The Great Sea Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Aim of the Game
• Player Components
• Setup
  • Main Board Setup
  • Player Board Setup
  • Final Setup Steps
  • Starting Resources and Pips
• Gameplay Overview
• Resources, Restrictions and Dice
• Control
• Temple Points
• Flipping Action Cards
• Start-of-Turn Action
• Worker Actions
  • Develop
    • Ship Class Tiles
    • Fleet Tiles
  • Fortify
  • Trade
  • Research
    • Gaining Upgrade Tiles
    • Removing Upgrade Tiles
    • Discounting the cost of Upgrade Tiles
    • Research Die Pips (Summary)
    • Refresh 1 Trade Post
    • Upgrades affect all Ships or Forts of their Class
• Combat
  • Combat Overview
  • Combat Stat Glossary
  • Combat Steps in Detail
  • Combat Example
• End of the Game
• Special Action Cards
  • Develop Special Action Cards
  • Fortify Special Action Cards
  • Trade Special Action Cards
  • Research Special Action Cards
  • Construct Special Action Cards
  • Mobilise Special Action Cards
• Combat Cards
  • Basic Combat Cards
  • Standard Combat Cards
• Upgrade Tiles
  • Fort Upgrade Tile Types
  • Fort Upgrade Tile Unique Effects
  • Ship Upgrade Tile Types
  • Flipped Upgrade Tiles

Aim of the Game

The aim of The Great Sea is to be the first player to gain victory through conquest or commerce. Players must construct and Mobilise their ships, fortify their trade routes, and research new technologies for land and sea. Key to their success will be controlling the various ancient temple sites across the map. The game ends immediately once one player's Temple Marker reaches the same space as either their Combat or Trade Marker.

Player Components

In each of the 4 player colours:

• 3 Point Markers (1 Combat, 1 Trade, 1 Temple)
• 10 Trade Posts
• 16 Combat Cards
• 6 Player Action Cards
• 6 Dice
• 6 Strongholds
• 6 Outposts
• 2 Workers
• 15 Ships (7 Small, 5 Medium, 3 Large)
• 1 Combat Board
• 1 Player Board
• 1 Ship Class Tile for each Ship Class (Small, Medium, Large) and 1 Fleet Tile

General Components:

• 6 Temples
• 40 Coins
• 40 Wood
• 3 Neutral Workers
• 12 Damage Markers
• 10 Combat Stat Markers (2 of each)
• 24 Special Action Cards
• 81 Ship Upgrade Tiles (27 Stern, 27 Hull, 27 Bow)
• 36 Fort Upgrade Tiles (9 Small, 27 Large)
• 6 Main Boards

Setup

Main Board Setup

Follow these steps to set up the Main Board area of The Great Sea:

1. Place the 4 Main Boards together using the sides required for the chosen player count. All the artwork and frames should line up.

2. Place 1 of each Combat Stat Marker on the zero spaces of each numbered Stat Track.

3. Place all Coins, Wood, Neutral Workers, and Damage Markers into a Main Supply nearby.

4. Sort all Ship Upgrade Tiles and Fort Upgrade Tiles by their type into separate faceup Piles.

   Ship Upgrade Tile types can be identified by the small wooden bars touching specific icons along their bottom edge. Note that these bars are only on the faceup sides. There are 9 Tiles of each type, and each type has its own unique wooden bar configuration.

   Large Fort Upgrade Tile types can be identified by the common icon on their left half. Note that the faceup side for these has a horizontal orientation, whereas the other side is aligned vertically.

   Shuffle each Pile, and place them in the slots above the Main Board. The 9 Small Fort Upgrade Tiles should be above the 2-Coin slot. Above each other slot should be 1 random stack of Stern, Hull, Bow, and Large Fort Upgrade Tiles. Ensure that all Sterns, Hulls, and Bows are each in a single row of the grid.

5. Each player selects a colour and takes all components in that colour, along with 1 of each Ship Class Tile and 1 Fleet Tile. See Player Board Setup below.

6. All players place their Point Markers on the indicated spaces along the bottom of the Main Board. Point Markers can be stacked, and their order is not important.

   These mark each player's progress on the 3 Point Tracks. From top to bottom these are the Temple Track, Combat Track, and Trade Track. Point Markers on the bottom 2 Tracks always advance rightwards, while the Temple Point Markers mostly advance leftwards, but can move back to the right as well.

7. Each player selects a home region on the Main Board. Whichever home region is closest to them is recommended.

Player Board Setup

Follow these steps to set up each Player's area:

1. Along the top half of their Player Board, place the 3 Ship Class Tiles and 1 Fleet Tile faceup (green side). Use the numbers on the Sail icons of Ship Class Tiles to place them in ascending order from left to right.
2. Place the Player Action Cards faceup in ascending order from the left to right below their Player Board. Note that the numbers are grey on the faceup side, and have a blue glow on the other side. Place 1 Die onto each Action Card with a value of 1.
3. Place 1 Trade Post on each of the outlined spaces above the Construct Action Card. Also place a second Trade Post onto each of the 3 right-most spaces.
4. Place 1 Outpost onto each space in the row above the Trade Posts, and 1 Stronghold onto each space in the row above those.
5. Place their remaining 6 Small Ships, 4 Medium Ships, and 2 Large Ships above the matching illustrations on their Player Board.
6. Place their Combat Board and 2 Workers nearby.
7. Select which Combat Cards will be used. Each player should place these 8 combat Cards into their hand, returning the rest to the box. It is recommended to use the Basic Combat Cards for a first game. For future games, the Standard Combat Cards can be used to add more depth and decision making for players.

