Peninsula Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Goal of the Game
• Setup: 1 to 4 Players
• How to Play
  • Drafting Phase
  • Action Phase
  • Administration Phase
• References: Current Location
• Drawing an Icon
• Trade
• Using a Lifesaver
• Movement
  • Movement Example
• Filling Icons
• Landmarks
• Missions
• End of Game
• Scoring
  • Declaring a Winner
• Variants
  • Used Cards Face-Up
  • Face-Up Stack of Icon Cards
  • Challenges
  • Play Faster and/or With More Than 4
• Solo Game
  • Setup Solo Game
  • Round Structure
  • Lifesavers
  • End of Game
  • Modes for the Final Verdict
• Landmark Bonuses
• Player Aid (Companion)

Components

• 30 Icon Cards (2 identical sets of 15 cards)
• 26 Mission Cards (A-Z)
• 6 Landmark Hex Cards (1-6)
• 20 Landmark Bonus Cards
• Map (M1, M2)
• 4 Architects (transparent discs)
• 2 Player Aids

Players: 1-100 (main mode 1-4; see the variant for more than 4). Age 10+. 30-40 minutes.

Goal of the Game

In Peninsula, you are a landscape architect competing in a contest. After a fixed amount of rounds, the game ends and the player with the most victory points (VP) wins.

You may draw different icons on your map in ways that allow you to move around more efficiently. Reaching landmarks give you extra VP and unlock unique bonuses. Finally, you'll also create arrangements to fulfill this game's missions and to outsmart your opponents.

Map terms: Missions, Landmark #1 (hex), Harbor hex, (Virtual) Water hex, Harbor, Island, End Scoring, Coastal hex, Land hex, Tickets, Lifesavers, Final Score.

Setup: 1 to 4 Players

The main gameplay mode supports 1 to 4 players. A variant is available for games with more than 4 players (see Play faster and/or with more than 4).

1. Give each player a copy of the same map (we recommend M1 for your first game), a pencil and ideally an eraser. Each player may name their island.

2. Shuffle all the icon cards and place them face down in a pile in the middle of the play area. Then, draw 5 icon cards that will not be used in this game. Place them face up, so you can see which cards have been removed.

3. Place the 6 landmark hex cards (the ones with the pips) face up in a row in the middle of the play area. Then, shuffle the landmark bonus cards and deal 6 adjacent to the landmark hex cards, forming pairs. Return the remaining landmark bonus cards to the box.

   For an easier first game: EITHER don't use any landmark bonus cards OR use the landmark bonus cards 1-6.

4. Shuffle all mission cards and randomly reveal 6 cards. Sort them in alphabetical order and place them above the landmark hex cards (A-Z from left to right). Return all remaining mission cards to the box. Then, copy the missions' letters and VPs to the flip compasses on your own map (again, A-Z from left to right).

   For an easier first game: EITHER don't use any mission cards OR use the mission cards A-F.

5. At the bottom of each map you can find lifesaver icons. The number of lifesavers available to you depends on the player count. Starting from the right, cross off lifesavers according to the total number of players in your game (see below chart).

   Players	1	2	3	4
   Chart value	3	3

How to Play

Every round is played in 3 phases:

• First is the Drafting Phase, performed by the active player for all players.
• Second is the Action Phase, performed by all players simultaneously.
• Third, and finally, is the Administration Phase.

Drafting Phase

In the very first round, the starting player is the active player. All other players are passive players.

1. Active Player. As the active player: You draft 1 of the 2 face up icon cards. From the 2 icons shown on the chosen card, you now choose an icon for yourself, leaving the remaining one to the passive players. You then place the card in your personal play area, directing the icon you chose towards yourself, and the icon for the other players directing away from yourself. This way, every player creates a discard pile in front of them, showing only the last card they drafted. This also helps to keep track of how often everyone was the active player.

2. Passive Players. The passive players use the icon the active player left for them.

You will find a pair of 2 different icons on each of the icon cards. The deck of icon cards is balanced: every icon appears 10 times, and every possible pair appears 2 times.

Action Phase

On your own map, you perform the following actions simultaneously.

Use your icon from the drafting phase. An icon can be used in 3 different ways:

• You may draw your icon onto your map (see: Drawing an icon)
• OR you may trade your icon in order to move (see: Trade)
• OR, as a passive player, you may use a lifesaver to draw the icon the active player has chosen (see: Using a lifesaver)

Before AND/OR after using your icon, you may also perform the following actions in any order and as often as you wish to:

• Move your architect (see: Movement)
• Fill in icons (see: Filling icons)
• Unlock and use a landmark bonus (see: Landmarks)
• Claim a mission (see: Missions)

Administration Phase

Once you have all finished your action phase, the round ends and a new round starts. The next player in clockwise order is the new active player. They reveal 1 card from the icon card pile and place it next to the other revealed card, ensuring there are 2 face-up icon cards available for the next drafting phase. If you need to draw an icon card during the administration phase and the icon card pile is empty, the game ends immediately.

