Travel Blog
Travel Blog Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Your First Game
To play, you must first decide whether to use the map of Europe or the map of the United States. You can pick the map you know better, but it doesn't really matter. Players can do well even if they have only a rough idea of where the states are located.
Once you have your map, set up the game as illustrated on the setup page.
The game consists of seven rounds: three parts with two rounds each, plus one final round. The rules do not change much from one part to the next, so you can learn as you go. As soon as you have read the rules for the first two rounds, you can start playing. After round 2, you can read and explain the rules for part II. After round 4, you can read and explain the rules for part III. After round 6, you can read and explain the rules for the final round. The icons on your traveler card are designed to remind you of the rules for each round.
The player with the most money at the end of the game is the winner.
Note: Don't complicate things by trying to explain the entire game at once. Just make sure that everyone understands that, in each round, the goal is to save as much money as possible.
Setup
Traveler Card and Tokens
Each player gets one traveler card and two tokens in the same color. The traveler card has a rules overview on one side and a scoring overview on the other.
Note: The traveler card also helps remind forgetful players which color they are playing.
Game Board
Place the game board within easy reach of all players.
Note: Be kind and put the board closer to players with shorter arms.
Money
Put the money near the game board to make a bank.
Note: If you don't enjoy the anarchy of everyone grabbing for change out of a communal bank, you can choose one player to be the banker.
Map
Show everyone the map and note its special characteristics. In particular, note any states joined to others by links across the ocean. For purposes of this game, two states joined by an ocean link are considered to share a border. The back page of this book has other map-specific notes that you should read and explain before starting play.
Once the map has been explained, turn it face down so that no one can see it and set it off to one side. During play, the map is hidden.
Note: At this point, some players may panic. Attempt to soothe them. Remind them that they do not need a precise knowledge of the map to enjoy the game. In fact, the game becomes quite amusing when someone says something like, "South Dakota is over there? I thought it was in the South."
Markers
The 4 transparent markers should also be set off to one side. You will need the markers at the end of the round.
State Cards
Each map also has its own deck of state cards. Shuffle the cards for the chosen map and place them face down in front of any player. That player becomes the dealer for round 1.
Note: It doesn't matter much who deals, so we leave the choice of dealer up to the player who was so kind as to shuffle the cards.
Other Components
Return the other map and its deck of state cards to the box. You won't need them.
Note: Unless, at the end of the game, someone says, "That was great! Want to try the other map?"
State or Country?
When these rules refer to a state, it means one of the territories depicted on your map. On the USA map, you probably say these territories are "states"; on the Europe map, you might say they are "countries" or "nations". But the word "state" can also mean "sovereign nation" – for example, countries in the United Nations are called "UN member states". We plan to take advantage of this ambiguity by using the word "state" regardless of which map you choose to play on. After all, if we had to write "state (or country)" everywhere, it would look pretty silly.
Part I: Rounds 1 and 2
The travel season begins at the end of winter. Stipends are distributed and travelbloggers are invited to participate in the first two rounds of Project Boundless.
Stipend
At the beginning of round 1, each player receives 100 euros. This stipend covers the first two rounds of the game. You won't get any more money until the beginning of round 3.
Assignments
When all players are ready, the dealer begins the round. The game board should be turned so that the closest space to the dealer is the one marked 40. The dealer takes the deck and deals out 7 state cards, face up, starting with the space to the left of the one marked 40 and continuing clockwise around the game board.
Without delay, the dealer should then deal an eighth card (also face up) to the center of the game board. The card in the center is the starting state for the round. As soon as it is revealed, players may choose their destinations.
Note: Each round begins with the sponsors advertising assignments on the Project Boundless website. One state is the chief sponsor and gets to be the "starting state". Seven other sponsors offer their states as options for the travelbloggers of Project Boundless.
Choosing Destinations
As soon as the starting state is revealed, all players (including the dealer) can pick up one of their tokens and place it on any of the eight spaces around the edge of the game board. That is, you place your token either on one of the seven other state cards or on the 40 space.
Note: All the travelbloggers are invited to the starting state. From the available assignments, they can choose an additional place to visit.
- You cannot pick up your token until the last card is dealt. You can't even touch it. Just leave your tokens sitting next to your traveler card until the starting state is dealt.
- Once the starting state card hits the game board, everyone plays simultaneously. How fast you decide and place your token is up to you.
- You can choose a space that already has someone else's token on it. Just place your token on top of theirs. Tokens on the same space will make a stack, with the last player to choose that space on top and the first player on the bottom.
- In the first two rounds, you only use one of your tokens. The second token is for later rounds.
- Once you've placed your token, you can't change your mind. It stays on the space you chose.
Note: If everyone else has already chosen a space, the polite thing to do is to hurry up and pick one for yourself. Your fellow travelbloggers are probably eager to begin their journeys. Scoring is explained below. The rules governing Project Boundless stipends are designed to encourage you to travel a bit, but not too much.
