The Lost Expedition: A Game of Survival in the Amazon

I love that this is a solo game. My 6 and 4 year old love to help me. It’s really hard to win and there is alot going on and a lot of stratagy in such a simple game. If you need a game to play by yourself this is THE GAME TO PLAY! it can also be played as 2 player, I’ve only done that a couole of times. My boys love the graphics on the cards. They have a snake and a jungle cat that can give you meat or injure you. They have natives that can be bad, good or indifferent depending on how you play the game. Each game is never the same so you’ve never get bored of it. I have one kid in carge of injuring the people, eating or gaining food and the bullets. The other is in charge of pulling the cards and we decide together how we want to play the cards. We all enjoy it.

The Tintin-inspired art and lettering font used in the box image of this game are what drew me to this game initially, and curiosity took over from there. Indeed, the art on the inside of the box (on all the game materials) is just as spectacular. This is the game that takes place after English explorer Percy Fawcett (recall last year's movie "Lost City of Z") vanishes in the Brazilian jungle at the turn of the century. It is a collaborative game, in which players interactively "control" (to the extent possible) three explorers who are making their way through the jungle to the Lost City of Z, aka El Dorado. Explorers face interesting challenges and must balance food supplies, ammunition, and health. Occasionally an explorer succumbs and dies along the way. If at least one explorer survives all the way to El Dorado, then all the players win. If all the explorers die before reaching El Dorado, then all the players lose. The game mechanics are ingenious, combining random elements with a good amount of player agency, so that players really do feel that they are active contributors to the outcome, not just ruled by chance. There are strategies in this game that become apparent only after a few plays, so the game promises to become even more engaging over time. I have a 9-year-old daughter and from the product description thought this game might be too complicated, but after watching a "watch it played" video on YouTube decided to go with it. The same video was very helpful in explaining the rules to my daughter, and now she's a pro!

This game is really difficult, but you can always give yourself additional advantages by increasing the amount of health your characters have at the start, or by limiting the number of movements needed to reach the end goal. I have played the game about five times, and I have only won a single time (no deviation from suggested solo rules). The game is a fairly quick play, and the strategy needed to progress is both diverse and engaging. Do not buy this game, however, if you do not like a challenge or if you believe that there should always be a way to overcome misfortune.I have found myself hopelessly lost, without any reasonable means of salvation and on the brink of disaster over and over again playing this game. Very little happens in the jungle that doesn't kill you, apparently. This really adds a sense of urgency and excitement to this game, even when playing alone. You will lose. . . a lot. The one victory I have had with this game was satisfying as a result of the dire odds.The game is not too rules heavy and the set-up is simple and quick. Gameplay is engaging and offers a lot of different challenges around the management of your few resources. There is even an element of luck that comes with the shuffling of the deck of cards, but the strategy elements do a nice job of giving you some way to balance the random nature of the card draws. In short, this game is a pretty good time without requiring hours of rule study and execution.

Great game, quick setup and a lot of fun. There is enough variability that each run should feel unique.

I've only made one attempt to reach the lost city of Z. It didn't end well.The art in this game is fantastic. The theme is cool. You play as a group of 3 explorers trying to trek through a perilous jungle and reach Z. But the jungle is harsh. There are many dangers in your path. The trick is in selecting the right cards to play, and in an order that you can survive.I've only played solo mode, but there is also a cooperative mode, and a competitive mode.The cards are huge (80x120mm), which is nice, but means that some people will find it difficult to shuffle. It also takes more table space. But the art is top notch Rin Tin Tin style, so big is nice.... But maybe they should release a pocket version?I can't really comment on the balance after only a single play. Can you usually win with skill? I don't know. Maybe luck plays a large role? I will return to the review if I ever find out. So far, it's fun. It is also really easy to scale. If you find it too difficult, there are several ways to make it easier, from making the path shorter to giving yourself more food, ammo, health, and/or explorers. So I'm saying that it doesn't have to be hard if you don't mind cheating a little.