Island

Island
Cost	4
Type	[[Action]] - [[Victory]]
Set/Expansion	Seaside
Illustrator	Franz Vohwinkel
Set aside this and another card from your hand. Return them to your deck at the end of the game. Worth 2 Victory Points

[[Category:Action cards]] [[Category:Victory cards]]

FAQ

Official FAQ

• When you first take this card, take an Island player mat.
• Island is both an Action card and a Victory card.
• In a 3- or 4- player game, use 12 Islands. Use 8 Islands in a 2-player game.
• Island and the card set aside with it are set aside face up on the Island player mat provided.
• They should not be shuffled back into your deck when you shuffle your discard pile.
• They are returned to your deck at the end of the game in order to calculate total victory points. Island is worth 2 VP.
• If you have no other cards in hand when you play Island, just set Island aside by itself.
• If you Throne Room an Island, set aside the Island and a card from your hand, then set aside another card from your hand.
• You may look through the cards on your Island playing mat (they are face up) and other players may ask to see what you have there as well.

Other Rules clarifications

• If you Procession an Island, you set it aside with a card, then you set aside another card; you do not trash the island because it has already been set aside, but you do gain a card costing $1 more than the Island.

Strategy Article

There isn't a strategy article for Island. It was discussed on the forums with no consensus as to how to play Island.

In a Big Money-like game, it is sometimes good to buy one Island on the first shuffle, and then switch to a more conventional Big Money strategy. Simulations show that in simple cases like BM+Militia, such a strategy is marginally better than skipping Islands, and better than opening with Remodel or Moneylender, but it doesn't work with Envoy as a Big Money enabler. It is unclear as to how Island interacts with less straightforward Big Money strategies - you lose a little bit of early-game tempo in exchange for clearing out one Estate.

Alternatively, in an engine deck, it is good if you can get enough Coin and Buys to buy an Island AND a Province or Colony each turn, while Islanding away the Province you bought before to keep your deck from stalling. Ironworks is also a good partner to Island, as it allows you to pick up 2-VP Islands and also get +1 Card/+1 Action for it.

Synergies/Combos

• Ironworks

Antisynergies

• Other trashing such as Chapel, Remake, Trading Post, or Count.

Trivia

Card Art

The art connects with Pirate Ship to the right.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, 'Art Trivia'

Secret History

I made this during development to replace another victory card that didn't work out. I had tried a couple other ways to get a victory card out of your deck in later sets, but this was the first version tested for Seaside.

—Donald X. Vaccarino, The Secret History of the Seaside Cards