sevorges

Isla Dorada is a light game with grand components which makes it ideal for playing with the family.

The game is driven by cards. In your hand you have travel, destiny and treasure cards. The destiny and treasure cards show the locations a player wants to move to as this is how the points are collected on the cards. The travel cards are used to bid to move the expedition with the biggest set of travel cards winning the move. The travel cards are used for different paths (water, desert, jungle) so you are limited by the paths from your current location and the amount of cards you have collected for movement down that path type. You can’t win every bid and it is more about steering the expedition toward locations you want rather than being able to force it there every turn. The fun is in trying to work out where others are wanting to go and preventing that from happening while moving to your target destinations. Oh, and there are curse cards that show locations that will give a player negative points if the expedition goes there.

Kaleljorson7 compares the game to Ticket to Ride which I believe is slightly misleading. While the setup and board look similar, in that it is card driven and has locations connected by paths, the game is more chaotic and promotes more interaction between players as everyone moves the same piece. A lot of speculation about where other players want to go to influence the bidding can be very amusing. After every move everyone gets a new card and mixed in the travel cards are special action cards. These can make a significant difference and allow ‘take that’ play to reign in leading players. Ticket to Ride allows the players more control and no discussion is necessary while Isla Dorada requires negotiation skills.

It’s a brilliant looking game that is fun for those who do not need total control or information in a game.