Endeavor: Age of Expansion

Endeavor: Age of Expansion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

49 Building tiles. Each tile has the new Age of Expansion building on the front, and an original Age of Sail building on the back. You can tell Age of Expansion buildings by the sunset sky and the white titles; Age of Sail buildings have blue skies and dark titles.
The expansion includes a Game Trayz building tray for you to store and organize your buildings. Organize your new buildings in the tray using the same process as the base game.
30 Fortification tokens.
37 Asset cards: all new decks for Europe and the six regions.
3 Prominence tiles: double-sided with 6 different play options.
4 Track extenders: a few more of these for when your success breaks out beyond your player mat.

Setup

Conduct all of the usual setup for Endeavor: Age of Sail. Pick which aspects (Buildings, Cards, and/or Prominence) of Age of Expansion you wish to use in your game; you may use any or all of them as you wish!

Which Building Set?

To use the Age of Expansion buildings, replace all of the buildings from the base set (except for the Starting buildings). Use only the new buildings; do not mix and match. Most of the features on the new buildings will be familiar from the base game; the newer concepts of Trade, Fortify, Conscription, and Mobilization are explained in detail on page 3.

While you are shuffling your seven Level-5 buildings to select the three that you will be using in this game, look away so that you end up with three random ones; the new buildings have Age of Sail buildings on the backside which could "mark" them.

Which Card Decks?

To use the Age of Expansion cards, replace the six region decks and the Europe deck from the base set with the new Age of Expansion cards.

The Age of Expansion cards are balanced to work all together as a set, but you may choose to keep some of the original region decks and/or the Europe deck if you wish. You may even choose to use only particular cards from the Age of Expansion decks (for example only the Value-2 card from each deck).

Details about the new card decks are explained on pages 4–6. Keep the Slavery deck and the Governors from the base game. Set up all cards as normal.

Decide Whether to Use Prominence or Not

If you wish to use the Prominence aspect, it will affect how Slavery is set up. Use the Slavery cards from Age of Sail, but don't stack them in the Slavery space on the board. Instead, spread them out face up in the Europe discard pile off the board. Players can draw Slavery cards from the discard pile as normal based on their presence in Europe, but they do not have to be drawn in order.

For example you could draw Slavery 4 if you have enough presence even if Slavery 1, 2, and 3 are still there. Slavery cards in all other respects are treated the same as in the base game.

Choose 1 Prominence tile to use for your game and return the rest to the box. Each Prominence tile tells you (in the top right corner) which player counts it is suitable for.

Place your chosen tile over the Slavery deck spot on the board. Details of how the Prominence tiles work are on page 7.

New Concepts in Age of Expansion

Age of Expansion comes with an entirely new building market, creating a totally different strategic experience within the same comfortable rule set. Most of the actions on the buildings are familiar, but there are a few new concepts to learn:

Trade

Swap one Trade token (any color or symbol) on your player mat with one Trade token (any color or symbol) from anywhere on the board. Remember to reduce the relevant attribute if you lost an Attribute token.

Fortify

Place a Fortification token from the supply underneath your disc in one City you control. Anyone performing an Attack against your fortified city must suffer 2 casualties instead of the usual 1. When a fortified city is Attacked, return the Fortification to the supply.

Conscription & Mobilization

These two concepts work together to gain you more population that can be moved into play more quickly than usual.

Conscription

During the Growth phase when you are gaining population, also add 1 disc from your supply (a "Conscript") to each empty Conscription space on your buildings. This happens every round and is in addition to your normal population growth.

Mobilization

During the Action phase on your turn immediately after performing all actions provided by a building or blue token, you may Mobilize one Conscript to add the bonus action described on its building.

Adding to a normally-activated action is the only way to Mobilize a Conscript. It may not be activated by itself. When a Conscript is mobilized, its action must be performed.
When mobilizing, use the Conscript itself as the token placed on the board (for example if the mobilization is an Occupy action, the Conscript goes into the City); when Attacking with a Conscript, you still must lose a casualty from your Harbor.
You may not chain multiple Mobilizations together; a Mobilization may only be attached to a normally activated action.
If Mobilizing after activating a building that provides two actions (such as the Royal Navy or Fort), the Mobilization occurs after both of the building's actions are resolved.

