La Isla
La Isla Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 11 island pieces (10 with "teeth", 1 central ten-sided connector)
- 180 cards
- 32 explorers (8 per player color)
- 1 game board
- 4 cardholders
- 5 large animal tiles (1 per animal type)
- 60 resources (12 each in 5 different colors)
- 2 summary sheets
- 1 starting player card
- 40 small animal tiles (8 per animal type): Owlet Moth / Giant Fossa / Dodo / Golden Toad / Sardinian Pika
- 5 purple markers
Game Setup
When playing the game for the first time, carefully remove all cardboard pieces from their frames. Fold and fasten the cardholders so that the game summaries A-D are visible at the bottom of their front sides.
Important! There is one extra tile for each type of animal (i.e. 5 extra small animal tiles). These are not needed during the game, and are included as replacements only!
Build the island in the middle of the table. Add the 10 "teeth" pieces in random order to the central connector, so that a ten-sided island, La Isla, results.
Note: There are more than a hundred thousand options for what La Isla might look like!
Take 7 of each small animal tile and randomly distribute them onto the 35 dark green jungle regions of the island. The numbers 2, 3, and 4 printed on the regions should remain visible.
Place the game board (with the victory point track and the five animal tracks) next to the island.
Place 1 purple marker onto the starting space at the bottom of each animal track.
Give each player:
- 1 cardholder in the color of their choice, placed in front of them.
- 6 explorers in the same color. Place one of them onto the 0/50 space of the victory point track, and the remaining 5 below the letter C on the player's cardholder. Place the remaining explorers (2 per color) in a general supply pile next to the island. They will only enter the game via the corresponding cards.
- 5 resources (one per color) also placed below the letter C on the player's cardholder.
- 1 large animal tile (randomly distributed), placed next to the player's cardholder (easily visible by all).
With fewer than 4 players, return the unused game components (large animal tiles, cardholders, and explorers) to the game box.
Place the remaining resources next to the island as a general supply.
Sort the 180 cards by value: There are 120 1-value cards and 60 2-value cards (numbers are located in the lower middle of each card). New players should play with the 1-value cards only, returning the 2-value cards to the game box. (After you have played the game a few times, use all 180 cards to make the game more interesting.)
Shuffle all 120 (or 180) cards and place them face down in multiple draw piles next to the island.
Give the oldest player the starting player card. The oldest player begins.
Gameplay
The game is played in multiple rounds. Each round consists of a card phase followed by four action phases (A, B, C, and D). At the end of a round, give the starting player card to the next player in clockwise order, and play a new round (starting with the card phase, followed by action phases A-D), etc., until the game is over.
Card Phase
In the card phase, all players draw 3 cards from the face down draw piles of their choice, and add the cards to their hands. Each card has three possible uses:
- Perform a special action (top)
- Receive resource (bottom left)
- Move marker ahead (bottom right)
Place these cards face down below your cardholder, such that exactly one card is assigned to each of the letters A, B, and D. This identifies which card you will later use to perform a special function (the card under the A), which you will use to receive a new resource (the card under the B), and which you will use to advance a marker (the card under the D).
Once all players have assigned their cards, the action phases begin.
Action Phases A › B › C › D
Players first carry out action A. When all players have finished action A, they continue to action B, followed by action C, and finally action D. Action phases A, B, and D can be carried out by all players simultaneously, but action phase C must be played in clockwise order, beginning with the current starting player.
Action A
Take the card you assigned to the letter A and add it face up to your cardholder, leaving only the top half of the card (i.e. its special function) visible. From this point on, you may continue to use this special function, even in subsequent rounds.
As long as you still have a free slot in your cardholder (i.e. during the first three rounds), you may fill an empty space with the card that you chose. Starting in the fourth round, you must choose a card in your cardholder to cover up, taking away your ability to use the covered-up card's function. Note: You may cover up cards in the same slot multiple times.
Note! You are never allowed to have the identical special function visible in more than one slot on your cardholder. Similar functions, however, are allowed, and are often very useful.
