Survive The Desert With Gamewright'S Forbidden Desert: A Cooperative Strategy Board Game Review

I was first introduced to Forbidden Island when playing a friend's copy and found it to be a fun game with some unique mechanics. When I learned about Forbidden Desert I figured this would be similar but was surprised at the added twists this game has. It still relies on cooperation (though in my experience it seems like games tend to gravitate towards an overall "leader") but now literally adds the new layer of sand.It's a challenging game with replayability (winning is not easy and…

I'm a big fan of the "Pandemic Light" game of Forbidden Island. It's a beautiful game that fun to play and helps people like how cooperative board games are played. Coming off my high from Forbidden Island I snatched up the sequel game Forbidden Desert. After purchasing it I realized it might be a mistake. Why have two slightly different versions of the same game? It sat on my shelf for a long time. I kept meaning to play it but never got around to it. Until now.This game may be similar

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)…

OVERVIEWForbidden Island is the game that really got me into cooperative games and modern board games in general. Pandemic is my favorite game. Both of these are by Matt Leacock, so when his new title Forbidden Desert was announced, I could not wait to get my hands on it! I was a little worried it might be an unnecessary purchase for someone who already owns Forbidden Island, but I couldn't pass it up. Luckily, my fears were unfounded - although it scratches the same itch as Forbidden Island…

I like this game. It's much harder than Forbidden Island, as the rules are defined. In order to make Forbidden Desert playable, you have to modify the rules. Otherwise, you pretty much always lose. What fun is a game that you *always* lose? Some of our changed rules include (mix and match these rules for interesting play variations):1) Picking up the "part" (as 1 action) on the first "part" tile of its kind that you excavate. This leads to a short game of about 20 minutes.2)…

At Settlers of Catan game night last month, some friends brought over Forbidden Island and we tried it out and it was a blast! (We love Catan, but sometimes we need a break in the form of a co-op game - too many tempers could flare up, if you know what I mean!) I looked on Best Buy to buy Island and saw this sequel and decided to try this one instead and I am very satisfied with this decision!-In Island, you lose tiles as they flood, while in Desert you have sand build up on tiles. In Island…

Positives of the game:1. Easy to learn. You will have the rules figured out in about 15 minutes. Less if you have played "Forbidden Island". This is a strong plus if you are playing the game with new people to the group or if you are playing with younger players.2. Easy to play. Play your four actions, draw cards for the storm, play passes to the next player. Easy enough.3. Very challenging. In my experience with co-op games, I want to play something that is fairly challenging to beat (in some…

It’s pretty fun but kind of boring after a while. I’ve only played with myself and my wife. We can win on novice every time. It’s probably more fun with more people but once you know the game it seems pretty easy.

I think some of the reviews differ on this game because the experience is very different depending on the number of players. I will get to that in the minute.If you like Forbidden island and Pandemic, this may be the game for you. It has elements from both games. I like how you are not just pretending to build the ship as you play. You have a little boat and parts to equip it with. It seems more complicated than it is. The rule book is pretty clear on how you are supposed to play. Once you have

This is another masterpiece from Matt Leacock.It is a little more complex, and a tiny bit harder to learn, than his previous game in the series, Forbidden Island. Which, by the way, is just as excellent.This game is easy to set up and infinitely re-playable. A superb value for the money.

TLDR: The 4-stars is for the comparison to Forbidden Island. Buy Island first. If you enjoy that and want more variety, then buy Desert.Forbidden Desert is the stand-alone spiritual successor to Forbidden Island.Desert is an action-based, ability-focused cooperative game. You move around the map (created by placing the desert squares), digging through sand, excavating tiles to discover directions to the treasure (or nothing at all!), and making sure you have enough water to survive the heat…

The game play is easy, fun and dynamic, once you get started. The directions are well written, but a lot to ingest for how simple the game play actually is. I love how every-time you play, the scenario is a bit different, and that you can play it with just two people if you want. I play it often and have yet to get bored of it. I just purchased other games from Gamewright because I love this one so much!