River Trek Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Basic Game Setup
  • Board Setup
  • Terms
  • Players and Starting Explorers
  • How To Place an Explorer
• Basic Game: Turns
  • 1 - Place a Trading Post [optional]
  • 2 - Move a Caravan [mandatory]
  • Animal Tokens
  • 3 - Place a New Explorer [mandatory, if you have an Explorer not on the board]
  • 4 - Forced Caravan Move [if necessary]
  • End of Your Turn
  • End of the Game
• Full Game
  • Board Setup
  • How to Play
  • Civilization Event
• Two-Player Game
• Simpler Game
• Animal Powers

Components

• 11 River boards: 1 start, 1 final, 9 other
• 4 rule books
• 48 Explorers: 12 each in 4 colors
• 1 set of money cards
• 28 Trading Posts: 7 each in 4 colors
• 1 Scout token
• 12 Animal tokens
• 1 Base camp token
• 1 Bridge tile
• 2 Compass tiles
• 12 Animal tiles
• 4 Animal reference cards in 4 languages

Basic Game Setup

Board Setup

Lay out the board: Set aside the Start board (with the Dock on the water) and the Final board (with spaces marked "4", "5", "7", "9", and "*"), and shuffle the other boards. Place the Start board on the table. Then add two random boards to extend the path and the river. (If the river is on the wrong side of the path, flip the board to its other side.) Finish by adding the Final board. You should end up with four boards: Start, Final, and two in between. Put the rest back in the box. Place the Base camp token beside the first river crossing space upstream from the Dock. The Base camp shows the furthest space where you can place a new Explorer.

Shuffle the animal tiles and choose four at random, putting the others back in the box, along with their matching animal tokens. Place one animal tile on the space after the first river crossing space. It should lie with the circle on the animal tile covering the path space, and the animal picture to the side. Then place another animal tile two spaces after that, and continue placing animal tiles on every other space until all four are placed. If an animal tile is on a river crossing space, move it one space back or forward (your choice). An animal tile may not be on a river crossing space, the Final board, or a space with another animal tile. For each animal tile, place the matching animal token on the tile, over the animal's picture. Put the animal reference cards near the board. Sort the money by denomination and place it beside the board.

Example 1 (sample board setup) shows: the river, the Final board, the clearing, the river source, the path (Explorers go on the path), the white-outlined areas (Trading Posts go in these), animal tiles and animal tokens, upstream (forward) and downstream (backward), the Base camp, the New Explorer spaces, the Dock, and the Start board.

Terms

• Trading Post - is a small plastic hut in the player's color. These are placed in the white-outlined areas on the board.
• Explorer - is a single large stackable pith helmet in the player's color. They are placed on the round spaces on the path.
• Caravan - is a single Explorer or a stack of Explorers on the board. Each space can only hold one Caravan. When a Caravan is placed on a space that already has a Caravan, stack it on top making a single taller Caravan.
• Empty space - is any space with no Caravan on it.
• River crossing space - is a space where the river crosses the path. Caravans may sit on these spaces. Caravans will sometimes wash downstream from river crossing spaces.
• The Dock - is a special river crossing space. Caravans do not wash downstream from the Dock. When the Bridge tile is on the board, it is considered to be the Dock.
• Upstream - is moving forward along the path, from the Dock toward the Final board.
• Downstream - is moving backward along the path, from the Final board toward the Dock.

Players and Starting Explorers

Each player takes the Explorers and Trading Posts of one color. Choose a starting player and give them the Compass tile. The second player takes $2, the third player takes $4, and the fourth player takes $6.

One at a time, starting with the player holding the Compass, each player will place one Explorer on the board. Follow the "How To Place an Explorer" rules below. Continue placing one Explorer at a time until all players have placed their starting Explorers on the board: four for a 4-player game, or five for a 3-player game. Next each player will place one Trading Post in a white-outlined Trading Post area. Once all players have placed their starting Explorers and Trading Post on the board, you're ready to start.

How To Place an Explorer

To place a new Explorer on the board, you must place it on one of the New Explorer spaces. The New Explorer spaces are those from the Dock to the river crossing space next to the Base camp, inclusive.