References: Current Location

In this game, your architect (the transparent disc) will be able to move around inside your map. The hex that contains your architect is called "your current location".

Drawing an Icon

Every round, or almost, you'll end up drawing an icon into your map. The following rules always apply:

• An icon must be drawn in a land hex (white hex) next to your current location. In other words, never draw in water, directly under your architect, or more than 1 hex away from it.
• You may never have 2 icons in a single hex, except for cliffs. Cliffs can share a hex with another icon (see below).
• When you draw an icon, only draw the outline, don't fill it yet. Villages, boats, tunnels, and forests can be filled, but this will happen later (see: Filling icons).

There are 6 different icons that you can draw during the game: Village, Boat, Tunnel, Forest, Cliffs, Mountain.

Roads and canals: Each time you draw a village or a boat, draw an arrow from it to any adjacent land hex regardless of the position of your architect (you are even allowed to draw an arrow into your current location). These will be helpful to move your architect later on (see: Movement).

• From a village, draw a bidirectional arrow representing a street.
• From a boat, draw an arrow representing a canal pointing away from the boat.
• 2 hexes can be linked by any number of arrows. For instance, you could have 2 boats pointing at each other.

Cliffs are special: they can share their hex with other icons. Here is how it works:

• Cliffs are "add-ons": they may be drawn in a hex that already has one of the other icons.
• Cliffs can also be drawn in an empty hex, and you're still allowed to draw 1 of the other icons in there later on.
• A harbor hex can never have cliffs: you can't draw a harbor where there is a cliff, and you can't draw a cliff where there is a harbor.
• To draw a cliff, trace a small line segment on every coastal edge of your chosen hex (coastal = adjacent to any water, including the lake in map M2). A hex that touches 3 water hexes, for instance, will get 3 cliff segments. A hex that touches no water can't have any cliff.

Trade

Any player may trade their icon for a free move. In that case, don't draw the icon, but instead, move your architect immediately. Either move to an adjacent land hex or, if you are on a harbor hex, move to any other harbor hex. The rules are the same as using a boot ticket or a harbor ticket (see: Movement).

Using a Lifesaver

As a passive player: If you want to draw the icon that was chosen by the active player instead of the icon you were assigned, you may cross off a lifesaver from your map to draw the icon the active player had chosen for themselves. If you have no lifesavers left, this is no longer an option for you.

Movement

Before and/or after you use your icon, you may move. There are 2 different ways of moving, which may be combined and repeated as often as you like:

Using a ticket: Each ticket can only be used once. There are 3 different types of tickets:

1. Boot ticket: Move to any adjacent land hex.
2. Harbor ticket: Move to any other harbor hex (you must be on a harbor hex to use this ticket).
3. Balloon ticket: Move to any land hex that is exactly 2 hexes away. You may cross a water hex during this movement.

Every player starts with the same number of available tickets. A ticket is only available if it has a full black circle around it. If it's only a dashed line, it means that you still have to unlock this ticket before you can use it. When you receive it, circle the icon. To use a ticket, cross it off.

Using infrastructure and/or landmark bonuses: Infrastructure can be used as often as you want. There are 3 different types of infrastructure:

• Streets (provided by villages): If you are located on a village hex or on the hex that is adjacent to a village hex and connected with the bidirectional arrow, you may move from the 1 hex to the other.
• Canals (provided by boats): If you are located on a boat hex, you may move in the direction of the arrow onto the hex adjacent to your current location.
• Tunnels (provided by tunnels): If you are located on a tunnel, you may move to any other tunnel.

Movement Example

(see the map illustration in the rulebook)

1. Boot ticket: Move to an adjacent hex space.
2. Tunnel: Use the tunnel to move from one to another.
3. Boot ticket: Move to an adjacent hex space.
4. Street: Use the village's street to move to the adjacent hex the 2 sided arrow points at.
5. Canal: Use the ship's canal to move to the adjacent hex the arrow points at.
6. Harbor ticket: Move to another harbor hex.

Filling Icons

Each filled icon brings 2 VP at the end of the game.

