Game review 30: Fireball Island: Crouching Tiger Hidden Bees!
Flickable tigers and bees-y balls make up much of this Fireball Island expansion
To bee, or not to bee. That is the question for every Fireball Island fan when considering whether to get this expansion.
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the stings and flowers (Ok, this a bit laboured now - ed) of outrageous fortune, or to take arms on an island against a sea of troubles that already includes giant spiders, venomous snakes, and a sentient, angry, rotating fireball-spitting volcano.
Yes, here’s your chance to cover Fireball Island completely in bees, just like Nicolas Cage gets in his comic retelling of the Wicker Man. How’s this done? Well, by picking up a gigantic plastic yellow hive and tipping a load of yellow marbles down Vul-Kar the anthropomorphic mountain’s gullet. Obviously.
Like the Last Adventurer expansion’s snakes, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that the marbles aren’t more bee like. Or, if nothing else, there’d be a little dexterity flicking action from a holder dangling from the island’s palm trees - a more likely place for a hive than a volcano’s gob.
But actually, the multi-ball effect that this brings, causing chaos on the island and knocking down friends and foes alike, is one of the most fun aspects of an already great game and worth the price tag alone.
And both me and my opponent (my daughter) agree on that one. And, unlike the snakes, they can cause damage across the whole island, not just one section of it.
Oh, and there’s also a plastic tiger that’s like one of those jumping frogs in Christmas crackers. You can aim at your opponents to gain their treasure. This is also pretty cool and adds an element of luck/skill (delete as to whether you believe you can measure competency in these matters).
Less good are the honey pots dotted around the island. They earn a few points traded off for some movement restriction, but don’t really add a great deal to the game.
But, in summary: 🐝🐝🐝🐝
E’s review
What do you like best about this?
“Really good. I give it a thumbs up. It’s so nice together with the bees. The tiger is very nicely made.”
Is it difficult?
“Yeah it’s tricky”
Marks out of 10?
“102”
My review
Set-up time
A minimal amount on top of the slog of getting the rest of the island together.
Price
About £15. Which seems a bit more reasonable than the Last Adventurer.
Practicality
It’s a little box that won’t take up much room.
Fun for parents?
I don’t see how any gamer of any age can turn down shoving a load of marbles down Vul-Kar, or flicking a tiger at your opponents.