Forbidden Jungle Review: Calling All Gibbons! This Jungle is Super Swingy

[@SuperSmashBoiz]

so as many people in the comments already pointed out, the titles are supposed to all be aligned the same when you explore a tile. This is because the colored shapes aren't all arranged in the same directions when the titles are aligned. The random orientation only applies to the unexplored sides since those don't have a specific way to orient them. But another thing that i don't think anyone else pointed out: 15:56 is something that is only possible in one very specific instance which is the singular card that shuffles the threat deck is the last card in the deck with the collapse a tile card being the 2nd to last card in the threat deck. The shuffle card states "Shuffle the threat discard pile and put the cards UNDER the threat draw pile." So unless there were literally no other cards in the deck and you just have to reshuffle the entire deck, you should never pull the collapse tile card, then have to reshuffle, then immediately pull the collapse tile card again. In fact, there's only one of each card in the threat deck (other than there being 2 cards that increase the threat level), so the predictability is actually fairly good. You know you can stand next to a bunch of adults on their yellow star side if the yellow star move has already been pulled and you haven't run through the entire deck without a reshuffle yet. I feel like the takes on the predictability in this video are based on having to completely reshuffle the deck, and that's just not the case 95% of the time.

[@CuriousCritter17]

It says in the rules that when you flip a tile the TITLE should align with all other card titles. This means they all follow the orientation of the Starting Fools Landing tile.

[@justindavis5728]

When you expolore the tile it says to align the title with the other tiles. The random orientation is only relevant for face down tiles. Likely wouldnt change anyones rating, but they did stick on that for a while.

[@kevinbhieey9188]

Zee's take on Episode 7 is one of the best metaphors that's ever been on this channel. It's also the best take on that movie. Kudos!

[@adamholt5395]

19:01 is where the Star Wars episode 7 reference begins.

[@dennisw64]

The next video about the "Forbidden" series should be a comparison of the four games.

[@tarasstasiuk3858]

I dismised FJ based on this review. My wife watched a different review, and suggested we play it at our local game cafe (Level One in Ottawa - you folks are the best!!!). So we played it. Had a great time. And bought it the next day.

[@joeferreti9442]

"Forbidden Desert" is the best of the series. I really like the sand piles, the way the storm is represented and that a combination of tiles determines the location of what your looking for. The stranded in a desert theme is also nice. About the new one, it's a bit sad, Jungle could have been a good theme. Not sure why they made it with aliens. And the fiddly rules, components and graphics design is too bad. This always seems like they have never asked somebody who is able to give honest critique before going into mass production. Not sure why some companies are hellbent on continuing a series, when it might be better to reprint the good games you already have in the portfolio. Also, that "Forbidden Desert" App should be brought to Steam. Also, don't call your games differently in the German release for no good reason ("Vergessene Stadt" instead of "Verbotene Wüste", WTF!). Yes, yes, that was probably another publisher that of course had to make all mistakes all over again as if it was the first board game ever released.

[@joshjenson8111]

Wrong Forbidden Island is the best

[@Lizziedotdotdot]

I was also disappointed when I found out the put aliens into the game. Jungle sounded so cool

[@MGee1]

Spot on. Desert has the most interesting mechanic and thematically it's amazing. It's hard and rewarding and more chaotic than island. Island was just too easy. We actually enjoyed sky. Whilst it's fiddly it does have a good thematic feel of being on a platform and needing to avoid the storms....and you REALLY need to avoid them! This just looks like a rushed incoherent mess. After all the anticipation I feel really let down. I honestly don't think Mr L had his head on straight for this one. What a shame.

[@carlosdelgado4147]

Agree with you Forbidden Desert is the best one. My thoughts exactly ... Jungle Portal ... Crystals ... weird aliens ... what the heck ....

[@eifbkcn]

​@@LizziedotdotdotThe games are sequential. You escape on a helicopter. You crash that and need to find a flying machine. You dock that on a flying platform and power up a rocketship. Did you expect the rocketship to not go somewhere in space? It's also much better than the space station themed prototype they were initially considering. A jungle planet outpost (abandoned by the same civilization as the island in the first game) works both thematically and chronologically.

