Forbidden Bridge is a board game which simulates being a treasure hunter. Players play as explorers who are after ancient jewels, which are guarded by an angry spirit. Occasionally, the bridge guard will awaken and (via a motorized mechanism powered by the player pushing his head down) shake the bridge, which can cause players' pieces to fall off. Players also can get the chance to "steal" another player's jewel. The first player to retrieve three jewels and return them all in their boat wins.
Bridge12 spans (connect the idol and the cliff)
13 planks (spaces players can land on)
7 railings (can save a piece when the bridge is shaking)
Idol cliff12 hands
Platform
2-piece climbing cliff1
Gameboard
8 plastic rock pieces (hold scenery in place)
4 cardboard slides (contain jungle scenery; not essential to gameplay)
4 explorer pawns
4 boats
15 jewels with storage bag
2 dice
Label sheet
1 Single piece once assembled
Each player begins their turn by rolling the included six-sided dice: one numbered die (with 2, 3 and 5 repeated twice) and one "special" die with three possibilities (each of which appears on two of its sides):
Idol icon: The idol becomes angry. When its head is pressed down it will shake the bridge; any players whose pieces fall are considered to be on the closest land space to where their piece landed (i.e. pieces cannot be in the water).
Explorer icon: The player may move another player's piece to a different position on their bridge space. This can be important, as the pegs and rails on the bridge spaces become crucial when the idol shakes the bridge, and some spots on a space are safer than others.
Jewel icon: The player may steal another player's jewel if the player is on, or lands on, the same space as that player.
Although the box art for the game portrays the Idol as merely being a head with hands (its mouth being at ground level), the Idol in the actual game has a space below its head that contains five glyphs. The glyphs are: A stick figure, a jewel, a stick figure with the jewel as its body, lightning, and a skull. The glyphs are supposed to be a warning to those wishing to take jewels; the stick figure is the explorer, the figure with the jewel as its body is the explorer having taken a jewel, the lightning represents the Idol's anger, and the skull represents the resulting death or injury.
