The Fog: Escape from Paradise Preview

I don’t know about you, but I love a good trip to the beach. I like to lounge in the warm sand, play games and sports on the shoreline, and swim in the wavy water. Admittedly, I do have some irrational fears about the beach – shark attacks, stepping on a crab or stingray, etc. – but these hazards never come from the land…..but what if they did?? Well, that’s where The Fog comes in.

For generations, your village has thrived on its bountiful island. One day, a mysterious Fog settles over part of the island. Any people sent inside to explore it have never come back. And day by day, it creeps ever closer to your village. It’s only a matter of time before the Fog envelopes the entire island! You and your fellow islanders must make a break for the shore to board the limited rescue boats and leave this doomed island. Your village isn’t the only one on the island, though, so you have to find the quickest path to ensure you can reach safety! Can you out-maneuver the rival villages and find freedom, or will you be swallowed up by the ever-growing Fog?

Disclaimer: We were provided with a copy of the game for the purposes of this preview. What you see pictured are the finalized components. We do have the Deluxe Edition, so some of the components are a bit fancier than the general retail version of the game. Also, I do not intend to rehash the entire rulebook, but rather provide a general overview of the gameplay and mechanics. For a more in-depth look, check out the rulebook or grab a copy of the game from your FLGS. -L

The Fog: Escape from Paradise (referred to simply as The Fog for the remainder of this preview) is a game of strategy, grid movement, and variable powers in which players are attempting to get all of their Islanders onto the rescue boats before the Fog overtakes them. Played over a series of rounds, players will be taking turns moving their Islanders across the board to their specific rescue boats. The game ends when either all Islanders have made it onto the rescue boats, or the Fog has reached the shoreline.

To setup for the game, decide which kind of game you wish to play (Standard, Flex, Medium, or Large) and place the corresponding Beach Board in the center of the table. Populate it with the appropriate Water Tiles as well, and place the Boat Scoring tokens and Preparation Bonus tokens in their spaces on the board. Each player receives a Movement Point Track, 2 Player Markers, 2 Counters, and a number of Discs (varies by player count) in their chosen color. Place the Fog marker on its track on the board, and place the wall of Fog beneath the board. Set out the Turn Order board, and determine the player order as described in the rules. Place the Obstacles and Islander tokens out on the board, as described in the rules. The game is now ready to begin! Pictured below is the setup for a 2-player Standard game. (In the 2-player game, each player plays 2 different colors)

The game is broken down into 3 phases: Draft Islanders, Move Islanders, and Scoring. In the Draft Islanders phase, players take turns drafting Islanders to their ‘team.’ In reverse turn order, each player will select one Islander token and place one of their player discs beneath it. This phase continues as such until all of the Islanders have been drafted. Different Islanders have special abilities, and their proximity on the board to their specific rescue boats can influence who you choose to draft.

The bulk of the game takes place in the Move Islanders phase. Following the Turn Order board, you will be moving your Islanders across the board, attempting to move them onto the rescue boats. On your turns in this phase, you will have 7 Movement Points to use (tracked on your Movement Point Track board). You can divide these Movement Points up between several Islanders if you so wish. There are 6 different ways in which Islanders can move, and each type of movement costs differing amounts of Movement Points. For example, using the Run movement costs 1 Movement Point and allows the Islander to move to any adjacent hex. Using the Jump movement costs 3 Movement Points and allows the Islander to jump over another Islander in a straight line. Certain Islanders, however, have special abilities that allow them to perform different Movements for a ‘discounted’ amount of Movement Points. For example, Islanders with the Squeeze ability can perform the Squeeze movement for 2 Movement Points instead of 4! Any Islander can be moved onto any of the 3 rescue boats, but they will score more end-game points if they board the rescue boat of their same color. Additionally, each rescue boat has specific requirements as to which kinds of Islanders can board, so you have to get your Islanders to their right spots.

