Gateway Island
Gateway Island Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- What Is a Gateway Game?
- Contents
- Choosing a Game
- Island 1 — Race on the River
- Island 2 — Eagle Eye
- Island 3 — The Top of the Temple
- Island 4 — Fishing Day
- Island 5 — Harvest Day
- Island 6 — The Intruder
- Island 7 — The Great Regatta
- Island 8 — Shelloker
- Island 9 — Resource Rich
- Island 10 — The Kentucksea Derby
- Island 11 — Feaster Island
- Island 12 — Set in Stone
- Island 13 — The Great Golden Egg
- Island 14 — Split the Catch
- Island 15 — The Great Battle
- Island 16 — The Festival of Statues
- Island 17 — The Three Pyramids
- Island 18 — An Honest Trade
- Island 19 — All in a Day's Work
- Island 20 — Meanies in Our Midst
- Island 21 — The Epic Quest
- Game Index
- Credits
What Is a Gateway Game?
This is a phrase often used to describe a board game that is a fun game which is not overly complex. A good gateway game does a great job introducing players to new mechanisms and/or a new type of game. There are many kinds of games and mechanisms for players to enjoy! Do you like Party Games? Dungeon Crawlers? Drafting cards? Resource management? If you don't know what any of that means, don't worry, you've come to the right place! That is exactly what Gateway Island is for! In fact, we have included a Supplemental Book for you that includes additional information on these terms and others.
Contents
- 21 Island Cards
- 4 White Discs
- 4 Black Discs
- 1 Die
- 1 Fabric Bag
- 60 Cubes in 6 colors (10 cubes per color, in yellow, red, green, blue, white, black)
- 1 Score Track
Choosing a Game
You don't have to play the games in the order they appear in this book. In fact, you should feel free to explore the islands based on what looks interesting to you! After each game title in this rulebook you will find a helpful blue box with the following information:
Game Type — Text that will advise what style of game it is and/or what mechanisms are in the game. The more you play, the more the different types of games and mechanisms will make sense to you!
Player Count — This will indicate how many players are needed to play the game. It can be a set amount or a range.
Components — This text will list what components are needed for the game. See below for the components that are included in the game box.
Video Explanation — Each game has a QR code you can scan for a video explanation of the rules.
Complexity — This iconography gives you an idea of how many rules there are and how complex the game is to learn. Level 1 being less complex and Level 3 being most complex.
Strategic Depth — This iconography gives you an idea of how strategic the gameplay is. Level 1 being lighter, less "thinky" and Level 3 being more strategic with more opportunities for clever play.
Other Tools for Choosing a Game
Island Card Indicators — Each Island card contains iconography of the Card Number and the number of players for that particular game. Looking through the cards and selecting a game that way is a great way to find a new, fun island to explore!
Game Index — On the back of this rulebook is a helpful index.
Supplemental Book — The Supplemental Book has more information on the types of games and mechanics in Gateway Island but is not required to play.
Island 1 — Race on the River
Type: Race, auctions, simultaneous action selection. Players: 2-6. Components: Island Card 1, wooden cubes, and the six-sided die.
Overview
It's a day of competition on this Gateway Island! The best Minutian jockeys have been invited to take part in an incredible race riding colorful fish! To be successful racers must manage their fish's stamina efficiently!
Island Card Anatomy
- Start
- River Spaces
- Finish Line
Setup
- Place the Island Card 1 on the table.
- Each players takes all the cubes of a chosen color.
- Place one cube on the starting space in the middle of the card. This is your Jockey.
- Keep all the other cubes hidden in your hand. They are your fish's Stamina cubes.
How to Win
Cross the finish line first to win!
Gameplay
This game is played in rounds and each round consists of 3 PHASES.
PHASE 1 — Roll the Die. Choose a player to roll the die. We recommend letting the youngest player roll! Resolve the roll as follows:
- If the result is 1, all players take back 1 previously discarded Stamina cube (see PHASE 3) and the round immediately ends.
- If the result is between 2 and 6, the rolled amount indicates how many spaces the Jockeys can potentially move this round.
PHASE 2 — Bidding. Each player secretly decides how much of their fish's Stamina cubes they want to bid in order to be able to advance their Jockey the number of spaces on the die. Secretly, put the Stamina cubes you want to bid in your free hand and put your closed fist on the table. Then, wait for all other players to do the same. Keep Stamina cubes you do not want to bid in your other hand. You don't have to bid any Stamina cubes if you don't want to, but you should always put your closed fist on the table so the other players don't know your bid!
PHASE 3 — Advancing Jockeys. Everyone reveals how many Stamina cubes they bid. Then, all the Jockeys advance as follows:
- First, the player(s) who bid the most Stamina cubes advance their Jockey the number of spaces indicated on the die. If there is a tie for who bid the most, they each advance that number of spaces.
- Next, all other players who bid at least 1 Stamina cube advance their Jockey one space, regardless of how many cubes they bid.
- Players who bid 0 don't advance their Jockey.
PLEASE NOTE: If all the players bid 0 Stamina, none of the Jockeys advance.
After moving your Jockey, all the Stamina cubes you bid are discarded. Keep your discard pile in front of you so that the cubes are clearly visible.
EXAMPLE 1A: The result of the die roll in PHASE 1 is 4. In PHASE 2 Ringo bids 3 Stamina cubes, John and Michelle bid 2, Paul, Georgette and Lucy bid 1. In PHASE 3 Ringo's Jockey moves first and advances 4 spaces (equal to the rolled amount), then all the others advance 1 space. All the Stamina cubes bid are discarded and remain in front of their respective player.
EXAMPLE 1B: In the situation described in example 1A, Ringo's Jockey moves first and advances 4 spaces crossing the finish line and winning the game. Georgette's and Paul's Jockeys also cross the line because they each advance 1 space, but Ringo wins because he crossed the line first.
End of the Game
The game ends when a Jockey crosses the finish line. The player who controls the Jockey wins the game. If multiple players cross the line at the same time, the player who bid the highest amount of stamina in the last round wins the game. If it is still a tie, they share the victory.
If no Jockey has crossed the finish line but ALL Stamina cubes from ALL players have been discarded, the winner is the player whose Jockey is the most advanced (follow the same rules for ties).
PLEASE NOTE: Even if you have no Stamina cubes you are NOT out of the game. Remember, you can recover a cube if the result of the die is 1!!
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Downforce, from Restoration Games — if you liked the bidding aspect of this race game, you should try Downforce from Restoration Games! (restorationgames.com)
Island 2 — Eagle Eye
Type: Party Game, quick answers. Players: 2-6. Components: Island Card 2, wooden cubes, and the six-sided die.
Overview
Observation skills are critical to the inhabitants of Gateway Island. The Minutians thrive thanks to their ability to quickly find and identify things on the islands. This includes dangerous beasts or other dangers they want to avoid, but also useful objects and items of value… like treasure! It helps to be fast when collecting things... otherwise someone else might collect it first.
Setup
- The Island card is placed in the middle of the table. This card has a variety of symbols on each side of the card. Either side can be used, but side B is more subjective and could generate more discussion - this is intended by the designers! (See below for more on what the symbols mean).
- Each player chooses a color and puts 5 cubes in their color near the Island card.
- Decide on one of the six categories to be used for the entire game. The categories are (1) Object in the Room, (2) Animals, (3) Games (side A) (4) Food and Recipes, (5) Characters, and (6) Media (like Movies, Books, and TV Shows). If you want, you can narrow the chosen category. For example, you can choose "games" and agree to consider only modern board games, or choose "characters" and decide if they must be real, fictional, or include both. Feel free to choose a category you find funny or interesting!
- Agree on a starting subject that is in the category you decided on. For example....
EXAMPLE 2A: The category is "Animals" and the starting subject is "cat".
Side A symbols:
- Object in the Room — Bigger, smaller, lighter color, darker color, more copies in the room, more noisy when it falls
- Animal — Taller, shorter, faster, slower, heavier, lighter
- Game — Older, newer, more players, less players, longer play time, shorter play time
Side B symbols:
- Food and recipes — More difficult to prepare, easier to prepare, heavier, lighter, more sweet, more salty
- Characters — More evil, more good, stronger, weaker, nicer, meaner
- Media (Movies, books, TV series etc.) — Scarier, funnier, better visuals, more thrilling, more adventurous, more mysterious
How to Win
The first player who takes all the 5 cubes of their color wins the game.
Gameplay
Everyone plays this game at the same time, there are no rounds!
- Choose a player to roll the die and call out the result.
- Players each check the icon on the card matching the column (die result) and row (the chosen category).
- Try to be the fastest to name a valid subject based on the icon. You cannot name a subject that has already been used during the game.
- The first player to answer takes a cube of their color among those near the Island card and places it in front of them. Their answer is now the new subject.
- The player then rolls the die and a new turn immediately begins.
EXAMPLE 2B: The starting subject is "cat". The result of the die is 5 and the corresponding icon means "heavier". The players must try to be the first to name an animal heavier than a cat. Lucy says "horse" and takes a cube of her color. Next, she rolls the die and obtains 6 which corresponds to the icon meaning "lighter". Now the players must try to be first to name an animal lighter than a horse, but they cannot say cat because it has been used already.
PLEASE NOTE: If nobody can answer, an invalid answer is given, or no one can think of a valid answer, then no one gets a cube. Simply reroll the die and keep playing.
End of the Game
When a player has taken the last of their 5 cubes the game ends and that player is victorious!
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Time's Up: Family Edition, from R&R Games (rnrgames.com), and Tsuro, from Calliope Games (calliopegames.com).
Island 3 — The Top of the Temple
Type: Race, bluff. Players: 2-5. Components: Island Card 3, wooden cubes.
Overview
It's a great honor to reach the peak of the Temple of the Fish. To reach the top of the long stairway and have all your wishes granted, you must make offerings to Fishy the Fish god who will boost or slow your movement with their magic!
Island Card Anatomy
- Start Space
- Offerings
- Movement Values
- Finish Line
Setup
- Place the Island card in the middle of the table.
- Take 3 cubes per color in 5 colors and place them as follows:
- Place 1 cube per color in the starting space. These cubes represent the Believers (aka the players).
- Keep 1 cube per color near the card. These cubes represent the offers.
- Put 1 cube per color in the bag. Each player draws a cube and may look at it. This will be your secret cube so do not let the other players see your color until the end of the game! If you are playing with fewer than 5 players, any undrawn cubes remain a secret.
- Randomly choose the starting player. Players will take turns in clockwise order until someone wins.
How to Win
The first player to reach the Top of the Temple immediately wins the game. If a cube that is not owned by a player reaches the top first, the player that is closest to the top wins.
Gameplay
- On your turn, take the 5 Offer cubes and place 1 in each Offer space on the card. You must place all 5 cubes.
- Resolve the offerings in order from left to right. Move the Believer of the matching color forward (+) or backward (-) on the stairway as indicated by the movement value of the Offering. Sharing a space is allowed so it is ok if more than one Believer shares a space.
EXAMPLE 3A: In this situation, the blue Believer advances 5 spaces, then the green Believer advances 3, then the yellow Believer advances 1, then the black Believer moves back 1 space, and finally the red moves back 2 spaces.
End of the Game
When a Believer reaches the last step of the staircase the game immediately ends and the players must reveal their Secret cubes. The player whose Believer reached the last step receives the blessings of Fishy and wins the game! If the cube color on the last step doesn't match any player's Secret cube, the player whose Believer is closest to the top is the winner.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Stockpile, from Nauvoo Games — if you liked the hidden information aspect of this game, try a race of a different kind with Stockpile! (nauvoogames.com)
Island 4 — Fishing Day
Type: Party game, dexterity game, betting, player elimination. Players: 2-6. Components: Island Card 4, wooden cubes, and the six-sided die.
Overview
Minutians love variety. They would rather cook with several different types of fish versus using a lot of one type. For this reason, they must be very precise to catch the customer's requested amount!
Setup
- In this game, the Island card is not placed at the center of the table. Keep it aside for the moment.
- Each player takes 5 cubes in their chosen color, which represent their fishnets.
- Spread the other 5 cubes of each of the 6 colors on the table so that they occupy an area more or less the size of 2 cards. These cubes represent fish of various species.
- Randomly determine who is the first Fisherman. Give that player the Island card and they will take the first turn. Then the game will proceed in turns going in clockwise order.
How to Win
Be the most efficient fisherman and the last remaining to win the game!
Gameplay
The game is played in turns until only one Fisherman remains.
PHASE 1 — Casting the Net
- On your turn, roll the die. The result indicates how many different colors you must attempt to cover with the card. The quantity of fish cubes covered is not important, only the number of colors matters.
- All the other Fishermen MUST bet if you will successfully cover the requested colors or not. To vote, each player holds out a closed fist. Count to 3 out loud. When you say "3" they vote at the same time with a thumbs up or thumbs down. Thumbs up is a vote for SUCCESS and thumbs down is a vote for FAILURE.
- Decide which side of the Island card you want to use and keep it flat with that side face up.
- Let the card fall on the table from at least 12 inches (or a distance all players agree on), trying to cover the exact number of colors indicated by the die roll.
PHASE 2 — Bring in the Catch
Verify how many different colors you covered with the card (the number of fish is not important) and compare it with the side you chose on the card.
SIDE A:
- If you cover exactly the amount of requested colors, your attempt is a complete SUCCESS and you take back a Fishnet cube previously lost. You cannot have more than 5 cubes.
- If you cover 1 color more or less than the requested amount, your attempt is a PARTIAL SUCCESS and you neither gain or lose a Fishnet.
- If you covered 2+ colors more or less than the requested amount, your attempt is a FAILURE and you lose a Fishnet cube.
SIDE B:
- If you cover exactly the amount of requested colors, your attempt is a complete SUCCESS and you take back a Fishnet cube previously lost. You cannot have more than 5 cubes.
- If you cover 1+ colors more or less than the requested amount, your attempt is a FAILURE and you lose a Fishnet cube.
PHASE 3 — Resolve the Bets
All the other Fishermen check the result of their bet:
SIDE A:
- If your attempt was a SUCCESS (including PARTIAL SUCCESS), all the players who bet on FAILURE lose 1 Fishnet cube.
- If your attempt was a FAILURE all the players who bet on SUCCESS lose 1 Fishnet cube.
SIDE B:
- If your attempt was a SUCCESS, all the players who bet on FAILURE lose 2 Fishnet cubes.
- If your attempt was a FAILURE, all the players who bet on SUCCESS lose 1 Fishnet cube.
When a player loses their last Fishnet cube they are immediately eliminated from the game. If at least 2 players remain, the game continues with the next player in clockwise order. Between turns, you can move the fish around on the table (maintain a similar area) to represent fish swimming.
EXAMPLE 4A: Michelle rolls the die and gets a 3. John, Paul and Ringo bet SUCCESS, while Georgette and Lucy bet FAILURE. Michelle decides to use the A Side of the card. Her card covers 4 colors (4 blue cubes, 3 green, 2 white, 1 black), so Michelle doesn't gain or lose Fishnets. She obtained a PARTIAL SUCCESS so Georgette and Lucy lose 1 Fishnet cube each.
End of the Game
The game ends when only one Fisherman remains. That Fisherman is the winner.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… The Table is Lava, from R&R Games — if you liked the dexterity aspect of this game, you should try The Table is Lava from R&R Games! (rnrgames.com)
Island 5 — Harvest Day
Type: Area control, majority, simultaneous action selection. Players: 2. Components: Island Card 5, and wooden cubes.
Overview
This island is really lush and the land ownership is currently disputed. The two farmers agree to settle the dispute based on who is better able to farm the land. They will each try to use their wits and their workers to win the dispute.
Island Card Anatomy
- Vegetable garden territory/tiebreaker values
Setup
- The Island card shows a different map on each side. Choose the side you want to use and place the card on the table so that the chosen side is face up.
- Each Farmer (aka player) takes all the cubes of one color. They represent the Workers.
How to Win
Score the most points by having the most workers in more different territories than your opponent.
Gameplay
The game is played in rounds as follows:
PHASE 1 — Placement Phase
- Count to 3. When you reach "3", each Farmer must reveal a number from 0 to 5 using the fingers of a hand (the number 0 is revealed by showing a closed fist).
- Each Farmer places 1 Worker in the territory which corresponds to the number they revealed.
PHASE 2 — Adjustment Phase
2 cases can occur:
- If the sum of the revealed numbers is even (0,2,4,6,8), both Farmers must add a second Worker on the same territory where they placed their first one during PHASE 1.
- If the sum of the revealed numbers is odd (1,3,5,7,9), both Farmers must MOVE one of their Workers from ANY territory to an adjacent one, starting with the Farmer who revealed the lower number.
If the Farmers have 2 or more unplaced Workers, a new round starts beginning with PHASE 1. Otherwise, the game ends.
EXAMPLE 5A: John and Paul count to 3, then John reveals the number 1 (one finger) and Paul the number 5 (five fingers). Both of them place a Worker cube on the chosen territory. Then, because the sum of 5 and 1 is even (5+1 = 6), they each place a second Worker cube on the same territory.
EXAMPLE 5B: In the following round, John reveals the number 2 and Paul the number 3. Both of them place a Worker on their chosen territory. Then, because the sum of 2 and 3 is odd (2+3 = 5), John goes first (since his number was lower) and moves 1 of his Workers from territory 1 to territory 0. Then Paul moves 1 of his Workers from territory 5 to 3.
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of the round when the Farmers each have only 1 or 0 workers left.
Each Farmer scores 1 point per each territory in which they have the most Workers. If each Farmer has the same number of Workers in a territory or a territory is empty, neither Farmer gets a point for it. Whichever Farmer has the most points (i.e. most territories controlled) wins the game.
Tie Breaker — If the Farmers are tied for the number of controlled territories, each Farmer adds the number values of each territory they control. The Farmer that has the highest total wins. If still tied, the Farmer with the single highest value territory wins.
EXAMPLE 5C: At the End of the game John has the most Workers on territories 0 and 4, while Paul has the most Workers on territories 2 and 5. In territories 1 and 3 nobody has the majority. The total score is 2 - 2, so Paul is the winner because he has 7 tie-breaker points and John has only 4.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Cartographers, from Thunderworks Games — if you liked the majority aspect of this game, you should try Cartographers from Thunderworks Games! (thunderworksgames.com)
Island 6 — The Intruder
Type: Party game, questions, deduction. Players: 3-6. Components: All 21 Island Cards, wooden cubes, wooden discs, and score track.
Overview
One of the Meanies snuck into the village and has a disguise that makes them look just like a Minutian. Our spy knows who they are, but can only give us some small hints one after another to avoid blowing their cover. Which detective will be able to identify the intruder?
Setup
- Shuffle the 4 Island cards with the number 6 labels and randomly draw 2.
- Take the other 2 cards and shuffle them in with the 17 other Island Cards and then draw 4 Island Cards at random from these 19 cards.
- Place the 6 cards on the table, so that they show a side on which there is at least 1 character. Their exact position on the table is not important.
PLEASE NOTE: It is ok if there are more than 2 cards in play with number 6 labels. These cards have more characters on them making the game more challenging.
- Place the Score track on the table within reach.
- Each player takes 7 cubes of their chosen color and places 1 of them on the 0 space of the Score track. The remaining 6 cubes are that player's Investigation cubes.
- Randomly determine the starting player. That player will be the first Spy and must take a disc of any color and place it in front of them. The other players are Detectives.
How to Win
Score the most points by giving good clues as the Spy and making good guesses as a Detective!
Gameplay
This game is played in rounds as described below. Each Round, a new player will be the Spy and the rest will be the Detectives.
PHASE 1 — Round Preparation
- The Spy secretly chooses any character (human or animal) on a card of their choice. It can be fully or partially visible. The chosen character is the Intruder the Detectives are trying to identify this round.
- The Spy must give the disc to the Detective on their left, who will be the first to get to ask a question.
PHASE 2 — The Investigation
- The Spy must place 1 of their Investigation cubes in the center of the table, in a general pile, and give the Detectives a hint about the Intruder's identity, as follows:
- The hint must be about a descriptive characteristic of the Intruder (color, movement, clothes, situation etc.).
- The hint cannot be given in negative form. For example, the Spy saying "The Intruders clothes are not red" would not be allowed.
- The Spy may not give a hint related to anything besides the scene shown on the card. For example, like saying where the card is placed on the table near objects or referencing the card number or game icons.
Examples of hints that are NOT allowed:
- (while indicating the card) "The Intruder is on this card";
- "The Intruder is on the card number 4";
- "The Intruder is on a card on my right";
- "The Intruder is near a shell icon";
- "The Intruder is in the middle of 2 game spaces"
Example of hints that ARE allowed:
- "The Intruder is looking North" (referring to the North/Top side of the card);
- "The Intruder is on a very crowded island";
- "The Intruder is taking part in a race";
- "The Intruder is facing a temple" (the temple cannot be on a different card)
IMPORTANT: the cards can be moved or temporarily picked up to be examined.
- All the Detectives can try to guess the identity of the Intruder! There's no order to follow. You can guess as much as you want and don't have to wait for the other Detectives, but before each guess you must place one of your Investigation cubes in the pile in the center of the table, near the one placed by the Spy during PHASE 1. This means each Detective has no more than 6 guesses for the entire round.
- If the guess is correct and the Intruder has been found, PHASE 2 ends and PHASE 3 begins.
- If the guess is wrong, PHASE 2 continues.
- If nobody has attempted a guess in 10 seconds (or so), the Detective who has the disc must ask a question following these rules:
- The Detective can only ask questions to which the Spy can answer YES, NO or I DON'T KNOW
- The question must follow the same rules as the hints, explained previously.
- The Spy must answer the question honestly (the Spy cannot lie).
- After the question is answered, all the Detectives can resume guessing (again using a cube for each guess).
- If nobody has attempted a guess in 10 seconds (or so), the Detective that has the disc (that asked the question) must pass it to the next Detective player (to the left). That Detective takes the disc but does not ask a question.
PLEASE NOTE: When the last Detective passes the disc, the Spy is skipped and the disc returns to the first Detective who had it at the beginning of the round
- The investigation continues on starting back at step 1 of PHASE 2, with the Spy giving another hint.
EXAMPLE 6A: Ringo is the Spy and chose the green fish on card #1. At the beginning of the first turn of the round he places 1 green Investigation cube in the center of the table starting a general pile and says "The Intruder's eyes are open". There are too many characters with this characteristic in play, so nobody tries to guess. Georgette has the disc and must ask a question, "Is the Intruder completely visible?" she asks. Ringo answers "no". The Detectives give it some thought, but again nobody tries to guess and about 10 seconds pass, so Georgette gives the disc to Michelle who is to her left. Now a new turn begins and Ringo must give a new hint, so he places another green Investigation cube in the pile in the center of the table and says "The intruder is in the company of someone". Paul tries a guess placing one of his blue Investigation cubes in the general pile. Ringo tells Paul his guess is incorrect and nobody else wants to try, so Michelle must now ask a question.
PHASE 3 — Round Scoring
PHASE 3 begins when one of these 2 conditions happens:
- A Detective identified the Intruder. In this case, both the Detective who guessed correctly, and the Spy, each score points equal to the number of Investigation cubes in the general pile at the center of the table (1 per turn placed by the Spy + 1 cube per each attempt from Detectives). They both advance their cubes on the score track accordingly.
OR
- The turn in which the Spy placed their last Investigation cube (i.e. the sixth turn) ended and nobody correctly identified the Intruder. In this case, nobody scores points.
After PHASE 3, the player to the left of the Spy becomes the new Spy, all players take their cubes back from the center of the table, and a new round begins with PHASE 1.
PLEASE NOTE: The longer it takes the Detectives to guess correctly the more the Spy scores, but the Spy must try not to let the round end without anyone guessing correctly!
EXAMPLE 6B: It's the last turn of PHASE 2. Ringo used his last cube and gave his final hint and Georgette asked her question. All the Detectives can add Investigation cubes to try to guess (1 cube per each attempt). If someone guesses correctly, both Ringo and the Detective who guessed correctly will score as many points as the Investigation cubes on the table. Otherwise, nobody scores points this round.
End of the Game
After all the players have been the Spy for a round, the game ends and the player with the highest score wins. In case of tie, the tied players share the victory.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… MicroMacro: Crime City, from Spielwiese Games (spielwiese-berlin.de), and The Crusoe Crew and Popcorn Dice, from Van Ryder Games (vanrydergames.com).
Island 7 — The Great Regatta
Type: Race, push your luck. Players: 2-4. Components: Island Card 7, wooden cubes, wooden discs, and the six-sided die.
Overview
Seamanship is extremely important when you live on an Island. The Minutians take great pride in their ability to safely take a seafaring vessel as far as possible, without running out of energy. They must be able to return home after all! You've been selected to join a group of Minutians and their boats in a team event. Now is your chance to show your skills and prove yourself.
Island Card Anatomy
- Starting Space
- Points (number in the space)
- Result Spaces
The track winds in a spiral around the card. Point values increase the farther a space is from the start, running 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 8, 11, 15. A set of six Result Spaces (one per die face) sits inside the spiral and is used to mark which die results have already been rolled during the current turn.
Setup
- Place the Island card at the center of the table.
- Each player takes a supply of 5 cubes in their color. These represent your boats.
- Place 6 discs near the card (the color doesn't matter).
- Randomly choose the starting player and give them the die. They will take the first turn.
How to Win
Score the most points. Each boat will score more points by going farther on the track but because you can still win by scoring multiple boats, the player whose boat makes it the farthest isn't necessarily guaranteed victory (although it definitely helps).
Gameplay
-
At the start of your turn, you must take one of the following actions:
- Take a boat cube from your supply and place it on the "0" starting space; OR
- Remove a boat cube from your supply to move one of your existing boat cubes farther along on the track.
-
Roll the die. Move your chosen Boat that many spaces along the track going clockwise around the card. Then place a disc on the circle space corresponding to the number rolled.
-
Decide whether to:
- End your turn, leaving the Boat where it is; OR
- Push your luck and roll the die again to attempt to advance the boat again.
