Jurassic World legacy board game’s biggest strength is Jurassic Park

Jurassic World – The Legacy of Isla nublarThis is the latest board game in the legacy-style category. It allows you to modify and remove cards, add stickers to any component, or explore new game content. These games are popularized by titles like Pandemic Legacy GloomhavenIt evokes an emotional investment that is delicious. This adds depth and stability to the player’s decisions, which gives texture to a long campaign. The full twelve scenarios are required in this instance. Isla Nublar is worth the effort — as long as you’re only playing with a single partner or two.

This large box has something that its predecessors do not, and that’s the beaming Jurassic intellectual property. Since the 1993 debut of its film, the film franchise has been relevant to pop culture. This product is filled with its charisma. The visual motif apes ’90s comic books, giving the complete package lots of personality. This is striking on the board itself as well as in the large number of cards found in the game, but it’s most pronounced in the little booklets found in each of the scenario envelopes. Each chapter comes with a small comic that explains the components and lists additional rules. It also includes an illustration to help set the mood. It’s a loving touch — despite the oddity of channeling the movie’s era as opposed to frames from the actual films.

Photo: Prospero Hall

Isla nublar: The Legacy begins with the series’ origins in Jurassic Park. Every scenario leads to the next film in the series, highlighting favorite characters and intertwining memorable moments. The first scenario — effectively a dream sequence inside the mind of Dr. Hammond as he commutes to the island — is the most bland and lacks an overt hook. It serves as a tutorial, gently introducing players to the core ruleset and the functions of the park’s inhabitants. It is effective in this regard, however it leaves a soft impression.

I am most reminded of this when the legacy structure is implemented. Pandemic Legacy. Each scenario opens new content, and you move through the evolving narrative. The streamlined core structure is constantly updated with new rules that are cleverly layered on top. The evolution of the park is what works wonderfully. This is the game’s big hook, and what it pulls off most superbly.

It will be necessary to create infrastructure and place buildings. The process starts out slowly. You place a dinosaur here and a building there. The budget keeps growing over time and everything seems more complicated. It is a result of having to maintain order amid a growing number of carnivorous species.

[Ed. note: This review contains light spoilers for Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar.]

Photo: Prospero Hall

While the structure of play remains fairly constant over the 12 games, the actions and the consequences of each game are more intense. In order to achieve objectives, players take on the roles of known Jurassic personalities such as Owen Grady or Dr. Sattler. They work in teams to maximize their actions points. You will be responsible for herding dinos and offering guided tours. There are also story beats like locating missing citizens or giving guided tours. You’ll rummage around in the visitor center, literally shifting boxes around in a match-three game. You’ll sequence genomes in the lab, moving CTAG-coded tiles around in a tile-laying puzzle. Later, you will even need to bring the power back on in a “hold on to your butts” push-your-luck activity.

The overall scenario structure is iterative, repeating over and over again in the campaign with variance primarily occurring in the story-focused objectives that mimic the franchise’s various film plots. This campaign appeals to emotions and nostalgia. The creativity allotted in park development sits in sharp contrast to the rigid, almost on-rails nature of the campaign’s narrative. This is by far the most difficult part of the game. You can build the park according to your preferences.

The perfect franchise format is the one that combines a dual nature of economic park management and a micro-scenario-based adventure game. Funko Games’ Prospero Hall imprint executes it surprisingly well. This campaign allows the legacy choices to have small impacts on the comic book stories. Both formats are interrelated, with performance in narrative adventures having an impact on subsequent budget allocations. It’s a strong ecosystem that is gratifying to see play out.

The campaign story is strong as well. This is the moment when the park construction component reaches its peak. The final act features an iconic sequence from the film franchise. This allows players to reap the benefits of their creation — Isla Nublar itself. Management is the final stage of an engine-building tabletop gaming game. You get to use and live in that creation before it closes.

Photo: Prospero Hall

It’s a boon that Jurassic World – The Legacy of Isla nublarIt does a great job of capturing the essence of this game style, but sometimes it can get lost in details. The design can sometimes get stale, despite all of the great narratives found in the booklets. This makes it difficult for players to focus. Minigames like the one above can feel less fun than thrilling. Over time the creative energy around this activity wears off and I started to fear going back to the visitor centre to look through even more trinkets so Hammond could sell some merchandise.

They are smart the first time they’re figured out. Perhaps even the second. But by the fifth scenario they’re a nuisance, detracting from the more enjoyable elements, like herding dinosaurs and searching for lost children. This failing can be smoothed over somewhat by rotating which player at the table will be assigned the dirty work each session, but that’s a Band-Aid at best.

This problem becomes more serious when there are more players. The reason is that parkgoers receive a set nine action tokens, regardless of how many people are seated at each table. With three people, each player gets three actions. If you have four people, there is a chance that you will only get one action. At this maximum number of players, each individual’s active participation is relatively minuscule — with more players there is literally less for each individual to do. A single player can only take two actions per round and spend almost half of the time just moving crates or DNA tokens. Unless you can squeeze joy from the table-talk and overall strategic decision making, those tasked with janitorial duty might not want to show up for next week’s game. Action scaling is, frankly speaking, a terrible mistake that leaves nothing to be desired. Isla nublar: The LegacyIt is best to work with only 2 or 3 players.

Overall, however, it’s hard to overlook the game’s cost. This is a big box with a solid amount of content, but at a colossal ask of $120 it’s fighting a desperate battle for disposable income. While prices have been increasing in recent years and are still rising, this high price tag puts it beyond reach of those who don’t want to commit.

Even though these flaws are apparent, some characters may be able to survive the journey with the help of the legacy elements. This alone could justify the expense. As you acquire new skills, characters will develop over time. You may see old options in films that you have seen before, which could bring back some of the helpful abilities found on their cards. Sometimes, events offer several options for scratching off. The campaign unlocks new dinosaurs that evolve throughout the campaign. You will find a lot of content. Some scenarios may require up to 10 minutes for setup and rules-reading. A loss could occur as soon as 20 minutes have passed. It is rare, but it does happen.

Photo: Prospero Hall

It can be very challenging. Often, it’s the result of random events not going your way, such as objectives taking longer than expected to fulfill or dinosaur activations simply wrecking you unavoidably. The fail-forward approach allows you to improve and progress even if your performance is poor. I found this to actually be satisfying as I’d rather a game not pull punches and instead present an evolving challenge. No matter how successful you are, there will be new cards and interesting things that you can open. It’s exhilarating, and there are a couple of moments, particularly those that delve into the genetic research and allow you to tinker with science, that actually meet substantial expectations.

Jurassic World – The Legacy of Isla nublarThe board game is elegantly crafted in a traditional legacy style and uses it well. Although there are some areas that may be a bit confusing, it is possible to enjoy the experience with the right expectations. It’s quite the accomplishment that the mystery and surprises experienced still present as fresh despite the range of legacy games now available. Furthermore, they don’t simply feel unique, but they truly feel like the original Jurassic Park — capturing a feeling and emotion that’s been diminished in the most recent set of films.

It is possible to find Jurassic World – The Legacy of Isla nublarShop at your local friendly game shop.

Jurassic World – The Legacy of Isla nublar Funko Games provided a retail copy for review. Vox Media is an affiliate partner. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Find out more. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.