Action B
Take the card you assigned to the letter B and add it face up to a discard pile next to the draw piles. Then, take a resource from the general supply that matches the one indicated on the card, and add it to your own personal supply.
Note: The general supply of resources is not intended to be limited. Should it run out, use something else temporarily as a resource.
Action C (Main Action)
In clockwise order starting with the current starting player, place one of your explorers onto the island. Take an explorer from your personal supply to start; once your supply is exhausted (i.e. after the fifth round), choose one of your already-placed explorers and move it elsewhere on the island.
Place explorers onto the middle of the colored landscape spaces, such that the space's symbols (tent, hat, rope, bottle, and backpack) remain visible.
Placing an explorer costs two resources of the same color as the space you are placing the explorer onto.
Example: Anna places her explorer onto a desert space. She returns two yellow resources to the general supply.
- Desert space
- Grassland space
- Mountain space
- Steppe space
- Swamp space
Note: If you can't or don't want to place an explorer, you may instead take one resource, of your choice, from the general supply.
Action D
Take the card you assigned to the letter D and add it face up to the discard pile. Then, move the purple marker corresponding to the animal type on your card one space higher on the animal track. You (and only you!) immediately score 1 victory point for each animal of that type that you possess. Large animal tiles are worth 2 points.
Example: Lena plays a card showing a Dodo. She moves the purple marker on the Dodo track one space higher. Since she has the large Dodo tile as well as one small Dodo tile, she scores a total of 3 victory points. All other players with Dodo tiles score nothing.
Notes:
- Depending on the cards in your cardholder, it is possible that you could also move markers in action phases B or C, or even move the markers more than once. Each time you move a marker, score points as outlined above.
- Once a purple marker has been moved to the topmost space of the track (the 5 space), you can no longer move it when carrying out this action. However, you do continue to score points as normal.
Note! The values of the areas the purple markers are in have no effect on scoring during the game. You only score 1 VP per animal, no matter what area the purple marker lands in.
Animal Tiles
Once you have placed explorers onto all of the landscape spaces that surround a jungle region, you receive the animal tile from that space, as well as victory points. First, place the animal tile next to your cardholder so that it is easily visible.
Then, score the number of victory points indicated by the jungle region (2, 3, or 4) by moving your victory point marker forward the corresponding number of spaces on the victory point track.
It is possible to claim more than one animal tile at the same time by surrounding more than one jungle region when placing a single explorer.
Example: Paul places his explorer onto the grey mountain space. This lets him claim two animal tiles, the Owlet Moth and the Sardinian Pika, since he has surrounded two jungle regions with four explorers. He places the two animal tiles next to his cardholder and scores a total of 5 (2+3) victory points.
Notes:
- Explorers of different colors may be on the same space, but never more than one explorer of the same color.
- The number of victory points awarded for surrounding a region and claiming an animal tile always equals the number of explorers needed to accomplish this.
- If you surround an empty jungle space (i.e. the animal tile has already been claimed), you receive nothing.
Game End
During the game, you move the purple markers higher and higher up the animal track. The values of the areas that the markers are in (0-5) not only determine the animal tile scoring multipliers used at the end of the game (see below), but also determine the end of the game itself.
At the end of each round, add together the values of the areas of the five purple animal markers. If the sum is at least 7 (2 players), 9 (3 players), or 11 (4 players), then the game is over.
Final Scoring
In addition to the victory points scored during the game, each player now receives additional points as follows:
- 10 victory points for each complete set of 5 different animal tiles (remember: the large animal tiles count as 2).
- For each animal tile the player possesses, the player scores victory points equal to the scoring multiplier (i.e. the value of the area occupied by that animal's purple marker).
- 1 victory point for every 2 remaining resources.
The player with the most victory points is the winner. In the case of a tie, the winner is the tied player with more resources left over. If there is still a tie, there are multiple winners.
