Explora
Explora Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 8 transport cards
- 8 crew cards
- 8 explorer cards
- 8 patron cards
- 9 expedition cards
- 12 special cards
- 7 cartographer cards
- 4 player screens
- 4 initiative markers
- 8 team pieces (2 in each player colour)
- 48 coin tokens: 28 coins worth 1 M£, 14 coins worth 5 M£, 6 coins worth 10 M£
- 24 artifact tokens (8 each worth 2, 4 and 6 reputation points)
- 1 game board
Note. M£ is the abbreviation of million pounds. The supply of coins is unlimited. In the rare case that the coin supply runs out, use any suitable substitute.
Card anatomy
- Card type — shown by a coloured wax seal: explorer (red), crew (blue), transport (green), patron (gold coin icon), special (purple).
- Sale price — the number of coins shown in the top-right corner of the card, paid from the bank when the card is sold.
- Strength / effect — the number in the round badge on the card, or the effect of the card.
- Required card types for this expedition — the icons printed on an expedition card that show which card types count toward a team's strength in that expedition.
- Name — the name of the card.
Setup
-
Each player chooses one of the four player screens and takes the 2 team pieces and the initiative marker matching the colour of that screen.
-
Place the game board, the coin supply (hereafter called the bank) and the artifact tokens in the centre of the table. Each player places both of their team pieces under the team strength scale on the game board.
-
Take the 9 expedition cards and choose 4 at random. Place the chosen cards face up in a row in the centre of the table. During one game players will set out on these 4 expeditions, starting from the leftmost (this is the first active expedition) and moving to the right. Return the remaining expedition cards to the box.
Note. In your first game we recommend choosing Avalon, Kalahari or Iram as the first active expedition. Choose the other three expeditions at random.
-
Shuffle all the other cards and place them face down as a stack — this is the resource stack. Leave space for a discard pile. Cards that are played or discarded during the game are placed face up in the discard pile.
-
Each player takes 1 coin worth 5 M£ and 6 coins worth 1 M£ and places them behind their player screen.
-
Each player places their initiative marker on the corresponding scale on the game board. Determine the order of the players on the initiative scale according to the "Initiative Rule" or by any convenient method. The players in 1st and 2nd place on this scale return 2 M£ and 1 M£ respectively to the bank.
When playing with 2 or 3 players: at the start of the game place the unused initiative markers on the first spaces of the scale.
Initiative rule for experienced players. You may determine the starting initiative with bids. Each participant secretly bids by holding in their hand the desired number of coins received during setup. Then the players simultaneously reveal their bids. The player with the largest bid becomes first, and so on. In case of a tie, the order of the players on the initiative scale is determined at random. All bids are returned to the bank.
Game Overview
The game lasts several rounds. During the rounds players buy cards from the market and assemble two teams, each consisting of an explorer, a crew member and a transport.
Each time the 3rd cartographer card is revealed, an expedition begins (see page 10 of the rulebook, section "Start of an Expedition"), and players choose which teams to send on it in order to earn reputation points.
The game ends at the end of the 4th expedition.
Round Description
1. Market Phase
Turn over cards one at a time from the top of the resource stack, forming the market for the current round. Place the revealed cards in the centre of the table.
- 2 or 3 players: the market consists of 3 cards.
- 4 players: the market consists of 4 cards.
If the resource stack runs out, shuffle the discard pile to form a new resource stack.
Cartographer. When you reveal a cartographer card, do not place it on the market. Instead, place it in the cartography area of the game board, then reveal a new card. If at least 3 cartographer cards are placed in the cartography area, an expedition begins at the end of the current round.
2. Auction Phase
Determine the order in which the players will choose cards from the market.
Each player secretly bids by holding the desired number of coins in their hand behind their screen. A bid of zero is allowed, by closing a hand with no coins in it.
Then the players simultaneously show their bids. The player who made the largest bid chooses a card from the market first, then the player who made the second-largest bid chooses, and so on.
In case of a tie, the order of choosing cards is determined by the positions of the players' markers on the initiative scale.
3. End of Auction Phase
Changing initiative
- The player with the largest bid advances their marker one space forward on the initiative scale, swapping places with the opponent's piece in that space. A player does not advance their marker if it is already on space I.
- The player with the smallest bid moves their marker one space back on the initiative scale, swapping places with the opponent's piece in that space. A player does not move their marker back if it is already on space IV.
Choosing cards
Starting with the player who made the largest bid, the players in turn (in decreasing order of bid size) choose one card each from the market.
Note. In a two-player game the second player chooses from the 2 remaining cards and discards the last card.
- When you take an explorer, crew or transport card, you may add it to one of your teams (see "Teams" on page 8).
- When you take a patron card or a special card, you may play it, applying the effect stated on it (see "Patron and Special Cards" on page 9).
Regardless of the type of card you choose, you may instead sell it. In this case discard the card without applying its effect, and take from the bank the number of coins shown in the top-right corner of the card.
4. End of Round
When all participants have chosen a card, the round ends.
Bids that were played are returned to the bank. If at least 3 cartographer cards are placed in the cartography area of the game board, an expedition begins (see "Start of an Expedition" on page 10).
Otherwise, begin a new round.
Teams
Each player may have no more than 2 teams. A team consists of 1–3 cards, placed face up on the table.
Each team may contain no more than 1 card of each type: 1 explorer card, 1 crew card and 1 transport card.
