Lava Land Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Board Description
• Tracks and Board Symbols
• Goal of the Game
• Game Turn
  • 1. Rolling the Dice
  • 2. Taking the Dice
  • 3. Applying the Effects of the Dice
  • 4. Passing the First Player Token
• Bonuses
• Traps
• Tricks
• Action Cards
• Lava Catches a Character
• Escape from the Island
• End of the Game
• Example of a Round
• Action Card Reference

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 28 Action Cards
• 15 Dice (5 yellow, 5 red, 5 blue)
• 5 Character Tokens
• 5 Banana Tokens
• 5 Treasure Tokens
• 1 Lava Token
• 5 Reference Boards
• 1 First Player Token
• 1 Volcano Crater (bottom of the box)
• 1 Sheet of Stickers

Before the first game, apply the stickers to both sides of the matching tokens: the character images on the Character Tokens, and the banana, treasure and lava images on their respective tokens.

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center of the table.
2. Place the volcano crater next to the game board so that all players can reach it.

Note: during the game you will roll many dice, so we recommend using the bottom of the box (the volcano crater) or another suitable container of your choice for this. You may also roll the dice directly on the table surface, but be careful: when rolling, some dice may fall off or knock over tokens standing on the board.

3. Take 3 dice per player (1 yellow, 1 red and 1 blue) and place them in the volcano crater. Put the remaining dice back in the lid of the box; you will not need them in this game.

4. Then each player performs the following steps:

   • chooses a character and takes its character token and its reference board showing that character;
   • places their character token on the starting space of the Movement Track;
   • places the treasure token of their color on the starting space of the Treasure Track;
   • places the banana token of their color on the starting space of the Banana Track.

5. Place the lava token on the Movement Track. Its starting position is in the area above the volcano (above the starting space), and depends on the number of players:

   • 3 players: place the lava token on the space marked 3;
   • 4 players: place the lava token on the space marked 4;
   • 5 players: place the lava token on the space marked 5.

   Note: you may arrange all tokens on the board either vertically or horizontally.

The rulebook shows an example setup for 4 players, with the following labelled elements: the starting position of the lava token (which depends on the number of players), the Banana Track, the Treasure Track, the Movement Track, the starting position of the player tokens, the deck of action cards, the row of spirit gifts, the volcano crater, the first player token, and the reference boards.

Game Board Description

• Starting position of the lava token: the starting position of the lava token depends on the number of players (see Setup).
• Lava path to the Movement Track: these are the spaces, numbered -5 to -1, along which the lava token moves before it reaches the Movement Track and begins to catch up with the characters. Character tokens cannot be on these spaces.
• Starting space: this is where the character tokens begin their movement.
• Movement Track spaces: these are the islets along which the character and lava tokens move.

Tracks and Board Symbols

• Treasure Track: players mark the treasures they have saved on this track.

• Banana Track: players mark the bananas they have received on this track.

• Banana trees: some spaces of the Movement Track show a banana tree. If you receive bananas while your character token is on such a space, and you do not receive them through the effect of an action card, the special effect of the tree applies:

  • tree with a plus banana symbol: receive 1 banana more;
  • tree with a minus banana symbol: receive 1 banana less.

  Note: the effects of banana trees apply only when you receive bananas from a dice combination of two banana symbols or three banana symbols. It does not matter whether you obtained that combination by taking dice with those results from the volcano crater or by turning the dice with an action card.

• Boat symbol: only if your character token is on one of the spaces with this symbol can you board the boat.

• Boat: this is the last space of the Movement Track. The lava token cannot move onto this space.

All other illustrations on the board have no game effect; they only make the race more atmospheric.

Goal of the Game

Your task is to escape from the island, which the lava is about to engulf. Roll the dice and collect the combinations of symbols that will let you cross the way from the ancient temple to the rescue boat, grabbing treasures and bananas along the way. The more treasures you collect, the higher your chances of winning, but the main thing is to get on board the boat with a sufficient supply of provisions. If you have fewer than 7 bananas, do not even try to board!

Game Turn

The game lasts several rounds. Each round consists of the 4 phases described below.

1. Rolling the Dice

The first player takes all the dice from the volcano crater and rolls them back into the crater. If at least 1 die lands outside the crater, all the dice are rolled again.

2. Taking the Dice

As soon as all the dice have stopped, players simultaneously begin taking dice from the volcano crater until each player has exactly 3 dice in front of them. Participants place the dice they have taken in front of themselves so that their top faces remain the same as they were in the crater. If a player who has not yet taken all 3 dice does not like the dice remaining in the crater, they must still take them.