Example: At the end of the game, Karen has the animal tiles and resources shown here. She receives an additional 57 victory points:
- For her 2 complete sets of 5 animal types: 20 VP
- For her animal tiles (2 x 3 + 2 x 2 + 3 x 4 + 2 x 2 + 2 x 5 points): 36 VP
- For her 3 remaining resources: 1 VP
The Special Functions
Special functions typically either modify the standard game rules or improve the strength of an action. As soon as a special function is covered by another card, its effect is lost, with two exceptions: If you received a new explorer from the general supply, then you keep the explorer even after the corresponding card is covered. Similarly, the effect of the card that gives you an additional card slot is not lost once that card's special function is covered.
You are allowed to combine the effects of multiple special function cards. The basic rule is that you may use these effects, but you are not forced to.
Example: Peter has these three cards showing in his cardholder. During action C, if he chooses to place an explorer on a green landscape space with a rope, he scores 3 + 3 = 6 victory points while also receiving a resource of his choice from the general supply.
Summary Sheet Reference
The summary sheet shows a summary of actions A to D on the upper left, and a summary of final scoring on the bottom right. It also provides a detailed explanation of each of the special card functions. All symbols, landscape spaces, resource colors, or animals indicated on the summary sheet are only examples of the types of special functions; the cards themselves show all of the possibilities. The iconography is always the same; in most cases, players can claim an additional resource from the general supply, or gain victory points or the right to move a purple marker, etc.
Basic actions, as shown on the summary sheet:
- A — Place 1 card in the cardholder
- B — Take 1 resource from the supply
- C — Place 1 explorer, "pay" with 2 resources
- D — Move 1 marker up 1 space
If you place an explorer on a space showing the corresponding symbol:
-
- any 1 resource
-
- 3 victory points
- move any 1 marker up 1 space, and eventually get victory points
If you place an explorer on the corresponding landscape space:
-
- any 1 resource
-
- 3 victory points
-
move any 1 marker up 1 space
-
You need only 1 resource to place an explorer on a space showing this symbol.
-
You may use 1 brown resource as any color.
During action B, if you get the corresponding resource:
- +1 additional resource of that color
-
- 2 victory points
- move any 1 marker up 1 space
During action D, if you move the corresponding marker:
-
- 2 victory points
-
- any 1 resource
Additional special functions:
- You may move any marker instead of the Dodo-marker.
- In the card phase, draw 1 additional card. After assigning 3 cards, discard the unused one.
- Take 1 additional explorer from the supply. Keep it even after covering up that card.
- Place this card beside your cardholder: You now have one extra slot in which to place a card.
If you get a corresponding animal tile:
-
- any 1 resource
-
- 3 victory points
- move any 1 marker up 1 space
If you place your explorer on a space with another explorer:
- swap any 1 resource with 1 from the supply
-
- 2 victory points
- "pay" only 1 resource
If you place an explorer in the inner/middle/outer "ring":
-
- 2 victory points (for each of the inner, middle, and outer ring)
Final scoring reminder (bottom of summary sheet): 10 victory points per complete set of animal tiles; victory points per animal tile equal to its purple marker's area value; 1 victory point per 2 remaining resources.
If you are reading these rules for the first time, ignore the text along the right hand side of each page — those columns serve as a condensed summary to help you quickly familiarize yourself with the game once you already know how to play.
Credits
The author and publisher thank the many play testers for their valuable efforts, in particular Frieder Benzing, Jonathan Feld, Susanne Feld, Benjamin Fleck, Isabell Kohler, Marco Kohler, Thomas Koslowski, Denis Leonhard, Afra Neumann, Michael Schmitt, Aiko Schumann, Christoph Toussaint, Andreas Zimmermann, the Offenburger-Spiele-Freunden as well as groups from Bad Aibling, Grassau, Reutte and Siegsdorf.
Do you have comments, critiques, or questions about this game? Write us:
Ravensburger USA, Inc. | 1 Puzzle Lane | Newton, NH 03858 E-Mail: [email protected] | www.aleaspiele.de
© 2013 Stefan Feld © 2014 Ravensburger Spieleverlag