{"id":865,"date":"2019-11-06T07:48:12","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T13:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/?p=865"},"modified":"2019-10-11T20:47:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-12T01:47:03","slug":"game-review-forbidden-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/06\/game-review-forbidden-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Review: Forbidden Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure id=\"attachment_357\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-357\" style=\"width: 218px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2kWmJS6\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/forbidden-island-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"Forbidden Island\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-357\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-357\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Forbidden Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>Title: Forbidden Island<br \/>\nPlayers: 1-4<br \/>\nPlay Time: 30 Minutes<br \/>\nDesigner: Matt Leacock<br \/>\nPublisher: Gamewright (et al)<br \/>\nYear: 2010<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Forbidden Island<\/em> was one of many games that I learned about by watching the TableTop channel on YouTube. It is a cooperative game where 1-4 players try to move around an island attempting to retrieve four special relics, each representing one of the four elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Technically it&#8217;s sold as a 2-4 player game, but you could easily play this by yourself. There are six roles that are randomly assigned to start the game. Each role has one special ability that I&#8217;ll cover a bit later.<\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t read any further, here&#8217;s the important part: I definitely enjoy this game, and find that it&#8217;s a fantastic way to introduce the idea of cooperative gaming to those who haven&#8217;t played that style before. (It&#8217;s much easier to explain and faster to play than <em>Pandemic<\/em>, for example, another cooperative game from the same designer.) Adding in the alternate island layouts (details later) has kept this game in my rotation for quite some time.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t like the metal tin. But I can get over that. \ud83d\ude09 <!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Components<\/strong><br \/>\nThe components are great! The four relic tokens are nicely done, and begging to be painted. (They will be some day.) <\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_907\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-907\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-relics-1024x579.jpg\" alt=\"Forbidden Island Relics\" width=\"840\" height=\"475\" class=\"size-large wp-image-907\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-relics-1024x579.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-relics-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-relics-768x434.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-relics.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-907\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Forbidden Island Relics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The island tiles are heavy duty cardboard, and the art is wonderful. One side has a full color illustration which represents a dry tile. The flip side has the same image in blue \/ gray scale which represents a tile that is flooded. <\/p>\n<div id=\"metaslider-id-911\" style=\"max-width: 500px;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-33-0 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-911 ml-slider ms-theme-default\" role=\"region\" aria-roledescription=\"Slideshow\" aria-label=\"Slideshow\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_911\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_911\">\n            <ul aria-live=\"polite\" class=\"slides\">\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-912 ms-image\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-912\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"904\" height=\"872\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-watchtower.jpg\" class=\"slider-911 slide-912\" alt=\"Forbidden Island Watchtower\" rel=\"\" title=\"Forbidden Island Watchtower\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-watchtower.jpg 904w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-watchtower-300x289.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-watchtower-768x741.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Forbidden Island Watchtower<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-913 ms-image\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-913\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"912\" height=\"897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-twilight-hollow.jpg\" class=\"slider-911 slide-913\" alt=\"Forbidden Island Twilight Hollow\" rel=\"\" title=\"Forbidden Island Twilight Hollow\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-twilight-hollow.jpg 912w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-twilight-hollow-300x295.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-twilight-hollow-768x755.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Forbidden Island Twilight Hollow<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-914 ms-image\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-914\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"862\" height=\"844\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-observatory.jpg\" class=\"slider-911 slide-914\" alt=\"Forbidden Island Observatory\" rel=\"\" title=\"Forbidden Island Observatory\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-observatory.jpg 862w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-observatory-300x294.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-tile-observatory-768x752.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Forbidden Island Observatory<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>There are two decks of cards. One deck contains cards that match the island tiles (with a blue back) and the other deck contains treasure cards (and have a red back). There is also a set of &#8220;helper&#8221; cards that detail each role and their special abilities. The cards are a standard card size and feel really good. I still sleeved them. \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n<p>The only negative component comments I have are the water level card feels sort of cheap and could use a stand. I am also not a fan of the metal box. I would rather prefer a cardboard box. That clearly is a matter of preference.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\n<strong>Game Play \/ Rules \/ Complexity<\/strong><br \/>\nIsland tiles are laid out in a defined patter. Players are randomly assigned a role and place their colored pawn on the tile with the matching color. (The pilot, for example, starts on Fools&#8217; Landing, since that&#8217;s where the helicopter lands.) Each player gets two treasure cards which are placed face-up on the table in front of them. The water level is set to the desired difficulty level. Finally the top six cards from the flood deck are drawn and the matching island tiles are flooded (turned over). <\/p>\n<p>Let me talk about those two decks briefly. The treasure cards are mostly good. They contain cards that match the four relics that you&#8217;re searching for. Getting a set of four matching cards allows you to claim the relic at one of the two temples on the island. The treasure deck also includes cards that allow you to keep an island tile from sinking, or a helicopter card that allows you to quickly move around the island without using an action. There are also several &#8220;Waters Rise&#8221; cards! They&#8217;re the bad news. Back to that in a moment.<\/p>\n<p>On your turn you can do one of several things. You can move, you can give a treasure card to another player who shares your location, or you can shore up a part of the island that has flooded. You can repeat actions if you want. At the end of your turn you pull two treasure cards from the deck, hoping to complete a set of four matching cards. Trading in four matching treasure cards (another one of your possible actions) gives you the icon for that treasure, and you&#8217;re one step closer to winning the game. You can only trade in sets on one of two special temple island tiles though.