Final Setup Steps

Randomly determine a first player. Then, in reverse turn order (counterclockwise from the player seated to the right of the first player), each player selects a Special Action Card from those available. Action Cards have unique effects on their reverse side, which are flipped when players control Temple Trade Posts. For this reason, players may wish to select Special Action Cards of Temples that are near to their home regions.

When selecting a Special Action Card, a player takes the top Card of a chosen Pile, returning all others from that Pile to the box. They then turn their selected Special Action Card faceup, and swap it with the Player Action Card of the same number from below their Player Board. Return the Player Action Card that was swapped out to the box.

In this manner, each player will select a Special Action Card of a different number, leaving 1 Pile of unselected Cards. Turn this unselected Pile faceup, shuffle it, and deal 1 card randomly to each player. As with their first selection, all players swap out their Player Action Card with this new Special Action Card. If playing with fewer than 4 players, return any undealt Special Action Cards from this Pile to the box.

Each player should now have 2 Special Action Cards, and 4 Player Action Cards below their Player Board. All 6 Action Cards should be faceup (no blue glow around the Card numbers). Players may always look at the other sides of their Action Cards, but they do not need to disclose them to their opponents.

Finally, players gain a number of Wood and Coins from the Main Supply, and gain pips to increase their starting Dice values. What each player gains is based on their position in turn order (if only 2 players, the 2nd player gains the 3rd player resources and pips instead). There is a reminder of these numbers on the back of this Rulebook (see Starting Resources and Pips below).

When gaining a pip, players must increase 1 of their Dice by 1. The value of each Die determines how strong that particular action is. However, as noted in the bottom-left corner of Player Boards, no Dice may physically exceed the value of their Die on the Develop Action Card. Therefore, the first pip that players gain during Setup must always be applied to their Develop Die. After this, their remaining pips could also be used on their Develop Die, or any other Dice, ensuring that they always adhere to this rule of not physically exceeding the Develop Die's value.

Starting Resources and Pips

Player	Wood	Coins	Pips
1st Player	4 Wood	3 Coins	3 pips
2nd Player	5 Wood	4 Coins	3 pips
3rd Player	5 Wood	3 Coins	4 pips
4th Player	6 Wood	4 Coins	4 pips

2 Player Games Only: The 2nd player gains the 3rd player resources and pips instead.

Gameplay Overview

The Great Sea is played over an undetermined number of turns. Play starts with the first player, and continues clockwise around the table with players taking turns one after another until the end of the game.

On each of their turns, players may first perform 1 start-of-turn action, then use their Workers to take actions. After using their Workers to take actions, players return their Workers to their Supply, ready to be used again on their next turn.

The game ends immediately once a player's Temple Marker reaches or exceeds the same space as either their Combat or Trade Marker. The first player to achieve this is the winner.

Example: Red would need 1 more Temple Point to win, as it would move their Temple Marker 1 space to the left, in line with their Combat Marker. The same would be true for Black if they gained 1 Temple Point or 1 Trade Point.

Resources, Restrictions and Dice

Wood, Coins, Neutral Workers, and Damage Markers are all considered to be unlimited. Should they run out, use a suitable replacement.

All player pieces are limited. For example, players cannot construct more Ships than they have available.

All Ship and Fort Upgrade Tiles are limited. Should a Pile ever run out, shuffle any discards of that type to form a new Pile. If there are no discarded Tiles available, its Pile simply remains empty.

The numbered Stat Tracks on the Main Board are considered unlimited, despite having a max of 25 printed. Should a player's Combat Stats exceed 25, keep track of their true number using other means.

Dice can never exceed a physical value of 6. There are, however, some Action Card effects that can increase a Die's value beyond 6. This is permitted, and these increases may also exceed the physical limit imposed by the Develop Die's value.

Control

The Map on the Main Board is made up of various regions, all separated by patterned lines, known as borders. Regions that share a border are considered adjacent. 2 Player Map only: Note that the rocky reef in the bottom-right quadrant separates those adjoining regions, causing them not to be adjacent.

Each player starts the game Controlling their home region and its 2 adjacent regions. While they may lose Control of these 2 regions, they can never lose Control of their home region. In fact, players may never even enter their opponents' home regions.

Players have Control of a region when both these conditions are true:

• They have at least 1 Ship or Fort present in the region.
• Either they own the Trade Post in that region, or are the only player present there.

To reiterate, if they are present, and own the Trade Post, they have Control even when opponents are present. But if they do not own the Trade Post, they will only have Control while they are the only player present.

Temple Points

Players gain Temple Points for 2 reasons:

• Controlling Temple regions (regions containing a Temple).
• Owning Trade Posts in Temple regions.

In this way, each Temple Region can provide a maximum of 2 Temple Points. Any time players gain or lose Control of Temple regions, or gain or lose ownership of Temple Trade Posts, their Temple Marker must be adjusted on the Temple Track. If players are unsure, they can always recount how many spaces along the Temple Track their Marker should be.

