Gamewright - Forbidden Island - Cooperative Strategy Survival Board Game, 2-4 Players

*designer: Matt Leacock *publisher: Gamewright *date: 2010 *BoardGameGeek rank/rating: 2090/8.04 *age: 10+ *# of players: 2-4 *print status: in print Maybe it's because I started writing this review during the final few weeks of the TV series, LOST... but the whole "island full of crumbling ruins & ancient secrets" vibe resonates pretty strongly with me right now. But don't take my (admittedly gamer-oriented) word for it: listen to my (gamer-in-training) 8 year old son... or his non-gamer 8 year old friends... or my long-suffering wife (who games because she loves me!)... or even other actual gamers who've played the game. It's been a hit with everyone who has had the opportunity to play! Forbidden Island is a cooperative game for 2-4 players, though since the game is played with open hands, it works just fine as a solitaire game as well, with the player controlling two (or more) pawns. (Another odd Lost reference: this is definitely a "live together or die alone" kind of game.) Regardless of the number of players, it seems to clock in at right about a half hour of playing time. The color text of the game has the players on a search for elemental treasures (The Crystal of Fire, the Statue of the Wind, The Ocean's Chalice & the Earth Stone) created by an ancient civilization. Of course, it's not a simple archaeological expedition - the island is booby-trapped to begin sinking when anyone attempts to steal the treasures... and that's exactly what you're here to do. I could go into a detailed rules explanation... but that seems pretty pointless when a PDF of the rulebook is available online, thanks to the good folks at Gamewright. Simply put, you're using 3 actions per turn to move your piece across an island made of tiles, attempting to collect the treasures, shore up the sinking parts of the island, and generally survive long enough for all of you to grab the last helicopter off the island (is Frank Lapidus the pilot?). At the end of each turn, you draw cards to increase your hand (and potentially increase the rate of flooding) as well to sink more parts of the island. There are lots of ways to lose: *if the helicopter landing pad sinks, you lose *if one of your team doesn't survive, you lose *if you fail to recover all four treasures, you lose *if the island floods completely, you lose But it wouldn't be much of a cooperative game if you won all the time, right? So far, we're doing very well playing at the Novice setting, while we're about 50/50 at the Normal setting. I have yet to convince my son to try it at the more difficult settings. (BTW, a clever game feature - you only have to change the starting level of the water - indicated on a sliding scale - to change the difficulty of the game. No re-mixing the deck, no convoluted alternative set-up.) The components are high quality - nice cards, great chunky tiles with evocative "forbidden island" artwork that reminds me a bit of the computer game Myst, and nifty plastic "treasures" - all packaged in a cool-looking tin with a well-designed box insert. (For those of you non-gamers, the "well-designed insert" may not sound like a big deal, but I can tell you from experience that it makes it easier to transport & keep the game in top-notch condition... and that not all companies think this part through.) A side note: since the designer, Matt Leacock, is best known for his OTHER cooperative game, Pandemic, it's helpful to note that while the games share some mechanics (most notably the Infection/Waters Rise restacking of the decks & the various player roles that allow each person to "break" the rules in a particular way) but that the board play (due to the sinking tiles) and kid-friendly theme make for a very different game experience. Finally, the recommended age of 10 is correct - but only if the kids are going to be playing without any adults helping run the game. With a friendly adult, the game can easily be played by kids as young as 5. The cheap price point (the MSRP is only $15.99) means that Forbidden Island will be likely be one of the best kid gaming investments you're likely to make this year.

We're on a bit of a cooperative board game kick lately, and Forbidden Island did NOT disappoint! After loving Pandemic, we were looking for something similar, and this one was a blast. The whole "island sinking" thing really amps up the tension – you're constantly scrambling to keep tiles from flooding while trying to find the treasures. It's a really fun and unique mechanic. We played with four players, and it was the perfect amount of challenge. Each player has a different role with special abilities, so you really have to communicate and work together to succeed. There were definitely some tense moments where we thought we were going to get swamped, but we managed to pull through in the end! It was a really satisfying feeling to escape with all the treasures. The game is easy to learn, but there's still plenty of strategy involved. It's perfect for a family game night or a get-together with friends. We loved that it's cooperative, so everyone's working towards a common goal. If you're looking for a fun and engaging game that will have you on the edge of your seat, Forbidden Island is a great choice. Highly recommend it! Five stars!

