Lifeboats by Z-Man Games
I wanted to write a brief review of a game I recently discovered via one of Scott Nicholson's Vlogs. The game is Lifeboats and it is an English reprint of the German game 'Rette Sich Wer Kann' (Each Man for Himself) by Z-Man Games. For those people who aren't familiar with Z-Man I suggest you look into the company. They produce high quality games at very fair prices. In fact, I just picked up the game Ubongo by Z-Man the other day, and I will certainly be writing a review of that game in the near future.
The Details
Lifeboats is a game for 3-6 players that can be played in 90 minutes. It will not play well with children as the negotiation aspect of the game can lead to specific players being ganged up on (this is ok for adults but you can probably see where it could be a problem for children). Also, the game doesn't lend itself to being played with adults and children as an adults ability to manipulate children would certainly become evident.
Game Bits
When you open up your Lifeboat box you are in for a big treat. I consider these to be among the best components that I've found in a game. The full colour game board is wonderful to look at and is complimented by seven very solid wood boats and numerous wood leak markers. Each player also gets a set of wood pawns to represent his sailors and a set of voting cards that have been produced on high quality stock. If I have one criticism of the game bits (and I do) it has to do with the pawns. Each players has two types of pawns available to him that represent either standard sailors or a captain...the problem is that it is very difficult to tell the two types of pieces apart. To be fair this is more an annoyance than a big problem in the game.
Game Play
I'm not going to get into the specifics of how each turn works (I would suggest watching the boardgameswithscott episode if that is what your after) but I will give you a general idea of what the game play entails. Very simply put Lifeboats is a negotiation game and everything that happens in the game occurs as a result of your ability to manipulate the players around you. Each turn players vote on things such as which boats will move, leak and which sailors will be thrown overboard. All the negotiation is done publicly and then votes are cast using cards. The goal of the game then becomes to have your own sailors make it on a boat to the islands which await you at the end of the board. Victory points are scored and a winner is declared.
Variant: One variant that you will probably want to use can be found in the German version of the game and is called the stick rule. This rule calls for a stick to be passed around the game board and gives the holding player the right to end all negotiation at any moment. This is of course a powerful tool as it allows each player to end any conversation that may result in them being placed in a bad position. This rule is a must as it tends to keep the flow of the game moving and builds in a little bit of strategy that is a nice addition to the overall experience.
Final Thoughts
I really enjoy this game and would recommend it to any group that wants an activity that will encourage social interaction. That being said I feel that I should also include a warning: The problem with a game that is so dependent on negotiation is that it does require a good group for it to be fun. If Lifeboats doesn't work for you it is probably just that the personality of your group doesn't lend itself to the game. The truth is that this a game where you can gang up on people and if you are playing with someone who might take that personally then you may want to stay away from this.
Overall I give Lifeboats 9 out of 10. It is among my favorite group games.
Canadian Gamer (Jason)
