Review on Survive The Desert With Gamewright'S Forbidden Desert: A Cooperative Strategy Board Game by Kyle Robbins

My gaming group enjoys cooperative board games and we often play games like Pandemic. The only problem is that occasionally due to chance, the game ends in defeat very early and suddenly just with the flop of a bad card or two. We've lost games before the third cycle of turns begins. Forbidden Desert changes that up. Like Pandemic and other games of its ilk, there are several ways to lose (3 in fact; run out of sand tiles, the storm picks up to the skull marker, or any player dies of thirst), but all of them only occur mid to late in game. Of the dozen or so games we've played, we've never lost due to sand tiles (though we have gotten down to 3 tiles left), or the storm, but from thirst. We had an initial concern that with only 25 "board" tiles that the game would wear out its welcome once we got used to the gameplay, but the innovative game mechanics (mostly the shifting tiles of the sandstorm) and randomization makes every game unique and gives it a very, very long player interest lifespan. Everything is quality made, from the diecast engine for the airship to the embossed tin box. The rulebook is very clear and concise, and it's a great game for two or more players. Our only concern was about the propeller on the airship. While it's well made and we've never had a problem, there has been some concern that over time that connection will warp or break. There is a thumbwheel that you can slide up to pop the piece off, but with the propeller completely popped in so that it spins freely, it's near impossible to get the thumbwheel to slide up to pop it off. So, in summary: Pros: +No two games are the same +Rules are simple enough to learn very quickly but complex enough to require some strategic thinking. +Variety of roles allow players to try different combinations of "cast" so you can find what character both you like to play and synergizes well with your teammates. +Fun. Negatives: -Propeller piece may be a problem in the future. -No one liked playing as the Archeologist in our group. Neutral: We found that the more players, the more difficult the game was.