Trails of Tucana
Trails of Tucana Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Overview
In TRAILS OF TUCANA, each player is given a map showing villages, sights and various terrains. Every turn, two terrain cards are revealed. All players draw a trail between those two terrains somewhere on their own map. You score points by connecting matching villages and by connecting sights to villages. The game ends when the deck of terrain cards has run out twice, and whoever has the most points wins the game.
Components
- 8 Pencils
- 13 Set-up Cards
- 27 Terrain Cards
- 10 Blue Bonus Cards
- 5 Red Bonus Cards (only used in Variant: Special Bonus, see page 7)
- 1 Scoring Pad
Terrain Card Distribution
| Count | Terrain |
|---|---|
| 8 x | Desert |
| 7 x | Forest |
| 6 x | Mountain |
| 4 x | Water |
| 2 x | Any terrain |
The Scoring Sheet
Each sheet of the Scoring Pad has a front side (Isla Petit) and a back side (Isla Grande). The Isla Grande side is only used in Variant: Isla Grande (see page 7).
Each side of the sheet shows:
- Card distribution — a reminder of how many cards of each terrain are in the deck.
- The island map — a grid of terrain spaces containing ten villages (each with a numbered circle beside it) and the sights.
- Sight Scoring Box — the score values for connecting sights to villages.
- Village Scoring Box — the score values for connecting pairs of villages.
- Bonus Scoring Box — empty spaces for writing down bonus points.
- Final Scoring Box — spaces "I" and "II" (and "III" on Isla Grande) for the sight scores, plus the lines for the final total.
Sight Scoring Box (Isla Petit):
| Sight | First connected | Second connected |
|---|---|---|
| Obelisk | 1 | 2 + bonus trail segment |
| Book | 2 | 2 + bonus trail segment |
| Toucan | 2 | 3 + bonus trail segment |
| Yeti | 3 | 4 + bonus trail segment |
| Sea monster | 4 | 5 + bonus trail segment |
Village Scoring Box (Isla Petit):
| Pair of villages | Points |
|---|---|
| A - A | 14 |
| B - B | 13 |
| C - C | 12 |
| D - D | 11 |
| E - E | 10 |
Preparations
-
Return the Red Bonus Cards to the box (only used in Variant: Special Bonus).
-
Each player takes one Pencil and one sheet from the Scoring Pad, which is placed in front of the player with the Isla Petit side facing up.
-
One player is appointed Mayor. This player will draw and reveal terrain cards throughout the game.
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The Mayor shuffles the Terrain Cards and makes a deck in front of him-/herself with the terrain sides facing down.
-
The Mayor then shuffles the Set-up Cards, and draws one card that is put face up in the middle of the table.
The Mayor loudly announces all ten letters on the card – one by one – starting with the letter on top and continuing clockwise.
All players write these letters in the circles next to the villages. To make sure each player gets a unique village layout, the Mayor starts with village 1 (indicated by the small number), while the second player (sitting to the left) starts with village 2, the third player with village 3, and so on. Write the letters, one by one, going clockwise around the island until you have written down all ten letters.
Then, return all Set-Up Cards to the box.
-
Depending on the number of players, place the following Blue Bonus Cards face up in the middle of table and separate the cards by letters (A-A, B-B, and so on):
-
2-4 players: Use all cards marked "#1" in the upper-right corner. Return all cards marked "#2" to the game box.
-
5-8 players: Use all cards. Put the cards in five stacks of matching letters, with the cards marked "#1" on top.
-
Blue Bonus Card Values
| Pair of villages | Card "#1" | Card "#2" |
|---|---|---|
| A - A | 3 | 2 |
| B - B | 4 | 2 |
| C - C | 5 | 3 |
| D - D | 6 | 4 |
| E - E | 7 | 5 |
Setting up the villages
The Mayor starts reading the letters: "D, C, E, A ..."
All players write the ten letters in their villages, going clockwise around their island.
Mayor starts in village 1. 2nd player starts in village 2. The Mayor (first player) ends up with D in village 1, C in village 2, E in village 3, A in village 4, and so on. The second player, who starts one village later, ends up with D in village 2, C in village 3, E in village 4, and so on — the letters that wrap past the last village are written in the villages before the starting one (so village 1 holds the tenth letter, B).
How to Play
-
The Mayor takes the top two terrain cards from the deck and puts them face up in the middle of the table. Then, the Mayor loudly announces the shown terrains (the two terrains may be the same). Example: "Desert and Water!"
