‘Forbidden Island’ board game review
By Ed Appleby, Illustrator
Forbidden Island (2010) is a cooperative, adventure-themed board game for two–four players designed by Matt Leacock and published by Gamewright. In the game, players frantically try to find and rescue four artifacts off of a mysterious island that is slowly sinking into the sea. Players must work together and plan their actions in order to complete their mission before the treasures are lost forever.
This game is simple enough to play. Similar to Pandemic (2008), players take on roles with special abilities and adjust their play style accordingly. There is a serious planning element to the game and it forces players to work together to win. Like a lot of cooperative games, I find that playing with only two players reduces the difficulty of the game by giving each player more turns to act overall, and less chance to develop conflicting plans.
The sequel to this game, Forbidden Desert (2013), is also worth a look. The gameplay is very similar, but you have to contend with shifting sands and blazing sun instead of rising waters.
I would recommend either of the Forbidden games to any group. The series has a great combination of simplicity, strategy, and cooperative gameplay that is good for players both young and old. Hardcore gamers that play to win will also find the difficulty of the game stimulating, even if they have to work with their fellow players.