For example, you have just activated your Royal Navy by placing a disc on it. You conduct the Ship and Attack actions that it provides as normal, using discs from your harbor. You happen to have a Conscript ready to go in your Naval Academy; you mobilize it to perform its Ship action, using the Conscript disc itself as the disc that moves onto the board.

New Cards and Their Effects

Age of Expansion includes 7 new decks of cards to replace the ones from Age of Sail; all 6 regions plus Europe. Keep the Slavery and Governor cards from your base game, but replace any of the other decks you wish with the new decks. All of the cards feature a new and interesting distribution of symbols. Many of the cards feature new effects as well, explained here.

Discarding cards works the same as in the base game; Governors leave the game, Slavery cards are retained as negative points, and all others go into a discard pile near Europe where they may be drawn again. If any card with a special effect is discarded into the discard pile, that effect is activated again if that card is subsequently drawn from the discard pile.

If any card that has tokens or markers of any kind on it is discarded, those items are discarded. If any card with other cards stacked on it or under it are discarded, those other cards are discarded to their usual places as well.

Merchant Fleets

These are found on the Value-1 cards in every region deck. You may stack a card onto the Merchant Fleet spot, leaving the symbols on both cards exposed. All icons for both cards are in play. The 2-card stack counts as a single card for hand limit purposes. You may not stack a Merchant Fleet onto another Merchant Fleet. Once stacked, the stacked card may not be removed.

If discarded, both cards in the stack must be discarded at the same time, with all symbols from both cards lost. The stack separates when discarded and both cards go to their normal discard locations.
If a Slavery card is stacked on a Merchant Fleet and Slavery is abolished, both cards are lost. The Slavery card is set aside face down by the player's mat as usual, and the Merchant Fleet is discarded to the discard pile near Europe.

For example, if you had the India 1 Merchant Fleet and later got the Africa 4 card, you could stack the new card onto the Merchant Fleet. The cards are now joined together permanently and all 7 of the symbols they display are in play. If you ever discard the stack, the cards separate into the discard pile and you'd lose all 7 symbols.

Subsidies

These are found on the Value-2 cards in every region deck. When you draw a Subsidy card, you may immediately perform a Payment action for one building in your seaside that displays the symbol shown on the Subsidy card.

It is okay if the building permits other actions as well, as long as it displays at least one of the symbol shown on the Subsidy card.
If you don't have an occupied building displaying the correct symbol at the moment you draw the Subsidy card, the Subsidy has no effect.

New Value-5 Region Cards

The Age of Expansion Value-5 cards in each region have unique effects and scoring opportunities, described here.

Africa: Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799 near the Nile Delta. The stone was instrumental in deciphering ancient hieroglyphics; its text contained a decree carved in hieroglyphic and demotic scripts, as well as ancient Greek. The stone remains one of the most important linguistic discoveries ever made.

Once per turn when you activate a building (not a blue token) normally, you may perform any one of the four basic actions (Occupy, Attack, Ship, or Draw) instead of the action displayed on the building.

If you activate a building with multiple actions, you may only apply this effect to one of the actions.
You may not apply this effect to a Mobilization; a Mobilization is not a building activation.

Caribbean: Flota des Indias

The Spanish Empire established a system of treasure fleets to ferry precious metals and other goods from the new world back to Spain. Although the fleets were rich targets highly coveted by other nations, only one fleet was ever successfully captured, by the Dutch in the Battle in the Bay of Matanzas in 1628.

When drawn, take up to five random spent blue tokens from the discard, and stack them on this card. On their turns, other players may take tokens off this card by triggering an Attack action.

This is not conducted like a normal Attack; the player simply triggers a building with an Attack symbol or spends a blue token with an Attack symbol, then takes the token of their choice from this card into their Harbor with no other cost.

During final scoring, gain 1 Glory for each blue token remaining on this card.

Far East: Port of Dejima

Japan built the artificial island of Dejima in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. Its purpose was to prevent foreigners from setting foot in mainland Japan, while still permitting trade to occur. For over 200 years, Dejima served as the only trade link between Japan and the outside world.

