Swordfish

Swordfish Rulebook

Table of Contents

1 Game board
6 Player cards showing 4 tables: Fish Market, Species Density in the Ocean, Boats, and Port Cost
6 Fuel and Bait Supplies tiles for tracking the supplies on each Boat
130 Fish tiles including 16 Mako Sharks and 114 Swordfish. The tile backs show 4 different colors (orange, green, grey, and red) that match the buoy and bag colors
24 Captain & Crew pawns (4 each of 6 player colors: blue, green, yellow, white, purple, and brown). The pawns of each color are numbered 1 to 4
12 wooden tokens (2 per player color)
6 Scoring tiles with "+100" on one side and "+200" on the other (in 6 player colors)
2 black wooden cubes
1 Phase token
4 Fishing bags (in the 4 buoy colors: orange, green, grey and red)
1 six-sided die with values 0 - 5
24 Fuel tiles and 24 Bait tiles (4 per player color)
64 Weather cards
46 Fishing Boat tiles
4 Flemish Cap tokens for the bravest Captains & Crews

Game Set-up

Place the game board in the middle of the table. Each player chooses one color from the 6 available (blue, dark green, yellow, white, purple, or brown).

Each player takes 1 player card, 1 Fuel and Bait Supplies tile, 4 Captain & Crew pawns, 2 wooden tokens and 1 Scoring tile of the chosen color. He also takes 4 Fuel tiles and 4 Bait tiles.
Turn Phases: Use the Phase token to indicate which phase is being played.
Turn Order Table: Players take turns in the order shown. Place your 2nd wooden token according to the starting turn order.
Boats: Sort the Boats by value into piles (8 piles) and place them beside the board. Boats are used to catch and transport fish.
Turns/Rounds of Play: Place 1 black cube on "00 April."
Place the fish in the bags, matching the bag's color with the back of the fish tiles.
Weather Table: Sort the Weather cards by the backs into 16 decks of 4 cards each. Randomly draw one "00 April" card and place it face up by the board. This card shows the weather at the Flemish Cap and all areas with the storm symbol. Discard the other "00 April" cards. Place a black cube on the Weather space that matches the "00 April" card. Randomly draw 1 card from each of the 15 "turn" decks without revealing them. Discard the remaining cards. Make a Weather deck by stacking the turn cards in order and place it by the "00 April" card, face down.
Victory Points: The numbers on the table indicate the number of victory points each player has (from now on called VPs), which are also used as money for investments during the game. Place 1 wood token on the "20" space. Should you get more than 100 VPs, use your Scoring tile with the appropriate side up (+100 or +200) next to your wooden token. The maximum possible score in Swordfish is 300.

Player Card

Boats Table: The characteristics of each boat are listed here: Cost, Cruising Speed, Maximum Speed, Fuel Consumption, Loading Capacity, and Storm Resistance.

VP Cost	Cruising	Max Speed	Fuel	Load (Fish)	Storm Resistance
4	1	2	4	1	7
7	1	2	3	1	7
10	1	3	3	1	8
13	1	2	2	2	8
16

Port Costs Table: VP costs for Captains & Crews, Bait, and Fuel. Example, St. John's costs: 1 Captain & Crew pawn costs 9 VPs; 5 Fuel points cost 5 VPs; 12 Fuel points cost 8 VPs; 3 Bait points cost 4 VPs; 5 Bait points cost 6 VPs.

VP Cost	St. John's	Halifax	Portland	Portsmouth	Gloucester
Captain	9	9	8	5	4
5 Fuel	5	4	5	4	3
12 Fuel	8	7	7	7	6
3 Bait	4	5	5	3	2
5 Bait

Fish Market Price Table: The selling price for each fish type in each port. The St. John's, Halifax and Portland columns (VP) and the Portsmouth and Gloucester columns (VP) are the two price columns. The last four columns show the species density in the Ocean (the fish present in each of the four buoy colors).

Type	St. John's / Halifax / Portland VP	Portsmouth / Gloucester VP	Density: Orange	Density: Green	Density: Grey	Density: Red
MAKO	4	7	5	3	2	6
RAT	11	15	6	8	10	2
PUP	13	17	8	10	12	5
MARKER	15	19

Fish Density Table: There are 4 types of fishing areas, represented by 4 different colored buoys. The table indicates the quantity and type of fish present in each area, represented by a bag of the same color as the buoys there. Example: the orange bag contains 5 Mako Sharks, 6 Rats, 8 Pups, 2 Markers, 1 Double Marker, and 0 Triple Markers.

Boat Characteristics: S: Cruising and Maximum Speed. F: Fuel consumption when moving at Maximum Speed. Boat cost. Loading capacity. Place for the captain & crew. Storm Resistance. Place for the catch. Name of the boat.

Buoy Colors: The boats move from one anchor to the next. Some anchors have fishing areas connected to them, marked with buoys (2 or 3 buoys). The buoy color indicates the type of fishing area it is, and which color bag to use when fishing there (the best is the red area at the Flemish Cap). The number on the buoy's flag indicates the minimum number of players in the game for that buoy to be available. Example: this fishing buoy shows 5+. This means that players can only fish in this area if 5 or more players are playing. If less than 5 players are playing, the buoy must be ignored.

The last player who went fishing starts the game. In case of a tie, the last player who ate fish starts. The others follow clockwise. Place your wooden tokens on the Turn Order Table to show this order of play. You are now ready to start your swordfish pursuit!

Game Rounds

The game is played over 15 rounds. Each round is divided into 6 phases. All players must complete each phase, in turn order, before the next phase begins. Use the Phase token on the sea telegraph to show which phase is being played:

Purchase: Hire Captains and Crew, rent Boats, buy Fuel and Bait, and place Boats in port.
Movement: Move your boats.
Weather: Check the weather conditions.
Fishing: Try to catch swordfish (from now on "swords") and/or bait.
Selling: Sell fish in port, return Boats, and move Captains & Crew.
End of the Round: Determine new turn order.

At the end of the last round (Round 15), you will play a final Movement and Selling phase, then the game ends.

Note: the ports that are closest to the best fishing areas are typically more expensive.

1. Purchase Phase

In the order of the Turn Order Table, each player chooses what he would like to purchase. You can hire up to 4 Captains & Crews, rent up to 4 Boats, and buy Bait and Fuel by spending VPs. You must make all purchases in this order:

Choose the port or the ports where you wish to purchase.
Hire Captains & Crews in the chosen ports.
Rent Boats and place them in the chosen ports.
Buy Bait and Fuel for your Boats.

You cannot change this order (Ex. You cannot buy Bait first, then hire a Captain & Crew). Once the first player has completed all purchases, the next player takes a turn and so on.

There is no limit to the number of Boats that can be in each port. When you rent a Boat, you must pay VPs equal to the cost listed on the Boats Table and take the appropriate Fishing Boat tile from the supply. The cost to hire a Captain & Crew, and the cost of Fuel and Bait, vary based on the location of the port, and are listed on your player card.

When you hire a Captain & Crew, place one of your pawns on the Boat tile.

When you buy Bait or Fuel at a port, you must immediately load them on the Boat you hired at that port. Use the Fuel and Bait tiles to show the amount you purchase on your Fuel and Bait Supplies tile, on the boat chart that matches the number of the Captain & Crew pawn you placed on that Boat.

Important: If you have Fuel or Bait remaining after a Boat completes its voyage, those supplies remain with the Captain & Crew until they are placed on another Boat. Add those supplies to the next Boat you place that pawn on.

Example: This player has bought 3 Bait for his Boat 1 and 5 Fuel for his Boat 2.

It is not mandatory to buy Fuel and Bait. Boats can move at cruising speed without using Fuel (see "Movement Phase"), and Boats can get bait by fishing at sea.

When you make purchases:

You may spend some or all of your VPs;
You may buy as much as you can pay for;
You cannot spend more VPs than you have (unless you receive Harbor Insurance, see "Weather Phase");
You are never required to buy anything;
You cannot purchase more Captains and Crew, Bait, Fuel, or Boats than what is available in the game.

When you make a purchase, immediately move your token down on the Victory Point Track to show the VPs you have spent.

