‘Isla Dorada’ board game review
By Ed Appleby, Illustrator
Let’s say you accidentally crashed your zeppelin onto a mysterious island far away from any civilization where strange curses are the norm. What do you do next? Call for help? Build a raft? Or greedily scour ancient ruins for fabulous treasures? I think we know that answer to that.
Isla Dorada is a family adventure game for 3–6 players, designed and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2010. Players work as a team to explore the island, each with their own treasure maps and secret agendas. Players must decide where to go and use cards to bid on locations. The gameplay goes for 16 rounds, after which the player who earns the most points from collecting treasure and destiny cards wins.
Isla Dorada is an interesting hybrid of co-op and adventure game. Players have to travel together, but they don’t have to agree. Points are precious and the sheer number of destiny cards—which require you to collect cards, or travel to certain locations on the map—make each game a unique experience. The rules are very simple, and keeping the complexity of the game down allows the players more freedom to play against each other.
I really enjoyed this game. There is enough depth to keep more competitive players entertained, while the simplicity allows for the whole family to play. I would recommend this game to any group, especially those with younger or less experienced players.
