Old Salt

Old Salt Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

Main board (14 islands)
36 Faction banners
14 banner bases
60 Masts
45 Ship tokens (9 of each ship type)
25 Grey Damage tokens (1 damage each)
10 Black Damage tokens (3 damage each)
1 First Player token
6 Ocean tokens
30 Coin tokens
6 Sided die
9 Tradewind tokens (3 of each type)
15 Forgotten Debris tokens
12 Bootlegger Cursed Coin tokens
5 Bootlegger Expedition tokens
12 Elite Transcended Ship tokens
6 Engineers Fortify tokens
6 Faction cards
6 Faction storage boxes (one per faction; see Faction Cards)
This rulebook

Faction Cards

Faction Card Breakdown:

Name of the faction
Three adjectives that describe that particular faction's play style
Faction illustration
A quote the faction can often be heard saying
The title of the ability
When a player has access to this ability
A reference icon for the ability
Text to explain the ability, what it does, and how to use it
The cost of the ability

Faction Abilities: There are three unique abilities to each of the six factions. Abilities range in cost, when they are usable, and how often they can be used in a round. Some abilities require a token to be used; in the event that a player runs out of tokens, that player can remove the needed amount of tokens from the board to carry out the ability. If an ability requires a token, the faction card will state it in the ability text.

Notes:

Read the ability description found on the faction card and refer to the glossary section for further information on how each ability works.
Players are encouraged to use the player aid on the back of the manual as a quick reference for ship types, stern/bow/broadside effects and general abilities.

Faction Storage Boxes: These faction storage boxes are designed to contain the faction's masts for ships, banners for islands, and any tokens related to that faction.

Game Setup

Refer to these setup rules to set up the Main board for either a 2, 3, or 4-player game. Use the diagrams on page 6 of the rulebook to help.

Unfold and place the Main board in the middle of the gaming area.
Randomly hand out the faction boxes and corresponding faction cards to all players. Each player should place their faction card in front of them with their faction box beside their faction card. Each faction box contains masts for ships, banners for islands, and unique tokens related to that faction.
All players must attach their faction's banners and banner bases together to form 3 self-standing Banners representing their faction.
Take the 9 Tradewind tokens, randomly select 1 token, and return the selected Tradewind token back to the game box. Shuffle the remaining 8 tokens and stack them beside the Main board within sight of all players.
Each player rolls the die to determine who goes first. The player with the highest roll will take the First Player token. Resolve any tie breaks with further rolls of the die.
Give 3 tokens to each player. All remaining coin tokens are placed in a supply beside the Main board.
Based on the number of players, place the corresponding Ocean tokens over the corresponding islands as illustrated in the setup diagram on page 6.
- 2 players: 6 Ocean tokens used, place 1 on each of the following islands: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 14
- 3 players: 3 Ocean tokens used, place 1 on each of the following islands: 1, 5, 14
- 4 players: 0 Ocean tokens used.
Starting with the first player and going in clockwise order, each player must place 2 banners on any 2 open islands.
In reverse turn order, starting with the last player, each player then places a third banner on an open island.

Setup diagrams (pages 5 to 7): Island Placements, 2 Player Setup, 3 Player Setup and 4 Player Setup. Each diagram shows the Main board with the Tradewind token stack beside it and each player's area; the printed diagrams are not reproduced here. Note: no Ocean tokens are used in a 4-player game.

Ship Information

With islands claimed, it's almost time to decide the fleet that will lead you to victory. For specific ship type information, refer to the back of any faction card or page 10 in the rulebook to learn about each ship type before constructing a fleet. Below are a few definitions that will help build your understanding of ships before you construct the fleet.

Damage Tokens: Damage is tracked using damage tokens placed under the damaged piece. There are two types of damage tokens. Gray Damage tokens represent 1 damage and Black Damage tokens represent 3 damage. Where applicable, swap 3 Gray 1 Damage tokens for 1 Black 3 Damage token. This will reduce the number of tokens beneath each ship.

Destroyed: When the value of damage tokens is equal to or greater than the hit point value of the object, then it is considered destroyed and removed from the board.

