Co-op tabletop games are a rare breed. Usually even games that are co-op have some sort of traitor or enemy element where one person plays against everyone else, sometimes even in secret. But Forbidden Island is a true blue co-op game. 2-4 players work together to find treasure while trying to keep said island from sinking into the sea before they can get off it.

Thematically it goes like this. You can your fellow adventurers have come to this island in search of mythical treasure. However the island has been cursed, so the instant your party steps foot on the island to claim the treasure it begins to sink! It’s then a race against time as you move around the island, shoring up sinking areas while trying to collect the 4 treasures. Then, the entire party meets back at the helipad and gets off safely before the entire island sinks into the sea.

The board is made up of 24 tiles that are laid out in a diamond pattern in random order to represent the areas of the island at the start of the game. Each tile represents a different location like the “Cliffs of Abandon” or “Tidal Palace.” They remind me of a 50′s era adventure, they all have really fantastic art and names. The gorgeous pictures on the tiles really helped draw me into the mindset of being on this island, and I had fun imagining my friends and I getting in and out of close calls while we tried to secure both the treasure and the island.

Each tile has a corresponding card that make up what they call the flood deck. At the end of each person’s turn a few cards are turned over in that deck representing which tiles need to be flooded. If the area is totally dry then it’s tile is flipped over to represent that it’s taking on water. If the tile is already flipped and the card comes up again then the tile sinks and is out of the game.

In addition to each turn ending with flipping over flood cards, each player will also receive 2 treasure cards that have one of 4 treasure pictures on them (or a few special ability cards), for example a Chalice or Lion Statue. The goal is to get 4 matching cards, get to one of the tiles that has that treasure logo on it, and discard them to acquire the treasure. It doesn’t matter which player gets them. You just need the group to have all 4 before you can leave the island.

Unfortunately buried in that treasure card deck are the cards that will make your time on the island less than paradise. Hidden throughout the treasure deck are “Waters Rise” cards and when they come up a few bad things happen. First the base water level rises (this determines how many flood cards are drawn at the end of every turn), then the flood deck discards are shuffled and put back on top of the flood deck (increasing the chances that tiles already flooded will come up a second time). It’s this mechanic that will stop you from keeping the flooding under control, it compounds and speeds up while you’re trying to work.

So you’ll spend your time shoring up areas, trading cards with each other to make matching sets, and trying to decide which tiles you’re going to just let sink into the deep blue. The most important tile is Fool’s Landing which is the helipad off the island, if it sinks you lose immediately. You’ll also need to make sure you keep a path to it alive as well since players can’t move through sunken areas, so as the island vanishes you’ll need to at least keep enough of the island up to have an escape route!

The tension is guaranteed since even in the novice level game there’s just no way to keep the island from sinking on you. While it’s easy to stay ahead of flooding areas for the first couple of turns it quickly gets out of hand. It goes from having it totally under control, to letting a few areas sink to save others, to it being a mad dash to get off the island before it all sinks. It’s fun to imagine thematically speaking running around this island getting the treasure and trying to survive to make it out alive. It has a very Indiana Jones-ish feel to it.

This while game system is similar to another co-op game called Pandemic. In that game you’re trying to cure diseases and the flood deck is replaced with an infection deck, and instead of water levels there are outbreaks. Forbidden Island is a simplified version of that game, but I think just as fun for different reasons. I like the mad dash nature of Forbidden Island while Pandemic is a bit slower and more methodical, even as the situation gets more and more dire.

I had read before that co-op games were good games to introduce to non-gamers since they’re not competitive or confrontational, and in my experience I think I can agree with that. My wife likes games but doesn’t play nearly as many as me so when we play against each other it can be a bit lopsided, but teaming us up fixes that. Now it’s us against the game, which is loads of fun. With 4 people it requires constant communication and planning to pull of a win. In both the 2 player and 4 player games is came down very close to the wire, when it was just the wife and I we got of the island with about 1 turn to spare! It was pretty exciting to say the least and left us with a good feeling of accomplishment at having won together.

At such a low retail price point ($15-$20) the game has some fantastic components. The treasures are all unique and well detailed, and the tiles are a VERY thick cardboard. Plus the whole thing comes in a very nice tin. In fact between game mechanic, component quality and price I have nothing bad at all to say about Forbidden Island.