In Isle of Skye, from Chieftain to King, up to five players take on the roles of Scottish houses, each with their own player screen. The scoreboard contains four "windows' each with unique scoring conditions that are randomly selected for every game. Each player takes a castle of their house color and places it on the table before them. Each round, players reach into a bag and take out three tiles randomly, then place them in front of their player screen for all the other players to see. Then, each player selects, behind the screen, which of the three tiles will go back into the bag, and then by placing gold behind the other tiles he or she sets the price other players have to pay you for those tiles. Players reveal their choices by removing the player screen, return selected tiles to the bag, and then in player order each player can pay the price for any of the tiles before the other players. If a player buys one of your tiles, you get the gold he or she pays you, then the gold you used to set the price as well. If no one buys your tile, you must pay the gold you used to set the price to buy it yourself. After all players have had a chance to buy new tiles, players begin placing tiles around their castle.Players will want to connect roads, as that can have certain advantages, though it is not required. Players must place the same terrain touching for a legal placement: mountains much touch mountains, water must touch water, plains must touch plains. Once everyone has placed their tiles, players score their tiles based upon the unique scoring conditions found in the windows. Which windows are scored changes from round to round, and sometimes more than one window will be scored. After the sixth and final game round, players also score scrolls, unique icons found on some tiles that can give more points. Whoever has the most points is the winner.So, to be honest, the theme of Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King really didn't appeal to me all that much. I prefer grand space adventures, epic historical contests, or other big-themed games. This game looked a little to light, am I never really care for games where scoring sheep is an option. When I read the rules to Isle of Skye, I saw that it had a bidding mechanic, and that further made me think this wasn't a game for me. Auction/bidding mechanics are generally my least favorite types of mechanics in games.Imagine my surprise when I set down to play this with my friends and I absolutely fell in love with it. Isle of Skye is really a lot of fun- an unexpected gem as far as I'm concerned. The game is full of tough and fun choices. First of all, the bidding mechanic here is really fun and unique. Players must decide if they want to try to keep one of the tiles they drew and set the price high to discourage others from paying the price (and therefore paying a high price yourself), or go after other players' tiles instead. Players must of course decide how to place their tiles in order to maximize their points, and of course, try to figure out a long term strategy for your tile kingdom. It's a game of bluffing, personalities, and careful planning. Mostly, though, it's just a lot of fun that I didn't see coming.One thing that I really appreciated about Isle of Skye is the fact that it's always six rounds, only about 45 to 60 minutes- it's not a long game. Now, I don't mind long games. My favorite game is the 6-8 hour behemoth Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition. But there are a lot of games out there that wear out their welcome surprisingly quickly because of their length, games where playtime outlasts the fun the game creates. This is not the case with Isle of Skye. It's a game that leaves you wanting more rather than just trying to get through the last few rounds while you're looking at your watch. It achieves a careful balance between play time and fun.Review copy provided.