Game Daze Superstition Springs Mall Employee Recommendation, August 2011

Nanci -

A plane full of explorers crashes on a mysterious island said to hide a huge amount of gold. From the plane crash, the explorers go looking for the lost treasure. In the game, all the explorers must travel together for their safety. Instead of having individual pieces to move around the board, every player shares the same piece and bids on where to move. A player’s goal cards tell them where to go to collect treasure and their curse cards tell them where to stay away from if they want to keep their treasure. At the end of the game, the explorer with the most treasure is the winner!

This game is best played with people who like having fun.

Game Daze Arrowhead Towne Centre Manager Recommendation, May 2011

Bob -

Isla Dorada is a very different kind of treasure hunt game. Everyone has crashed onto the Isla Dorada, an island rumored to have vast treasures from long gone civilizations. Here you will be working to collect treasures without tipping off to your opponents what you're after. You will also have to balance your supply of gold which you will have to use to get yourself around the island to grab treasures.

The big and interesting part of the game is that everyone has to move to the same location. Every turn you will be bidding with your gold to influence the next destination on the island. Once you have won and convinced the party to go where you wanted, you then have to pay out for all the travel expenses. Hope that treasure was worth it!

The person at the end of the game with the most gold and treasure combined is the winner. Oh, but don't forget about trying to avoid curses, because those will count against you at the end of the game!

Game Daze Park Place Mall Manager Recommendation, April 2011

Drew -

The plane crash left you all shaken, but unharmed. The island you crashed on looks odd, with its crazy conglomeration of terrain, but you have head that great riches are out there, for those who dare to search for them. But you have also heard tales of the curses that lie in wait if you tread on sacred ground….so you decide it might be best to stick together, for now.

In Isla Dorada, your intrepid party of explorers has crash-landed on an island populated with strange peoples and covering several terrain types, from deserts to mountain passes to raging rivers. That’s not too different, but the way the players move is. Rather than each player moving separately, the players are a single expedition party which never splits up. So, players will bid to decide who will choose the path along which they will next travel. The island has various named locations on it and these are joined by different types of paths. Players take turns bidding (stating which path they will move the expedition along if they win) and the highest bidder gets their way. Players will need to pay for a successful bid using adventure cards from their hand and the cards must match the type of path being used, i.e. kayak cards to move along rivers, yak cards to travel mountain paths, and so on.

The goal is to score the most points. Each player starts with two treasure cards (worth positive points if the expedition visits the location written on the card) and a curse card (like a treasure card but worth negative points). Also, players have a destiny card which is a secret objective and worth bonus points at the end of the game if the task printed on the card is completed; for example, one destiny card requires a player to visit all the locations with names printed in white.

Isla Dorada was described by on reviewer one Boardgamegeek.com as “Ticket to Cosmic Citadels”, which describes it pretty well. It’s a fun family game with a great game mechanic and I’d recommend it as a great new game for game night.