Board Royale: The Island
Board Royale: The Island Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Separate the Resource and Item cards into two decks. Shuffle them separately and place them face down on the board or table. Leave some space available for the Discard Piles of both decks. If any deck runs out of cards during the game, shuffle the corresponding Discard Pile and create a new deck.
Reveal 4 Item cards face up next to the Item Deck to create the Crafting Field.
Deal 5 resource cards to each player. Hold resources in your hand without showing others. All set. You are ready to start playing.
Beginning
Starting Player
To decide which player starts the game, all players take turns drawing resources until someone draws Gold; that player begins the game. Drawn resources are discarded. Any other method you can think of for deciding the first player is also acceptable, such as the player who went to an island most recently begins the game.
Preparation Round
After the setup is completed and the starting player has been decided, the Preparation round begins. Starting with the first player, every player draws 2 cards from the Resource Deck and crafts Items if they have the necessary resources in their turns. Player's can't steal, use items, make trades and call for democracy during this round. After the preparation round ends, the game begins.
Player Turns
Resource Phase → Action Phase → End Of The Turn (skip) → Next Player
A player's turn consists of 2 consecutive phases: the Resource Phase followed by the Action Phase. When the first player finishes their turn, the game continues to the next player in clockwise order.
When a player decides their turn is over, they must declare it by saying "skip" or "pass," then the next player starts their turn. When each player completes their turn, the round ends.
At the start of each round, reset all "Once in a round" items.
Resource Phase
In the Resource Phase, you may choose to collect resources by either:
- A) Drawing 2 resources from the Resource Deck.
- B) Stealing 1 resource from a target opponent by randomly picking a card from their hand.
HAND LIMIT: The player hand limit is 20 resources. Hold resources in your hand without showing others. When a player is going to draw resources that will make them exceed their hand limit they should discard enough resources before drawing to keep their hand total in their hand limit.
There are several items in the game that increase the player hand limit. Ex: If a player crafts "Backpack", their hand limit is increased by +4 and set to 24.
Hands Up: If asked, players are obligated to tell how many Resource Cards they have in their hand. Hiding resource card count is not allowed.
WARNING! Be careful while spending resources! Always keep in mind that resources are your "Hit Points". If a player runs out of resources, they're out!
Action Phase
In the action phase, players craft items, use items, and make trades or negotiate. A player can perform any number of actions in any order they wish to.
Crafting Items
Items can be crafted from the Crafting Field by paying the required amount of resources shown on the item card. Example: The player will pay 1 Stone and 3 Iron resources to the Discard Pile to craft the knife and take it.
When a player crafts an item, it is placed in front of them face-up. Items should be visible to all players. Whenever an item is crafted, draw a new Item card from the Item Deck and place it face up in the Crafting Field. Players may continue crafting items during their turn as long as they have the necessary resources.
Card Anatomy
The rulebook's card diagram labels the Item Name & Type (with the item's type beneath the name), the item's ability text, the Crafting Cost (the row of resource icons at the bottom of the card), and the deck name & card number.
Using Items
Crafted items can be used immediately as long as the conditions and limits indicated on the cards are followed. Items can be temporary or permanent. Some need extra resources or items to be used.
All crafted items can be used by their owners and also lent to other players as a part of an agreement only on their turns. Think wisely before suggesting or accepting any agreement!
PERMANENT ITEMS. Items with "YELLOW" background are the permanent items. These items are not discarded after use! A player can continue using them as indicated.
TEMPORARY ITEMS. Items with "GREEN" background are the temporary items. These items are discarded after use. Read the descriptions on the cards carefully; they might have other uses as well!
ESCAPE ITEMS. These "BLUE" backgrounded items are also permanent items but they don't have any active ability. If a player collects 10 points worth of escape items they escape from the island and wins the game immediately! Complete an escape set by crafting each set item in the same set and directly get 10 escape points. Item pieces in the sets don't have any crafting priority or order.
Quick References
INSTANT ITEMS: This type of items can be used at any time, regardless of whose turn it is, unless it is indicated otherwise in the item description.
REVEAL-USE ITEMS: When a reveal-use item is drawn, that item's action is applied immediately. Discard it afterwards.
(X) TIME-USE ITEMS: Some of the items can only be used limited times in a round. That limit will be displayed in the center of the icon. After using the item to that limit, a player may tap (rotate) the item card as a reminder until the next turn.
SUPPORT ITEMS: These items let players draw cards, usually resources but also occasionally items.
