12

I realize chances are slim, but I figure it's worth a shot asking, nonetheless. It's a game that I've played as a very young child and have moved countries since (but I'm pretty sure I've lost all pieces as well, long time ago). I'll try to provide as much details as I can dredge up from memory.

  • The game was played by several players (max of 4, I believe). The end goal / winning conditions, I cannot remember, unfortunately, but I do believe it was each player for his own (and against the rest).
  • The game board wasn't small, think Monopoly sized and up.
  • Players moved around with dice rolls.
  • The setting was in an jungle overrun temple.
  • It consists of multiple pieces besides the players and a flat board, since there were turning bridges depending on certain conditions. These bridges were actual separate pieces (a cardboard rectangle on a wooden button, but still) which added a hint of 3D to the game.
  • It's at least 20 years old (played late 1990s - early 2000s).

I've made a quick image rendition from memory, for its general overlay, but take it with a hefty pinch of salt: enter image description here

  1. This is the general path the game takes, it's a road around a pool of water with platforms inside, reachable by;
  2. The turning bridges. These I remember were 1 square wide and are turning depending on certain conditions in the game (and there may have been crossroad / + shaped 'bridges' as well), and could be turned back, to prevent a player from crossing it, by;
  3. 'Pressure' plates around the path that when stepped on control a particular bridge's rotation.
  4. Statues, that I recall as being semblances of Aztec statues, as to their function (if any), unfortunately - nothing there.
  5. A certain platform stood out among the others, and I believe it was the center one, if that's where the game goal was residing, I draw blanks.
  6. Each platform had a certain reason to be visited, but again, what that might have been, has been lost with time.

I wish I could remember more (and if I do, I will most certainly update the question). I apologize if I'm asking too much, but the memory recently got under my skin, and I'd love to figure out what it was at least, even if unable to buy it anywhere. I hope my hazy drawings and description do not confuse a kind soul that might actually know what the game is.

The game is not:
Fireball Island
Curse of the Idol - But it looks VERY close to it in terms of mechanics, settings, and I believe, gameplay - an excellent reference point. One main difference would be that most additional components were made of cardboard (like the game board walls in this one).

Improve this question
9
  • 1
    When you say it's at least 20 years old, were you playing this in the 1990s? 1980s?
    – LeppyR64
    Mar 10, 2021 at 19:04
  • 1
    Fireball Island?
    – LeppyR64
    Mar 10, 2021 at 19:20
  • 1
    Did a plate actually rotate, or did it slide into an empty space, carrying its pawns with it, thereby leaving an equivalent empty space behind?
    – Robert Miller
    Mar 10, 2021 at 19:21
  • 1
    @LeppyR64 Not Fireball Island, no. The 'plates' were part of the game board, I believe. So they are just a special drawn square among the rest. The board itself was flat, it was the 'bridges' that were placed around and they were made of two 'parts'. A checkered piece of cardboard and a wooden circle underneath to 'support' it in the middle.
    – Derptastic
    Mar 10, 2021 at 19:36
  • 2
    «A checkered piece of cardboard and a wooden circle underneath to 'support' it in the middle.» Did that wooden circle underneath allow the piece of cardboard to slide or to rotate?
    – Robert Miller
    Mar 10, 2021 at 19:47

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
6
+50

So this has been puzzling me for a few hours, but I think it might be Curse of the Idol? This seems to fit a lot of the criteria you outlined - Aztec themed, released in the 90's, right player count, rotating platforms etc.

Improve this answer
1
  • Wow! It does fit all the elements indeed! Going through its photos I was thinking that maybe I'm just remembering everything wrong and it is the one! But on further scrutiny I firmly believe it's not. It's too 'technical' in its pieces - there weren't so many (if any) plastic components in what I had, and what there were - were made of cardboard. Also my memory of the bridges that were in the game, is probably what I'm most certain of in the whole post, simply because they were some of the last pieces remaining for a long time in my toy box. But it is very VERY similar.
    – Derptastic
    Mar 11, 2021 at 16:49
3

Going through Board Game Geek again, I've found a few other potential candidates, which share the right player count, have an adventure / exploration theme and were released around the 1990s. I've loosely ordered them from most to least promising:

  • Caves and Claws: has bridge-like tiles that seem to fit your description. There's some Central American theming as well;
  • Treasures and Trapdoors: has some of the elements described and has a strong exploration theme, albeit Egyptian;
  • Tunnel Rats: The Escape From TERROR CAVE: this one most closely match your board diagram, but given it has distinctive rat miniatures, I suspect you would have remembered those!
Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Apologies for the delay - None of these, sadly. Curse of the Idol is still the closest reference point. SO close, in fact, that the game I speak of could be a literal knock-off, or slightly modified version of it (I don't know if it matters, but I owned it in a post soviet country, so I'm not sure about the worldwide availability of the game - possible, but also might not be). Nevertheless, I will most certainly award you the bounty for the tremendous effort and time you've spent trying to help me out on this, and for the amazing reference point.
    – Derptastic
    Mar 28, 2021 at 10:42

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .