Big Sur Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Overview
• Parts of a Highway Card
• How to Play
  • Step 1. Take Two Highway Cards (Required)
  • Step 2. Build Highway (Optional)
    • Stretches
  • Step 3. Claim a Landmark (Optional)
• Turn End
• Game End
• Scoring
  • Example Scoring
• Icon Reference
• Credits

Components

• 69 Highway cards
• 20 Landmark cards
• First Player marker
• Scorepad & Pencil

Setup

1. Prepare the Highway cards based on the number of players.
   • 4 players: Use all Highway cards.
   • 2 or 3 players: Separate the Highway cards into two piles according to the numbers at the bottom of each card. Include only cards that match the number of players. Return the excluded Highway cards to the box.
   • Example: For 3 players, include all Highway cards that show a 3, no matter which other numbers they have.
2. Shuffle the Highway cards and deal a hand of two cards face-down to each player. Place the remaining cards in the center of the table face-down to form the Highway deck.
3. Draw five cards from the Highway deck and display them face-up in a row beside the deck to form the Depot.
4. Shuffle the Landmark cards and place them face-down above the Highway deck to form the Landmark deck.
5. Draw five cards from the Landmark deck and display them face-up in a row beside the deck.
6. Give the First Player marker to the player born closest to Big Sur, California, and begin!

Overview

Your goal is to build the best section of the Big Sur Highway by creating your own row of Highway cards in front of you and adding new cards to either end.

Each Highway card has one or two types of Scenery. By building enough cards side by side that have the same type of Scenery, you create a Stretch. A Stretch is any series of side-by-side Highway cards that has three or more icons of the same type of Scenery. A Stretch scores points according to its total length in miles, as shown on the cards.

Highway cards also provide the Material needed to build — you pay the cost to add a new card to your Highway by discarding other cards from your hand.

You can also claim a Landmark card for your Highway once you meet its requirements. Each Landmark has a special ability to help you build more easily or increase your score. However, each Stretch in your Highway can have only one Landmark, so you must choose carefully where and when to place them.

Parts of a Highway Card

Each Highway card shows:

• Scenery types — the type(s) of Scenery on the card.
• Material type — the Material found on the back of the card.
• Mile tag — the card's length in miles, used when scoring a Stretch.
• Reminder of Material — shows what Material is on the back of the card, so you don't need to flip it to check.
• Cost in Materials to build — the Material icons you must supply to build the card.
• 2-Mile Bonus — only on 2-Mile cards; a bonus scoring condition (not shown on other cards).
• Persistent Material — only on 1-Mile cards; a Material icon you can use directly from your built Highway.
• Player count — indicates which player counts the card is used with.
• Card number

How to Play

Players take turns, starting with the First Player and continuing clockwise. Each turn consists of three steps, in this order:

Step 1. Take Two Highway Cards (Required)

On your turn, you must take exactly two Highway cards into your hand. Highway cards are double-sided. You can build the piece of Highway shown on the front or use the Material on the back to build other cards.

You can choose from the face-up cards in the Depot or draw one or two cards from the top of the Highway deck, in any combination you wish. There's no limit on how many cards you can have in your hand.

Note: The Depot does not refill until the end of your turn.

Step 2. Build Highway (Optional)

On your turn, you may build one or more Highway cards from your hand. Supply the Materials needed to pay the construction cost using any combination of these three options, in any order:

Discard from hand: The usual way to supply Materials is to discard cards that have the necessary Material icons. The Material icon is on the back of the card, with a matching reminder icon on the front, so you don't need to flip the card to see what it is.

If you don't have a Material icon you need, you always have the option to discard any three Highway cards to supply one Material icon of your choice.

Keep your discarded cards face-down in a personal discard pile in front of you, and ensure the most recently used Material is clearly visible on top.

Persistent Materials: Each 1-Mile Highway card has a bonus Material icon in the bottom right corner. After building a 1-Mile card in your Highway, you can use its Persistent Material once per turn (including on the same turn you built it) when paying to build — without discarding the card.

Recycling: Your personal discard pile has a special benefit: You can use the Material shown on the topmost card once per turn when paying to build a Highway card. You cannot use it more than once per turn, even if you change the topmost card by discarding more cards. You can supply Materials for the construction cost in any order, so you can choose to use the Recycling option when the Material you want is on the top card.

