When comparing Ghost Stories vs Forbidden Desert, the Slant community recommends Ghost Stories for most people. In the question“What are the best co-op board games that work best with 4 players?” Ghost Stories is ranked 1st while Forbidden Desert is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Ghost Stories is:
From the start the game feels stacked against your team, which is on purpose as it gives a feeling of impending doom and destruction. The game is a balancing act of what to do each turn as the team tries to fend of the ghosts which leads to never quite feeling like you are winning.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Gives a sense of impending doom
From the start the game feels stacked against your team, which is on purpose as it gives a feeling of impending doom and destruction. The game is a balancing act of what to do each turn as the team tries to fend of the ghosts which leads to never quite feeling like you are winning.
Pro Designed well with beautiful artwork that exemplifies the horror theme
All of the pieces of the game are colorful and have much attention to detail.
Pro Expansions available that extend gameplay
Ghost Stories offers two expansions (there was a third but it was limited and not available anymore) called White Moon and Black Secret that extend the gameplay for users that would like to add more complex elements to the gameplay or are just looking for a different experience within the same theme and world.
Pro Quality construction to the game that feels very solid
All of the cardboard components have a nice weight to them and a glossy finish over the art.
Pro Very replayable
Using a random board setup and the unique way in which the desert storm can move around and rearrange the board, no two plays of Forbidden Desert are the same.
Pro Rewarding but difficult gameplay
In a game where players can die of thirst, become buried under increasingly deep piles of sand, or be blown away when the storm reaches it's highest level, the only way to win is to race around the board trying to find all the pieces to your airship in order to escape with your lives. Having 3 ways to lose and only one way to win makes Forbiden Desert a very difficult game. However, that difficulty makes every success so much more rewarding. The feeling when you finally find all of the pieces to your airship and escape the desert for once and for all is amazing.
Pro Excellent component quality
From the metal tin that the game comes in to the thick, quality cardboard used for both the location tiles and the sand tiles, all of the components used in Forbidden Desert are top-notch.
Cons
Con The rule book is really poorly written
Unlike most Anotine Bauza games, the rule book for Ghost Stories is pretty terrible. This means that, unless you're learning the game from somebody already familiar with it, the first few games will probably be a slog of constantly consulting the rules.
A game like this, which uses symbology heavily, should also come with some quick reference sheets.
Con Difficult to win
The game is pretty difficult to beat, especially if played with a group of casual players that are not extremely familiar with the game and its rules of which are difficult to understand and may take a few watches of Youtube videos to really understand all the mechanics of play.