Palm Island
Palm Island Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Goal
- Component List
- Basic Solo Setup
- Starting the Game
- Store, Rotate, and Flip
- Taking a Turn
- Pay
- Resource Limit
- Drawing a Stored Resource
- End of a Round
- End of the Game / Scoring
- Solo Play / Feats
- 2 Players
- Cooperative
- Casual Competitive
- Competitive Speed
- Villager Cards
- 3+ Players
- Stored Resource Dividers
- Score Chart
Goal
Using a deck of just 17 cards, you will upgrade and transform each of your cards to gain more resources, abilities, and victory points. The game ends after 8 rounds of play. Complete your objective or get high score to win.
Component List
- 2 Player Decks (17 cards each)
- 6 Feat cards
- 5 Cooperative cards
- 14 Competitive cards
- 1 Reference Card
Basic Solo Setup
To begin the game, take either the red or blue core deck of 17 cards, identified by the color of the decorative stripe in the center of the card. Set the cooperative, competitive, and feat cards aside for now; these are explained later in the rulebook.
Each card has 4 possible orientations. The face-up top section on each card is the active area and represents the card's current orientation. The bottom section of each card shows the player color.
Each card has a white sun icon known as the start marker in 1 corner on 1 side. Flip and rotate every card so that all of these icons are on the front and in the top left corner.
Set the round tracker aside. Shuffle your deck, making sure that all cards stay in their proper starting orientation.
Place the round tracker so that it is the last card of the deck. Before starting the game, you may take note of the position of each card in your deck. During play, you may only ever look at the top 3 cards of your deck.
On-the-Go Tip: If you have limited space, you may choose to leave the round tracker inside of your deck, then, after shuffling, move it to the back of the deck for the proper starting order.
Starting the Game
Each turn, you must do 1 of 2 things: either take an action on 1 of the top 2 cards of your deck, or discard the top card of your deck.
When taking an action, choose 1 of the 3 actions that may be present on the active area of the card. The 3 actions are: store, rotate, and flip.
To use a card's action, you must pay the cost. This is done using stored resources by rotating the stored resource(s) counterclockwise, making sure to retain their position in the deck.
Store, Rotate, and Flip
Store
Pay any cost listed to the right of the action, then rotate the card 90° clockwise and place it at the back of the deck so that you can see only the resources from the card's active area.
This stored card may be used later to pay for an action. If there is already a card(s) stored, place the newly stored resource sticking out further so that all available resources are visible.
Rotate
Pay any cost listed to the right of the action, then rotate the card 180° (without flipping from front to back) and place it at the back of the deck.
Flip
Pay any cost listed to the right of the action, then flip the card from front to back (without rotating it), and place it at the back of the deck.
Taking a Turn
You may use any of the actions that are listed on the active area of either of the top 2 cards of your deck.
If you use the second card of your deck, the first card remains in place. Once you take an action or discard, you begin the next turn.
You may choose to discard the top card of your deck by placing it at the back of the deck instead of taking an action on a card.
If you are unable to interact with either of the top two cards of your deck, you must discard the first card. You may never discard the second card of the deck.
Pay
If an action is listed as free, you can perform that action without paying any resources. Otherwise, to pay for an action's cost, you must use 1 or more stored resource cards by rotating them 90° counterclockwise.
Remember, do not change the position of the card in the deck when you pay; instead rotate it without moving its position in the deck. If a card has more resources than you need to pay for a specific cost, you lose any extra resources.
Example 1: A cost showing "1 Log, 1 Fish, 1 Stone" requires 3 resources (1 Log, 1 Fish, and 1 Stone).
Example 2: The "/" symbol means "or". A cost showing "1 Log / 1 Fish / 1 Stone" requires 1 resource (1 Log, or 1 Fish, or 1 Stone).
When deciding to pay for an action, you may look at the back of either 1 of the top 2 cards of your deck while deciding to upgrade or not. If you do so, be sure to return all cards to their original position and orientation.
Resource Limit
You may only have 4 resource cards stored (sticking out of the side) at a time. Each of these 4 cards can contain any amount of resources.
If you wish to store a resource when 4 are already stored, you must first reset 1 currently stored card by rotating it counterclockwise (but not changing its position) to make room for the new resource card.
Drawing a Stored Resource
If a stored resource card is ever the top card of your deck, you must immediately discard it by rotating it 90° counterclockwise and placing it at the back of the deck.
End of a Round
When the top card of your deck is the round tracker card, this marks the end of the round number shown on the round tracker card. When this happens, you must flip or rotate it to the next higher number and place it at the back of the deck. When moving from round 4 to 5, return the round tracker to the side that is marked 1/5 and utilize the smaller numbers on each side.
You may not activate the round tracker when it is the second card of the deck.
At the end of each round, you retain any stored resources. At the end of 8 rounds, the game ends and you must calculate your score.
End of the Game / Scoring
Once you have completed all 8 rounds of play, add up all victory points which are marked with a star on the active area of each card in your deck. If you are playing solo or cooperative, compare your score with the score chart to see how your village shapes up. When playing competitive against 1 or more opponents, the person with the highest score is the winner. In case of a tie, each player must add up their upgrades and the player with the most upgrades wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most stored resources wins.
Solo Play / Feats
As you grow to become a stronger village leader you may collect items of great honor for your achievements. These are Feats and they grant special abilities for use in all of your future solo games. At the end of any solo game, check all Feat cards to see if you have performed the minimum criteria of a Feat. If you have met all of the listed criteria, you have earned that Feat card and you may use it in future solo games.