If you decide to push your luck, check the result of your roll:
- If the number you roll corresponds to a space not yet covered by a disc, move the Boat as many spaces as the result of the die PLUS ONE. Then decide again whether to end your turn or to continue to push your luck and roll again;
- If the result of the die is already covered by a disc, remove the Boat cube from play and end your turn.
-
At the end of your turn, remove all the discs from the card and pass the die to the player to your left.
IMPORTANT: If your Boat ends its movement on a space where there is another Boat (yours or someone else's), you MUST choose to push your luck and roll the die again. You cannot choose to move fewer spaces to avoid this.
PLEASE NOTE: If a Boat must move beyond the last space, it continues on to the start space and beyond. So it's possible you could go from a high to a low score if you go too far!
EXAMPLE 7A: It is John's turn and he already has a boat in play. He decides to advance it, so he discards a boat cube from his supply and puts it back in the box. He rolls the die and gets a 3, so he moves the boat 3 spaces and covers the "3" space with a disc. John decides to push his luck and roll again. He rolls a 2 this time. He must move the boat equal to the result plus 1 additional space, so he moves 3 spaces. John was planning to stop, but Paul has a boat already on the space, so John must roll the die again. If he obtains a 2 or 3, his turn will end and he must remove the Boat from the card and place it back in the box. Otherwise, he will move his boat equal to the number rolled plus 1 and stop. John is hoping for a 1, because a 4 or higher will send him to or past the starting space which would be bad.
End of the Game
The game ends when there are no more boat cubes in the players' supplies (each player gets 5 turns). Each player adds up all the points from the spaces where they have a cube. The player with the highest total wins the game. If there is a tie, the winner is the tied player with the most advanced Boat on the track.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Popcorn Dice, from Van Ryder Games — push your luck mechanisms are so fun! You should try Popcorn Dice from Van Ryder Games! (vanrydergames.com)
Island 8 — Shelloker
Type: Bluff, betting. Players: 2-6. Components: Island Card 8, wooden cubes, wooden discs, bag, and score track.
Overview
Shelloker is the most popular game for the Minutians and they love playing it! For ages it has been one of their favorite games. Its combination of luck and skill along with a bluffing aspect has made it popular even beyond the islands!
Card Anatomy
- Beach Area
- Betting Area — twelve numbered spaces (1 through 12); each space's Shell cost equals its printed number.
- Cliffs Table — twelve numbered spaces (1 through 12) that fill up over the course of the game as Value cubes are drawn onto them.
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- Each player takes 2 cubes in their chosen color and places them as follows:
- Place 1 cube on the 20 space of the Score track. This Score cube represents how many Shells you have and indicates how many you can bet.
- Place the other cube in the 1 space of the Bet area. This will be used to bet, so it will be called a Bet cube.
- Put 8 cubes per color (there are 6 colors) in the bag and shuffle them. These 48 cubes are called Value cubes.
- Draw 2 Value cubes from the bag and place them in spaces 1 and 2 of the Cliffs table.
- Randomly determine the first player, who takes a disc (the color is not important) and places it in front of them. This is the First Player disc.
How to Win
Obtain 35 Shells or have the most Shells when the game ends!
Gameplay
The game is played in rounds until one of the endgame conditions has been met (see End of the Game). A round is played as follows:
-
Each player randomly draws 3 Value cubes from the bag. These cubes must be kept secret, so each player can see only their own.
-
The round starts with the player with the disc and proceeds clockwise.
-
On your turn you must decide how many Shells you want to bet. This decision should be based on the Value cubes you have in your hand and the Value cubes on the Cliffs. You must choose one of the following options:
- Check: if nobody has advanced their Bet cube yet, leave yours on the 1 space and pass the initiative to the next player on the left. This means you haven't bet for the moment and want to see what your opponents will do. Once a player has raised, players may no longer Check. If all the players decide to Check, they must return the Value cubes from their hand back into the bag and the round ends (go to step 5 in that case).
- Raise: advance your Bet cube to a space with a higher value than the most advanced Bet cube to bet more Shells than your opponents.
- Call: advance your Bet cube to the same space with the most advanced Bet cube, to bet the same number of Shells.
- Fold: you immediately lose the number of Shells equal to the number in the space your Bet cube is in. Move your Score cube back on the Score track accordingly, then place your Bet cube on the Beach (the outer ring) of its current space. This indicates you are forfeiting this round. Place your Value cubes back in the bag without letting anyone see them (see Example 8A).
After you've made your choice, play proceeds to the next player in clockwise order.
IMPORTANT: you are not allowed to Raise to a number higher than the value of your Score cube on the Score track. However, you are allowed to Call any amount, but if you win the round, you won't earn more Shells than the amount you already have. See Winning a round below.
-
The round proceeds clockwise until one of the following two conditions occurs:
- Only one player remains after all the others have Folded. In this case, the remaining player gains as many Shells as the highest bet of their opponents (i.e. the number in the Bet space of the Beach space with the most advanced cube. See Example 8A). Then, the winner puts their Value cubes back in the bag without letting anyone see them.
Or
- All the players that haven't folded have bid the same amount of Shells, which means their Bet cubes are on the same space. Those players reveal their hand and the player whose cubes have the highest value wins the round (see Winning a Round), then all the revealed Value cubes must be placed back in the bag.
If no end game condition is met (see End of the Game), a new round begins. Reset as follows:
- Place all the Bet cubes back on the 1 space.
- Draw a new Value cube from the bag and place it on the Cliffs table, in the next empty space.
- The player with the First Player disc passes it to the player at their left.
- Start from step 1 of the new round.
EXAMPLE 8A: It's Georgette's turn. She raises and bets 8 Shells. Ringo and Michelle already folded. John folds and loses 5 Shells, Paul folds and loses 5 Shells and Lucy folds and loses 6. Georgette is the only player remaining, so she wins the round and obtains 6 Shells, as indicated by Lucy's Bet cube, which is the most advanced of the other players.
EXAMPLE 8B: Ringo, Michelle and Lucy have already folded. John and Georgette's Bet cubes are the most advanced, on space 7. It's Paul's turn. He decides to call, so he moves his Bet cube onto space 7, too. Since all remaining players' cubes are in the same space, Georgette, John and Paul reveal their secret Value cubes to see who wins the round.
Winning a Round
When competing players reveal the Value cubes from their hands they must calculate and compare their scores. A player's Value cubes are worth 1 point +1 additional point per cube of the same color on the Cliffs table (the numbers on the Cliff spaces only matter in the case of a tie). After all the scores have been calculated, the player with the highest score wins and gains Shells equal to the number on their Bet space. Losing players lose that amount of Shells.
IMPORTANT: If a player decided to Call but didn't have enough Shells and wins the round, the player only gains as many Shells as they already have and the losing players only lose that amount as well.
In case of tie, the winner is the player with the highest number of Value cubes of the same color of the Value cube in the highest number space on the Cliff table. If still tied, repeat the same check on the next highest number space and so on. In the very rare case there is a tie that can't be resolved, all the losing players still lose Shells as usual, but the tied winners neither gain nor lose Shells.
EXAMPLE 8C: In the situation shown, green and yellow cubes are worth 3 points, the blue and red cubes are worth 2 points, and the black and the white cubes are worth 1 point. So, when the remaining players reveal the cubes in their hands, Georgette scores 7 points, while John and Paul score 8. In this case, Paul is the winner because the highest number cube (6) on the Cliffs is green and he has more green cubes than John. But since Paul cannot earn 7 Shells (as indicated by his score cube on the score track) because he Called without having 7 Shells. So he gains 5 Shells (doubling what he already had). Meanwhile, the losing players Georgette and John lose 5 Shells.
End of the Game
The game ends if at the end of a round, one of the following 3 conditions is true:
- A player reaches 35 Shells.
- Any player has 0 Shells.
- All 12 spaces of the Cliffs table have a cube.
Regardless of the end game trigger, the player(s) with the most Shells wins the game.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… For Sale, from Eagle-Gryphon Games (eagle-gryphon.com), and The Red Dragon Inn, from Slugfest Games (slugfestgames.com).
Island 9 — Resource Rich
Type: Drafting, set collection. Players: 2-4. Components: Island Card 9 and one other Island card per player, wooden cubes, wooden discs, and bag.
Overview
On this island you can find valuable resources like pearls (blue cubes), Shells (yellow cubes), gems (green cubes) and volcanic rocks (red cubes). It's quite common to find a lot of them, while exploring. Choose carefully which ones to keep and which ones to pass on to next explorers. Build the most valuable collection to win!
Island Card Anatomy
- Direction Spaces
- Number of Cubes Collected
- Victory Points
Setup
- Island card #9 has different aspects on each side. Choose the side you want to use and place the card on the table so that the chosen side is face up.
- Place all the cubes in the bag and shuffle them. They represent the resources of the island.
- Place 3 white discs on the table next to the card to be used for the Direction Spaces. Each player takes a random Island card to be used as a Cover to place on top of the cubes they permanently keep, hiding them from the sight of the other players.
- Each player randomly draws cubes from the bag based on player count and keeps them in their hand hidden from the other players:
- In a 2-player game: 20 cubes per player.
- In a 3-player game: 13 cubes per player. Reveal the final cube but it will not be used.
- In a 4-player game: 10 cubes per player.
How to Win
Score the most points by collecting resources more efficiently than your opponents. You will score points for each resource type (cube color) you have at the end of the game. Examine the Island card and the Scoring Tables before and during play so you know what the scoring possibilities are.
Important Game Terms
Direction of Play: refer to the direction on the topmost direction space that is not covered by a disc to determine if turns are taken in clockwise or counter-clockwise order.
Keep: Put the cube(s) beneath your Cover Card without letting the other players see them. They will remain and will be used to calculate the score at the end of the game.
Pass: Give the cubes which are still in your hand to the player next to you based on the Direction of Play (or the opposite direction; see Gameplay). Do not let the other players see the cubes.
Gameplay
The game is played in rounds until one of the endgame conditions has been met (see End of the Game). A round is played as follows:
Choose a player to roll the die. Each player takes the resulting action as follows:
- Result 1 or 2: First, each player chooses 1 cube to keep from among those in their hand. Then each player passes the remaining cubes to the next player according to Direction of Play.
- Result 3: First, each player chooses 2 cubes to keep from among those in their hand. Then each player passes the remaining cubes to the next player according to Direction of Play.
- Result 4 or 5: First, each player chooses 2 cubes to keep from among their hand. Next, each player chooses another cube and passes it to the player next to them in the opposite direction of the Direction of Play. The receiving player must keep it (put it under their Cover card). Then each player passes the remaining cubes from their hand to the next player according to Direction of Play.
- Result 6: Place a disc on the topmost uncovered Direction of Play space. If two discs in a row were just placed (the previous two rolls were 6 and 6), reroll until you get a different result.
EXAMPLE 9A: The result of the die roll is 5. Each player must keep two cubes so Paul decides to keep 2 yellow cubes and places them under his Cover card. The other players do the same, each secretly choosing 2 cubes from their hand to keep. Next, since the current Direction of Play is clockwise, the players must each pass a cube in the opposite direction which would be counter-clockwise. Paul passes a red cube to John who is seated on his right. Paul then receives a blue cube from Georgette who is on his left. The players all must keep the cube and each puts it under their Cover card. Lastly, Paul passes the remaining cubes in his hand clockwise (based on The Direction of Play) to Georgette and receives John's remaining cubes. The other players pass and receive in a similar fashion.
Scoring Tables
SIDE A — numeric value per number of cubes collected of that color:
| Cubes collected | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearl (blue) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 0 | -1 | -2 | -3 | -4 |
| Gem (green) | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Volcanic Rock (red) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 32 |
- Pearl collections (blue cubes) go up in value as long as you don't take more than 5. If you have more than 5 you will not get any points and may even lose points!
- Shell collections (yellow cubes) are worth 1 point for each shell. But the player with the most Shells gets 10 points instead.
- Gem collections (green cubes) go up in value as long as you don't take more than 5. If you take more than 5 the point value will start to decline!
- Volcanic Rock collections (red cubes) hold no value if an odd number is collected, but they hold high values if an even number is collected!
SIDE B:
- Pearl collections (blue cubes) are most valuable by finding fewer pearls. If you have more than 3 you will not get any points and may even lose points!
- Shell collections (yellow cubes) are worth 1 point for each shell. But the player with the most Shells gets 3 points per cube instead.
- Gem collections (green cubes) are worth 2 points for each gem!
- Volcanic Rock collections (red cubes) hold no value if less than 5 are collected, but they hold high values if 5 or more are collected!
End of the Game
The game ends if at the end of a round, one of the following 2 conditions is true:
- The third Direction of Play space is covered by a disc.
- Players do not have enough cubes to fully complete the actions required by the die result. In this case, the cubes remaining in the players' hands are discarded.
Now the players reveal the cubes under their Cover Cards and sum up their total value based on the scoring tables on Island card #9. The player with the highest score wins the game. In the case of a tie, the tied players share the victory.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Herbaceous, from Pencil First Games — collecting sets of things is so satisfying. Check out Herbaceous for more set collecting fun! (pencilfirstgames.com)
Island 10 — The Kentucksea Derby
Type: Race, auctions, betting, simultaneous action selection, take that. Players: 3-6. Components: Island Card 10, wooden cubes, wooden discs, bag, score track, and the six-sided die.
