Kavango: Lodges Expansion
Kavango: Lodges Expansion Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Your First Game of the Expansion
For your first game of Kavango Lodges, we recommend playing with the Lodges only and leaving Community Protection for later plays. This rulebook will first guide you through setup for your initial game, and then explain how to add Community Protection once you're ready for a greater challenge.
The core gameplay remains the same as in the Kavango base game: simultaneous card drafting across 10 turns, played over 3 rounds. Because Lodges builds directly on the base game, we recommend being comfortable with Kavango before introducing this expansion - either by reading the rulebook or ideally playing without the expansion before diving in.
Components
- 30 Lodge pieces (screen printed): 2 of each type, 6 in each colour.
- 1 Golden Lodge (extra shiny).
- 15 Golden Lodge cards, all with unique animal criteria.
- 60 Community Protection markers (double sided): 12 markers in each colour.
- 5 Tuck boxes.
- 45 Lodge cards (linen finish), all with unique animal criteria.
The Lodges expansion has been carefully designed to fit perfectly inside every version of the Kavango box.
Setup
Set up Kavango as you would for the base game. Before choosing Sanctuary animals, follow these additional steps. Optional stages of setup are clearly marked below and can be introduced if you want to increase the difficulty.
1. Collect Components
- Take the Lodge pieces that match the colour of your player board.
- (Optional: increased difficulty) Take the Community Protection markers that match your colour.
2. Prepare Lodge Cards
- Separate the Lodge cards into three decks by level (1, 2, and 3).
- Keep the Golden Lodge cards in a separate deck.
- Shuffle each deck individually.
- Store the decks in the small card tray during play.
3. Deal Lodge Cards
- Deal 3 cards from each Lodge deck to each player (9 total cards per player).
- Return the remaining cards to the small card tray.
4. Reveal Golden Lodge Cards (Optional: increased difficulty - see page 7)
- Shuffle the Golden Lodge cards and reveal 3 face-up beside the central board.
- Place the Golden Lodge piece next to these cards. It is now available to be claimed by the first player who fulfils one of the revealed build conditions.
- Return any remaining Golden Lodge cards to the small card tray.
5. Select Lodge Cards
- Each player chooses 2 cards from each level to keep (6 total cards). No new Lodge cards will be dealt during the game - so choose wisely!
- Players choose Conservation Experts, Goal Cards and Lodges at the same time (at the start of the game) then proceed to choose Sanctuary animals.
- Players may place their chosen cards on their board to plan Lodge placement.
- Return unchosen cards to the tray.
6. Place Community Protection Markers (Optional: increased difficulty - see page 8)
- Place the Community Protection markers on your board as shown on the yellow board above - see page 8.
- Maximum Challenge: Place all 12 markers on your board.
- Intermediate Variant: Remove the four leftmost Level 1 markers from your board.
7. Sanctuary Animals
- Finish setup with each player choosing Sanctuary animals. Gameplay then continues as in the base game.
How to Build Lodges
Each Lodge card has a complexity level from 1 to 3 and shows four animal types required to build it - for example the Lodge card on the right requires: a predator, large mammal, reptile, and small mammal; it is a level 2 lodge.
You have 6 Lodge pieces, 2 from each Level (1, 2, and 3).
To Build a Lodge
- You may build a Lodge on any of your turns, once you meet the requirements. Building does not take an additional turn.
- To qualify, you must have played all four animal types shown on the Lodge card in a 2x2 grid on your board. The animals may be in any orientation, as long as the four are adjacent to form a square.
- Place the corresponding Lodge piece (matching the level of the card) in the centre of that 2x2 grid.
- At the end of the game, each completed Lodge is worth 8 Points.
- You may build multiple Lodges in a single turn.
- Lodges can be placed on adjacent spots and you can reuse animals to build multiple lodges, as long as each Lodge's requirements are met with animals currently on your board.