When you build a new Highway card, you must place it at one end or the other of the cards already built (after the first one). You cannot place a new Highway card between your existing cards, and you cannot move, replace, or discard a card after it is built.

Stretches

By carefully choosing which cards to place beside each other, you can create a Stretch — three or more of the same Scenery icon in a row.

The order of the two Scenery icons on the card does not matter. Both Scenery icons on a Highway card can connect to both icons on the cards placed directly beside it.

You can extend a Stretch by placing more cards with a matching Scenery icon, making it as long as you wish. Because each Highway card has two Scenery icons, Stretches of different types can overlap partly or completely.

Making a Stretch usually needs at least three cards, but some Highway cards have a double icon, so it is possible to reach three matching icons with only two cards.

Example Stretches:

• Stretch of 3 icons — Length: 4 + 2 = 6 miles
• Stretch of 4 icons — Length: 2 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 8 miles
• Not a Stretch — Only 2 icons
• Not a Stretch — Only 1 icon

Step 3. Claim a Landmark (Optional)

On your turn, you may claim one card of your choice from the row of face-up Landmarks, as long as you have a qualifying Stretch in your Highway.

To qualify, a Stretch must not have already been used to claim a Landmark, and must match the Scenery icons on the Landmark.

When you claim a Landmark, place the card above one of the Highway cards in the Stretch used to claim it. Choose carefully — you cannot move or replace a Landmark later!

Draw a new card to refill the Landmark row immediately.

You cannot claim multiple Landmark cards in the same turn, even if you qualify for more than one.

Each Stretch can be used to claim only one Landmark, no matter how many icons are in the Stretch.

If two Stretches overlap, you can claim a Landmark for each one. Each Highway card can have only one Landmark placed above it, even if that Highway card is part of two different Stretches.

Turn End

Once you have taken two new Highway cards into your hand, and optionally built Highway cards and claimed a suitable Landmark, it's time to refill the Depot to five cards. Draw cards from the Highway deck to replace any you took, then your turn is complete and play moves on to the next player.

Game End

The game ends when there are no more cards in the Highway deck after refilling the Depot at the end of your turn. The number of Highway cards is enough to give each player the same number of turns before the deck runs out.

Now it's time to score your Highway!

Scoring

Stretches: Score one point per mile in each Stretch of your Highway. Remember that a Stretch requires at least three icons of the same Scenery directly connected side by side. You can have more than one Stretch of the same type of Scenery, if they are separated by a different type. Any part of your Highway with fewer than three icons together does not count as a Stretch.

2-Mile Bonuses: Score bonus points according to the scoring condition on each 2-Mile card in your Highway. The bonus applies even if the card is not part of a Stretch.

Landmarks: Score points for the total number of Landmarks in your Highway as follows:

• 1–2 Landmarks: 3 points
• 3–4 Landmarks: 5 points
• 5+ Landmarks: 8 points

Check your Landmark cards for any game-end scoring abilities to add to your score. Note: If a Landmark ability changes the Mile tag of a Highway card, it applies to the whole card, and increases all Stretches that card is in.

Total your scores for Stretches, 2-Mile Bonuses, and Landmarks. The player with the most points wins!

Example Scoring

Using an example Highway:

Stretches

• Field (length: 3 + 1 + 2 = 6 miles) — 6 points
• Ocean (length: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 miles) — 6 points
• Mountain (length: 3 + 4 = 7 miles) — 7 points
• (Forest icon is not a Stretch: no score.)

2-Mile Bonuses

• Bonus: "Score 1 point for each type of Scenery in your Highway." Forest + Field + Ocean + Mountain — 4 points

Landmarks

• Score for number of Landmarks (1) — 3 points
• Landmark ability: "Score 4 points." — 4 points

Total score: 30 points

Icon Reference

Scenery: Ocean, Forest, Mountain, Flower, Field

Materials: Stone, Water, Timber, Engineering, Steel

Credits

• Game Design: Mondo Davis
• Illustration: Tristam Rossin
• Graphic Design: Matt Paquette & Co.
• Development and Production: Chad Elkins
• UX/UI Consulting: Kate Finch, Joel Finch
• Rulebook Editing: Joel Finch, Jon Healey

Rulebook v1.05, 2nd printing