pandemic on a camping trip, for instance, as there are quite a few little pieces to loose. Forbidden Island, on the other hand, is easier to fit in a suitcase and is more durable. In a few years time, I'm sure the children will get back to Castle Panic and be able to play the whole game in a single setting, and when they reach 10, I will introduce Pandemic to them. As for now, Forbidden Island is all the rage. The suggested age of 10+ is a bit high. My 7 year old daughter has easily grasped the concept and tactics, and is able to make her own suggestions, and I think could play this game with children of a simlar age. The 5 year does need adult supervision. Overall, excellent! A very good introduction to co-op games for any age. For adults though, I thouroughly recommend Pandemic.

Compared to the majority of the games in our collection, this is a nice simple game; easy to setup, simple rules and quick to play. Neatly presented in quite a small tin, it is good for holidays & doesn’t require much table space. Having said it is a simple game, it is not always easy to win. Thanks to the random tile order, the critical ‘Fools Landing’ tile can turn up in a most inconvenient place and, as we select our player adventurers randomly, some have more useful talents than others. The randomness of the island and artefact cards also ensure that, despite the simple mechanics, no two games are the same. However, with the standard diamond island configuration it is usually a bit too easy to win once one has worked out a winning strategy. It plays at a good pace & the co-op element is strong and despite it being a simple game, we play it quite often for a bit of light relief. I found some alternative island configurations on the internet and all of them are far more challenging than the diamond so the game never gets stale. Rulebook: 10/10 Complexity: 2/10 Component quality: 10/10 Replayability: 8/10 Gameplay pace: 10/10

Bought this to play with family over the holidays. Lots of fun learning it and playing. It took us an hour to learn and play through the first time and we're all 18+. The game incorporates strategy and luck to win against the aliens and leave the jungle. -Each player has a role that allows them to do something special (example: not lose health when stung by an adult alien) -Each person's turn allows 4 actions including moving to a new part of the jungle, revealing a part of the jungle, using equipment cards you get when landing on specific tiles, moving tiles so the active crystals are aligned near a portal that allows you to leave the jungle, and removing aliens from the tile you're on. -After you take actions, the jungle fights back through threat cards. The number of threat cards you all have to draw each turn starts to increase over time, if you draw the 'increase threat level' card often enough. Aliens may also mature from eggs to hatchlings to adults or show up in unexpected places and derail your plans. Meanwhile, parts of the jungle may be over sinkholes that cause an entire tile to sink and be out of play for the rest of the game. -If you've played Forbidden Island, this is similar but a lot more challenging because you have to move tiles around so that the active crystal tiles surround the portal you use to escape and you have the added difficulty of maturing aliens that can eventually drain your health -If you've played Pandemic but aren't ready to play that game yet after COVID, For idden Jungle is VERY similar with a different theme. Game tiles are good quality and great artwork, alien + people are solid plastic, so it's a game we can play for years to come. As you play this game and get better at your strategy, you can increase the starting threat level so it's a harder game. Great job with this Gamewright!

Tout d'abord ce jeu est très joli et d'excellente facture. Le jeu est fourni dans une boite métallique, contenant des dalles épaisses pour jouer, les cartes et la réglette du niveau d'eau en carton sont aussi d'excellente qualité et il y a également des figurines pour les trésors. Les pions sont en bois. Un manuel d'instruction illustré est livré avec et il est très clair. Le jeu lui-même est de type coopératif: on joue ensemble contre le jeu pour essayer de gagner. Chaque joueur a des pouvoirs spéciaux. Si un seul des joueurs tombe à l'eau, c'est perdu pour toute l'équipe. Je ne vais pas spoiler comment le jeu fonctionne, mais il est pas facile du tout, même au niveau le plus facile, on peut perdre lors des premières parties! Et il y a plusieurs niveaux de difficultés, je n'ai pas encore été plus haut mais j'imagine à quel point les parties doivent être endiablées! C'est l'un des rares vrais jeux coopératifs avec du challenge, tous les autres jeux coopératifs que j'ai trouvé sont soit seulement semi-coopératifs, soit ennuyeux. Là il y a une vraie profondeur. Je recommande vivement ce jeu pour ceux qui souhaitent essayer ou qui aiment les jeux coopératifs, il est vraiment extrêmement bien réalisé. Et j'imagine qu'il créera d'excellent souvenirs chez les enfants avec ses belles figurines et dalles d'environnement qui nourrissent l'imagination.

