In the Footsteps of Darwin: Correspondence
In the Footsteps of Darwin: Correspondence Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 England board
- 16 Animal tiles
- 5 Character tiles
- 6 Compass tokens
- 9 Advanced Publication tokens
- 18 Envelope tokens
- 17 Classification tokens
- 1 score pad
- 1 rulebook
- 1 appendix
Note: Some components of the expansion (Animal and Character tiles, Advanced Publications) have a gold mark on their top-left/right corner to tell them apart from those of the base game.
Setup
- Place the England board next to the Journey board from the base game in the center of the table.
- Shuffle together the 5 Characters from this expansion and the 5 Characters from the base game. Create two face-up piles of 5 Characters each and place them on the England board.
- Shuffle the 16 new Animal tiles with the 64 Animal tiles from the base game. Take 6 of them randomly to create 2 face-up piles of 3 Animal tiles each and place them on the England board. Proceed with the setup from the base game: place 9 Animal tiles face up on the Journey board, then form as many piles of 12 face-down Animal tiles as the number of players. Return the unused Animal tiles to the box.
- Place the Darwin token from the base game on its starting space (marked with the starting-space symbol) on the England board.
- Randomly place one Advanced Publication token on each of the 8 corresponding slots on the England board. Return the unused token to the box.
- Place the Envelope tokens next to the England board.
- Place the 17 Classification tokens in the cloth bag.
Complete the rest of the setup by following steps 2, 3, 5, and 6 from the base game (except for the Darwin token).
How to play
Follow the turn structure of the base game. Even though the game lasts 12 turns as in the base game, you will get additional opportunities to place more tiles on your Naturalist's notebook during the game, thanks to the new immediate bonuses and special actions from this expansion.
When you place a tile from this expansion, resolve their immediate bonus icons, if any:
- Correspondence: Gain one Envelope token.
- Classification: Draw a Classification token from the bag and place it on the corresponding space of your Naturalist's notebook:
- If there is already a tile on the space, flip the Classification token to its 2 (2 VP) side.
- If there are no tiles on the space, place the Classification token on its classification side. The next time you place a tile on that space, flip the Classification token to its 2 (2 VP) side and place it on top of the tile.
Example: Louison draws the mammal of Oceania Classification token. Since she has not studied any mammals of Oceania yet, she places the token (on its classification side) on the corresponding empty space of her Naturalist's notebook. When she study such an animal (e.g. a Tasmanian Devil), she will flip this Classification token. Now this token will give her 2 VP at the end of the game.
Note: If you place a new Animal tile on top of another tile with a Classification token on it, remove the token and place it on top of your newly acquired Animal tile.
- Move: Move the Darwin token to the next space in clockwise order (as indicated by the arrows) and then resolve the bonus indicated on the space it landed. This Move bonus replaces the Emblematic bonus from the base game. The Darwin token is not controlled by any player and does not provide any VP at the end of the game.
The printed page shows four space bonuses, captioned as follows:
- (Starting space) Gain two Envelope tokens.
- Gain one Envelope token and draw one Classification token from the bag.
- Draw one Classification token from the bag.
- Gain one Envelope token.
Example: Raphaël studies a Coconut Crab which allows him to move the Darwin token to the next space. Raphaël then resolve the bonus from the space by gaining an Envelope token and drawing a Classification token.
New special actions
Send a Correspondence
Once per turn, before or after moving the Beagle, you may choose one of the two following special actions:
- Request a Character's support: spend two Envelope tokens (by returning them to the supply) and choose one of the two face-up Characters. Place the Character on the topmost available slot on your Naturalist's notebook and gain the immediate bonus. You may not perform this special action if you already have the support from 3 Characters.
Example: Louison spends 2 Envelope tokens and requests the support of John Henslow. She places the Character tile on her Naturalist's notebook which allows her to hire a Guide and gain a Compass token.
- Retrieve zoological documentation: spend three Envelope tokens (by returning them to the supply) and choose one of the two face-up Animals on the England board. Place the Animal tile on the corresponding space of your Naturalist's notebook and resolve its immediate bonus as usual (if any).