Overview
The Kentucksea Derby is one of the most ancient traditions on the islands. The main draw is that everyone can invest their Shells to help their favorite jockey… or hinder their rival!
Island Card Anatomy
- Start/Finish Line
- Race Track
- Speed Table
- Laps
- Turn Order Track
- Race Result
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- If you are playing with fewer than 5 players, place a black disc in the 3 space of the Laps area, to indicate that it won't be used.
- Each player take 3 cubes in their chosen color and:
- Place 1 cube on the 40 space of the Score Track. This is your score cube.
- Keeps the other 2 cubes in hand: one of them will be used in the Turn Order Track during the game, and the other will remain in front of the player as a reminder of their color.
- Place 1 cube of each color (there are 6 colors) near the card beside the starting space, just before the finish line. This cube will be called the Racer.
PLEASE NOTE: There will always be 6 Racers regardless of the number of players.
- Place 1 cube of each color in the 1 space of the Laps area. These cubes are called Lap trackers.
- Place 1 cube of each color in the bag. Draw random cubes from the bag one at a time and place them in the first column of the Speed Table from top to bottom.
- Keep the six-sided die nearby on the table.
How to Win
Score the most points! You will get points for the finishing position of your Racer. If you are playing with betting, you will also get points for your bet multiplied by your Rival Multiplier.
IMPORTANT: If it is your first time at the derby, we suggest leaving out the betting aspect to get familiar with the basic game. Place all the cubes on the 20 space of the Score Track during setup. Then you can skip the next section and go to the Gameplay section.
Betting
Determining Rivals: Your Rival is the color of the cube above yours on the Speed Table (if yours is on top, your Rival is the bottom cube). Take an unused cube of your Rival's color as a reminder since the order of the cubes on the Speed Table will change throughout the game.
Placing Bets: You are betting against your Rival. Players will bet in order of the Speed Table from top to bottom. When it's your turn, you must decide how many Shells to bet. The amount you bet will be multiplied based on the finishing position of your Rival as indicated by the third column in the Race Results Table.
IMPORTANT! The lower the finishing position of your Rival, the higher your Multiplier of your bet will be.
To place your bet:
- Decide how many Shells you want to bet and place a disc (the disc color does not matter) and an unused cube in your color on the corresponding space on the Score track. This is your Bet cube.
- Reduce the number of Shells you have by moving your Score cube back on the Score track accordingly.
PLEASE NOTE: Shells will be needed for auctions during the game, so decide wisely how many of them you want to bet.
EXAMPLE 10A: John decides to bet 15 Shells, so he places a disc and his Bet cube on the 15 space of the Score track and moves his Score cube back from space 40 to space 25 to account for his bet.
Adjustments
If you play with less than 6 players, it's possible that some players have a Rival controlled by a player and others have a Rival that is not controlled by a player. To compensate for this, adjust Bet and Score cubes as follows.
- If your Rival is controlled by a human player, advance your Bet cube 5 spaces, to compensate for the increased difficulty.
- If your Racer is the Rival of a human player, advance your Score cube 10 spaces. You get 10 more Shells to use during the game to compensate for your Rival attacks.
PLEASE NOTE: It's possible that both conditions will be applied to the same player(s). In 6-player games, they will both apply for everyone.
EXAMPLE 10B: Georgette's Rival is John; John's rival is Paul; Paul's Rival is the Black Racer, not controlled by anyone, and Ringo's Rival is the White Racer, not controlled by anyone. So, Georgette's Bet cube advances 5 spaces since her Rival is a human player; John's Score cube advances 10 spaces and his Bet cube advances 5 since he is a Rival of a human player and his Rival is a human player; Paul's Score cube advances 10 spaces since he is the Rival of a human player; None of Ringo's cubes are advanced since his Rival is not a human player and he is not the Rival of a human player.
Gameplay
PHASE 1 — Bidding for Turn Order
In this PHASE players will bid on turn order which determines the order players will act in future phases. PHASE 2 actions are resolved in reverse turn order (from right to left on the Turn Order Track) and PHASE 3 actions are resolved in regular turn order, (from left to right on the Turn Order Track). Being higher on the Turn order Track, as far left as possible, is advantageous!
To bid for turn order, do the following:
- All the players will choose simultaneously how many Shells to bid by first holding out a closed fist. On the count of 3, they must reveal their bid by extending that number of fingers on their hand. Thus, the minimum bid is 1 and the maximum is 5 (you cannot bid 0). Players must immediately move their Score cubes back the number of spaces they bid.
- Each player places their cube on the Turn order track based on the bidding, in order from left (highest bid) to right (lowest bid).
- In the event of a tie, the players who tied must bid again to break the tie. If there are multiple ties, there will be a separate additional bid for each of them. (See Example 10C)
IMPORTANT: Score cubes are adjusted immediately upon bidding, so the players who tie and must repeat the bidding must spend additional Shells. For this reason, it can sometimes happen that a player with a good position spent less than a player or players with a worse position.
EXAMPLE 10C: In this example, all the players start with 20 Shells, for the sake of simplicity. All the players reveal their bids. John and Ringo each extend 1 finger, Michelle bids 2, Paul, Georgette and Lucy all extend 3 fingers bidding 3. All of them move their Score cubes back on the track according to how much they bid. Michelle being the only one who bid 2, is sure she'll go fourth. She places her white cube on the 4th space in the Turn Order Track.
John and Ringo must break their tie and bid again to try to be fifth place, so they repeat the bidding process and both of them bid 1 again (Oh no!). They both move their Score cube back 1 space again, then they must repeat the bidding process again since the tie must be broken. This time Ringo bids 1 and John bids 2. They move back their Score cubes and then John places his cube in the 5th space of the Turn order track and Ringo places his cube in the 6th and last space.
Georgette, Paul and Lucy must also break their tie and bid against each other for the first 3 positions. Georgette and Lucy bid 1 but Paul bids 3. All of them move back their Score cubes and Paul places his cube in the 1st space of the Turn order area.
Georgette and Lucy are still tied and must bid again. Georgette bids 2 and Lucy bids 3. Both of them move back their Score cubes, then Lucy places her cube in 2nd position and Georgette in 3rd. The final order is Paul, Lucy, Georgette, Michelle, John and Ringo. In total, Paul spent 6 Shells, Lucy 7, Georgette 6, Michelle 2, John 4 and Ringo 3.
PHASE 2 — Modifying Speed
In reverse turn order, starting with the player with the last cube on the Turn Order track (i.e. from right to left), each player may move 1 cube on the Speed Table to any other space in the column. Remove the cube of your choice and move any other cubes up or down on the track while maintaining their relative order and place the cube back on the track in the open space. Note that the higher a cube is on the column, the more likely that Racer will move more spaces! See Example 10D.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no rule against using your turn to reverse what the previous player did. You are also allowed to choose not to move a cube.
EXAMPLE 10D: Ringo's cube is on the far right of the Turn Order track so he gets to modify the Speed Column first. He decides he wants to place his green cube in top position. So he removes it from the column and moves the white cube down 1 space. Then he places the green cube in the top space. Next up is John. He wants to move the blue cube (his Rival!) to the last position, so he removes it and moves the yellow and red cubes up 1 space making sure not to change their order. This continues in the same way until all players have had a chance to modify the Speed Column.
PHASE 3 — Advance the Racers
In regular turn order, starting with the leftmost cube on the Turn order track and going right, the active player rolls the die and advances ALL of the Racer cubes on the Racing Track the number of spaces indicated by the Speed Table. The Racers must be moved in order as they are in the Speed Table, from top to bottom.
IMPORTANT: if you run out of Shells, you can no longer bid for Turn order in Phase 1 and you can not participate in Phase 2. However, you still get to roll the die during PHASE 3.
EXAMPLE 10E: Paul is the first to roll the die. The result is 6, so he moves the racers around the race track as follows: blue advances 4 spaces, red advances 4, black advances 5, yellow advances 4, green advances 3 and white advances 1. Now it's Lucy's turn to roll the die. The result is 2. Blue advances 5 spaces, red advances 4, black advances 3, yellow advances 6, green advances 6 and white advances 2. After all the cubes have been moved, Georgette, Michelle, John and Ringo will each take a turn rolling the die and move the racers accordingly.
When a Racer crosses the finish line, move the Lap tracker of the same color to the next lap area. If the Racer was already on the final lap, place the Lap tracker in the topmost available space on the Race Result table, as described in the next section.
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of the round if at least one Racer has completed the final lap, as follows:
- In 3 or 4 players: a Racer must complete 2 laps;
- In 5 or 6 players: a Racer must complete 3 laps.
The first Racer to finish the race is placed in the top space of the Final Order table. The round continues until all the players have rolled the die in Phase 3, then the Final Order table is filled according to the position of the Racers still on the race track. If 2 or more Racers are in the same space, refer to the Speed column to break the tie.
Once the final order is complete, each player scores points as follows:
- Score points shown in the middle column of the Final Order table based on the position of your Racer.
- Score your Bet x Rival Multiplier (skip this part if you are playing without bets). Multiply the number indicated by your Bet cube by the multiplier in the third column of the Final Order table in the row of your Rival's cube.
- Score points equal to the number on the Score track for your Score cube.
The Final Order table's points and multiplier columns run:
| Finishing position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 60 | 50 | 40 | 30 | 20 | 10 |
| Rival Multiplier | x0 | x1 | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 |
The player with the highest score is the winner. In the event of a tie, the winner is the tied player with the cube in highest position on the Speed Column.
EXAMPLE 10F: Michelle is the last player to roll the die in Phase 3. The result of her roll is 5. The red racer already crossed the finish line during John's turn and is first in the Final Order table. The green racer now crosses the line next and is second, then the black racer crosses the line and is third. The yellow, white, and blue racers move but none of them cross the line. Since Michelle was the last player to roll the die, the round and the race are over. The blue racer is fourth because it's the most advanced on the race track of those remaining. Since Yellow and white finished in the same space, Yellow finishes fifth because the yellow cube is higher than white one on the Speed Table.
EXAMPLE 10G: Georgette finished first, so she scores 60 points according to the Final Order table. She bet 25 at the beginning of the game (his Bet cube is on 25) and since his Rival was John, who finished in fifth place, the 25 is multiplied by x4 which equals 100 points. That is 60 + 100 points and she has another 7 points since her Score cube is on the 7 space of the Score track making her final score 167 points.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Longshot: The Dice Game, from Perplext — did you have fun at the derby? Check out Longshot: The Dice Game for more fun at the track! (perplext.com)
Island 11 — Feaster Island
Type: Set collection, majority. Players: 2-4. Components: Island Card 11, wooden cubes, bag, score track, and the six-sided die.
Overview
Everyone loves a big feast! The Minutians love celebrating with food. On Feaster Island different dishes are arriving all the time, but not always in the same amounts. This is not a problem for the Minutians because they will diligently stand in line and wait their turn so they can get the best dishes!
Setup
- The Island card has different stats on each side. Choose the side you want to use and place the card on the table so that the chosen side is face up.
- Each player chooses a color and places 1 cube of their color on the 0 space of the Score track. Remember your color!
- Put 9 cubes in each of the 6 colors (54 total) in the bag and shuffle them. These Dish cubes represent the different dishes.
- Draw 6 random Dish cubes from the bag and place one in the bottom of each table column going from left to right.
- Randomly determine the first player and give them the die.
How to Win
Score the most points. You will need to collect the most of a particular dish to score points and try not to be lowest in any dish or you will lose points. Review the score amounts on the Island Card before and during play!
Gameplay
This game is played in turns starting with the first player and continuing clockwise until the end of the game is triggered.
- On your turn, roll the die and draw Dish cubes at random from the bag equal to the result.
- Assign each Dish cube to a different table column as you choose.
PLEASE NOTE: To avoid accidentally placing more than one cube in a column, we suggest placing the cubes under the columns first, and then once all the cubes have been assigned, move them to the top of the other cubes of those columns.
- Choose a table column and take all the dishes on it (including the one you just placed). Then your turn ends and play passes to the next player on your left.
EXAMPLE 11A: It is John's turn. He rolls the die and the result is 3. So, he draws 3 Dish cubes (2 yellow cubes and a white cube) and adds them to three different columns of his choosing. He then takes all the Dishes from the column of his choice. He chooses the 5th table column and takes the 2 white cubes (one of which he just placed) and the red cube.
PLEASE NOTE: The color of the Dish cubes is not related to your player color on the Score track. You can take Dishes of any color. All Dish cubes are public knowledge and may NOT be hidden.
End of the Game
The game ends when a player is unable to draw the required number of Dish cubes from the bag (equal to the die result). The leftover Dish cubes are discarded. Then each player, starting with the current player and going clockwise, may take 1 more table column of cubes. The remaining cubes on the Island Card are then discarded.
Scoring is calculated as follows:
- The player with the most Dish cubes of a color scores points equal to the value shown on the Island card. Advance that player's cube on the score track accordingly. Repeat this until each Dish type is scored. If there is a tie for the most cubes of a color, nobody scores points for that dish.
- The player with the least Dish cubes of a color loses points equal to the value shown on the Island card. Move that player's cube back on the score track accordingly. If there is a tie for the least cubes of a color, nobody loses points for that dish.