2. Movement Phase

During this phase, all Boats may move, including those that have just been hired and any already at sea. Boats move on the game board by following the "courses" from one anchor to the next, or from an anchor to a connected buoy (or vice versa). Boats may stay on an anchor or buoy without moving. Players move their Boats in turn order. On your turn, you may move any or all of your Boats:

If your Boat moves a number of spaces equal to its Cruising Speed or less, you do not spend any Fuel.
Your Boat can move further, up to its Maximum Speed, but you must spend Fuel from that Boat equal to the Fuel Consumption listed on the Boats Table. Reduce the Fuel for that Boat on your Fuel and Bait Supplies tile. You never have to move the full movement distance for your Boat.

Ex. A 19 VP Boat has a Cruising Speed of 2 (fuel consumption 0) and a Maximum Speed of 3 (fuel consumption 3). If you move at the Cruising Speed (up to 2 spaces) you do not pay any Fuel. But if you move at the Maximum Speed, you must pay 3 Fuel.

Ex. A 10 VP Boat (Cruising Speed 1, Maximum Speed 3) can move 1 space without paying or move 2 or 3 spaces, but must pay 3 fuel points to do so.

Moving Boats

Each anchor, port, or buoy you move to counts as 1 space of movement.
Boats can cross an occupied anchor without stopping, even if it is full.

Stopping

There is no limit to the number of Boats that can stay in a port.
No more than 3 Boats at a time can stop on an anchor.
Only 1 Boat at a time can stop on a fishing buoy. If all of the attached buoys are full when a Boat reaches an anchor, the Boat can either stop on the anchor and wait for a buoy to open up on a later turn, or keep moving to another anchor.

Note: 1 Boat can stay on a fishing buoy. A maximum of 3 Boats can stay on an anchor.

3. Weather Phase

In this phase, the weather around the Flemish Cap may change. The Flemish Cap is known to be excellent fishing waters, but it sits in a dangerous storm belt. This area of the board is marked with storm symbols. Some storm symbols show a "-1" or "-2", which are modifiers to the strength of the storms in those spaces. The rest of the board, without any storm symbols, is not affected by the weather cards.

To resolve the Weather Phase, turn over the top Weather card from the deck and place it face up on top of the previous card. The new card shows the "weather variation", which must be added to or subtracted from the current value on the Weather Table (showing the "Beaufort Scale") by moving the black cube. The cube shows the current weather conditions at the Flemish Cap for the round.

All anchors with storm symbols, and all buoys connected to them, are immediately affected by the new weather on the Weather Table. Anchors marked with a "-1" or "-2" are affected as if the weather was 1 or 2 less on the Weather Table (as appropriate).

If the value on the Weather Table ever goes below 0, the cube stays on 0. If it ever goes above 12 ("Hurricane"), the cube stays on 12.

If the weather is 8 (Gale) or higher, there are "strong winds" and it is impossible to fish at all buoys in the affected area.

Eg. The weather cube is on 8 - Gale. In the "-1" areas the weather is 7 - Near Gale. Boats at the Flemish Cap cannot fish. Boats in neighboring areas with storm value -1 or -2 can fish.

Beaufort Scale (Weather Table): 0 Calm; 1 Light air; 2 Light breeze; 3 Gentle breeze; 4 Moderate breeze; 5 Fresh breeze; 6 Strong breeze; 7 Near gale; 8 Gale; 9 Strong gale; 10 Storm; 11 Violent storm; 12 Hurricane.

Going Adrift

All players, in turn order, must check if any of their Boats go adrift:

All Boats in the area affected by the weather (anchors and buoys) must immediately compare their Storm Resistance value (from 7 to 10) with the current value on the Weather Table. If the weather's strength is equal to or lower than the Boat's Storm Resistance, nothing happens to that Boat.

If the weather's strength is higher than the Boat's Storm Resistance, the Boat goes adrift. The Captain & Crew and any Flemish Cap token on that Boat are removed (they are considered "missing", so you will have to hire a new Captain & Crew). All Fuel, Bait, and any fish on board are also lost (discarded or set to zero). The Boat stays on the board. If it is on an anchor, it stays there. If it is on a buoy, it immediately moves to the connected anchor. If that anchor is already full (3 Boats), the Boat instead sinks and is removed from the game.