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Each player simultaneously draws one trail:
-
The trail segment must be drawn from center to center between two adjacent spaces that match the two drawn terrain cards. The trail segment may, but does not have to, connect to previously drawn trail segments.
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If a card shows Any terrain, each player decides for themselves which terrain they want this card to represent.
-
After all players are done, the turn is over. Then, start the next turn by repeating step 1 and 2. In each turn, cover up the cards from previous turns. Continue like this until there is only one card left in the deck (see Round End).
Rare case: If there are no remaining connections on your map for the current combination of terrains, you do not draw a trail.
Examples: Desert + Water — a trail may be drawn between a desert space and an adjacent water space, but not between two desert spaces. Forest + Forest — the trail is drawn between two adjacent forest spaces. Any terrain + Water — the "Any terrain" card is used as a mountain, and the trail is drawn between a mountain space and an adjacent water space.
Connecting Sights to Villages
Whenever a player connects a sight (obelisk, book, toucan, yeti or sea monster) to any of the ten villages, the player draws a circle around the left score value for this sight in the Sight Scoring Box.
Whenever a player connects the second sight of the same type to any village, he/she circles the right score value and immediately (in the same turn) draws one bonus trail segment anywhere on their sheet between any two adjacent spaces (of any terrain).
Adam connects an obelisk to a village and circles the 1.
In a later turn, Adam connects the other obelisk to a village. He circles the other score value and immediately draws a bonus trail segment anywhere on his sheet. He chooses to draw the segment between two adjacent mountain spaces.
Note: A player may connect a sight to ANY village, even if another sight (of same or different type) has already been connected to that village. If a trail segment triggers several sights to score at the same time, score the connected sights in any order.
Chain reaction: If a bonus trail segment connects the second sight of yet another type, the player immediately draws another bonus trail segment. A chain reaction may occur several times during a player's turn.
Connecting Villages
Whenever a player connects two villages with the same letter ("a pair of villages"), he/she circles the score value of this letter in the Village Scoring Box. A player can only score each pair of villages once.
Mary has connected villages D to D and scores 11 points.
Blue Bonus Cards: The first player to connect a specific pair of villages, also receives the bonus points shown on the corresponding bonus card. Write down the bonus points in an empty space in the Bonus Scoring Box. The bonus card is then discarded. If more than one player connects the same pair of villages during the same turn, all tied players get the bonus.
In a game with 5-8 players, there are 2 bonus cards of each letter. The first time someone connects a certain pair of villages, they score the value shown on the top card. This card is then discarded. The next time someone connects the same pair of villages, they score the points shown on the bottom card. Then, this card is also discarded.
Note: When there are no more bonus cards of a certain letter, other players can no longer score bonus points for this pair of villages (but they still score normal points for connecting this pair).
Both Mary and David connect D to D in the same turn. Therefore, they both score 6 bonus points. Then, the top bonus card is discarded.
In a later turn, Alice connects D to D. She scores 4 points and discards the last bonus card.
Round End
The round ends when there is only one card left in the deck. The leftover card is not used.
All players now add together all circled values for their sights and write this sum in the first space ("I") in the Final Scoring Box.
All terrain cards are then shuffled (including the leftover card), and the second round begins.
Note: Sights are scored twice, at the end of round 1 and 2, while points for connected villages and bonuses are only counted at the end of the game.
After the second round, all circled values for sights are added together again, and the new sum is written in space "II" in the Final Scoring Box.
Note: Sights that you manage to connect to a village during the first round will be worth more, as they are scored twice.
Example: After round 1, Alice has connected sights with a total value of 10. She writes this number in the "I" score box. These sights will be scored again at the end of round 2.
Game End
The game ends after the second round (after the deck has run out a second time) and all sights have been scored again.
All players sum up their points and write down their scores in the Final Scoring Box:
- Total points for sights (after round 1 and 2)
- + Total points for connected villages
- + Total points for bonuses
- = Final Score
The player with the highest final score wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player with most points from bonuses wins. If it's still a tie, the victory is shared.
Example: Alice scored 10 for sights after round 1. During round 2, she has connected some more sights, and at the end of the round, she scores an additional 22 points. During the game, she connected villages A-A, B-B and D-D. Her total score for villages is 38. She scored 8 bonus points. Her total score is 78.
| Final Scoring Box | |
|---|---|
| I — Sights after Round 1 | 10 |
| II — Sights after Round 2 | 22 |
| Villages | 38 |
| Bonuses | 8 |
| = Final Score | 78 |
Variant: Isla Grande
Play as described above with the following exceptions:
-
Each player uses the Isla Grande side of their map sheet.
