Blue Lagoon Review – Tropical Tribes, Tiny Humans, and the Perfect Holiday Game

After a week on the Gold Coast, surrounded by stunning beaches and sandy islands, Blue Lagoon felt like the perfect fit.

This family-friendly board game puts players in charge of native tribes exploring and settling a cluster of sunny tropical isles. But with rival tribes competing for territory, only the most strategic player will emerge victorious.

How to play

Blue Lagoon is played over two distinct phases: exploration and settlement.

• In the exploration phase, players guide their tribes across the islands, placing settlers and building villages in newly discovered areas.
• In the settlement phase, players expand further from the villages established during the first phase.

Each turn is simple: place either a settler or a village token on the board.

• Settlers:
  • Water settlers can be placed freely on any water space during the exploration phase.
  • Land settlers must be placed adjacent to one of your existing tokens.
• Villages: Villages also require adjacency to an existing token and serve as critical starting points for the settlement phase.

Think of it as sending scouts to explore the waterways in phase one, who then report back, enabling your tribe to expand inland.

The goal of Blue Lagoon is to earn points across six scoring categories:

1. Exploring all eight islands by placing at least one settler on each.
2. Establishing a trading route—a connected line of settlers across islands.
3. Gaining majority control of individual islands by having the most settlers on them.
4. Collecting resource tokens from the map.
5. Assembling a set of four different resources.
6. Collecting stone artefacts.

Scoring happens at the end of each phase, with points added together to determine the winner.

After the exploration phase:

• Remove all settler tokens but leave villages on the board.
• Repopulate the map with new resources.

The settlement phase begins with stricter placement rules: all settlers must now be placed adjacent to an existing token or village. This added restriction increases the importance of strategic village placement during phase one.

At the end of the settlement phase, final scores are tallied. The player with the most points wins!

Get your kid in the game

Blue Lagoon immediately reminded me of a Roll to Review favourite: The Guild of Merchant Explorers. Both games involve placing tokens and villages on a map, only to sweep most of your progress away between phases.

The key difference?

In Blue Lagoon, you share a map with other players, meaning almost every move you make impacts everyone else at the table.

This shared space keeps you constantly watching your opponents—whether you’re plotting to block their path, racing for a resource, claiming control of an island, or breaking their trading route. The map becomes both a battlefield of strategy and a playground for clever, cheeky moves.

Fortunately, Blue Lagoon ensures that when one door closes, a vast tropical island opens. With six distinct ways to score, even if someone disrupts your plans, you’ll find alternative paths to scoring big.

As a result, the game keeps the mood light-hearted; no matter what, you’re likely to score points and feel good about your progress.

That said, the variety of scoring options is also why I wouldn’t recommend Blue Lagoon as someone’s first-ever board game. As a second game? Absolutely. But for newcomers, it can take a few plays to grasp how all the scoring systems fit together.

Once you get it, though, each turn presents a fun decision, comparing one opportunity for points to the next. The added player interactions ensure you’re always rethinking your strategy – and maybe humming How Far I’ll Go as you sail your settlers to new opportunities.

Despite its complexity, I introduced Blue Lagoon to my 6-year-old son as one of his first proper board games. He took to it like a fish to water, begging to play it every night during our holiday. While he didn’t fully grasp the scoring system, he loved placing tokens and watching the map come to life.

And honestly, who could blame him?

With turns as quick as placing a single settler, the game moves at a breakneck pace. You’re either taking your turn or moments away from it, keeping the action fast and engaging. Watching your settlers spread across the islands is visually satisfying, keeping everyone focused and entertained throughout.

Two rounds of fun

One of my favourite aspects of Blue Lagoon is how the game unfolds over its two phases. This structure adds a layer of depth that feels reminiscent of Brass, as you’re not just chasing points in the first round—you’re also setting the stage for a triumphant second act.

My go-to strategy is to fall behind in the first phase, prioritising village placement to set myself up for a strong second phase. When water settlers face stricter placement rules, and movement becomes far more costly.

Together the two phases work seamlessly, allowing you to decide where to focus your energy. Do you sprint ahead early? Or, like me, play the long game, planning for a decisive late-game push?

That said, the game’s many scoring methods can feel overwhelming, especially during your first few plays—or if your opponent happens to be a curious 6-year-old. It’s easy to lose track of your overall strategy while chasing points in every direction.

You might even catch yourself asking: Why am I winning? Why am I losing?

But the beauty of Blue Lagoon is that, over time, these questions give way to clarity. The more you play, the more you’ll find yourself tapping into its rich strategic possibilities. And even if you haven’t fully mastered them yet, watching the map light up with your colourful settlers is always satisfying – win or lose.