GIGAMIC Hellapagos: Big Box | Cooperative Party Game for Teens and Adults | Ages 10+ | 3 to 12 Players | 20 Minutes

This game arrived in perfect condition, and it’s a joy to play with friends or family. It accommodates up to 12 players, making it ideal for larger gatherings. The rules are simple and quick to learn, which is great for getting everyone involved right away.What makes this game shine is the unique twist: it begins as a cooperative experience, but the real fun kicks in when it turns into a chaotic free-for-all! Adding to the excitement, the included expansion enhances the gameplay and keeps it fresh. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a mix of teamwork and backstabbing fun!

I am what most consider to be a serious gamer. With a few hundred games on my shelves and a love for Euros and Ameritrash alike. I bought this on a vid recommendation and my God am I glad I did.First of all the price is right and the components are great. I have never had a game that gave you actual boxes for the cards not to mentioned ones designed for the theme. And what a theme.Your cruise ship sunk and you need to survive on fish and rainwater while foraging the snake ridden jungle for wood to build a raft so everyone can escape. Not enough food or water means an island vote to kill someone off.Each turn players can take one action to either gather water, fish, or wood or scavenge the wreckage of the ship for hilariously useful items. From there it’s a co-op game until it’s not and then it’s really fun.I’ve played this with 5 different groups of various sizes and every single time it was a hit. Laughter abounds in this perfect party game.Last note. It comes with the expansion. Play with it from the beginning it adds a lot.

It is extremely fun to tactfully work together while also developing your own contingency plan! Just enough random chance and decision making power!

I love this game for groups of 6-12

I've owned and played over 700 games since I started in the hobby 8-9 years ago.I can say that in my personal collection that is currently on the shelves there may be only two games that are semi-cooperative, let alone mess with others directly.OVERVIEW:Work together to collect fish, water, and wood for the raft...then you start voting to eliminate and exile others from the island.Players will need a raft, each, to escape the island...but resources are scarce and there isn't enough to allow everyone to survive long enough in order to have a raft for everyone.What do you do? Take advantage of others so you can get ahead. Duh!GAMEPLAY:Very easy to teach.I think if expectations are set up front, then this can work with gamers and non-gamers alike and everyone will have fun.This is semi-cooperative, meaning players will get messed with (even killed and killed often).IF you have a gaming group that is "too nice", then this core game mechanic of, doing to others before it's done to you, will make the overall game fall flat.VARIETY:Yes, lots of card items that you can play at any time.And how you choose to use each item is up to you!Especially since this is the big box version, we get more card variety.TIME COMMITMENT:There is a "timer" in the form of a deck of cards.At some point (you kind of need to start early instead of later) folks will want to work together to make a raft.But there are many variables/forces at work that encourage players to be more and more aggressive with their fellow survivors.Regardless of the pressures or the numbers of players the game can often last around 30-minutes.SCALABILITY:Even with up to 12 players (I only played 9), it doesn't take that much longer.I appreciate how I can play with a smaller group or a "party" group and we can still play this 2-3 times in an hour or two.PLAYER ELIMINATION:Yes, there is player elimination.Now two points on this even if you don't like this game mechanic:1. The game plays true to time and so it rarely lasts longer than 30 minutes.2. There are game variants included to bypass player elimination but have other interesting/fun events happen instead.OTHER BIG BOX BONUSThe addition of the Event Cards and the Character Cards is a lot of fun and well worth learning to play the game from the get-go with these cards. There is hardly a noticeable added complexity when using these cards, but a definite added fun factor.CONSAll the above are pretty much PROS for me, but some things that bugged me (not deal breakers)1. The timing on several cards is unclear. I had to google several times what the board game community felt is the "correct" way to play certain cards and when. And some things I simply couldn't find enough of a community to comment on.2. Some of the rule book wording is too abstract that even with three of us reading it we could interpret some actions three different ways.3. Some players (my wife) will want an objective card or goal that will prompt them to kill other players (she refused to kill me when we played on my birthday...even though I was the obvious threat to the team's survival); but that doesn't exist in this game. Killing may seem too arbitrary for some and they would rather be told they have to regardless how necessary it is. It's easier to blame it on an objective card vs. logic or "just cause I can".4. Scalability and time commitment get challenged if you have one or more analysis paralysis (AP) players; who need to get consensus on every decision. It really draws the game out.OVERALL:My regular gaming group doesn't really like games with a "take that" element or player elimination (at least not too early in a game versus closer to the end of a game is a bit more tolerable).With that said, we always play with the Voodoo card to help offset player elimination. Not to mention even if you're dead, it's interesting to watch what others are doing/politicking to see who comes out as the survivor(s) in the end.This game is still fun for my group and I think it is because everyone goes into the game with the expectation that it WILL come down to kill or be killed...nothing personal, it's survival.Fun game. Very High player interaction. Well worth checking out.

Fun for a large group or a small group.

Played with my friends and had a great time. Easy to understand rules. This game is lots of fun I recommend it to everyone.

Instructions take about 15 min. Game really works with a lively bunch, particularly if their are any islanders who are less than concerned with the welfare of their fellow survivors.