Board Game Review: Treasure Island
Treasure Island is a board game for 2-5 hours players, inspired by the book of the same name. All but one player are the pirates, the mutinied crew of Long John Silver, scouring the island looking for his treasure. The other player plays as Long John Silver himself, providing the players with clues as to where the treasure is that may or may not be true. As the game progresses, the pirates will move around the island, drawing on the board with wet erase markers, attempting to dig up the lost loot. These pirates only have a couple of weeks to find it before Silver escapes his tower prison and moves to secure the gold for himself!
The game begins with Long John Silver hiding the treasure by placing an X on the small map they have behind a small screen. Throughout the game, Silver will lay out cards giving clues as to the location, such as telling the pirates that one of them is within six miles (measured out as inches), or that it is north of one of the pirates. However, they’ll also put a token face down with that clue. If there’s a checkmark on the underside, they’re telling the truth. If it’s a question mark, it could be a lie.
The players can perform actions, such as moving the their miniatures around the island, or drawing small circles to dig up a plot of land to see if the treasure is there. As they do, lines and circles will begin covering the map, narrowing down where the treasure may be. Each player gets a set of unique actions, such as a pet monkey who can dig anywhere on the map, or a fast horse who can move at greater speed, allowing you to more widely vary your searches.
The players will work together, pooling their minds to try to figure out where the gold is buried, while keeping notes behind their own screens, because only one player may win the game. You’ll work together until you feel like you truly know the location, then begin squirreling away facts as you try to find the gold yourself.
Long John Silver will eventually escape. At that point, he provides no further clues other than where he is moving to. As Silver, you’ll try to get to your treasure before anyone else can dig it up.
I sat down and played it with Bridget and the kids, playing the part of Silver myself. They narrowed it down, assuming I had placed the treasure on one particular set of islands just off the coast of the big island, but when I broke out, I began moving away from those islands. They scrambled to try to figure out where I could actually be going, but I doubled back and claimed the treasure on the smallest of those islands they suspected. The turn before, Gabe had circled an area to search, but just NARROWLY avoided circling the island I had buried it, as you can see here.
Treasure Island is a ton of fun! I highly recommend it. I love getting to actually draw on the board, providing deceptive clues, trying to outwit your opponents while trapped away in a prison cell, and exploring the island’s many features.
The art in the game is top notch. The map is evocative and beautiful. The clear acrylic markers and templates are very high quality, and the miniatures are all great quality. This is a game I could definitely see getting pulled out very frequently at game night. Definitely check it out.
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