Fleet Construction

To construct your fleet, each player has 2 options: select a default fleet from one of the 6 options below; or, draft their entire fleet from scratch.

Players can default to a fleet of their faction by selecting the ship tokens from the table below. Players are allowed to swap out up to 2 of their ship tokens (excluding the grunt ships) for other ship tokens if desired, but must wait until other players have selected their ships to swap out. When swapping out, if conflicts arise over limited ship quantities roll a die to see who gets the ship token. The player who rolls lower has to choose a different ship type.

Default fleets:

Eternal: 1 Grunts, 1 Zealot, 1 Hazard, 2 Leviathans, 1 Marksman
Engineers: 1 Grunts, 2 Zealots, 1 Leviathan, 2 Marksmans
Elite: 1 Grunts, 2 Zealots, 1 Hazard, 2 Leviathans
Forgotten: 1 Grunts, 1 Zealot, 2 Hazards, 1 Leviathan, 1 Marksman
Barbarians: 1 Grunts, 1 Zealot, 1 Hazard, 3 Leviathans
Bootleggers: 1 Grunts, 1 Zealot, 3 Hazards, 1 Marksman

Drafting a fleet from scratch: The second option is for a player to draft their entire fleet from scratch. Players have 17 points to spend on constructing a fleet. If a player decides not to spend all of their points during this stage, they can convert each point into a coin to begin the game with (in addition to their starting coins). All ships are worth 3 points except the Grunt ship type which is worth 2 points.

When selecting ships, there is a priority order: firstly, all players who have selected a faction fleet must take all of their chosen ships from the supply; followed by, any player who is drafting their fleet of ships, and finally, any player opting to swap out up to 2 ships from their faction fleet.

If there are multiple players constructing their fleet from scratch, each player starts by selecting only 9 points worth of ships. Starting from the player nearest to the first player in clockwise order, each player selects their ships until all drafting players have selected. In reverse turn order, starting with the last player to draft their ships, players spend their remaining points to complete their chosen fleet. Players must never exceed this 17 point limit. Returning counterclockwise from the last player, each player spends the remaining points to complete the construction of their fleet. If a ship type runs out during this stage of setup, it is considered sold out.

Priority During Fleet Construction:

Players opting into faction fleets.
Drafting ships in player order.
Players opting into swapping out up to 2 ships (excluding grunts) from their faction fleet.

After collecting all of your ship tokens from the supply, connect 1 mast, representing your faction's colours, to each ship token in your fleet. (Diagram: Bow, Broadside and Stern of a ship token.)

When masts are connected, it is time to deploy the ships adjacent to islands. When deploying ships, place the ship's stern (back of ship) facing the island. Clockwise from the first player, each player will place 3 of their ships. In counter-clockwise order starting with the last player to place their ships, all players place their remaining ships on the board. Players can opt to leave an island vacant in favor of putting more ships on their other islands.

The Five Ship Types and Their Traits

Grunt: Hit Points 5. Sail Range 3. Fire Range 5.
Leviathan: Hit Points 8. Sail Range 3. Fire Range 5.
Zealot: Hit Points 5. Sail Range 3. Fire Range 5. 1 free fire on your turn, each turn.
Marksman: Hit Points 5. Sail Range 3. Fire Range 9. Minimum Fire Range 5.
Hazard: Hit Points 5. Sail Range 3. Fire Range 5.
- Abilities:
- Explode (Passive): When this ship is destroyed, deal three damage to all ships adjacent to the destroyed ship. Do not place Debris during the Wreckage Step.
- Detonate: After a player sails one or more ships, you may immediately remove this ship and deal three damage to each ship adjacent to the detonated ship. Give the mast token to the nearest enemy.

Round Overview

Tradewinds: (Excluding round 1) Draw the top Tradewind token and put it next to the Tradewind area of a matching color. If there is already a Tradewind token in that location, remove both tokens and place them back in the box.
Player Turns: Going clockwise, each player addresses bounty rewards, receives income, takes actions, paying coins as necessary, and ending their turn when they are out of coins or when they are done with everything they want to do.
Check End-Game Triggers: Once each player has ended their turn, check end game triggers (6 Islands controlled by 1 player, Tradewind stack depleted, all but 1 player eliminated). See the End of Game Triggers section for more details.
Advance First Player Marker: Advance the First Player marker clockwise 1 player to kick off a new round.

