The mysterious forest

The mysterious forest
Game data
author	Carlo A. Rossi
graphic	Daniel Lieske
publishing company	Iello , Hutter Trade
Publishing year	2016
Art	Cooperative card game
Teammates	2 to 4
Duration	10-25 minutes
Age	from age 6
Awards
	Children's game of the year : nominated in 2017; Graf Ludo , game graphics of the year: ; nominated for children's games 2017; Game of games , hit games for kids 2017;

The mysterious forest is a cooperative children and family game by the Italian game designer Carlo A. Rossi . The game for two to four players, ages six and up, takes around 10 to 25 minutes per round. It was published by Iello in 2016 and is distributed in Germany by Hutter Trade. In 2017 it was nominated together with the games ICECOOL and Captain Silver for the children's game of the year critics award and together with several other games for Graf Ludo , game graphics of the year. In addition, it was recognized as one of three game hits for children in 2017 at the Austrian game of games .

Theme and equipment

The game is about supporting the main character Jonas on his journey through the mysterious forest and his fight against the Queen of Draconia. To do this, the players play together by equipping Jonas with all the tools he needs for his journey and his adventures. The way it is played is partly reminiscent of the game Alles am Bord ?! also developed by Rossi and released in 2018 . .

In addition to the instructions, the contents of the game box consist of:

24 path maps that form the route; These are a start card, 13 forest cards, four wanderer cards and six final battle cards,
a backpack blackboard,
55 equipment tokens, 11 of which are Loki tokens,
two wanderer tiles,
a pawn (Jonas),
a pin figure of the Queen of Draconia
and four motif cubes.

Style of play

At the beginning of the game the path cards are sorted by type, shuffled and then placed face down in three piles. Afterwards, cards are drawn from these stacks to form the path through the forest. It begins with the start card, followed by four 4 forest cards, a hiker card, two more forest cards and finally a final battle card. The equipment tokens and the two wanderer tokens are sorted and placed in stacks, the Loki tokens are placed face down with Loki's head on top. The dice and the backpack come next to the path, then the top four Loki tiles are placed face down on any spaces on the backpack board. Finally, a starting player is determined.

Phases during the game

Forest exploration
Filling the backpack
Travel phase and final battle

The game is played in three phases:

In the first phase the forest is explored and the players have to remember as much equipment as possible that they will need later.
In the second phase, the backpack is filled with the equipment that is needed.
In the last phase, the journey through the mysterious forest takes place.

For the exploration phase, the start player reveals the first path card and all players must remember which equipment the card shows. Then the card is turned over again and the other players, in a clockwise direction, gradually reveal the other cards. These also show items that are needed. When the gun battle card has been reached and then faced again, the equipping phase begins. In this phase the players have to pack the backpack with the items that are needed. You roll the four dice, one after the other, in clockwise order, which indicate which items are available. The player chooses two of these and places the corresponding equipment tiles on the backpack board, he can consult with the other players at any time. If an item on the die is no longer available in the supply, the relevant die may be rerolled. A Loki always has priority over all objects and if a player rolls one or two Lokis, he must place them in the backpack.

After the backpack is packed, the travel phase begins. The players reveal the first path card and place the pawn on it. The objects shown on the card are taken out of the backpack and placed on the forest card, then the next card is revealed and the figure is advanced further. If any of the items are not available, Loki will be asked to help. To do this, any Loki tile is turned over, either

shows three items for players to choose from, or
indicates that any item from the backpack can be exchanged for the required item from the display.

The Loki tile is returned to the display after it has been used and is no longer available to players. If the players only have Loki tiles in their rucksack, they can exchange this Loki tile for an item of their choice from the supply when the “Exchange” property appears.

When the Wanderer card is revealed, Jonas and the Wanderer meet. He offers Jonas to exchange his crystal weapon for certain pieces of equipment from his backpack. With the crystal weapon, Jonas can later create two objects of his choice, which are indicated by the wanderer tokens on the map. These tokens can be used to replace any items on the next cards on the path and on the final battle card. The exchange is not mandatory, should it take place, the exchanged items must be returned to the supply. When the players reach the final battle card, they penetrate the cave of the Queen of Draconia and must face it. As on the other path cards, the card is revealed and the items shown on the card are used to defeat the queen.

The game ends either when the players have all the items in their backpacks to set out on the path and defeat the Queen of Draconia, or when these items are not present. In the first case the players won together, in the latter they lost.

Varying the level of difficulty

The level of difficulty of the game can be varied by choosing the number and choice of cards for the path and the number of Loki tiles available. In addition, an additional rule can be added for the final battle: Before the final battle card is revealed, an equipment tile is placed over the card for each equipment that the players believe is shown on the card and then the card is placed uncovered. If the equipment is exactly what is required on the map, you have won the game.

Expenses and reception

The game The Mysterious Forest was developed by Carlo A. Rossi and published in 2016 by the game publisher Iello in a French version ( La Forêt mystérieuse ), a German and an English version ( The Mysterious Forest ). The graphic design of the game and also the character come from Daniel Lieske , who, as the creator of the Wormworld saga, created the character of Jonas and his world as a graphic novel , in which this game is embedded. The implementation of this idea was also recognized by the jury of the children's game of the year:

“This comic adaptation fascinates from the beginning to the fight against the final boss - with its atmospheric density, the fantastic story and the atmospheric graphics. Regardless of the difficulty level: You can only reach your goal with luck and brains; the tension remains high. The design is absolutely contemporary, the game principle is timeless - memory performance becomes a shared experience. "

In 2017, The Mysterious Forest was nominated for the children's game of the year critics award together with the games ICECOOL and Captain Silver . In the same year, the game was also included on the list of nominations for Graf Ludo , a prize for the best game graphics of the year. In addition, it was recognized as one of three game hits for children in 2017 at the Austrian game of games .

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g game instructions The mysterious forest ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2
↑ Versions of The Mysterious Forest in the BoardGameGeek game database; accessed on June 18, 2017.
↑ In the beginning there was a sketch. Press release from Hutter Trage GmbH & Co. KG; accessed on June 18, 2017.
↑ ^a ^b ^c The mysterious forest on the pages of the Spiel des Jahres eV; accessed on June 18, 2017.
↑ Graf Ludo 2017 - The selection list ( memento of the original from October 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2 archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; Retrieved June 26, 2017.