- The player with the highest score is the winner. In case of tie, the player with the most color majorities is the winner. If still tied, the player with the majority of the most valuable dish wins.
EXAMPLE 11B: Players are using side A of the Island Card. The blue cube majority is scored first. Ringo has the most blue cubes and scores 5 points advancing his green cube on the Score Track. Paul has the most red cubes, so he scores 6 points. Since there is a tie for the most green cubes between John and Georgette, no one scores any points. The players check and score majorities for yellow (Georgette +8 points), black (John +9 points), and white (Paul +10 points) in similar fashion. Then, the players go through the colors again checking for the lowest of each dish. Georgette loses 5 points for blue since she has the least with only one cube. As for red and green, since multiple players have the lowest, no one loses any points. The players also check yellow (Paul -8 points), black (Ringo -9 points), and white (no one loses points). Scoring is complete so the players check the score track and see that John is the winner with 9 points (Paul: 8, Georgette: 3, and Ringo -4).
PLEASE NOTE: It is not uncommon for one or more players to have a final score below zero (i.e. have negative points).
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Wreck Raiders, from KTBG (kidstablebg.com), and Roll For It, from Calliope Games (calliopegames.com).
Island 12 — Set in Stone
Type: Party game, memory, player elimination. Players: 2-∞. Components: Island card 12 and any other island card, wooden cubes, bag, and the six-sided die.
Overview
A great ritual is taking place at the Temple of the Two-Headed Hippo Snake. The Minutians believe that one can gain favor by perfectly reciting, from memory, the order of the ornamental stones in the temple!
Island Card Anatomy
- Starting Cube spaces
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- Put all the cubes in the bag. They represent the stones in the temple.
- Randomly draw 3 cubes and place them in the start spaces.
- Randomly determine the first player and give them the die.
- Keep another Island Card nearby. It will be used during the game.
How to Win
Be the last player to successfully recite the order of the stones!
Gameplay
This game is played in turns starting with the first player and continuing clockwise until only one player remains.
PHASE 1 — Place a New Stone and Study
On your turn, roll the die:
- If the result is 1, 2 or 3, draw a Stone cube from the bag and place it in the next available space on the LEFT side of the temple.
- If the result is 4, 5 or 6, draw a Stone cube from the bag and place it in the next available space on the RIGHT side of the temple.
- Look at the sequence on the temple for no more than 5 seconds, then another players will cover the card and cubes using the other Island Card.
PHASE 2 — Recite the Order of the Stones
- You must recite the sequence from memory following these rules:
- If there are more than 7 Stone cubes, you must recite either the first 7 on the left or the last 7 on the right determined by which side you placed the Stone on in PHASE 1.
- The colors must always be recited following the path in the temple. This means that you will either start with the leftmost cube, or the rightmost cube and recite the sequence.
- If the result of the die was 1 or 6, the other players may say random colors loudly to distract you.
IMPORTANT: The limit of 7 cubes was chosen to generate a fun, but challenging game. You can choose to increase or decrease the limit according to your group's wishes and/or skill. If you want to make the game more challenging, you can increase the limit by 1 each round.
- If you listed the entire sequence correctly, you remain in the game, otherwise you are eliminated. Uncover the Island card and then play proceeds clockwise.
IMPORTANT: in the unlikely case all the spaces on the card are filled with cubes at the beginning of a turn, remove the last 7 cubes from each side of the temple and continue playing.
EXAMPLE 12A: It is Michelle's turn. She rolls the die and the result is 6, so she places a Stone cube after those already on the card. To stay in the game, she must list the last 7 cubes in the sequence. Lucy covers the card, then all the players start to name random colors loudly, but Michelle correctly says "blue, green, blue, white, yellow, yellow, red". Now it is Georgette's turn and the game continues.
End of the Game
When all of the players except one have been eliminated, the game ends and the remaining player is the winner! Alternatively, you can specify a number of rounds at the beginning of the game and any players still remaining at the end of the game share the victory.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Wandering Towers, from Capstone Games (capstone-games.com), and Picture Perfect, from Arcane Wonders (arcanewonders.com).
Island 13 — The Great Golden Egg
Type: Bluff, simultaneous action selection, prisoner's dilemma, diplomacy. Players: 3. Components: Island card 13, wooden cubes, and wooden discs.
Overview
The Sacred Cliffs are a place of great fascination and mystery. Three valiant groups of adventurers are trying to reach the Great Golden Egg. To succeed in their expedition, they must cooperate with one another… but not too much!
Island Card Anatomy
- Cliffs' point values
- Example of Cliffs not connected to each other (no dotted line)
- Example of Cliffs connected to each other (by dotted line)
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- Each player takes 8 cubes in their chosen color. The cubes represent the Adventurers in your group.
- Randomly choose the first player, who is called the Guide. The Guide takes a disc of any color and places it in front of them. The other players are called Followers.
How to Win
Score the most points with your group of adventurers by occupying the most valuable cliffs.
Gameplay
This game is played in rounds each consisting of 3 Phases. When a round ends, check if an end game condition has been met (see End of the Game below). If not, begin a new round starting with Phase 1.
IMPORTANT: Throughout the game players are allowed to negotiate, make deals, and make promises, but nothing is binding. Consider taking and making deals carefully!
PHASE 1 — The Guide Targets
The Guide chooses a target Cliff, following these targeting rules:
- They can always choose a Cliff worth 1 or 2.
- They can only choose a Cliff with a higher value if they have at least 1 Adventurer of their color in both the connected Cliffs with a lower value.
PLEASE NOTE: The above rules only apply for choosing a target cliff and do not apply when adding or moving an Adventurer cube in Phase 3 unless specifically noted.
EXAMPLE 13A: Georgette is the Guide. She can choose the Cliff worth 3 on the top because she has a red Adventurer on both connected Cliffs, but she can't choose the other Cliff worth 3, nor the Cliff worth 5.
PHASE 2 — The Followers Vote
The Followers each hold their closed fist out over the table and The Guide counts to 3. On "3", the Followers must vote if they want to follow the Guide or not. To vote YES, reveal a thumbs up. To vote NO, reveal a thumbs down.
PHASE 3 — Place/Move
There are 3 voting possibilities.
- If Both the Followers voted YES, then starting with the Guide and continuing clockwise, each player must choose one of the following options:
- Add 1 of their Adventurer cubes to the target Cliff. OR
- Move 1 of their Adventurer cubes FROM the target Cliff to a connected Cliff.
- If one Follower voted YES and the other voted NO:
- The Guide doesn't add or move Adventurers.
- The Follower who voted NO may move 1 of their Adventurers from ANY Cliff to another connected Cliff.
- The Follower who voted YES gets the disc and becomes the new Guide.
- If both Followers voted NO:
- Neither Follower can add nor move an Adventurer.
- The Guide can add 1 Adventurer to a Cliff following the targeting rules from PHASE 1 OR can move 1 of their Adventurers from any Cliff to a connected one.
EXAMPLE 13B: In Phase 1, Georgette chose the Cliff circled in the graphic as the target Cliff. In Phase 2, both Lucy and Michelle vote YES. Georgette adds 1 Adventurer since it is her only choice (she does not have an Adventurer on the target Cliff). Lucy, seated at her left, goes next and decides to move her Adventurer from the target Cliff to the connected Cliff with the Golden Egg (worth 5!). Lastly, Michelle must choose to add 1 Adventurer on the target Cliff as it is her only option.
End of the Game
The game ends if at the end of a round at least one of the following 2 conditions is met:
- At least 1 player has an Adventurer on all of the Cliffs;
- At least 1 player has all of their Adventurers on the card (i.e. no unplaced cubes remaining)
Points are scored for Adventurers based on the value of the Cliff each is on. Players should each add up the total value of their Adventurers to determine their final score. The player with the highest scores wins the game. In case of tie, the tied players share the victory.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Moonrakers, from IV Studio (iv.studio).
Island 14 — Split the Catch
Type: Set collection, drafting, split and choose. Players: 2-4. Components: Island card 14 and any other island card, wooden cubes, and score track.
Overview
Night Fisher Island is named for how great the fishing is on the island at night. The Minutians have a longstanding agreement that all the fishermen and women must combine their catch and then split it at the end of the night. Once they take their portion of the catch, they sell them to customers that want to cook tasty recipes!
Setup
- Place Island card 14 in the center of the table.
- Each player takes 1 cube of their chosen color and keeps it in hand (Note! Yellow may not be chosen in this game). The player cubes will be used to keep track of the selection order each round and then later used on the Score track (see Gameplay).
- Put 1 black, 2 red, 4 blue, 6 green, and 10 yellow cubes in the bag. Then, shuffle them and draw all of them, placing the cubes randomly in a line. The line of cubes represents today's catch.
- Randomly determine who will be the first Auctioneer. The Auctioneer takes the other Island card, which will be called the Knife.
- Keep all the discs on the table nearby.
How to Win
Score the most points in a round to earn a disc. The first player to have 3 discs at the end of a round wins!
Gameplay
PHASE 1 — Split the Catch!
- The Auctioneer holds the Knife card vertically, over the left end of the line of Catch cubes, then slowly begins to move it to the right.
- At any moment, any player (including the Auctioneer) can say "stop". The Knife card is moved down between the cubes, to divide the line in 2 parts. The player who said "stop" takes all the Catch cubes on the left of the Knife card and is out for the rest of this phase.
PLEASE NOTE: If a Catch cube has not been completely passed by the Knife card, place the Knife in the gap BEFORE that cube, which should not be taken by the player who said "stop". In the event of a dispute, go with the majority of players.
- After you say "stop" and take the Catch cubes, you must place your player cube above the Island card. If your cube isn't the first one, place it to the right of the other cubes. This is the selection order.
- PHASE 1 continues in the same way until all the players have taken Catch cubes (the last Fisherman will take the remaining ones).
EXAMPLE 14A: Ringo is the Auctioneer and slowly starts to move the Knife card. Georgette is the first to say "stop". She takes the 6 cubes to the left of the Knife card and places her player cube in the left corner above the Island card. Ringo begins to move the Knife again and Michelle is the second player who says "stop". She takes the 5 cubes to the left of the Knife card and places her player cube to the right of Georgette's cube. Ringo starts again to move the Knife and after a few seconds says "stop". He takes the 6 cubes to the left of the Knife and Lucy, who is the last player, takes the remaining 6 cubes. Ringo's and then Lucy's player cube are placed to the right of the other two (selection order: Georgette, Michelle, Ringo, Lucy).
PHASE 2 — Sell the Catch!
Each player will take a turn to sell their catch by following the steps below, starting with the player whose player cube is first (farthest left) in the selection order.
- The player can place their Catch cubes on the Island card to fulfill the customer requests shown on any available space.
IMPORTANT: You cannot place your Catch cubes on spaces where there are already cubes.
- Each time you place Catch cubes, use your player cube to keep track of your score on the Score track by advancing an amount equal to the Shells you earned from that space.
- When you cannot place any more Catch cubes on the Island card (leftover Catch cubes do not score points), your turn ends. The next player may now begin their turn in Phase 2.
EXAMPLE 14B: Georgette's cube is farthest left in the selection order, so she has the first opportunity to place her Catch cubes. She scores 25 points and her cube is placed on the 25 space of the Score track. Now it's Michelle's turn to place her Catch cubes, but she can only choose from the available spaces.
After all the players have had a turn in Phase 2, the player with the highest score takes a disc. If multiple players are tied for the highest score, they each get a disc. If no player has 3 discs, put all the Catch cubes back in the bag and return the player cubes to their owners. The last player in the selection order becomes the new Auctioneer and a new round begins in PHASE 1.
End of the Game
The first player to have 3 discs at the end of a round wins the game. If multiple players have 3 discs at the end of the same round, they share the victory.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Castles of Mad King Ludwig, from Bézier Games — if you liked the splitting aspect of this game, you should try Castles of Mad King Ludwig from Bézier Games! (beziergames.com)
Island 15 — The Great Battle
Type: Combat, wargame, action drafting, hexagon grid. Players: 2. Components: Island card 15, wooden cubes, and wooden discs.
Overview
The Meanies and the Minutians have been fighting over one island for so long, it is now known as Battle Island. In this game, each player will be the General of one of the two opposing forces.
Island Card Anatomy
- Bases
- Number of Attacks
- Speed
- Action Spaces
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- The Minutian General takes the 10 red cubes, the 10 blue cubes, and 1 white disc. The Meanie General takes the 10 yellow cubes, the 10 green cubes and 1 black disc. Each cube represents a military unit. Each General must keep their cubes in front of them, clearly visible.
- Randomly determine the first player.
- The first player places a single Unit in 2 hexes of their choice from among the 6 hexes adjacent to their bases. Such Units can be of the same color or of different color, but each Unit must match the color of the base to which it is adjacent. The second player then does the same but gets to place 3 starting units.
How to Win
Be the first to take control of one of your opponent's bases by moving one of your units into it. This causes the enemy to retreat from the island... until next time!
Gameplay
The two Generals take turns, starting with the first player. On each of your turns, you may take one action. To choose an action, place your disc on an available free action space (you may not choose a space your disc or your opponent's is on). After both Generals take their first action, there will always be 2 covered action spaces and 4 available action spaces.