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Play 3 rounds instead of 2. After each of the 3 rounds, score all sights you have collected so far. After round 3, write the sight score in space "III" of the Final Scoring Box.
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There are 3 sights of each type on the sheet (instead of 2). When you connect a sight to a village, circle the leftmost available number for this sight in the Sight Scoring Box.
-
You only get to draw a bonus trail segment when the 3rd sight of the same type is connected to a village.
Sight Scoring Box (Isla Grande):
| Sight | First connected | Second connected | Third connected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obelisk | 1 | 2 | 2 + bonus trail segment |
| Book | 2 | 2 | 3 + bonus trail segment |
| Toucan | 2 | 3 | 3 + bonus trail segment |
| Yeti | 3 | 4 | 4 + bonus trail segment |
| Sea monster | 4 | 5 | 5 + bonus trail segment |
Village Scoring Box (Isla Grande):
| Pair of villages | Points |
|---|---|
| A - A | 20 |
| B - B | 19 |
| C - C | 18 |
| D - D | 17 |
| E - E | 16 |
Mary has connected the 3rd yeti to a village. She immediately draws a bonus trail anywhere on her map.
Mary scored 8 points for sights in round 1; 24 in round 2, and 33 in round 3.
Variant: Special Bonus
Play as described above with the following exceptions:
-
During Preparations, shuffle the Red Bonus Cards separately. Depending on the number of players, draw a number of random cards from this deck and place them face up beside the Blue Bonus Cards:
-
2-4 player game: Draw 1 Red Bonus Card
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5-8 player game: Draw 2 Red Bonus Cards
-
-
The first player(s) to make a connection between two of the shown sights score the shown bonus points. Write down these bonus points in a Bonus Scoring Box. Then the card is discarded.
In the same turn, Alice and Adam both manage to connect a yeti to another yeti. They both score 6 bonus points. Then, the bonus card is discarded.
More Set-up Options
If you want more variation in the set-up, here are some optional rules:
Random Starting Village: Before revealing the Set-Up Card, the Mayor announces a random number from 1-10. The Mayor must write the first letter in the village of the announced number. Other players start writing in the following villages going clockwise. Example: The Mayor starts in village 4, the second player in village 5, and so on.
Counter-Clockwise: Write the village letters going counter-clockwise around the island (still read the letters clockwise on the set-up card).
Symmetry: If you prefer a 100% symmetric game, each player writes the letters in the exact same villages.
Solo Game
To play the game solo, follow the standard rules but with the following changes:
-
During Preparations, use only the Blue Bonus Cards marked "#2". Return bonus cards marked "#1" to the box.
-
When connecting a pair of villages, you score bonus points as long as the corresponding bonus card is present. However, after round 1 when using Isla Petit, or after round 2 when using Isla Grande, shuffle all Blue Bonus Cards that are remaining on the table. Draw 2 of these cards and place them face up in the middle of the table, and return any remaining cards to the game box. In the last round, there will only be 2 bonus cards in play.
Rare case: If you have completed at least 3 bonus cards before the last round, any remaining cards will remain in play (they are not shuffled, and no cards are removed).
- Try to get as high score as possible. Use the table below to see how successful you were. You may also use this table in a multiplayer game, but scores may vary with the number of players.
| Achievement | Isla Petit | Isla Grande |
|---|---|---|
| You're better than a yeti, at least | 50+ | 110+ |
| You get a day off on the beach | 60+ | 125+ |
| Dinner at the Mayor's house | 70+ | 140+ |
| Your name is engraved on the obelisk | 80+ | 155+ |
| Even the sea monsters are shocked | 90+ | 170+ |
| Too good for Tucana | 100+ | 185+ |
Credits
Aporta Games would like to thank all play testers, especially: Lin Heidi Isaksen, Åsmund Svensson, Geir André Wahlqvist, Aleksander Lindahl Kronstad, Fridtjof Buvarp, Kristian Elvsveen, Inger Johanne Berg, Kjetil Svendsen, Sturla Johansen, Helene Forberg, Özger Kocdemir, Solfrid Nordmark, Helge Meissner, Anna Wermlund and Håvard Wilsgaard.
Game design: Eilif Svensson & Kristian A. Østby.
Artwork and graphic design: Gjermund Bohne.
Published by: Aporta Games AS, Hermanbakken 19, 3050 Mjøndalen, Norway.
©2019. Aporta Games, Eilif Svensson, Kristian A. Østby