Height limit:

• [SETUP ONLY = 3] During setup, you may not place an Explorer on a New Explorer space if there are already 3 OR MORE Explorers on that space.
• [DURING THE GAME = 2] For the rest of the game, you may not place an Explorer on a New Explorer space if there are already 2 OR MORE Explorers on that space.

EXCEPTION: You may always place a new Explorer on the Dock (or the Bridge), no matter how many Explorers are already there.

Note: Placing a new Explorer on the board will NOT cause you to collect money, take an animal token, or wash downstream.

Basic Game: Turns

The player with the Compass tile is the active player. As the active player, you will take your turn, then pass the Compass to the player on your left. On your turn, do all of the following in order:

1. Place (or Move) a Trading Post
2. Move a Caravan
3. Place a new Explorer
4. Forced Caravan Move (if necessary)

1 - Place a Trading Post [optional]

You may place one of your Trading Posts in any of the white-bordered Trading Post areas on any board. Except: You may not have more than one Trading Post (per player) in a small area (Start board and "+2" space), and no more than two Trading Posts (per player) in any other Trading Post area. [Exception: See Tamandua.] You may not place a Trading Post on the Final board. If you don't have any Trading Posts left to place, you may take one of your Trading Posts from the board and move it somewhere else.

2 - Move a Caravan [mandatory]

You must move a Caravan containing at least one of your own Explorers. If a Caravan doesn't have any of your Explorers in it, you can't move that Caravan.

How To Move a Caravan: Pick up the entire Caravan, then drop the bottom Explorer onto the next space forward (upstream) on the path. If there is a Caravan on the space, stack the Explorer on top of the Caravan. Continue dropping one Explorer at a time from the bottom of the stack, moving one space up the path with each Explorer you drop, until the stack is gone. Do not skip any spaces.

Example 2 (moving a Caravan): You are moving this Caravan. Drop the green Explorer, and the Bank pays Green $3. Drop the orange Explorer, and it washes downstream. Drop the purple Explorer and Purple collects $10 ($5 x 2) from the Bank.

Each time you drop an Explorer, it will activate the space. You may want to drop all the Explorers first, then go back and activate the spaces in the order you dropped them. To help you remember which spaces were activated, you can mark the last space where you dropped an Explorer. To mark it, take an unused animal tile from the box, turn it face down, and place it next to the space where you dropped the last Explorer. The spaces will activate in order, from downstream to upstream.

Activating a normal space (no river, no special symbol or number): if the top Explorer of the Caravan (the one you just dropped) matches the color of a Trading Post connected to that space, that player gets a reward. The Bank pays the player $1 for each Explorer in the Caravan. Count all the Explorers in the Caravan, including the Explorer you just dropped. [Note: Only the player whose Explorer is on top collects money.] If there are two Trading Posts of the matching color there, then the bank pays double the money. If the Trading Post is in the "+2" box, the bank pays two more dollars. [Tamandua: If there are three Trading Posts, the Bank pays triple.]

Activating a space with an animal tile: the player who owns the Explorer dropped on this space will take the matching animal token, if available. If another player has the animal token, you do not take it away. The player may take the animal token even if they have no Trading Post there.

Activating a river crossing space: the entire Caravan washes down the river (backwards towards the Dock) and lands on the next river crossing space downstream. (Landing on top of any Caravan already there.) You may wash down to the Dock or Bridge tile, but you will never wash downstream from a Bridge or Dock. NOTE: The Caravan only washes down to the next river crossing space downstream, and stops there.

Activating a space with a number (4, 5, 7, or 9): the player whose Explorer is on top of the Caravan gets $4, $5, $7 or $9 from the Bank. No Trading Post is needed.

Activating the space with a star (*): the player on top of that Caravan gets a reward for every Caravan where they are on top, even those on the Final board and on river crossing spaces. The reward is $1 for every Explorer in the Caravan. Trading Posts are ignored.

Animal Tokens

When you have an animal token, you may use its special power once, or many times, depending on the animal. See the animal reference cards. If the animal description says "SPEND", you must spend the token to use the animal's ability. When you spend a token, turn it face down and place it back on the animal tile. If the description says "HOLD", you may use the ability for as long as you have the token. Read the description carefully: Some powers may be used in addition to your normal action, and some may only be used as part of a "Place a Trading Post", "Place an Explorer", or "Move a Caravan" action. These may only be used as part of your actions on your turn.