During the action phase or at the end of the game, you can fill an icon when the following conditions are met:

• Village: There are 4 or more unique icons on adjacent hexes. Another village can be part of the 4 unique icons on adjacent hexes.
• Boat: Any arrow (from another boat, harbor, village etc.) is pointed at it.
• Forest: It is adjacent to another forest. As a bonus, when you fill in your 3rd forest, you immediately gain 1 balloon ticket. When you fill in your 5th forest, you gain a second balloon ticket. Circle the ticket to show that you have earned it and can be used from now on (see: Movement, Using a ticket).
• Tunnel: There are no other tunnels in adjacent hexes. Tunnels can only be filled at the end of the game.

Notes:

• The position of your architect doesn't matter for filling an icon. You can even fill an icon at your current location.
• Cliffs and mountains can not be filled.

Landmarks

Each landmark is represented by a pair of cards: a bonus card showing which bonus it unlocks (see: Landmark Bonuses), and a hex card showing its location on your map. The matching icon pips on your map and their connecting red line indicates the hex location of each landmark.

• Landmark hex card: showing which of the 6 special locations is meant.
• Landmark bonus card: showing the bonus at the top and an iconographic explanation at the bottom.

Activating the bonus of a reached landmark: Unlock Landmarks: The first time you move onto a landmark hex, circle the landmark icon on your map, unlocking the bonus on its corresponding landmark bonus card. You may now use that bonus at any time. Once used, cross off the landmark icon on your map: its bonus is no longer available to you.

Missions

There are 26 mission cards, each showing a unique arrangement of hexes. To claim a mission, you will need to reproduce this pattern using 1 of the 6 icons of the game. Once you have claimed a mission with a certain type of icon, you cannot reuse this type of icon for a later mission.

Missions show 2 kinds of hexes:

• White hexes with a green tick: the hex must contain an icon of the chosen type (filled or not, it doesn't matter).
• Gray hexes with a red cross: the hex cannot contain an icon of the chosen type. The matching hex can be water, empty, or contain a different icon, as long as it doesn't contain the icon of the chosen type.

When you claim a mission, check the following conditions:

• You may only claim a mission that you have not yet claimed.
• Choose an icon type that you have not yet used to claim a mission.
• Check whether the arrangement shown on the chosen mission card matches an arrangement on your map regarding the chosen icon.

Note: The arrangement may be rotated and mirrored.

If those conditions are met, you may claim that mission with the chosen icon. In the missions section of your map, draw the chosen icon in the mission's hexagonal slot.

When you have claimed 2 missions that show a ticket between them, that ticket is unlocked: you may circle it (see: Movement, Using a ticket).

Notes: You may claim a mission at any time during the game or at the end of the game. The arrangement only has to match your map at the moment you claim the mission. Once you have claimed a mission, you are not allowed to "unclaim" it or change it in any way.

End of Game

When the icon card pile is depleted at the beginning of the administration phase, the game immediately ends. So there are 24 rounds in total (24 out of the 25 cards are drafted).

Following the usual rules, you may now:

• Fill in any tunnel, and any other icon, that meets its condition to be filled
• Claim missions
• Score your map

Scoring

Find your final score by following these steps:

1. Mission Scoring: Add up the VP from all your claimed missions.
2. Icon Scoring: Add up the VP you score for each type of icon:
   • Score 2 VP for every filled village, boat, tunnel, and forest.
   • Score 1 VP for every 2 cliff segments (round down for an odd number of cliff segments). Example: 7 segments / 2 = 3 VP.
   • For each mountain, score 1 VP for every filled icon adjacent to it. Mountains and cliffs can not be filled, so multiple adjacent mountains with no other adjacent icons would score 0 VP. Example: 3 + 2 + 0 = 5 VP.
3. Map Scoring:
   • Score 1 VP for each unused lifesaver.
   • Score 2 VP for each landmark bonus you have unlocked.
   • Score 1 VP for each hex without an icon (hexes with arrows but without an icon count as empty and do score).

Write the total VP for each feature in its corresponding scoring box. Subtotal each row in the circle to its right. Your final score is the sum of all subtotals.

Declaring a Winner

The player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, the victory is shared.

Variants

Multiplayer and solo gameplay may be altered by the following variants.

Used Cards Face-Up

The active player places their chosen cards, instead of stacked, next to each other. This way all icons are always shown, and it is easier to keep track of which icons are still to come.

Face-Up Stack of Icon Cards

The stack of icon cards you draw from is face-up rather than face-down. This allows you to see which card will be drawn next, making it easier to plan ahead.

Challenges

Unique challenges for both solo and multiplayer are available online.

Play Faster and/or With More Than 4

Remove 6 icon cards from the game. Cross off all lifesavers before you start; they cannot be used in this variant. Only 1 icon card is kept face-up on the table (as opposed to 2 in the normal game).