ATTACK ITEMS: These items let players discard resources from other players' hands.
STEAL ITEMS: These items let players take resources from other players to their own hand.
EXPLOSIVE ITEMS: These items are explosives with different uses.
DEFENCE ITEMS: These items protect players from attacks in various ways.
INVENTORY ITEMS: These items increase players' hand limit.
PASSIVE ITEMS: This type of item does not have any active abilities, but offers unique bonuses when crafted or used with other items. They do not have a special icon.
Terminology
"DRAW" — Draw the indicated amount of cards in order from the top of the Item or Resource Decks not from other players.
"TAKE" — Search the decks and take the indicated amount and type of cards described on the used item card's ability. This can also be done from either the Discard Pile or the bottom of the indicated Deck.
"DISCARD" — The attacking player randomly picks and discards resources from the target opponent's hand and puts them in the discard pile. Players may also remove specific resources as described on the item descriptions.
"REPLACE" — Put the indicated card(s) on the Discard Pile and open a new four items.
"STEAL" — Take a random resource from the target opponent.
"TARGET OPPONENT" — Chosen opponent to interact with.
"DESTROY" — Put the targeted item on the Item Discard Pile.
"PAY" — Discard the indicated amount of resource(s) from your hand to use the ability of an item.
"SPEND" — Discard the required item to use the ability (mostly used by firearms). Note: Pay and Spend work differently. Pay uses player resources and Spend uses items owned by the player.
"CHOOSE" — When there is more than one use case of an item, select one.
"IN PLAY ORDER" — Actions affect each player in a clockwise rotation, starting with the current player.
"GIVE" — Players choose which resource to give.
"SKIP" — Player's turn is over.
Attacking
Some items allow players to attack each other by discarding their resources. The attacker randomly picks and discards resources from the target opponent's hand. The amount of resources to discard is indicated on the used item card.
Attack Sequence
Whenever a player attacks a target opponent, the attack sequence is turn-based. First the player declares an attack, then the defending player has a chance to respond with instant item cards.
Each attack must be resolved separately. If the defending player avoids an attack, any resources used by the attacking player are still consumed and discarded.
Attack Clarification
If an action requires the target player to discard resources from their Hand, it is considered as an Attack. In addition, using the Steal action (at the start of the turn or by an item ability) is considered as an Attack. E.g. If a player uses a Grenade to destroy an opponent's item, it is not considered as an Attack, because the opponent is not required to discard any resources from their Hand; therefore, the opponent can't use the Run Away card to counter this move.
Attack Example
Step One: Jane has a Knife. The Knife is a permanent item and it has a unique ability:
Pay 1 food and target opponent discards 2 resources.
Step Two: Jane pays 1 Food to use the Knife on Mike. Jane randomly picks 2 resources from Mike's hand and discards them. She repeats this 3 more times, discarding a total of 8 resources from Mike's hand. Jane must resolve every Attack action one by one, giving Mike a chance to respond to each attack.
Step Three: Mike is left with only 4 resources in his hand. Believing that Jane does not have any more Food to continue attacking him, he is relieved. Jane asks the other players if they have any food they can trade with her.
Step Four: Frank tells Jane that he will give her 2 Food if she agrees to share the Loot with him.
Step Five: Right before they come to an evil agreement, Maria breaks in and uses her instant Grenade on Jane's Knife and destroys it! It was a good call, because if Jane and Frank shared Mike's loot, it would probably become harder for Maria to beat them.
Now Maria is thinking about how to kill Mike and loot all his stuff for herself!
Deals & Trades
Players can make any kind of deal as long as they stay within the rules of the game. Example: A shotgun forces all the opponents to discard resources. This means that players can't decide who will evade the shotgun's ability.
Players can trade anything in their own turn (items for resources, resources for protection, items for future bargains, etc.). Players can give resources or lend items to an attacking player during their turn. However, Players cannot give resources to a defending player in order to save them from elimination. In addition, the defending player can't give their items or resources to other players in order to surrender. In this game there is no surrender!
Democracy Rules
The item cards in the Crafting Field can be changed once per round only if it is accepted by the majority of the players. Any player can call a vote to replace the cards in the Crafting Field during their turn.
If accepted by the majority, all item cards in the Crafting Field will be removed and placed on the item Discard Pile. Four new items will be placed on the Crafting Field.
Note: If only two players remain, then both players must agree to replace the cards in the Crafting Field.
Looting
If a player is eliminated, the attacking player will take all the item cards of the eliminated player. If it was a collaborative act against the target, the attacking players may divide the items and loot between them.
