I think I’ve talked about this before, how pretty often if a reviewer is really high on a game and they can sell me on it, I’ll track it down and try it. Now they need to sell me on the game, give me the hook as to why it’s good. Adventure Land is one of those games where Tom Vasel likes it, but a lot of other people are less interested in it. But does Adventure Land have that one good hook to draw me in.

How To Play Adventure Land from Haba

Adventure Land is a game of collecting items, whether those are swords, herbs, companions or gold. And then you fight monsters. In the box there are three different scenarios. But that basic element is true throughout the scenarios. The other rule is that you can only move your adventurers down and to the right. So as you play, swords, herbs, gold, any of them might pop up behind you and will you be able to get them?

That’s the main hook of the game. You play a set of adventurers who only move in certain ways, down and to the right. But not all the items start out on the board. You flip out more cards throughout the game to place more items. So players have a changing landscape. And sometimes everything starts on the far side of the board, so what do you do there. Do you push an adventurer across the board to grab them knowing they won’t collect much more? Or do you wait it out scoring fewer points?

Are There Enough Decisions?

Let me start out by reminding people, this is a Haba game. Haba tends to make kids games in their yellow boxes. But also, this is a Kramer and Kiesling, the two designers, game and not a Haba yellow box. It is meant more as that family weight game. So it requires that it’s simple enough for kids, but not so simple that adults won’t find it interesting.

It’s more Land than Adventure

I’m not sure how well Adventure Land fits into that area. I think that it is going to be interesting to kids, and probably more interesting to people who don’t play a lot of games. For myself, I play a lot of games, so it is less interesting. It is less interesting because the decision space is very limited.

The decision around which adventurer I move and how far I go, I like it. But the decision around, is this a good thing to pick up or not. That is less interesting. The randomness as things come out, it could be interesting to adjust to, but it feels basic. I don’t feel like I am making an exciting decision in the game. I joked in the title it is more land than adventure, but it kind of feels like that. How do I use the land best to get points, not what adventure am I going on.

The decision around which adventurer I move and how far I go, I like it. But the decision around, is this a good thing to pick up or not. That is less interesting. The randomness as things come out, it could be interesting to adjust to, but it feels basic. I don’t feel like I am making an exciting decision in the game. I joked in the title it is more land than adventure, but it kind of feels like that. How do I use the land best to get points, not what adventure am I going on.

The Game Length

The game also has a 10 by 10 grid. I think all the spots have cards, so that’s 100 cards. That means as you flip out a couple at a time, it isn’t a fast game. It is a lot of turns and a lot of small moves that aren’t that exciting. If the game played with half the cards each time and you raced to grab the things, that’d be more intriguing. But because it plays with everything you know eventually cards will be flipped. So it is just a longer game, again, with more land than adventure.

What Works in Adventure Land?

But it isn’t all just okay. And I want to be clear, I think that the game is just okay with it’s decision making. I think I am just not the target audience. This, with a more interesting name and probably more interesting cover, would be a great game to sell in Target. It does what it should to create something new for a introductory game, down and to the right, while not being too complex.

I also like the scenarios in the game. They offer minor tweaks to the rules. It isn’t like any element of them is too complex, but they add just a little bit in. In a scenario you want to get to towns. Another scenario your goal is to fight monsters for your bulk of points. They aren’t massively different, but they are unique.

Who Is It For?

I think I’ve covered this, but I really want to lean into it. This game is going to be a solid game for people who want an introductory game. It should sit on the shelf with a Catan, Ticket to Ride, and be maybe even slightly more family friendly than those.

But I also think it has a shorter shelf life than those. The main compelling item in the game is how the tiles come out. Where are they going to show up on the board, and what strategy do I have for them. But there just isn’t enough variety to make games feel massively different. So it’s a game a family will play and enjoy for a year or two and then get set aside, in my opinion.

Final Thoughts on Adventure Land

This is a game that I wanted to like more than I did. Not just because Tom Vasel likes it, I got no issue with having a massively different take on a game than a review. Look at his review of Super Fantasy Brawl and my love for it. Instead, for me, I also wanted to like Adventure Land because of that main hook. Often times a hook of something like “down and to the right” movement is enough to make an interesting game.

I won’t belabor it, but it just doesn’t do enough with that. It’s about the spatial movement in the game, and that is it. For a family with a 7-9 near old, that might be enough. For me, it is just a bit dull, and I think with other Haba games out there, they are better. It’s not a bad game, it just doesn’t make me want to play it again.

My Grade: D+
Casual Grade: B-
Gamer Grade: D

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