At certain points in the Turn Order of the Move Islanders phase, the Fog Marker will be moved and it will trigger the wall of Fog. The wall of Fog will move up one row on the game board, overtaking any Islanders still there. Those Islanders are considered to be lost, and will count as negative points at the end of the game. So you’ve got to get all your Islanders moving – watch out for stragglers! The game continues in this fashion, with players taking turns moving their Islanders, until either the wall of Fog has reached the shoreline, or no players have Islanders left to move. This triggers the end of the game, and we move to the Scoring phase.

Players will now tally up their Rescue Points (RP). You score points in various ways: for Islanders who are on the rescue boat of their same color, for Islanders in specific areas of each rescue boat, for any Preparation Bonuses earned by boarding Islanders, and you lose points for Islanders lost to the Fog. Count up the totals, and the player with the highest amount of RP is declared the winner!

So that’s a pretty basic overview of the gameplay, but that’s mostly it. Everyone drafts Islanders and then moves them. The real strategy comes in maximizing your Movement Points and Islander placement on the rescue boats. Like I mentioned above, the different kinds of Movement cost different amounts of Movement Points. But some Islanders can get you a ‘discount’ for certain Movements. Can you figure out how best to use each ability/discount to move the most Islanders out of the Fog zone at the bottom of the board? In between turns, most of my time was spent looking at the board and trying to figure out possible Movements for my next turn. I could get this Islander on the rescue boat, but then this one would be right by the Fog. Should I move that one and get him to a safer space and give up boarding an Islander this turn? You’re really playing a long game here, and boy will your brain begin to burn.

Along those lines, strategy comes with Islander placement on the rescue boats. Any Islander can technically board any boat, but more points come with matching colors. Are you willing to burn an entire turn moving 1 Islander across the board simply to get on the matching boat? Or should you board them on the nearest boat, and save the rest of your Movement Points to advance another Islander? And every type of Islander has specific spaces on each boat – you can’t just throw anyone anywhere. This game really is all about overarching strategy, and although the mechanical gameplay is simple, the strategic gameplay is not.

One unique thing that I really liked about The Fog was the Turn Order board. In most games, the turn order starts with one player and then moves in (usually) clockwise order. Although this Turn Order begins that way, it quickly diverts from that pattern. After each player’s turn, you move the Turn Order tracker following the arrows on the board, and that tells you the next player. Sometimes it’ll skip one player and move to the next, and sometimes a player may even get 2 turns in a row! It’s just something really neat that keeps you on your toes, as you’re not always after the same player every time. One thing I didn’t like has to do with the 2-player rules specifically. In a 2-player game, each player plays 2 colors. But at the end of the game, instead of totaling both colors to get one final score, you total each color individually. And from there, only your lowest score counts. That just doesn’t sit well with me, because it’s nearly impossible to keep both of your colors evenly matched. Sometimes starting game placements and how you did in the drafting phase can leave one color behind. And try as you might, you can’t get that one to catch up with your other. So even if you do maximize and strategize really well with one color, the other will bring you down. If you’ve spent the entire game playing 2 colors, why not add their totals instead of now pretending that they are separate groups? The rulebook does suggest for ‘family and casual gamers’ to total both colors, and that’s the way I will definitely play. It just makes more sense.

I’ll touch on components quickly. I do have the Deluxe Edition of the game, and I think what makes it deluxe are the 3D obstacle tokens. Instead of cardboard, they are plastic, which is pretty neat. The player discs that sit beneath the Islander tokens are also this cool plastic, and it makes the game feel fancy. The scoring tokens, Islanders, boards, and wall of Fog are nice thick cardboard that definitely will hold up for a long time. All of the wooden cubes and discs are also high quality. The artwork on the boards is thematic, although simple, and the Islander tokens are minimalistic but clear with their iconography. All in all, a really well-produced game!

So how does The Fog fare for me? It’s a bit heavier than I’m used to, but overall I enjoyed it! The gameplay is simple, but the strategy is extensive and engaging. This game does have a longer playtime, but it felt like it passed quickly because I was so immersed in the gameplay. It may not be one I bring to the table too often, but when I’m wanting something chunky, this is definitely a contender high on the list. If you want something that will burn your brain a decent amount and keep you engaged throughout, then look no further than The Fog. I’m interested in trying the Flex, Medium, and Large setups and seeing how those affect the strategy and gameplay!