Survive The Island
Survive The Island Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 game board
- 40 Island tiles: 16 beaches, 16 forests and 8 mountains
- 50 Adventurer meeples (10 per color), with a treasure value of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5
- 13 Creature meeples (5 Sea Serpents, 6 Sharks, 2 Kaijus)
- 12 Raft meeples, containing up to 3 Adventurer meeples each
- 5 Game Aid cards (1 per color)
- 1 Creature die
Goal of the Game
In Survive the Island, you manage a team of 10 Adventurers fleeing a sinking island. Each Adventurer carries a treasure, whose value is indicated on its base.
Salvage as many treasures as you can, and make sure no Creatures catch your Adventurers as you lead them to the Rescue Islands... And all before 3 out of 4 Volcanoes erupt!
Setup
The last person to have returned safe and sound from an island is designated first player.
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To form the Departure Island, shuffle the Island tiles, and randomly place them landscape face up within the printed outline. Do not look at the other side.
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Place the Sea Serpents on the board spaces marked with the Sea Serpent icon. Place the Kaijus and Sharks next to the board.
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Each player chooses a color and takes the matching 10 Adventurer meeples, Game Aid, and 2 Raft meeples. Place the remaining Raft meeples next to the board.
2-player games: Choose 2 colors each – they count as one single color – and take the matching 20 Adventurer meeples, 2 Game Aids that will serve as reminders of your colors, and 4 Raft meeples.
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Proceeding clockwise, take turns to select one of your Adventurers and place it on an empty tile, until everyone has placed all their Adventurers on the Departure Island.
Once the game starts, you can no longer look at the treasure value written underneath your Adventurer meeples! Try to memorize them as you place them.
5-player games: Once all 40 tiles are occupied, place the remaining Adventurers on tiles that contain only one other meeple.
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Take turns to place 1 Raft on an empty Water space adjacent to an Island tile. Proceed until you have placed both your Rafts.
How to Play
The game proceeds clockwise. A player's turn consists of 3 phases:
1. Action — Move Adventurers and/or Rafts and use tile Abilities (see page 4). Move 0-3.
2. Rising Waters — Remove a tile from the board and look at the back. Remove 1 tile normally; remove 2 tiles if no hourglass tiles are left.
3. Creatures — Roll the die and move a Creature.
Once the 3 phases are completed, the next player's turn can begin.
1. Action
A. Movements
During the Action phase, if you still have Adventurers to save, you can perform up to 3 one-space movements, freely divided among Rafts and your Adventurers.
Moving an Adventurer on foot — The Adventurer's starting AND ending points are either an Island tile, a Raft or a Rescue Island.
Moving an Adventurer by swimming — The Adventurer's starting OR ending point is a Water space.
Each Adventurer meeple can be moved by swimming only once per turn.
Moving a Raft — Move an empty Raft or a Raft you control to an adjacent Water space with no Raft.
To control a Raft, you must have at least as many of your Adventurers on board as your opponents.
Note: When an Adventurer is on the same space as a Raft, place it immediately aboard if there is still room left.
B. Use Abilities
In addition to your movements, and anytime during the Action phase, you may use as many Ability tiles as you wish by discarding them to apply their effect.
You gain Abilities during the Rising Waters phase. (see page 5).
Example of an Action phase: Anna moves an Adventurer by swimming onto an Island tile (1), and from there on foot onto an adjacent Raft (2). Then, she moves another Adventurer by swimming onto a Raft (3). Finally, she uses the Paddle Ability to move a Raft 2 spaces.
2. Rising Waters
Take any Island tile among the thinnest tiles remaining on the board. Thus, the different types of tiles will gradually disappear: First, the Beach tiles, then the Forest tiles, and finally, the Mountain tiles.
If there were any Adventurers or Creatures on the tile you took, place them on the Water space you just revealed.
Secretly look at the back of the tile you removed.
- If it is an Effect tile, apply it immediately and discard the tile. Exception: In addition to their effect, Volcano tiles trigger the countdown for the end of the game and remain on their space. The game ends as soon as 3 Volcanoes are revealed.
- If it is an Ability tile, keep the tile face down and use it during one of your subsequent Action phases. Exception: You don't need to wait your turn to use the Repellent tile in retaliation for the attack of an opponent.
For a list of Effects and Abilities, see page 8.
If you have no Adventurers left to be rescued at the beginning of your turn, remove 2 tiles instead of 1 during the Rising Waters phase (if no hourglass tiles are left).
3. Creatures
Roll the Creature die. If the Creature depicted on the die is on the board, you must move it (see Creatures: Movements and Interactions, page 6).
Note: Sea Serpents are on the board from the setup. Sharks and Kaijus will be added when you apply the effect of the Creature tile.
End of the Game
The game ends when no Adventurers are left to be rescued or when a 3rd Volcano is revealed.
Note: If the eruption of the 3rd Volcano triggers the end of the game, you score 0 points for the Adventurers you could not rescue.
Tally the treasure points you earned by saving Adventurers. The player with the most treasure points wins the game. In case of a tie, all tied players share the victory!
Final score example: Jane rescued 5 Adventurers while 3 others were eliminated. When the 3rd Volcano is revealed, her 2 remaining Adventurers on a Raft are eliminated because she didn't get the chance to lead them to the Rescue Islands. Her final score is 4+5+1+2+4 = 16 points.
Creatures: Movements and Interactions
Each Creature interacts with specific Elements occupying its space.
These interactions occur when:
- The Creature moves onto a space occupied with these Elements.
- These Elements are moved onto a space occupied by the Creature.
