Seoul Journey
Seoul Journey Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
The goal is to have the most Discovery Points by the end of the agreed number of rounds, called Days. You earn Discovery Points by playing cards to your personal tableau, attracting Guardians, winning Trends, and collecting Shopping sets.
Game Components
- 1 Travel Deck (contains four types of cards: Highlights, Delights, Shopping and Guardians)
- 6 Guardian Tokens
- 6 Trend Tokens
- 3 Nightlife Tokens
- Starting Player Token
- Scorepad
Setup
- Populate the City in the middle of the table with 5 random faceup cards consisting of one Highlight card equal to the number of players, plus any random cards until you get to 5. Shuffle the remaining cards to form a facedown deck to be placed next to the City.
- In a 2-3 player game, randomly select one Trend token. In a 4-5 player game, randomly select two Trend tokens: this is the Day's Trending color(s). Place the unused Trend tokens to the side: they will not be used for this Day.
- Put all Guardian and Nightlife tokens in separate piles within reach of all players.
- Each player draws 3 cards from the deck.
- The last person who ate Korean food plays first and gets the Starting Player token.
- Players should choose how many Days to play. Will it be one day (a day trip), two days (a weekend adventure) or three days (a full K-culture experience)?
The Cards
There are four different types of cards: Highlight, Delight, Shopping, and Guardian. These cards are played in your tableau in various ways and all cost one card that must be discarded to one of the 5 spaces in the City (Exception: Delights that match the color of the Highlight they are linked to).
Highlights
Highlights are played into your tableau from left to right and cost one discard to play. Once you've played a new Highlight, you can no longer add Delights to previously played ones (unless a special effect allows it). Highlights earn you Discovery Points when you meet their conditions. You may link one Festival and one Food to each Highlight.
Some Highlights are Tiring and have a Tiring icon in their top right corner. If you've played 3 Tiring cards in a Day, you become Tired and may not play any more Highlights that Day. You can still link Delights to your latest Highlight and play Shopping or Guardian cards. If you are first to end the Day while Tired, you do not earn the Nightlife token (see Nightlife Tokens).
Delights
Delights cannot be played on their own and must be linked to Highlights. They can be played as either a Festival or a Food but never both. They are played to the rightmost Highlight in your tableau (unless a special effect allows otherwise).
If played as a Festival, link it to a Highlight by placing it under a Highlight with the Festival showing. If played as a Food, link it by placing it under a Highlight with the Food showing.
Delights cost one discard to play as normal UNLESS it is played as a Festival or Food in a color that matches the Highlight: then it is free to play. (Example: a blue Delight that is the same color as the Highlight it is attached to does not have a discard cost and can be played for free.)
The more Festivals of a color you have, the more Discovery Points you will score. Food scores 6 Discovery Points per pair of any color.
Shopping
Shopping cards cost one discard to play. They are placed to the side of your tableau but count towards your 9 cards. They come in 3 types: Modern, Traditional and Plushes. The more cards of the same type you collect, the more Discovery Points you will score.
When you play your 2nd and 5th card of the same type, you may immediately link a Festival or Food to any Highlight for free.
Note: This effect allows you to link on an earlier Highlight (even if Tired).
Guardians
Guardians are special beings that offer you strategic advantages. When played, they are placed to the side of your tableau and do not count towards the number of cards in your tableau. They still cost one discard like any other card. When a Guardian is played, you immediately gain its matching token. This token may be used in two ways.
Awaken the Guardian
At any time during your turn, you may flip a Guardian token to activate the special ability written on its card. This effect takes place immediately and its token stays flipped for the rest of the Day. Each special ability may only be used once per Day.
Nest for Memories
At the end of a Day, if your Guardian token is not flipped, you may Nest it. To do so, place the token on a Highlight in your tableau that matches the Guardian's color. Each nested token scores you 3 Discovery Points.
Gameplay
The Start Player begins the game by taking one of two actions on their turn: Experience or Book. Once the action is completely resolved, the next player in clockwise order takes their turn.
Play continues like this until one player plays their 9th card into their tableau (not counting Guardians). When this happens, all other players get one more turn and then the Day ends.
Scoring takes place at the end of a Day. If it is the last Day, after scoring, go to the End of the Journey.
Book
Play a card from your hand to your tableau, paying its cost by discarding a card from your hand faceup into one of the 5 spaces of the City. Cards with an Immediate Effect icon have effects that trigger immediately when played.
When you are done playing a card from your hand, your turn is over. Play proceeds to the next player.
Important: At the end of your turn, do not refill the City.
Experience
Take all the cards in one pile from the City. If any are facedown, reveal them. You must then play one of those cards, paying its cost by discarding one card (either from those cards taken or from your hand). The discarded card cannot be placed into the empty space made from the pile you took. Add all remaining cards from the pile to your hand.
