Forbidden Island

by Gamewright

Product Features

• 2010 Mensa Favorite Brainy Games Winner
• Join a team of fearless adventurers on a do-or-die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of this perilous paradise
• 2 to 4 players
• Strategic thinking, problem solving and cooperation required
• Ages 10 and up
• Playing time: 30 minutes

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 8.8 x 2.8 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003D7F4YY
• Item model number: 317
• Our recommended age: 10 - 12 years
• Manufacturer recommended age: 10 - 15 years
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #12 in Toys & Games > Games > Card Games
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

You and your team can be the first to breach the borders of the Archeans' ancient mystical empire in the collaborative card game Forbidden Island, by Gamewright. In this game, teamwork proves essential to locate the Earth Stone, the Statue of the Wind, the Crystal of Fire, and the Ocean's Chalice as the Island floods beneath your feet. Adventure... if you dare!

Mega T-Rex

• Ages: Ten and up
• Requires: Two to four players

At a Glance:

• Be the first team to breach the borders of the Archeans' ancient mystical empire
• Locate the Earth Stone, the Statue of the Wind, the Crystal of Fire, and the Ocean's Chalice before the Island sinks
• Find the treasures through collaborative play and teamwork
• Stimulates problem-solving and strategic skills

Breach the borders of the Archean empire to locate the four sacred elements. View larger.

Work collaboratively with two to four players to locate the treasure.
View larger.

The Legend of the Archeans

This game is centered on the legend of the Archean empire, a civilization that possessed the ability to control the Earth's core elements--fire, wind, water, and earth--through four sacred treasures. These treasures stayed hidden from enemies for years on the Forbidden Island, which was designed to sink if intruders ever attempted to capture them. Set the appropriate water level for your gaming skill, and let the adventures begin!

Capture the Four Sacred Treasures Before the Island Sinks!

Your team of adventurers must work together to keep the Forbidden Island from sinking as you seek the four treasures hidden within. The mission is carried out using different combinations of Flood, Treasure, and Adventurer Cards on the 24 tiles that make up the Forbidden Island. Once you've captured each treasure using the appropriate cards, you must make it to Fools' Landing and escape by helicopter in order to win. If the island sinks before you complete your tasks, the mission ends in defeat.

Use Collaborative Play to Succeed

Each player is dealt an Adventure Card and given a corresponding pawn before the game starts, designating him or her with a certain set of strengths. This game is designed so that instead of competing with other players, you work to find the treasures and find out how to best use each Adventurer's strengths through collaborative play. This stimulates problem-solving and strategy skills.

What's in the Box

Water level marker, water meter, 58 playing cards, 24 island tiles, 6 pawns, 4 treasure figurines, rules of play, Gamewright catalog, and comment card.

Product Description

Dare to discover Forbidden Island! Join a team of fearless adventurers on a do-or-die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of this perilous paradise. Your team will have to work together and make some pulse-pounding maneuvers, as the island will sink beneath every step! Race to collect the treasures and make a triumphant escape before you are swallowed into the watery abyss! The latest creation by cooperative game master, Matt Leacock who created the best seller Pandemic.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

242 of 248 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Family cooperation is a blast, August 31, 2010

By 

Trent Howell - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Forbidden Island (Toy)

Length:: 6:45 Mins

Forbidden Island is a fantastic family board game for a number of reasons:

* 1 - it's a cooperative game. We love cooperative games in our family because we aren't competing against each other, but rather working together as a team to beat the game. And we love that more designers and publishers are creating more cooperative games to play.

* 2 - it's easy to learn and simple to play. Take it from Caleb's video review. You simply set out the island tiles, draw your character card and follow the steps on the back of the card as to what to do on your turn. Pretty soon you won't need to look at the cards during the game, but it's great that the help is there if you need it.

* 3 - the re-playability. Since the game isn't played on a set board, but rather by area tiles, every time you set up the island it gets set up differently. And with 6 characters that each have their unique special abilities, you only get to play with a team of 4. So each time you play, you'll also have to deal with the characters you get (and you'll long for the special abilities of one you're missing). And on top of all that, you're dealing with the luck of the draw in the card deck, so you don't know which tiles will start flooding, then sinking away.

* 4 - it doesn't take a long time. The turns play really quickly and everyone is engaged the whole time and the island is always changing with tiles flooding, so there's a lot of discussion going on the whole game - which also makes it seem like it goes by fast.

* 5 - it's fun! The first time we played it, we played over and over. Granted we kept losing so we had to keep trying again. But that's what made it so fun. We would get so close and then just miss the win. So we'd quickly set it all up again for more.

Oh - and did I mention that Forbidden Island has fantastic artwork and great game components? We love the artwork and everything in the tin is high quality. The tiles are nice, thick and sturdy - which is a must because they will get flipped over a lot. And the treasure pieces are definitely treasures that you want to search out and get. The game components all help make it a fun game experience.

If you typically just read these board game reviews rather than watch the video, we'd suggest you take a look at the video to see the quality you're going to get with Forbidden Island.

You can read more about this and other great family board games on TheBoardGameFamily.

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edge of your seat fun!, May 19, 2010

By 

Michael Mandolese - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Forbidden Island (Toy)

Easy to learn, fast paced, and beautifully illustrated. A good balance of luck and strategy.

I'm new to cooperative gaming so its a breath of fresh air to play a game where you're all working together instead of trying to beat each other. Definitely a great game for families.

The 24 tiles that make up the "board" ensure that no two games will be alike, so there is a lot of re-playability. Also when you loose, which happens a fair amount (its challenging!), it definitely leaves you with a "lets play again!" attitude.

Gameplay was about 30 min. The box and components were excellent quality and with a $14.99 price tag how can you go wrong? I highly recommend it!

57 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Family Game - Perfect Introduction to Cooperative Games, May 20, 2010

By 

J. Connolly III "Father/Husband/Gamer" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forbidden Island (Toy)

I really enjoyed this game and have played with my children (11, 9, and 7) as well as an adult gaming group. This game scales well between the two groups and everyone had a good time.

Components
The game has excellent components. The game is very good looking and the designers have done a great job with the look and feel of the game. The cards are durable, the four treasures look good and you can tell that a lot of time and thought went into the design. The game comes in a small tin which looks nice but doesn't fit well into my game collection.

Gameplay
After a couple of plays you can finish a game in about 30 minutes. This makes the game a good choice if you have limited time or want to play a couple of different games on a game night. You and your friends play against the game and if you don't work together you will lose. Every time I've played, there has been a good sense of urgency that makes the game exciting.

Pros:
Theme
Quality of Components
Price - it's only [...]!!
Light enough for new players, but still fun for experienced gamers

Cons:
Strategy Light - I'm not convinced the replay value is high. Increasing the difficulty level may fix this but I've only played on Novice level.