Example: Black would have a Temple Point for Controlling the Temple region, while Red would have 1 Temple Point for owning the Temple Trade Post. If Red were to move at least 1 Ship into the region, they would take Control from Black.

Flipping Action Cards

Actions Cards must be flipped to their reverse side (showing the blue glow around the number) when gaining ownership of the associated Temple Trade Post. Likewise, if a player loses ownership of a Temple Trade Post, they must turn their associated Action Card back to its front side.

Start-of-Turn Action

Before using Workers to take actions, players may perform at most 1 start-of-turn action. There is a reminder of these on the Player Boards. From top to bottom, these actions are:

1. Exhaust 1 Trade Post to move 1 Ship to an adjacent region with a Shipyard or from a Shipyard to an adjacent region. All home regions have a Shipyard, and players can gain Ship Upgrade Tiles that allow specific Ship types to use Strongholds or Outposts as Shipyards.
2. Exhaust 1 Trade Post or spend 2 Wood to repair any 1 Damaged Ship. Ships can be Damaged during Combat, causing them to be laid down on their sides. Repairing Ships turns them back upright.
3. Exhaust 2 Trade Posts or spend 4 Coins to gain 1 pip (increase 1 die by 1).
4. Exhaust 3 Trade Posts to gain a Neutral Worker.

Aside from the facedown (exhausted) Trade Posts placed on bases during Setup, Trade Posts are always placed faceup (refreshed). To exhaust a Trade Post, players turn 1 they have on the Main Board facedown to indicate that it has been used. There are various effects in the game that can refresh exhausted Trade Posts to make them available again.

Worker Actions

On most turns players will only have 2 Workers. They can, however, gain Neutral Workers on their turn, or even on other players' turns. Players may take fewer actions than they have Workers available, but they must always return Neutral Workers to the Main Supply at the end of their turns. All effects on Action Cards are optional, though they are almost always beneficial.

To take an action, players must place a Worker onto 1 of their Action Cards. They immediately resolve all desired effects of that Action Card in order from top to bottom. After doing so, if they still have Workers available, they may place 1 onto a different Action Card to perform its effects in the same manner.

Important: Players can never take the same action twice in a single turn. Each Action Card may only hold 1 Worker.

Develop

The Die value of Develop acts only as a limiter for Dice values of all other actions. It has no effect on the Develop action itself.

The Develop action is primarily about increasing Dice values and improving Ship Classes and Fleet Limits.

• 1st Effect: Gain 1 pip (increase any Die by 1).
• 2nd Effect: Gain either 1 pip, spend 2 Wood to gain 2 pips, or pay to improve a Ship Class Tile or Fleet Tile (up to twice - can be the same Tile or 2 different Tiles).

When flipped, the 1st Effect also gains 1 Coin or 1 Wood.

Ship Class Tiles

Each Ship (Small, Medium, Large) has its own Class Tile. This determines the Wood cost to construct this Ship, its size in the Fleet, and how much Strength it provides (if any).

The cost to improve a Ship Class Tile is shown by the Coin value in the top banner. This cost varies between the different Ship Classes. When paying the first time, turn the Ship Class Tile to its opposite side. When paying the second time, remove the Tile entirely, revealing the final stage printed on the Player Board.

Fleet Tiles

How many Ships each player may have in a single region is determined by their max Fleet Limit, and the size of each Ship. Each player starts with a Fleet Limit of 8. As indicated by the Ship Class Tiles, Small Ships have a starting size of 3, Medium Ships have a size of 4, and Large Ships have a size of 5.

Example: With a Fleet Limit of 8, a player could have 1 Small Ship (3) and 1 Large Ship (5), or 2 Medium Ships (4 each) in the same region.

The cost to improve a Fleet Tile is shown by the Wood value in the right banner. When paying the first time, turn the Fleet Tile to its opposite side. When paying the second time, remove the Tile entirely, revealing the final stage printed on the Player Board.

Fortify

The Fortify action is how players add their Forts to the Main Board. Forts come in 2 Classes: Outposts and Strongholds.

• 1st Effect: Place 1 Fort (Control required)
• 2nd Effect: After placing a Fort, gain Trade Points based on the number of Trade Posts owned (a Fort must be placed to use this effect).

When flipped, the Die's value is considered to be 1 higher than its physical value.

In order to place a Fort, players must have Control in a region with an available Foundation (square spaces on each region), and they must have a Fortify Die value high enough to access the chosen Fort on their Player Board. There is no resource cost to placing Forts.

At the start of the game, players Control their home region, and the 2 adjacent regions where their Ships are present. Both of these regions have 1 Foundation available, ready for a Fort to be placed.

Players must place out Forts left to right from their Player Boards. At the start of the game, the left-most Forts are above the 2-pip column, meaning that the Fortify Die must be 2 or higher in value to access them. As players place out Forts, they will need to increase their Fortify Die in order to access more Forts further down each row. So long as they can access the chosen Fort, players can choose between Outposts or Strongholds. They do not need to necessarily place them out in an even fashion.

When placing a Fort, players immediately gain the benefit printed on the Foundation. This will be to gain 2 Coins, 2 Wood, or 1 pip. How many times they gain this benefit is determined by their Foundation modifier. This starts at x1, as shown on the grids to the left and right of the Forts on the Player Board, but can be increased by some Fort Upgrade Tiles. Players are also permitted to cover the printed Foundation modifier on their Grids, but this would cause them to lose that benefit.

