Sometimes it’s tempting to play an easy game to pass the time and not to get tired of it. Islanders is a small game that improves the quality of wasting time. This is a very solid representative of the indie games genre in a low poly graphic style (Kingdoms and Castles fans should like it very much).
Grizzly Games is responsible for the title, and the ratings on Steam are definitely encouraging. The price is about 4 EUR, so this is another bonus of this game.
Islanders is a strategic city-building game, where you don’t use any resources – you gradually get new buildings. You don’t have to learn it, as some hardcore strategies, for a few hours. The game has an easy control system, nice graphics, and its rules are very simple. There is no time pressure during the game, so it’s a great candidate for an evening where the brain has a bit of rest.
The idea of the game is that you have to build buildings on different islands (every level). This is only seemingly simple. However, to be able to go to the next stage, you need to collect the appropriate number of points. Points are slowly gained just for building various buildings. Later stages require more points and new types of buildings are unlocked at the same time. The island stage is from several to several dozen minutes of the game.
The gameplay is simple and calm, so you can quickly identify which buildings are the most valuable. But since you have to collect more and more points at every stage, you also have to squeeze more points from the building itself. This is where the challenge begins, because only by putting the buildings in the right combinations and neighborhoods, the number of points increases significantly. For example, by placing a woodcutter’s hut next to more trees, you will get more points. And a few woodcutter’s huts connected to a sawmill will be rewarded again. Similarly it looks when houses are built and a circus is built in the area. Each building is clearly labeled for scoring, so it’s easy to figure out how to combine different buildings.
Nothing complicated, but you have to make a little effort, so that evenings wasting of time is not so pointless 😉 The game can be lost without getting the required number of points, so there is a certain motivation for better city planning.
For a variety of fun, the game displays the captured scoring record. And for the curious, you can see your own position on the world record list.
In summary, the Islanders is a title worth recommending. The game allows you to spend a long time pleasantly in a lazy way, without the effect of fatigue, even after a few games.
