OBJECTIVE OF PALM ISLAND: The objective of Palm Island is to be the first player to complete their objective or the player with the highest score when the game ends.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 to 2 Players
MATERIALS: 1 Reference Card, 14 Competitive Cards, 5 Cooperative Cards, 6 Feat Cards, 2 Player Decks, and Instructions
TYPE OF GAME: Hand Management Card Game
AUDIENCE: Ages 10 and Up
OVERVIEW OF PALM ISLAND
Palm Island is a game that can be taken anywhere and be played at any time. Players are able to build their own island, overcoming any challenges they may face as they go. Players are able to play by themselves, cooperatively with other players, or competitively against other players. It truly is a game that you can make all your own.
SETUP
In order to begin the game, the player(s) will collect the deck of cards that they would like to use throughout the game. If the game is being played alone, then the remaining deck can be put away for the remainder of the game. Each of the cards has for different orientations, with the top of the card determining its current orientation.
All of the cards should be positioned so that the white sun marking is found in the top left corner of the card. The round tracker may be placed to the side for now. Each player will shuffle their decks, ensuring that all of the cards remain in the correct orientation. The last card of the deck should be the round tracker, which is placed after the cards have been shuffled.
The players should orient themselves with their deck before the game begins, because once it starts, they are only allowed to look at their top three cards at any point. Once they are ready to move on, the game is ready to begin.
GAMEPLAY
During their turn, a player must complete one of two actions. They must take an action from one of the top two cards on their deck, or they must discard the top card on their deck. If the player decides to take an action, they may choose from store, rotate, or flip. The cost must be paid in order for the action to be complete.
The store action allows the player to rotate their card 90 degrees before they place it on the bottom of their deck, allowing them to see the card’s resources. Rotate allows the player to rotate the card 180 degrees before placing it at the bottom of their deck, creating a new orientation. Finally, flip allows the player to completely flip a card around, making the back of the card the front before placing it at the bottom, allowing it to have a better orientation.
Players must pay with resources in order to complete any of the actions mentioned above. Players are only allowed to have a maximum of four resource cards stored at any given time, each containing any number of resources. Once a player has completed their action, the next player will begin their turn.
When the top card of a player’s deck becomes the round tracker, the round comes to an end. The card is then turned so that it has a higher number and placed at the bottom of the deck again. A new round will begin once the players are ready. The game will continue in this fashion until eight rounds have been played.
END OF GAME
The game comes to an end after eight rounds of gameplay. The player(s) will tally their points to determine the winner. The player with the highest score, wins the game!
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