review
Out of the deluge into Space
Forbidden Sky
We escape with the rocket
We have already presented Forbidden Sky in issue WIN 526. As it is our winner of the the award Spiel der Spiele 2019, our new jury member Thomas Bareder takes a closer look at the game.
2008 humankind was threatened by world-wide epidemics and had to be saved. Afterwards, we first salvaged archeological find from flooding (Forbidden Island) and later from sandstorm (Forbidden Desert). Finally, we travelled to the future and saved ourselves in the guise of advanced Mole Rats from Space Snakes that had overrun our space station (Space Escape). On the way back to our timeline we caught an emergency call - an antigrav platform is threatened by a space storm. What does Matt Leacock have in store for us this time?
The research station Kopernikus 07 had to be evacuated - all personnel but the rescue team are safe! Whoosh! “A mega lightning stroke has destroyed the last glider - the maintenance rocket is the last resort! But the electricity generator is destroyed!” “So, we need to set up a circuit and start with lightning energy, this is our only chance.”
We need to find the rocket platform, capacitors and lightning rods, set them up and connect them with power wires. We begin at the starting platform and explore Kopernikus 07 by laying out various tiles. In our mission, we come across teleporting units and Faraday cages which facilitate movement and protect against lightning; there are barriers against storm and helpful equipment cards for First Aid sets, conduit robots or even a time brake. But it is not enough to go exploring, you must already simultaneously begin to set up the circuit, or time will run out.
All that poses more of a challenge than expected, because capacitors must be close enough - the wire pieces cannot be varied in length and you must keep the setting-up of a working electricity circuit in mind when positioning tiles.
The storm gets stronger!
On top of all that - making everything more difficult - you need to draw weather cards after each turn, and they can get murderous, if you take too much of a risk!
High Winds, for instance, moves all adventurers one step to an adjacent case. Woe to you, if you are next to the abyss, the direction of the wind is wrong and the rope, which is getting more and more frazzled, cannot take your weight anymore.
Lightning is not much better, because Lightning Strikes! causes damage and even death. Storm intensifies raises the general wind intensity marker, which keeps aggravating the situation, as you need to draw more and more wind cards. When the marker reaches the end of the track, all adventurers are blown off the platform and neither gravitation grapple hooks or a rocket backpack are of any help - that’s it, friends, or more accurately, that’s the end!
But all that needs not to happen, if we make effective use of our special abilities: The electrician can, after all, place an additional conduit, the doctor can heal, the mountaineer can take a companion along and the Knotsmith can repair a rope. The Navigator has a very special job - he can navigate the adventures through the storm and counteract calamities.
If we really manage at the end to close the circuit and get all on board of the starting platform, the tension rises once again: The circuit is a real one and the rocket glows and blinks and gives off lift-off sounds - but, however, only if the the circuit has been positioned correctly. Ingenious, and a reason to celebrate, if it worked!
Forbidden Sky is thrilling, quite challenging cooperative positioning game for families and friends that needs harmonious cooperation. The setup is variable and provides a new layout for each game. There are well-adjusted interlocking mechanisms and elements of chance, and on top of it a 3D rocket, that “lifts off” only if have set up a correct circuit - what more can a gamer want?
Thomas Bareder
Players: 2-5
Age: 10+
Time: 60+
Designer: Matt Leacock
Artist: C. B. Canga, Anne Pätzke
Price: ca. 32 Euro
Publisher: Schmidt Spiele 2018
Web: www.schmidtspiele.de
Genre: Cooperative positioning
Users: For families
Version: de
Rules: de en fr hu nl
In-game text: yes
Comments:
Most challenging part of the series
Needs lots of planning
Success only after a few games
Very attractive components
Compares to:
Die verbotene Insel, Die vergessene Stadt
Other editions:
Gamewright (en fr), Reflexshop (hu), White Goblin Games (nl)
My rating: 6
Thomas Bareder:
A very well-made and nice family game, visually very attractive and, by all means, also interesting for more experienced players.
Chance (pink): 1
Tactic (turquoise): 2
Strategy (blue): 1
Creativity (dark blue): 0
Knowledge (yellow): 0
Memory (orange): 0
Communication (red): 3
Interaction (brown): 3
Dexterity (green): 0
Action (dark green): 0