As you can see above, this game is well loved!
Raptor Island Card Game by Top Deck/Hayball Games
This game draws heavily from Jurassic Park in a really good way. According the game’s Kickstarter page, the game draws from Jurassic Park as mentioned, but also dinosaur pop culture from the 80’s and 90’s:
“This physical card game will feature beautiful artwork on56 cards that capture the look and feel of classic popular culture from the 80’s and 90’s. Having a game that looks as good as it plays is crucial to the success of this card game. Our artists are taking inspiration from intellectual properties such as Godzilla, Dinotopia (Books), King Kong and of course Jurassic Park.”
Raptor Island Card Game Key Features
- 8 Years and above (I’ve played it just fine with younger players than this).
- 20 minutes for an average game. This could be 5 minutes or 45 minutes depending on the amount of players and dynamics of the game, as it can easily turn in one player’s favour very quickly or carefully laid plans ruined by a turn of events.
- 2-5 Players. It can be enjoyed by both being played by a pair or more, and if more people play, you can really play on the events and turn the tide in your favour to win the game.
- 56 Cards with brilliantly illustrated pictures on each one.
Once you get your head around the gameplay, Raptor Island is very enjoyable for all ages.
How to Win Raptor Island (or Rather, How to Escape Raptor Island)
The goal of the game is simple, and feels familiar to dinosaur fans, especially of the 90’s era:
You’re on Raptor Island to retrieve Dino DNA and escape the island safely.
You need two Dino DNA Cards before you can leave, but you also need fuel.
You need two Fuel Cards to along with the DNA before you can leave with an Escape the Island Card.
This sounds fairly simple and easy, but the main factor with the Fuel Cards is, once you play them, they’re in a communal stockpile so if you play them too early and your opponents have two Dino DNA Cards and an Escape the Island Card, you may have allowed them to win…
Then there are the Dinosaur Cards and Event Cards.
And then, there are PLAY IMMEDIATELY Cards…
Between the rampaging Triceratops which take out fuel from the communal stockpile to Compsognathus which steal your Dino DNA, some cards will ruin your plans. Some cards, however, will help you such as the Gallimimus which actually gives you Dino DNA and gets rid of pesky Raptors.
About the Raptors…
If you draw a Raptor Card. you have until the end of your next turn to get rid of it before you lose your hand (not literally, even if it is a predatory man-sized carnivore). If you have a winning hand with an Escape the Island Card, two Dino DNA Cards and two Fuel cards in the shared play space but also have a Raptor Card, you Cannot win until the Raptor Card is gone.
There are two main ways to get rid of Raptor Cards:
- Use a card that causes the Raptor in your play space to go back to the bottom of the main deck.
- Use a card that causes the Raptor to move to another player. Which is really frustrating for them when they’re about to win!
What Makes Raptor Island Immensely Replayable
What makes Raptor Island a great game is the fact that you can play it repeatedly with two or more players and it’s a different game each time.
One game could last a few minutes, with one player managing to get the winning hand soon after starting, another game could last almost an hour even when one or more players get a winning hand, because of the chaotic nature of the cards you have to play immediately or cards you can hold in your hand until you judge it’s the right time to play them.
This is great for non-dinosaur fans as well as hardcore dino fans, and as a card game it really holds up. The balance between the cards needed to win and the cards that really throw a spanner in the works is perfect.
Although not officially Jurassic Park, it is clearly inspired by the popular Dinosaur franchise and clearly has a lot of love for it.
You can see the original Kickstarter campaign here: Raptor Island Kickstarter Campaign
Where to Buy Raptor Island
Since the Kickstarter campaign was successful (no surprises there), the game is now available on Amazon and most likely other outlets.
To buy this game on Amazon, just click below (We may receive commission for any qualifying purchases, at no expense to you and this is greatly appreciated)
If you have the game already or thinking about trying it, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
