River of Gold
River of Gold Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Game Board
- 75 Trade Goods Tokens: 25 Silk, 25 Rice, 25 Porcelain
- 4 Custom Dice (1 per player)
- 95 Koku (1 and 5 values)
- 6 Region Scoring Tiles
- 8 Standard Ships (2 per player)
- 4 Royal Ships (1 per player)
- 88 Clan Markers (22 per player)
- 4 Score Markers (1 per player)
- 4 Divine Favor Moon Markers (1 per player)
- 4 Divine Favor Sun Markers (1 per player)
Clans: Crab Clan, Crane Clan, Mantis Clan, Scorpion Clan.
- 6 Mastery Cards
- 4 Clan Boards
- 1 Building Board
- 30 Customer Cards
- 49 Building Tiles: 24 Era 1 Tiles (1 dot), 6 Starting Tiles, 16 Era 2 Tiles (2 dots), 3 Imperial Market Tiles
Note: Building tiles are identical on both sides for consistent orientation along the river.
- 4 Player Aid Cards
Clan Patrons Mini Expansion
8 Clan Patrons (2 per clan). See the Clan Patrons Mini Expansion section for rules.
Map Features
- Top River Starting Space
- Shore Space — 30 total spaces with icons indicating their region
- Middle River Starting Space
- Imperial Market Space — 3 total
- Starting Tile Space — 6 total spaces that include this type of icon
- Completing Your Journey Reminder
- Score Track Starting Space
- Customer Card Scoring Chart
- Region Scoring Tile Spot (Region 1 highlighted)
- Influence Track (Region 2 highlighted)
- River Direction
- River Space — 14 total spaces demarcated with blue lines
- Building Row, Building Row Start, Building Row End
Game Setup
- Game Board: Place the board in the center of the table.
- Region Tiles: Place 1 random region scoring tile on each of the 6 region influence tracks. Flip each tile to the correct side for your player count: 2 player icon or 3-4 player icon.
- Mastery Cards: Shuffle the 6 mastery cards and deal 3 faceup next to the board. Flip each card to the correct side for your player count: 2 player icon or 3-4 player icon. Return the rest to the game box.
- Supply: Shuffle the customer deck and place it facedown next to the board where everyone can reach. Pile the Koku and trade goods tokens (silk, rice, and porcelain) nearby.
- Starting Buildings: A. Randomly place the 3 Imperial Markets building tiles on the 3 Imperial Market spaces on the board. B. Shuffle the 6 starting building tiles. Place 1 random starting building tile on each shore space marked with your player count. Return all unused starting tiles to the game box. For 3 players, use 3 starting buildings. For 2 players, use 6 starting buildings. For 4 players, use 0 starting buildings.
- Building Row: A. Place the building board near the main board. B. Shuffle the Era 1 building tiles and stack the correct number for your player count (see facing table) on the Era 1 spot of the building board near the building row. Next, shuffle and stack the correct number of Era 2 tiles for your player count on the Era 2 spot of the building board. Return all unused tiles to the game box. C. Draw the top 4 tiles from the Era 1 stack to fill the building row.
| # of Players | Starting tiles | Era 1 Tiles | Era 2 Tiles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Players | 3 Imperial Markets | 16 | 13 |
| 3 Players | 3 Imperial Markets + 3 | 14 | 11 |
| 2 Players | 3 Imperial Markets + 6 | 12 | 9 |
Player Setup
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Randomly determine the player who goes first.
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Get Components: Each player chooses a clan board and takes the following components:
- 2 matching clan standard ships
- 1 matching clan royal ship
- 22 matching clan markers
- 1 matching clan score marker
- 1 divine favor moon marker
- 1 divine favor sun marker
- 1 custom die
- 1 player aid card
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Place Markers: Each player places their score marker on 0 on the score track and 1 clan marker at the start of each of the 6 region influence tracks.
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Place and Move Standard Ships: A. Each player places 1 of their standard ships on the top and middle river starting spaces. B. Then each player rolls their die and moves their ship from the top river starting space downriver by the number of river spaces marked on the die. Each player repeats this step for their ship in the middle river starting space.