Objective of the Game

The objective of the game is to be the first player to control 6 islands, or be the last player with fighting capable ships.

A Player's Turn

A player's turn can be ordered into the following sections:

Bounty Rewards
Income
Actions (Sail, Fire, Seize, Faction Abilities)
Declare End of Turn

Bounty Rewards

Bounty rewards are the only action that is limited to being used at the beginning of a player's turn. Players who receive a mast for destroying an enemy ship are able to use the masts towards seizing islands or they can turn them in at the beginning of their turn for coins.

1 mast has a payout of 2 coins.
2 masts have a payout of 5 coins.
3 masts have a payout of 8 coins.

Players cannot turn in more than 3 masts at a time.

Income

Excluding round 1 where each player gets 3 coins, a player begins their turn by collecting coins equal to the number of islands they control. If a player controls less than 3 islands, they will still receive an income of 3 coins this turn.

Actions

Players have 4 actions to choose from during their turn: sail, fire, seize an island, or use their faction abilities. Most actions have a coin cost that must be spent in order for the action to be completed. Players are allowed to use actions in any order and repetition they desire as long as the ability's cost is covered and a ship has not exceeded its limitations. (See "Actions" on page 13 for further details on a ship's limitations.)

Declare End of Turn

When a player has done all they wish to do, or are able to do on their turn, they must announce their turn is completed to the table so the next player can take their turn.

Actions: Sail, Fire, Seize, Faction Abilities

Sail Action

Move a ship in any direction up to three tiles from its starting position. A player can use the sail action up to three times per turn but a single ship is limited to being sailed once per round. Ships can sail through ally ships as long as they do not use another action while on an occupied hex and do not end movement on an occupied hex. Ships cannot sail over hexes that contain enemy ships.

(Examples on page 13: a player using the sail action to turn their ship token around and move 3 tiles; valid maneuvers for getting through a line of enemy ships.)

Sail Action with Tradewinds

Tradewinds (Slumbering and Awakened): At the start of round two and following rounds, take the top token from the Tradewind stack and place it on the side of the board next to the represented trade wind icon. If a token is already in that zone, place both the token on the board and the newly drawn token back in the box. Tradewinds without tokens are Slumbering Tradewinds. Tradewinds with a token on the corresponding marker are Awakened Tradewinds.

Tradewinds Movement: Slumbering Tradewind paths are treated the same as all other ocean tiles on the board, while Awakened Tradewinds grant an additional tile of sail for each tile of Tradewind sailed over (max two).

(Examples on page 14: a ship going the default maximum sail range; a ship utilizing an Awakened Tradewind to have a new maximum of 5 tiles of movement.)

Firing

If target is in Range (see Range graphic), spend one Coin to fire a cannon in the attempt of hitting the target. To do this, roll the die. Ships can fire in any direction. Ships can shoot through ally ships but not enemy ships. If an enemy ship is behind another enemy ship, the enemy further away cannot be fired upon as the line of sight is blocked.

Results:

Hit: Equal to or greater than the Range requirement, do one Damage.
Miss: Less than the Range requirement does not result in Damage.

If firing at a target that is on or inside the broadside spread, player has the option to spend two coins for three fire attempts. Thematically, the three broadside attacks happen simultaneously despite rolling attacks one at a time.

If firing at a target's stern or bow, -1 to the die attack value.

Fire Action (1 Coin)

Declare Target: Active player declares a valid target (ship, debris, some faction tokens) and an attacking ship. In order for a target to be valid, it must be in the attacking ship's range. If a shortest path to the target passes through an island, or other enemy ships, it is not a valid target.

All ships have a standard range of 1-5, except Marksman ships that have a modified range of 5-9.

