‘Forbidden Sky’ Cooperative Board Game
You’ve escaped Forbidden Island, you’ve survived Forbidden Desert…what’s left to do? Take to the skies, duh!
Matt Leacock’s third entry in the Forbidden co-op adventure board game saga, Forbidden Sky: Height of Danger, brings you to a mysterious platform floating 7,000 feet in the sky within a massive lightning storm. You and your fellow adventurers are tasked with mapping the terrain and wiring together a real electrical circuit, thereby powering and launching the big rocketship (it really does launch off the board) so you can escape before you get struck by lightning or blown off the platform.
(By the by, I’ve always loved board games that do stuff like this. As a kid I spent hours repeatedly assembling and running the Rube Goldbergian contraption from Mouse Trap, and would probably still do it today if I owned a copy.)
Here’s an overview of Forbidden Sky’s story from the official rules booklet (PDF):
Your flying machine is about to dock at a secret power platform that floats 7,000 feet above the ground. As you descend, you catch a glimpse of a rocket poking out of the fog. If your team can power this rocket, you’ll be able to blast off with the hope of finally finding the Archean’s long-lost civilization.
In order to succeed in your mission, you will have to explore the platform and wire together all the necessary components (capacitors, lightning rods, and the launch pad) into a true electrical circuit. Your problem? The platform is in the middle of a fierce storm that threatens every move with lightning and high winds.
Will your team be able to power up the rocket before you’re electrocuted or blown off to the depths below?
…and an interesting bit of trivia further down (bold emphasis mine):
Forbidden Sky also breaks new ground for us as a publisher, as it’s our first game to include an electronic component. Inventor Matt Leacock created such a compelling mechanism with building a circuit that we felt it warranted breaking our long-held rule of not publishing games with batteries. Hopefully, you’ll agree that the payoff is electrifying!
Watch the game’s, uh, surprisingly epic trailer:
The rocket runs on three 1.5V button cell (LR44) batteries, which they do include but I’m linking more here in case you want extras.
Get Forbidden Sky for $28 on Amazon.