Example: During setup, the Crab player rolls a 3 for their ship at the start of the river and moves that ship forward 3 spaces. Next, they roll for their middle ship.
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Get starting divine favor, trade goods, customers, and Koku: A. Each player places their sun marker on 2 of their divine favor track and their moon marker between 3 and 4 (showing they can have a maximum of 3 divine favor). B. Each player places their royal ship near the clan board. C. Each player takes 1 of each trade good from the supply and places them on the appropriate spaces of their clan board. D. Each player draws 2 customer cards to keep in their hand. They may look at them at any time. E. Each player takes a number of Koku based on their position in turn order (clockwise from the first player): 1st: 7, 2nd: 8, 3rd: 9, 4th: 10.
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First Roll: Each player rolls their die to get the result they will use on their first turn.
You're ready to start the game!
Game Overview
In River of Gold, you will compete to earn the most victory points through building your trade empire, sailing the river, and growing your influence with the nobility. Each turn, you will either build along the river, move 1 of your ships and collect trade goods, or deliver to a customer.
Your Turn
On your turn, follow these 4 steps in order. Each step is detailed in its own section below.
- Spend Divine Favor
- Take an Action:
- Build a Building
- Sail a Ship
- Deliver to a Customer
- Claim Masteries
- Roll Your Die and End Your Turn
Divine Favor
Divine favor represents the will of the gods, and you can spend it to alter your fate. The sun marker on your divine favor track shows how much favor you currently have. Whenever you gain favor, advance your sun marker on the track.
Your moon marker shows the maximum amount of favor you can store at a time. Your sun marker can never move above your moon marker. If your sun marker has reached your moon marker, any additional favor you gain is lost. Whenever you increase your divine favor limit, advance your moon marker above the next space on your track to show that your limit has increased.
Spend Divine Favor
You may choose to spend divine favor to change the face on your die by 1 for each divine favor spent. If you increase your die above 6, it "wraps around" to a 1. Likewise, if you decrease it below 1, it changes to a 6.
Example: Crab Clan rolls a 2. They spend 1 divine favor to make it a 1 and another divine favor to have it wrap around to a 6.
Take an Action
Take 1 of the following actions: build a building, sail a ship, or deliver to a customer. Each is described below.
Build a Building
When you choose this action, do the following:
- Choose an empty shore space anywhere in the region that matches the icon/number on your die. If there are no empty spaces left in that region, you may not choose to build this turn.
- Discard the Koku cost printed on the empty shore space. If you do not have enough Koku, you may not choose to build this turn.
- Choose any building tile from the building row and place it on the chosen space. If you choose the row's end tile, immediately gain 1 divine favor.
- Place 1 of your clan markers on the building's build bonus and gain that much influence on the chosen region's influence track, moving your piece along its path and gaining any reward you reach or pass along the track. Any influence you gain after reaching the end of the track is lost.
- Slide the remaining tiles in the building row down and add a new tile in the first space from the building board. When the last tile from the Era 1 stack is moved to the building row, the Emperor's Visit is triggered at the end of the active player's turn (see "The Emperor's Visit"). From now on, when you need to refill the building row, use Era 2 tiles. When the last tile from the Era 2 stack is moved to the building row, the active player triggers the start of the game end at the end of their turn (see "Game End").
Note: You do not need to have a ship touching the shore space you build in. You have merchants throughout Rokugan who can build on land for you, no matter where your ships are!
Building tile anatomy: each tile shows an Owner Reward and Visitor Reward, an Era Designator, a Build Bonus, and a Building Type (color and icon).
Building Types
There are 4 types of buildings: ports, shrines, manors, and markets. Customer abilities that interact with Markets also interact with Imperial Markets.
- Ports — Visitor rewards for ports are Koku.
- Shrines — Visitor rewards for shrines are victory points.
- Manors — Visitor rewards for manors are influence.
- Markets — Visitor rewards for markets are trade goods.
Building Example
Example: Crane Clan rolls a 4 and decides to build in region 4. They choose an empty space that has a printed cost of 9 Koku. The player discards 9 Koku and chooses a shrine from the building row to place there.
