Isla Tetra

The first game from Will Sargent's Solway Games uses a colorful new puzzle system to create essential inventory items which can be used to explore the mysterious island, ISLA TETRA.

The same colorful grids are built to earn Exploration, Health and Fishing actions, making for a puzzling castaway adventure of the like never seen before.

You might think you can get by simply walking the sun-kissed sands, soaking up the sun, but leave your island escape plan too late and you'll find events back home have taken a turn for the worse: As the months tick by, the search for your crashed plane is eventually called off, your job is advertised, and your car has been sold to keep up with the bills. After two years of waiting, your family holds a memorial service and your partner is now returning to a social life as a single person. You might be a great survivor, but at what cost?

Each turn players can beachcomb for useful items such as rope, old bits of wire and driftwood. You might even find a pilot's hat or laminated crash instructions washed up from the azure, salty brine. These pieces of flotsam and jetsam are shown on 52 professionally printed cards and represented by brightly colored, chunky 3D shapes which can be linked neatly together on your individual player mat to build items essential for survival.

Players must strike a balance between plundering the island’s resources for points while ensuring they’re not last off the island. Finish too low down on the time-track and you'll accrue penalty points which could rob you of victory.

It's all about strategy, and fun puzzle solving. Some of your inventory items can only be built using a single color, while others allow two or all three. Also, some grids are larger than others, taking longer to build, some are small and awkward to fit all the available shapes into.

Upgrades can give you more playing power, such as extra card swaps and extra jokers; longer explore moves; greater fish catches. Which to go for first? It's up to you to try the many different combinations.

To start, you are only allowed to build two items at a time so think carefully... whittle away by the fire at base camp, or set out deep into the island in search of vines and timber to help strengthen your small raft, ready for the final ordeal across raging seas...