The Island of the Doomed
Theme: (8 out of 10) Atlantis is doomed. Religious lines divide the population. Players (acting as the population) worship different gods and fight each other in order to destroy the other players (populations). This is accomplished by creating disasters, but any player (population) that escapes the island on boats is safe and unharmed. To this end, the gods must ensure the safety of their worshipers. The goal is to get as many people on boats as possible and get them away from the doomed island.
Originality: (4 out of 10) Where have we seen this scenario before? “The island is gonna go ballistic and we need to leave before it does—hopefully, the gods will let us get off of here before we get toasted!”
Cohesiveness: (10 out of 15) This game can be played by up to 5 players. Everything works well together. There are just enough playing components to make it manageable and interesting without overdoing it. Set-up is easy and quick. The overall goal is uncomplicated. The play is well paced and interesting—good for some laughs as you try to accomplish your “mission” before getting zapped.
Components: (5 out of 5) Because this game leans toward simplicity, the components lend themselves well to this approach. The graphics are un-crowded and clean. No overuse of detail by any stretch. The playing cards are laid-out in a very readable font and simple to refer to. No tiny or hard to read copy here. The rules can easily fit on the front and back of a single 8 ½” x 11” sheet, perfect for slipping into the game packaging without wasting space. The components make for a compact “take anywhere” game.
Fun: (15 out of 25) This game has good replay value--a great beer and pretzels game. It can be fun for 2, or up to the maximum of 5 players. A good variety of disasters await the players such as earthquakes, sinkholes, tidal waves, fire, plague, and more (and the disasters can come in multiples as well!). Even though it seems all is against you, you can still get a “helping hand” by drawing the right card—after all, you’ll take whatever help you’re offered! The only sticking point is perhaps that the game needs a more original approach (possibly nix the Atlantis concept) and make up some crazy island name and peoples to populate it. This could bring an even higher level of fun to the game as the people try to overcome their weird tendencies and/or habits, while trying to evacuate the island. Nothing like having some social flaw make your day miserable and then the gods come down on you too.
Total: 42 out of 65
(Posted on behalf of Wolf)
-Darke
[Formatting repaired]
Wow, thanks for the feedback and suggestions. This game was put together fairly quickly (though not in two days like the Frog game) and sent in just before I came to Japan (still here). There wasn't a lot of playtesting. When the deadline for entries was put back a bit and I was asked to resubmit it for some reason, I was able to make a few changes and send it in again (with some great graphics by Don Bone. Thanks again, Don.)
Just a correction - the players play the Gods of the population on the island, which I think I said wasn't necessarily Atlantis. :wink: The Gods are trying to get the people who worship them off the island.
Once a month I go to a boardgame playing meeting here, so maybe I should make up a new set for the guys to try (in Japanese). Actually, I'm concentrating on my Japanese word card game which has undergone some major simplifications since I've had the guys play it a few times (it was at 144 cards, now 80 ... and I can play it too!). I think it's fairly close to being at a finding-a-publisher phase.
Verti