Pocket Galapagos
Pocket Galapagos Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Pocket Galapagos was designed around a minimal rule set. The following rules serve as an overview of the game. The game flow and structure are laid out on the TURN SEQUENCE card. Additional in-game rules and prompts are found on the ISLAND BIOME, DOMINANT SPECIES, INVASIVE SPECIES, POPULATION, and THE OCEAN reference cards located on the board.
There is no set up required; everything is laid out for you. Good luck!
Animal Cards
The front of all ANIMAL cards include the following: POPULATION ICONS, AQUATIC SPECIES, and ABILITY.
When an ANIMAL is played to THE OCEAN, you increase the corresponding POPULATION (Rat, Ant, or Finch) shown on the played card by the number of ICONS on the played card, regardless of whether it MIGRATES or INHABITS.
When an ANIMAL is played to THE OCEAN, you use its ABILITY if it INHABITS. If it MIGRATES, you do not gain the ABILITY.
MIGRATE and INHABIT are explained in detail on THE OCEAN reference card.
Face up ANIMAL cards can only be played to THE OCEAN spaces.
The back of all ANIMAL cards features a SPECIES and an INVASIVE EFFECT.
ANIMAL cards may be flipped face down as a RAT, ANT, or FINCH SPECIES cards and played to one of the other, non-THE OCEAN spaces.
Face down ANIMAL cards are played to the DOMINANT SPECIES, ISLAND BIOME, or INVASIVE SPECIES spaces.
The effects and limitations of playing face down ANIMAL cards as SPECIES are covered in detail on the ISLAND BIOME, DOMINANT SPECIES, INVASIVE SPECIES, POPULATION, and THE OCEAN reference cards.
INVASIVE EFFECTS only happen when a card is flipped and discarded from the Middle at the end of the turn.
Populations
Throughout the game, all POPULATIONS (Rat, Finch, and Ant) will increase, and sometimes decrease. As a POPULATION changes, move the corresponding POPULATION TRACKER up or down. A POPULATION can never go below 0 or above 7.
At the end of each of your turns, all POPULATIONS decrease by one. After decreasing POPULATIONS, if two or more POPULATIONS are at 0, the game ends and you lose.
Dominant Species, Island Biome, and Invasive Species
Face down ANIMALS (RAT, ANT, or FINCH) are never played to THE OCEAN. Instead, they are played to either the DOMINANT SPECIES, ISLAND BIOME, or INVASIVE SPECIES spaces. The effects of these spaces are covered on the corresponding reference cards on the board.
You may play a face down ANIMAL to an ISLAND BIOME space as long as the played card's SPECIES is not currently on an ISLAND BIOME space.
You may play a face down ANIMAL to the DOMINANT SPECIES as long as it is the first card played to a DOMINANT SPECIES space or its SPECIES is currently played on a DOMINANT SPECIES space.
If you must play a face down ANIMAL, and you are not able to play it to an ISLAND BIOME or DOMINANT SPECIES space, it must be played to an INVASIVE SPECIES space.
At the end of your turn, if there are three SPECIES of a single type on INVASIVE SPECIES spaces, the game ends and you lose.
Playing the Game
You begin playing by following the instructions on the TURN SEQUENCE card. The losing and winning conditions of the game can be found on the various reference cards. The majority of game play rules are found on the TURN SEQUENCE card. This card outlines what you must do during your turn.
No abilities, effects, or actions in this game are optional, unless they include "may." Also remember that moving and playing are not the same thing.
If at any point there are no ANIMAL cards remaining in the deck, shuffle together the discard to form a new deck and place the TURN SEQUENCE card on top of the deck.
Cards in the Middle are always face up, and you cannot look at the back of those cards unless directed to do so.
Additionally, you cannot look at the other side of any card that has been played.
You may look at any card in the discard.
After taking a turn, if you did not lose, advance the Turn Number tracker at the bottom by 1. If it reaches the last space, you win!
Hint: If an ANIMAL card has two POPULATION ICONS, it will have the same SPECIES on the back as the POPULATION ICONS shown on the front.
Advanced Game
Before taking your first turn, remove the top six SPOTTED EAGLE RAY cards from the deck. Shuffle them, then place 1 card face down as a SPECIES on the DOMINANT SPECIES, 1 card face down as a SPECIES on the ISLAND BIOME, and 1 card face down as a SPECIES on the INVASIVE SPECIES. Move the remaining three SPOTTED EAGLE RAY cards to the discard and begin the game as usual.