Note: if you are playing the expansion on increased difficulty, with the Community Protection tokens, then Lodges will also earn you money in addition to Victory Points. See the Community Protection Section for more information.
Sanctuary Rules
- Animals may be played into your Sanctuary even if you meet the conditions to place them in your Nature Reserve.
- You may keep animals in your Sanctuary regardless of whether they could be moved to your Nature Reserve.
- Once played into your Nature Reserve (i.e. onto your board) animals cannot be moved back into the Sanctuary.
Animal Placement
- Animals can be moved freely around your board unless they are already part of a constructed lodge, i.e. adjacent to a Lodge. And only onto unlocked spaces when playing with Community Protection.
- You can't discard animals in your Nature Reserve or swap them with animals in your Sanctuary.
Your First Game
We recommend playing with Lodges only for your first game. If you are ready to increase the difficulty level, then please follow the additional rules on pages 7-10.
For more examples of choosing and building Lodges, have a look on our website: mazazagames.com/pages/kavango-lodges-expansion-examples
The Golden Lodge
Optional rules to increase difficulty and excitement!
You will be racing against other players to be the first to meet the build conditions for the Golden Lodge and claim it for your Nature Reserve!
The Golden Lodge has build conditions similar to regular Lodges: it must be placed around a specific combination of four animal types. However, to attract valuable tourists, the Golden Lodge also requires iconic and endangered animals (i.e. animals with a high point value). The cumulative point value of the four animals must be greater than or equal to the number shown in the top-left corner of the chosen Golden Lodge card.
Claiming the Golden Lodge
- The first player to meet both requirements (animal types + point value) for any of the three revealed Golden Lodge cards immediately claims the Golden Lodge and places it in their Nature Reserve.
- The Golden Lodge provides no money, but is worth 10 Points at the end of the game.
Ties
- If multiple players qualify to build the Golden Lodge in the same turn, the player who has the highest value animals around their lodge claims the Golden lodge;
- If it is still a tie, the player who has built the most lodges so far in the game claims the Golden Lodge;
- If it is still a tie, each player who met the build conditions in that turn is awarded 10 Points.
Example
- Purple wants to build the Golden Lodge using one of the revealed Golden Lodge cards. This card requires: 1 Reptile, 1 Medium Mammal, 1 Large Mammal, and 1 Predator; totalling at least 31 points.
- Purple has these animals in a 2x2 grid: Rock Monitor (6 points), Cheetah (10 points), Buffalo (6 points) and Pangolin (10 points).
- The Lodge card's top-left number is 31. Adding their animal values (6 + 10 + 6 + 10), Purple reaches 32 points.
- Because they meet both conditions (correct animal types + total value >= 31), Purple claims the Golden Lodge and places it in their Nature Reserve. They earn no money for this, but will score 10 Points at the end of the game.
Community Protection
Optional rules to increase difficulty and excitement!
Gain Money from Lodges
When playing with Community Protection, Lodges will also earn you money - this revenue is a vital income source as you expand your Reserve. Lodges earn money in two ways: by building a Lodge or by discarding a Lodge card. The Golden Lodge does not earn you any money, only points.
1. Building Lodges
When you build a Lodge, immediately gain money equal to its level: Level 1 Lodge = $1m Level 2 Lodge = $2m Level 3 Lodge = $3m
2. Discarding Lodge Cards
During the Investment Stage, you may discard incomplete Lodge cards for money.
- In Rounds 1 & 2, you may discard only one Lodge card per round.
- In Round 3, you may discard as many Lodge cards as you wish.
When discarded, a Lodge card grants money equal to its level: (Level 1 = $1m, Level 2 = $2m, Level 3 = $3m).
Important Notes:
- Discarded Lodge cards do not award Victory Points at the end of the game.
- No additional Lodge cards are ever drawn during the game.
Community Protection Markers
During setup, place Community Protection Markers onto your board as shown below. You can adjust the difficulty in the setup stage:
- Maximum Challenge: Place all 12 markers on your board.
