CortOLaw

In theory this is a co-op game but in reality this is a solo puzzle game. The rules are dense, poorly written, and part of the struggle with the game. The art and components are top notch. Once you understand it, it is a blast. But it takes a while to play a game (and that is even if you don’t count the substantial setup time on this thing). The game works beautifully with any number of players in theory but given that in most co-op environments an “alpha” player would just start bossing people around…likely best played as a solo game. If you enjoy (or frankly are in a situation where you have no choice but to) solo play, this is the game to add to your collection.

DOWNLOAD THE TURN SEQUENCE CHEAT SHEET…watch a play through on youtube…and then enjoy this fantastic game.

This is an extremely light game with cute art and a simple drafting mechanism. The scoring is a little wonky but young kids can understand the game well enough to play even if they cant total their own score. Game plays very fast once every one knows the rules and you can get a complete 3 round game in under 15 minutes easily. The soy sauce add on cards are highly recommended to add a little depth (with soy this game is an 8).

I highly recommend watching a video “play through” instead of attempting to grok this form the rule book. Once you have seen it, it plays fast for this type of game and is a ton of fun. About 40-50 mins per player in the game is the norm with the fist game taking closer to 60 minutes a player. Solo play is also an option. It has a built in handicapper allowing less skilled (or experienced) a fighting chance.

Downside…the art is not as strong as I would prefer and I wish the card backs had greater contrast for easier post game sorting. Needs more starting civilizations (5 in base box) (the expansion is supposed to add more)

You are pirates looking for a lost treasure on an island filled with dinosaurs and cannibals. The mechanics is play a card to hose your neighbor (have a t-rex attack them or a group of villagers steal some of their crew)..combat is dice based with crew numbers being both your attack strength and your health. You have a first mate with a special ability but all other crew are generic pirates. You are searching the island for the markers on the map to your treasure (and yes there are more then one hidden treasures on this same island)…once you get enough map makers you get to dig for the treasure and try to escape the island before you are killed or it sinks.

The game is likely slightly too hard for its target audience (5-8 year olds) but with a little help it can be played by them. It is a good game for 9-15 year olds and it playable by adults.

The rules work (at the 2-3 player level) more players would likely make for two long of wait between turns. It is a little to easy to get behind and if any player gets “picked” on early they can be out of the running quickly with no real chance to win or even come close. The game would likely work better if there was only one treasure and you had to deduce form other players actions where it might be buried and risk digging in the wrong spot. I think the captains in addition to the first mate should have some sort of “power” to have more replay value. The game components are fine but compared to AAA production values found in some games they are slightly lacking.