There is no active player; instead, all players decide simultaneously and individually which of the 2 icons on the face-up card they want to use. Keep the icon cards stack face-up so that everyone can see which card will come in the next drafting phase. When everyone has finished their action phase, remove the current icon card and place the top card from the drawing deck onto the table to begin the next round.

Solo Game

Setup Solo Game

For a solo game, proceed with the usual setup, except for the following changes:

• Draw 6 icon cards (instead of 5) that will not be used in this game.
• When you shuffle the icon cards, make sure to rotate half of the deck by 180 degrees a few times.
• Don't reveal any cards from the icon card pile.
• You are the active player throughout the whole game.

Round Structure

Every round is played in 2 phases: first is the Option Phase followed by the Action Phase.

Option phase: Flip 2 cards. Don't look at their icons before you do: their orientation (which icon is up and which is down) should be random.

Then, instead of choosing 1 card like in the normal game, you must choose 1 SIDE of the river. Either you pick the 2 icons on the left, or the 2 on the right.

Example: The 2 cards shown give you 2 options to choose from: EITHER a forest and a village, OR a tunnel and a mountain.

Action phase: Carry out the action phase in the same way as if in a multiplayer game, however, this time for 2 icons: You use the 2 icons in any order you wish. As in the multiplayer-game, you may perform the usual actions before and after you use an icon. Once you have finished the action phase, discard the icon cards and a new round starts.

Lifesavers

In a solo game, using a lifesaver allows you to ignore the river and just pick the icon of your choice on each card. Picking the 2 icons of a single card is never allowed.

End of Game

The game ends when the icon card pile is empty, which means 12 rounds. Add your scores the same way as in a multiplayer game.

Modes for the Final Verdict

You can choose between 2 modes for the final verdict in the solo game.

• Beat your own High Score: In this mode, your objective is to accumulate as many VP as possible while continuously improving your high score.
• Difficulty Levels: Alternatively, you can try to challenge yourself by choosing a difficulty level with win conditions, namely a minimum amount of VP gained from missions and a minimum amount of total VP:

Minimum mission VP	Minimum total VP
0+	50+
5+	60+
10+	70+
15+	80+
20+	90+

(Five levels, listed in order from easiest to hardest; the pairing is read from the printed layout.)

Landmark Bonuses

• Harbor Tickets: Gain 2 harbor tickets for this turn.
• Catapult: When drawing an icon, you can draw it 2 hexes away (instead of adjacent).
• Extra Harbor: Draw a harbor in the sea and connect it with a coastal hex without cliffs.
• Train tunnel: Move onto an adjacent tunnel icon and then move 1 hex further. You may use movements from tunnel to tunnel in between.
• Lightning: Forfeit drawing an icon to move to any hex.
• Steep coast: Double the cliffs in a cliff hex adjacent to you.
• Rainbow: When drawing an icon, you may draw any icon instead.
• Builder: Fill in any 1 village.
• Bridge: Connect 2 land hexes that are not adjacent to each other but adjacent to the same water hex, by drawing a bidirectional arrow. You can move freely between those 2 hexes.
• Swimmer: Move up to 2 land hexes adjacent to the same coastline as your starting hex, but not back and forth.
• Lighthouse: Unlock a landmark in an adjacent hex.
• Ferry: When you are in a harbor hex, you can draw an icon in another harbor hex (instead of adjacent).

Note: Whenever a bonus allows you to draw an arrow which can be used to move, this counts as a special form of infrastructure and may fill boats.

Player Aid (Companion)

When in a landmark hex, unlock its bonus. Boot ticket: move 1 hex. Harbor ticket: move from 1 harbor hex to another. Balloon ticket: move 2 hexes. Lifesaver: draw the icon the active player chose instead of the passive icon.

Active Player / Passive Players: Draw icons on adjacent land hexes only. Trade: Forfeit drawing an icon in order to gain a virtual boot or harbor ticket to be used immediately.

Icon	Ability	Filling	Scoring
Village	Draw a bidirectional arrow. Free move in either direction.	Fill when there are 4 or more unique icons on adjacent hexes.	Each filled village scores 2 points.
Boat	Draw an arrow pointing away. Free move in that direction.	Fill when any arrow is directed towards it.	Each filled boat scores 2 points.
Tunnel	Free move from a tunnel to another tunnel.	Fill at the end of the game if it is not adjacent to another tunnel.	Each filled tunnel scores 2 points.
Forest	The 3rd and 5th filled forest give you 1 balloon ticket each.	Fill when adjacent to another forest.	Each filled forest scores 2 points.
Cliff	Can double up with another icon in the same hex. Draw cliff segments along each coastal edge. Can be used for missions.	None	Two cliff segments score 1 point.

Harbors cannot coexist with cliffs on the same hex.