1 player
Designer: Jinhee Han, Heewon Kang
Artist: PASIO
Publisher: Best With 1 Games
Crusoe is lost in an island full of danger, dice and rondels, and it’s for him and his friend to overcome this and survive. Is this game a great adventure or should it be fed to the wild animals?
How To Play
To setup the game, put the two cloth mats side by side. Put the meeples on the map on the action rondel, and markers on the event rondel and day tracker. Also get all tools and pick one character, one friend and one mission card.
Every day is split in morning, afternoon and evening. On mornings you roll the 3 available dice and put them in crescent order. The lowest value moves the event marker on the rondel and triggers a new event.
Then on the afternoon, the player chooses one die at a time, advance the meeple in the action rondel and either take the action, advance the marker on your friend or build a tool. Each die value gives the player 0-3 stars to use in certain actions. The actions vary on building your shelter, getting resources, moving on the map or hunting. The stars also determinate which tools you can build.
During night, you first eat a food, then depending on the value of the die placed there on the turn before it’ll trigger the weather (which will damage your shelter or you) and animal ambush (which varies by the area your in).
You win if you achieve the mission on your quest card, which usually is building a specific tool, getting to certain area on the map, hunting a certain animal, etc. You lose if you run out of health or out of days.
Rules and Components
This was originally a PnP, and just now got published. I think during this time the rules were tweaked and refined by the designers and it shows. Rules are clear, concise and, for the most part, comprehensive. There is also a big section for individual cards, which I appreciate.
The game comes with two cloth boards, which are super nice, but they are small and that causes a few problems. The map is hard to read from a distance and the spaces for the resources can get cramped and block their information.
All the rest is relayed through icons and they very functional and clear, specially after a few games under your belt.
Score: 8/10
Gameplay
Dieson Crusoe is an intense game for its duration. It’s an interesting mechanism to have larger numbers on the dice be better for actions, but also more dangerous. Also, I like that every resource has a secondary effect to manipulate the game state in some manner, but it’s also something that you will not use often as things can get tight and you need them for tools and buildings.
It has a nice tension arc, where the danger rises as you progress through the island and through the days. It gets more dangerous, but you also yield more resources for exploration and hunt. I feel like this is a well balanced, albeit tough game. Don’t let quest 1 fool you.
Score: 8.5 /10
Theme and Art
The artwork and design is fairly simplistic and quite clean, but it does have a very distinctive look. It for the most part favours usability, but the game still looks great on the table.
The map is where you will find the most details, but it is very evocative of illustrations on books. Robinson Crusoe is a story told many times on baord games, so it’s well known. Dieson Crusoe takes that and uses just the right elements to evoke parts of the story without being too complex.
Score: 7.5/10
Conclusion
I think it’s no secret that this game was inspired by Robinson Crusoe: Adventures in the Cursed Island by Ignacy Trzewiczek, but condensed down into a 30 minute adventure. You can recognize easily the DNA, and I felt right at home instantly.
But that’s not all it is. It has its own unique mechanisms that are engaging and fun. I really like the action rondel and the way the dice used determinate the bad things coming your way. Knowing when to be risky and when to play safe is a huge part of the game.
I feel like this is a very solid and tense solo experience that will have you coming back to beaten time and again. My impression is that this game was designed by and for players, as lots of PnPs are, and got a deserved polished release.
Rules and Components: 8/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Theme and Art: 7.5/10
Score: 8/10
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