Losing an animal token: If a Caravan move causes an animal tile to be empty (no Explorers on the space), then the player holding the matching token must place it back on the tile. This is true for both SPEND and HOLD tokens. Finish the Caravan move before you place the token back on the tile. Its power remains in effect until the end of the Caravan move and activations.

NOTE: Face down tokens may not be picked up. All tokens will be turned face up at the end of the Caravan's move.

3 - Place a New Explorer [mandatory, if you have an Explorer not on the board]

Place a new Explorer on one of the New Explorer spaces on the board (see "How to Place an Explorer" above). If all your Explorers are already on the board, you will skip this step.

IMPORTANT: Remember that the height limit of three only applies to setup. During the game you may not place a new Explorer on a space if there are TWO or more Explorers already there. (Except for the Dock or the Bridge.)

4 - Forced Caravan Move [if necessary]

At the end of a player's turn, if any Caravan has seven or more Explorers, that Caravan must move. Follow all the "Move a Caravan" rules, including activating spaces to gain rewards or wash Explorers downstream. A forced move does not require you to have an Explorer of your color in the Caravan. If there are two or more Caravans with 7+ Explorers, move the one furthest downstream first.

End of Your Turn

Turn all animal tokens face-up. Pass the Compass tile to the player on your left.

End of the Game

When one or more Explorers are moved off the end of the path (past the last space of the Final board), the game will end. Every Explorer moved off the end is placed on the clearing (not stacked) and its owner is paid $1 from the Bank for each. The player who moved the Explorer(s) off the end finishes their turn, and will have no more turns. Each other player will have one more turn, and the game is over.

The player with the most money wins. Tiebreaker is the player with the most Explorers on the clearing. Second tiebreaker is the player whose Explorer is on top of the Caravan furthest upstream.

Full Game

Board Setup

Set up as for the Basic game, except add three boards between the Start and Final boards, instead of two. Place the Scout on the first space of the next-to-last board. Put the Bridge tile next to the board. NOTE: The Scout and the Bridge tile are not used in the Basic game.

How to Play

The game is played the same as the Basic game, with the exceptions below. There is now a fifth step to a turn.

1. Place (or Move) a Trading Post
2. Move a Caravan
3. Place a new Explorer
4. Forced Caravan Move (if necessary)
5. Check for Civilization Event

Civilization Event

When an Explorer moves onto the space with the Scout token on your turn, place the Scout in front of you and then finish your turn, including all activations and Forced Caravan Moves. When your turn is over, the Civilization Event occurs. Do the following actions, in order:

1. Take the Bridge tile from beside the board and place it on the first river crossing space upstream from the Dock. (The space by the Base camp.) If there is a Caravan on that space, pick it up and put it on top of the Bridge.
2. Move the Base camp token to the next river crossing space upstream from the Bridge. There must be at least two path spaces between the Bridge and the Base camp. If not, move the Base camp to the next river crossing space upstream. (The Base camp token sits next to the path space, not on the path space.)
3. Remove all the Trading Posts and Explorers from all spaces downstream from the Bridge and give them back to their owners. These may be placed on the board on future turns.

Placing a new Explorer when the Bridge tile is on the board: From now on, the New Explorer area consists of the spaces from the Bridge to the Base camp, including the Base camp's river crossing space and the Bridge. The Bridge tile is considered to be the Dock. You may always place a new Explorer on the Bridge. No Explorers or Trading Posts may ever be placed downstream from the Bridge, and Explorers never wash downstream from the Bridge. The spaces downstream from the Bridge are unusable.

The player holding the Scout token now places the Scout on the clearing on the Final board, and the next player starts their turn.

There will be only one Civilization Event during the game.

NOTE: After the Civilization Event, it's possible to have no Explorers on the board. If this is the case, you will not move a Caravan during the Move a Caravan step of your turn.

Two-Player Game

In a two player game, there will be a virtual third player called "Stanley". Set up the board as for a three player game. After each player has chosen a color, take all twelve Explorers of an unused color for Stanley. Stanley will not use Trading Posts. When placing Explorers on the board during setup, each player will take three of Stanley's Explorers. After placing one of your own Explorers, place one of Stanley's Explorers on the board, following normal placement rules. When the players have each placed three of Stanley's Explorers, they will place their remaining Explorers and the game will start.

