“Renowned adventurer Doctor J. Robert Lucky has invited several of his closest friends for a weekend safari on his mysterious private island. But, unbeknownst to the good Doctor, everyone in the party wants to kill him,” begins the background of The Island of Doctor Lucky.
“Welcome to Isla Fortuna, an island just as dangerous as you. You’re a vengeful killer on the hunt for Doctor Lucky, and you’ve long awaited this golden opportunity to take him out,
“Why the animosity? Perhaps Doctor Lucky said or did something cruel or unforgivable to or about someone or something you love. Perhaps he ruined your dry cleaning business. Perhaps he seduced and/or betrayed your girlfriend and/or drinking buddies. Perhaps you labor under the unshakable dread that he is the secret king of the vampires. Or perhaps his cat just keeps peeing in your shrubs.
“Whatever the reason, the old man must die. But he isn’t called “Doctor Lucky” for nothing. It’s harder than ever to kill him, and this deadly manhunt promises more dangers than you can imagine.”
As you can tell by this point The Island of Doctor Lucky by designer James Ernest is a fun little romp.
While a fun theme, don’t think there isn’t some ‘meat’ here, Ernest is after all a rather well-known designer including being co-designer of my top game reviewed in 2018 Tak. He was also the man behind the predecessor of this game Kill Doctor Lucky released was back in 1996.
The Island of Doctor Lucky is based on Kill Doctor Lucky, and they have many rules in common.
In this new game your goal is simple: Kill Doctor Lucky. You can generally try to do this when you’re alone with him and no one else can see you. You can also kill him from a distance, using a hazard card.
But your goal is not easily attained because when you try to kill Doctor Lucky, his luck (cards played by other players) will usually save him.
The game is all about making attempts to get the Doctor, because while you are likely to fail early in a game, you do gain ‘strength’ in the attempt which means you are more likely to succeed the next time.
The game is in the realm of filler for me, always fun for a quick run through, but not a game worthy of an evening of play throughs.
Thanks to fellow gamers Jeff Chasse, Trevor Lyons and Adam Daniels for their help in running through this game for review.