[@julianwilliams9088]

I love the tin containers one of my favourite things about these games

[@icewendigo2320]

Imo Forbidden Jungle is by FAR the best of the Forbidden games. I agree with all the superficial negatives coming from the production debacle ; the squids that fall off, the flimsy tin that damages easily, the tiny unreadable side symbols, the annoying plastic meter things, the graphic design, etc. I would rather have a 2nd edition that fixes all of that. But this said, everything else is much better for me. The Theme is great. I would rather watch paint dry than play Pandemic, Forbidden Island, or Forbidden Desert, if only based on the theme, which is boring to me. It's like "Grass" the Game, "Athlete's Foot the Cure" , or "Income Tax" the game (that's why I much prefer "Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu" over Pandemic). The theme of exploring an alien planet with aliens moving around and powerful relics is much more interesting and engaging. The gameplay is much better, more decisions, more tactical vs strategic choices, more elements to consider, more variety between games. The game does not play itself. The aliens represent a potential and dynamic danger, which is exciting. Also the randomness may be greater, but it's more exiting and way more immersive (in the movie "Aliens" the Marines don't see all the Aliens moving on a board with total information). Hatchlings could be in the tunnels and you don't see them, and could emerge at any time, you dont know, like real life. It's a challenge, it's dangerous, not simply a puzzle where things are predictable. Because the panel has very similar tastes, one could almost(thanks to Chris) conclude we are watching "Group Think" or that the game is objectively Bad, but I say it is a matter of preference. Imo: 1- Forbidden Jungle 2- Forbidden Desert 3- Forbidden Island 4- Forbidden Sky

[@vwmullen]

Another production issue is that there aren't enough alien pieces. Every time I've played, I've lost because I ran out of aliens to place on the tiles. Thematically that doesn't make sense to me -- if they aren't stinging me and lowering my health, I should still alive even if there's a slim chance of living. I guess I have to change my strategy to get rid of the aliens quicker, but I feel like it's on theme to just avoid the aliens if you can. Just as much as it makes sense to take them head on. And yeah, the icons need to be way bigger, and it also needs to be more clear which tiles have or have not been explored. They don't contrast enough from each other.

[@icewendigo2320]

@@vwmullen i agree with everything (contrast, bigger icon, etc) except with the "not enough" pieces, it is known that you loose if you miss pieces, you are doing something wrong because its not an issue for us, i will even try the house rule that adults take 2 actions to kill to see if i loose.

[@soltydog]

It's been years since I played Island, but I think Jungle is better than Desert. I was able to manage and plan once the two false crystals are revealed. In Desert, once too much sand is on a tile, it seems like the game is lost already. Now's the time to make the Forbidden Big Box and make it a campaign style between all four games.

[@liveforlife180]

My instruction book tells you to make sure the title of the explored tile is aligned the same way as all of the other tiles. I assumed that meant they are turned to the correct orientation after you explore it. Am I wrong there?

[@MattLeacock]

You are correct. You're instructed to align all the labels with Fools' Landing. When this is done, the board looks far less "chaotic."

[@theoldman2821]

@@MattLeacock I'm guessing some of the comments in the review stung a little bit. "...the board looks far less chaotic." Which seems to mean you're admitting it's chaotic.

[@mike_howes]

Really enjoyed this video. Broke down the issues you had with the game clearly and I now know to cancel my preorder as the swings of lucks for the aliens seems unenjoyable to me

[@EasySewing4Beginners]

You should give this game a chance. It’s actually very enjoyable. Once you’ve played through the game once or twice you’re less likely to get caught off guard and die suddenly from stings. I rank this second after Forbidden Desert in the forbidden series 😀

[@eifbkcn]

They have a deep misunderstanding about several of the games mechanics. Simply the fact that the shuffled cards go ON THE BOTTOM of the deck (as they would know if they read the rules better), and there is only one card with each of the effects means that card counting is incredibly easy, and you already know where half of the 'bad' tiles are from the start. The chances of getting nothing usable and being in an unwinnable situation are pretty small once you know what you're doing, which only takes a few playthroughs.

[@spider1234556]

This is a fun game, my group played it and we like it just as much as the first two games in the series.

[@stbauch1]

I loved the take on forbidden sky woth the electric grids. It elevated the genre for me. Forbidden desert is the most difficult to beat though. I love this series and will denfinitely get my copy of this. Thank you for the review!

[@mikeb2598]

I have and like 1 and 2. They were my entry into the hobby. I don’t have any issues with what the DT crew pointed out. It looks like a great game. I just don’t need another one of these in my collection. I keep 1 and 2 for nostalgia, but mostly I have moved on. BTW, we have beaten Forbidden Desert only once.

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

Camillia's comments are interesting because the description reminded me somewhat of Spirit Island. That's another game with fiddly upkeep and a cluttered, hard to grok board state. It also has the explorers, towns, and cities that echo the eggs, smaller, and larger aliens, and maybe the blight echoes the webs. Spirit Island is a good game but it does have those elements in common with Forbidden Jungle.

