Designer: Matt Leacock
Publisher: Gamewright
Players: 2-5
Ages: 8+
Time: 30 minutes
Times played: 6 (with review copy provided by Gamewright)
I love Aaron Sorkin when he’s writing in “full-on rant” mode:
Lewis: People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they’ll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They’re so thirsty for it they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.
The President: Lewis, we’ve had presidents who were beloved, who couldn’t find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don’t drink the sand because they’re thirsty. They drink the sand because they don’t know the difference.
from the film THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT
In the case of Forbidden Desert, they drink the sand because, well, it’s everywhere.
Ah, yes, Forbidden Desert – the much-anticipated “sequel” to Matt Leacock’s family-oriented cooperative game hit, Forbidden Island. Evidently, your success at rescuing the treasures has inspired you & your team to travel into the deepest desert to find a fabled lost city – and a marvelous flying ship.
Of course, things go wrong. (Cue up the chaos theory speech from Jurassic Park.) Your helicopter crashes… just as a wicked sandstorm blows into the area. Your only hope is to complete your mission and reconstruct the flying ship to use an escape vehicle.
In the midst of a growing sandstorm and the blazing heat of the desert sun, you must find the four missing pieces of the ship, bring them to the launch pad, and fly away to safety.
immediately ordered a copy … and have since purchased a second copy since my first one is darned near worn out! Families, friends, church groups … all have thoroughly enjoyed the game and many have purchased their own copies. That is the sign of a good and popular game.