The possible actions are:
Move 3 Units
- You may move up to 3 of your different Units.
- Blue/Yellow Units can move 1 hex.
- Red/Green Units can move up to 2 hexes.
- You cannot move on to one of your own bases.
- You cannot move the same Unit more than once with this action.
- You cannot pass through or move onto hexes containing a Unit.
EXAMPLE 15A: Michelle places her white disc on the 'Move 3 Units' action space. Michelle moves her red Unit 2 hexes and her blue Unit 1 hex. She doesn't have another Unit and she cannot move one of the 2 she already moved, so her action ends.
Move 1 Unit Twice
- You may move one of your Units following the same movement rules above, except you may move the unit a second time if you wish.
EXAMPLE 15B: Lucy places her black disc on the 'Move 1 Unit twice' action space. She moves her green Unit 4 spaces away because green Units can move 2 hexes and using this action, she can do it twice.
Spawn 2 Units
- You may take up to 2 Units from your supply and put them into play (same color or 1 of each).
- Each Unit must be placed in a hex adjacent to the base of its color.
EXAMPLE 15C: Michelle can't take either of the move actions since there is a disc in each of those action spaces. So she chooses the Spawn 2 units' action space and moves her disc there. Michelle puts 2 blue Units in play next to her blue base.
Upgrade a Unit
- Place 1 cube of the same color on top of one of your Units on the island.
- A Unit's level is equal to its number of cubes and its level can never be decreased.
- Upgraded units still move the same, but they are more formidable in combat (See Attack)!
Sabotage
- Permanently remove a Unit of your choice from the supply of the opposing General.
Attack
- ALL of your Units may Attack opposing units. However, Units cannot target a Unit of a higher level.
- The maximum range is 2 hexes (i.e. there can be at most 1 empty hex between the Attacking Unit and its target).
- If the Attacking Unit and the Target Unit are the same level, they both are permanently removed from play.
- If the Attacking Unit's level is higher than the Target Unit's level, only the Target Unit is permanently removed from play.
- Each blue/yellow Unit may attack twice.
- Each red/green Unit may attack once.
IMPORTANT: all Unit cubes removed from play as a result of Attack and Sabotage actions are permanently removed from play and do not return to the player's Supply.
PLEASE NOTE: if a blue or yellow Unit attacks a Unit of the same level with its first attack it is immediately removed from play and does not get its second attack.
EXAMPLE 15D: Lucy decides to attack. Her level 2 yellow Unit can attack twice: first it attacks the level 1 red Unit, which is removed from play, then it attacks the level 2 red Unit. Since they are the same level, both Units are removed from play. The level 2 green Unit is not strong enough to defeat the level 3 blue Unit, and there are no other enemy units within 2 hexes, so no attack is made.
End of the Game
The first player that moves one of their Units onto either one of the base hexes of their opponent immediately wins the game. If one player loses all of their units, the other player wins. If both players lose all of their units at the same time, it is a draw.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Onitama, from Arcane Wonders (arcanewonders.com), and Star Realms, from Wise Wizard Games (wisewizardgames.com).
Island 16 — The Festival of Statues
Type: Abstract, tactics, pattern building. Players: 2. Components: Island card 16, wooden cubes, and the six-sided die.
Overview
One of the most important days of the year is Statues Day. Two Minutians are chosen to arrange the famous statues following the rules of the Ancients. Their goal is to try to best arrange them and bring honor to their friends and families.
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- Each player takes 6 cubes in their chosen color. They represent the Statues.
- Randomly determine the first player and give them the die.
How to Win
Be the first to arrange 4 Statues of your color in a horizontal line, a vertical line, or a 2x2 square.
Gameplay
This game is played in rounds until someone wins. Each round, the player with the die goes first.
- The first player rolls the die and then chooses between 2 options:
- Add 1 new Statue cube of your color in an open space within the row or column indicated by the die. However, you CANNOT place the Statue in a space if there is another Statue of yours in an adjacent space.
- Move 1 Statue cube already in a space in the row or the column indicated by the die to another open space of your choice. You can move the Statue to any other open space.
IMPORTANT! In all cases, there can only be one statue in each space.
- The second player can Add or Move a Statue as described in the previous step, using the same result of the die.
- Give the die to the second player. They become the first player and start a new round!
EXAMPLE 16A: John rolls the die and the result is a 4. He decides to add 1 Statue. He can put it in one of the spaces indicated by a check mark in the graphic. Next Paul decides to move his statue present on row 4 and he puts it next to his other Statues. Paul takes the die and will be the first player in the next round.
End of the Game
The first player that manages to arrange 4 Statues of their color in a horizontal line, a vertical line, or a 2x2 square, immediately wins the game.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Boop, from Smirk and Dagger (smirkanddagger.com), and Santorini, from Roxley Games (roxley.com).
Island 17 — The Three Pyramids
Type: Resource management, majority. Players: 2-4. Components: Island card 17, wooden cubes, score track, and bag.
Overview
On this island there are three pyramids, each one was built to honor some of the most successful and historically important Minutians in all of history. Minutians often try to outdo one another by bringing the best offers to the pyramids to honor their prestigious predecessors!
Island Card Anatomy
- Top Side
- Bottom Side
- Left Side
- Right Side
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table and align it so that the TOP, BOTTOM, RIGHT and LEFT sides of the pyramids are each facing a different player.
- Each player chooses a different color and places 1 cube of that color on the 0 space of the Score Track.
- Place 9 cubes of each of the 6 colors in the bag and shuffle them. These are Offer cubes. The color of the Offer cubes ARE NOT related to your color on the Score track.
- Taking turns, each player draws 10 Offer cubes. Keep them in your hand and do not let the other players see your cubes.
- Randomly decide someone to be the first player.
How to Win
Score points by submitting smart offers and have the most points at the end of 3 rounds.
Gameplay
The game is played over three rounds with each round consisting of multiple turns starting with the first player and going clockwise. A round ends when all the players have 'passed'. In the second and third rounds, the first player is the player with the lowest score (If there is a tie for lowest score, randomly determine which of the tied players goes first).
In this game, each player has an assigned space for each Pyramid, which is the same side on all of them. We recommend each player's assigned space be the side of the Pyramid that is closest to them if possible.
On your turn:
- Choose a Pyramid.
- If no Offer has been played in any space of the chosen pyramid (i.e. it is completely empty), you must place 1 Offer cube of ANY color you have in your hand to your assigned space.
- If 1 or more Offers have already been played to any space of the Pyramid you have chosen, you must choose one of the following options:
- Play 1 cube to your space. Its color must match the color of another cube already on that Pyramid. OR
- Play 2 cubes to your space. They may be the same or different colors, but their color(s) must NOT match any other cube already on that Pyramid.
If you are unable to play cubes to any of the three Pyramids by following the rules above, you must pass and won't take any more turns for the rest of the round.
PLEASE NOTE: Playing 2 cubes can be useful in order to have more Offers than your opponents by the end of the round, but it reduces the number of cubes in your hand faster and increases your risk of having to pass before your opponents. Think carefully about your moves!
EXAMPLE 17A: The players are seated around the table and will each play to their associated side of each pyramid. John goes first. He puts a green cube in his space of the central pyramid since it is empty. Paul is up next and places a blue cube on the empty left pyramid. Next, Georgette also places a blue cube on the left pyramid. Ringo then places a red cube on empty pyramid on the right. Now there are no more empty pyramids. John decides to put 2 yellow cubes on the left pyramid. Paul places a red cube on the right pyramid and then Georgette follows that by placing a blue and black cube on the right pyramid. Now it's back to Ringo. If he wants to play only one cube he can put a yellow or a blue one on the pyramid on the left, a green one on the pyramid in the center, or a red, blue, or black one on the rightmost pyramid. Or he could choose to put 2 cubes on a pyramid, as long as they are not the same color as a cube already on that pyramid.
Once all players have passed, each of the 3 Pyramids is scored. Calculate the scores for each Pyramid as follows:
- The player with the most cubes on the Pyramid scores 12 points (the color of the cubes is not important for scoring). In case of a tie for most, all of the tied players score 12 points.
- The other player(s) score 1 point for each cube in their space.
- Advance the score cubes on the Score Track accordingly.
If it is the end of Round 3, the game is over. Otherwise, return all the Offer cubes to the bag and start a new round.
EXAMPLE 17B: At the End of the round, the situation is as shown in the graphic. On the left pyramid Georgette has the most cubes. She scores 12 points. John scores 4, Paul 3, and Ringo 2. On the center pyramid, John scores 12 points, Georgette 1, and Ringo 1. On the right pyramid, both Paul and Ringo score 12 points, Georgette 2 and John 1. In total for the round, John scored 17 points, while Paul, Ringo and Georgette scored 15 each.
End of the Game
At the end of the third round, the player who has the highest score wins. In the case of a tie, the tied players share the victory.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Imhotep: The Duel, from Kosmos (thamesandkosmos.com).
Island 18 — An Honest Trade
Type: Secret roles, action drafting, bluff, deduction, player elimination, take that. Players: 3-5. Components: Island card 18, wooden cubes, wooden discs, and bag.
Overview
Trade Island is where the Minutians go to barter. For the Minutians, it is always important to be honest! So, if anyone is caught lying, they are thrown out and can't trade!
Island Card Anatomy
- Cube needed for Action
- Actions
- Reaction Cube (to cancel the action)
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- Place all the black cubes and all the discs near the Island card to form the supply. In this game, the colors of the discs aren't important.
- Each player takes 1 cube of each of the following colors: yellow, green, red, blue and white. These are called Action cubes. Keep your Action cubes in a line in front of you.
- Place 2 cubes in the bag of each of the following colors: yellow, green, red, blue and white. They are called Secret cubes.
- Each player draws 1 Secret cube from the bag, so that no other players can see it.
- Randomly determine the first player. Then proceed taking turns clockwise until the End of the Game.
How to Win
Don't get caught bluffing! The last player remaining wins.
Gameplay
Starting with the first player, players take turns going clockwise until only one player remains.
ACTIONS
On your turn push one of your Action cubes forward so it is no longer in line with the others, then perform the corresponding action as shown in the table on the Island card. You can only perform an action using cubes you have not yet pushed forward (i.e. still in the starting row).
The possible actions are:
- Blue: Swap a black cube you have with a disc in the supply or swap a disc for a black cube in the supply.
- Green: Steal up to 2 black cubes or up to 2 discs from another player and place them in front of you. You must choose to steal cubes OR discs. You may not steal 1 cube and 1 disc.
- Red: Take 1 black cube from the supply.
- Yellow: Take 2 black cubes or 2 discs from the supply.
- White: Take 1 disc from the supply.
If, at the end of the action, you have 3 black cubes or 3 discs in front of you (disc color doesn't matter), immediately return them to the supply and choose another player. The chosen player must discard one Action cube of their choice from those in front of them, however they cannot discard the Action cube that matches the color of their Secret cube. The discarded cube is permanently removed from the game and the player may no longer take the corresponding action.
REACTIONS
You can advance one of your Action cubes to react to an opponent's action, as shown in the table:
- Advance your blue cube to cancel a blue cube Action.
- Advance your red cube to cancel a green cube Action.
- Advance your white cube to cancel a yellow cube Action.
PLEASE NOTE: the red and white actions cannot be canceled.
When a player performs a blue, green, or yellow action, each of the other players will have the opportunity to cancel that action starting with the player on the left and going clockwise. A player can cancel the action by advancing the action cube required. If a player has already advanced the Action cube or no longer has it, they cannot cancel the Action.
IMPORTANT: If, after performing an action or a reaction, you no longer have any Action cubes in your starting row, take them all back to the starting row and now all your actions are available again.
EXAMPLE 18A: John advances his yellow action cube and announces that he wants to take 2 black cubes from the center of the table, then counts to 3 aloud to give time for his opponents to accuse him if they think his Secret cube is yellow. Nobody accuses, so the reaction phase begins. Paul is the first player to his left and can counter him using his white Action cube, but he decides not to do so because he would have to advance his cube and prefers to keep it on the starting row. Georgette cannot counter since she lost her white Action cube earlier in the game. Now it's up to Ringo. He decides to counter John's action by advancing his white cube. He does this even though white is his Secret color because he thinks that not doing so would be suspicious. After his reaction, Ringo counts to 3 aloud to give time for an accusation. Unfortunately for him, Georgette accuses him. Ringo reveals his Secret cube since the accusation was correct and he is eliminated. The reaction does NOT take effect, so John's original action is still valid, but Lucy still has the opportunity to react if she wishes.
Accusations
When a player performs an Action or a Reaction, all the other players have 3 seconds to individually decide whether to accuse them of using their Secret color. In these 3 seconds, anyone can announce that they'd like to make the accusation (there is no order to follow). If the accusation is correct (the action matches their Secret cube):
- The Secret cube is revealed and the accused player is eliminated.
- The accused player's action or reaction is canceled and has no effect.
If the accusation is incorrect (the action does NOT match their Secret cube):
- The accused player says "incorrect" and their Secret cube is not revealed.
- The Trader who made the accusation must discard one of their Action cubes. They cannot discard the one of the same color as their Secret cube.
- The Action or Reaction of the accused player takes effect as normal.