Hit Determination: The active player rolls an attack die and after applying modifiers, compares the attack value to the target's distance. If the attack value meets or exceeds the distance to the target then the target is considered hit. The Attack Dice have one side that is blank and is considered an automatic miss regardless of any modifiers.
Defensive Broadside: If the attacker is in the broadside spread of the target, the target may fire once in return, resolving their own Hit Determination Step. (Diagram on page 15: the ship being fired at can return fire for free because Attacker 1 is in their broadside area; the ship being fired at by Attacker 2 cannot return fire because Attacker 2 is not in their broadside spread.)
Assign Damage: For each hit, place a damage token under the appropriate target. The amount of health a ship has remaining limits how many times that ship can fire during that player's turn. A ship at 8 hit points has the capacity to fire 8 times per turn. A ship at 1 hit point has the capacity to fire 1 time per turn.
Destroy Ships: Ships that have damage tokens equal to or greater than their hit point value are destroyed. Remove the ship token from the board and give that ship's mast token to the opponent who scored the final hit. Debris is considered to have 1 hitpoint and is always removed when damaged.
Wreckage: The active player then places damage tokens from the stack of any destroyed ships in non-island spaces adjacent to the main stack. These tokens are now considered Debris.

Debris: Sailing over debris reduces max sail by one or three (black damage tokens count as three). Remove Debris tokens from the board when sailed over or when damage is dealt from a fire or an ability.

(Diagrams on page 16 show what Debris can look like, either alone or when not below a ship. All are treated as Debris.)

Seize Action

Seize has a cost of at least two coins and a mast belonging to the faction that controls that specific island. If the island is uncontrolled, then the cost is 2 coins and a mast of any opponent ship. In order to seize control of an island (controlled or uncontrolled) your ship must be adjacent to the island. Then pay the cost and an additional coin for each ship belonging to the faction that controls that island within two tiles of the island.

After paying the seize cost, replace the opponent's banner on the island with your own banner.

(Diagrams on page 16 show example seize costs, each with the "Seize an island for" icons plus additional coins.)

Faction Abilities

Timing: Most abilities are limited to being used during a specific window of opportunity. Each faction ability in the game states when that window is on the faction card to the right of the title of the ability. In order to use an ability, a player must declare their intent to use an ability during the window of opportunity; otherwise the ability is not available.

Examples of windows (shown with icons on page 17):

A player is able to use this ability anytime on their turn.
A player is only able to use this ability when using the fire action.
A player is only able to use this after they have seized an island.
A player can use this ability on their turn or when targeted by an enemy fire action.

Cost: Some faction abilities have a required cost to activate. The cost will be noted on the faction card next to the symbol representing the associated ability. In order to use the ability, the cost must be paid for prior to activating the ability.

Result: Using an ability will impact the game in some way, be it laying a token down on the board, fortifying an island, or removing a ship token from the board. The player who uses a faction ability is responsible for carrying out the result of the faction ability.

(Page 17 also illustrates the Cursed Coins, Ship Transcending and Fortify an Island abilities with icons; these are explained in the Faction Abilities section below.)

End of Game Triggers

End Game by seizing six islands: The player who seized six islands is pronounced the Old Salt. Congratulations!

End Game by being the last player with ships: The player with ships still sailing is pronounced the Old Salt. "Congratulations for withstanding the battles and maintaining an operational fleet to take control of the sea!"

End Game by depleted Tradewind Stack: In the event the stack of Tradewinds depletes, players complete one final round. At the end of the round the player with the most amount of islands wins the game. If there is a tie, the player with the most amount of masts breaks the tie. If this still results in a tie, the player with the most ships remaining is the winner. If still a tie, the player with the most coins. If still a tie, then the player who last swam in a body of water is the winner and is pronounced the Old Salt. Congratulations!

Reading the Room (Optional Rules)

Players can opt to make Old Salt a lighter or heavier game as desired. Below is a list of mechanics players can play with or without to align the level of gameplay to the players' desired experience.

