Shiver me timbers! Don’t miss our review of the board game to satisfy your group’s pirate side! Check out Treasure Island!
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Treasure Island is a 2-5 player game designed by Marc Paquien and published by Matagot. The game features awesomely gorgeous artwork by Vincent Dutrait. A typical game can be played in 45 minutes.
Treasure Island: $59.99
Get yours for less at Miniature Market
Long John Silver is your prisoner; it’s time to find his treasure. Follow the hints he gives you, then draw your moves and your search areas directly on the board. But beware, the old pirate is devious and will not hesitate to mislead you! Will you find the treasure before he escapes?
Play as John Silver
• Hide the treasure
• Choose your hints
• Bluff the pirates
Play as a Pirate
• Take part in a scavenger hunt
• Use your special actions
• Find the treasure first
Contents:
1 Island Board
1 Calendar Board
5 Screens
4 Character Sheets
1 Long John Silver’s Mini-map
4 Mini-maps
4 Memo Sheets
1 Chest & Treasure Token
6 Chest Tokens
8 Information Tokens
11 District Hints
8 Compass Hints
7 Starting Hints
11 Black Spot Hints
4 Turn-order Tokens
1 Sticker Sheet
2 Mini-rulers
5 Markers
6 Tools
‣ Caliper
‣ Ruler
‣ Smaller Search
‣ Large Search
‣ Small Compass
‣ Large Compass
Ages: 10+
Players: 2-5
Game Length: 45 minutes
Note: Published by Matagot; distributed by Asmodee North America.
Treasure Island Board Game: Go on a Treasure Hunt
This game is based on the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Most of the players will either be playing as one of Long John Silver’s crew trying to squeeze the whereabouts of the hidden treasure. The last player will take on the role of Long John Silver himself. Your goal is to mislead your mutinying crew in order to escape and take the treasure for yourself.
The game rounds take place on days of a calendar. Each day a different pirate will take a turn and Long John Silver will perform certain clues or tasks. Each pirate player will get to either move, search, or perform a once per game action. Every pirate also has a unique ability not shared by anyone else. They will continue to deduce and search until one of them finds the hidden treasure. The entire game board is dry erase so you will be drawing on the map with various tools such as a compass and search templates.
Upon reaching the fourth day, Long John Silver is thrown into one of the various dungeon towers on the island. The exact one is decided by the pirates. Ideally, they want to hopefully pick the one furthest from the treasure. The reason for this is once the 17th day rises, Long John Silver escapes. His goal is to make it to the treasure spot before the pirates do so he can win.
I was blown away by the presentation of Treasure Island. The components are beautiful, the artwork is phenomenal, and the gameplay is wonderful and clever. I had a fantastic time playing as Long John Silver. It was challenging to not give away the treasure’s location as the game forces you to give clues. It is so very satisfying to throw everyone off the trail of the correct spot. You do get to bluff (or not) two of the clues which at the point you have that option makes your information untrustworthy.
The asymmetrical play style of the different pirates gives quite a bit of replay value as well. The fact that you draw on the game board itself makes it feel like a fun activity and really draws you into the fantasy that the game is building. Even the game box has a hidden compartment for the different pieces which makes it more thematic. The miniatures also look outstanding.
Treasure Island is a fantastic game for beginners as well as seasoned gamers. I’d definitely recommend it for families as well. There is a great amount of deduction and storytelling flavor in this one. If you’re in the mood to try something a little more unique then check out Treasure Island, you won’t regret it.
