Lanterns, Dragons, and Tactical Drafting in Isle of Night

Collect seashells, lanterns, and dragons, as you sail through the ever-shifting Isle of Night.

Published by Red Raven Games, Isle of Night is a 2-5 player set collection card game that plays in 10 minutes.

Gameplay

An island card is selected and set on the table. The deck of score cards is then shuffled, and score cards are dealt out according to the orientation shown on the island card. The score cards show how many copies of a card a player needs to collect in order to have a complete set. How much a set is worth is determined by the score card’s orientation in relation to the grid shown on the island card. For example, on the first island card, the score card at the top row is worth five points and the one at the bottom is only worth one point, while on another island, the score card in the middle is worth zero points.

On a player’s turn, he draws three cards from the deck and places them in the general display. The player can then choose one type of card and collect all the cards of that type that are in the display, leaving the others on the table.

There are a few special card types. There are location cards, each with their own unique ability (only one of these may be drafted on a turn). There are cards like the dragon – a player may not directly draft these, but when he drafts swords, he can take one dragon from the display for each sword he drafted. A conch horn allows a player to move the score cards around, altering their value. Scrolls can lock and unlock score cards so they cannot be moved. Chests are worth two points, while lanterns are worth one point and trigger the end of the game after a certain number of them have been selected. When a player has a cursed ring, he must discard a card for each ring he has, but this allows him to claim any card from the display to replace the discarded cards, before drafting cards as normal. Finally, when a player drafts a magic staff, he can discard any card of his to reuse the special ‘when claimed’ effect that is listed on it.

Some cards show magic symbols. The player who collects the most magic symbols by the end of the game earns five or six points, as determined by the island card.

The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Review

Isle of Night is a simple game that plays quickly, but packs quite a lot of fun choices into a small package. When choosing which cards to draft, there’s multiple factors to consider, not least of which is the shifting score cards.

The scoring in this game is excellent. The different island cards introduce several different layouts, with six different options included. Trying to manipulate the score card placement to increase the value of your sets, or prevent another player from lowering that value, adds an extra layer to consider on top of which sets to collect and which cards are most valuable to draft in the moment.

This game is gorgeous. The artwork is absolutely beautiful and does a lovely job of presenting a mystical, mysterious island. For the look alone, it’s a pleasure to spend time with Isle of Night.

At its higher player counts, there’s going to be a bit too much downtime for a game that should flow swiftly. But in general, Isle of Night does an excellent job of blending set collection with player interaction, has an excellent scoring system, and includes lovely components. The combination makes for a quick, easy-to-learn game that is still thoughtful, introduces some variety through the different island layouts, and is well designed.

Pros: Beautiful artwork, scoring mechanic is excellent

Cons: Not as good at higher player counts

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.