elctrc

To begin, I love this game. I purchased it initially because it looked gorgeous and you could play with a large group. It didn’t hurt that it came with a bunch of miniatures that needed a good paint job. It took a few weeks, but my wife and I managed to make a pretty colorful and lifelike set of minis to play with. I think this enhanced the game greatly, but that might just be due to my own personal aesthetic (I like D&D minis afterall).

The Goal: To escape the Temple with your life and treasure (if you’re lucky), before your fellow adventurers.

The Game: You choose your character (or have one chosen at random) and attempt to navigate an Indiana Jones-esque cavern without getting smashed by boulders, squished by walls that close-in, drowned in a pool, or scorched by lava. You do this by choosing your steps carefully. Some actions might bring you closer to the goal in less time, but they come with risks.

One of my favorite areas right from the start, is the room with the walls that threaten to squash you with every turn. You can gain valuable clues (to a later puzzle) by sticking around and inspecting the walls, but if you hang around too long, you just might get flattened.

There are more puzzles along the way, and a few that can be bypassed by choosing an alternate route (you can avoid the treacherous river only by crossing the rickety bridge).

Overall, it is a fun group game — you can outwit your opponents by scooting ahead, setting the bridge to collapse on your friends; hop from rock to rock while they plummet to their doom below; narrowly escape the rolling boulder as it flattens your fellow adventurer.

Just don’t forget to collect some treasure along the way — just in case one of your friends manages to escape with you, you’ll want some extra loot to secure your victory!