Dwayne Shearill of BlackBoardGaming cites Forbidden Island as one of the first board games he got his wife to play the pair now host the YouTube channel about board games together. Each player has a different role with different abilities, as you rush around an island trying to gather four artifacts while pieces of the landscape sink beneath you. This co-op game is kid-friendly but actually fun at all ages, and introduces a number of mechanics that you’ll see in many more complex games at an easier to grasp conceptual level. If you’ve ever been curious about cooperative games like Pandemic but have felt overwhelmed by how complex they seem, Forbidden Island is an excellent first step.
