La Isla

Players lead teams of scientists exploring a newly discovered island to locate and study surviving animal species. The modular board is formed from irregular tiles arranged around a central tile, and animal tokens of five types are placed on numbered spaces that require surrounding camps to be occupied. On each turn, players program three action cards into slots that grant special powers, resources, or the ability to advance an animal’s value. Players place or move scientists onto camps by paying matching resources; when a player occupies all camps around an animal space, they claim that animal and score its current point value. Advancing an animal type increases its value immediately for the mover and raises endgame scoring for all animals of that type. The game ends when the aggregate animal-value threshold is reached, then players total their points.

Players: 2–4 best 4
Playing time: 30–60 min
Age: 10+
Complexity: 2.3 / 5