The player then places their clan marker on the building tile, gaining 2 influence in region 4. This moves their marker to the porcelain space on the region influence track, so the player collects a porcelain trade good from the supply.
The building tiles are then shifted over to fill the empty space on the building row, and a new building tile is added to the available space.
Influence Track Rewards
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Gain 1 of the indicated trade good
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Gain 2 Koku (coins)
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Gain 1 divine favor
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Score 3 points
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Score 3 points and gain any 1 trade good
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You still gain a track reward if another player's marker is on it.
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Reaching the imperial flower does not give a player a reward. (The imperial flower is associated with a specific mastery card.) Any influence you gain after reaching the end of the track is lost.
Maximum Resources: A player may not have more than 25 Koku or more than 6 of any 1 trade good. If a player would gain more than these limits, the extras are lost.
Sail a Ship
If you choose this action, do the following:
- Choose 1 of your ships and move it downriver by the number of river spaces shown on your die.
- Collect the visitor rewards (shown on pointed end of the building tile) from each of the 4 shore spaces adjacent to the river space where your ship ends its movement. Empty shore spaces have a visitor reward of 1 Koku.
- The owners of any buildings in the 4 shore spaces your ship is touching (including if you own any of them) now collect the owner rewards (the resources shown at the flat end of the building tile) from those buildings. Starting buildings (including the Imperial Markets) are not owned by any player, so they never grant owner rewards. If a building grants influence to a visitor or an owner, it is always in the region the building resides in.
- If your ship completed its journey by reaching the end of the river, gain an additional 3 Koku or 1 of any trade good and discard the building tile at the end of the building row. Slide the remaining tiles down and add a new tile in the first space as normal. When the last tile from the Era 1 stack is moved to the building row, the Emperor's Visit is triggered at the end of the active player's turn (see "The Emperor's Visit"). The next time you need a tile for the building row, use the Era 2 tiles. When the last tile from the Era 2 stack is moved to the building row, the active player triggers the start of the game end at the end of their turn (see "Game End").
Note: The merchant space at the river's end is only used once a player has completed a merchant customer card. (See "Deliver to a Customer".)
Completing Your Journey: If you move your ship off the map, put the ship back on the top river starting space, then continue moving the ship downriver until you have used all your movement. This is called completing your journey, indicated by this icon.
Note: Count only the gold spaces on the river when moving your ship.
Example: The Crab player rolls a 2 and decides to move, so they choose a ship and move it 2 spaces downriver. The space the ship lands on touches 4 shore spaces. The first building gives the visiting player a porcelain. The owner, Scorpion, then receives 1 Koku and 1 victory point. The second space doesn't have a building but still gives the visiting player 1 Koku. The third space has a building that gives the visiting player 1 rice, and the Mantis player who owns the building gets 1 divine favor and 1 victory point. The last building gives the visiting player 2 victory points, and because the Crab player owns the building, they also get a porcelain.
Deliver to a Customer
If you choose this action, do the following:
- Choose 1 customer card from your hand whose region number matches the icon/number on your die.
- Discard trade goods equal to that customer's order request. If you do not have enough/the right kind of trade goods, you may not choose to deliver to a customer this turn.
- Place the customer faceup near your clan board and gain any customer rewards. If the customer has an ongoing ability, it is active for the rest of the game.
- Draw 2 cards from the customer deck and then discard any 1 customer card from your hand faceup. If there are no cards in that deck, reshuffle the discard pile to make a new deck.
Customer card anatomy: Region Number, Customer Type, Order Request, Delivery Ability, Ongoing Ability, Endgame Ability.
Example: Crane Clan has a merchant in their hand from region 6 whose order is 1 silk and 2 rice. They decide to spend the desired goods to make a delivery, placing the merchant near their clan board. The Crane player gains 3 influence in region 6 and places their clan marker on the merchant ability icon at the end-of-river bonus. From now on, whenever a Crane Clan ship completes its journey, it gains 3 Koku in addition to its chosen end of river bonus (3 Koku or 1 trade good), and at the end of the game, the Crane player will score 1 point per 5 Koku they have left. Before ending their turn, the Crane player draws 2 new customer cards and then discards 1 card from their hand to the facedown discard pile.
