THE FORBIDDEN DESERT

Welcome to The Forbidden Desert, part of the thrilling Forbidden trilogy! These family-friendly games pack a punch and will test your skills to the max. Prepare yourself for an exciting adventure as we embark on a mission to escape the treacherous ruins of an ancient, technologically advanced city buried deep within the desert sands. Our helicopter has crashed, leaving us stranded with no other option but to assemble a legendary flying machine from the remains of this lost civilization. Our ultimate goal is to gather four crucial components: the propeller, the engine, the crystal (solar generator), and the compass. Once these elements are secured, we must take off from the runway where the rest of the machine awaits. However, our water supply is limited, and a fierce sandstorm looms over the region, posing additional challenges to our escape.

GAME SETUP

In the game, we start by setting up the Desert. I shuffle all the Desert tiles and place them face down to create a square pattern. There are 5 tiles on each side, and I leave an empty space in the center. This empty space represents the storm at the beginning of the game.

Next, I place 8 Sand tiles on top of the Desert tiles in a diamond pattern. This is shown in the photo below. Keep an eye out for the three tiles with a water drop icon – these are the wells. However, one of them will turn out to be dried up. There is also a tile with a crash site, which adds to the excitement of the game.

Moving on, I place the Flying Machine and its 4 parts next to the Desert. This is where our adventure begins!

To keep track of the storm, I place the Storm clip marker on the Storm Ladder. The position on the ladder depends on the number of players and the difficulty level we choose. The Storm Ladder is then fixed to its base, ready for action.

Lastly, I sort the cards by type and place them in separate piles face down. We have Storm cards and Gear cards. These cards will play a crucial role throughout the game.

Now that everything is set up, we’re ready for an exciting desert adventure. Let’s get started and see if we can survive the storm!

I’m sure you’ll find this exciting! Let me explain how to set up the game.

First, deal one Adventurer card to each player. Make sure to attach a Water clip marker to the highest value on the Water ladder displayed on each player’s Adventurer card.

Next, it’s time for the Crash! Each player takes their Adventurer pawn and places it on the Desert tile at the crash site.

Now you’re all set up and ready to start the game. Have fun exploring the desert and discovering all the secrets it holds!

THE PLAY

Hey there! Welcome to the world of this awesome game. In this game, each player takes on the role of a character with a unique power. But here’s the thing, you have to use your power wisely and work together with the other players to win.

Now, let me explain how a game turn works:

• First, it’s the active player’s turn to take actions. You get to do 4 actions in total.
• After that, the sandstorm comes sweeping in. The sandstorm is not your friend, so watch out!

When it’s your turn, you have a few options to choose from. You can do any of the following actions, up to a maximum of 4:

• You can move your pawn to a square that’s right next to it. Just remember, you can’t move to the eye of the Storm!
• If you want, you can clear your tile or a tile that’s right next to yours. Just lower it by one level.
• You can also reveal a tile that you’ve completely cleared. Flip it over and see what surprises await!
• If you spot a Machine part on a square without any sand on it, you can recover it. Grab it before it’s lost!

Oh, and I almost forgot! You can use Gear cards, and the best part is that it won’t even cost you an action.

Flipping a tile can have all sorts of effects. You never know what you’ll uncover, so be prepared for anything!

• When I flip a tile that is a well, it refills 2 water levels for the characters on that well. But there’s a catch! One of the three wells is dried up, so it won’t give me any water.
• Some tiles let me collect a Gear card. And here’s the cool part – some of them have tunnels that let me move from one tunnel to another and protect me from the sun. What’s even more exciting is that there are two tiles for each element, and if I find them, they reveal the tile where that element will appear. When that happens, I get to place the corresponding machine part on the right tile.
• Lastly, there’s a take-off runway tile. If I land on it, I can make my escape and win the game!

After I complete my four actions, I need to draw cards from the Sandstorm pile. The number of cards I draw is determined by the Storm ladder. There are three types of cards I can draw:

• The “heat wave” card makes everyone who isn’t in a tunnel lose 1 level of water.
• The “storm intensifies” card raises the level of the storm ladder by 1.
• The “silting” card moves the eye of the storm and adds more sand along the way.

When I play the game, I see cards with arrows and numbers on them. These cards tell me how many spaces I need to move. I have to move that exact number of spaces to fill in the hole on the game board. It’s like a little puzzle! But if the hole is on the side of the Desert, I don’t move any tiles. Instead, I get to enjoy a moment of peace. Every time I move a tile, it gets covered with sand. When a tile has at least 2 levels of sand, it becomes blocked. I can’t go on a blocked tile! And if I’m already on a blocked tile, all I can do is remove sand from it until there’s only one sand tile left.



When you and another player are on the same square, you have the option to give them some of your water at any time, and it doesn’t count as one of your actions.

The Adventurers

• The Archaeologist is really handy because they can remove 2 Sand markers with each action instead of just one.
• The Alpinist is pretty cool because they can move on blocked Desert tiles and they can even bring another Adventurer along with them.
• The Explorator is awesome because they can move around, get rid of sand markers, and use Blaster Gear cards diagonally. Talk about versatile!
• The Meteorologist is a unique character because they have some special abilities. They can use their actions to reduce the number of Sandstorm cards drawn at the end of their turn. They can also spend one action to look at the first cards of the Sandstorm pile and choose to keep one of them. So they can control the storm a bit!
• The Navigator has the ability to move any other player by three squares with just one action. This includes the ability to utilize the movement special rules of the Alpinist or Explorator if they are moved.
• The Water Bearer can increase their Water level by 2 by spending one action on revealed Well tiles. Additionally, the Water Bearer can share Water with players who are on orthogonally adjacent tiles.

WINNING/LOSING

If one of the characters dies, if there are not enough sand tiles remaining to fulfill the demand, or if the storm reaches the deadly level on the Storm ladder, the players will lose the game. However, if the players successfully gather all 4 elements, converge at the runway, and take the necessary action to become airborne, they will emerge victorious.