Example: In this example, Red could place out their next Stronghold, but not their Outpost due to their Fortify Die being too low. Placing their Stronghold will give them the Foundation benefit twice thanks to their Fort Upgrade Tiles.

Finally, after placing a Fort, and gaining Foundation benefits, players gain Trade Points. How many Trade Points they gain is determined by their Trade Posts on the Main Board (regardless of whether they are refreshed or exhausted). Players only gain Trade Points if they just placed out a Fort from the previous effect.

Important: Players do not gain Trade Points if they did not place a Fort!

There is a reminder of these numbers on the Player Board above the Fortify Action Card. Note that having only 1 Trade Post gains no Trade points.

When gaining Trade Points, players move their Trade Marker 1 space to the right along the Trade Track. If they cross over any paths showing icons, they immediately gain those printed benefits (gaining Resources, pips, a Neutral Worker, or refreshing a Trade Post).

Rare case: If a player has no Forts of a certain Class on their Player Board, but wish to place 1 on the Main Board, they may place 1 that was previously removed to the Main Supply. However, if they are all already on the Main Board, they cannot place any more of that Class.

Trade

The Trade action is how players gain Resources, and add Trade Posts to the Main Board.

Gain any 2 different effects: Gain Coin income, gain Wood income, or place a Trade Post (Control required).

When flipped, the Die's value is considered to be 1 higher than its physical value.

Gaining income is based on the number of Forts placed out from a player's Board, and the value of their Trade Die. Players are only ever looking at the right-most revealed income number.

Example: Red has a Trade Die value of 3, thanks to their Action Card being flipped. This would allow them to gain 3 Silver (printed as "Silver" in the source; read as Coins, the only income of that name in the game), or 4 Wood. Despite having placed out 3 Outposts, they cannot gain 5 Wood, as their Trade Die is too low to access that space.

To place a Trade Post, players must have Control in a region, and they must have a Trade Die value high enough to access the chosen Trade Post on their Player Board.

Players can only place a Trade Post if the region has no Trade Post present, or if it has an opposing player's Trade Post. Remember that Control is required for this effect. Therefore, the only way to replace an opponent's Trade Post is if there are no opposing Ships or Forts in that region.

When replacing an opposing Trade Post, the removed piece is returned to the Main Supply, not back to the opponent's Player Board.

Example: In the example above, Red could place out their next Trade Post, which requires a minimum Die value of 3.

Rare case: If a player has no Trade Posts on their Player Board, but still has a legal place to place 1 on the Main Board, they may place 1 that was previously removed to the Main Supply.

Assess Temple Trade Post Ownership and Flipped Action Cards! If a player placed a Trade Post in a Temple Region, players will gain or lose Temple Points. When this happens, adjust their Temple Markers accordingly on the Temple Track. This will also affect Action Cards for that Temple. Players must flip their Action Cards to their appropriate sides.

Research

The Research action is how players can gain Upgrade Tiles for their Ships and Forts. The action's Die value determines how many Upgrade Tiles they can interact with, and/or gain coin discounts for.

• 1st Effect: Use pips to gain Upgrade Tiles, remove Upgrade Tiles, or discount the cost of gaining Upgrade Tiles.
• 2nd Effect: Refresh 1 Trade Post.

When flipped, the Die's value is considered to be 1 higher than its physical value.

Each pip on the Research Die can only be used for 1 effect. While these pips are used up for this action, the Die retains its value for future turns (do not alter the Die when taking this action).

Gaining Upgrade Tiles

For each pip they wish to use, players may gain 1 Ship or Fort Upgrade Tile. The cost for Upgrade Tiles is determined by the column they are in above the Main Board. Upgrade Tiles in the left column require 5 Coins, the next column requires 4 Coins, and so on. Below these costs is also a reminder that any Upgrade Tiles that feature Shipyard icons always cost 1 fewer Coin.

When gaining Upgrade Tiles, they are placed onto Player Boards. This will be explained on the next page. What also happens, is the entire Pile from where that Upgrade Tile came, is moved to the far left of its row in the grid. The active player may not gain more Upgrade Tiles from this Pile this turn. Once they have finished resolving their Research action in full, all Upgrade Tile Piles are slid to the right to fill any gaps. Note that the 2-Coin column will only ever contain 1 Pile of Fort Upgrade Tiles. Ship Upgrade Tiles are only ever in the other 3 columns.

After gaining an Upgrade Tile and moving its Pile to the left of the row, players must place the Upgrade Tile onto their Player Board.

Ship Upgrade Tiles must be placed onto 1 of their 3 Ships, and must cover a section of the matching part (Stern, Hull, or Bow). These must always be placed on their faceup side. Ship Upgrade Tiles can only be flipped to their opposite sides by certain game effects.

In most cases, this will simply cover the Player Board, replacing any icons there. Players may, however, place a new Ship Upgrade Tile where they already have 1. In this case, the covered Upgrade Tile must immediately be moved to a different position amongst their 3 Ships, following the same rules. Alternatively, players may choose to remove the covered Upgrade Tile from the game entirely.

