Description

The second (and last) of Fractal Dimensions' line of "Gamelets" - comic-book sized games inspired by the microgames of the 1980s. Escape From Dinosaur Island! involves U.S. Marines in the South Pacific, circa 1944, who find themselves on an island filled with prehistoric beasts.

The game uses two mapsheets. One is a hex-grid encounter map showing an overview of the island. This is used to track the movement of the Marines. The other mapsheet is a square-grid tactical map where the Marines fight battles against the deadly creatures inhabiting the island.

This is primarily a solitaire game, although it includes one cooperative two-player scenario. In the standard scenario, the Marines attempt to escape the island alive. Other scenarios include a mission to rescue a general and a "sole survivor" challenge played entirely on the tactical map.

The basic situation is spiced up by a variety of "events" that may occur during a game. Some of the events involve potential allies who will fight alongside the Marines (such as "friendly" dinosaurs, a "missing link" neanderthal, and a samurai sword wielding Japanese officer). Additional events involve the Marines finding abandoned Japanese weapons and other items that may prove useful.

The health, equipment, and ammo for each Marine is tracked individually using a sheet of status charts. Counters represent Marines, equipment, dinosaurs, and other encounters.