[@mike_howes]

I really like your comparison. I think the main difference though is in this game the 3 tiers of enemy change with the flip of a card. Pretty randomly. So your board state may have 3 adults and 5 hatchlings. Then the card flip turns all 5 hatchlings into adults and then more adults spawn at tunnels and you went from 3 adults to 10 in 2 card flips. That level of ramp can't easily be foreseen turn to turn. It might happen this turn or it might happen in 5 turns time. Whereas spirit island you know exactly where they will ravage. You know exactly where they will build. You can make all your plans around this and prepare. You know by moving that piece you are solving a problem but maybe causing a problem sometime later. Exploring is the is the only random card flip. I think it's a great comparison for you to make but I think the comparison emphasises what Camilla said in the review in that the randomness was too much in Forbidden jungle for her

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

@@mike_howes your comment makes perfect sense and you've convinced me the comparison only goes so far.

[@eifbkcn]

​@@mike_howesBecause they didn't read the rules for shuffling correctly. The fact that you shuffle the discards under the draw and not into them changes how you count them completely. For most draws, you can predict them based on what is in the discards (there are no repeats of cards), what was in the most recent shuffle, and what was above the most recent shuffle but hasn't since been played. Combine that with the relatively small deck (only 17 cards in a few related groups) and card counting simply becomes easy, yet integral, to the game. They never figured that out, and drew some frankly stupid conclusions because of it.

[@isaacheres1354]

I once had Forbidden Island, Desert, and Sky. Yes I agree the Forbidden Sky was like the odd one out. Think of these games as a movie series like; the Alien franchise. Alien 3 was known as a bad sequel out of the four. I sold my Forbidden Island game because I was unhappy with the fact that I kept losing in solo gameplay and there were only three "Water Rises" cards in the game that makes the game unbalanced from winning and losing. When I had shuffled the 3 "Water Rise" cards in the deck, they usually frequently appear higher in the deck and the tiles gets "flooded" real fast, and it's always one of the treasure tiles

[@KMReviews]

I guess I’m one of the few who liked forbidden sky lol. I thought it was pretty thematic and made sense and you had to be real clever to play and it was silly and the components were really cool.

[@praiseboognish1979]

I agree. I thought sky was a lot of fun.

[@sniperserson1640]

I loved it

[@seanv3997]

I liked sky, it was super cool! I almost dropped my drink when they said desert was easy- never won that game. I ended up selling desert and sky ultimately since island was the best and remains so. Would like to play this someday.

[@kevinbhieey9188]

The swinginess of the sand is the hardest thing to figure out in Desert, but eventually you can figure it out and it becomes easier to beat on the harder levels.

[@2099EK]

Does Camilla not use her last name anymore? It's so weird to hear everyone use their full name but her (lately).

[@theoldman2821]

And she goes back and forth between it and Milla. Marketing tip: Chose a brand and stick to it.

[@zanfear]

Does it matter? It’s none of our business.

[@TheMeeplesAdvocate]

Desert was ok but still the best of the series

[@BoardGamesBricksHobbies]

My one gripe about Desert is that you don't get to see a lot of the board art due to the sand.

[@icewendigo2320]

WHY? How many times have you actually played Fobidden Jungle?

[@joshjenson8111]

Forbidden Island is easily the best Forbidden game

[@christaggart5687]

I still find Forbidden Desert to be an amazing cooperative game. Some like Forbidden Island better… those people are wrong. ;-)

[@JoeyjojoShabadoo7]

Incorrect

[@npckse8508]

Played this at the Retreat and thought it was fine. Fun little Pandemic-like game, but in such a full genre, it does not do enough uniquely to be added to my collection.

[@McPriMa]

I almost bought FJungle at barnes &noble but i havent even tried the other ones yet. Not sure which one is the BEST yet

[@JoeyjojoShabadoo7]

Imo Forbidden Island is the best. Forbidden Desert was fun, but there’s something about the simplicity of the first one that I like better.

[@willreardon5116]

Disappointing that the team have misunderstood a few key rules and concepts - so are essentially reviewing a different game. The adult minis can easily be fixed by dunking them in hot water too. When played correctly, without the minis constantly falling over, this is a great game

[@joewyatt8413]

I thought about getting this until this video should I watch other reviews

[@notmyeyeballgames7798]

That look that everyone gave Chris. 🤔😂

[@jessechapman9347]

Came for the game review, stayed for Zee's accurate assessment of Disney Star Wars 😂

[@siguy6412]

I’ve been loving forbidden jungle

[@TylerAndToast]

Mechanisms seem cool, but looks like a mess

[@TylerAndToast]

The art and graphic looks like it came out 15 years ago. Doesn't look very good on the table imo

[@Gankatron5000]

There goes Chris again inflating the score because it is a heavy Euro.

