These Pecan Sandies Might Kill You (Forbidden Desert)

Pain.  That's the first memory you have.  The second is one of falling out of the sky.  The third is flying over the Forbidden Desert.  That would explain the heat.  You cough, and hear the creak of various seats and metal around you.  You call out, and everyone seems to be intact, but you quickly come to the conclusion that unless you can find that flying machine that brought you here, you're going to all perish from dehydration.  Let's just hope it get's up in the air...

BACKGROUND:  Forbidden Desert is part of the Forbidden series of survival co-operative games.  It is for 2-5 players, and was designed by Matt Leacock, artists C. B. Canga and Tyler Edlin, and published by Gamewright.  By taking a role, players work together to collect all the pieces of the machine and fly out before they die.



GAMEPLAY:  Each turn consists of a sequence of 2 events: A player may take up to any 4 combination of actions, and then Sandstorm cards are drawn.  These actions consist of removing sand markers on their tile or any orthogonally (or any non diagonally) from them, moving orthogonally to a space with less than 2 sand markers on it, flipping face-up a sand free tile they are on, and picking up a part.  At any point a player may share with another player water or items with a player they share a space with.

SANDSTORM:  The 5 by 5 grid will always have an empty space, where the storm is.  At the end of a turn, flip Sandstorm cards equal to the number on the Sandstorm Meter level, move the indicated number of tiles so that the 'storm' moves in the direction on the card, then place sand markers on the tiles moved.  If the storm can't move, nothing happens.  If a Storm Picks Up card is drawn, raise the Meter level, and draw that many cards next turn.  If a Sun Beats Down card is drawn, all players lose a level of water on their cards.



END:  Some tiles have arrows to determine where an Machine piece will end up being.  Players must find all 8 'clue' tiles to find where the Machine pieces will be, gather them up, and get to the Launch Pad! tile.  However, there are three ways to lose:  If any player reaches the skull and crossbones on their canteen or the on the Sand Storm meter, or if there are no more sand markers to add to the board.

CONCLUSION:  After reviewing Forbidden Island, and playing Forbidden Sky (expect a review on that one as well), I can confidently say that this is so far, my favorite version of the Forbidden series of games.  The flow feels a lot better, without losing the struggle of obtaining victory.  I would say the biggest problem I had was something a lot of co-op board games struggle with, and that's punishing a larger group than a smaller one.  It would make sense to go through a game with a full party and win more often than with 2 or 3 players, but it always seems like the opposite happens.  Still, this is a great game, and the best in the franchise, so go out and uncover your own copy today at your local game store.

Illinois James and the Elemental Treasures (Forbidden Island)

Tell me Sonny Jim, do you like adventure?  Do you like treasure?  Have I got the place for you, full of riches to make men's dreams come true, and danger to get your heart a-thumpin', and how! Don't be put off by the name, you certainly don't run the risk of drowning almost immediately once you land.  You'll be the big cheese once ya find that enormous fortune.  Come on down and purchase your ticket to the Forbidden Island!



GAME DESCRIPTION:  Forbidden Island is a co-operative game published by Gamewright.  Each Player is part of an expedition that is attempting to uncover all the treasures before the island sinks.

SET-UP:  Each player selects a Role card and their matching colored pawn.  Place the 4 different Treasure figures off the side.  Shuffle the Island Tiles and randomly place them face-up according to the design in the rules.  Place each player's colored pawn on their location indicated in the bottom right.  Each player is dealt 2 Treasure cards, which they keep face-up.  If a "Waters Rise!" card is dealt, shuffle them back in the deck and draw a new card.  Finally, reveal 6 Flood cards and flip over the matching Island Tiles, and set the Water Level to the appropriate difficulty.



ACTIONS:  Each player begins with 3 actions they can do each turn:

• Move to another adjacent tile horizontally or vertically (or diagonally if you're the Explorer, or to any space if you're the Pilot).
• Give a Treasure to a player if you're both on the same Tile.
• Shore up a tile, or flip a face-down tile back face-up adjacent to you horizontally or vertically (or diagonally again if you're the Explorer)
• Discard 4 matching Treasure cards to capture that Treasure, if you are on the matching tile indicated on the bottom right.  You may gather the Treasure if the tile is Flooded, or flipped over. You cannot if the tile is Sunk.

FLOODING/SUNK:  Tiles that are flipped face-down are Flooded.  If a Flooded Tile is drawn, it is Sunk.  You cannot move on the areas with Sunk Tiles (unless you are the Diver).  If a Tile is Sunk with a player on it, they move to any horizontal or vertical adjacent tile (or diagonally if you're the Explorer.

