Costa Rica Board Game

I didn't have super high hopes for this game because it seemed a little gimmicky- targeted towards tourists who love going to Costa Rica. However, I was pleasantly surprised! We've played it with several groups of friends (who haven't traveled to Costa Rica) and they've all enjoyed it. We saw almost all the animals in this game in the wild ourselves, so it prompts some fun memories and stories.

Costa Rica just replaced Can’t Stop as my favorite “Push your luck” game. The rare PYL game that all players are involved all the time.

We've really enjoyed this game with the family. It takes about 30 minutes to play. It has some neat elements. Different from most strategy games which can be a nice change!

Costa Rica, from Mayair Games, is a light push-your-luck game set in the rainforests of the tropical island. At the beginning of the game 2 to 5 players create the map using hexagons which represent jungles, swamps, and mountains. From the five different points of the map, each player has a meeple, and each group of meeples represents an expedition. On his turn, a player can flip over a hex next to one of his meeples, then take it or pass. Everyone else has a chance to pass or take it as well. If everyone passes, the player then can flip over the another hex adjacent to the first hex, and the process is repeated. If at any time some says they will take the flipped tiles, the turn ends. The person who took the tiles, however, looses their meeple in that expedition. What players are attempting to gather is photographs of various animals. Some of the hex tiles will have tow animals on the back. Players will be rewarded for collecting sets of animals with points at the end of the game. Some hex tiles have mosquitos on them. The first one flipped does nothing, but if ever a second mosquito is flipped, the turn is over all flipped hexes are discarded. At the end of the game, who ever has the most points, based on their sets of animals, wins the game.Costa Rica is a fun, light, push-your-luck game that can be enjoyed by young people and adults alike. It can be a little mean, however. Players can take tiles from other players during the expedition, and that can really frustrate another player's plans. I liked that aspect a lot, but that is something parents should consider. Also, if you want to get really mean, one expedition can cut off another expedition entirely, leaving some meeples stranded and therefore removed from the game. There is player elimination, to be sure, but by the time a player has lost all of his meeples the game is nearly over- so player that are out won't be waiting long. it is a fairly short game as well- thirty minutes tops- and it is incredibly easy to learn and to teach. All told, however, Costa Rica is a really fun experience that will have you and friends and family laughing and holding their breath throughout.Review Copy Provided.

Costa Rica is a set-collection game in which you press your luck as the leader of several expeditions. The goal is to acquire a number and variety of animal photos that will earn you more points than your fellow explorers. You do this by exploring 3 types of terrain tiles (mountains, forests, costal plains), each with unique types of a common and a rare animal. Points accumulate for the number of specific animals you collect, as well as 20 bonus points for each set of all 6 different animals.The hex tiles are initially set up face-down to form a larger hexagon "board", and each player places one of their 6 explorers at each corner to form 6 group expeditions. When it's your turn to lead an expedition, you turn over a tile adjacent to your current space. You can take the revealed animal or pass, giving the next player an opportunity to take it. If everyone passes, you reveal a tile adjacent to that one, and so on until you either hit two mosquito swarms, or someone takes all of the revealed tiles from that expedition. The catch is that if you remove tiles, you also remove your explorer from that group, leaving you with only 5 and so on until all of your explorers have been removed or cut off from the rest of the board. Being the final explorer of a group can be lucrative, as you can keep pressing your luck without passing until you stop or hit a second mosquito swarm.Initially, Costa Rica seems like a light game for families or people who want shorter play that isn't too thinky. It can be both of these, but it can also be more directly competitive, especially with 4 or 5 players, where animals become scarce and a cutthroat leader with some luck can cut off multiple explorers from the board completely. Games take about 10 minutes per player, and I think it's best with 3 or 4.I like Costa Rica, but not as much as Relic Runners by the same designer. To be fair, these are different types of games despite both having rainforest/jungle exploration themes. Costa Rica is definitely faster and easier to teach and play, but the possibility of cutting off other explorers means you can end up with a runaway leader and unhappy campers. On the plus side, you get that sense of tension inherent in press-your-luck games, especially after that first mosquito shows up.

This is a brilliantly simple and fun game! I bought it based on the name alone since my family is from Costa Rica, and I am very pleased with how fun this is!

This is a push-your-luck game and it only takes 30 minutes per round, its really fun and this is a perfect game for family and friends.

A friend recommended this and I wasn't disappointed. Took about 45 minutes to get through game the first time we played. Highly recommended.

Super game, very simple set up and rules but a lot of strategy involved. It's quickly becoming a favourite and we have a lot of games to compete with! My 6 & 8 year old really enjoy this too, especially with the explorer/jungle theme!

Great family game. 7 and 5 year olds love it and often beat the grown ups. Strategy and luck both play a part in your success. Highly recommend.

Excellent

Buen juego, funciona mejor con más jugadores