Isolation is an abstract board game published by

Ravensburger Ravensburger AG is a German game and toy company, publishing house and market leader in the European jigsaw puzzle market. History The company was founded by Otto Robert Maier in Ravensburg, a town in Upper Swabia in southern Germany. He bega ...

in 1972 in Germany as ''Isola'', and then published internationally by licensed game companies under the titles ''Stranded'' and ''Isolation''.

Description

''Isolation'' is a 2-player game in which each player tries to isolate the other player's pawn.

Components

The game box contains * the gameboard — a 6 x 8 grid with empty squares except for the third square from the left on the short sides, which contain either a slightly raised platform in some editions, or two round pawn-sized holes in other editions * 46 square tiles — plastic in some editions, or wood in others * 2 different colored pawns.

Set up

The tiles are placed in all the empty squares, and each player's pawn is placed on one of the raised platforms or in the round holes, depending on edition.

Gameplay

The first player moves their pawn 1 square in any direction, and then selects and removes any tile on the board, leaving an empty square that cannot be entered by either pawn. The second player performs the same sequence, moving their pawn and removing any tile. Play then alternates between the two players.

Victory conditions

The first player to isolate their opponent's pawn so that it has no legal move is the winner.

Publication history

In 1972, Bernd Kienitz designed a game titled ''Isola'', which was published as a multilingual game (in Dutch, English, French, German, and Italian) by Ravensburger, with artwork by Kienitz and Ulrike Schneiders. The following year Ravensburger released a Nordic version of ''Isola'' (Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish). In 1976, Hallmark Games published an English-only version titled ''Stranded''. Two years later Lakeside Toys released the game in North America under the title ''Isolation''.

Reception

In Issue 7 of ''

Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

'', Bernie De Koven called this a game "that takes only a minute to learn and five minutes to play — a game that is, in fact, innovative, well-made, and diabolically fascinating." De Koven concluded, "I like everything about this game. Just punching out the platforms gives me a fiendish sense of power. And then, suddenly discovering that my pawn is on the brink, faced on every side by the yawning gulf of unbridgeable void... well, it's delightfully horrible!" In 1980, ''Games'' chose this game for inclusion in "The Games 100, 1980 Edition." ''Games'' repeated this honor in 1981, adding, "The game is simple to learn, but the strategy is very tricky."

Other reviews and commentary

*''

Jeux & Stratégie ''Jeux'' (''Games'') is a ballet written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé" (literally a "danced poem"), it was written for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the ...

'' #2 *''

'' #6 *''

Games & Puzzles ''Games & Puzzles'' was a magazine about games and puzzles. The magazine was first published in May 1972 by Edu-Games (UK) Ltd. The first editor was Graeme Levin who recruited a variety of games and puzzles experts as writers and consultant editor ...

'' #58

External links

References

Abstract strategy games Board games introduced in 1972 Ravensburger games {{board-game-stub