- Intermediate Variant: Remove the four leftmost Level 1 markers from your board.
[Diagram: a board strip with three rows of Community Protection spaces. The top and bottom rows show Level 1 markers (value 1) and Level 2 markers (value 2) in the printed layout. The caption reads "For intermediate difficulty, remove these 4 markers from the board", with arrows pointing at the leftmost Level 1 markers.]
Investing in Community Protection
Spend money to unlock spaces in your Nature Reserve
Spaces marked with Community Protection markers are locked - animals cannot be placed on them. To unlock these spaces, you must invest in Community Protection. Investing in Community Protection must be done during the Investment stage of the turn:
- Spend money to remove an equal value of Community Protection markers from your board.
- i.e. Community protection markers with a '1' cost $1m to be removed.
- Those with a '2' cost $2m to be removed.
- Once the community protection markers are removed from a space, it is now unlocked.
- You may invest as much as you like per turn, removing multiple markers if desired.
- Keep these markers to the side of your player board, with the solar panel icon face up, as you may want to use them later to convert spaces to community solar (see next).
[Diagram: example board showing a player spending $2m (two money tokens) to flip a Level 1 Community Protection marker, which then shows its solar panel side; the marker's "1" side is shown being removed to unlock a space.]
Community Solar
Earn money by converting spaces
You may convert spaces in your nature reserve into community solar projects for money during the Investment Stage of your turn.
How it works:
- You must have previously invested in community protection before you can convert spaces to community solar and earn money. You must use the community protection markers that you have removed from your board to convert spaces that are still locked.
- To convert a space, place $1m or $2m worth of your already removed markers onto a space that still contains a Community Protection marker (i.e., a locked space you wish to convert). When placing the tokens, place them with the solar icons visible, to mark this as a converted space.
- When you do, immediately earn the value of the markers you just placed (maximum $2m per space). You do not gain money from markers already on that space.
- i.e. money equal to the value of the solar tokens.
- A space with a Level 1 marker can generate up to $1M.
- A space with a Level 2 marker can generate up to $2M.
- The space is now considered converted to community solar.
- Any space with one or more solar tokens is permanently sold and cannot be reclaimed in later turns.
Example: You have previously unlocked spaces in your Nature Reserve by removing two Level 1 Community Protection markers. During the Investment Stage of your turn, you place both markers (solar icons face up) onto a space that is still locked with a Level 2 Community Protection marker. You immediately gain $2M and that space is now permanently converted to a community solar.
Adjusting the Difficulty
Lodges Only Rules (First Play)
"This is my first time playing with the Expansion"
- Set up the game as normal, but ignore all Community Protection markers. Your focus is solely on building Lodges.
- Since there is no need to invest in expanding your reserve, building a Lodge does not earn money. Also, you cannot discard lodge cards to earn money.
- Each Lodge is worth 8 Victory Points at the end of the game.
- Choose whether or not to include the Golden Lodge. (For an easier game, leave it out.)
Intermediate Difficulty Rules
"I want a challenge, but with a gentler start."
- Setup with Community Protection markers but remove the four leftmost Level 1 markers.
- Lodges will earn you money and points.
- Play with the Golden Lodge.
Maximum Difficulty Rules
"I'm a Conservation Expert, give me a challenge!"
- Setup your board with the maximum 12 Community Protection Markers.
- Lodges will earn you money and points.
- Play with the Golden Lodge.
Players of Mixed Experience Levels
Kavango and this expansion are designed so players of different experience levels can play together by using different difficulty settings. This makes the game more inclusive and accessible to new players. For example, an experienced player can use maximum difficulty rules while a new player uses Lodges-only rules, or players can start with different amounts of money as allowed by the base game. In this case, increasing the difficulty acts like a handicap and the winner is still the person with the most points at the end.
Players new to Kavango can also play without Lodges entirely (recommended) against experienced players playing with Lodges. In this case, players playing without Lodges receive a 48-point bonus at the end of the game (equivalent to six complete Lodges).
