A roll and write where the island decides how far you move.
And sometimes the island is not on your side.
Collect flora, fauna and fossils, escape the island, and don’t get eaten.
Isla Game Overview
Quick Rules Summary
Each player has their own island map. At the start of each round, everyone secretly picks an action: Rest, Explore, or Research. Then the active player rolls five differently shaped dice, ranging from a D4 to a D12.
If any dice show a 1, the active player draws a threat card with a negative effect.
Anyone who chose Explore picks one of the dice results and moves that many spaces orthogonally across their map, collecting whatever tiles they pass through.
The chosen die is then exhausted and cannot be selected again until refreshed.
Rest refreshes your smallest exhausted die, but you only get one Rest per game, plus a bonus if you find the Rest tile while exploring. Scattered dice icons on the map let you refresh specific dice mid-journey.
Research lets you spend collected tiles to claim a face-up research card worth points at the end.
Actions resolve simultaneously but in order: Rest, then Explore, then Research.
How do you win?
The game ends when everyone has either exited the island or got stuck.
Unvisited spaces cost a point each
The player with the most points from research cards, exit position, threat cards collected, and first or second to exit bonuses wins.
Main Mechanisms
Roll and write, and set collection, run the game. You also kinda have a pseudo-hand management in the way you manage your dice pool.
USP
The dice exhaustion system is the interesting, unique bit.
Each die you use to move is locked out until refreshed, so you can’t just pick the die that rolled the biggest. A 6 on a D6 is better than a 7 on a D12.
Theme
Island exploration with a spoopy edge.
Setup
Very quick. Hand out sheets, set up the dice and research row, and you’re off. Rules are simple enough to cover before the first roll.
Components & Artwork
Sheets, cards, and a set of differently-sized dice.
As with all roll and writes, I would like to see this laminated or made on plastic, so a marker can be used rather than throwing out paper.
There is minimal art, but the symbology is clear.
Ease of Teaching
Very easy. Pick an action, roll the dice, move and collect. The exhaustion system needs one example to click.
Similar Games
Trails of Tucana is the closest comparison with an island map, simple rules in a roll and write in a small box.
Cartographers adds more complexity and a longer game.
Welcome To… is my favourite roll and write still.
Isla Review
Positives
A fun roll and write with a genuinely interesting movement puzzle.
The dice exhaustion system gives you real decisions on every turn.
It’s easy to pick up and play quickly.
Negatives
It’s possible to get stuck with no good moves if the dice don’t cooperate.
I haven’t played it much, so it’s not yet clear how much of it is skill versus luck of the roll.
It wastes paper.
Summary
Isla is a clean, well-designed roll and write with a fun puzzle.
Jesta ThaRogue