Player Eliminations
A player can be eliminated from the game in 2 ways:
- If they are correctly accused of using an Action or Reaction matching their Secret color OR
- If their only remaining cube matches their Secret color.
End of the Game
The game ends when only one player is left. That player is the winner.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Sheriff of Nottingham, from CMON — that was fun bluffing your friends wasn't it? You should try Sheriff of Nottingham! (cmon.com)
Island 19 — All in a Day's Work
Type: Resource management, action drafting, worker placement. Players: 2. Components: Island card 19, wooden cubes, wooden discs, and score track.
Overview
There is always a lot of work to do in the village. Things like collecting construction materials, building new huts, building important public buildings and, of course, offering gifts to the Cat god. If you want to be the Official in charge, you must be able to handle these tasks efficiently!
Island Card Anatomy
- Action Spaces
- Temple Start Space
- Temple Track
- Town Square (Shops)
- Village (Huts)
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- One player takes the 10 white cubes and 3 white discs, the other takes the 10 black cubes and 3 black discs.
- Each player places 1 cube of their color on the 0 space of the Score track.
- Each player places 1 cube of their color on the start space of the Temple track (wooden platform).
- Keep the other 8 cubes in your color in front of you.
- Place all the red, yellow, green and blue cubes in separate piles on the table. These are Resource cubes.
- Randomly determine the first player. The first player takes 1 yellow Resource cube and the second player takes 1 green Resource cube.
How to Win
Score points by advancing up the Temple track, by building Shops, and by building Huts. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Gameplay
This game is played in rounds. Each round, players will take turns as described below.
PHASE 1 — Day: Time to Work!
On your turn, place one of your discs in an available Action space (no disc there currently). Resolve the effect of the space immediately.
The possible effects are:
- Obtain Resources: Obtain the indicated number and color of Resources from the supply and place them in front of you.
- Advance the Temple track: Advance your cube on the Temple track and immediately score the points indicated on the space it was moved to. The first two steps are free, but for each space after you must spend the required resource, returning it to the supply.
EXAMPLE 19A: Lucy's cube is currently on the third space of the Temple track. She places her disc on the Action space and spends 1 green Resource cube required to advance her cube to the fourth space on the Temple track. By doing so, she immediately scores 10 points and advances her cube by 10 on the Score track.
- Score your Huts: You immediately score points for your Huts in the Village. Your cubes in spaces labeled "2" or "3" score that many points. Your other cubes are worth 1 point each.
- Build 1 new Hut or Shop: See Building rules below.
BUILDING RULES
When you take the build Action, first pay any yellow Resources required as indicated by the icons in the Action space. Then, you can build a Hut or Shop as follows:
- Huts (in the Village): choose an available space (no cube on the space) and pay the sum of all the Resources required in the corresponding row and column. If there is a Resource icon in the chosen space, you get it from the supply after paying the required cost first. You do not score points immediately, but you will score points at the end of each round and when you activate the Action space which allows you to score your Huts.
EXAMPLE 19B: Michelle places her disc on the Action space at the top and then builds in the space circled in the graphic. She spends 1 green resource as indicated by the row cost and also 1 yellow and 1 red resource as indicated by the column cost. She then places her cube in the table and then receives 1 red resource from the supply.
- Shops (in the Town Square): choose an available space (no cube on the space) and pay the Resources required by the Shop, then immediately score the corresponding points. The same player may take both spaces of a Shop, but it requires two separate actions.
EXAMPLE 19C: Lucy places her disc in the second Build Action space paying 1 yellow Resource to do so as indicated by the space. She wants to build a Shop in the Town Square, so she spends 2 red and 1 yellow Resources for the Shop and places her cube on the second space since she already has a cube on the first space. She immediately scores the 15 points indicated.
PHASE 2 — Night: Time to Sleep
After both players have placed all their discs PHASE 2 begins.
- Both players score points for their Huts in the Village. The cubes placed in the spaces labeled "2" or "3" are worth that many points. The other cubes are worth 1 point each.
- If at least one player has built 8 buildings (i.e., they are out of cubes), the game ends. Otherwise, the players retrieve their discs. Then the second player becomes the first player and a new round begins.
PLEASE NOTE: Always complete the round, including scoring the Huts in PHASE 2, even if a player places their last cube before all discs have been used in PHASE 1.
EXAMPLE 19D: In the situation shown in the graphic, both Lucy and Michelle score 4 points for their Huts. Lucy's rightmost cube is on a space worth 2 points. All of the rest of the cubes are each worth one point.
End of the Game
When a player has no cubes remaining at the end of a round, the game ends. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the game is a draw.
Here is a recap of the different ways to score points:
- Temple: when you advance you immediately score the points indicated;
- Town Square: when you build a Shop, you immediately score the points indicated;
- Village: when you activate the appropriate action space score the points for your Huts in the Village. Additionally, both players score their Huts in PHASE 2 of each round.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Everdell, from Starling Games — worker placement is a favorite game mechanism of many board gamers. If you agree, you should try Everdell! (tabletoptycoon.com)
Island 20 — Meanies in Our Midst
Type: Secret roles, bluff, diplomacy, social deduction. Players: 4-9. Components: Island card 20, wooden cubes, bag, and the six-sided die.
Overview
Rumors say that the Meanies are preparing an attack against the Minutians. Access routes from their forest must be guarded. But some of them took off their masks and infiltrated the Minutians! Will the Minutians be able to stop them?
Island Card Anatomy
- Minutian Counter Track
- Meanie Counter Track
- Mission Requirements
Setup
- Place the Island card in the center of the table.
- Put the following cubes in the bag. These are called Faction cubes:
- 4-player games: 3 green and 1 red;
- 5-player games: 4 green and 1 red;
- 6-player games: 4 green and 2 red;
- 7-player games: 5 green and 2 red;
- 8-player games: 6 green and 2 red;
- 9-player games: 6 green and 3 red.
- Each player draws a Faction cube keeping it secret from the other players. This cube indicates which team you will be part of for the entire game and must always be kept secret. Players who have the green cube are part of the Minutians faction and the player or players with a red cube are part of the Meanies faction.
- Put 1 other green and 1 other red cube on the starting squares of the respective Counter tracks. They will be used to keep score.
- Now put all the white, black, blue, and yellow cubes in the bag. These are called Mission cubes.
- Randomly determine who will be the Guide in the first round and give them the six-sided die.
How to Win
Help advance your Faction's cube to the end of the score track before the other Faction does.
Gameplay
PHASE 1 — Mission Planning
The Guide rolls the die to determine which Mission cubes will be required for the current Mission. Then the Guide must choose some of the other players, called Explorers, to join the Guide on the mission this round. Roll a number of times and choose a number of Explorers as indicated here:
- 4 or 5-player games: 2 die rolls and 2 Explorers
- 6 or 7-player games: 3 die rolls and 4 Explorers
- 8 or 9-player games: 4 die rolls and 5 Explorers
After each die roll, the Guide places a disc on the Island card, in the space corresponding to the result of the die. Multiple discs are allowed to be on the same space. The cube icons under each space designate what color cubes are required to complete the mission for each disc on the space. The color of the discs don't matter in this game.
PLEASE NOTE: Explorers chosen to go on the Mission must do so and are not allowed to refuse to go on the Mission!
EXAMPLE 20A: In this game there are 6 players, so Ringo, who is the Guide, rolls the die 3 times. He rolls 4, 1 and 4, so the Mission cubes required for the round are 1 blue, 2 black and 3 yellow (1 blue and 1 yellow due to the 1 result and 2 yellow and 2 black due to the two 4 results). Ringo must choose 4 Explorers to go on the mission with him. He chooses John, Georgette, Lucy and Michelle. Paul is not part of the mission.
PHASE 2 — On the Mission
In this PHASE it is forbidden to speak or communicate in any way other than that you are ready to act, finished acting, or are letting the next player know it is their turn.
IMPORTANT: During this phase, everyone except the player performing an action must keep their eyes closed. The secrecy of the cubes is critical to the integrity of the game!
- Each player on the mission draws 4 Mission cubes from the bag, keeping them secret from the other players.
- The Guide secretly chooses 2 Mission cubes to keep and puts the other 2 back in the bag.
- Taking turns in clockwise order and starting with the Explorer to the left of the Guide, the Explorers each choose 2 Mission cubes in secret to give to the Guide and return the other 2 to the bag. The cubes must not be seen by anyone else including the Guide! The Guide should hold out an empty hand with their eyes closed and once they have the cubes, put them in their other hand without looking before putting their empty hand back out again for the next person.
- When the Guide has received all the Mission cubes from the Explorers, they reveal the cubes by placing them on the table for everyone to see.
PHASE 3 — Mission Results
- The Guide checks if all the required Mission cubes are present among those revealed.
- If all the required Mission cubes are there, the Minutian faction wins the round. Advance the green score cube one space on Minutians Counter track.
- If at least 1 required Mission cube is missing, the Meanies faction wins the round. Advance the red score cube one space on the Meanies Counter track.
EXAMPLE 20B: The revealed cubes are 3 blue, 2 black, 4 yellow and 1 white, so the Minutians win the mission, because the request was at least 1 blue, 2 black, and 3 yellow which was successfully completed.
PHASE 4 — Mission Debrief
- If one of the two score cubes has reached the final space of the track, the game ends and that Faction wins. Otherwise put all the revealed Mission cubes back in the bag and continue with the steps below.
- In this phase you are allowed to speak, comment, make accusations, and/or ask questions about the mission that just ended or even previous ones! You are not allowed to show or talk about your secret Faction cube, nor to talk about specific cube colors contributed to the mission. You also can't promise to play certain mission cubes in future missions.
PLEASE NOTE: In this game it is not only allowed, but expected that players will lie and try to deceive their opponents!
Examples of accepted sentences:
"Look, I didn't contribute any cubes that were useful for the mission because I didn't draw any of the right colors!"
"I think Georgette is on the Meanies' faction because she has participated in all the missions that have failed."
Examples of sentences not allowed:
"I played the black and yellow cube";
"In the next mission I will play the cubes associated with the lowest value die".
- Once discussion is completed, the Guide must choose another player to be the new Guide. Then, start a new round.
End of the Game
When one of the two score cubes reaches the last space on the track, everyone reveals their secret Faction cube. The players of the faction whose cube reached the end of the track win the game!
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Avalon, from Indie Boards and Cards (indieboardsandcards.com), and One Night Ultimate Werewolf, from Bézier Games (beziergames.com).
Island 21 — The Epic Quest
Type: Dungeon crawler, combat, cooperative. Players: 1-4. Components: 1 status card (back of island card 6d), 1 entrance card (back of island card 20), 3 portal cards (backs of island cards 1, 3, and 6a), 9 forest cards (backs of island cards 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18), the drawstring bag, the cubes, and the discs.
Overview
The day has come and the Meanies have decided to invade Gateway Island! The Magic Meanie has opened 3 portals for the Meanies to use and is now preparing to join the battle himself. A group of 4 brave Minutian Adventurers have been called to seal all 3 access portals and return Gateway Island to the peaceful place it has always been!
NOTE: This game is a cooperative game and the players will be working together instead of competing against one another.
Island Card Anatomy
- Magic Meanie
- Action Cubes
- Backpack
- Life Points/Stats
Setup
-
Put the Status card on the table, which has the stats and backpacks of the 4 Adventurers. Each Adventurer begins the game with 6 Life points, represented by cubes, as follows:
- Warrior: 3 red cubes, 2 blue cubes, 1 green cube
- Knight: 3 blue cubes, 2 red cubes, 1 yellow cube
- Archer: 3 green cubes, 2 yellow cubes, 1 blue cube
- Cleric: 3 yellow cubes, 2 green cubes, 1 red cube
The Life cubes are placed in the corresponding spaces on the Status card. Each Adventurer also has 1 backpack in which a maximum of 4 other cubes can be stored. Leave all backpacks empty for now.
-
Place 1 cube per color in red, yellow, green and blue to the left of the Status card. These will be called Action cubes.
-
Build the map by placing the Entrance card on the table and placing at least 10 other cards orthogonally side by side with each other, following these rules:
- The 3 Portal cards (green, blue, and yellow portals) and 7, 8 or 9 Forest cards (Easy, Medium, Hard difficulty) are used to build the map.
- Each Portal card must be separated from the Entrance and each other Portal by at least 1 Forest card.
- Each card must have at least one side in common with another card.
- There can be no dead ends or non-essential branches. Each Forest card must be essential to reach at least one Portal card.
PLEASE NOTE: The illustrations on the Forest cards are purely decorative. All Forest cards are equivalent to each other for game purposes.
-
Put one of the following cubes on the Entrance card: 1 red cube (Warrior), 1 blue cube (Knight), 1 green cube (Archer), and 1 yellow cube (Cleric), which will represent the Adventurers in play.
You will use all 4 Adventurers regardless of the number of players:
- 4-player games, each player controls 1 Adventurer.
- 3-player games, each player controls 1 Adventurer. Assign the fourth Adventurer or control it as a group.
- 2-player games, each player controls 2 Adventurers.
- If you play solo, you control all the Adventurers.
-
Put the Equipment cubes in the bag: 8 white cubes (Potions) and 2 cubes of each color in red, yellow, green and blue (Upgrades).