Climate Protection
Expansion Rule: Climate Protection
You may not invest more than $3m (per player) in the '3+' area. In practice, this means that to earn the Climate Award - and earn 10 points - you must:
- Invest $8m total in climate protection by the end of the game
- Invest at least $5m in total in sections '1,2,3' combined.
Any conflicts with multiple players investing in climate protection in the same turn are resolved with the hand marker cards i.e. the order is determined by the hand marker card (of the hand they just chose from).
Example: (diagram of the Kavango climate protection track with yellow, orange, green, purple and other player pieces)
In this example Yellow, Orange and Green have all invested $8m in Climate Protection - with a maximum of $3m of that in the '3+' section - to successfully earn the Climate Award. The Purple player has only invested $4m so even if they were to invest more, they can't earn the Climate Award due to the $3m limit in the '3+' section.
End of Game & Scoring
As in the base game, Kavango ends after 3 rounds of 10 turns. At the end of the game, players score points for lodges built, conservation awards (10 points each), goal cards, and animals. The player with the highest total score wins. In the case of a tie, share the victory, nature is the winner.
Solo Rules
Adding the Lodges Expansion to the solo game is very simple:
- For the solo game you can choose your difficulty level as you prefer on the previous page (p11).
- The Golden Lodge can't be included for the solo game.
- Your opponent, Oppo, plays without Lodges and Community Protection but will score points at the end of the game according to your difficulty level:
- Easy - Oppo scores 32 points (equivalent to four complete Lodges)
- Intermediate - Oppo scores 40 points (equivalent to five complete Lodges)
- Expert - Oppo scores 48 points (equivalent to all six complete Lodges)
Optional Rule Updates
If you own the original Kickstarter edition of Kavango, you may wish to integrate these updated rules into your game:
Setup - At the Start of the Game
Conservation Experts
- Deal 2 Conservation Expert cards to each player.
- Each player keeps 1 and returns the other.
Goal Cards
- Deal 2 Goal cards to each player.
- Each player keeps both, but only scores one of them at the end of the game.
Two Player Variant
During game setup, separate the Relocation action cards from the other action cards.
- In Round 1: do not deal any Relocation cards into the game.
- In Round 2: put 1 Relocation card in each hand.
- In Round 3: put 2 Relocation cards in each hand.
Relocation cards allow you to take cards from the discard pile for $1m, giving you access to more cards (remember that after dealing the hands for rounds two and three cards are put into the discard pile, see the base-game rules).
Real Life Inspiration
The Lodges Expansion is designed to tell more of the human story of conservation in the Kavango region. For conservation efforts to succeed it is essential that people, especially those living alongside wildlife, benefit from the wildlife they protect. We've broken this down into two key elements for this expansion, Ecotourism and Community Protection:
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of responsible and sustainable travel that minimises environmental impact, generates revenue for conservation efforts, and drives rural development through investment and jobs for local communities.
Ecotourism has been incredibly successful in many parts of southern Africa. It allows highly biodiverse areas to be recognised as economically valuable spaces in their own right and allows continued conservation of that land.
Community Protection
Support for local communities is vital because it creates financial incentives for conservation, directly linking economic well-being to environmental protection. By providing jobs, boosting rural economies, and preserving cultural heritage, it empowers local stewardship, reduces poverty, and promotes sustainable development.
Investment in local communities is also essential for reducing human-wildlife conflict. Wild animals can damage crops, kill livestock and threaten personal safety and this creates conflict. Ecotourism revenue can help fund compensation schemes, improved fencing, community awareness programs, and alternative livelihoods, reducing the financial burden on households and strengthening coexistence between people and wildlife.
We hope playing Kavango and the Lodges Expansion helps inspire you to protect nature wherever you are. For more information on our commitment to conservation and the charities we support - see the back page - and please have a look at our website: mazazagames.com/pages/committed-to-conservation