Hyokkori Hyoutan Jima
I've seen this romanized several ways, so I'm kinda guessing on the spelling here. Anyhow, Hyokkori Hyoutan Jima for the Mega Drive is a truly tough game to get info on. I bought it based on its neat puppet box art and the screenshots on the back with sprites reminiscent of the clay models from Earthbound. So, on to what in the world this is.
Hyokkori Hyoutan Jima is a long running children's show in Japan that largely centers around an island and the pirates around it from what I can tell, and this Mega Drive game is a board game played in that universe. Getting started for up to 4 players, human or CPU controlled, is easy enough, but what to do and what spaces do is the problem. So, I finally sat down to figure it out so I can share it with anyone who wants to know.
Much like Momotaro Dentetsu, the main point of the game is to reach selected destinations first to make money. After all of the chosen destinations have been reached, the player with the most money wins. Simple enough, right? Well, you also have a meter at the top of the screen that holds 10 balls, which can be red or blue, and you get the number of balls times 100 or more every time someone hits a destination, at which time it resets. So, how do you fill it and what do the spaces do?
Red Skull and Crossbones spaces cause a bad thing to happen, typically as a slot machine where you lose the amount of money shown when it stops or a bingo ball where you lose the amount shown times the number of red balls on your meter. Hitting these additionally adds a red ball to your meter.
Island spaces do the opposite, usually gaining you money in the same way, but multiplying bingo ball money by your blue meter balls and adding an additional blue.
Blank green spaces are gambling spaces where you play a simple high/low dice game where you bet 10% of your cash and must roll higher than your opponent to win. These can also cause a red or blue ball on your meter.
White spaces with a P over them are properties you can buy for 10% of your cash, and you collect a toll of around 1/3 of that if it gets landed on, and buying/landing on your own nets you a blue ball.
There are ? spaces that allow you to draw cards that give you items or cause events, and a shop where you can get items like roadblocks or extra dice, and the lighthouse that I'm not sure what it does.
Each turn you can roll or use an item. Once you roll, you can move in any direction, but you must move on a continuous path. You must land exactly on the destination for it to count, and the player that hits it gets a huge reward that increases each time. At the end, extra cash is awarded for certain conditions, and the highest total wins.
So, that is how you play Hyokkori Hyoutan Jima. It's fun and accessible enough to play, but it is random and requires little skill. The language barrier makes using items tough, but not impossible. I don't know that I'd recommend it as a one player game, but if you have friends that are brave or dumb enough to try, there is some fun to be had, and it's cheap.
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