Claim Masteries
Masteries are competitive goals that reward clans for making progress in different areas. During this step, you claim each mastery you meet or exceed the requirements for.
To claim a mastery, place 1 of your clan markers on the highest unclaimed value reward at the card and immediately score the points there.
You can claim each mastery only once per game, but you can claim multiple different masteries in the same turn.
Example: Crane Clan is the first to have at least 1 influence in all 6 regions, so they place a clan marker here and score 7 points. The next player to claim this mastery will score 5 points.
Roll Your Die
At the end of your turn, roll your die in preparation for your next turn.
At Any Time
You can exchange resources at any time. You can perform the following trades multiple times:
- Exchange 2 of the same trade good for 1 of any other trade good.
- Exchange 5 Koku to gain 1 divine favor.
Customer Abilities
Monks
- Delivery Ability: When completed, increase your divine favor limit by advancing your moon marker 1 space.
- Ongoing: Place a second clan marker on a building in any region (your own building or an opponent's building, as indicated on the card).
- If it is your own building, you gain double owner rewards.
- If it is an opponent's building, you also gain its owner reward when a ship visits it.
- All players with markers on a building are considered owners of the building for owner rewards, masteries, and other effects. You may never place a marker on a building that already has 2 markers. You do not gain any influence for placing a second marker on a building. Unlike other customer types, monks do not immediately gain influence but instead give you 2 divine favor when you deliver to one.
Example: Crane Clan has placed a marker on Mantis Clan's building. Whenever a ship visits it, both Crane and Mantis gain the owner reward.
Merchants
- Delivery Ability: When completed, gain 3 influence in that Merchant's region. If this is the first merchant you have delivered to this game, place a clan marker on the merchant space at the end of the river. This will serve as a reminder for any merchant abilities that will activate when completing a journey. (Any number of players may have a clan marker on the merchant space.)
- Ongoing: This merchant's unique ability activates whenever either of your ships completes its journey by reaching the end of the river. This is in addition to gaining 3 Koku or 1 of any trade good (see "Sail a Ship").
- Endgame: Score 1 point for every 5 leftover Koku you have (rounded down).
If you deliver to multiple merchants, you activate all of their abilities when you reach the end of the river. You only need 1 clan marker at the end of the river as a reminder. Each merchant scores their endgame bonus separately. For example, if you have 12 Koku and 2 merchants, each of them scores 2 points for 4 points total.
Example: When Crab Clan reaches the end of the river, they activate all of their merchants.
Nobles
- Delivery Ability: When completed, if this is the first noble you have delivered to this game, choose 1 of your standard ships and replace it with your royal ship. Then, gain 2 influence in that Noble's region.
- Ongoing: Your royal ship gains this noble's unique ability.
- Endgame: Score 1 point per building you own of the indicated type.
If you deliver to multiple nobles, your royal ship gains all of their abilities.
Example: Whenever Mantis Clan moves their royal ship, they activate all of their nobles.
Artisans
- Delivery Ability: When completed, gain 2 influence in that Artisan's region. Then, place a clan marker on the artisan space in the artisan's region.
- Ongoing: For the rest of the game, it costs you 2 fewer Koku to build in that region.
- Endgame: Score 1 point for every 3 leftover trade goods on your clan board (rounded down).
Each artisan scores their endgame bonus separately. For example, if you have 7 trade goods and 2 artisans, each of them scores 2 points for 4 points total.
Example: From now on, Scorpion Clan pays 2 fewer Koku to build in region 3.
Elders
- Delivery Ability: When completed, place a clan marker on the elder space in the elder's region.
- Endgame: Score double the endgame victory points awarded by the influence track in this customer's region. This bonus gets scored only once when scoring regional influence.
Unlike other customer types, elders do not have delivery bonuses or grant ongoing abilities. The elder bonus doubles only endgame region scoring, not the 3-point spaces on the track.
Example: At game end, Crab Clan will score double from the region 4 scoring tile.
