Yesterday we've played two new games, and they both were a great success.
- Incan Gold (or Diamant): push your luck cave explorers. The mechanics are easy to understand by everyone and the game flows very fast. We felt the game really forces you to think about how greedy you can afford to be. We also decided on the houserule of really suspicious explorers: when some go back they split the available gold in each room, instead of considering all that is available in the caves.
- Hellapagos: cooperative castaways, for a while. This is a bit more complex and requires more focus, but with the right people it can be really funny. Everyone begins with a lot of good intentions, but when the rations start to get low and the hurricane close, curiously everyone starts looking for guns and bullets. This game probably requires a very specific mix of players, as being all cooperators make it boring, but selfish backstabbers can't survive alone.
We played both games with 4 players. For Incan Gold it we think 5/6 would be the best. Hellapagos maybe 6/7, more if you want complete chaos.
Some funny things that happened
- In Incan Gold, a lucky explorer has been left alone in the cave almost since the beginning, and managed to survive with ~20 gold and 4 idols.
- In Hellapagos, a castaway played selfishly all the game and in the end boarded the raft by stealing the conch (which made him immune to being voted out) from another player.
Camel Up is always the FIRST game guests play at my house. It's real easy to learn, and the randomness prevents experienced players from dominating the noobs. It's my go-to gateway game!