On a later turn, if any player moves a Boat onto the same anchor as a drifting Boat (or already has a Boat on the same anchor), he must decide whether or not to salvage the Boat:

Salvage it: The boat is towed back to port. Place your Boat on top of the damaged one. Your Boat can only move at its Cruising Speed until it reaches port. While towing another Boat, you can still fish as normal. Once you reach port, you must pay 1 VP to repair the Boat, which you may then use normally (you do not pay the hire cost, but you will need to supply a Captain & Crew).

Abandon it: The Boat sinks and is removed from the game.

Harbor Insurance

It is possible that an unlucky player will lose his only Boat during a storm, and not have enough VPs left to rent a new Boat and hire a Captain & Crew. In this case only, you can ask for "harbor insurance", which will cover the cost of a new 4 VP Boat and a Captain & Crew at any port during the next Purchase Phase.

4. Fishing Phase

All Boats on a fishing buoy get to fish during this phase, unless severe weather makes it impossible (see "Weather Phase"). In turn order, players fish with their Boats.

When it is your turn to fish, you have 3 choices for each of your Boats. You may:

Fish for Bait up to 3 times: You can catch small fish to use as bait to attract the swords. Fishing for Bait is free (no Bait points are spent). Each time you fish for Bait, roll the die and add the value rolled to your Boat's supplies.
Fish for swords up to 3 times: You can try for swords a maximum of 3 times each round. Each attempt costs 1 Bait from your Boat. After you pay the Bait, randomly pull one tile from the bag that matches the color of the buoy your Boat is fishing at (you cannot look in the bag before you pull it). You may not fish for swords if your Boat already has fish tiles equal to its Loading Capacity.

When you pull a fish tile, you must decide to keep it or throw it back. If you keep it, place the tile on your Boat. You cannot discard tiles to make space: the fish tiles can only be removed when you sell them at port. If you decide to throw it back, put the tile back in the bag before your next fishing attempt.

Fish for swords once, then fish for Bait once, or vice versa.

Mako Sharks

If you pull a Mako Shark from the bag, you must decide to keep it or throw it back as normal. Either way, you cannot fish for swords any more this round (they are frightened away by the sharks). If you planned to fish for swords up to 3 times, you may fish for Bait once, but only if you pulled the Mako Shark on your first fishing attempt.

A Boat can never have more than 2 sharks on board at a time. If you pull a second shark on a future turn, you must throw it back. You are not penalized for pulling this second shark: you can keep fishing if you have any attempts left for the round.

Ex. 1 Your first fishing attempt nets you a Marker, which you place in your Boat. On your second attempt, you pull a Mako Shark. Whether you keep it or throw it back, you lose your third attempt for the turn, and cannot fish for Bait.

Ex. 2 On your first fishing attempt, you pull a Mako Shark. You decide to keep it, but you can't fish for swords any more this turn. Since you pulled a shark on your first attempt, you can still fish for Bait once.

Ex. 3 On a later turn, you pull another Mako Shark on your second fishing attempt. Because you already have a shark on your Boat, you must throw it back. But, you do get to make your third fishing attempt as normal.

Important: You can change your mind after your first fishing attempt. For example, if you planned to fish for Bait 3 times (option 1) and get a good roll on your first attempt, you could change your mind and instead fish for swords once (option 3).

Overcrowding

Fishing is best when you're on your own. Too many Boats in the same area disturbs the fish. If there are any other Boats on any of the buoys connected to the same anchor as the one you're fishing, you can only make 2 fishing attempts (for swords or bait).

Ex. You have a Boat with a Loading Capacity of 2 and no fish. Your Fuel and Bait Supplies tile shows that you have 3 Bait on this Boat. You decide to fish for swords. You spend 1 Bait and pull 1 tile from the bag: a Pup. You decide it's not worth keeping, and throw it back in the bag. You pay another Bait to fish again. This time it's a Marker, so you keep it. The fish tile goes on your Boat. Now you pay your last Bait to fish one more time, and it's another Marker! Adding it to your Boat completely fills your hold: you won't be able to fish with that Boat any more. You'll have to go to port and sell your catch.