The Emperor's Visit
At the end of Era 1, the Emperor tours the River of Gold to assess the prosperity of his empire, inspecting and sampling the wares in each place he stops.
All players gain the owner rewards for all the buildings they own as though a player has sailed a ship to each building. After all players have collected their rewards, continue gameplay with the next player. All buildings added to the building row from now on will be from Era 2.
Game End
When the last tile from the Era 2 stack is moved to the building row, the active player triggers the start of the game end at the end of their turn. The active player scores the row's end tile bonus, and each other player gets 1 additional turn. Then the game is over. Move to final scoring to see who wins.
Final Scoring
After the last player finishes their turn, each player scores the following endgame points:
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Regional Influence: Award the point values on each region's scoring tile to the players who are 1st, 2nd, and (in some regions) 3rd in influence in that region. Players with no influence in a region cannot score points. If there is ever a tie (including if multiple players have reached the end of a track), add up the points for the tied positions and split them evenly between the tied players (rounded down).
Example: In region 2, Crab and Mantis are tied for the most influence, so they each score 7 points (9 + 5 = 14, divided by 2). Crab has claimed the elder space, which doubles their score to 14 points.
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Customers: Each player scores points for the total number of customers they have delivered to:
Number of Customers 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Score 2 5 9 14 20 27 -
Customer Bonuses: Players who have delivered to merchants, nobles, and artisans score those customers' endgame victory points.
Don't Forget: If a player has a clan marker on the elder space from delivering to a customer in a region, they double any points they score for their position there!
2-Player Regional Tiles: When playing with 2 players, the second point value on each region's scoring tile is awarded only if the 2nd-place player is within 5 spaces of the 1st-place player.
Winning
The player with the most points wins! If 2 or more clans tie for total points, the tied player with the most leftover divine favor wins. If there is still a tie, the victory is shared.
Clan Patrons Mini Expansion
Once you're familiar with the standard version of River of Gold, you can mix things up by adding in the clan patrons expansion! Form a partnership with a legendary luminary from your clan that will grant you powerful new abilities in your quest to build a trade empire.
Patrons Setup
When you begin player setup (after game setup), randomly select 1 patron card from each of the 4 clans and place them faceup near the game board. Return each clan's other patron to the game box.
Randomly choose a first patron. Starting with the last player and going in reverse turn order, each player selects 1 of the available patrons and takes the board and components for their clan. Return any unselected patrons to the game box.
Alternative Setup: Each player is dealt a random clan and then chooses which of their 2 patrons to use.
Credits
- Design: Keith Piggott
- Board Illustration: Francesca Baerald
- Box Illustration: Joshua Cairos
- Interior Illustration: Sheila Amajida, Asep Ariyanto, Francesca Baerald, Mauro Dal Bo, Carlos Palma Cruchaga, Nele Diel, Derek Edgell, Kevin Goeke, Lin Hsiang, Amelie Hutt, Agri Karuniawan, Drazenka Kimpel, Alayna Lemmer, Diego Gisbert Llorens, Joyce Maureira, Chris Ostrowski, Borja Pindado, Polar Engine, Andrew Sonea, Le Vuong
- Graphic Design: Jay Hernishin, David Ardila, Katherine Boils, Tony Mastrangeli, Samuel Shimota
- Creative Direction: Brianna Woodward
- Production: Guadalupe Gonzalez
- Development: Brianna Woodward, Bryan Bornmueller, Jeff Fraser
- Technical Writing and Instructional Design: Steven Kimball
- Copy Editing: Dan Varrette
