Robinson Crusoe: Escape from Despair Island

Description

“Never any young adventurer's misfortunes, I believe, began sooner, or continued longer than mine.” ― Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe In 1651 a young man leaves home for an adventure at sea. He soon finds himself at the mercy of the deadly waves and is left pleading with God to spare his life. Should he make it back alive, he vows never to leave dry land again. But even after his ship has been destroyed by the storm, he does not lose his longing for the sea. He embarks on another journey, only to be captured by pirates and enslaved. He is able to escape and is rescued off the coast of Africa. Years later, still unafraid despite everything he has been through, he boards a boat to bring slaves back from Africa. This time, however, he is not so lucky. He is shipwrecked on an island, 40 miles out to sea. He spends the next 28 years on this island, gathering food, resources, and tools, and battling against insurmountable odds to stay alive. He hunts, raises animals, reads the bible, and begins to turn his focus and attention inward. He becomes a man of God, and learns to accept his fate, growing spiritually. He realizes that he has everything he needs to survive and live in peace. “From this moment I began to conclude in my mind that it was possible for me to be more happy in this forsaken, solitary condition that it was possible I should ever have been in any other particular state in the world; and with this thought I was going to give thanks to God for bringing me to this place.” ― Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe This ancient tale it’s alive again! Robinson Crusoe returns in a dynamic card game that puts you directly in his tattered clothes. The game combines a unique blend of strategy and different game mechanisms. Collect cards that you may need later in the game, take your chances flipping cards to find what you need (but risk being attacked by cannibals or pirates), and buy and trade with other players. All cards are also dual purpose and act as your food cards when face down. Food is your currency, and is used up automatically at the rate of one food card played per turn, as well as in the form of payment to other players for their resources. Each. Round. Matters. With every draw, you can get cards that provide opportunities or setbacks, life or death. But the strategy is entirely up to you, after each player`s turn, a market phase begins, you can buy any card left on the table, but only if you can afford them. Every card has multiple uses. If it is placed down, it is a food card. If it is face up, it gives you the resource or skill shown. Game Setup The deck is shuffled and every player is dealt five cards face down. These cards represent the players food supply, with one card being equal to one day's worth of food. At the beginning of every turn, a player must discard one food card into the discard pile. If they happen to have the 'Friday' card in their possession, they will need to discard two (but they are then allowed to collect two food cards in times when every other player would collect one). This is the cost of playing the game and represents one day's food supply being used up. The game proceeds in a clockwise direction and includes two phases of play during each players’ turn - the exploration phase, and the market phase. The Exploration Phase The player proceeds to flip cards from the pile face up on the table. This is the exploration phase, and you can think of each flipped card as a new resource or ability your character has uncovered. A player can continue flipping cards until either (a) they decide to stop (see strategy guide), (b) they have flipped a total of ten cards, or (c) they flip a second threat card. If a second threat card is flipped, the player must then be able to defeat the greater of the two threats on the table (denoted by 1, 2, or 3 skulls in the top right corner of the card), by having the skills or resources listed on the card. If the player cannot defeat the threat, they take two food cards from the pile as a consolation prize and their turn is over. They do not get to keep any of the cards they have flipped. If the player is able to defeat the threat, the card is removed, and they can either continue drawing cards or take the indicated amount of food cards and add them to their pile. The player can stop and take their pick of cards at any time, but they can only take cards for which they have the requirements already in their pile, as denoted by the icons at the bottom of the card. If they have the 'Friday' card, they can pick two. After a maximum of ten cards have been flipped, the player whose turn it is chooses which card they are going to keep, leaving the remaining cards on the table for the other players to buy. Now the market phase can begin. The Market Phase Moving in a clockwise direction, all other players are then given the opportunity to buy any cards that are left from the exploration phase. The cost of each card is denoted by a number in the top right corner, which represents the number of food cards the buying player must then discard to acquire the card. On top of this number, the buying player must also give one food card to the selling player. If there is no number in the top right corner (as with the goat card) then the buying player does not need to discard any food cards, but they do still need to give the selling player one food card as payment. The market phase continues until all the cards have been bought or players do not want to buy any more. Any cards left on the table at the end of the market phase are then placed in the discard pile. Game Ends The game continues playing until one of the following three scenarios is reached: 1. A player is able to make a campfire 2. A player is able to escape the island 3. A player has reached a certain amount of victory points (depending on the number of players in the game) and they also possess the Wise Man card If none of these scenarios are reached, play continues until players have gone through the deck of cards twice, and everyone has taken an equal number of turns. Whoever has the most victory points wins. Just as there could be multiple ways to escape from a desert island, there are multiple strategies you can use to win the game. You can set your sights on building a boat, but you will need to find Friday and teach him how to help you. You could draw the attention of a rescue ship, but you will need to become a man of God first, and find wood and gunpowder to build a fire. Finally, you can pray and read to become a wise man, and build up your victory points to beat the other players. Step inside this ancient tale and steer your own fate in: “Robinson Crusoe: Escape From Despair Island” “And thus I left the island, the 19th of December, as I found by the ship’s account, in the year 1686, after I had been upon it eight-and-twenty years, two months, and nineteen days;” ― Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe Don't lose this chance to become a true adventurer!