Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type – Euro Game
Play Time: 30-60 minutes
Number of Players: 2-5 (Best 3+)
Mechanics – Tile Laying, Bidding, Valuation, Set Collection
Difficulty – Pick-up & Play (Can be learned in 20 minutes)
Components – Excellent
Release – 2015
Awards – 2016 Kennerspiel des Jahres (connoisseur/expert game of the year)
Designer – <PERSON> (Broom Service, Great Western Trail, The Mines of Zavandor, Mombasa, Oh My Goods!, Port Royal)
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<PERSON> (Broom Service, Cash-a-Catch, Sewer Pirats)
Overview and Theme
The Isle of Skye is a region of Scotland that resides in the northwest of the country. It is a land of rugged terrain featuring mountains, waterways, pastures, castles and narrow lochs. This is the setting for this tile-laying game and makes for some interesting and varied features on the game's many tiles.
As a Scottish Clan Chieftain, it is your responsibility to explore (lay tiles) in order to grow the size of your region. In doing so you will acquire livestock, farms, fishing boats and many other resources of note to help you claim the title of King of the Isles!
Interestingly this game won the Kennerspiel des Jahres for its design duo, their second consecutive win after taking the award in 2015 with Broom Service. The Kennerspiel is a relatively new award in the family of Spiel des Jahres awards and was created to recognise games that offer a bit more than the entry level SdJ but are still less 'brain-burny' than the Deutscher Spiele Preis (DSP).
<PERSON> won that award (DSP) for Mombasain 2016 and came an honourable runner-up to in 2017 with Great Western Trail.
What I'm getting at here is that this design team and Pfisterin particular have hit the gaming scene in a big way in the last 3-5 years and have some serious gaming chops.
So join me lassie as we take a stroll through the hinterland and contemplate whether Isle of Skye sits well in such company.
The Components
Isle of Skye is one of those games that is produced really well and you are proud to have it on your shelf and out on the gaming table...because it looks good.
Board – The game makes use of a smaller board that is not actually played on, instead it is used to track scoring and help manage aspects of the game. The board is also double-sided to manage the 5-player game differently to any other player count.
There are essentially 3 features of note on the board. The score track ranges from 0-50 and skirts the outer edge. A series of 4 arched windows are locations to place the randomly selected Scoring Tiles and these suggest you are looking out of your castle to the fields and oceans yonder.
The final element is the round\turn track. 470
This horizontal row numbers each round and uses illustrations of bowls (on your table), upon which the Round Marker can move. From round 3 onwards a coin value is indicated, which is used to award supplemental income to some of the players (more on that later). Beneath each bowl are set of pennants are illustrated. These indicate which Scoring Tile will be active for each round and those same pennants can be found above the 4 arched windows.
Two reminders are also given regarding end of game scoring. We'll get to those shortly.
Overall, the central board is more functional than breathtaking, but it makes use of contrasting colours to help it appeal to the eye.
Image Courtesy of Alice87
Game Tiles – The game tiles have a quality feel and look. The colours are engaging and the illustrations are both interesting and well laid out. A total of three terrains can be found in the game; pasture, mountain and water. A raft of other features are then added, which can help in scoring VPs. These features are of course strewn across the tiles in such a way that the game maintains a balance of sorts but they (the tiles) never look cluttered or too busy.
Thickness wise, these tiles are great. In relation to size they are exactly the same dimensions as those found in . 872