- BGG rank
- BGG #3,638
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Lifeboat
- 4–6 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 1.8/5
- 2002
- BGG rank
- BGG #14,686
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Desert Island
2015
Rules assistance for Desert Island
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 4–6 players
- 60 min
- 8+
- Complexity 2.0/5
For 4 players
Rules assistant for Desert Island
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Desert Island is a board game released in 2015 for 4–6 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Jeff Siadek and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers and Role Playing.
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About the game
Washed ashore on a forgotten island with your fellow castaways, you must try to scrape together enough food to survive while avoiding illness, wild boars and deadly tsunami. Hopefully you can keep your secret love alive and help your secret hate find their proper fate. Desert Island plays in about an hour. Each turn, players take an action and play a fate card that makes an event more likely to happen as well as a target more likely for the event. Actions include foraging for food, scavenging for valuables washed up ashore, and lighting the signal fire. Of course, it might be easier to forage for food in your neighbor's stockpile. Conflicts are resolved by comparing total size on each side of a fight. A random card is added to each side's total. At the end of the turn, look to see if a boat was sighted and the signal fire lit. If the players aren't yet rescued, Fate will deal a blow to somebody, then everybody must either eat food or take a wound. Secret love and hate determines victory points.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Magellan
- Gen-X Games (GenX)
- Gorilla Games
Questions and answers
Desert Island supports 4–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Desert Island is 60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Desert Island for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Desert Island has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Desert Island belongs to these categories: Card Game and Negotiation. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers and Role Playing. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Desert Island are: Jeff Siadek. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Desert Island as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.