You're on a quest to retrieve the four lost treasures from an island that sinks as you journey on it. Will you make it out or will the island swallow you whole? Rules (trying to keep it short): Basically, this is a co-op game of your players (2-4) vs. the island, removing the element of competition with each other but retaining it against the island. The island is set up of tiles which start flooding before the game even starts. A tile that is flooded once gets into flooded state (which has a well drawn flooded version on the back). If a flooded tile is flooded, it gets removed from the game. Players have the ability to dig up a flooded tile, which is essential to winning the game. Each player also represents a character, which gives them a special ability (e.g. the pilot can move to any tile once per turn). Each player can also have up to five treasure cards, which consists of any of the four treasure cards and a few special cards. When a player has more than five cards, he must discard down to five. When a player has four of the same treasure card, he qualifies to retrieve that treasure. The game starts with each player having two. On a player's turn, they can take three actions, an action being: 1) move to a nearby tile 2) restore a flooded tile 3) retrieve a treasure (must be on the treasure's tile and have four cards of that treasure) 4) give a card to another player on the same tile 5) special ability that your character has After making actions, the player draws two treasure cards and then has to draw an amount of flood cards based on the flood meter. The flood meter starts off at a level (default is 2, although one can change this) and increases in the game if a player draws the waters rise treasure card. The waters rise treasure card also causes flooded cards to reshuffle ON TOP OF the flood deck, meaning that any recently flooded tiles may quickly become removed. This card adds a level of excitement to the game and has caused us to hold our breath quite a few times. When all four treasures are retrieved, all players must go to the helicopter tile and one player uses a special treasure card to win. Losing occurs when the wrong tiles flood. Thoughts: Forbidden Island is a game that I was unsure of when I first tested it on my own. However, bringing other people in and setting a mentality of "The Island is out to get us" really adds a level of enjoyment to the game. The game also has pretty nice artwork of the tile and its flooded versions, making it nice to look at. One thing that's really neat about the game is that it's not static. To make the game more difficult, one can start off with a higher flood meter, which can dramatically change how the game moves. There are also variations on the game, which chiefly consist of setting up the island different from how the rulebook says (see [...]. I've even seen a variation where a player's starting tile can be used to teleport that player back if someone else lands there. Gameplay is quick, generally taking only thirty minutes. Cleanup is pretty quick too. It's not hard to want to play again afterward.

Forbidden Island is a cooperative game where your a group of adventurers trying to get the magical artifact to save the world. As with all gamewright games, the components are stellar. If you have a huge collection of games, the tin is annoying to store with the rest, but you also probably aren’t reading reviews on Amazon. If you don’t, the tin looks nice. The insert is excellent. There’s a spot for everything and the game sets up quickly out of the box with a few shuffles or the tiles and two decks of cards. The art is beautiful and it looks great on the table. The artifacts themselves are very nice plastic molds. Game play is simple. The island is flooding. You need to search for the artifacts while preventing the island from sinking completely. Each turn you have 3 actions, which are nicely highlighted on the player aids and are as follows: move to adjacent tile, “shore up” a flooded tile by flipping to its unflooded side, give a card to a player on the same tile, or turn in 4 cards of an artifact on one of its two respective tiles to claim the artifact. Each adventurer has a special power to manipulate these rules, such as being able fly anywhere once a turn or dig up two tiles with one action. The game is won once all 4 artifacts have been claimed and everyone has made it back to the helicopter pad. Then, you draw two cards to your hand, and then draw cards from the island deck. Each island card is a tile on the grid. You flip it over to the flooded side. If it’s alreay flooded, it’s removed from the game. Thus, you have some strategic decisions with determine what tiles are worth saving. Not every tile is important. A central tile is important so you aren’t constantly having to circumnavigate it. An artifact tile is important because if one sinks you’ll have to go to another, possibly less convenient one, and if both sink and you haven’t gotten that artifact you lose. If the helicopter pad sinks, you lose. When you draw cards to your hand, you might draw a water rises tile. If this happens, you raise the danger level, which results in drawing more tiles that flood and, eventually, ends the game. You also put the already drawn cards back on top of the island deck, meaning those cards will come back up soon. All that to say, the game is good, but will be too light for most adult groups. It plays best with kids because of how straight forward it is. It’s relatively easy, but you can make it more difficult, and it’s a great gateway game. If that sounds fun to you, get it! If not, there are plenty of other cooperative games on the market. That being said, this game is great at what it’s intended for.