Fort Upgrade Tiles must be placed onto their Outpost or Stronghold grid. Upgrade Tiles may be stacked on top of others here, but they can never be overhanging the edges of the grid, or placed in a way that they are uneven (hanging off the edge of other Upgrade Tiles). Note that Fort Upgrade Tiles can be flipped or rotated to any orientation. Also, importantly, players may never cover the starting Health space of each grid.

For both Ship Upgrade Tiles, and Fort Upgrade Tiles, once they are placed, they cannot freely be moved to different spaces. As the name suggests, these Tiles upgrade Ships and Forts in various ways. All these effects can be found in the appendix (see Ship Upgrade Tile Types and Fort Upgrade Tile Unique Effects below).

Removing Upgrade Tiles

For each pip they wish to use players may remove 1 Ship or Fort Upgrade Tile from any Pile above the Main Board. This does not move the Pile. Players may wish to do this to find a more desirable Upgrade Tile within a chosen Pile, or to deny an opponent gaining a particular Tile.

Upgrade Tiles removed this way should be placed into the Main Supply. They will only enter the game again if their type's Pile is depleted. In that case, all removed Upgrade Tiles of that type must be shuffled to form a new Pile above the Main Board.

Discounting the cost of Upgrade Tiles

For each pip they wish to use, players may reduce the total Coin cost of gaining Upgrade Tiles by 1.

Research Die Pips (Summary)

As discussed, players may use their Research pips to gain Upgrade Tiles, remove Upgrade Tiles, or discount the cost of gaining Upgrade Tiles. For example, with a Research Die value of 5, a player could remove 1 Upgrade Tile, gain 3 Upgrade Tiles, and spend 1 less Coin in the process.

Refresh 1 Trade Post

The last effect for the Research action is to refresh 1 Trade Post. If a player has an exhausted Trade Post on the Main Board, they may turn it back to its refreshed side for later use.

Upgrades affect all Ships or Forts of their Class

It is important to understand that the Ships pictured on Player Boards represent all Ships of their particular Class on the Map. For example, if a Medium Ship gains an Upgrade Tile that has an extra Speed icon, all Medium Ships of that player now have extra Speed.

Likewise, Fort Upgrade Tiles affect all Forts of their Class. For example, if a player's Stronghold has an Upgrade with an extra Shield icon, and they have 2 Strongholds in 1 region, they will have 2 additional Shields in that region because of their Strongholds.

Construct

The Construct action is how players add more Ships to the Main Board.

• 1st Effect: Use pips to construct Ships, or discount the cost of constructing Ships.
• 2nd Effect: Gain 1 pip.

When flipped, the Die's value is considered to be 1 higher than its physical value.

Each pip on the Construct Die can only be used for 1 effect. While these pips are used up for this action, the Die retains its value for future turns (do not alter the Die when taking this action).

For each pip they wish to use players may construct 1 Ship. The cost for each Ship is determined by their size, and the progress made on its Class Tile. This cost is the indicated Wood for the Ship being constructed. This is 2-3 Wood for Small Ships, 3-4 Wood for Medium Ships, and 5-6 Wood for Large Ships.

When constructed, Ships must be placed in a region with a player's own Shipyard on the Main Board. This is usually to a player's home region. However, some Ship Upgrade Tiles allow Ships to treat Outposts or Strongholds as Shipyards for that Class of Ship.

Example: Red may construct Small Ships for 2 Wood each, and may place them into any region where they have a Stronghold, thanks to their Ship Upgrade Tile.

Important rule for Fleet Limits: While home regions have no Fleet Limit, all other regions do. Players can never place a newly constructed Ship into a region if it would exceed their Fleet Limit.

Discounting the cost of Ships

For each pip they wish to use, players may reduce the total Wood cost of constructing Ships by 1. For example, with a Construct Die value of 4, a player could construct 2 Ships, and spend 2 fewer Wood in the process.

Gain 1 Pip

The last effect allows players to gain 1 pip (increasing any Die by 1). Remember that Action Cards must always be performed in order from top to bottom. Therefore, while this pip could be used to increase the Construct Die, it would have no effect on the previous construction effects that were taken.

Mobilise

The Mobilise action is how players move their Ships across the Map and initiate combat with opponents.

• 1st Effect: Use pips to move Ships using their Speed to or from 1 region.
• 2nd Effect: Use 1 pip to initiate a Combat (max once).
• 3rd Effect: Use any remaining pips to gain extra Mobility in Combat.

When flipped, the Die's value is considered to be 1 higher than its physical value.

Moving Ships

When using a pip to move Ships, players must select 1 region on the Map. They may then either:

• Move any number of Ships into that region from any number of regions, or
• Move any number of Ships out of that region into any number of regions.

How far Ships can move is determined by their Speed (icon). Most Speed is produced by the Sterns of Ships, but some Ship Upgrade Tiles also provide it for Hulls and Bows. In the example on the previous page, we can see that the Small Ship starts with a Speed of 2. Medium and Large Ships start with a Speed of 1.

There are also Fort Upgrade Tiles, like the Tile seen here, that provide additional Speed for all Ships leaving regions with the Upgraded Forts.

Speed determines how many regions a Ship can move across using adjacent borders. A Speed of 1 means they can move into an adjacent region, whereas a Speed of 2 allows them to move into that same region, or a region adjacent to it.

