Fear Is the Mind-Killer: A Review of Forbidden Desert

/
Fear Is the Mind-Killer: A Review of Forbidden Desert

By FirestoneThe storm is relentless—making movement, visibility, and clear thought impossible. The water is nearly gone, but so are you. You decide to drain the last of it, but just before you put the bottle to your cracked lips you see a dark outline through the sandstorm. A cave!

Forbidden Desert is the follow-up to Matt Leacock's hit cooperative game Forbidden Island. Is it just the same game with a new setting? Or is there something more to explore here...?

Read More

What You Missed...

/

PandemicWe've got some great things coming up for the site—including some Best Of 2012 awards. In the meantime, here are some posts from this week that you might have missed.

First we told you about a new, cheaper version of Reiner Knizia's Ingenious from Fantasy Flight Games. And Jeremiah has already spotted one of these in his local Books-A-Million store.

Z-Man Games announced a new version of Pandemic. This will have a new art style, and two new roles. Check out the news, and designer Matt Leacock's announcement video here.

We reviewed Asmodee's fun, creative, family game Dixit.

We shared some news about 12 Realms being printed in Germany to save shipping for those across the pond.

Our Kickstarter Weekly was the new 4x space game Hegemonic.

And finally, Wizkids gave us some more details about The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game.

Next week we'll have a Double-Take Review of Mayfair's Catan Jr. Thanks for reading!

Z-Man Celebrates 5 Years of Pandemic with a New Edition

/

PandemicZ-Man games announced, on their Web site and Facebook page, a new edition of Matt Leacock's fantastic co-op game, Pandemic. The game features all-new artwork, along with two new Roles: the Contingency Planner and the Quarantine Specialist. The On The Brink expansion has also been redesigned to match the new artwork. The Z-Man page says that for those who own the original game, there will be a compatibility pack that will allow you to play the new edition of On The Brink with your old edition of Pandemic. The last surprise was the hint of a new expansion—called In The Lab, where "you will be transported inside a biotechnology lab in search of a cure. Put your lab coats on and get ready to look for a cure!" My big concern is whether there will be a compatibility pack for this expansion, too.

The new edition hits stores in February, and the On The Brink expansion should follow shortly afterward.

Here's a video of designer Matt Leacock talking about the new game.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9xYUfVZNXX4]

Sounds great! Thanks for reading!

Take a Trip to the Forbidden Desert!

/

Gamewright has announced a new game on their blog: Forbidden Desert—a sequel to their hit game Forbidden Island from designer Matt Leacock. Gamewright's Jason Schneider says, "One of the key challenges we posed to inventor Matt Leacock was to create a game that would contain familiar elements while offering up a completely different in-game experience. In addition, we wanted it to be simultaneously approachable to new players while upping the ante for those who felt they had mastered Forbidden Island.” forbidden_desert_promo_webThe game will include:

  • 49 cards
  • 48 sand markers
  • 24 tiles
  • 6 pawns
  • 5 water level markers
  • 4 flying machine parts
  • 1 flying machine model
  • 1 sand storm meter
  • 1 stand storm meter stand
  • 1 sand storm level marker
  • Rules of play

Players: 2-5 Ages: 10+ Playing time: 45 minutes

Forbidden Island is a big hit in the Isley and Firestone households, and we can't wait to see what Leacock has in store for us in this sequel. The game is scheduled to drop in the Spring, and have an MSRP of $24.99. Thanks for reading!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FYuF2gLKy3c]