Online board games
A board game you can play with friends tonight, from anywhere
Islanders is a strategy board game that runs in your browser. Start a game, send your friends a four-letter code, and you are playing in under a minute — no download, no sign-up, no one waiting for an install.
It is a game of building, trading and outmanoeuvring: settle an island, collect resources, trade with the table, and race to ten points.
The questions every group asks
- Does everyone need an account?
- No. Type a name and play. Only a host who wants custom rules signs in.
- Do we have to download anything?
- No. It runs in the browser on a laptop, a desktop or a phone.
- How many people can play?
- Two to six, on one game, from anywhere.
- How do my friends join?
- You get a four-letter code. They type it in. That is the whole process.
- Is it free?
- Yes — the standard game is free for as long as you like, with no ads in the way.
- Can we play over a video call?
- Yes. Everyone plays on their own screen, and there is chat built in.
What kind of game is it?
A hex-and-resource trading game. Each tile on the board produces a resource when its number is rolled. You spend those resources on roads, settlements and cities, trade with the other players for the ones you lack, and dodge the robber, who blocks a tile and steals a card. The first to ten points wins.
If you have played Catan or Colonist, you already know how it goes. How it compares.
The twist: every rule can change
Once your group knows the standard game, you can change any rule you like — how many points win, what things cost, how the robber behaves — or add house rules with a rule builder. Draw a board of any shape. Invent awards. It keeps the game fresh long after the standard rules would have gone stale.
Get your group playing
Start a game and send the code. It is free, and it takes less time than finding a movie.