Your goal is to choose the state that you can reach from the starting state (the one dealt to the middle of the game board) by crossing the fewest borders. However, you want to avoid states that share a border with the starting state.
You also want to decide as quickly as you can, because each time a token is added to a space, that space becomes less desirable.
Note: The best assignments are usually snapped up as soon as they are published on the Project Boundless website.
You can play your token on the space marked 40 to indicate that you don't want any of the seven assignments. This can be a good move if the other states are too far away, or if all the good options already have multiple tokens on them. It is possible for more than one player to choose the 40 space, and just as with any other space, you are at a disadvantage if you choose it after someone else has already placed a token there.
Note: Sometimes it is better to give back part of your stipend than to take an expensive assignment.
Don't forget that while you are deciding where to place your token, the map is hidden. No one is allowed to look at the map until all players have placed their tokens.
Variant: When playing with younger children who have no familiarity with the map, you can let them look at it during their first game. Kids learn fast, and soon they will be able to play the game with the map hidden. And they will become geography stars at school.
Scoring
When everyone has chosen a space, it is time to score. You need the map for this. Turn it face up and put it where everyone can see it.
Take one of the colored markers and put it on the starting state on the map. Next, choose a player (preferably someone whose token is at the top of a stack) and place a colorless marker on the map to mark the state that he or she chose.
Note: Some states are so small that the marker entirely covers them. Fortunately, the marker is transparent: Instead of seeing landmarks in the state, you can see the state in the land marker.
Now count up how much the player spends while making the trip from the starting state to the destination. The player in question should choose the path so that the journey costs as little as possible.
Note: To speed play, you can help the player find the best route. But it's not fair to try to trick your fellow travelbloggers by giving them bad advice.
The scoring rules are outlined on the back side of the traveler card:
- Each border crossing costs 10 euros. Traveling along one of the links across the ocean also counts as a border crossing. (-10)
Note: It doesn't matter how far you travel. What matters is how many borders you cross. Going from Azerbaijan to Norway is a lot cheaper than you might expect.
- If you choose a state that borders the starting state, you have to pay a penalty of 30 euros. Two states connected by an ocean link do border each other for the purposes of this game. (-30)
Note: You got your stipend so that you could see a bit of the world. If you don't feel like traveling much, you'll have to give some of your stipend back.
- You also pay a penalty of 10 euros for each token that was placed on that space before yours. (-10)
Note: Each state fully supports only the first traveler to pick the assignment. If you want to go there too, you will have to spend extra.
- If you picked the space marked 40, you don't go anywhere. You just pay the indicated price of 40 euros, in addition to the 10-euro penalty for each token that was placed on that space before yours.
Note: Do you want to enjoy the starting state instead of travelling? Okay. But return the money.
Pay the cost to the bank. If you don't have enough money to pay the entire cost, just give the bank all the money you have.
Once your choice has been scored, you can take back your token. Players with tokens on top of the stacks should be scored first, so that you can easily remember that they have to pay penalties for choosing later than others. Once all players have been scored, the round is over.
Example
France is the starting state. The players have chosen their spaces as illustrated. Now it is time to consult the map and score their choices.
Red has chosen the United Kingdom. The ocean link from France to the United Kingdom counts as 1 border crossing for 10 euros. Because of the link, France and the United Kingdom border each other, which gives Red a penalty of 30 euros. In total, Red must pay 40 euros to the bank.
Yellow, Blue, and Purple all chose Hungary, which can be reached by crossing 3 borders. The trip costs 30 euros, but those who chose it later will have to pay penalties. Purple pays 50 euros (30 for the trip and 10 for each token below hers) and picks up her token. Blue pays 40 euros (only one token is below hers) and picks up his token. Finally, Yellow pays 30 euros.
Note: One good assignment was overlooked. Greece looks like it is far from France, but by going through Italy and Malta, one can make the trip with only 3 border crossings.
Choosing the space marked 40 costs 40 euros, but there are no borders to cross. White pays 50 euros (40, plus a 10-euro penalty for choosing the space after Green) and Green pays 40 euros.
End of the Round
Once all players have paid up, the round is over. If you like, you can look up the starting state in the Factsheets included with this game and learn something about it. In particular, you can learn what is depicted on the card.
Note: Take a little knowledge as a memento of your trip!
At the end of the round, turn the map face down again. Remove the face-up state cards from the game board and set them off to one side. (Leave them face up so you don't confuse the discard pile with the deck.) You will not need them again until round 7.
The dealer should pass the deck to the player on his or her left. That player will be the new dealer for the new round.
Round 2 follows the same rules as round 1. Note, however, that you get no extra money. You play round 2 with the money you have left over from round 1. If you have any money left at the end of round 2, good for you: You get to keep it for use in later rounds.
