Forbidden Island by Matt Leacock ( Gamewright )
Normally I am not very good at reading instructions sheets for games and this time was no exception, big mistake! I should have read them and had a “test” play as the game instructions are very well written and worth the 15 minutes read before game play.
The four of us played, 2 adults and an 8 and 11 year old. The game is very well made and consists of Islands which are small thick well made cards that form the board upon which the game is played. No actual board is supplied and the island format of the play is great fun and very well thought out.
The objective to this game and the key to winning is that you all must play together to collect the four treasures, The Earth Stone, The Statue of the Wind, The Crystal of Fire, and The Oceans Chalice. The aim is to collect all the treasure and leave the Forbidden Island before it vanishes into the sea.
Each team member is an Adventurer with a unique special power, as each person plays and move are decided the team get to together to discuss strategies and futures moves. The concept is brilliant as the youngsters got drawn into the debate and the challenge to work together. The more we played the game I realised that as in most games you have a winner and everyone else loses, in Forbidden Island you all win or lose!
Another aspect of the game is that the play time can be relatively quick based on the skill level ( or water level ) you set at the beginning. Forbidden Island is also quite addictive as the youngsters have now played about 10 times in the last day or so.
The kids are back in my office today and I can't recall how times I have heard them say "lets just play Forbidden Island" - thats a true test, when the office is full of other toys and the shop is downstairs ...
Forbidden Island Retails at £16.99
