| 👨👩👧👦 | Players: 2-5 |
| ⏳ | Time: 45 minutes |
| 🎂 | Ages: 8+ |
| ⚙️ | Mechanisms: Modular board, dice rolling, map reduction, take that, memory |
Survive: Escape from Atlantis is back with a new name – Survive the Island.
This reimplementation from Zygomatic Games is very much the same game we know and love, with a few key differences.
Can you Survive the Island?
In Survive the Island, you race to rescue your meeples from a sinking island before 3 volcanoes erupt. While escaping to the safety of another island, you must also avoid the kaiju, serpents, and sharks, lurking in the water looking for rafts to smash and meeples to eat.
Not all meeples make it to safety…
Under each meeple is a number (points when rescued), which can only be checked at the start of the game. Each turn players move their meeples, remove island tiles to sink the island, and roll a die to move sea monsters. On the back of each tile is an effect that triggers immediately, or an ability that can be used by the player later. Effects include events like the arrival of new sea monsters and abilities bestowed may be actions such as moving further.
Mmm tasty meeple. Nom nom!
To get the most enjoyment out of Survive the Island, you need to be prepared to embrace your inner sea monster and chomp on your friends’ meeples (hmm could I have phrased that better? Probably 😅). The point is, that you have to be okay with being a little mean. If ‘take that’ games aren’t your vibe, this game might not be for you.
If you’ve ever considered picking up Survive: Escape from Atlantis – Survive the Island is the same great game in a smaller box! This new version has a brighter colour scheme, which I love (okay, maybe the sharks could be a different colour?). The meeples (which look great) and die are now made of wood, the board is smaller (yay!) and the tiles are slightly thinner (but still nice and chunky, in my opinion).
Poor kaiju just looks like he needs a hug, but the meeples keep running away! 🥺
The biggest change most people will notice is the kaiju. This replaces the whale, and its mechanics are similar (with a twist). With only a few minor rule changes from the original, Survive the Island is a great option for families and those new to the hobby. If you already own Survive: Escape from Atlantis, maybe give this a pass, unless you want multiple copies of the same game. 😜
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got an island to sink and some meeples to eat! 🏝️🦈
You can see this post on Instagram here. For further information about Survive The Island, check out the publisher’s website.
The copy of Survive The Island used for this review was provided to Board All The Time by VR Distribution.
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