Isla Dorada- trash or treasure?

Looking over more of those abandoned FFG Euros and this one came up. Anybody played it? It's Faidutti, which is usually a good thing...

I have it, but have never been able to sell anyone on the game. "You're part of an expedition team and you use your cards in an auction to try to get people to go down the path you want" doesn't really scream "Play me" to other people. The rules are pretty simple, components are nice and its one that looks fun, but not great.

Trade for Brief History?

I thought it was pretty good, though I'm not sure I'd call it some kind of hidden gem. I did like the whole "group decides how to move" element, though we played with six people, which probably helped.

I seem to recall it having some kind of sketchy racial overtones to it in the graphics. I think they actually toned it down from the original French actually. It's mostly played for laughs, but it's a thing I think. But it's been a couple of years since I've played it, so my memory might be hazy on it.

When you're hitting the C-list FFG euros for your new game fix the ERP has gone too far. I'm sorry that kickstarter ruined the hobby for you as far as new games to check out. Maybe its time to stop collecting this shit and stick with your forever shelf. You've hit rock bottom, Michael, and its time to let go of the ERP. You're only embarrassing yourself now.

Not at all. I'm after games that might have been unfairly ignored because of when they came out. 2010, 2011 was not an ideal time for FFG to release family games and like Deadwood, some of these sort of got swept under the rug and forgotten. Thus, they are candidates for reclamation. Some- maybe most- aren't worth the effort. But I'm glad to have found Deadwood and Black Gold- exactly the kinds of games I want to be playing right now.

Almost everything I've gotten as part of the ERP is a forever shelfer, incidentally. There are only two titles that I don't think are going to stick around. Part of the point of this was to get back things I sold/traded that I really kind of intended to get back at some point anyway.

And you know what, I'm having fun with it. A hell of a lot more fun than chasing new releases.

Michael Barnes wrote: Not at all. I'm after games that might have been unfairly ignored because of when they came out. 2010, 2011 was not an ideal time for FFG to release family games and like Deadwood, some of these sort of got swept under the rug and forgotten. Thus, they are candidates for reclamation. Some- maybe most- aren't worth the effort. But I'm glad to have found Deadwood and Black Gold- exactly the kinds of games I want to be playing right now.

Almost everything I've gotten as part of the ERP is a forever shelfer, incidentally. There are only two titles that I don't think are going to stick around. Part of the point of this was to get back things I sold/traded that I really kind of intended to get back at some point anyway.

And you know what, I'm having fun with it. A hell of a lot more fun than chasing new releases.

You should check out Paris Connection by Queen. It's a remake of a Winsome game, SNFP, it's basically a stock/deduction game. Think an advanced version of Heimlich and Co. Plays in like 30 minutes.

Thanks Bull, I'll look into it...that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for right now, games that got lost while everybody was scrambling for Arkham Horror expansions and zombie games. And I am also looking for those "new old fashioned" titles like what Von Tush has been mentioning, games that have the spirit of the Euro family games but are post-1980s/1990s.

I dramatically prefer Chicago Express to Paris Connection. PC is a groupthink simulation, mostly, and it's extremely light.

These are my old Isla Dorada comments from BGG: (edited for maximum hotness)

A reworking of Elfenland that is mechanics-light and production-heavy. Elfenland sucks because players spend an inordinate amount of time planning their moves. That disappears in Isla Dorada because there's only a single moving expedition that travels by vote. It's move/score, move/score, etc. - a total of 16 times - until the game ends.

The scoring is based on location-specific treasures (positives) and curses (negatives), although the treasure cards aren't unique. So voting the expedition into a certain location can end up benefiting other players more than yourself, especially when it comes to the endgame scoring of the destiny (i.e., endgame bonus) cards.

Some cons:

Beyond the adventure cards that are strictly for bidding, Dorada has a ton of special cards that can be annoying for new players to learn. Hence the full-page cheat sheets.

It can be tough to avoid your curse location early in the game before you've had the chance to build up a reasonable hand size and distribution.

With 5-6 players the game drags in places (card selection, etc.) and the bids become unbeatable too quickly.

At least once per game, there is a strong likelihood that one or more players will benefit tremendously from another player's steering of the expedition to a particular spot. It's a kick for those particular players, but it's an eye-rolling exercise for everyone else.

I won this game for free at a con, and that's pretty much what it's worth to me. Good for 1-2 plays a year, I think.

Isla Dorada wasn't unfairly ignored. Despite really liking several Faidutti games, I found that Isla Dorada is painfully average. It's one of those games that you think probably has lots of potential the first time you play it. You begin to think how different power cards could work together, how the best routes are laid out, stuff like that. Then you play it a few more times and realize that there just isn't much there.

It appears to be a pretty good family game. Problem is there are a ton of pretty good family games. So it's very, very average.

Michael, you should start an "ERP: recommend your hidden treasures" thread.

Michael Barnes wrote: Thanks Bull, I'll look into it...that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for right now, games that got lost while everybody was scrambling for Arkham Horror expansions and zombie games. And I am also looking for those "new old fashioned" titles like what Von Tush has been mentioning, games that have the spirit of the Euro family games but are post-1980s/1990s.

I like the "hidden treasures" thread idea. I wonder if you could really restrict it to ERP prospects without getting into a big semantics argument though.

2001 - Genoa
2006 - Bison
2008 - Aquaretto
2010 - Workshop of the World

Those have remained on our short list of keepers. Genoa and Aquaretto were pretty popular but seem to have faded, although they're still solid games that have aged very well. Bison and WotW weren't popular that I remember and seem to have been largely overlooked. If the hidden treasures thread gets going maybe I'll repost and elaborate a little more on each game.

I've looked at Paris Connection a few times, but after Chicago Express fell pretty flat with everyone I played it with I got leery about Paris Connection and haven't looked at it since.

You know, I was kind of thinking that Isla sounded like Elfenland...which is one of those "maybe not forever shelf" ones. I like the looks of it, but it does look like something I wouldn't necessarily want to keep around for long so I'm probably going to pass on it.

I like Chicago Express...I traded for it once, had it for like a week, but an offer came up and I flipped it again. I've played the IOS version (Wabash Cannonball) a bunch.

Genoa is great, I do need to get that one again...it really requires heavy negotiators though since everything in the game is a tradable commodity. I haven't seen the newer edition anywhere, I had the old Alea one. Which was really not like the other Alea games at the time at all.

Aquaretto I'll eventually get. Kids already like Zooloretto.

Been meaning to look at Bison...found one for $15 shipped (!) so I'm grabbing it. I really like Native American themes.

Workshop of the World...is it close at all to Canalmania?

We played Aquaretto when it was originally released, but gave up on it quickly because it's pretty screwed up. The fish collection strategy ("keeper" bonus points) will crush any other strategy, if memory serves.

The newer edition of Genoa is huge compared to the Alea one. It has slightly nicer components, but the box is about Cyclades / Tales of the Arabian Nights size. Completely unnecessary. Functionally the same though.

I haven't played Canal Mania but from what I understand Canal Mania is more closely related to games like Ticket to Ride, while Workshop is more of an auction/valuation game.

Re: Aquaretto fish strategy: You can screw with that strategy just as well as you can screw with the other strategies. A player working the fish strategy shouldn't have a lot of extra coin for add-on boards, so mess with him by loading the fish animals on carts with other animals he can't use, or with animals of the types he wants without the fish icon (which he will have to place). Always target the leader(s) when you're crapping up the animal carts.

The ERP: the new face of board game addiction?