Islandia

Islandia is a strategy game for two to four players. Each player is in charge of a trading company, and the aim of the game is to generate wealth by gaining control of islands. All players start out with their own home port at a large island called Islandia. Surrounding it are twelve other islands. Each have a port and produces food, iron and wood in different quantities. When conquering an island, a player's income increases with an amount equal to the wealth of the island.

The game is turn based and the number of turns a game should last is decided at the start. Each turn consists of one economic phase and two movement phases. In the economic phase the players can buy ships, armies and fortifications. There are four ship types: steamships, battleships, explorers and troopships. In the movement phases, players move around the ships that they have bought. When bumping into an island explorers can give information on the commodities it produces as well as the wealth and strength of its native population. Attacking other ships can be done only by battleships and steamships and happens when they bump into an enemy. If a ship gets crippled it will be unable to attack and have its movement allowance halved but it can get repaired at a friendly port. Troopships are used to transport armies between islands, which is necessary to conquer new islands.

One of the earliest games that Julian Gollop (of X-COM fame) worked on.