Example: A player takes a pile from the City containing 3 cards: one faceup (a Highlight) and two facedown (they can see they are a Delight and Highlight). They reveal these three cards and must play one of them by paying its cost and putting the discarded card faceup into one of the other 4 piles, leaving the space from which they took the pile empty.
Refilling the City
At the end of your turn (after Experience), refill the City as follows:
- Draw 2 cards from the deck in a 2-3 player game, or 3 cards in a 4-5 player game.
- Place them facedown into the City. You must fill any empty spaces first. You may then choose which spaces to place the remaining cards. These cards offer hidden opportunities and surprises as you journey through Seoul.
Example: In a 3-player game, add 2 cards from the deck facedown, one in the empty space and one anywhere else.
Nightlife Tokens
The first player each Day to reach 9 cards in their tableau earns a Nightlife token. A Nightlife token is kept by a player throughout the game. This token may be used in one of two ways.
- It can be discarded at the start of a future turn in the same Day or kept to be used on a different Day if playing a longer Journey. When discarded, draw 2 cards (this does not replace your main action). Discarded tokens are placed in the box and are no longer part of the game.
- Tokens that are not discarded score you 2 Discovery Points at the End of the Journey.
A player who is Tired cannot earn the Nightlife token.
Ending a Day
When a player has played their 9th card in their tableau, the Day has come to an end. All other players take one final turn before proceeding to scoring.
Scoring a Day
At the end of a Day, count your score by combining:
Highlights
Add the Discovery Points from your Highlights, if you've met their conditions.
Delights
Add the Discovery Points from Festivals and Food.
Trending Color
The Day will have 1 or 2 Trending colors. The player with the most cards of that color in their tableau gains the Trend token and earns 4 Discovery Points. In the case of a tie, players split and share the points equally (rounded up).
Nested Guardians
Each nested Guardian token is worth 3 Discovery Points.
Shopping Cards
Arrange your Shopping cards into groups by type. Each set scores the Discovery Points as listed on the cards (the example card shows 2, 5, 9, 14, 20 and 27 Discovery Points for progressively larger sets).
If your Journey has not ended (the agreed-upon number of Days has not been reached), then go to Starting a New Day. If it is the last Day of your Journey, then go to End of the Journey.
Starting a New Day
Collect all cards, except played Guardians. Reshuffle the deck and arrange the City as before and select the new Trending color(s) for the Day. The player with the lowest total Discovery Points goes first.
End of the Journey
After the agreed number of Days have been played, combine your total Discovery Points from each Day. If you still hold Nightlife tokens, each scores 2 Discovery Points. The traveler with the highest total Discovery Points wins.
Scoring Example
Dasom has finished their Day with 7 cards in their tableau, 1 Guardian, and 1 Shopping.
- They were not the first to reach 9 cards, so they do not earn the Nightlife token.
- Cheonggyecheon Stream gives 4 Discovery Points if they played the most blue cards today. They have played 3, more than any other player, earning them 4.
- Ttukseom Hangang Park gives 2 per adjacent blue or green Highlight. There is 1, earning them 2.
- Changing of the Guard gives 2 per adjacent purple or yellow Highlight. There are none, so they earn no points.
- 2 green Festivals have been played. They earn 5.
- 2 Foods have been played. They earn 6.
- The Day's Trend is green. They have played 3 green cards, more than any other player, earning them 4.
- Because the Guardian's special ability was not used this Day, they may Nest it on a matching Purple card, earning them 3.
- They have 1 Shopping, which earns them 2.
- Their total score for this Day is 26.
Quick Reference
Day-End Sequence
- Someone reaches 9 cards
- Finish that turn
- All other players take one final turn
Scoring the Day
- Add Discovery Points from Highlights and Delights
- Add Discovery Points from Shopping sets
- Trend tokens (4 each)
- Nested Guardians (3 each)
Reset for Next Day
- Shuffle all cards EXCEPT for played Guardians.
- Player with lowest total Discovery Points plays first
End of Journey
- Add the scores from all the days.
- Add Nightlife tokens (2 each)
The player with the highest total wins!
Icons Glossary
- Card colors: Blue, Green, Red, Purple, White, Yellow
- Festival (Delight) in each color: Blue, Green, Red, Purple, White, Yellow
- Any Color Card; Any Color Festival; Any Color Food
- First Highlight in your tableau; Last Highlight in your tableau; Adjacent Highlight Card
- Tiring; Immediate Effect; Guardian
- Link Any Color Festival; Link Any Color Food
- Shopping (All Types); Shopping (Plushes); Shopping (Traditional); Shopping (Modern)
- Draw 2 cards from deck; Different colors; Flip the token