This is fun for a wide age range. Easy to learn. Kids & adults strategize & help each other toward a common goal

Not long ago I spent a few days binging on the web series Table Top (in which Wil Wheaton plays a boardgame or other table top game with various guests), and I purchased this specifically because of the Forbidden Island episode of the series. (There is a link to the episode in the questions and answers section above -- spend the time to watch this and it will give you a pretty good idea of how the game works and should give you a pretty good idea of whether or not you'll enjoy it.) The box is metal, and comparable in size to an especially thick hardcover novel; the tray inside organizes the pieces/tiles/cards quite well. The tiles are sturdy. The cards are a bit thinner than standard playing cards; my husband was afraid to shuffle them the way you'd shuffle a poker or pinochle deck. A standard card table is fair estimate of the area needed for layout (and should allow room for drinks or snack plates). I suspect the tile layout would fit on the table of a camper or RV, but might be cramped. The description here says ages 10-12, and the box says 10+ -- my husband and I certainly enjoyed it as adults. The cooperative nature makes it work well as a family game, even young children can likely join in and still have fun (depending a bit on the individual child). Our 5yo felt involved and had a blast. He didn't fully grasp the details or strategy, but he followed the general plot of the game and was quite happy to flip tiles, draw cards, move pawns, and listen to his parents and 13yo brother handle strategy, and was excited when his pawn got to do important things. The game seems to have a good mix of chance and strategy, and allows for starting at varied difficulty ratings. The artwork is beautiful; the names of individual tiles (parts of the island) are evocative. The premise of trying to collect treasure and escape before the island sinks appeals to a sense of adventure (especially for those of us whose own childhoods included Indiana Jones movies). Because it's cooperative, it fosters a sense of teamwork and shared accomplishment/responsibility, and encourages collaboration; players take turns, but the rules explicitly encourage everyone to discuss the best options regardless of whose actual turn it is. It might be a great way to get a break if your usual group of board game friends can get competitive. It's definitely a great game for people who'd rather not be competitive.

Fun cooperative game! Would recommend for fans of the Pandemic game, this felt like a faster and more simplistic version, where all the players work together towards one main objective.

I got this game to play as a two-player board game primarily. My husband and I needed a break from trying to assault, destroy, and otherwise obliterate each other in other games. Sure, we have lots of fun and can be pretty competitive, but sometimes you want to play a game where you aren't attacking each other endlessly. This was the perfect solution because it is a cooperative game. Basically how this game works is that each person plays a different (randomly selected) character with unique abilities. Your objective is to collect the treasures on the island and escape before the island sinks (or sinks enough to cut off your escape route!). The game begins fairly leisurely but can feel quite frantic toward the end as more and more parts of the island are lost and you see your hope of escape dwindling. There are several starting difficulties to choose from and we have thus far only played the most beginner difficulty. Game play is the same for all difficulty levels except that your island will begin sinking more quickly sooner, making you be more strategic to prevent the loss of essential areas of your map. Game play for us has typically last 20-30 minutes, which makes it a reasonable game to play in most circumstances. The best part of the game though, is the discussion and planning that you do together, as a team. Rather than trying to sabotage your opponents, you are working with the other players toward a common goal. Sure, sometimes there is disagreement as to how to proceed and ultimately the person taking the turn gets final say in how the turn is played, but it's all working together against the island rather than working against each other. You all succeed or fail as one. My husband has, on occasion, talked about taking turns in such a way that would sabotage our success, but that's just how he plays when he's frustrated with how things are going. In general, everyone will be working together. This is a fun game for two players and I think it would be interesting to have more people just to have some of the other character abilities in the same game. I would certainly recommend it for two players! This has definitely found a permanent spot in our game playing rotation due to it being quick to play, cooperative, and without a lot of complex rules to remember.

This was played by a group of three 30+ y-os and this engaged us for hours. We played all levels of difficulty and found the most difficult one to be the most engaging. Rules are fairly straightforward with instructions also on character cards. After one or two rounds, you remember all the rules. Graphics are also beautiful, and we loved that this was a collaborative game (vs a competitive one) and we had lots of fun discussing our strategy and working together. In all, I’d highly recommend getting this game.

Great game! Excellent game mechanics will keep it fresh for a while. Arrived earlier than expected, pieces and cards are good quality. My wife and I enjoy it thoroughly. Tension build up as the island starts to sink and we still have to get treasures to escape. Great to cooperate.... Our first cooperative game, didn't think it would be fun. The game layout and play is excellent..... Loads of videos online showing and explaining the game. One of my top 4 games that i believe one should own. Others I'm getting... Lost cities card game. Settlers of Catan. Istanbul. Already ordered lost cities on Amazon, so will compare when i get it. But forbidden island was second on my list, got it first and very happy with it. Tin box did have a very minor dent though, nothing else was wrong with it. The dent was just popped back in place. The box itself is beautiful and complements the pieces and cards.

If you like Pandemic........

Perfect.

As described, great game my family love it.