- Office Dog Team: Brianna Woodward, Bryan Bornmueller, Guadalupe Gonzalez, Jay Hernishin, Luke Peterschmidt, Toby the Office Dog
- Special Thanks: Bill Altig, Justin Anger, Michael Blomberg, Andy Christensen, Teresa Dery, Halley Feil, Emily Frenchik, Daniel Hadlock, Steve Horvath, Seth Jaffee, Austin Litzler, Michael Mindes, Brian Mulcahy, Katrina Ostrander, Sean Ryan, Alex Schlee, Joe DeSimone, Anne Spradley, Jacinda Wilson, Andy Van Zandt
- Playtesting Organizer: Nick Schoichet
- Playtesters: Steven Auker, Michael Becker, Anthony Cario, Ian Cross, Cami Decker, Tyrell Decker, Kevin Ellenburg, Carl Feibusch, Joshua Ferriss, Thomas Gallecier, Game Makers Guild of Nashville, Henry Geddes, Chisholm Gentry, Andy Harper, Lillie Hollingsworth, Trevor Ryan Kelton, Steve Kimball, Jordan Martin, Robert Martz, David McClatchey, Mike & Wendy McGowan, Matt Monasch, Matt Morely, Jonathan Mullins, Mike Mullins, Ivy Ngo, Trevor Olson, Laura Peters, Bill Phillips, Cassie Piggott, Jeevan Salmon-Johnson, Sebastian Rapp, Matt Saddoris, Breyana Scales, Karin Schleicher, Rosco Schock, Christopher Talbot, Tony Thomas, Toronto Board Game Design Crew, Twin Cities Design Days Playtesters, Yun Whitman, Travis Williams, Carl Willis, Preston Wing, Jacob Yanovsky, Gideon Yeomans, Jorge Zhang
To explore products, lore, and news about the Legend of the Five Rings and discover more about the expansive world of Rokugan, visit www.LegendoftheFiveRings.com
The Regions of Rokugan
Region 1: The Spine of the World
The headwaters of the River of Gold lie in a steep valley of this mountain range, whose tall, forbidding peaks and treacherous passes divide the northern reaches of Rokugan from the south.
Region 2: Shinomen Forest
This primordial forest is older than the Emerald Empire and rumored to contain the ruins of lost civilizations. Its trees are ancient and as tall as castles, casting the forest floor in an eternal gloom.
Region 3: Three Man Alliance Plain
These rugged fields and windswept plains became so named when an alliance of samurai from three minor clans gathered to protect their homeland from an invasion by a great clan.
Region 4: Kitsune Woods
Humans that settle among these primeval boughs must give deference to the spirits — the true lords of the wood — especially the nine-tailed fox tricksters who sometimes travel in human guise.
Region 5: Ube Marshes
This canopied swampland stretches for thousands of acres on the eastern bank of the River of Gold. Here, villages rise above the flooded lowlands on stilts, and goods travel not by cart but by canoe.
Region 6: Earthquake Fish Bay
Where the River of Gold empties into the Sea of Shadows, a sheltered bay provides bounty for those merchants and fisherfolk brave enough to contend with the area's frequent quakes.
Icon Glossary
- Region 1: Spine of the World
- Region 2: Shinomen Forest
- Region 3: Three Man Alliance Plain
- Region 4: Kitsune Woods
- Region 5: Ube Marshes
- Region 6: Earthquake Fish Bay
- Building Type: Shrine
- Building Type: Manor
- Building Type: Port
- Building Type: Market
- Gain 1 Koku Per Shrine You Own
- Gain 1 Koku Per Manor You Own
- Gain 1 Koku Per Port You Own
- Gain 1 Koku Per Customer Delivered To
- Starting Ship Space
- Discard the End Row Tile
- Trade Good: Silk
- Trade Good: Rice
- Trade Good: Porcelain
- Choose Any Trade Good
- Draw and Discard 1 Customer Card
- Completed Customer Card
- Increase Divine Favor Limit by 1
- Divine Favor
- Influence
- 1 Koku
- Victory Point Scroll
- Building You Own
- Building Owned by an Opponent
- Must Be Within 5 Spaces of the Player in 1st Place
- Complete Your Journey (Move to the Top of the River and Use Your Remaining Movement)
- Upgrade 1 of Your Standard Ships to a Royal Ship
- Royal Ship
- Standard Ship
- Merchant Ability Reminder
- Artisan Ability Reminder
- Elder Ability Reminder
- Gain a Divine Favor When Choosing the End Row Tile
- The Imperial Flower for Achieving the Mastery of the Courts Mastery Card
- Ability Activates Upon Customer Delivery
- Ability Is Ongoing for the Rest of the Game
- Ability Activates at the End of Game