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Forbidden Desert

September 21, 2017

My household loves cooperative games. One of our favorites is Forbidden Desert. While it shares some concepts with Forbidden Island—you need to collect items and escape before nature swallows your party—it adds some mechanics that make it a much different game.

 

In Forbidden Desert, your party has crashed and needs to reassemble parts of its airship in order to escape. In this game, the tiles themselves shift each turn. You can’t predict which direction the sand storm will blow. The desert has three ways to kill you: thirst, being buried by the sand, or being swept away. Cruel, cruel desert. It makes it much more difficult to win—and who doesn’t love a good challenge?

Because there are so many ways to lose, your party needs to frequently change strategy. This really helps make sure all players are involved in decision-making. Do I dig under a tile to see if there’s a piece we need, or do I clear out a nearby tile before a teammate is buried? What was the clear answer the previous turn may no longer be an option. 

Because of the growing intensity of the sandstorm, the game moves quickly. We enjoy being kept on our toes as we try to escape in time.


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