Isle of Skye review

Often, while exploring the new addition in the Brain-Games store, I see a new enthusiast come in and ask the salespeople for help in confusion. Then the shopkeeper will recommend Carcassonne to this enthusiast as an excellent option for the first game. Which really is. But what if the fields of Carcassonne already seem too ordinary and you want something a little more serious? This time we review the Isle of Skye .

Subject matter

Players represent Scottish lords who expand their clan's territories by conquering mountains, lakes, meeting yaks and sheep, and most importantly, brewing whiskey. To be honest, the topic isn't very important here, pretty soon players are choosing squares because they potentially have more victory points than because the jack is in the right position.

Components

The components are high quality, functional and definitely worth the price of the game. I'm not entirely a fan of the chosen illustration style, but tile laying games have never excelled at beautiful illustrations. In any case, the game is easy to play, so I believe that the graphic elements are chosen thoughtfully. It should be noted that the small playing field is very good at reminding you of all the important little rules that you would otherwise have to look at in a book.

Mechanics

From the outside, it might seem that the game is very similar to Carcassonne, where you place tiles and then score points for certain things. In principle, it is, but with two fundamental differences.

• The squares are not randomly drawn from the bag, but placed in an auction, where each player places 3 squares in front of him, one of which is discarded, and the price is indicated for the other two. Going around the circle, everyone has the opportunity to buy one field and pay the price to its owner. There is a wonderful dynamic here, because the price is indicated in those units of money that could later be used to buy new squares, so if you quote too high a price, no one will buy anything from you and you will have no profit, or your money will go to the bank, but you will be able to keep your fields yourself. On the other hand, who wants to sell their valuable lighthouse for a few pennies? The auction is exciting every time, Isle of Skye offers the most elegant auction mechanism I have ever seen.

• The game is played in 5 quick rounds, but each game and each round will award victory points for different things. For example, in rounds 1 and 3, points will be available for the yak population, while in rounds 2 and 5, completed mountain ranges will be valuable. The criteria for which points are awarded are determined randomly each game from a total of 16 different squares. This mechanic keeps the auction and replay of the game fresh every time.

Multiplayer

Very high. Different squares are drawn each time for which points will be awarded. They have a different placement. For example, if points for jackets are awarded in rounds 1 and 3, it feels very different than if they are awarded in rounds 2 and 5. Plus, this is one of those games that you'll often play multiple times in one night.

Rating

I definitely recommend it both to those who are great Carcassone experts and want to try something new, and to those who want to add to their collection with a deep, strategic game, but without unnecessary rules. In addition, the game is in a very affordable price category. Rating 8 out of 10.

You can buy the game at the Brain Games store at K. Barona Street 55 or at the online store: Isle of Skye

Board Game Geek rating: 7.5

Author: Kristaps Auzāns

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