- The Creature comes into play through the effect of a Creature tile (see page 8) and is placed on a space occupied by these Elements.
If a Creature eliminates an Adventurer or a Raft, place it next to the game board. In the case of an Adventurer being eliminated, do not look at its treasure value.
A Creature immediately ends its movement if it enters a space occupied by one or more Elements it interacts with.
Sea Serpent
- Movement: 1 Water space.
- Interaction: Eliminates Rafts and all Adventurers (including Swimmers).
Shark
- Movement: 1 or 2 Water spaces.
- Interaction: Eliminates Swimmers.
Kaiju
- Movement: 1 or 2 Water and/or Land spaces.
- Interaction: Eliminates Rafts, pushes Adventurers onto any adjacent spaces (not necessarily the same), and displaces Creatures according to their Movement rules.
Note: Several Creatures can occupy the same space, except Kaijus. Nothing can enter a Kaiju space, except another Kaiju (displacing the first one).
Player Aid Anatomy
Each Creature card on the Game Aid shows: the type of Creature, its movement range, the type(s) of spaces on which it can be moved, and the Elements with which the Creature interacts.
Legend:
- A crossed-out full Adventurer icon: Every Adventurer is eliminated.
- A crossed-out Raft icon: Rafts are eliminated.
- A crossed-out swimming Adventurer icon: Only Swimmers are eliminated.
- A wave icon: Water space.
- A wave with land icon: Land space.
- The Kaiju pushes Adventurers onto adjacent spaces and displaces Creatures according to their movement rules.
A Swimmer is an Adventurer on a Water space (not on a Raft).
Tile Descriptions
Tiles with Effects (To be applied immediately)
Green Creature — Place a Shark on this space. If all Sharks are on the board, move one onto this space. Tile distribution: x3 Beach, x3 Forest.
Blue Creature — Place a Kaiju on this space. If both Kaijus are on the board, move one onto this space. Tile distribution: x3 Beach, x2 Forest.
Raft — Place a Raft on this space. Tile distribution: x1 Beach, x3 Forest.
Whirlpool — Remove from the board all the Elements (Adventurers, Creatures, and Rafts) occupying this space and all adjacent Water spaces. Tile distribution: x2 Forest, x4 Mountain.
Volcano — Remove from the board all the Elements (Adventurers and Creatures) occupying this space. Leave the Volcano faceup on this space. It is no longer accessible. Reminder: When a 3rd Volcano is revealed, the game ends! Tile distribution: x4 Mountain.
Tiles with Abilities (To be kept and used during a subsequent Action phase)
Paddles — Move an empty Raft or one that you control 1 or 2 spaces. Tile distribution: x2 Beach.
Dolphin — Move one of your Swimmers 1 or 2 Water spaces. This movement can end on land or on a Raft. Tile distribution: x3 Beach, x1 Forest.
Dive — Move any Creature on the board to any empty Water space. Tile distribution: x2 Forest.
Creature die — Roll the die and move the corresponding Creature according to their Movement rules. Tile distribution: x2 Beach, x2 Forest.
Repellent — You can use this Ability any time when one of your Adventurers is on the same space as a Shark or a Kaiju. Remove the Creature from the board. Tile distribution: x2 Beach, x1 Forest.
Player's Turn Reminder
Action — Move (0-3) and/or use tile Abilities. Rising Waters — Remove 1 tile (or 2 if no hourglass tiles are left). Creatures — Roll the die.
FAQ
Can I see examples of movements I can or cannot perform on my turn? Yes! In the following examples, each color represents a different turn.
Valid turn: A sequence of movements across Island tiles, Water spaces, and Rafts, each meeple moving once by swimming and otherwise on foot or by Raft.
Invalid turn: Each meeple can be moved by swimming only once per turn (apart from Ability tiles). The yellow Adventurer can neither be moved to a Water space by swimming, nor by Raft, because they do not control it.
Can I move an Adventurer to a space occupied by another Adventurer? Yes! The limit of 1 Adventurer in each space only applies during setup. Once the game has started, any number of Adventurers can occupy the same space.
During the Creature phase, how do I decide where the Creature should move? In what order does the Kaiju interact with Elements? The active player makes all those choices and decides on the order in which to apply the interactions.
What happens if I should place a Creature on a space occupied by a Kaiju via the effect of a Creature tile? The Creature cannot come into play unless it is a Kaiju, in which case, it immediately displaces the one already on that space.
What happens if I reveal the effect of a Raft tile when the supply of Rafts is depleted? In that case, move an empty Raft to that space, that's already on the board. If there are no empty Rafts, nothing happens.
What happens if a Raft enters a space with more Adventurers than available spots aboard? It's rare, but in that case, the active player decides who gets onto the Raft.
Can I use the Ability of a Dolphin tile to move an Adventurer from an Island tile or a Raft onto a Water space? No. Dolphins are in the Sea, and only Swimmers can cling to their fins as they pass by.
If I use the Ability of a Creature die tile, do I still roll the die for the Creature phase? Yes!
If I use a Repellent, are my Adventurers still affected by the interaction with the Creature? No! All the Adventurers and/or Rafts sharing the Creature's space are spared and remain on that space.
Can I use a Repellent to remove more than one Creature? No, you can't. You can only use 1 Repellent against 1 Creature (i.e., 1 Repellent per Creature).
Credits
Game design: Julian Courtland-Smith Development: L'Atelier Art: Mr. Cuddington Additional art: Cloé Dessolain, Stéphane Gantiez, Umeshu Lovers Rules layout: Good Heidi
© Asmodee Group 2024. All rights reserved.