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Forbidden Desert

Forbidden Desert

A co-operative adventure!

480 ratings
41 reviews
🎮 Games
🎲 Board
🏰 Strategy

Archived App (Last seen on 30 Aug 2025)

This is an archived listing of the app previously available on the App Store.

Although the app is no longer distributed by Apple, you can still view its description, screenshots, version history, ratings, and metadata for reference.

Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • February 11, 2016
  • May 18, 2020

Features

Developer

Button Mash Games Inc.
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Reviews summary↘︎
⭐41
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🔄6+ apps
Alternatives↘︎
❓5 answered
FAQ↘︎
📦w/o updates
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About

This cooperative adventure game challenges players to work together to survive a harsh desert environment. Players must excavate an ancient city, find parts to a legendary flying machine, and rebuild it to escape before succumbing to the storm. It's a race against time where teamwork is essential for victory.

✓Cooperative gameplay
✓Pass-and-play multiplayer
✓Single player mode
✓In-depth tutorial
✓Beautiful artwork
✓Game Center Achievements
✓Save/load progress
Show original description

What users say

Summarized from real user reviews of Forbidden Desert. Based on 480 reviews and a 4.8/5 average, it highlights the 13 positives and 8 negatives reviewers mention most about this game.

Positive things

  • 👍Excellent faithful adaptation of board game
  • 🎮Engaging co-op gameplay and strategy
  • 🎨Great visuals and animations
  • 🔊High-quality sound effects
  • 📱Works well on iPad with clear interface
  • ⏱️Quick 20-40 minute games
  • 🧠Challenging and mentally stimulating
  • 🎯Multiple difficulty levels available
  • ♻️High replay value with different roles
  • ⚡Fast developer response to bugs
  • 📖Good tutorial and rules documentation
  • 🎪Fun for both solo and group play
  • ⏸️Ability to pause and resume games

Negative things

  • 🐛Tutorial functionality issues
  • 📚Insufficient directions for new players
  • 🎚️Steep difficulty curve between beginner and novice
  • 🔀Questionable shuffle/randomization algorithm
  • 🔊Overrides podcast and background audio
  • 📱iPad-only, not available on iPhone
  • 🎬Animations slow down gameplay
  • 🌐No online multiplayer option
See all reviews

What's New in Forbidden Desert

1.9

May 18, 2020

Fixing a bug that prevented the tutorial from working correctly.

User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

Terrific co-op game and app for family play

Great visuals, sound effects, gameplay, strategy. Hoping for the forbidden sky and jungle games to become apps soon :)
BrucebotBrucebot

Terrible

No directions!
Artess1Artess1

Good Game

I won so I’m happy
AmelieStar2007AmelieStar2007

Excellent but novice level too hard

Superb game for iPad but gap between beginner level and novice level far too great as storm meter set too high. Hope this is remedied soon. Update. Finally succeeded on novice level after 30 goes quite a challenge but great fun. After 10 years of playing IPad games my top games are now Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert, Four Winds (proper Mahjong), Pandemic, Virtual Pool 4 (great snooker option), and the old favourites Cluedo and Monopoly. They are all very well made and challenging and help exercise my brain in retirement!!! Many Thanks
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N MackinnonN Mackinnon

Get it

Everything you need to enjoy the classic board game without all the extra stuff that gets in the way with other games
R3Kl35R3Kl35
See 36 more reviews

Developer apps

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In-App Purchases
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User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

4 issues

Tutorial slide interaction not responding (shovel sliding mechanic)

Bug

Inconsistent card shuffling and randomization

Bug

Audio override issues with podcasts

Bug

Minor bugs in v1.5 (resolved by developers)

Bug
✨

Requested Features

10 requests

Forbidden Sky app release

Feature

Forbidden Jungle app release

Feature

iPhone version availability

Feature

Online multiplayer functionality

Feature

Optional animation toggle for faster gameplay

Feature

Better shuffle algorithm

Feature

Persistent 'Back' button in rulebook

Feature

Automatic wind change drawing option

Feature

Expansion boards/content

Feature

Increased difficulty with sand worm enemy

Feature

FAQ

What is Forbidden Desert?

Forbidden Desert is a cooperative adventure game based on the popular board game. Players work together to survive a crash landing in a vast desert, excavate an ancient city, find parts to a flying machine, and rebuild it to escape before the storm overwhelms them.

How many players can play Forbidden Desert?

The game is designed for 2-5 players. It supports pass-and-play multiplayer for 2-4 players on a single device, and also offers a single-player mode where you control multiple adventurers.

Is Forbidden Desert free to play?

No, Forbidden Desert is a paid application. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned in the description, indicating a one-time purchase for the full game.

What platforms is Forbidden Desert available on?

Based on the description mentioning 'App Store' and 'iPadBoardGames.org', it is likely available on iOS devices. The mention of 'Game Center Achievements' also suggests compatibility with Apple's ecosystem.

What is the main goal of the game?

The primary goal is to work together with your team to survive the harsh desert conditions, locate all the necessary parts for a legendary flying machine, and successfully rebuild it to escape the desert before time runs out.