Players can use multiple pips to affect the same region twice, but there are a few important rules to adhere to during movement:

• Players can never move the same Ship twice during the same Mobilise action (even by using multiple pips).
• Players can never move Ships into a region if all their Ships there would exceed their Fleet Limit.
• Players may never move Ships into an opponent's home region.
• Damaged Ships cannot be moved, but still contribute to a region's Fleet limits.

Note that opposing Ships, or their Fleet Limits do not hinder players from moving their own Ships in any way. Multiple players may have Ships in the same region without initiating Combat.

Mobilise (continued)

Example: Red has constructed 2 more Ships, removed their Fleet Tile, placed a Trade Post, and even moved out their Large Ship to place an Outpost on a new island. They have chosen to Mobilise again. For 1 pip they could do either of the following (among other possibilities):

• Move 1 or 2 of their Small Ships to the same Region as their Large Ship, as this would not exceed their Fleet Limit of 11 (they'd be at 8 or 11), and both Small Ships have a Speed of 2.
• Move both Ships out from their home region. The Small Ship could move directly up to the region with the number 6 Temple, and their Medium Ship could move to either region directly adjacent to their base. While the 2 Large Yellow Ships look intimidating, they do not prevent Red from moving their Ships into that region.

Some moves they could not do:

• Move their Medium Ship from their home region to the region with their Large Ship. While this would not exceed their Fleet Limit, the Medium Ship only has a movement of 1.
• Move their Large Ship 1 region closer to the Yellow Ships, then use another pip to move it again. While this might help in Combat, they cannot move the same Ship twice.

Assess Temple region Control! It is possible that simply by moving about Ships, players will gain or lose Control of Temple regions. When this happens, adjust their Temple Markers accordingly on the Temple Track.

Initiating Combat

Before using a pip to initiate a Combat, players must have finished all their movement for this action. Players can only initiate Combat against a single opponent during a Mobilise action.

Combat will be explained in full over the next few pages. But for now, note that each pip that was not used for movement or initiating Combat provides 1 additional Mobility for the Combat that is about to ensue.

While initiating Combat signifies the end of a Mobilise action, it does not necessarily mean the end of a player's turn. Remember that they always have at least 2 Workers for taking actions. It can be common for a player to Mobilise as their first action, and if victorious, follow up by Fortifying or Trading in the newly conquered region.

Combat

Combat Overview

When taking the Mobilise action, players may initiate 1 Combat with an opponent. They are considered to be the attacker, and their opponent is the defender. The attacker must select 1 opponent in 1 region where the Combat will be resolved. It does not matter if other players are also present in that region. Combat will always involve only 2 players that have presence (Ships and Forts) in a chosen region.

To resolve Combat, both players must follow these steps:

1. Select 1 of the 2 numbered Stat Tracks on either edge of the Main Board to record their Combat Stats.
2. For all 5 Combat Stats (Mobility, Attack, Shields, Flames, and Strength), each player marks their value using the Combat Stat Markers. Each Ship and Fort in that region will add to this value.
3. Taking their Combat Cards and Combat Board into hand, they must select 1 Combat Card to play on their Combat Board, without yet revealing it to their opponent.
4. Once both players have chosen a Combat Card, they reveal their Combat Boards and Cards together.
5. Players resolve the effects of their Combat Cards, and adjust their Combat Stat Markers if needed.
6. The player with the most Mobility makes their Attacks, potentially dealing Damage to their opponent. If tied for Mobility, the attacker makes their Attacks first.
7. If the other player survived their opponent's attacks, they respond by making their own Attacks.
8. If only 1 player survived, they are the winner of the Combat. If both players survive, the player with the most Strength is the winner. If tied for Strength, the attacker is the winner.
9. Resolve Combat results, as outlined on the Combat Boards.

All these steps will be explained in detail over the next few pages.

Combat Stat Glossary

The legend printed beside the Combat Card example on page 23 describes each Combat Stat as follows:

• Mobility: Attack priority.
• Attack: Attacks fired.
• Shields: Attacks blocked.
• Flames: Shields nullified.
• Strength: Victor if both players survive.
• Winner: Gain 1 Combat Point and lose the played Combat Card.

Combat Steps in Detail

1. Select Stat Tracks. There are 2 numbered Stat Tracks running up the edges of the Main Board. Each player selects 1 Stat Track to use, along with its Combat Stat Markers.

2. Mark Combat Stats. Each player adds up all their Combat Stats, and marks them on their Stat Track. This helps both players to see what the current standing is before playing Combat Cards. Remember to include any Mobility gained from unused pips in the Mobilise action.

   If players enter Combat with Damaged Ships (those laid down on their sides), they still contribute their full Combat Stats, but only have 1 Health available. Players must indicate this by placing Damage Markers on these Ships before the Combat continues (leaving only 1 Health space uncovered).

   Example: Yellow has initiated a Combat with Red. Yellow's Fleet looks strong, but Red should have some good defense from their Upgraded Strongholds.

   • From their Small Ship, Red gains 1 Attack, 2 Flames, and 3 Strength.
   • For each of their Strongholds, Red gains 3 Mobility, and 1 Strength.
   • This gives them a starting total of 6 Mobility, 1 Attack, 2 Flames, 0 Shields, and 5 Strength.

   It's worth noting that Red's Small Ship has only 1 Health, but each Stronghold has 2, thanks to their Upgrade Tile adding 1 more. So while they aren't too well set up to do a lot of Damage to Yellow, they may be strong enough to withstand whatever Yellow throws at them.