NO KILL STEALING. Players cannot eliminate an opponent during another player's turn. If it is a collaborative attack, the final damage must be dealt by the current player.
End of the Game
As stated at the beginning of this rulebook, the goal of the game is to survive by any means necessary. The last man standing on the island or the first to escape from it becomes the winner.
Death
If a player runs out of resources, they are instantly eliminated from the game!
Escape
Collect 10 escape points or complete an escape set to leave the island and win the game.
Rage Quit
If a player decides to leave the game, their resources and items may be shared between the remaining players. If the remaining players can't reach an agreement to share, all cards get discarded.
Suggested Game Modes
Bloodshed
Remove all Escape items from the game. There is no room for cowards, only the last remaining survivor wins the game!
Haste
You can limit a player's turn time as you wish. You may give each player 2, 3 or 5 minutes to play their turn.
Peaceful Game
When a player is attacked, instead of discarding resources, the attacking player draws resources equal to the number of cards that the target opponent did not discard and places them face down next to their items. When the Resource Deck runs out of cards, the player that has collected the most resources wins the game.
Note: Players can't use these collected resources.
Escape Together (4/6 Players)
At the beginning of the game, players may team up in pairs to escape together if they collect 15 escape points total.
Quick Game
For a quick game of Board Royale, increase the number of items on the Crafting Field from 4 to 6 and draw 3 resource cards at the resource phase instead of 2, as well as stealing action to 2 cards instead of 1. Whenever a player is eliminated, lower the hand limits of the remaining players by 3.
Party Game Mode
Party Game Mode: Players can tweak the rules of discarding to a shot drinking game or truth / dare concept for more fun while avoiding discards.
It's Getting Crowded Here (4 and more players)
For more than 6 players, add one more item per additional player to the Crafting Field (5 items for 7 players, 6 for 8 players, etc.). At the beginning of the game, draw an extra 1 resource per additional player (e.g. In a 7 player game, players start with 7 resources). Beware: The Resource and Item Decks included in Board Royale are only set for 6 players, so you may run out of resources or can get a different experience based on your choice of maximum players.
Your Island, Your Rules!
Play the expansions one by one. After you try each one separately, you can combine as you desire and build your own decks. But remember; this rulebook is a basic guideline for a balanced survival experience. You're on a deserted island and no one can predict what will happen! Create your own decks and tweak the rules as you desire. The perfect balance is the imperfect balance!
Also, visit our website for more information regarding our deck building systems. Feel free to comment and send us your own guides to share with other survivors!
We are also adding an empty card to the deck. Design your own item and share it with us.
Expansion Packs
MILITARY EXPANSION PACK — Age:13+ / 80 New Cards. You've found an abandoned secret military facility of K.R.A.K.E.N. It is full of ammo, explosives & guns! Loads of toys to play with! This expansion enhances the standard Board Royale game experience into more action filled adventure. With new weapons and utilities you have many different options to eliminate your opponents. The Board Royale becomes more tactical with this expansion pack. Recommended for all players.
SKILLS EXPANSION PACK — Age:13+ / 56 New Cards. Play one of the seven epic classes. Scavenger, Medic, Engineer, Diplomat, Marine, Survivalist and Thief. All are trained by K.R.A.K.E.N. This expansion pack increases depth and adds complexity to Board Royale base game experience. Now you have to keep your eyes on your opponents more than ever. Design your tactics and eliminate other opponents with your honed skills. The Board Royale becomes more challenging with this expansion pack. Recommended for experienced players.
NSFW EXPANSION PACK — Age:18+ / 60 New Cards. K.R.A.K.E.N. is a serious foundation. The Board Royale becomes more socializing and fun with this expansion pack. Recommended for mature players. This deck contains graphic materials targeted for a mature audience. It is not suited for individuals under the age of 18. We strongly suggest you check the cards before playing with friends, loved ones or random people. You can always add or remove cards to form your deck. NSFW pack increases the fun elements of Board Royale and offers great social play experience.
DISASTER EXPANSION PACK — Age:13+ / 60 New Cards. There is no other force stronger than mother nature herself. You have to survive not only against your opponents but the extreme weather and disastrous conditions that have been simulated by K.R.A.K.E.N on the Island. With the Disaster Pack, the depth and complexity is increased and Board Royale base game experience is expanded by new game elements. The Board Royale becomes much more difficult to survive with this expansion pack. Recommended for experienced players.