[@Einbert_Alstein_24]

Forbidden Stars still is the best of all the "Forbidden Games". Mostly because it's not part of this series. 😉

[@aarondowning5791]

Definitely a dated system at this point.

[@KristoVaher]

This game is like someone imitating Matt Leacock without understanding what made Pandemic or Forbidden Desert actually fun. Yet it's by Matt...

[@darkmage7771]

There are plenty of Forbidden Desert games where you literally cannot win after you discover your setup

[@AdamWhitehead111]

13:23 Zee likes to be able to say "I told you so"

[@mattball6136]

I feel bad that Chris doesn’t have a hat. It’s sunny in FL! 😂

[@jarrikschaepherders6743]

To be honest, this is the first time I'm a little disappointed in a dice tower review. Firstly, it shouldn't be that the game is being played incorrectly. The fact that you have to align the tiles with each other after flipping them is clearly stated in the rules. So, I understand that there's criticism about the chaotic game board, but that's more due to the incorrect interpretation of the rules rather than the game itself. The second biggest point of criticism is about the swinginess of the game. However, this is common in most cooperative games. In fact, it strongly reminds me of the "misfortune deck" from Atlantis Rising, a game that Zee is a huge fan of. If you have a bit of bad luck there, you can end up in a situation where you have to remove a component, can't build new components for a round, then the deck gets shuffled, and again you can't build components or have to remove one. You might not be immediately defeated, but the game becomes almost impossible to win. The deck in Forbidden Jungle isn't very large, which means that - as long as there's no shuffle action - you can know what's coming and what's not. And to make the game a bit less random, you can always remove the shuffle card from the deck and only shuffle when you've gone through the entire deck. Personally, I don't think the latter is necessary, but it could help provide some more structure in the game, if it feels too random for some folks.

[@EasySewing4Beginners]

I agree with the ‘swinginess’ point. Once you’ve played the game through 1 or 2 times you get to know the cards in the threat deck and you can anticipate what’s coming and strategise from there. I would be disappointed if someone decided to not buy this game because of this review.

[@eifbkcn]

The shuffle card makes it easier because it explicitly says to shuffle only the discards and to put them under the draw. Of course shuffling the whole deck at random is often unfair, which is why that is not what the card says to do.

[@Slyfox1775]

How long will they milk the same cow

[@KissellMissile]

Too many cooperative games try to mimic Pandemic by having a deck of "bad stuff" you go through without realizing that the brilliant element of Pandemic is reshuffling the same cards. Pandemic allows you to risk assess, but just a deck of bad stuff is very random.

[@LuneAgent]

This game is from the designer of Pandemic, you know?

[@eifbkcn]

You realize the deck does get shuffled in mostly the same way, right? The cards just go in the bottom here instead of the top.

[@markpatoka]

I was really looking forward to Jungle but after watching how the game plays and comments, this is an easy pass. Love Desert and Island (we'll ignore that Sky exists) but seems just like too much going on to want to play, especially with more casual gamers.

[@zanfear]

Why ignore Sky? It’s incredibly cool.

[@sobreeltablero]

To create something new it is enough to take something old and just rename it... and maybe add a random gimik into the mix. And that is how you can trick incautious people into buying again something they already own.

[@zanfear]

Exactly why I bought Island, skipped Desert, then bought Sky. Will be skipping Jungle.

[@eifbkcn]

But the game plays entirely differently?

[@theoldman2821]

I think this exposes a flaw in the Seal of Approval. You have three out of four reviewers who don't recommend it and one who weakly does and so it gets the seal. Perhaps averages?

[@thedicetower]

Perhaps no. Remember, if only one of us did this review, and recommended it, it would be the same thing.

[@theoldman2821]

​@@thedicetower, which again exposes its flaw.

[@Macthulhu84]

More drunk Tom please

[@alexstrang9823]

ok, I'll bite....why the hate for tins? I never understood that

[@TheClyd3Man]

They don't stack or sit vertically well. they also dent and bend which can make putting on the lid annoying/difficult.

[@mikemudrow]

I get that about tins in general, but I have never experienced that with my copy of Forbidden Desert. It's a great tin, as far as tins go. Sits well on the shelf, even on its side, and the dents aren't a significant problem for me.

