Ships & Islands

The idea

In the classic game the sea is just scenery. In Ships & Islands it becomes part of the board: the land is split across several islands, and if you want to get anywhere you have to cross the water. At sea, ships take the place of roads, forming lines from coast to coast and carrying your settlements to new islands.

That shifts the whole game. Lumber and wool become more important because they pay for ships, and distances matter more than in the classic game. Whoever reaches a foreign island first secures the bonus points and often the best numbers there too.

New rules

• Ships: cost 1 lumber and 1 wool and sit on edges along the sea. They connect to your own settlements, cities or ships. Everyone has 15 ships.
• Moving ships: once per turn you may move the last ship of an open line to another spot.
• Bonus points: your first settlement on a foreign island earns 1 or 2 extra victory points, depending on the scenario. The fog scenarios Oceania and Sea of Mist award no bonus points.
• Gold fields: don't produce a fixed resource. When their number comes up, you choose which resource you take.
• Pirate: on a 7 you may put the pirate ship on the sea instead of moving the robber. It blocks ships near it and robs their owners.
• Fog: in two scenarios part of the map is hidden. Roads and ships reveal neighbouring hexes, and newly discovered land pays out a resource straight away.
• Longest Road: roads and ships count together, as long as one of your settlements or cities links the transition.

The 7 scenarios

The five scenarios with a fixed layout have their own layouts for 5 to 6 and for 7 to 8 players. New World and Island Wreath are generated afresh for every game. With Knights & Keeps the target rises by 2 points in each.

Tips

• Settle on the coast if the scenario allows. A settlement by the sea is where your ships start.
• Plan a line of ships before building it. Only once a settlement stands at the end is the line closed, and then its last ship can no longer be moved.
• Use the move: an open line pointing the wrong way isn't wasted material.
• Gold fields are wild cards. A settlement on gold makes up for resources your home island lacks.
• In fog scenarios exploring early pays twice over: each land hex you reveal pays out a resource and shows you the best spots first.
• Keep an eye on the pirate. It can block an important line of ships for several rounds.

Combining

In the lobby, Ships & Islands combines with Knights & Keeps and the Chocolate Market. With the Chocolate Market roughly every fifth land hex of a scenario turns into jungle and produces cocoa, even in the fog. You can build your own island worlds with a starting area and island bonus in the Map Workshop. The basic rules are on the rules page.