Volcano Island
| Volcano Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| Simon Graham | ||
| Be the most dominant tribe on the Island after the volcano has had its say | ||
| Players: | 3 - 4 | |
| Length: | Long | |
| Complexity: | Medium | |
| Trios per color: | 5 | |
| Number of colors: | 4 | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| Piecepack | ||
| Setup time: | 4 Min | |
| Playing time: | 15 Min - 60 Min | |
| Strategy depth: | Medium | |
| Random chance: | Low | |
| Game mechanics: | Area Control, Tile placement | |
| Theme: | Island civilisation | |
| BGG Link: | Volcano Island | |
| Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2006 | ||
Description Edit
The game is set on an island whose centre houses a volcano. The volcano has been quiet for sometime now but your Shaman says it's only a matter of time and that you should move the tribe away from its base before it's too late.
The object of the game is to be the most dominant tribe on the Island after the volcano has had its say!
Equipment Edit
- 2 Piecepack sets
- board is made from 26 tiles
- players use the pawn as their initial settlement marker, and coins as settlements
- coins from 2nd set used as lava flow
- 5 pyramid trios per player
- starting player marker
| settlement | (piecepack coin) |
| lava | (piecepack coins in other colours (ideally red!) |
| village | |
| town | |
| city |
Setup Edit
- Each player takes a set of pyramids and a set of coins in their chosen colour.
- make a 5x5 grid using Piecepack tiles, with a second tile on the central one-- this is the volcano. (each Piecepack tile has 4 spaces, so this creates a 10x10 board)
- Place the three or four initial settlement markers, one on each of the spaces on the raised volcano tile.
- for 3 players remove 3 corner tiles, (all but the one closest to the player unluckily sandwiched between the other 2)
- Choose a start player and give that person the start player marker.
- Roll 3 Piece-pack die (blanks counting zero, symbols as 1) to determine how many rounds will pass before the volcano erupts (If all die turn up blank then roll again).
Play Edit
- Each round
- The previous round's start player reduces volcano counter by one (not on first round!)
- if the volcano erupted on a previous round, the player to the start player's right continues the lava flow
- The start player marker passes to the left, that player begins this round
- Each player then takes a turn made up of three actions
- The actions may be taken in any order and the same action may be chosen multiple times.
- Actions are:
- Place a settlement
- Move an existing settlement
- Place a village
- Place a town
- Place a city
Placing settlements Edit
A settlement may be placed orthogonally adjacent to your initial settlement marker or any other settlement village, town or city of your color so long as the influence rule is not breached (See influence rule).
Moving a settlement Edit
Villages, towns and cities cannot be moved. Volcanic activity allowing, their location is permanent. Any currently placed settlement may be moved as an action from any starting point to any new location so long as the rules for placing settlements above are adhered to.
Place a Village Edit
A village may be placed in any vacant space where there are three adjacent settlements (for placement of villages, towns and cities diagonal pieces count as being adjacent). This counts as an action and the three settlements are removed from the board after the village has been placed as a cost of this expansion.
Place a Town Edit
A town may be placed in any space currently occupied by a village where there are three adjacent settlements one of which must be another village. (i.e. 2 Villages + 2 settlements = 1 Town). The target village is upgraded to a town and the other three are removed as the cost of this expansion.
Place a City Edit
A City may be placed in any space currently occupied by a town where there are four adjacent settlements one of which must be another town. (i.e. 2 Towns + 3 settlements = 1 City). The target town is upgraded to a city and the other four are removed as the cost of this expansion.
Influence Edit
Villages, towns and cities exert influence over the squares immediately adjacent to them. This influence has the effect of limiting the placement of settlements by other tribes in spaces adjacent to them. No such placement is allowed where the influence of one tribe over a square is greater than that of the settler. The influence values are as follows:
| Settlement | No influence (Beaten by Villages, towns & cities) |
| Village | 1 influence (Beaten by towns & cities) |
| Town | 2 influence (Beaten by cities) |
| City | 3 Influence (Cannot be beaten) |
The influence is not cumulative and so once a city is placed it is not possible for another tribe to create a circumstance where they could deny the placement of a settlement next to it.
The Volcano Edit
When the number of rounds rolled at the start of the game has elapsed the volcano erupts. Remove the initial settlement markers from the volcano tile. Using the extra coins the current last player (sat to the right of the person with the start marker) places one lava marker on one of the four squares on the volcano tile. They then roll two dice to determine when the second eruption will begin (oh yes).
After each round from now on, the start player passes the marker and counts down the new die count. Then the player to their right makes an orthogonal lava placement next to any existing one (excepting that after the first, all subsequent markers of that type must be placed flowing off the volcano tile).
Following the second eruption the lava placement must begin on another vacant volcano tile, not as a continuation of the first eruption, the same placement rules apply. Once off the volcano tile, the new lava can flow over the previously placed lava. Use markers to distinguish the lava from that of the first eruption.
Game end Edit
The game ends immediately when either a player is unable to take any legal action or at the end of the round that includes the placement of the final lava marker of the second eruption.
The winner is the player with the most points. Points are to be calculated as follows:
- Settlements = 0
- Villages = 1
- Towns = 3
- Cities = 7
- Having the most of each type (including settlements) also scores 3points - In each case a tie scores for all players.
- Most extended civilisation (Village, town, city farthest apart counted orthogonally) = 5 points
Whoever has the most points wins. In the case of a tie the player with the most buildings on the board wins, if still tied then it’s a tie!
LICENSE:CC BY-NC-SA 2.5
External Link Edit
- A pdf of the game is found here.