When adding an explorer, crew or transport to your team, place the card in front of you next to the other cards of that team, or create a new team. If the team already contains a card of the same type as the one being added, discard the previous card (without any compensation). Cards may not be moved from one team to another.
Team strength
The strength of a team depends on the strength of the cards that make it up (explorer, crew and transport symbols), and on the conditions of the active expedition.
To determine the strength of a team, count each card in it as many times as the symbol of that card appears on the active expedition card.
If the symbol is not shown on the active expedition card, the corresponding card is not counted.
Example. The active expedition is Shangri-La. It requires two explorers and one crew. Therefore the team strength in the illustration on the right is 10. Transport is not needed in this expedition, so it is not counted in the team strength.
Each player marks the strength of their teams with team pieces, placing them in the spaces of the team strength scale with the corresponding value.
When the composition of a team or the active expedition changes, the strength of the team changes too! The player must recalculate the team strength and move its piece to the corresponding value on the team strength scale on the game board.
Patron and Special Cards
When you take a patron card from the market, sell it immediately and receive the number of coins shown on the card.
Note. Selling a patron card and playing it are the same action.
Four patrons are depicted on the player screens. If you sell a patron card depicted on your screen, you receive 7 M£ instead of the 5 M£ that any other player would receive for selling that card. This information is also shown on the back of the player screen.
When you take a special card from the market, play it, immediately applying its effect. Then discard the card.
You may choose not to play a special card and sell it instead. In this case discard it without applying its effect, and take from the bank the number of coins shown in the top-right corner of the card.
Risky Move. Take the top card from the deck and play it immediately. This card cannot be sold, unless it is a patron card. If it is a patron card or a special card, apply its effect. If it is an explorer, crew or transport card, it must become part of one of your teams. If it is a cartographer, place it in the cartography area (do not take another card from the resource stack).
Jet Pack. Add the jet pack to one of your teams as an explorer, crew or transport card with strength 2. If that team already contains a card of the chosen type, discard that card to add the jet pack.
The card type that the jet pack represents may be changed at any time.
Prolonged Observation. Place your initiative marker on the first space of the initiative scale. Move all other markers back by 1 space, keeping their positions relative to each other.
Start of an Expedition
If at the end of a round at least 3 cartographer cards are placed in the cartography area of the game board, an expedition begins.
The teams taking part in the expedition receive rewards depending on their position on the team strength scale, and also on the position of the players' markers on the initiative scale.
Choosing teams. Each player decides which teams they will send on the expedition. A player may send 1 or 2 teams, or none.
Note. Remove from the team strength scale the pieces of those teams that are not taking part in the expedition. They will not bring rewards to their owners.
Expedition result. All teams taking part in the expedition return to their owners with loot depending on their strength value, and the team with the highest strength receives the main reward of the active expedition.
Receiving rewards. Each team that goes on the expedition brings its owner a number of coins depending on its strength. See the table below (the information is also on the game board).
| Team strength | Reward |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 2 M£ |
| 4 to 6 | 4 M£ |
| 7 to 9 | 8 M£ |
| 10 to 12 | 12 M£ |
Take the indicated rewards from the bank. Each player places the coins earned by their team or teams behind their screen.
The team with the highest strength takes the expedition card. The owner of this team places the expedition card received behind their screen; it will bring them 10 reputation points at the end of the game.
In case of a tie, the card is received by the team of the contender with the higher initiative marker. In case of a tie between two teams of the same owner, that owner decides which of them wins the expedition.
Artifacts. Also, most of the teams that took part in the expedition find artifacts that will increase the reputation of their owners at the end of the game. The number of reputation points these artifacts bring to a player depends on the position of their marker on the initiative scale (the information is also on the game board).
- A player whose marker is on space I of the initiative scale receives an artifact token worth 6 reputation points for each of their teams that took part in the expedition.
- A player whose marker is on space II of the initiative scale receives an artifact token worth 4 reputation points for each of their teams that took part in the expedition.
- A player whose marker is on space III of the initiative scale receives an artifact token worth 2 reputation points for each of their teams that took part in the expedition.
- The teams of a player whose marker is on space IV of the initiative scale find no artifacts and do not bring their owner any reputation points.
Losses. All teams taking part in the expedition lose one of their cards. The owner of a team that took part in the expedition chooses which card to discard, unless this is the strongest team that received the expedition card. In that case the opponent with the highest initiative marker chooses the card that its owner must discard.
Note. If the strongest team belongs to the player with the highest initiative, the card that player must discard is chosen by the player in second place on the initiative scale.
Preparing for the next expedition. As soon as the expedition has ended, shuffle the cards from the resource stack, the discard pile and the cartography area, and form a new resource stack. The next expedition card (the leftmost) becomes the new active expedition — recalculate the strength of your teams according to its new requirements.
If the 4th expedition has ended, the game is over! Otherwise, begin a new round.
End of Game
The game ends after the 4th expedition is finished.
Each player totals the reputation points they have earned:
- Each expedition card is worth 10 points.
- Each artifact token is worth the number of points shown on its reverse side (2, 4 or 6).
- Each million pounds behind a player's screen is worth 1 point.
The player with the most reputation points wins!
In case of a tie, the contender with the higher initiative marker wins.
Expeditions
The nine expedition cards are: Tule, Mu, Iram, El Dorado, Kalahari, Atlantis, Agartha, Avalon and Shangri-La. Each expedition card shows which card types (explorer, crew, transport) count toward team strength in that expedition. The location descriptions on pages 13–15 of the rulebook are flavour text and are not transcribed here.