Get ready for a scientific expedition in La Isla, a game where you and your team of five scientists land on an unexplored island to catalog the local fauna. The goal is simple: capture animal species for study and, of course, accumulate points. The board is assembled with modular tiles forming a circle around a center, and 35 animal tokens (seven of each of the five species) are randomly distributed. Each animal space is surrounded by camps, and the number of camps indicates difficulty or reward.

On your turn, you'll use a simultaneous action selection system with cards. You play three cards face-down in the A, B, and D positions of your player board. Everyone reveals their A card simultaneously, and the image on it grants a temporary special power. Subsequent cards in the A position will cover previous ones, limiting power usage. Then, the B cards are revealed, and you collect the indicated resources.

The crucial part is positioning your scientists. On your turn, you spend two resources of the camp's matching type to place a scientist there. If all your scientists are already on the board, you can move one of them. When you occupy all the camps surrounding an animal space, you capture it and score points! The score varies according to the animal's current value on the scoring track.

Finally, the D card allows you to increase the value of an animal type on the track, granting immediate points to you and anyone who has already captured that animal. Each animal has a point threshold, potentially being worth up to five extra points at the end of the game. The game ends when the sum of the base values of all animals reaches a certain threshold, depending on the player count. The player with the most points wins!