<\/p>\n<p>After you have pulled your treasure cards you must then draw flood cards. That&#8217;s what makes the island so treacherous! Parts of the island that have already flooded can sink, forever lost. Parts of the island that are still dry can get flooded. By the end of the game half (or more!) of the island has disappeared, making travel more challenging.<\/p>\n<div id=\"metaslider-id-915\" style=\"max-width: 500px;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-33-0 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-915 ml-slider ms-theme-default\" role=\"region\" aria-roledescription=\"Slideshow\" aria-label=\"Slideshow\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_915\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_915\">\n            <ul aria-live=\"polite\" class=\"slides\">\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-917 ms-image\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-917\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"881\" height=\"855\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-island-tile.jpg\" class=\"slider-915 slide-917\" alt=\"Phantom Rock\" rel=\"\" title=\"Phantom Rock\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-island-tile.jpg 881w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-island-tile-300x291.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-island-tile-768x745.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Phantom Rock<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-916 ms-image\" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" aria-label=\"slide-916\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"916\" height=\"914\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-flooded-tile.jpg\" class=\"slider-915 slide-916\" alt=\"Phantom Rock Flooded\" rel=\"\" title=\"Phantom Rock Flooded\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-flooded-tile.jpg 916w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-flooded-tile-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-flooded-tile-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/fi-flooded-tile-768x766.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Phantom Rock Flooded<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you are on a flooded tile that sinks with no way to move to a safe place, you die, and the game is over.<\/p>\n<p>There are two places for each treasure (eight altogether) to turn in your set of four treasure cards. Lose both of them before you cash in your cards, and you lose.<\/p>\n<p>If &#8220;Fools&#8217; Landing&#8221; sinks, you lose the game.<\/p>\n<p>If the water meter rises to the skull icon, you lose the game.<\/p>\n<p>See how many ways there are to lose the game? Isn&#8217;t that fun? \ud83d\ude08<\/p>\n<p>The flood deck is scary, but remember earlier I mentioned the three &#8220;Waters Rise&#8221; cards&#8230;those are the real killer. When you pull one of those, you get to shuffle the discarded flood deck cards and put them on top, where they will get drawn again. You also move the water gauge up a notch, which gradually increases the number of flood cards that you draw.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\nTo win you have to balance the need to collect sets of relic cards with the requirement of keeping the island from disappearing beneath you. As the island tiles sink, the matching cards are removed from the flood deck. That means the more tiles you lose, the faster you cycle through the deck. The more Waters Rise cards that you play the higher the flood meter goes, which also accelerates the churn rate on the flood deck.<\/p>\n<p>To help you out, each player has one of six roles, each with a special ability.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pilot: May move to any tile once per turn for one action (simulates flying the helicopter around)<\/li>\n<li>Explorer: May move diagonally as well as orthogonality (allows them to cover more ground than almost anyone other than the pilot)<\/li>\n<li>Navigator: May move other player pawns (with permission) instead of their own up to two tiles<\/li>\n<li>Diver: May move through any number of flooded and\/or missing tiles for a single action (becomes really powerful as the game progresses and the island sinks)<\/li>\n<li>Engineer: May shore up two tiles as one action<\/li>\n<li>Messenger: May give (but not take) treasure cards without having to be on the same tile<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There are creative folks on Board Game Geek that have added more specialized roles. There was even one person who introduced carnivorous apes or something like that. As if the island wasn&#8217;t deadly enough! <\/p>\n<p><strong>Experience<\/strong><br \/>\nI really like this game. I think it captures the feeling of being on an island that is sinking all around you. The howls of dismay as you realize you have no way to save that last Temple of Air tile from going under are real! The game is easy to explain, and as I mentioned above, it&#8217;s a great way to introduce the concept of cooperative gaming to folks who have never experienced that.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve seen plenty of folks on Board Game Geek say that the game is too easy to beat, too boring, too repetitive. I personally have not reached that point yet. As mentioned previously I have downloaded and printed out an additional deck of cards that provides alternate island layouts. Don&#8217;t like the standard diamond? Pick a card&#8230;any card&#8230;and just hope you don&#8217;t pull the Atoll of Decisions.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_898\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-898\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/atoll-of-decisions-220x300.jpg\" alt=\"Forbidden Island: Atoll of Decisions\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-898\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/atoll-of-decisions-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/atoll-of-decisions-768x1048.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/atoll-of-decisions-750x1024.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/atoll-of-decisions.jpg 822w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 85vw, 220px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-898\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Forbidden Island: Atoll of Decisions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Overall Score<\/strong><br \/>\nOn the Board Game Geek scale, I find it really hard to pin this one down. A rating of 7 implies that the game is good and that I&#8217;m usually willing to play. A rating of 8 implies that I will suggest the game and consider it very good. Hmm. Since I can&#8217;t use a half star, I&#8217;m going with a 7 for now, but it&#8217;s a strong, very solid 7. \ud83d\ude42 I will always play it if suggested, and it&#8217;s a regular participant in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/tag\/game-day-lunch\/\">Game Day Lunch sessions<\/a>. I think I&#8217;m talking myself into an 8&#8230;but I&#8217;ll leave it for now.<\/p>\n<p>The weight from BGG members comes in at 1.74 on a scale of 1-5. Over half of the people rating it have given it a 2. I feel that&#8217;s appropriate.<\/p>\n<p>I like the game. It looks great on the table, is easy to explain, does a great job of introducing cooperative games to new players, and really captures the drama of an island sinking under your feet as you attempt to gather the forbidden relics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Title: Forbidden Island Players: 1-4 Play Time: 30 Minutes Designer: Matt Leacock Publisher: Gamewright (et al) Year: 2010 Overview Forbidden Island was one of many games that I learned about by watching the TableTop channel on YouTube. It is a cooperative game where 1-4 players try to move around an island attempting to retrieve four &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/06\/game-review-forbidden-island\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Game Review: Forbidden Island&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-reviews","tag-forbidden-island"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":922,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865\/revisions\/922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunderedrealm.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}