Fishing the Flemish Cap

The bravest and most skilled fishermen can prove themselves by fishing the Flemish Cap. The first 4 times a Boat fishes at the Flemish Cap, a Flemish Cap token is awarded to the Captain & Crew of that boat to represent their experience and courage. If the Captain & Crew survive to the end of the game, the token is worth a bonus of 4 VPs.

5. Selling Phase

In this phase, any Boats that returned to port can now sell their catch. All ports have a limited demand for fish, represented by the spaces on the board. The empty spaces are always used. The spaces marked "4+" are used only in games with 4 or more players.

Players always sell their catch in turn order. The selling price for fish is different from port to port, as listed on the Fish Market Table, and depends on the weight of the fish. You can only sell fish in the port your Boat is at.

When you sell a fish, place the fish token in an empty space at your port. If there are no empty spaces, you cannot sell. You do not have to sell all of the fish on your Boat; any fish you do not sell can be saved until a later round or thrown back into the sea (discard them from the game). But, a Boat cannot leave port if there are fish on board. If you still have fish on your Boat, you cannot move out of port on the next turn and must stay there to sell again.

After all of the fish on a Boat are sold or thrown away, that Boat's contract ends. Return the Boat tile to the supply. Any player can then rent that Boat during a later round.

Fish are sold for VPs, which are immediately recorded on the Victory Points Table. If you now have more than 100 VPs, use your Scoring tile. If your token lands on the same space as another player's score, place it on top of the token that's already there. This is important when you determine the next round's turn order.

Example: 3 Players are playing. David sells 1 Double Marker and 1 Rat. Other boats at Portsmouth can only sell a total of 2 more fish this round. David sold at Portsmouth, so he uses the second column to find the selling price. David sold 1 Rat and 1 Double Marker. He gains 37 VPs.

Moving Captains & Crew, Fuel, and Bait

When a Boat's contract ends, the Captain & Crew pawn is placed on the port, ready to set sail on a new Boat (Captains & Crew are hired for the entire season). Any Fuel and Bait that remain on the Boat are owned by the Captain & Crew, and will be added to the next Boat they board (which means you don't have to move the tiles on your Fuel and Bait Supplies tile).

Your Captain & Crew can only board a new Boat during the Purchase Phase if you rent it at the same port as the Captain & Crew pawn. If you want your Captain & Crew to board at a different port, you may move them (during the Selling Phase) to any other port, by following the roads printed on the game board. Each movement from one port to the next costs 1 Fuel (recorded on your Fuel and Bait Supply tile). If the Captain & Crew have no Fuel, they cannot move.

Ex. You just landed a Boat at Portsmouth and sold your fish. Next round, you want to launch a new Boat from Halifax. You can immediately move your Captain & Crew pawn to Halifax by spending 2 Fuel.

6. End of the Round

After all players have had a turn to sell their fish, the round ends. Before the next round begins, you must do the following:

Clear the Ports

All fish sold at all ports are discarded from the game, so all the selling spaces are empty.

Advance Game Turn Marker

Move the black cube on the Game Turn Table 1 square. Round 15 is the last round of the game.

Important: After the 15th and final round, all players play through a final Movement Phase and a final Selling Phase, following the rules above. When these final phases are complete, the game ends.

Determine New Turn Order

The turn order for the next round is determined by the current VPs each player has. The player with the lowest VP total goes first in the next round, with the other players taking turns in order from lowest to highest VPs. If there is a tie for VPs, the player with the token on the bottom plays first, and so on.

Move the tokens on the Turn Order Table to show the new turn order.

Game End

At the end of the 15th round the 2 final phases are played, then the game ends. All players add any VPs they get for Flemish Cap tokens on their Captain & Crew pawns. The player with the highest score is declared King of the Swordfish!

At the end of the final round, any unsold catch, Fuel, Bait, Captains & Crew, or Boats the players still have do not award any VPs.

If there is a tie for the most VPs, the tied player with the most Captain & Crew pawns on the game board wins the game. If they are still tied, the tied player with the most Bait plus Fuel is the winner. In the rare case that there is still a draw, the tied players are both Kings of the Swordfish.