Example: Raphaël spends 2 Envelope tokens and gets the zoological documentation about the African bush elephant from the England board. He takes the Animal tile and places it on the corresponding space on his Naturalist's notebook.
Note: Whenever one of the piles (Animal or Character) on the England board becomes empty, refill the empty spot with the tile from the top of the other pile, ensuring that there are always 2 face-up Animals or Characters.
Write an Advanced Publication
When you cover all 4 spaces of a given ecosystem or class (i.e. by completing a column or a row in your Naturalist's notebook) and you are the first player to do so, you write an Advanced Publication. Instead of taking the regular 5 VP Publication token (from the base game), take the Advanced Publication token that corresponds to the ecosystem or class you just completed and resolve its immediate bonus (if any).
Important: If you are not the first, take a 5 VP value Publication token, as usual.
Example: After studying a Gold Tegu, Raphaël completes the America's ecosystem in his Naturalist's notebook before other players. As a result, instead of receiving a 5 (5 VP) Publication token, he earns the Advanced Publication token that corresponds to America for this game. This token allows him to immediately hire a Guide and will give him 6 (6 VP) at the end of the game.
End of the game
The end of the game is triggered the same way as the base game, i.e. when the last Animal tile is placed on the Journey board.
Using the new score pad, score VP like in the base game, except for the last row (specific to this expansion):
- Classifications: 2 VP for each flipped Classification token.
Add up the 5 categories (Darwin token does not provide any VP in this game). The player with the most VP wins the game. If there is a tie, the naturalist with the most VP in the Theories category wins the game. If there is still a tie, share the victory.
Example: Louison calculates her end game scoring to be 40 VP:
- 13 VP for her tiles
- 2 VP for the Surveyed Chart
- 10 VP for the Publications
- 13 VP for the Theories (5+4+4)
- 2 VP for the Classifications
The remaining Envelopes does not score her any VP.
Advanced Publications
- Score 6 VP at the end of the game and hire a Guide.
- Score 4 VP at the end of the game and Survey.
- Score 5 VP at the end of the game and gain one Envelope token.
- Score 1 VP at the end of the game and gain two Envelope tokens.
- Score 7 VP at the end of the game.
- Score 5 VP at the end of the game and draw one Classification token.
- Score 3 VP at the end of the game and draw two Classification tokens.
- Score 4 VP at the end of the game, then move the Darwin token to the next space and resolve the bonus indicated on the space it landed.
- Score 2 VP at the end of the game and develop a Theory.
New Characters
Emma Darwin (1808-1896)
Naturalist. Coming from a prosperous industrial family and being the personal and intellectual support of her husband Charles, she played a key role in managing the household and in the publication of her husband's work, while also sharing his values. Emma was also an active figure in the social and philanthropic circles of her time.
Score 2 VP at the end of the game and you may immediately swap one of your Theories with one of the three face-up ones from the Journey board.
Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911)
Botanist. Known for his work "Genera Plantarum" and for supporting Charles Darwin, whom he encouraged to publish his theories. Darwin would later pay tribute to him for his unwavering confidence, vast knowledge, and sound judgment. Hooker was also a leading explorer, notably of the southern seas and India.
Score 4 VP at the end of the game and gain one Envelope token.
Alfred Wallace (1823-1913)
Naturalist. He developed the theory of evolution by natural selection at the same time as Charles Darwin, which prompted Darwin to publish his theory earlier than planned in order to establish precedence.
Write a Publication (5 VP value).
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895)
Biologist. Also a paleontologist and philosopher, he earned the nickname "Darwin's bulldog" after a public debate in 1860, where he opposed the Bishop of Oxford, responding that he "would rather be descended from an ape than from a learned man who used his education and eloquence in the service of prejudice and falsehood."
Score 2 VP at the end of the game, draw a Classification token and hire a Guide.
Alexandrina Victoria (1819-1901)
Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Empress of India, her reign was so long that it gave its name to a famous era in English history: the Victorian period. She witnessed profound social, economic, and technological changes in the United Kingdom, as well as the rapid expansion of the British Empire.
Score 3 VP at the end of the game, move the Darwin token to the next space and resolve the bonus indicated on the space it landed.