Objective
The objective of Isola is to maneuver your opponent and affect the playing board such that your opponent can no longer make any legal moves. When a player can no longer move legally, they lose the game.
Components
Isola is played on a grid of 7x7 squares, which can be a game board or simply drawn on paper. Each player has a moving piece that travels across the board.
Setup
- Prepare the Board: Setup the grid if necessary.
- Starting Positions: Each player places their piece in the center of the adjacent edge: one starts at A4 and the other at G4 (using chessboard-like labeling).
Gameplay
Players take turns to move. Each turn consists of two phases:
- Move Your Piece:
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The piece can move to any adjacent square — horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The destination square must be unoccupied and not already removed from play.
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Remove a Square:
- After moving the piece, the player removes any free square from the board that does not have a piece on it.
End of the Game
The game ends when a player can no longer make any legal moves because their piece is surrounded or all adjacent squares are removed. The other player is then declared the winner.
Strategy
- Blocking: Try to restrict your opponent's movement paths by removing tiles that prevent them from having many movement options.
- Positioning: Position your piece to stay near a maximum number of free squares.
- Sacrificial Moves: In some cases, it may be advantageous to sacrifice an important square to more severely limit your opponent's movement options.
Isola is simple to understand but requires foresight and skill to trap the opponent while positioning yourself advantageously.