Remove faction abilities.
Remove stern/bow penalty when firing.
Remove the "remaining hit points" firing restriction (a ship at 1/5 Hit Points could fire 5 times rather than being limited to 1 time).
Limit turning capabilities: Ships can sail straight, slight left or slight right. No drift turning.
Remove the cap of sailing 3 ships per turn so players can sail all ships once per turn.
Add in an alternate way to seize islands: turning in 2 masts removes the default 2 coin cost. Still take into account defending ships for coin cost.
Islands can be destroyed. Each island has 10 HP. When destroyed, any faction occupying the island removes their banner and the island is unseizable.
Play with grievance rewards. Whenever a ship is destroyed, place two coins on the nearest island belonging to the player who lost the ship. They can claim the coins with a ship adjacent to the island. Enemies can steal the coins by seizing the island.

Faction Abilities

Each faction has three abilities. Each ability below is listed with its timing, cost and effect as printed on the faction cards and in the rulebook.

Barbarians

Battle Cry: After being fired upon by an enemy within 2 tiles, for one coin. Each enemy ship within 2 tiles of the Barbarian ship immediately sails in the opposite direction (even if this exceeds maximum sail range) to a range of 3 tiles of the Barbarian ship that used the ability. Any attack rolls against this ship have a -1 penalty for the remainder of the active player's turn.
Grappling Hook: When Firing, for one coin. Using either Bow or Stern, during Fire Action(s), when you assign at least one hit to an enemy ship you may spend 1 coin to deal 1 additional damage, move that ship up to 2 tiles closer to the ship using this ability.
Last Stand: When a Barbarian ship is destroyed. Sail up to two spaces and take any number of fire actions (paying the cost as normal). After resolving any number of assigned hits, destroy the Barbarian ship and give the mast to the enemy that put the ship into Last Stand.

Bootleggers

Raid: On your turn, for one coin. When adjacent to an opponent ship, that ship has the choice to pay you a coin or take damage. Each consecutive use of this ability against the same player in the same turn adds 2 coins to the cost.
Expedition: Upon seizing an island. Flip over 1 Expedition token in search of treasure. If treasure is revealed, receive 3 coins at end of turn. In the event each of the 2 treasure tokens are revealed, have an enemy reset the Expedition tokens by flipping the 5 tokens over and randomizing them.
- Setting up your first expedition: Have an opponent randomize the 5 Expedition tokens in front of the Bootlegger player with the axe side (the faction symbol) facing up.
Cursed Coin: On your turn for one coin. You may place up to 3 cursed coins on the board adjacent to the Bootlegger ship to create a storm. Whenever a ship moves into the storm, it takes one damage and attacks have -1 to die attack value if a shortest path between the ships passes through the storm. The storm remains in that location for the rest of the game and cannot be moved. Cursed Coins cannot be deployed on an occupied tile.

Elite

Mitigate: On your turn for one coin. You may redistribute damage tokens between your ships. You may only redistribute damage to Elite ships within 2 spaces of each other, and the damage must be redistributed amongst those ships as evenly as possible.
Formation: Passive. Elite ships have +1 to hit for each adjacent Elite ship (max +4). This ability does not increase the default max firing range of ships.
Forced Surrender: On your turn for three coins. Choose an enemy ship adjacent to 3 or more Elite ships. That ship is immediately removed from the board (not destroyed). Gain that ship's mast.

Engineers

Piercing Shot: Passive. When rolling to attack, take your highest attack result and assign an additional hit to a 2nd ship within that many spaces, so long as all involved ships are in a straight line.
Fortify: On your turn for one coin. Place the Fortify token under the Engineer Island banner and roll to attack any enemy ship within two tiles of the island. At the start of the Engineer's consecutive turns and when enemy ships sail within 2 tiles of the island, roll to attack. These structures have 1 health point and can be fired upon.
Salvage: When a ship is destroyed, for one coin. When a non-Engineer ship is destroyed within 2 tiles of an Engineer ship, spend 1 coin to remove up to 2 damage tokens from that Engineer ship.
- Note: The Salvage ability can be used once per destroyed ship. A destroyed ship cannot be salvaged multiple times.

Eternal

Gateway: On your turn when sailing. Sail ships into Eternal controlled islands and place them on an unoccupied tile adjacent to a Transcended Ship or island controlled by the Eternal. Ships using this ability lose any remaining sail range until the start of the Eternal's next turn.
Transcend: Passive. When an Eternal ship is destroyed or removed, place a Transcended Ship token in that space. Eternal ships do not create wreckage. Transcended ships cannot perform any action other than sail, nor can they be targeted by any opponent's ability.
Wave: On your turn for two coins. Choose an Eternal ship and deal two damage to each ship adjacent to it, then all ships and debris tokens within 2 spaces are moved 2 spaces away from the Eternal ship.

