Incan Gold

In this game you have to decide when to run and when to go forward – go on into the temple and more riches could be yours, but turn back before you meet your doom!  Each player is given two cards.  One represents proceeding into the temple, the other represents returning to camp.  Cards are flipped over, which either contain treasure or a “hazard” – something like zombies, spiders, or snakes.  Before every card players decide secretly whether they want to keep going or they want to run away.  If a treasure card is turned up, all of the players who are still going forward split the treasure equally, with the remainder staying on the card.  If a hazard turns up, it’s a warning of what’s ahead.  Get two hazards that are the same (two spider cards, or two fire cards), and the expedition is over.

Once you’ve accumulated some treasure, you want to think about running.  If you successfully escape before a hazard, you not only keep what you’ve earned, you also get to split whatever is remaining on the cards with anyone else that ran away.  Try not to run at the same time as someone else so you get all the jewels!  If you don’t leave an expedition before it ends due a hazard, you lose any treasure that you collected.  At the end of the game points are scored based on how many jewels you’ve acquired through 5 rounds.

There’s also 5 artifact cards, one that gets added to the deck before each round.  They are worth 5 jewels each, but you can’t split them with anyone else.  So in order to get them you have to be the only one who runs while an artifact is still on the path.

3-8 players.  No expansions available.  20-30 minutes.  Easy learning curve.

Becky says:
This game is surprisingly fun and addicting.  It’s easy to learn and goes really quickly, so you can finish a game in about 20 minutes.  It helps to know the people that you’re playing with too.  Is Joe usually a risk taker?  Then he’ll probably keep going into the temple.  Mary is a scaredy cat?  She’s going to be the first to run, and she’ll be greatly tempted by those artifacts.  It also shows how well you know yourself.  I’m usually pretty cautious, but sometimes when playing this game I’ll be tempted to keep going!  I find it’s more fun to gamble with fake jewels than with real money, though.  I also love the accessories in this game – the little jewels are so cute and fun to play with!  And you get little tents to keep them in, too J

Another interesting thing about this game, for me, is how different it is depending on how many people you have playing.  It can hold anywhere from 3-8, and we’ve played it with almost every number.  With more people there is a much greater chance that someone will run at the same time as you, and so your winnings will be a lot less.  I had a great strategy developed that worked really well when I played small games with 3-4 people, but it started to fail horribly once we got up to around 5 or 6.  There isn’t a ton of strategy since it’s mostly luck, but it is about making the right decisions.  And the decision will be different depending on the number of players and who you’re playing with, so that’s something to adjust to.  But it also makes it more interesting and keeps the game dynamic.

One last thing – the two cards that you flip over look very similar, so don’t make the mistake of going back to camp when you meant to go on into the temple!  It’s happened more times than you’d think.

Overall this game is a fun and easy one that’s mostly about luck and how far you’re willing to go.  It can be very suspenseful and a lot of fun.  I’ve seen players win a ton of jewels in one turn, and people that have finished the game without a single jewel in their tent.  An excellent game to play if you’re killing time while waiting for someone or if you’re just looking for something quick and easy.  8 out of 10.

Jason says:
OMG WOW THIS GAME IS SO AWESOME I AM NOT WORTHY I AM NOT WORTHY!!!
I’m sure some people are expecting me to say that, because that’s generally my level of excitement when I play Incan Gold.

It’s a game of luck and how far you’re willing to go to risk it.  The classic game Pass the Pigs is almost exactly the same thing, and yet, with the addition of one little twist, it’s a completely different experience.  I’m not going to assume you know Pass the Pigs; what it comes down to is that you’re pressing your luck alongside all the other players, and if you decide to call it quits when someone else does, you have to share the prize.  It makes the decision a lot more difficult because you have to guess the intentions of all of the up to eight players in order to maximize your gains.  I like it.

Now, one of the most exciting things is when there’s one, desperate person left hanging on to the hope that there’s still plenty to be earned in the temple.  Once you get to that place, the ultimate temptation is to keep going and win more and more.  It’s exciting because watching, you know they should stop, and yet if it’s the right person (which it probably is if they got to this in the first place) they will keep on going, and you’ll grab your hair and say, “No, you’ve gotten enough, why can’t you just settle with your small fortune!”  Maybe that’s just me.

This game is simple enough for anyone to play, and it holds up to eight people.  It’s quick and there isn’t much waiting for other people.  There’s not a lot of strategy, it really comes down to guessing what others will do, and often, that’s enough to satisfy those of you that want to overthink your decisions, but it also allows others to simply decide and not be shut out by a master strategist.

 I give this game a 9.6/10 or a 79.68/83 for the mathematically inclined.  But I think that this number is subject to change based on how willing you are to get excited about it.  Play with people who think the way you do and it will be extremely exciting.  Trying not to do what your opponents do (and often failing to avoid it) is what makes the game so fun.