After one player takes a turn, Stanley will take a turn. If there are any of Stanley's Explorers not on the board, Stanley will place an Explorer on the furthest legal space upstream, using the "Place An Explorer" rules. If all of Stanley's Explorers are on the board, Stanley will move the Caravan furthest downstream (closest to the Dock) that contains one of his Explorers, using the "Move a Caravan" rules. Stanley will never place a Trading Post, collect an animal token, or collect money. His Explorers will wash downstream just like the players' Explorers. If placing or moving one of Stanley's Explorers causes a Caravan of seven or more, follow the Forced Caravan Move rules during Stanley's turn.

Simpler Game

For a learning game, or for younger players, play the Basic game with no animal tiles or tokens.

Animal Powers

Note: You may use an animal power on the same turn you pick it up, but not until the current Caravan move is finished.

Jaguar: SPEND. At any time during your turn, you may spend the Jaguar to take an Explorer of your own color from the top of a Caravan (it can be a single-Explorer Caravan) and place it on top of another Caravan (not on an empty space). You do not earn any money, take an animal token, or wash downstream as a result of this move.

Monkey: SPEND. At any time during your turn, you may spend the Monkey to place up to two of your Trading Posts on the board, in addition to the one you place during your Place a Trading Post action. You may then move any of your Trading Posts to other areas. All Trading Post rules apply, as well as the Tamandua's special power.

Otter: SPEND. At any time during your turn, you may spend the Otter to swap any Caravan on a river crossing space (including the Dock/Bridge) with a Caravan on any other river crossing space. Both Caravans must contain at least one Explorer. The swap can not interrupt a Caravan move.

Emerald Tree Boa: SPEND. During your turn, when you move a Caravan, you may spend the Emerald Tree Boa to drop two Explorers on the same space, activating the space for each Explorer. You may use the Boa's power during a Forced Caravan Move, but only if it is your turn. In a two-player game, you may not use the Emerald Tree Boa on Stanley's turn.

Capybara: SPEND. At any time during your turn, you may spend the Capybara to pick up any one Caravan from the board, restack it in the order of your choice, and replace it on its space.

Tree Frog: SPEND. During your turn, when you move a Caravan, you may spend the Tree Frog to jump over one space without dropping an Explorer. You may use the Tree Frog's power during a Forced Caravan Move, but only if it is your turn. In a two-player game, you may not use the Tree Frog on Stanley's turn.

Bush Dog: HOLD. At the end of your turn, if there is a space with only one Explorer on it, and that Explorer is yours, you may move that Explorer one space forward or backward as a free move. Place it on top of any Caravan that may be there. You may only make one Bush Dog move per turn. This move does not get you any money or animal token, nor will it wash the Caravan downstream. If this move creates a Caravan of seven Explorers, then it DOES cause a Forced Caravan Move.

Harpy Eagle: HOLD. Whenever you place a new Explorer on the board, you may ignore the two-Explorer height limit. You may place it on top of any Caravan, no matter how many Explorers are already there. You are still limited to placing it on the New Explorer spaces.

Tamandua: HOLD. Whenever you place or move a Trading Post, you may place one more than the area would normally hold. (Two Trading Posts in a small area, three in a large area.) Note that this only affects placing or moving a Trading Post. Once a Trading Post is in an area, it can stay there even if you lose the Tamandua.

Kingfisher: HOLD. Any Caravan that contains at least one of your Explorers will not wash downstream. This is not optional. (You can not choose to wash downstream.) This power starts the moment you pick up the token, so if you would wash downstream later in the same Caravan move, the Kingfisher will prevent it. Note that if the Kingfisher space empties out during a Caravan move, the Kingfisher token is only returned at the end of the move, so its ability lasts for the duration of the move.

Peccary: HOLD. When you move a Caravan, you may choose whether it moves upstream (forward) or downstream (backward). You can't move both forward and backward during the same move. If you are moving downstream, any Explorers that would move past the Dock (or Bridge) will instead stack there. You may never use the Peccary's power during a Forced Caravan Move. In a two-player game, you may not use the Peccary on Stanley's turn.

Sloth: HOLD. At the beginning of your turn, take $2. Since this happens at the beginning of your turn, you do not collect $2 on the turn you pick up the Sloth. On later turns, if you forget to take your money, you may still take it as long as your turn hasn't ended.