Nautilus Island

About this board game

Nautilus Island is a board game for 2–4 players, played in about 30 minutes. Shipwrecked on a mysterious, deserted volcanic island, you must explore the grounded and abandoned submarine Nautilus to gather what you need to survive, repair the vessel, and escape before the other castaways.

On your turn, move your Castaway marker in a column. You then choose between collecting object cards from that column or playing cards from your hand to begin a collection. Every decision helps shape your attempt to leave the island, while the available cards gradually become more limited.

Storing objects gives you opportunities to claim bonus tokens and/or porthole tokens before your opponents. These tokens, along with the collections you build, contribute to your final score and can help you pull ahead in the race to escape.

• Explore the Nautilus from top to bottom.
• Collect object cards from the columns.
• Play cards from your hand to start collections.
• Store objects to claim bonus and porthole tokens.
• Earn victory points and leave the island before the other castaways.

The game ends when a column is empty, bringing the frantic search through the submarine to a close. Players then compare their victory points, and the player with the most points wins.

With its focused turn structure and race to secure objects and tokens before the supply disappears, Nautilus Island presents a compact contest of exploration, collection building, and survival.