Players must observe the following rules:

• dice can be taken only with one hand;
• only 1 die can be taken at a time;
• a player cannot refuse dice they have taken;
• a player cannot take more than 3 dice;
• players cannot turn dice over, either in the crater or in front of themselves. (They may do so later with the help of action cards.)

Note: if a player bumps the dice and they turn over onto a different face, the other players may point this out and return the dice to their original position. The player who turned a die is penalized: move their character token 1 space back along the Movement Track. However, you may agree before the game that the first time such a player simply receives a warning, but the second time it is better to be more careful! Agree on the penalty before the start of the game so that there are no arguments during play.

3. Applying the Effects of the Dice

Starting with the first player and continuing clockwise, each player applies the effects of the symbol combinations and colors on their dice (see pages 6-7 of the rulebook and the reference board). Combinations come in three types: bonuses, traps and tricks. A player must apply the effects of all the combinations they have obtained, even if they do not want to.

4. Passing the First Player Token

Return all the dice to the volcano crater. The player holding the first player token passes it to the next player clockwise, and a new round begins.

Bonuses

• Two banana symbols and one "?" symbol: receive 2 bananas.
• Three banana symbols: receive 3 bananas.
• Two treasure symbols and one "?" symbol: receive 2 treasures.
• Three treasure symbols: receive 3 treasures.
• Two foot symbols and one "?" symbol: move your character token 2 spaces forward on the Movement Track.
• Three foot symbols: move your character token 3 spaces forward on the Movement Track.
• Two lightning bolt symbols and one "?" symbol: take 1 action card costing two lightning bolts.
• Three lightning bolt symbols: take 1 action card costing two lightning bolts or three lightning bolts.

When you receive bananas, move your banana token forward on the Banana Track by the corresponding number of spaces. When you receive treasures, move your treasure token forward on the Treasure Track.

Important note: a player cannot have more than 10 bananas or 10 treasures. If a player is to have more than 10 bananas or more than 10 treasures, their token stays on the last space of the corresponding track, and all extra bananas or treasures are lost.

If your character token is on a space with a banana tree that shows the + or - banana symbol, then for a banana combination you receive 1 banana more or 1 banana less, respectively.

You may take only action cards from the row of spirit gifts; you may not take cards from the top of the deck. As soon as you take an action card, immediately place a new card from the deck into its place, face up.

Note: if all four face-up cards turn out to show a cost of three lightning bolts, the player performing the current turn must discard one of these cards of their choice. They then reveal cards from the top of the deck until they find a card costing two lightning bolts. Revealed cards costing three lightning bolts are placed on the discard pile. The card costing two lightning bolts that they found is placed into a free space in the row.

All discarded cards are placed in a face-up discard pile next to the action card deck. If the action card deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile and form a new deck from it.

Note: players may not fully or partially give their bonuses to other participants, nor exchange them with each other.

Traps

If all 3 dice you have taken show different symbols, or if all 3 dice are of different colors, you must activate a trap: move the lava token 1 space forward.

Note: if the 3 dice show different symbols and at the same time are of different colors, the lava token still moves only 1 space forward.

Tricks

If all 3 dice you have taken are of one color, choose 1 of the 4 trick effects described below:

• a player of your choice loses 1 banana;
• a player of your choice loses 1 treasure;
• a character token of your choice moves 1 space back on the Movement Track;
• the lava token moves 1 space back.

Note: you cannot move a character token that is on the starting space of the Movement Track 1 space back. The lava token, however, can be pushed back even onto the space from which it starts in a 5-player game, even if there are fewer participants.

Action Cards

Action cards let you gain extra bananas and treasures, change the values on your dice, and trip up one another on the way to the boat. You may use an action card at any moment of your turn, but not during the turn in which you took that card.

• A player may have any number of action cards.
• Each action card can be used only once per round. Some cards require you to spend treasures or bananas; in that case, move your treasure token or banana token 1 space back accordingly. If you have no treasures or bananas to pay for such an effect, you cannot apply it.

Important note: if a player wants to change a combination by the effect of a card, they must do so before applying the effect of the combination. For example, they cannot first receive 2 bananas for the combination of two banana symbols and one treasure symbol, and then change the banana symbol to a treasure symbol and receive 2 treasures. This rule also applies to combinations related to the color of the dice.

