Ultimate Guide: How to Play Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King

Hey there, future Clan Chieftain! Get ready to explore the lush lands of Isle of Skye, a game where every match is a new adventure and today's strategy could be tomorrow's ruin. If you want to become the supreme king of the island, you've come to the right place! This guide will show you the path to victory, step by step, as if we were together at the game table.

Game Objective

In Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King, your objective is simple yet challenging: over the course of 6 rounds (or 5 in 2-player games), you need to collect as many victory points as possible to become the great king of the Isle of Skye! It's a race to build the most prosperous and clever clan territory, thinking about every point that can be earned.

Preparation (Setup)

Let's set up the table for our journey in Skye. Follow these steps to get everything ready:

1. Board in the Center: Place the game board in the middle of the table. If we're playing with 3 or 4 players, use the front side. For a 2-player game, flip it to the back.
2. Scoring Tiles (Windows): Shuffle the 16 Scoring Tiles and place them randomly, face up, on the spaces marked "A" to "D" on the board. The remaining tiles go back into the box.
3. Round Marker: Place the Round Marker on the first space of the round track.
4. Coin Reserve: Keep all Coins (1, 5, 10, and 20) in a general reserve near the board, within everyone's reach.
5. Player Components: Each player chooses a color and takes the following items:
   • A player screen.
   • A landscape tile with a castle (your starting tile).
   • A scoring marker of your color.
   • A discard marker.

   Place your scoring marker on the "0" space of the scoring track. Your landscape tile with a castle should be placed face up in front of you, forming the beginning of your clan territory.

6. Starting Player: The youngest player takes the Starting Player Marker and will be the first to begin.
7. Landscape Tile Bag: Place all 73 Landscape Tiles into the cloth bag and mix them well.

The Game Turn

A game of Isle of Skye is divided into 6 rounds (or 5 in 2-player games), and each round follows a sequence of six phases. Let's see how it works:

1. Income Phase

Time to fill your pockets! In this phase, each player receives coins as follows:

• You earn 5 coins for your castle.
• You receive 1 additional coin for each tile with whisky barrels that is connected to your castle by roads.
• Additionally, you receive additional coins for each player who is ahead of you on the scoring track (i.e., with more victory points than you). The amount of extra coins is indicated on the round track.

Remember: you can make change at any time!

2. Draw Tiles and Set Prices

This is a crucial phase for your clan's economy:

1. Each player draws 3 landscape tiles from the bag and places them face up in front of their player screen.
2. Behind your screen, secretly, you will do two things:
   • Assign the discard marker to one of the three tiles. This tile will return to the bag later.
   • Assign at least 1 coin from your personal reserve to each of the other two tiles. Keep them behind the screen so no one sees the prices!
3. When everyone has finished pricing and discarding, lift your screens and set them aside, revealing the tiles and their prices.

3. Discard a Tile

Simple and straightforward: each player takes the tile they marked with their discard marker and returns it to the bag. Then, the bag is shuffled.

4. Buy a Tile

Now it's market time! In starting player order, each player has a chance to buy a tile:

• You can buy only one tile from another player, from those they placed in front of their screen.
• You pay the coins that the seller assigned to the tile.
• As the seller, you receive the gold from the sale and also the coins you yourself assigned to that tile.
• As the buyer, the purchased tile is placed in front of you, in your territory.
• If you cannot or do not want to buy a tile, you must pass.
• After all players have bought a tile or passed, the tiles remaining in front of you (the ones no one bought) are yours! But beware: you lose all the gold you assigned to them, which returns to the general reserve.

5. Build

With the new tiles in hand, it's time to expand your territory! You must add all the tiles you received this round to your clan, following these rules:

• You must connect one side of the new tile with another existing tile in your territory (it can be one you just placed).
• When connecting, the terrain on that side must be the same (pasture, mountain, water).
• Important: Roads do not need to end on any terrain.
• Once a tile is placed, it cannot be moved until the end of the game.
• If you cannot position a tile according to the rules, it returns to the bag (and you do not get coins back).

6. End of Round and Scoring

At the end of each round, it's time to score!

• Players receive victory points according to the scoring tiles valid for the current round. The letters "A" to "D" on the round track indicate which scoring tiles are active.
• For each victory point you receive, advance your scoring marker on the track.
• After scoring, check if the game has ended. The game ends if the round marker has reached the last space. Otherwise, advance the round marker one space and start a new round.

End of Game and Final Scoring

The game ends after the 6th round (or 5th in 2-player games). In addition to the scoring of the last round, there is a final scoring:

Scroll Scoring

Each scroll in your clan territory will be scored. If you have two or more identical scrolls, score for each of them:

• 1 point for every 2 sheep.
• 1 point per cattle.
• 1 point for every 2 tiles with whisky barrels.
• 1 point per broch (round tower).
• 1 point for every 2 ships.
• 1 point per farm.
• 1 point per lighthouse.

Ignore fractions of a point. For example, 4 or 5 objects of the same type are worth 2 points.

If a scroll is in a complete area, you receive double the points for it!

Coin Scoring

At the end of the game, every 5 coins in your reserve are worth 1 victory point.

Who Wins?

The player with the most victory points wins! In case of a tie, the player with the most gold in their reserve is the winner.

Tips for Winning

To avoid getting lost in the lands of Skye, here are some essential tips:

1. Keep an Eye on Active Scoring Tiles: The scoring tiles change each round. Keep an eye on the letters "A" to "D" on the round track to know which scoring criteria are active. Plan your purchases and constructions to maximize points for the current round and upcoming ones, if possible.
2. Strategic Pricing: The Draw Tiles and Set Prices phase is the heart of the game. Think carefully about which tiles you really want for yourself (and how much you're willing to pay for them) and which ones you can offer to your opponents. A price that's too high might mean no one buys, and you lose the gold. A price that's too low might hand a valuable tile to a rival on a silver platter!
3. Connections are Everything: In the Build phase, remember that connecting matching terrains is fundamental. Plan the expansion of your territory to create complete areas, which are worth extra points, and to connect important resources like whisky barrels to your castle to ensure good income.

With these tips and a little practice, you'll be ready to explore Isle of Skye and become the supreme king! Good luck and have fun!