DRAWING:  Once you end your turn, draw 2 Treasure cards.  If you have more than 5 cards, you must discard down to 5.  If a Waters Rise! card is drawn, shuffle the Flood discard pile and place it on top of the deck, and raise the Water Level up one tick mark.  Then, reveal and flip over the Flood cards equal to the current Water Level.  If either the Flood or Treasure deck runs out, reshuffle the appropriate discard pile and place it as the deck.

ENDING:  There are 5 ways this game ends.  If the players manage to gather all 4 treasures and make it to the Fools' Landing, and someone has a Helicopter Lift card in their hand, the players win.  The players will lose if: 

1. Both of the Tiles you can gather Treasure at are Sunk and no-one has collected that Treasure.
2. The Fools' Landing Tile is Sunk.
3. If any player is on a Tile when it is Sunk and they cannot move to an adjacent tile.
4. If the Water Level reaches the top Skull & Crossbones symbol.

CONCLUSION:  Forbidden Island is hard, plain and simple.  It is always actively trying to kill you and make sure you can't win through luck or mis-plays.  There have been games that have ended on the first turn they began just because of bad luck.  That doesn't mean that the game is bad, just hard.  The really neat thing about this game is the co-operative element.  There are very few tabletop games that are truly co-operative, and even fewer have made it as compelling as Forbidden Island.  Plus, the rules are simple to understand, but allow for deep play with careful planning.  If you plan on playing, make sure it's with a group who can stand to lose over and over, because the victory will be that much sweeter.

Go Sushi, Go Sushi Go! (Sushi Go)

♪All around the Conveyor Belt, 
the Chopsticks chased the Sushi.
The sushi thought twas all in fun.  
Sushi Go in my mouth now.♪



GAME DESCRIPTION:  Sushi Go is a card game for 2-5 players, and was published by Gamewright.  The players are standing at a Sushi Restaurant, and can only take one dish at a time, so each player wants the tastiest combination of Sushi that they can get.

SET-UP:  Each player is dealt an set amount of cards, depending on the number of players.  2 players get 10 cards, whereas 5 players get 7 cards.  Set the deck aside, until the 2nd round starts.  Assign 1 player as the designated score-keeper.

TURNS:  Each turn, a player takes 1 card from their hand, and places it face-down in front of them.  Once all players have chosen a card, reveal them all.  Then, pass your hand to the next player.



CARDS:  Each card has a point value depending on specific circumstances, such as:

• Chopsticks:  If you have played this, you may call out "Sushi Go!", and place a 2nd card face-down.  Then, place this back in your hand.
• Tempura/Sashimi:  To score, you need a set of 2 Tempura or 3 Sashimi.  If you only have 1 Tempura, or 1-2 Sashimi, you score 0 points.  You may also have multiple sets of these cards for more points.
• Nigiri and Wasabi:  Each flavor of Nigiri scores a set amount of points. If you flip a Nigiri after you have a Wasabi face-up, you may place it on the Wasabi, and earn triple points on the Nigiri card.  The Wasabi is now used up, meaning you cannot use that Wasabi card to earn anymore points.
• Dumplings:  Dumplings give you points depending on the amount you have.  Once you reach 5, you can no longer gain points for Dumplings.
• Maki Roll:  The player with the most amount of Maki scores 6 points, with the player with the 2nd most scores 3.  Split any ties, rounded down, between those players who tied.
• Pudding:  The player with the most pudding scores 6 points, again splitting and rounding points between all players who may have tied.

WINNING:  Once all players have no cards, the round is over, and the cards points calculated, save for Puddings.  Then, discard all cards face-up next to the deck, again save for Puddings.  Each player is dealt a new hand, and the 2nd Round begins.  Once the 3rd round is over, score Puddings with all other points.  The player with the most points wins.  In case of ties, the player with the most Pudding cards wins.

CONCLUSION:  Sushi Go is a deceptively simple game.  The rules are simple, easy to learn, and the game plays fairly fast.  However, the fact remains that you can only play 1 card a turn, and you need to plan extremely carefully.  On top of this, there's the fact that this is a card game, meaning every hand is left up to chance.  If that sounds too stressful for you, and you don't like a lot of RNG and chance based games, pass on this one.  But, if you can accept the fact that you may get ridiculous sets of cards, and can work your strategy around that, then Sushi Go is one of the best card games I can recommend.