We love these games and this one was very decently priced compared to in store options.

Tres bon jeu pour toute la famille. Plus facile à jouer que L'Ile Intedite (mails ils sont les 2 sont tres sympa)

Plenty of people have done an admirable job of explaining the games in their reviews, so this is instead an attempt at a comparison between a number of games, the pros and cons of each and which may suit different people best. The games in question are: Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Castle Panic, Smallworld, and Forbidden Island. We have had Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne (with a number of expansion packs) for quite a few years now, and only recently added the other games above. We usually either play just as two adults, or with our two older children (age 9 and 8), and so our conclusions are based on how these games work in those settings. So here's what we've found: Settlers of Catan We got this around the same time as Carcassonne and initially just didn't latch onto it. Partly it's that it's supposed to be 3 players or more, and we often play as just two of us. Once we found online some instructions for playing as 2 players it came out more often, and as time's gone by it's become fairly 50-50 whether we play Settlers or Carcassonne on a quiet night in. The choice will usually depend on how much we want to think. With Settlers, you're always planning and calculating; with Carcassonne, you're taking it a card at a time. Who should get it: Settlers is well-known as one of the great modern games. I'm not as sold on it as some people, and it takes quite a while to learn and feel comfortable with, but once you get the hang of it, it is an entertaining and enjoyable addition to a games collection. There are several 2-player rule variations out there if you need them and they work well (we found one that worked for us and we've stuck to it). But this isn't a game for kids; I would suspect not until they're 16 or so. Amongst other things, I think they'll find it too dull. Carcassonne This has been a favorite for years now, and everyone we've played it with has gone off to get it themselves. We usually play without farms because it then becomes less directly competitive and more sociable. Kids can play it, adults can play it, it's relaxed, it's fun and it's simple to learn. Here's one nice thing about it: you don't have to be constantly thinking and planning ahead. You don't know what card you're going to draw next time, so you just play one card at a time. You're encouraged to discuss where to put a card, and since you don't know what piece you're getting next, your comments to another player are usually pretty unbiased. Who should get it: In my experience, pretty much anyone, except those who want ultra-competitive games. The first few expansion packs are also well worth getting, but don't bother with anything from Mayor onward. Castle Panic The kids love this one, again it's simple to learn and it has the added bonus of allowing them to get out their aggressive instincts and go postal on monsters! They don't like the `master slayer' option, but prefer just straight cooperative play. After the first few plays, I've found the basic game is too easy, and so we're experimenting with making it more challenging, such as starting with no walls, or drawing 3 monster cards at a time instead of 2. I think Castle Panic will become a game that we get out pretty regularly to play. Who should get it: People with kids, who want to play cooperative games. Could be fun as a party game too! Smallworld While the kids have enjoyed playing this, I think their interest is starting to wane already. I suspect it will work better as a game with a group of adults, or when the kids are older. It has a lot going for it, especially the creative cards and board, but as others have noted - what's with the box for the tokens? Very poorly designed and adds unnecessary annoyance. Most of the time when playing we've found it's not too directly competitive, it's easier to attack lost tribes or declining races, so generally it doesn't get too personal! Who should get it: I think this would make a fun addition to a games collection, but I don't think it would be a go-to game, especially with kids. The rules are more complicated to learn and explain than the other games, and this makes it hard to just sit down with new players and get on with a game. Having said that, we've enjoyed playing it , and I think it'll get pulled out every now and then over the years. Forbidden Island Although the kids would prefer Castle Panic, when we've played Forbidden Island (at my insistence!) they've thoroughly enjoyed it. As the island starts to collapse in a heap toward the end of the game, the tension levels rise and people are on the edge of their seats! The game always ends with voices rising in pitch and tension as cards get turned over - it's fun! It's a pure cooperative game, and that works well for us as a family - no one feels bad, we're all in it together. We're still using the `Normal' level of play, maybe we'll notch up a level soon! Who should get it: If you like cooperative games, I think this is excellent to have. I love how easy it is to set different difficulty levels, and it's definitely the game that's had the most excited tension - Castle Panic has this at times, but not sustained (at least as the basic game). It doesn't have the whole monster thing going for it that Castle Panic does, and I think that's why the kids haven't latched onto it so quickly (kill trolls or wander round an island getting treasure - which is your average kid going to choose?) but I suspect that long-term it'll have more staying power.