Each turn during the Discard phase you may reserve one card face down under this card instead of discarding it normally. No more than one card may be reserved here.

The reserved card does not count toward your attribute tracks.
During Discard you may freely rearrange all your cards as normal including the reserved card.

During final scoring, gain 1 Glory for each symbol type found on the reserved card.

India: Company Raj

In 1757 the privately-held East India Company established dominion over large parts of India. At the height of its power it assumed direct govermental control over its territory, forming its own military and judiciary. Corruption and graft contributed to the end of Company rule by 1858.

This card may be kept in a Governor slot.

When you draw this card, immediately claim one spent blue Trade token (of your choice from those available) from the discard pile, and add it to your Harbor.

North America: Declaration of Independence

On July 4 1776 in the Pennsylvania State House, 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence signifying that they were at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was the first step taken towards forming the United States of America.

When you draw this card, immediately remove your discs from all Cities in Europe, returning them to your supply. Take three Fortifications from the supply and stack them on the card.

When any player Attacks one of your Cities in North America, you may spend one of these Fortifications to "repel" the Attack; the attacker does not lose a casualty or replace your disc, and the City remains yours.

During final scoring, gain 1 Glory for each Fortification remaining on this card.

South America: Conquistadors

Conquistadors were soldiers of Spanish and Portuguese descent that used European tactics and weapons in their devastating conquest of the Incan Empire and beyond. The foreign diseases they carried swept the continent ahead of them and ravaged native populations.

When you draw this card (and in all future Growth phases if it is empty), place 1 disc from your supply into the Conscription space on this card. A Conscript on this card may be mobilized following the normal mobilization rules, but only to conduct Attacks in South America.

During final scoring, earn 4 Glory, but subtract 1 Glory for each other player that controls at least one City in South America.

New Europe Cards

The Age of Expansion Europe deck comprises 7 cards, and each one has a new effect that activates when it is drawn!

0: Crown Charters

Recognizing the capability of privately-held companies to develop far-flung outposts, the British throne issued crown charters which granted trade monopolies in particular regions and gave Britain global influence.

Treat this card the same way and following the same rules as a Merchant Fleet card (see page 4), except that only a Governor card (or some other card permitted in a Governor slot) may be attached to this card.

1: Succession

With kingdoms and empires forming long-lasting dynasties, complicated rules of succession formed to ensure that power would remain in the hands of those who already held it.

This card may be kept in a Governor slot.

Immediately gain 1 disc to your Harbor from your supply when drawn.

2: Great Plague

The Great Plague of London in 1665 was the final major outburst of the bubonic plague; it had savaged Europe and Asia for three hundred years, killing between 75 and 200 million people in that span.

Every player immediately loses one disc from their Harbor. Any player without a disc in their Harbor must lose one from a building of their choice instead. If a player has no such disc they suffer no loss.

3: Marriage Alliance

The great families of Europe would sometimes join their houses together with a marriage of mutual convenience.

When you draw this card, choose any two players (you may choose yourself as one of the players) and place 1 disc from their supply onto this card. Those two players are forbidden to Attack each other's Cities in Europe (Fleets in Europe are ok and Cities elsewhere are ok) while the Marriage Alliance remains in effect. If this card is ever discarded, the Marriage Alliance dissolves and the discs are returned to their owners' supply.

4: The Peace of Utrecht

This series of peace treaties signed by 1715 resolved the bitter struggle over the Spanish War of Succession, creating a balance of power in Europe where no one nation could ascend to dominate the others.

When this card is drawn, all players with at least one unfortified City in Europe (beginning with the active player and proceeding clockwise) may Fortify one of their European Cities with a Fortification from the supply.

5: Smallpox Vaccine

Building on techniques developed in Africa and China, the first modern vaccination in the mid 1700s saved millions of lives, increased life expectancy worldwide, and resulted eventually in the eradication of the disease.

When you draw this card, immediately gain 1 disc from your supply to your Harbor. Then (beginning with the active player and proceeding clockwise), each player may spend 1 Wealth token (and adjust their Wealth Track down 1) to gain 2 discs from their supply into their Harbor.