3. Select Combat Cards. Now that players know the current Combat Stats, they must select 1 Combat Card to play. Each player should do this privately, by taking their Combat Board into hand, and placing 1 of their Combat Cards onto it.

   • If playing with the Basic Combat Cards, simply select which Combat Card to play, and place it on the Combat Board.
   • If playing with the Standard Combat Cards, not only must players select a Card, but they must also select its orientation. Whichever part of the Combat Card is upright will determine which side will be resolved.

Assess Temple region Control! It is possible for Combat to cause players to gain or lose Control of Temple regions. When this happens, adjust their Temple Markers accordingly on the Temple Track.

Combat Example

In the example below, Purple initiated a Combat using a Small Ship and a Medium Ship against Red's Medium Ship and Stronghold. After revealing their Combat Cards, Red gained 4 additional Attack, whereas Purple played Evasion to copy the 2 Mobility, and 2 Strength from Red's Stronghold. Purple could have played their Card the other way round for more Mobility and Flames, but they thought Red might make a play for having the most Strength.

Purple has 5 Attack, and 2 Flames. With 2 of Red's 3 Shields nullified, they must immediately take 4 Damage. They have placed 3 without losing their Ship or Stronghold so far, but now they must make a decision where to place the last Damage Marker. Placing it on their Stronghold would destroy it, costing them 2 Mobility, and 2 Strength. Although losing the Mobility would have no impact on the Combat. Placing it on their Medium Ship would be far worse, as it would be destroyed, causing them to lose its vital 1 Attack, 2 Flames, and 2 Strength. Either option will cost them 2 Strength. So long Stronghold!

Now Red makes their Attacks. Their 2 Flames reduce Purple's Shields entirely, allowing all 5 Attack to get through. With only 4 Health across both their Ships, Purple's Fleet is obliterated. If Purple had just been able to Shield a few more Attacks, they could have potentially won the Combat due to their higher Strength. At least they'll gain some compensations from their failed incursion.

End of the Game

The game ends immediately once a player's Temple Marker reaches or exceeds the same space as either their Combat or Trade Marker. The first player to achieve this is the winner! There are no additional turns, no points to add up, and no tie-breaks. Winner takes all!

Examples of a player winning from Combat Victory, and of a player who focused more on gaining Temple Points rather than Combat Points, and of a player winning from Trade Victory, and of a player who focused more on gaining all possible Temple Points rather than Combat or Trade Points, are shown on the source page as pictures; the text does not describe them.

Special Action Cards

There are 24 Special Action Cards, 4 for each of the 6 actions (Develop, Fortify, Trade, Research, Construct, Mobilise). Each card's printed text is listed below under its action. A card replaces or adds to the action's standard effects as worded. Each card also carries icon-only effects drawn on the card; the rulebook does not spell those out in text, so they are not reproduced here and are summarised in the note at the end of this section.

Develop Special Action Cards

• 3rd Effect: Gain a Large Fort Upgrade Tile, paying 1 less Coin. Remember to also move the Pile to the left of the grid.
• 3rd Effect: Move any number of Ships in or out of 1 region using their Speed.
• 3rd Effect: Pay to improve a Ship Class Tile or Fleet Tile.
• 3rd Effect: Spend 1 Coin to gain 1 pip.

Fortify Special Action Cards

• 3rd Effect: Gain a Small Fort Upgrade Tile, paying 1 less Coin. Remember to also move the Pile to the left of the grid.
• 3rd Effect: Spend 1 Coin to place a Stronghold (Control required).
• Extra Effect: This Die's value is considered to be 2 higher than its physical value.
• 3rd Effect: Spend 1 Wood to place an Outpost (Control required).

Trade Special Action Cards

• 2nd Effect: Construct a Medium or Large Ship, paying 1 less Wood.
• Change to 1st Effect: Gain both incomes. 2nd Effect: Place a Trade Post (Control required).
• 2nd Effect: Exhaust 1 Trade Post to gain a Ship Upgrade Tile, spending 1 less Coin. Remember to also move the Pile to the left of the grid.
• Change to 1st Effect: May gain the same effect twice. Extra Effect: This Die's value is considered to be 1 higher than its physical value. 3rd Effect: Move 1 Ship in or out of a region with a Shipyard.

Research Special Action Cards

• 3rd Effect: Construct a Small Ship, paying 1 less Wood.
• Change to 2nd Effect: Refresh 1 Trade Post and gain 2 Wood.
• 3rd Effect: Spend 1 Wood to gain 1 pip.
• 3rd Effect: Spend 2 Wood to flip a Ship Upgrade Tile to its opposite side.

Construct Special Action Cards

• 3rd Effect: Move 1 Ship to an adjacent region with a Shipyard or from a Shipyard to an adjacent region.
• New 2nd Effect: Use 4 pips from this action to gain a Neutral Worker.
• Change to 2nd Effect: Gain 1 pip and refresh 1 Trade Post.
• Change to 2nd Effect: Gain 1 pip and 2 Coins.

Mobilise Special Action Cards

• Extra Effect: This Die's value is considered to be 2 higher than its physical value.
• Extra Effect: This Die's value is considered to be 1 higher than its physical value. 4th Effect: Gain 1 Shield when initiating Combat.
• 4th Effect: Gain 1 additional Attack and 1 Flame when initiating Combat.
• 4th Effect: Gain 2 Strength when initiating Combat.

