Indiana Jones: Sands of Adventure turns Raiders into a party game

Every Indiana Jones movie has a moment when a fight breaks out and things quickly spiral out of control. Perhaps a man with a big sword stands in his way before he finds Indy’s companions. Maybe a clean escape in a minecart turns into a deadly chase. Or a dogfight with the Messerschmitt might crash land when someone accidentally shoots through the biplane’s tail. No matter how unfavorable the situation, Indy and the gang always find a way to win the day, usually through teamwork and improvisation.

It truly is an action-packed moment from Funko Games. Indiana Jones: Sand Adventure I will try to reproduce it with a board game. I usually avoid products that use a sand timer, but in this case it’s absolutely critical to the pacing and tension of the game.

of adventure sandwith 2 to 4 players each taking on the role of the following characters: Raiders of the Lost Ark — Indiana Jones, Marion Ravenwood, Sarah El Cahil, Marcus Brody. At the heart of this experience is an adaptation of the classic matching card game. Uno, players match colored cards using symbols such as hats and shovels instead of numbers. If your team can play enough attack cards before the timer runs out, they win. But like Indiana Jones’ most chaotic action sequences, there are many complications players have to deal with.

First, the game board itself is randomly generated from seven double-sided tiles, each with a different effect. That means you can’t rely on the same strategy for each game, or even every round. Second, enemies become stronger with each subsequent stage. Colonel Dietrich, for example, is a really pushy person compared to Major Tote. Then his rival explorer Rene Belloq comes into play with considerable power.

Photo: James Paul Correia Photo/Funko Games

Finally, that big old sand timer looms over everything. At various points in the game, the player must drop plastic gems into a bucket above a timer. That extra weight will eventually topple the timer, resetting it and instantly starting the final phase of the battle. What was just a casual little strategy card game suddenly turns into a full-blown yell when everyone at the table gets their attention, shouts advice in the form of cards left and right in front of the timer, and starts throwing punches. lose. It’s a lot of fun and makes this game attractive for the whole family.

As with nearly all of Funko’s board games, the quality of the products here is excellent, especially for a $29.99 mass-market offering. The miniatures are large and full of character, and the art is more than just reused movie stills. From Marion’s witty smile to Marcus’ flashy jab with a fountain pen, every image feels lovingly crafted. My only gripe is that some of the minis that came with the Polygon set are a little warped, but it’s not a bit terrible and careful repositioning can’t fix it.

discoverable Indiana Jones: Sand Adventure Sold exclusively at Target, both in stores and online.

Indiana Jones: Sand Adventure It was reviewed using a pre-release copy provided by Funko Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn a commission on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.