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In this article, we discuss the most crucial points to survive on the deserted island and win the Castaways scenario. You are only five points from winning the game! Ready?
Don’t be afraid of wounds
Robinson Crusoe is an engine-building game, like most of my designs. It is important for you to invest in Morale, build some Inventions, do whatever you can to build a shelter. Gaining a few wounds along should not stop or discourage you. Did you get a wound or two? Worry not, keep building Inventions and improving your Camp. It will pay off later in the game when the bad weather hits.
Mountain tile
There is a whole stack of Island tiles in the game. Three of them are Mountain type, and you must reach one of them as fast as possible. You need it for plenty of Inventions, with Fire and Axe being the most important, but also Knife will be crucial if you play 3 or 4 player variant. In the first rounds, go all-in for Exploration and keep pushing until you reach the Mountains.
Keep Morale high
The low Morale is the most common reason for deaths on the Cursed Island. No wounds from Hunting, no wounds from bad Weather, but the Morale token on -3 Morale space.
Keeping Morale high not only holds it far away from this dreadful -3 space, but you gain Determination tokens you can spend on Characters’ abilities.
Many beginners forget about these Abilities. It is a wall of text on your Player Board, and you are intimidated to read it, understand and use it.
You must use them. As we were playtesting the game, as we were tweaking the difficulty level, we were considering the use of Abilities. They are very powerful and you must learn how to take advantage of these.
Also, always check who is the next First Player and check if they have Determination tokens to pay (if Morale is down). If they don’t – prepare!
The Trap!
In the game, there is a trap. It is called Natural Shelter, and in terms of the theme, it represents Cave in the Mountains. Many of you fall into this trap – a free natural shelter is a perfect gift for the castaways, and you grab it with relief.
It’s a trap.
Don’t build a camp in the Cave. There is many events in the game and surprise game effects that force you to move your Camp to another Island tile. If you had your Camp in the Natural Shelter, you would lose it. In the middle of winter, it equals death.
Don’t fall for the trap.
Scenario Inventions
In each scenario, the specific Inventions are crucial to success. In the Castaways, the Axe will double your Wood production, and I cannot imagine winning this scenario without it and without having it as quickly as possible. The same case with the Mast – it’s free 3 Wood parts for the pile, the crucial, last 3 pieces that you will desperately need when the winter comes.
You build them, or you die on the Cursed Island frozen to death!
Post scriptum
If you want to watch the designer of the game, Ignacy Trzewiczek, talking about these points, here is a link to his video:
