Gamewright | Forbidden Island | Board Game | Ages 10+ | 2-4 Players | 30 Minutes Playing Time

This has become a favorite game in our family. We started our little board game nights with Forbidden Island, which is a fantastic gateway game. Now we have progressed onto Forbidden Jungle with has kept all of our favorite aspects of co-operative play and introduced some new elements into the mix. Matt Leacock really knows how to create a good co-operative game which keeps you engaged with a dramatic countdown mechanism.Buy it, you won't regret it.

Co-operative games are becoming a favourite in our household. We have Pandemic - Game in English (in my opinion one of the greatest of all board games) which I play with adults, not with our children who are aged 5 and 7. The first co-op game the children played was Castle Panic Board Game, which is a great game, and it was almost played every day: TV was forgotten, troll slaying was in! Then we got Castle Panic: The Wizards Tower, a brilliant expansion for Castle Panic, but one that in a strange way left Castle Panic in the cupboard unplayed. The main reason for this was that the new Wizard cards required reading, and the 5 year old, as a result, lost interest. It was difficult to revert to the original version as it was so basic by contrast. Plus, Castle Panic can easily go on for over an hour, and during the game the children will say "I want to do something else" and off they go.Enter Forbidden Island. Reading all the other reviews I'm sure you'll get an idea of what the game is about. A game takes about 30 mins, so it's easy to sneak a game in before bed time. The game doesn't rely on reading, with cards having pictures that says it all, so even the 5 year old can shout out "Sandbags!" or "Airlift!" or feel dismay when drawing a Water Rise card. The adventurer roles also capture the imagination of the younger players (with perhaps the exception of the Navigator, whose ability to move other players is a bit more subtle), whether it be a diver, a pilot, or Explorer. The treasure figurines also look good, and help to the atmosphere that you're risking your lives to get something truly valuable. For me, the genius of the game comes from setting up the tiles to form the island, so that the layout is never the same. What's more, you can alter the shape of the island (check out the variant rules on the Forum website) which alters the difficulty of play.In Pandemic (by the same author) which has notable similarities, you win when you cure all 4 diseases. What is different with Forbidden Island is once you gain all 4 treaures, all players still have to get to the helipad, known as Fool's Landing, and use the Airlift card to claim victory. This adds a sense of complete closure to the game, and also added tension as there are still oppurtunities to loose before everyone is lifted to safety.And full marks for presentation. The game comes in a tin box with well presented instructions, and is easy to take around. I wouldn't take Pandemic on a camping trip, for instance, as there are quite a few little pieces to loose. Forbidden Island, on the other hand, is easier to fit in a suitcase and is more durable.In a few years time, I'm sure the children will get back to Castle Panic and be able to play the whole game in a single setting, and when they reach 10, I will introduce Pandemic to them. As for now, Forbidden Island is all the rage. The suggested age of 10+ is a bit high. My 7 year old daughter has easily grasped the concept and tactics, and is able to make her own suggestions, and I think could play this game with children of a simlar age. The 5 year does need adult supervision.Overall, excellent! A very good introduction to co-op games for any age. For adults though, I thouroughly recommend Pandemic.

Having recently gotten sucked back in to boardgames, I have been ordering, borrowing and making them left right and center but this was actually purchased without knowing too much about it as it was going for a good price. My friends and I opened it up today after receiving it (quickly I might add) and had a great shock as none of us had ever played a co-operative board game before. If you are in the same position, or even if you have, I would go ahead and get this as it makes for a surprisingly interesting time.Game PlayEssentially, you are on an island and must escape before it sinks but after getting hold of four treasures that can be found on the island. Because you are all in it together the mechanics are easy to work out and the strategy employed is entirely new. Game play is quick enough not to drag on but short enough to add tension and suspense - our games cam in between 25 and 35 minutes or so with the first play maybe slightly longer.Game ConstructionThe pieces and art are very well made and really add to the theme and overall play. The treasures themselves are little works of art and the tiles are very sturdy so I expect them to stand up to repeated play which is great for the price. Additionally, the game comes in a tin instead of a box and all the pieces have their own little home which, as a person who is forever sorting out playing pieces, I am eternally grateful for.OverallIf you are looking for a game that will surprise you and draw you in, I would definitely give this a go on it's own or as a warm up before a longer game on game night.

This is a fun game for sure. It needs at least one run to get the hang of it, and it's probably worth checking YouTube to watch a playthrough. I love that it's actually a cooperative game. Adds an interesting dimension. It's one of those games with a chunky learning curve at the start. But once you've gotten the hang of it (and it won't take long!), it's a straightforward enough game.I feel like it has plenty of replayability, but it's gotten a little "samey" after we've played a dozen rounds or so over the past few weeks. Some interesting twists are things like you can up the difficulty by increasing the number of "flood" cards that need to be dealt after each turn. But there is an element of luck to this game, and turning up the difficulty just feels like you're unnecessarily hindering yourself.But it's gotten more than enough value for my money, so I'm well happy with the purchase and would recommend as a casual game to play with a few friends or family if you have an hour or two and don't want anything too heavy.