[@alexstrang9823]

Ive never had an issue with tins and find them quite nice as well as sturdy. Depends on how you treat them and store them, I'm sure.@@mikemudrow

[@seahawksfan9168]

why do you give a game a 5.5 or 6.5 but say you don't like it? a 6.5 means its a good game lol your rankings make no sense if a game is really bad its no higher then a 4

[@kiroky95]

I agree, stop putting your games in tins. And while you're at it, stop making your games weird shapes. Hard to store them and it messes with the whole shelf.

[@theoldman2821]

It's the marketing brand; it's not going away for any Forbidden games.

[@thomasromanelli2561]

Forbidden Jungle, with the eggs, hatchlings and adults, seems awfully derivative of Tom Wham's "The Awful Green Things From Outer Space". FJ goes for a more serious tone, and it seems like the game system has become somewhat bloated.

[@areallystupidguy630]

Sounds really random in an unfun way.

[@vwmullen]

One issue with this review is that you're comparing it so much to the previous entries, and judging it for being too similar. Board game buyers aren't like movie-goers though, most people don't care if they have played previous entries in a board game series.

[@Tenebyss]

How Camilla and Zee felt about this is how I feel about most cooperative games.

[@Poiuytrew.Q]

My first thought seeing this video, was wow, Camilla is on the couch instead of the armchair and she looks uncomfortable lol 😂

[@seanmay9181]

This is a Chris Yi Seal of Approval and a Dice Tower Seal of Disapproval.

[@matthewmesina3667]

THE TILES DO NOT NEED TO BE IN ARRANGED RANDOM ORIENTATION WHEN FLIPPED! Only during setup is that necessary. Take a look, the colors are randomized in the fronts. You REALLY need to post and addendum to this review. It's actually embarrassing how much time you spent on a non-issue . As for your comments about the game being "too random", there are not that many different cards in the deck, so knowing which ones have been drawn is crucial to planning. Just like in the other games (esp Sky), you may need to spend an action jyst for positioning yourself to avoid the potential card that has yet to come off the deck. And why can't you plan for a collapse? You literally know exactly which tile is going to fall ahead of time and that it happens once per pass througb.

[@TheBlakeWhitaker]

Out of curiosity, why are you so determined to change their mind on a rating that they obviously spent a lot of time on formulating?

[@matthewmesina3667]

To clarify, the part about doing an addendum is the only comment that is specifically directed to just the DT, but the other comments are for anyone watching this to decide to buy this great game. Also, to the general public, I would bite that you can bend the spider legs easily to get them to stand and that the graphic design is consistent with the other games in terms of the artwork and clarity. Pretty sure it's the exact same artist as the others. Listen to Chris on that one. Lastly, this is not the first review on YT that botched the tile orientation, and it needs correction. The runes do not clarify to randomly oruent the times because Gamewrught thought it would be obvious that only the backs are all the same exact image. Go figure.

[@koalabrownie]

Are you sure about Random Orientation? I'm watching Onestopcoopshop playthrough with Jason and the flipped tiles are orientated all over the place. So if DT got it wrong they're not the only ones.

[@TylerAndToast]

​@@matthewmesina3667id venture to guess its a bad rulebook then if multiple reviewers that do this for a living are supposedly getting so many things wrong.

[@cthulwho8197]

"How much time you spent"...about a minute and a half in a twelve minute review. Amd it was hardly the only fault they mentioned. The swingy nature was a much bigger issue.

[@adriang6259]

I actually like forbidden Sky. Desert is still the best. I was hanging out for this but now it sounds like it sucks. bugger!

[@getyourgameon4935]

I won't buy anymore games in tins. Hard pass for me. That being said, I'd stll play someone else's copy. Also, I like the creepy creature theme.

[@devekut2]

Looks visually messy with a "reaching" theme.

[@chosenvalleybuffalo103]

Ok I tried. I stopped watching this channel because of the arrogance of Tom Vasel and his crew. This video reminded why I stopped watching The Dice Tower. Who died and made you the gaming gods. This channel, in its early years, was awesome. NOT anymore. Sorry, this is just one man's opinion.

[@KMReviews]

They think they are gaming gods because they gave their opinions on a game? This is a review? Should they have lied and said they liked it? I don’t get the anger lol

[@koalabrownie]

You should watch reviews to get other people's opinions, not to have your own hopes & opinions validated. The latter will only lead to disappointment.

[@VideoGameTakeOut]

What was arrogant about this review? He even kinda liked it...

[@TylerAndToast]

​@@VideoGameTakeOuti think chosen valley wanted to find an echo chamber of people that like this game he likes. Seems like some honest feedback and opinions from the reviewers regardless if opinions match.

[@JasperHayward]

Ay? They are giving their opinions on a game...