• If a participant leaves the game (their character reached the boat or was caught by the lava), they turn all of their action cards face down and may not receive or use new ones until the end of the game.

Lava Catches a Character

If the lava token ends up on the same space as character tokens, those characters die immediately. Remove their character tokens from the board, as well as the corresponding banana and treasure tokens. If the players who controlled these characters had action cards, discard those cards.

Even if your character has died, you still continue to take part in the game: you can no longer receive bonuses, but you can apply the effects of traps and tricks according to the usual rules.

Escape from the Island

You may move your character token onto the boat (the last space of the Movement Track) only if you have 7 bananas or more. Otherwise, your character token stays where it is, and the remaining movement points are lost. You cannot cancel this rule with any action card.

Once you have moved your token onto the boat, the player turns all of their action cards face down and can no longer receive bonuses, but can apply the effects of traps and tricks (like the owners of dead characters).

A character that has reached the boat cannot leave it. Also, bananas and treasures cannot be taken away from this character.

End of the Game

The game ends immediately as soon as no character tokens remain on the spaces of the Movement Track (not counting the boat), that is, when all characters are either in the boat or dead.

The winner is the player whose character reached the boat with the greatest number of treasures. If only one participant reached the boat, that participant wins regardless of how many treasures they have. If several contenders are tied on the number of treasures, the winner is the one who has more action cards. If several players are still tied, the winner is the contender whose character reached the boat first. If that is also a tie, all contenders share the victory.

Example of a Round

Petya, Katya, Yulia and Oleg are playing. They have placed 12 dice in the volcano crater. Yulia is the first player, so she takes all the dice and rolls them back into the crater. As soon as all the dice stop, the players simultaneously begin taking them.

Once all the dice have been taken, Yulia applies the effects of her dice. She has collected the combination of two red lightning bolts and one red banana symbol, so she chooses 1 action card costing two lightning bolts from the row of spirit gifts. All of Yulia's dice are red, so she also decides to move Oleg's character token 1 space back.

Next comes Katya's turn. She has collected a combination of three different symbols, so she receives no bonuses. Her 3 dice show 3 different symbols, so the lava token moves 1 space forward. Although all 3 of Katya's dice are of different colors, the lava token does not move one more space, because it may move no more than 1 space per turn. The lava token ends up on the same space as Petya's character, and Petya's character dies. However, Petya continues to take part in the game, collecting combinations that allow him to push the lava token forward and slow down his rivals.

Petya's dice effects should have been applied next: he would have received 4 bananas for the combination of one yellow banana and two blue bananas, and for the space marked with the + banana symbol where his token stood. But since his character has died, he can no longer receive bananas, treasures, or move along the Movement Track. He has no color combinations, so in this turn he applies no combination effects.

Last, Oleg collects a combination of two yellow dice and one blue die. Using the action card he received earlier, he turns the blue die so that a different symbol faces up, and then moves his character token 3 spaces forward. Oleg has 1 blue die and 2 yellow dice, so he also has no color combinations.

The illustration on this page shows the board and the players' dice at this point in the example round.

Action Card Reference

The cost of each card is shown in the top-right corner of the card as lightning bolts. Each card's effect is shown on the card and described below.

• Cost: two lightning bolts. If you must move your character token any number of spaces back, you move it the required number of spaces minus 1. This does not protect against the penalty for turning over a die!
• Cost: two lightning bolts. If you must lose bananas or treasures, you lose 1 banana or 1 treasure fewer, respectively.
• Cost: two lightning bolts. You may turn 1 of your blue dice so that the footprint symbol faces up.
• Cost: two lightning bolts. You may turn 1 of your yellow dice so that the banana symbol faces up.
• Cost: two lightning bolts. You may turn 1 of your red dice so that the treasure symbol faces up.
• Cost: two lightning bolts. Having collected 3 dice of different colors, you receive 1 additional banana or 1 additional treasure.
• Cost: two lightning bolts. You may count 1 red or 1 yellow die in your combination as a blue die.
• Cost: two lightning bolts. You may count 1 blue or 1 red die in your combination as a yellow die.
• Cost: two lightning bolts. You may count 1 yellow or 1 blue die in your combination as a red die.
• Cost: three lightning bolts. Having collected a combination of 3 dice of one color, you may apply the effect of the trick once more. The second time, you may choose the same effect variant or a different one, and you may apply it either to the same player or to another player.
  • Example: you may move one player's character token 2 spaces back, or move it 1 space back and take 1 banana from this (or another) player.