Note on the cards: the printed Special Action Cards also show their base-effect icons (for example the Develop and Research 1st and 2nd Effect symbols). The rulebook gives those only as pictures, so this transcription records the printed text effects in full and does not reproduce the icon-only base effects.

Combat Cards

Each player has 16 Combat Cards in their colour (see Player Components). The game uses two kinds, Basic and Standard. At setup each player places 8 Combat Cards into their hand, returning the rest to the box (see Player Board Setup, step 7). The rulebook recommends the Basic Combat Cards for a first game.

Basic Combat Cards

The Basic Combat Card has no orientation and no ability text. Its effect is printed on the card itself. The rulebook's example shows a Basic card reading "If you lose this combat:" with 2 Shields and 2 Strength icons and 1 Wood, meaning it adds 2 Shields and 2 Strength to the player's Combat Stats, and if that player loses the Combat they gain 1 Wood. The rulebook does not print a table of the other Basic card values, so only this example is given here.

Standard Combat Cards

Standard Combat Cards have 2 sides, an ability side and a Combat Stats side. When playing a Standard Combat Card, the player chooses which side faces up, and that side is resolved.

• Evasion — Ability: Only the attacker may play this Combat Card. Copy the Combat Stats of 1 opposing Stronghold and 1 opposing Outpost in the region. This does not copy the Health spaces of those Forts. Combat Stats: Gain 4 Mobility and 2 Flames.
• Hubris — Ability: Lose 1 Mobility and 1 Strength. The victor of this Combat gains 1 Neutral Worker. This could be awarded to the player who played this Combat Card, or to their opponent. Combat Stats: Lose 3 Mobility and 3 Strength.
• Mutiny — Ability: Your opponent loses 2 Strength per Ship that they have, and you gain 1 Strength per Ship they have (in the Combat region). If both players play Mutiny for its ability, ignore this effect. Combat Stats: Gain 4 Attack.
• Pillage — Ability: Gain 1 Attack and 1 Flame. If victorious in Combat, remove an opposing Trade Post from the region if there is 1 present. Also refresh 1 Trade Post. Combat Stats: Gain 1 Attack and 3 Shields.
• Ramming Speed — Ability: After Combat, deal 1 Damage to 2 opposing Ships of different Classes involved in the Combat. This should be done immediately after a winner is declared. This Damage cannot be blocked by Shields. Also gain 2 Coins. Combat Stats: Gain 2 Mobility and 2 Attack.
• Reinforce — Ability: Only the defender may play this Combat Card. When revealed, they may bring in any number of Ships from 1 adjacent region, acting as if that region has 1 additional Fleet Limit for their Ships. Combat Stats: Gain 1 Shield and 5 Strength.
• Safe Harbour — Ability: Gain 1 Shield. After Combat, repair all your Ships that were Damaged in the Combat (those that were just laid down). This does not repair destroyed Ships, or those Damaged by Ramming Speed. Also gain 2 Wood. Lose 3 Attack and 3 Strength.

Note: the rulebook prints this card name as "Safe Habour" in its prose and as "Safe Harbour" on the card. The card name is transcribed as printed on the card.

Note that it is never beneficial to play Hubris or Safe Harbour for their Combat Stats. They are simply there to counter an opponent who plays Skulduggery.

Upgrade Tiles

Fort Upgrade Tile Types

• These types always have 1 Speed on their left side, and something else on their right side.
• These types always have +1 Fleet Limit on their left side, and something else on their right.
• These types always have 1 Health on their left side, and nothing on their right side (all 9 are identical).
• Small Fort Upgrade Tiles always provide 2 Combat Stats or 1 additional Foundation benefit.

Fort Upgrade Tile Unique Effects

• Fleet Limit (+1 icon): Forts with this effect increase a player's Fleet Limit in each region with that Fort by 1. Each instance of this effect on a Fort's grid will increase the Fleet Limit by 1. Likewise, each Fort of that Class in a region will increase the Fleet Limit for each instance in the Fort's grid.
• Foundation modifier (x1 icon): Forts with this effect gain additional Foundation benefits when placed. For each Foundation modifier (this effect) in a Fort's grid, players gain the Foundation benefit once when placed. So, an Outpost with 3 of these when placed would gain 3x the Foundation benefit.
• Fortify Die reduction (die with red cross): Forts with this effect can be placed even if a player's Fortify Die is short by 1 pip. So, if a player's Fortify Die was 4, they could place a Stronghold in their "5" column if this effect was in their Stronghold grid. Each instance of this effect on a Fort's grid will decrease the required pips to place that Fort by 1.

Ship Upgrade Tile Types

• Stern types: always have 1 Speed and 1 Strength.
• Stern types: always have 2 Speed.
• Stern types: always have 1 Speed and 1 Shield.
• Hull types: always have 1 additional Health space.
• Hull types: always have 1 Mobility.
• Hull types: always have 1 Attack.
• Bow types: always have 1 Strength.
• Bow types: always have 1 Mobility.
• Bow types: always have 1 Attack.

Flipped Upgrade Tiles

• Flipping Sterns always provides 1 additional Shield.
• Flipping Hulls always provides 1 additional Strength.
• Flipping Bows always provides 1 additional Mobility.