The last couple of reviews I've done here on EN World have been about pretty complex games, so this time round I figured I'd look at something a little lighter that won't scare off your average person who thinks that Monopoly and Risk are about as hard as it gets. Today's game is playable by pretty much anyone - even young kids should be able to grasp the core concepts - and best of all, everyone will be working together towards a common goal. When it comes to Forbidden Island, you'll either all survive or perish... and what could be easier to understand than that?
You and your fellow players make up a team of intrepid adventurers who land on the titular island in an all-or-nothing bid to grab four mythical treasures that will put your names in the history books. You'll wander around the island looking to collect sets of cards that will allow you to pick up these rarities when you visit specific locations, and each of the four treasures can be grabbed from one of two places. Why does there need to be two? Well, this is the game's twist. It really doesn't like you and your mates. In fact, Forbidden Island would like nothing better to drown the lot of you and keep its riches under the rising water forever (or until someone comes along with a submarine anyway, but that's a whole new game that hasn't even been designed yet).
At the start of the game, you lay out the location tiles however you please. It's suggested that your early games should keep things relatively easy, so setting up in a rough diamond or square formation is your best bet as it means you should be able to move more freely around the island. Before each player starts their turn, cards are revealed from a deck revealing the locations that will flood - these tiles are immediately flipped. Players are still allowed to move onto or through them, but these places are in danger of disappearing for good. How? Well, should a 'Waters Rise' card appear, things start to get nasty. All location cards that have been revealed are shuffled and returned to the draw pile and the meter showing how many cards are to be drawn each turn rises by one point, increasing the game's difficulty. If any location pops up again that has already been flooded, the tile and card are immediately removed from the game. Not only does this thin out the deck so that other places will appear more quickly, it also limits your movement options.
As more and more areas of the island flood and disappear, things swiftly go from terrible to bloody awful. If you've not collected a specific treasure by the time the two locations it's available from have been destroyed, you lose the game automatically. Thankfully there are a few positive things you can do that will give you a fighting chance. While most of the time you'll spend your actions to move about Forbidden Island, it can also be a good idea to use them in order to 'shore up' a tile, flipping it back to the non-flooded side and hopefully keeping it safe for that little bit longer. Special Sandbag cards are also available that can be used for free to do the same. Helicopter cards can also be picked up that let you move a player - very useful if someone gets trapped by the ever-rising tide. Each player also has their own special ability attached to their role which can really give you and your team an advantage against the game - The Diver, for example, is allowed to pass through spaces that have been claimed by the sea. Use them wisely, especially when you're getting towards the end of the game. You need to get everyone back to your chopper in order to win which can prove tricky, but thanks to your powers and those special cards it's not impossible...
A nod must be given to the high level of production quality in Forbidden Island, especially considering the price you can pick it up for. Coming in a lovely tin box, you get beautiful art throughout, printed on high-level cardstock and thick tiles. The four treasures that you're seeking are particularly gorgeous and solid as anything, really begging to be picked up and paraded around when you manage to get your hands on them. Unfortunately, it's not always that easy but then what would a game like this be if there weren't a decent challenge?
With simple instructions and straightforward gameplay, Forbidden Island an ideal purchase for both newbie gamers and those who are more experienced. It's incredibly customisable; you get to set the difficulty level before you play, determine how many Waters Rise cards will go into the deck, even control how the map will be set up... this is very much Your Game to be played Your Way. Of course, with a focus on working together, there is a danger when playing that someone will assume the role of the Alpha, telling everyone what to do, removing the fun of the game by bossing people about. If you've got someone in your group who has a tendency to do this, I wouldn't even bother bringing the game to the table. It's meant to be a collaborative experience where everyone puts the same amount of effort in, so having someone who wants to take the role of the leader can cause issues. It's a great little game but you definitely need the right people sitting down with you. Choose the right folks and you could well end up having a blast, and even if you manage to fail spectacularly games only take around twenty minutes... why not set up for another crack at it?
