Jeff

Trying to play with my young kids, I’ve been trying more co-operative games because a.) you can walk them through the decisions a bit more b.)everybody wins or loses together. I think Forbidden Island strikes the best balance for family gaming for anybody under, say 12. With teenagers, there are better options (Pandemic, of course) but Forbidden Island is still fun even with four adults.

Pros:
1. Great looking
2. Fun theme
3. Tremendous replay with the variable board and roles. A google search will find you even more fan produced variants for island set up and roles
4. Turns move quickly without a ton of down time. Big plus my kids.
5. Plays really well as 1 player, where you can control 2 roles.
6. VALUE!! I paid $15 and I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten a better new game under $20. It would be a fair price at twice the cost.

Cons:
1. Other reviewers are correct, its not difficult. Losses are rare and the losses often feel unearned when you simply hit the skull on the waters rise meter or draw water rise cards quickly.
2. It does seem to encourage the over-talking bossy leader aspect more than other Co-ops for some reason. Maybe its the brief turns?

Some other reviews here and elsewhere suggest you can play this game with kids as young as 5. I took that advice and hoped, but after a few games I think preschool is a bit too young. It certainly works because you can walk them through, but they aren’t as engaged. The box suggests 10+ and I’d say 8 might be closer to it, give or take.

At such a low cost and quick game time, I’d recommend this for any family game night, as an introduction to co-op board gaming, and even for all but the most hardened strategy snob, as a fun co-op filler. Its not the greatest co-op, but still a lot of fun, and again, you can’t beat that price.

The real value here is you can play Catan solo. But, the flip side there is you realize Catan suffers a bit w/o the social factor of playing with people.

And, as others said, the UI is oddly out of date. It looks like a Sega Genesis adaptation of the game. Having tried to play the game at Catan’s website, I know its an IOS version of the same, but that’s not a compliment. And, its not just the appearance, controlling the action can be frustrating. Sometimes doing what you don’t want, sometimes unable to do what you intend.

I’ve got it on my phone, so maybe a 7″ or bigger screen helps.

If you like the board game, and I do, its fun enough. When I’ve some time, I play it. But there are better games for a lower price.

Pros:
Great game presentation on the small screen
Great pace. I can play a single player game in 10 minutes.
Decent AI
Great game, obviously

Cons:
Menus are annoying. There is one screen to many to get to the game, and that screen is a constant advert to buy the Europe version and expansions.
Either both maps US + Europe or both the US map and 1810 expansion should have been included at the base price. I feel nickel and dimed once I get into the game.
W/O spending more, the single player replay diminishes.

But, pros really outweigh the cons. Recommended if you like the board game, for sure.