All Feats start with their start marker in the top left of their card. Once a Feat has been earned, rotate or flip it so that the unlock marker is in the top left of the card.
When using a Feat you have earned, orient the card so the unlock marker is in the top left corner of the card, and then place it at the back of the deck.
Some Feats work the same as standard buildings, while others have special rules that may limit their use in each game.
2 Players
The 2-player game plays exactly like the main game except that play occurs simultaneously, in real time. At the end of each round, when the round tracker card is revealed, players stop, waiting until all players have reached their round tracker, and then take cooperative or competitive actions.
Place the competitive cards or cooperative cards in a central area.
On-the-Go Tip: Have 1 player keep these cards in their deck by placing the cards directly before the round tracker. When 1 of these cards is the first card of their deck it marks the end of that player's round.
Cooperative
In this mode, players must spend resources to prepare their island for various disasters. Choose a disaster from one of the cooperative cards to play with and place it in a central location. The cost of a disaster upgrade scales based on the player count.
When playing with 2 players, a cost that states 1 wood, 2 fish, and 1 stone per player would equal 2 wood, 4 fish, and 2 stone total.
During each round, players act alone preparing and upgrading their village. At the end of a round, players may work together to pay a disaster's cost. This cost must be paid in full by any combination of players who pay the cost to advance it to the next level.
The current level may be completed at the end of any round. However, if you are unable to complete the disaster at or before the end of round 8, all players lose. If completed, all players win! Players may count their score at the end of the game to compare their scores if they wish. The group's score is that of the player with the fewest points.
Cooperative Abilities
While setting up a cooperative game, players may elect to utilize 1 cooperative ability card. This card is available to upgrade at the end of a round similar to the disaster cards. Once upgraded, this enables a group power that all players can utilize during each round.
The cost for these abilities may cost building upgrades as well as resources. Check to make sure you have the proper number of upgrades and pay the cost to use this card's ability.
Casual Competitive
This is a casual competitive mode where players work to use their deck more efficiently than other players. The game begins with 1 player shuffling their deck and then reading out each card's number in the order set by their shuffle. Each other player arranges his or her deck to match.
Each outpost card shows an outpost type, the casual symbol, a speed symbol, and a card number.
Take the outpost cards, shuffle them, and draw 1 card at a time, discarding duplicates until you have 1 forest outpost, 1 sea outpost, and 1 mountain outpost.
At the end of each round, players may purchase these if they have met the criteria listed in the casual section of the outpost card. If a player has met this criteria, they take this card, rotate it 180°, and place it in their deck just after the round tracker. If multiple players accomplish this in the same round, no players get that card, and it is returned to the box. At the end of the game, players add the value of any outposts they earned to their total.
Optional Villager mode: After setting up, set aside any duplicates of villagers that are on any of the 3 selected outposts, then draw 3 random unique Villagers. Both players add copies of these Villagers to their deck between the core deck and the round tracker.
Competitive Speed
This mode is only recommended for players who know the game very well. The game begins with 1 player shuffling their deck and then reading out each card's number in the order set by their shuffle. Each other player arranges their deck to match.
Place the Outpost cards in a central area with 4 on top of the pile and counting down to 2. The first player to reach their round tracker card gets the privilege of purchasing 1 of the available Outpost cards before the other player. When purchased, the player rotates the Outpost card 180° and places it in their deck just after the round tracker card.
Players continue taking turns purchasing Outpost cards in the order they finished the round until no player can purchase any more cards. Once players are finished purchasing and ready, they begin the next round simultaneously.
Optional Villager mode: Draw 3 random Villagers to use for the central pile instead of the Outposts.
Villager Cards
Each Villager card has unique abilities. Recruit Villagers by paying their cost. Some Villagers have an "active" ability, others provide victory points for the end of the game. Villagers that say Active have an effect for the round. At the start of a round, choose any number of Active cards you have already recruited to use for the duration of that round. When cards are recruited, they go right after the round tracker in your deck. Once a Villager has been recruited, they stay in your deck for the remainder of the game. "Active" abilities may be used each round without paying their cost. You may recruit as many Villagers as you can afford.
Villagers may be used in solo games by adding 3 random Villagers between the primary deck and the round tracker.
3+ Players
Use additional copies of the game to play with more than 2 players. Follow the normal instructions for a 2-player game. If using Villagers in speed mode, add 1 additional Villager for each additional player.
Example: With 3 players use 4 villager cards. With 4 players use 5 Villager cards.
Stored Resource Dividers
The dividers included in the game can be used to sort the game, making it easier to locate each set of cards. The square cards make it easier to locate each divider in the deck.
You may also use dividers to pause an in-progress game. On 1 side the dividers point out the card underneath it as a stored resource.
When you wish to pause, place 1 of each of these cards in front of each of your currently stored resources and then rotate all of these stored cards 90° counterclockwise. Place all of the cards back in the box. When you are ready to resume your game, go through the deck locating each stored resource divider and rotate the resource underneath 90° clockwise and place the divider back in the box.
Score Chart
Compare your scores to the charts to see how your island measures up.
Difficulty
- Easy: Use any number of Feats.
- Medium: Use 1 Feat each game.
- Hard: Use no Feats.
Feats can be used to gain new Feats. However, using Feats earned on easy when playing medium is not as impressive as earning them on medium.
Solo
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| 10-19 | Needs work |
| 20-29 | Respectable |
| 30-39 | Exceptional |
| 40+ | Astounding |
Cooperative (per player)
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| 1-9 | Needs work |
| 10-19 | Respectable |
| 20-29 | Exceptional |
| 30+ | Astounding |