Forgotten

Debris: While sailing. While sailing Forgotten ships, you may place up to two Debris tokens in empty spaces adjacent to one Forgotten ship. If you run out of Debris tokens, resupply by removing Debris tokens of your choice from the board.
Range Expertise: On your turn for one coin. After rolling the die during the Hit Determination Step, you may add +2 to one attack die result. This ability does not increase the default max firing range of ships.
Retreat: After a Forgotten ship is fired upon by an enemy. After an opponent resolves a fire action with a Forgotten ship as the target, you may move that ship two tiles away from the ship that performed that fire action. Each consecutive use of this ability on the same Forgotten ship in the same turn adds 1 coin to the cost.

Glossary

Actions: Every player is able to perform actions when they are the active player (on their turn). Sail, Fire, Seize, Collect Bounty Rewards and use Faction Abilities.
Attack Die (D6): Used when rolling to match or exceed required range to target. This die has pips on sides one through five with the sixth side being blank. This side indicates an automatic miss when firing. Use the die to see who goes first during setup or to successfully fire on an enemy in combat.
Banner: Banners are placed on islands to represent faction control.
Bounty Rewards: At the beginning of your turn, turn in masts from ships you have destroyed and receive coin as a reward. Players cannot turn in more than 3 masts in a turn.
- 1 mast for 2 coins
- 2 masts for 5 coins
- 3 masts for 8 coins
Broadside: The lighter portions on the ship token designate the four hexes to the side of the ship that extend outward until max firing range.
Battle Cry: A Barbarian ability available when fired upon for 1 coin. Causes each enemy ship within 2 tiles of the Barbarian ship to immediately sail away to a range of 3 tiles of the Barbarian ship. Any attack rolls against this ship have a -1 for the remainder of the turn.
Coin: Currency to do just about anything in the game and is obtained at the beginning of a player's turn.
Control: Islands are considered controlled by factions that have their banner on them.

Notes

The "Notes" pages of the printed rulebook (pages 32 to 35) are blank.

Player Aid (Quick Reference)

The printed rulebook's back-page player aid, transcribed as printed.

Player Actions

Sail: Move up to 3 ships up to 3 tiles from its starting position. To sail additional tiles, sail over awakened tradewinds.
Seize: With a ship adjacent to an island, spend two coins plus an additional coin for each ship that controls that island within two tiles of the island and turn in a mast belonging to the faction that controls the island. If the island is uncontrolled, then the cost is 2 coins and a mast of any opponent ship.
Fire: Attack an enemy ship that is within range for 1 coin. This is accomplished by a roll of the die. If successful, deal 1 damage. If the roll is less than the range or miss side, it is a miss.
Broadside: When attacking with broadside, attacker can spend 2 coins and get 3 shots. When an enemy attacks your broadside, you get one free return fire.

Ships

Grunt: Hit Points 5. Fire Range 1-5 Tiles. Sail Range 3.
Leviathan: Hit Points 8. Fire Range 1-5 Tiles. Sail Range 3.
Zealot: Hit Points 5. Fire Range 1-5 Tiles. Sail Range 3. 1 free attack per turn.
Hazard: Hit Points 5. Fire Range 1-5 Tiles. Sail Range 3. Has Explode and Detonate abilities.
Marksman: Hit Points 5. Fire Range 5-9 Tiles. Sail Range 3.

Ships can fire up to the amount of health points remaining.

Attacking with Broadside: Three attacks for two coins.

Attacking Enemy Bow or Stern: -1 to the attack value.

Minimum Roll to Hit (standard ships, distances 1 to 5): 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+, 5. A blank die face is always an automatic miss.

Marksman Range of 5 to 9: distances 1 to 4 are out of range (shown as x). Distance 5 is 1+, distance 6 is 2+, distance 7 is 3+, distance 8 is 4+, and distance 9 is 5.