Mike Hulsebus | Contributor

After two weeks of reviews about games that aren't my type of game, I'm excited to have the opportunity to talk about Incan Gold. Incan Gold is a game about trying to loot an Incan tomb of its treasures without falling victim to its many hazards. As the explorers get laden down with jewels, they have to weigh their options: should they bring their treasure back to the safety of their camp, or should they travel further and risk losing all of their treasure to a mummy?

Let's take a look at the game play to see how this theme gets translated into a game and what it is that makes this game so fun.

Incan Gold, behind the theme, is a game about pressing your luck. Players will reveal cards one a a time from a deck that has 15 treasure cards and 15 bad cards (three each of five different hazard cards). When a treasure card comes up, all the players split the treasure as best as they can: so, for example, if a treasure cards has 13 gems on it and there are three players, each player gets four gems and one gem remains on the treasure card.

Between each card being revealed, each player chooses and then simultaneously reveals whether they are going deeper into the tomb or whether they are going back to camp. A player that goes back to camp gets to bank all of his money by placing it in his tent where it is safe. He also, on his way out of the tomb, can pick up any treasure left on the cards. If two players leave at the same time, they will have to split the treasure on the way out.

In the scenario pictured, if another lava burst or spiders were to come up again, everyone that was still in the tomb would lose all the gems they were holding.

Mike Hulsebus | Contributor

Before each card is revealed, players decide whether they will continue deeper in the tomb or whether they will leave and safely tuck away their treasure. Their cards are simultaneous revealed after being chosen.

Mike Hulsebus | Contributor

Why wouldn't a player keep exploring and capturing more and more treasure? Well, if two of the same hazard card ever show up, everyone still in the tomb loses all of the gems they have captured thus far. So if single mummy card comes up, nothing happens. If then a snake shows up, nothing happens. But then if either a second mummy or second snake comes up, that ends the round. Play goes for five rounds, and whoever ends with the most jewels under his or her tents wins.

One of the great things about the game is the interesting choices that arise. The game simultaneously is giving you incentives to both leave the tomb and to go forward. If I'm one of the first players to leave, I get to grab a bunch of treasure on the way out while safely banking my treasure in my tent. At the same time, if I go deeper into the tomb, more players will leave, and I'll get an increasingly larger share of the treasure. The possibility of being the last one in the tomb and drawing that amazing 17-gem card keeps pushing players forward.

Mike Hulsebus | Contributor

The other great thing about the game is that it's very accessible. It's quick to explain, doesn't have too many rules and is engaging. It plays from two to eight players and doesn't have a long play time, so it works in a wide variety of circumstances and with many different groups of people. Everyone I have played this game with enjoyed it.

Readers interested in this sort of game might also check out Cloud 9, a game I've looked at before that is so similar to Incan Gold that you shouldn't own both. I think Cloud 9 might be a slighty better game, but if I had to choose to buy only one game, I would buy Incan Gold solely for the fact that it plays two to eight players rather than just three to six.

Mike Hulsebus | Contributor

Incan Gold has been a real hit for me; everyone that I've played it with has enjoyed it. It's quick but interesting, lending it itself to a many different gaming situations and making it a game that I think belongs in most every game collection.

Mike Hulsebus has recently realized he's not as fast at simple division as he would have expected. He can be reached at mikehulsebus@gmail.com