6: Abolition of Slavery

Abolishment of slavery arrived in different places at different times and in varying increments. The British Empire for example abolished the Atlantic slave trade into its own territories in 1807 while slavery itself would persist in the colonies decades longer. The deterioration of the horrible practice would accelerate into the 19th century.

Slavery is abolished following the normal rules.

Prominence Tiles

Prominence tiles provide players with new ways to gain presence in a more-competitive Europe, and each one provides other benefits and ways to score. You use only 1 Prominence tile in each game. When you use an action to place a disc on a Prominence tile, this is instead of the normal action associated with the symbol. Any discs on the Prominence tile do count towards your presence in Europe. At endgame, the Prominence tile is scored first, before Exploits and normal scoring.

Marking key:

When you place a disc in a spot with this marking, immediately gain 1 disc from your supply into your Harbor.
During final scoring, earn Glory as displayed on spaces you occupy on the tile. Earn 1 Glory if you occupy both spaces on either end of a link featuring a Glory symbol.

Naval Superiority

You may use a Ship action to place a disc from your Harbor in any empty circle on this tile.

Also, on your own turn before you act, you may move one disc of your own from the lower portion of this tile to the open sea of any open region.

During final scoring, the player (or players) with the most discs on this tile earns 2 Glory. The player (or players) with the second-most discs on this tile earns 1 Glory. Players controlling the spots on the upper portion of the tile will earn Glory as marked.

Military Buildup

You may use an Occupy action to place a disc from your Harbor in any empty circle on this tile.

Also, on your own turn when you Attack (anywhere in the world), you may discard a disc of yours from the lower portion of the tile as your casualty.

Political Agenda

You may use a Draw action to place a disc from your Harbor in any empty circle on this tile.

Each spot is associated with one of the four attributes. During final scoring, if you control a spot on the tile, you do not have to slide your attribute marker down for that attribute; you will score the marker's position for that attribute. Players controlling the spots on the tile will earn Glory as marked.

Changing Alliances

You may use a Draw action to place one disc from your Harbor into either of the Alliance boxes (orange or green) on this tile. You may have multiple discs in one Alliance. You may not have discs in both Alliances at once; you must discard all of your discs in one Alliance to your supply if you wish to place in the other. Discs may not be removed from an Alliance any other way.

You may not Attack any player's City in Europe (Fleets in Europe are ok and Cities elsewhere are ok) if the player has at least one disc in the same Alliance as you.

During final scoring, check to see which is the winning Alliance; it is the one that has the higher total combined presence in Europe (counting Fleets, Cities, and the Alliance boxes). Each member of the winning Alliance earns 4 Glory per disc of their own in the Alliance box.

Unusual Buildings

Most buildings feature a combination of familiar attributes and actions from the base game and from the expansion. There are two buildings with special powers that need additional clarification.

Fairground

When you use the Fairground to draw a card, treat the drawn card as if the Draw Value shown on it was 1 lower than it actually is.

Citadel

At the end of the game, earn 1 Glory for every Fortify symbol found on your buildings, including the two found on the Citadel itself.

Advice and Strategy

Age of Expansion is not merely a clever pun; it also describes the effect that the new elements have upon your game. While the original Age of Sail was often a struggle to find success, nearly all of the new features in Age of Expansion contribute to accelerated success and quicker expansion for all players. You may find that the challenge is to manage your increased success best.

The Merchant Fleets in each region deck mean that you'll be able to hold more cards than before; try to attach a valuable card if you can instead of a weaker one that you'll be tempted to ditch later. Subsidy cards might seem a little weak but they can power some nice combos and extend your round.

Pay attention to the Prominence tiles when forming your strategy; they offer a variety of benefits and scoring opportunities.

It's a whole new world of possibilities as far as the buildings go. Explore different build combinations to see what works best for you. This new set has a ton of card-drawing power in it, and the Conscription and Mobilization aspects mean that you could can do more in less time. Try building a Bridge... you will love the Trade power once you take it for a spin! The Factory can thrust you right up that Industry track in a hurry if high-level builds are your goal. Remember that Fortifications will discourage enemy attacks very effectively, and protect your valuable Cities and links!