Skylands

About this board game

Skylands is a tile-laying game for 2–4 players, with sessions lasting about 45 minutes, in which you build part of a mystical kingdom of floating islands.

The people of the Skylands live high above the earth, where grandiose cities are powered by magical energy from rare crystals. As you explore, you will add new areas of wood, stone, and crystalline to your tableau while shaping your own landscape.

On each turn, one player selects one of four actions: Explore, Harvest, Build, or Collect Energy. Everyone takes the chosen action, but the player who selected it receives an extra bonus. You cannot choose the same action on two consecutive turns, encouraging variety as the kingdom develops.

• Explore: Select tiles and expand your landscape.
• Harvest: Gather materials from completed geographic features.
• Build: Construct special buildings using the resources you obtain.
• Collect Energy: Gather the crystals that power the Skylands.

Completing forests, quarries, and other geographic features lets you harvest resources, collect crystals, and unlock opportunities to build. The game ends when a player fills their tableau or when all tiles have been placed.

Players score points from their special buildings, materials, and points earned during the game. Skylands includes special buildings for beginner, intermediate, and advanced play, along with a campaign mode and five small Queenies expansions that add more complexity.