Mayfair MFG3509 Isle of Skye From Chieftain to King Board Game

Isle of Skye is a game that takes the tile laying and terrain matching aspects of Carcasonne and fuses it with a clever auction system to create an elegant, relaxed and and fun little number for two to five players.The game is played over five rounds: after each round you are scored according to one, two or three of the victory tiles drawn at the start of the game. There are loads of these so each game can be quite different. Some of these tiles award you for the number of sheep, cows boats,, buildings or whisky on your settlement, whilst others reward you for completing roads or terrain areas.During a round, each player receives income (five money, plus one more for each whisky that can be reached from road from their starting castle tile), draws three tiles randomly from the included cloth bag and then places them, hidden, behind their player screen. From these three tiles, one must be nominated for disposal (returned to the bag) whilst the other two you must price for sale using your money supply. Then the screens are removed and each player may purchase a tile from another player, at the cost that other player has assigned. Now the twist here is that, if somebody buys a tile from you, you obviously lose that tile but you get to keep the money they have used to buy it from you AND the money you used from your existing supply to price it. If nobody buys your tile you get to keep the tile but lose the money you used to price it. Thus one must carefully decide at what level to price tiles such that they receive money but also get to keep the tiles they need. It's very clever, simply and works excellently.After everyone has bought a tile (or instead declined to do so), the money beneath the unpurchased tiles is returned to the bank/supply and each player must then add the tiles they have (those they didn't sell or bought from other players) to their personal settlement. Terrain must match up, so you have to play pasture against pasture and sea against sea, just as you would in Carcasonne. Roads, however, don't have to join up, though there is often a benefit in income or points (depending upon the scoring tiles drawn) in doing so.After each round, the players receive points based upon the scoring tiles in action that round and the next round starts. There is a simple catch-up mechanic in the last three rounds, where trailing players receive a cash boost. At the end of the game, players receive additional points for the little scrolls present on some of the tiles and also for any cash held.It's an incredibly simple game that plays quickly and it's pretty fun to build your little settlement up, working towards the points offered by the scoring tiles drawn. There's conflict and interaction in the purchasing valuable tiles from other players when they chose not to or could not afford to price them higher that's good fun but otherwise the map part of the game is pretty solitary. There's a fair amount of luck as what you can do and the money you can raise depends very much on the tiles drawn, but the auction mechanic lets you work around this if you're savvy.If you like the laid back, tile laying aspects of Carcasonne but want something that takes this in a new direction then Isle of Skye is probably right up your street. If you like something a bit heavier, meatier, with direct conflict or less luck dependent then Isle of Skye is probably not for you.Personally, I love it.

Game arrived in excellent condition, everything brand new and well-packed. The quality of components is really good (although had the game for about the week so can't say how well they stand the test of time). Most elements (terrain tiles, coins, players' screens, players' tokens) are made out of cardboard but it is a sturdy type of cardboard that makes a good impression and fits the visual style nicely. Player's scoring markers are made out of wood and the cloth bag supplied with the game is 100% cotton. Both of these details elevate the quality of product even higher. One clear downside is lack of any storage equipement besides one aforementioned cloth bag. In a game where there are many separate and small elements, it would be nice to get some ziploc bags.As for the gameplay itself: there are a few straightforward rules (theoretically each round has 6 phases but these go really smoothly and in practice you have 2 main mechanics to learn and use in the game) and you can teach these rules to any new players (even people that are not familiar with board games) within 5-10 minutes. You should easily understand how to play just by reading the rulebook once.This does not mean that the game is shallow or boring, as it has a surprising amount of satisfying strategic depth (with planning how to price tiles and how to put the ones you bought) and the game is designed with a lot of replayability in mind. Interactions with other players are indirect (you set prices and then buy from one another so there is no negotiating over the cost) but they create some tense competition and often force you to adapt to changing circumstances. It still is a very smooth and light game, so do not worry if you are a beginner in board games: I'd say this game is for casual players and advanced players looking for something non-complex, alike.Last but not least: So far I have only played it as a 2-players' game (it can be played by 2-5 people) and I have to say it has been excellent fun, despite some reviews saying that 2-player variant is not that great. Personally, I can definitely recommend it as a light 2-player entertainment, with some decent (but not extensive) depth, and I am sure it will be just as good with more players.

This is an excellent game which requires you to juggle a number of considerations at the same time.• the basic idea is to build a landscape using tiles you draw from a bag;• those tiles can only be placed next to another time with a matching edge - eg mountain to mountain, sea to sea. So that's the first puzzle;• some tiles are worth more than others and what's important varies game to game - indeed it changes throughout the game. So sometimes you are collecting sheep, other times linking up a number of tiles with the same terrain - there are multiple variations;• an additional element of complication is added because you don't simply get the tiles you draw from the bag. Oh no. You take three, then have to "axe" one (or return it) and then give the other players a chance to buy the remaining two tiles from you. You have to set the prices from your tiles, in the knowledge that if the tiles are unsold you will have to pay that price yourself. This mechanism introduces a really interesting push and pull as you try to keep the tiles which are good for you, whilst simultaneously blocking your opponents from their favourites AND ensuring you have enough money left over to buy tiles from your opponents. This is genius and makes for some really interesting decisions.I have played this game very competitively with my partner and my 75 year old mother. Neither of them is heavily into games but both picked this up easily and really enjoyed it.It takes around 20-30 mins for a 2 player game and 30-45 for 3 players. It doesn't overwhelm with complexity or length, but nonetheless the beauty of the game design gives you a really good "thinky" experience in the relatively short playing time. Excellent stuff.

Me ha gustado mucho. Preveo muchas partidas en el futuro.

A experiência adquirida com o Carcassonne foi elevada à quinta potência em Isle of Skye. Que jogo gostoso, senhoras e senhores! Não é só alocação de tiles. Tem que cuidar muito bem do dinheiro!

Great game, fun to play and easy to catch on to.

I am not a big fan of Carcassone because I felt I didn't get enough room to strategize. Isle of Skye solves that problem by having the players draw three tiles at once and having to choose two of them to keep. On top of that you can buy a tile from other players each round. So there is a higher chance of getting what you want and also adds an economic aspect to it. It's not my favorite game in the world but it's currently my only favorite tile laying game. (I do own Castles of Mad King Ludwig - another tile laying game - but haven't played it yet. So I don't know whether I will like that better than this).

My kids and I can’t stop playing it. We have ticket to ride and this is so different and by far our favourite.