Forbidden Island is a co-operative game, where all of the players work towards the common goal of collecting four treasures and escaping the island before it sinks. They will all win together or be defeated by the game, but while there is only one way to achieve victory, there are many ways to lose. Designer Matt Leacock successfully rolls up proven co-op game mechanics into this bite-size package suitable for all gamers, both old and new.
Just the Facts:
Players: 2-4
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Age: Ages 10 to adult
Publisher: Gamewright
MSRP: $15.99
Release: May 2010
Rating:
The Gameplay:
The first thing one needs to understand is how two win and lose this game. The players win if they collect the four treasures, a helicopter card, and meet up on the helicopter pad to end the game. However, the game will immediately end in a loss if any player or treasure sinks into the ocean, or if the flood meter reaches the skull and crossbones (time ran out).
To set up the game, the 24 locations on the island are dealt out randomly into a grid, as shown below:
Players then each receive a starting hand of treasure cards, and the flood meter is set to the starting position. Each treasure has two locations it can be collected from, and players can do so by traveling there and discarding four matching cards with that treasure’s symbol on it.
As the game goes on, the flood cards will instruct players to flip the location tiles over to their “flooded” side. These are treated as normal, but if their flood card comes up again, they will be sink completely and be removed from the game.
A turn of Forbidden Island has three distinct phases:
- Take three actions
- Draw two treasure cards
- Draw several flood cards (the # is set by the flood meter)
The list of possible actions is short and simple. A movement of one space (up, down, left, or right) counts as one action. Exchanging cards with another player counts as an action, as dose collecting a treasure. The final type of action is an important move called “shore up”, that allows a player to flip a flooded tile back onto its starting side.
After all of the actions are taken, the player draws two treasure cards. There are only four different treasure cards (one for each treasure), but there are five copies of each, which allows players to collect a matching set of four. There are also some special action cards mixed into the treasure deck, which can be played at any time to bend a rule as described on the card. Before moving on to the next phase of the turn, the player must discard down to five.
The final portion of the turn is to draw a number of flood cards equaling the current flood level. Each card drawn represents a location, and that tile is flipped (or removed from the game if it is already flipped). One special tile, the Fools Landing helicopter pad, is the players’ exit from the game, and will result in a complete loss if it sinks into the ocean. Also, every treasure has only two locations it can be found at. If any pair of locations is lost before that treasure is collected, the game will also end. Finally, if a player is on a sunken tile, they are allowed one free move action to escape. If this is not possible, they will drown, and the game is lost.
Now that you understand how flood cards work, I’ll tell you about the only other card in the treasure deck : a dangerous one, the Waters Rise card, which there are three copies of. When this card is drawn, the flood level is raised by one, and the flood discard pile is shuffled and placed back on top of the flood deck. This means that the same cards which were just drawn to create flooded tiles are now about to be drawn again, potentially tearing the island to pieces.
Once all four treasure are collected, the player must meet at Fools Landing, and a helicopter card from the treasure deck must be used to escape the island. Congratulations! You have defeated Forbidden Island.
The Contents:
- 58 playing cards
- 24 island tiles
- 6 pawns
- 4 treasure figurines
- 1 water meter
- 1 rules booklet
There’s nothing to complain about with these components. Everything is solidly constructed and of good quality. The rules are concise and well-illustrated, and the sturdy metal tin is a nice touch.
The artwork is well done but not particularly noteworthy. What I found to be a great addition is that the reverse side of every tile also has a “flooded” version of its artwork drawn in hues of blue. This definitely helps to impart the feeling of rapidly rising waters.
Our Thoughts:
Forbidden Island has several qualities that work in its favor. It is designed to be the perfect game for introducing a young player to games that actually require thought to play, and greatly succeeds in that endeavor. If you’re read up to this point, you already understand that Forbidden Island is a game with real strategy, but it also clocks in at a quick 30 minutes and is a bargain-priced $16. This is perfect for the attention span and wallet size of most kids.
Players in this game are forced to juggle multiple goals and make tough decisions. While there are only certain pieces of the island that are essential to victory, maintaining the non-essential locations will keep their respective cards in the flood deck, and allow them to act as buffers. Keeping those buffer cards in the deck will lower the odds that you might draw an unwanted card such as Fool’s Island.
This brings up a big strategic decision in Forbidden Island. When does the group cut and run? The endgame begins when everyone decides to forget about the rest of the island, and simply race towards victory. Knowing when to do so is they key to solving this game. When the island starts to fall apart and the players begin to assess how far they are from victory, there is noted tension. It is under such duress that players must make the most crucial decisions.
You may recognize some of these game mechanics from Pandemic, which we previously reviewed on MDP, and you wouldn’t be far off the mark. Designer Matt Leacock is the man behind both games, and took his immensely popular co-op game system over to Gamewright, a publisher with more access to the childrens’ market. Do not be fooled into thinking this is a kids game though. If you are a fan Pandemic, there is absolutely room in your closet for both titles. There is enough to differentiate the two that there is a time and a place for both.
Where to Buy:
Forbidden Island can be purchased directly from the publisher for $15.99, at most online and local game retailers, or soon at Borders and Barnes & Noble locations.
Disclaimer: The Modern Day Pirates were provided a complimentary review sample of this game.
