Some time around 2002 I was but a wee lass excited to see Spiderman (the real one with Toby McGuire) in theaters. It was around this time I became somewhat conscious of existence of Daniel Defoe as an author and there was a brief but notable interlude in which I believed Willam Dafoe and Daniel Defoe to be the same person. Fast forward to high school, 2006-ish, where I picked up a copy of Robinson Crusoe for the first time and experienced a rush of confidence in my now rock solid knowledge that Daniel Defoe is NOT Willam Dafoe. The Green Goblin did not write Robinson Crusoe, for better or for worse. Now that I’m in my early 30s, it only seems appropriate that I should add another connection to Robinson, in the form of Dieson Crusoe the board game.
It was this very game that ended my longstanding crowdfunding virginity, as a matter of fact. And I couldn’t be happier! Dieson Crusoe is a delightful little game that was part of the ‘Solo of the Month’ series by Gabe Barrett. The original designers are Jinhee Han and Heewon Kang, I believe. I really want to commend them for such a fun little solo game. I have played 6 games so far and there isn’t one moment I haven’t enjoyed. It takes a small amount of table space and I can finish a game in about 45 minutes. The components are nice with the dice, meeples and resources made out of wood. The microfiber game boards are wonderful and the print on them is very clear. And the card quality is decent, especially because there’s no shuffling in the game. For such a small game, it is very visually attractive.
I haven’t played Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island because the discussion around its difficulty has always intimidated me. I like to win sometimes, what can I say? So far I’m 3 W and 3 L with Dieson. That strikes a nice balance in my opinion. It’s not so easy that I’m crushing every game but also not impossible. I’ll give you a quick rundown on the mechanics as I don’t see any other reviews on here doing that job for me.
You roll 3 dice and then use the amounts rolled to take 3 actions. You will use the dice to move your meeple around the action wheel and can decide to either take the action you land on, craft one of your Tool cards if you meet the requirement, or “play with your friend”, which is your “Wilson” of the island. This friend will eventually give you small and sometimes bigger bonuses. After using your dice, all the bad things happen. You have to eat food, then deal with the weather, and then get raided every night by wild animals. Tough life out there on the island. The actions on the “action wheel” are where most of the action happens. Depending on the space you land on, you can hunt for food, you move along the map, you gain resources and health, and craft your shelter. There are cards that give you quests and if you complete the chosen quest for the game, you win! This usually requires you make it to a specific area on the map, craft specific tools, or hunt specific animals in a specified number of days. The hunting mechanic in particular is my favorite. You usually need to have tools crafted to boost your ability so it’s a constant thought in your mind, as hunting for food naturally would be when you’re stranded on an island.
All that to say…I like it! As long as you’re clear when you’re going in that this has nothing to do with the Green Goblin, it’s worth the play. This will definitely take the place of Friday for me. As great as that game is, I’ve played it to death and I’m glad to have something fun and new to enjoy in my solo gaming time. I’m disappointed now however, as I’ve missed out on all the other ‘Solo Game of the Month’ pledges. Hopefully there will be ways to get copies of all of these in the future!
Beau 