Forbidden Island

1 Overview

Forbidden Island is a cooperative adventure game for 2 to 4 players designed by Matt Leacock and published by Gamewright. Players are adventurers on a sinking island, racing to collect four ancient treasures and escape by helicopter before the island goes completely underwater. It is a streamlined, accessible gateway to the cooperative game genre.

Designed as a lighter introduction to Pandemic (same designer), Forbidden Island plays in 30 to 45 minutes, costs under $20, and works for ages 10 and up. An ideal first cooperative game for families or new gamers.

2 Components

• 24 island tiles (double-sided: normal / flooded)
• 28 Treasure cards
• 24 Flood cards
• 15 adventurer cards (6 role cards, 6 pawns, 3 cards per role for reference)
• 4 treasure figurines (Earth Stone, Statue of Wind, Crystal of Fire, Ocean's Chalice)
• Water meter and marker
• 1 helicopter pad tile

3 Setup

1. Randomly place 24 island tiles face-up in a cross/diamond pattern on the table.
2. Each player draws one adventurer card (determining their role and special ability) and places their pawn on their role's starting tile.
3. Shuffle the Flood deck and deal 6 Flood cards -- flip those 6 island tiles to their flooded (blue) side.
4. Each player draws 2 Treasure cards. Shuffle remaining Treasure cards and place them face-down.
5. Place the Water Meter on the agreed difficulty level (Novice/Normal/Elite/Legendary).

4 Round Structure

On your turn, take these actions in order:

1. Take up to 3 actions (choose from): Move to adjacent tile, Shore Up a flooded tile (flip it back to normal), Give a Treasure card to another player on the same tile, Capture a Treasure (discard 4 matching Treasure cards on the correct island tile).
2. Draw 2 Treasure cards. If you draw a Waters Rise! card: raise the Water Meter one step, reshuffle the Flood discard back to the top of the Flood deck, and draw it as a Treasure card draw.
3. Flip Flood cards equal to the current Flood rate (shown on Water Meter). Flooded tiles that are drawn again sink (remove from game). Sunk tiles cannot be shored up.

5 Adventurer Roles

6 Flooding and Sinking

When a Flood card is drawn:

• If the tile is face-up (normal): Flip it to its flooded (blue water) side.
• If the tile is already flooded: Remove it from the game entirely. That tile has sunk.

If a player is on a tile that sinks, they must immediately swim to an adjacent tile. If no adjacent tile is accessible, that player is lost -- the team loses.

Waters Rise! cards make the Flood Rate increase, drawing more Flood cards each turn. At higher water levels, multiple flood cards are drawn per round, and the island deteriorates rapidly.

7 Winning and Losing

Win: Collect all 4 treasures, get all players to the Fool's Landing (helicopter pad) tile, and play a Helicopter Lift card from that tile.

Loss conditions (any one triggers a loss):

• Either treasure-specific island tile sinks before that treasure is captured
• Fool's Landing (helicopter pad) sinks
• Any player cannot swim to safety when their tile sinks
• Water Meter reaches the skull

8 Strategy Guide

Shore Up Treasure Tiles First

Each treasure can only be captured from one of two specific island tiles. If both sink, you lose even if you have the cards. Protect treasure tiles above all other tiles.

Fool's Landing Is Critical

If Fool's Landing sinks, the game ends immediately -- no escape is possible. It should be shored up whenever it's flooded, at almost any cost.

Engineer Is the Most Valuable Role

Shoring up two tiles per action is extremely efficient. The Engineer should stay near the most threatened tiles and shore up every turn the situation demands it.

Hold the Helicopter Lift Card

Don't play Helicopter Lift cards for movement if you can avoid it. You need at least one to win. The Messenger is the best role for collecting and holding Helicopter Lifts since they can pass cards freely.

9 FAQ

10 Difficulty Levels

Forbidden Island uses a Flood Meter to set game difficulty. The starting position of the Water Level Marker determines how quickly floods accelerate:

• Novice (position 1): Slow flooding, forgiving pace. Recommended for first-time players and families with younger children (ages 10+). Most groups succeed on their first Novice attempt.
• Normal (position 2): The intended experience as designed. Flooding is steady but manageable with good communication. Most groups succeed on Normal within their first 2–3 games.
• Elite (position 3): Flooding accelerates faster and treasure tiles can sink before collection if the team is not well-coordinated. Suitable for experienced groups who have completed Normal multiple times.
• Legendary (position 4): The water rises nearly every round. Requires near-optimal play from every player plus favorable luck. Even veteran cooperative game players frequently lose at Legendary. A legitimate achievement to win at this level.

The Water Level rises each time the Flood discard pile is reshuffled. Critically, previously flooded tiles appear in the Flood draw pile again — causing them to flood a second time and sink permanently. This acceleration mechanic creates a late-game crisis that requires increasingly urgent shoring-up.

11 Common Mistakes

• Under-prioritizing Fool's Landing: Fool's Landing is the single most critical tile in the game — if it sinks, the entire team loses immediately, regardless of treasures collected. Shore it up proactively even before it shows signs of flooding. Treat it like a player who must survive.
• Not shoring up early enough: Flooded tiles can sink on the very next Flood card draw if they appear again. Make shoring up a routine part of every player's action economy. The Engineer role (shores up 2 tiles for 1 action) is the most efficient defensive tool in the game.
• Ignoring treasure tile flooding: If both tiles associated with a specific treasure are sunk before the treasure is collected, the game is immediately lost. Monitor which treasure tiles are threatened and openly communicate treasure collection priorities — Forbidden Island is fully cooperative and all hand information can and should be shared.
• Hoarding cards instead of coordinating: Cards must be passed to teammates on the same tile (except via the Messenger role). Collecting 5 cards of one treasure type alone is common beginner mistake — coordinate early so multiple players contribute to each treasure collection.
• Forgetting Shoring Up costs only 1 action: New players often think defensive moves are expensive. Shore Up costs just 1 of your 3 actions per turn. Spending 1 action to save a critical tile is almost always correct.