-
Put 4 black discs in a stack on the "1" space at the top of the Status card. These discs represent the enemy Magic Meanie.
-
Take 3 white discs and place one on each Portal card, in the leftmost space marked with the number 12+.
-
Keep the 10 black cubes in a pile on the table. These represent the enemy Invaders.
How to Win
Seal all 3 Portals and return all 4 Adventurers safely to the main entrance.
Gameplay
This game is played in rounds and each round consists of 2 PHASES.
PHASE 1 — The Adventurers' Action Phase
- Each Adventurer takes 2 actions. Players may choose the order in which the Adventurers perform their actions and an Adventurer can use one action now and use its other action later. When an Adventurer performs an action, move the Action Counter cube of its color clockwise around the Status card to keep track of the number of actions already performed. Each action corresponds to a movement of the cube. If a cube is ABOVE the Status card, that Adventurer has one action left. If a cube is to the RIGHT of the Status card, that Adventurer has used both actions already (see Example 21A).
EXAMPLE 21A: The Warrior already performed both of their actions and the Cleric performed 1. The Knight now takes their first action, so the blue Action Counter cube moves clockwise above the Status card.
- After all the Adventurers have performed both of their actions, continue to PHASE 2.
ADVENTURER ACTIONS
Below are the Actions an Adventurer can take. You can take the same Action more than once, but must spend an action for each instance. The Actions below (Move, Heal, Trade) do not require a check.
- Move to an adjacent card. Cards are considered adjacent if they have one side in common.
IMPORTANT: Adventurers on the same card as the Magic Meanie cannot move (see the Magic Meanie Rules)
- Heal: If the Adventurer has a Potion (white Cube) in their backpack, they can discard it to recover all Life cubes indicated on the Status card. The discarded potion is permanently removed from the game.
- Trade Equipment: If an Adventurer is on the same card as another Adventurer, they can give or receive an Upgrade or Potion cube contained in their backpacks to another Adventurer.
- Support another Adventurer: While on the same card as another Adventurer you can use an Action to support their Skill Check or Portal Check, adding your cubes to theirs (See below). Multiple Adventurers are allowed to give support.
IMPORTANT: The Support action must be used BEFORE rolling the die to perform the check.
The actions below require the Adventurer to succeed at a Skill Check. To perform a Skill Check you roll a die and add 1 to the result for each cube the Adventurer has of the indicated color (Life points and Upgrades). If the result of the roll plus your cubes is 6 or higher, you are successful. Otherwise, the action is a failure and has no effect.
Please Note: It is possible to pass a Skill Check even without having any cubes by rolling a 6 on the die.
- Melee Attack an enemy on the same card as the Adventurer. Make a RED skill check and if it is successful you deal 1 damage to an Enemy. Invaders only have 1 Life point. When you defeat an Invader, gain 1 combat reward by drawing a Reward cube from the bag (See Combat Rewards).
- Ranged Attack an enemy on an adjacent card. Make a GREEN skill check and if it is successful you deal 1 damage to the Enemy. Invaders only have 1 Life point. When you defeat an Invader, gain 1 combat reward by drawing a Reward cube from the bag (See Combat Rewards).
- Perform a Ritual to weaken the Magic Meanie. Make a YELLOW skill check and if it is successful the Magic Meanie loses 1 Life point (remove a black disc). This works regardless where the Magic Meanie is, even if he is still on the Status card.
GOLDEN RULE FOR ALL CHECKS: if the die result is 1, the test automatically fails and the action ends with no effect.
The action below requires a Portal Check. To perform a Portal Check you roll a die and add 1 to the result for each cube the Adventurer has of the Portal's color (life points and upgrades).
- Attempt to Close a Portal. Make a Portal Check. If the result is equal to or greater than the main goal number above the white disc on the Portal Card, the Portal is sealed. Move the white disc to cover the Portal in the center of the card. If the result is lower than the main goal but higher than the secondary goal number below the white disc on the Portal card, move the disc one space to the right. Otherwise, the action is a failure and has no effect. Note, there is no secondary goal on the last space.
EXAMPLE 21B: In this situation, the Cleric and the Archer spend one action each to move to the card with the yellow portal, while the Warrior and the Knight use 2 actions each to move two cards towards the next portal. The Cleric will use her second action to attempt to seal the yellow portal. The Archer uses their second action to support the Cleric. For the Portal Check, the Cleric has a bonus of +3 for her yellow cubes and +3 for the Archer's yellow cubes. The result of the die roll is a 3, so the total result is 9. The total is not enough for the portal to be sealed, but since the result is higher than the secondary goal of 8, it has weakened. The white disc moves and the next attempt will be easier (main goal 11).
PHASE 2 — Enemy Action Phase
After all the Adventurers have performed both of their actions, Phase 2 begins and the Invaders and Magic Meanie will act. Do the following in this order:
- Spawn Invaders. Put 3 new Invaders on the cards with the unsealed portals, as follows:
- If there are 3 unsealed portals, put 1 Invader on each Portal card;
- If there are 2 unsealed portals, place 2 Invaders on the Portal card closest to the Adventurers and 1 Invader on the other. In case of a tie or if you are unsure, you choose;
- If there is only one unsealed portal, put all 3 Invaders on the card where it is.
- If there are fewer Invaders in the supply than there are unsealed portals, place as many as you can per the rules above.
- If there are no Invaders in the supply, skip this step.
- Magic Meanie Activates. If the enemy Magic Meanie is on the Status card, he moves one step to the right. If it was already in the last space on the right, he is placed on a Forest card where there is at least one Adventurer (you choose). If the Magic Meanie is already in the Forest, he stays where he is.
- Invaders Move. All Invaders who are not already on a card with an Adventurer move to an adjacent card following these rules:
- Each Invader moves towards the closest Adventurer, following the shortest path.
- If there are multiple Invaders on the same card and multiple Adventurers are at equal distances away, the Invaders split as evenly as possible so as to have an Invader reach as many Adventurers as possible.
- In all cases where there is a tie or you are unsure, you choose which card to move the Invader to, among those possible.
EXAMPLE 21C: In this situation, all the Invaders move towards the Archer because she is the closest Adventurer.
EXAMPLE 21D: In this situation the Invaders should be divided as evenly as possible. The players decide to send 1 to the Archer card, 2 to the Knight card, and 2 to the Warrior and Cleric card. They would not be able to choose to send 0 or more than 2 to a single card since they must be divided as evenly as possible.
- Invaders Attack. Each Invader that is on a card with at least one Adventurer attacks. If there are multiple Adventurers, you choose which one will be attacked. For each attack, the Adventurer must attempt a Blue Skill Check to Defend. You roll a die and add 1 to the result for each blue cube the Adventurer has (life points and upgrades). If the result of the roll plus your cubes is 6 or higher, you are successful. If you fail the check, your Adventurer loses 1 Life cube of your choice.
PLEASE NOTE: if there are several Adventurers and several Invaders on the same card, you can choose the same Adventurer several times as the target of multiple attacks.
- Magic Meanie Attacks. If the Magic Meanie is on a Forest card, he uses magic to attack ALL the Adventurers on his card. Each Adventurer on the card must attempt a Blue Skill Check to Defend (as described above). If you fail the check, your Adventurer loses 1 Life cube of your choice.
PLEASE NOTE: as with other Skill Checks, you may still defend without having any blue cubes but you will need a roll of 6 on the die to be successful.
EXAMPLE 21E: In the situation below, the Cleric can attempt to damage the Magic Meanie by performing a Ritual; the Archer can attempt to damage the Magic Meanie or the Invader with a Ranged Attack; the Warrior and the Knight can attempt to damage the Magic Meanie or the Invader with a Melee Attack. In addition, the Warrior and the Knight can decide whether to attempt 4 separate attacks (2 each), or instead decide to spend action points to Support the other Adventurer. Using Support, their damage potential is less, but the odds of success are higher as they would only fail if they roll 1 (since they have 5 red cubes between them!).
EXAMPLE 21F: In the previous example, if neither the Invader nor the Magic Meanie were defeated, then in Phase 2 the player(s) controlling the Knight and the Warrior must decide which of them will be attacked by the Invader and then both will be attacked by the Magic Meanie.
Additional Rules
ADVENTURERS LIFE POINTS AND DEATH
Each Adventurer begins the game with 6 Life Points represented by 3 cubes of one color, 2 of a second color, and 1 of a third. Each time an Adventurer is hit by an enemy, they lose 1 Life cube. The player who controls the Adventurer chooses which one to lose. If an Adventurer loses their final life point they are dead and the players lose.
IMPORTANT: being hit weakens the Adventurers! Only the Life cubes remaining on the Status card are considered for Skill Checks and Portal Checks.
COMBAT REWARDS
Invaders have only 1 life point. When an Adventurer defeats an Invader it is returned to the supply and the Adventurer who dealt the attack draws 1 Reward cube from the bag and places it in their backpack.
The reward types are:
- Healing Potion (white cube). Can be discarded to take the Heal action to fully restore the Adventurer's Life cubes. Discarded Potions are permanently removed from the game.
- Upgrade (red, yellow, green or blue cube): while present in the backpack, adds 1 to Skill Checks and Portal Checks of that color.
PLEASE NOTE: Upgrade cubes are not considered Life Points.
BACKPACK
Each Adventurer's backpack can hold a maximum of 4 cubes. If an Adventurer's backpack is full and they gain a reward, they can choose to put 1 Reward cube back into the bag before drawing a new one, or keep the cubes they already have and forfeit the reward.
THE MAGIC MEANIE
- The Magic Meanie starts the game with 4 life points, represented by the 4 black discs.
- Adventurers on the same card as the Magic Meanie cannot move. They can still perform all other actions.
- The Magic Meanie can be damaged in 3 ways:
- Melee attack (Red Skill check) made by an Adventurer on the same card
- Ranged attack (Green Skill check) made by an Adventurer on an adjacent card
- Ritual (Yellow Skill check) by an Adventurer on any card. Rituals damage the Magic Meanie even if he is still on the Status card.
- Whenever the Magic Meanie is damaged, remove a disc from his stack. When the last disc is removed, the Magic Meanie is temporarily defeated. Reset the Magic Meanie, as follows:
- Reassemble the pile of 4 black discs;
- If this is the first time he was defeated, put the stack on space 2. Otherwise put the stack on space 3+.
- Adventurers do NOT gain rewards for defeating the Magic Meanie as he vanishes into thin air!
PLEASE NOTE: Using Rituals, it is possible to defeat the Magic Meanie before he even enters the forest.
End of the Game
The game can end in 2 ways:
- DEFEAT — If at least one Adventurer loses all of their Life cubes, the players lose.
- VICTORY — You sealed all three Portals and all the Adventurers escaped by going back to the Entrance card.
IMPORTANT: Exiting from the forest costs no action points. An Adventurer may immediately escape when it reaches the Entrance card (remove the Adventurer's cube from the board). You are not required to wait for the other Adventurers to escape but all three Portals must have already been sealed and you will no longer be able to help any remaining Adventurers.
If you enjoyed this game, you will love… Castle Panic, from Fireside Games (firesidegames.com), and Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, from Cephalofair (cephalofair.com).
Game Index
Game Type
- Abstract: 16
- Action Selection: 15, 18, 19
- Area control: 5
- Auction/Bidding: 1, 10
- Betting: 4, 8, 10
- Bluff: 3, 8, 13, 18, 20
- Combat: 15, 21
- Deduction: 6, 18
- Dexterity: 4
- Diplomacy/Negotiation: 13, 20
- Drafting: 9, 14
- Dungeon crawler: 21
- Hexagon grid: 15
- Majority: 5, 11, 17
- Memory: 12
- Party game: 2, 4, 6, 12
- Pattern building: 16
- Player Elimination: 4, 12, 18
- Prisoner's Dilemma: 13
- Push your luck: 7
- Questions: 6
- Quick answers: 2
- Racing: 1, 3, 7, 10
- Resource management: 17, 19
- Secret roles: 18, 20
- Set collection: 9, 11, 14
- Simultaneous action selection: 1, 5, 10, 13
- Social Deduction: 20
- Split and choose: 14
- Tactics: 16
- Take that: 10, 18
- Wargame: 15
- Worker placement: 19
Player Count
- 1-4: 21
- 2: 5, 15, 16, 19
- 2-4: 7, 9, 11, 14, 17
- 2-5: 3
- 2-6: 1, 2, 4, 8
- 2-∞: 12
- 3: 13
- 3-5: 18
- 3-6: 6, 10
- 4-9: 20
Complexity
- Level 1: 1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 12, 16
- Level 2: 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 17
- Level 3: 10, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21
Strategic Depth
- Level 1: 2, 4, 6, 12, 20, 21
- Level 2: 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18
- Level 3: 5, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19
Credits
Designers: Matteo "TeOoh!" Boca, P. S. Martensen
Illustrator: Sara Gioria
Graphic Design: Luca Carbone
Layout: Luca Carbone and Margherita Cagnola
English Rulebook Editing and Layout: AJ Porfirio and Scott Beavers
Originally published as 21 GIOCHI MINUTI by Post Scriptum S.a.s. by Mario Sacchi & C. (postscriptum-games.it)