Exposaurus
Exposaurus Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Materials
36 gems 64 dino tiles 40 scientists (10 cubes per colour each) 4 paleontologists (1 per colour each) 4 claim discs (1 per colour each) 4 museum tiles (1 per colour each) 4 tiles national museum 1 die
Setup
- Each player receives one of the 6 starting tiles (numbered dino tiles).
- All dino tiles and the remaining starting tiles are shuffled to be set up into several decks (face down).
- As many dino tiles as players are placed in the middle of the table.
- Each player takes 1 museum tile, 1 paleontologist, 1 claim disc and 10 scientists in his colour.
- The gems and the national museum are placed beside the dino tile decks.
- When playing with 4 players, all 36 gems are used; with 3 players 27 gems (9 per colour); and with 2 players 18 gems (6 per colour).
Unused gems, scientists, paleontologists, discs and museum tiles are put back into the box.
The players may arrange their starting and museum tiles in front of them in any way they like.
Each player receives: 1 starting tile (blindly drawn), 1 museum tile, 1 paleontologist, 10 scientists and 1 claim disc. The printed setup marks the base camp (the player's supply of scientists) with an icon.
The die is only needed in a variant of the game (see the die variant below). It is not needed in the basic version of Exposaurus. However, it should always be used in a two player game!
Aim of the Game
The aim of the game is to obtain the most points. Points can only be obtained at the end of the game. For each type of gem (red, green, blue) a separate valuation is done. The number of collected gems in one colour is multiplied by the number of equal adjoining dino tiles in the museum.
Example of a valuation (the printed example shows green gems multiplied by the equal adjoining dino tiles in the museum, giving 15): for each type of gem (red, green, blue), a separate valuation is done.
At the end of the game, for each scientist in the base camp the player receives 1 point. For a claim disc not used, the player receives 2 points; for a paleontologist not used, 3 points.
The 6 Dinosaur Fossils
There are 6 different types of dino fossils. To excavate a fossil, the directors of the museums send scientists on expeditions.
Number of scientists needed for excavation, without paleontologist / with paleontologist (the paleontologist option is only possible once per game):
| Fossil | Without paleontologist | With paleontologist |
|---|---|---|
| dino egg | 1 scientist | — |
| skull | 2 scientists | — |
| skeleton | 3 scientists | — |
| bone | 4 scientists | 2 scientists with paleontologist |
| claw | 5 scientists | 3 scientists with paleontologist |
| footprint | 6 scientists | 4 scientists with paleontologist |
How Can I Get Gems?
Each time a player adds a dino tile to his museum and with this completes a circle in a single colour, he receives a gem in the appropriate colour and places it in his museum. For a completed yellow circle, the player may choose a gem of any colour.
Example: To excavate the fossil in the middle, the player needs to send 4 scientists (5 scientists minus the existing blue scientist), or, in case the player has not yet used his paleontologist, 2 scientists with the paleontologist. The blue scientist returns to his base camp. After the player has added the excavated dino tile to his museum, he can place one red gem and one gem in a colour of his choice. The 4 used scientists are placed on the museum tile.
In addition, there are 4 gem tiles (without dino fossil) with a red, green or blue semi-circle and one with a complete yellow circle. On the latter, the player can directly place a gem in the colour of his choice.
IMPORTANT: The museum has a maximum dimension of 4x4 dino tiles.
Starting Player
The player with the highest number on his starting tile is the starting player. The other players follow in clockwise direction. In the further course of the game, the numbers on the starting tiles are of no importance.
Movement
Each move consists of 1 to 3 phases, which are always played in the following order:
- Throw of the die (only in a game with die variant)
- Recruitment of scientists (optionally)
- Starting an expedition
Throwing the Die (Remove Dino Tiles)
This phase is only done when playing the die variant.
IMPORTANT: In a two player game, you should always play this variant.
The player starts his move by throwing the die. He then can remove a dino tile lying on the table. Example: the player throws a 3. He is allowed to remove a dino tile with a maximum of 3 illustrated cubes.
If there is a scientist on the removed tile, he is placed back in his base camp. Dino tiles with a claim disc on them cannot be removed.
Recruitment (Returning Scientists to the Base Camp)
Only in this phase of his movement can the player return all his scientists (aside from the scientists in the national museum) to his base camp. He always has to return all his scientists from the museum and all the scientists on the dino tiles.
IMPORTANT: With each recruitment one of the scientists leaves for the national museum and is not available for future expeditions!
Expedition
An expedition has three options: A. Discovery of dino fossils / starting a new excavation, B. Excavation (completing an excavation), and C. Quitting.
A. Discovery / Starting a New Excavation
The player turns over one of the face-down tiles from the stock. He has to place 1 scientist or 1 claim disc* from his base camp on that tile.
*By placing his claim disc (only once per game!), only he can excavate that tile in any later round.
After executing possibility A, the player can decide again for A, B or C.
B. Completing an Excavation
The player can complete the excavation of an open displayed dino tile and add it to his museum. He does so by "paying" the shown number of cubes with as many scientists from his base camp.
He needs two scientists less if he uses his paleontologist (see the fossil table above). He needs 1 scientist less if a scientist* is already on that tile.
*A scientist of another player is returned to his base camp. The claim disc of the player does not count as scientist.
IMPORTANT: It is not possible to excavate a dino tile if a claim disc from another player is placed there.
IMPORTANT: Used paleontologists are removed from the game!
The used scientists accompany the excavated dino tile into the museum (the scientists are placed on the museum tile). Each new tile must be placed with one side adjoining to the existing tiles.
After placing the new tile and possibly a gem (see "How Can I Get Gems?"), the move ends. In each move, the player can only add one tile to his museum.
C. Quitting
Quitting ends the move directly.
End of the Game
The game ends as soon as a player has added the last (16th) dino tile to his museum, or as soon as the last gem has been taken from the supply. In both cases all other players can make one more move. If all players quit one after another, the game ends directly.
Valuation
At the end of the game, each player may return his scientists from his museum and from the dino tiles to his base camp. After that, each player sorts his gems according to colour and for each colour (red, green, blue) commences with a valuation. This is done by multiplying the number of gems in one colour with the number of equal dino tiles.
IMPORTANT: The tiles with equal illustrations must lie adjoining to each other (orthogonal, with one or more sides) in the museum!
The player with the most points wins. If two or more players have the most points, the player with the most dino tiles in his museum wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most scienstists in his camp wins.
(The printed rulebook spells "scienstists" here; it is transcribed as printed.)
Example of a Valuation
The red player has 4 green gems, 3 red and 1 blue gem. He has 7 skulls adjoining to each other in the museum. He multiplies that number with 4 green gems, which amounts to 28 points. In the same way for the 3 skeletons he receives 9 points and 2 points for 2 claws (he could also have chosen the tiles with bones). For the not used claim disc the player receives 2 more points. For the scientists in the base camp he receives 4 points.