Note: Of course, you might end round 2 with nothing. Don't worry. At least you can be satisfied that you made good use of your stipend.
Once you have read this far, you can play round 1 and round 2.
Part II: Rounds 3 and 4
Spring bursts into bloom, and so does the second phase of Project Boundless (rounds 3 and 4). The stipends are bigger, but the assignments are longer.
Stipend
Before round 3, each player receives a stipend of 200 euros. Add this to any euros you have left over from rounds 1 and 2. This money will be used for rounds 3 and 4.
Assignments
Cards are dealt the same as in rounds 1 and 2.
Choosing Destinations
This time you have to choose two different destinations, which you indicate by placing your tokens on the spaces of the game board. Your trip will begin in the starting state and visit the other two states you have chosen. As before, you want few border crossings, but you don't want to choose states that border each other or the starting state.
Note: Don't forget that until the dealer deals the last card, both of your tokens must remain on the table.
- You use only one hand to place your tokens, and you must place them one at a time. You cannot pick up the second until you have placed the first.
- Once you have placed a token, you cannot change your mind. It stays where you put it.
- You can't put both tokens on the same space.
- Play ends when all players have placed both tokens.
Note: So you either choose two states, or one state and the space marked 40.
Scoring
To score, you will need one colored marker (to indicate the starting state) and two colorless markers (to indicate the states chosen by the player).
Note: Start with the players whose tokens are not below anyone else's. If that is not possible, you can score a player who has one token covered, but do not remove the covered token from its stack.
Your path starts in the starting state and visits each of the chosen states. During scoring you decide which of your chosen states to visit first. (So you can pick the route that costs the least.)
Costs are the same as in Part I, with the following clarifications:
- If you chose two states that border each other, you pay a penalty of 30 euros.
- For each state that borders the starting state, you pay a penalty of 30 euros.
Note: So it is possible to have a 90-euro penalty for states that share borders.
These penalties apply regardless of your chosen path. The penalty is for states that border each other, not for choosing a path that crosses from one to the other.
- If you choose the space marked 40, you only plan a path from the starting state to the state indicated by your other token. The cost for choosing the 40 space is 40 euros.
Example
The starting state is France. Blue has chosen the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. This will cost her 80 euros: 20 euros for the two border crossings, and a 60-euro penalty because the United Kingdom borders France and the Netherlands. Blue cannot avoid the penalty by traveling a longer route (for example, from France to Germany to the Netherlands to Belgium to the United Kingdom).
Note, however, that this is still better than choosing the United Kingdom and Belgium. That would have a penalty of 90 euros, for a total cost of 110.
Once you have read this far, you can play round 3 and round 4.
Part III: Rounds 5 and 6
Summer is the peak season for travel. You and your fellow travelbloggers set out on long treks across the continent.
Stipend
Before round 5, each player receives 300 euros. Add this to any money you have left over from the first four rounds.
Assignments
Cards are dealt as before, except that 2 cards are dealt to the center of the game board. These represent the states where you must start and end your trip. (It doesn't matter which is which. The trip costs the same either way.) In all, 9 cards are dealt: First, 7 around the edge of the game board; and then, 2 to the center.
The 2 cards should be dealt to the center at the same time, if the dealer can manage it. No one should have time to look at one of them before the second one is revealed.
Choosing Destinations
You choose your destinations as in rounds 3 and 4, by placing your tokens on two different spaces of the game board.
This time you will travel from one of the states in the center of the game board to the other, and your path will go through the two states that you chose. As before, you want few border crossings, but you don't want to choose states that border each other.
Scoring
Scoring is the same as in rounds 3 and 4. Use the colored markers to mark the start and finish of the trip, and use the clear markers to indicate the states chosen by the player being scored.
You can start in either of the two states shown in the center of the game board. It doesn't make a difference. Pick a path from one to the other that goes through both of your chosen states. You get to choose which of your chosen states to visit first (and sometimes this does matter) and as always, you choose the path that costs the least. Costs are calculated as before:
- You pay a penalty of 30 euros for each pair of states that border each other, except that there is no 30-euro penalty for the case in which the start and end states border each other. See the example.
Note: It is theoretically possible to get a penalty of 150 euros for choosing states that border other marked states.
- If you choose the space marked 40, your path goes from the start state to the end state through the single state that you chose. Don't forget to pay the 40-euro penalty for choosing this space.
Once you have read this far, you can play round 5 and round 6.
Final Round
The autumn travel season is a reward for your hard work. You get to plan the trip of your dreams, and Project Boundless will give you the money for it. Needless to say, travelbloggers try to travel as far as they can.
The seventh round is the last round. You get no stipend before round 7, but don't worry: You won't have to pay for your travel. You will plan a long trip and receive money from the bank instead of spending it.
Round 7 Assignments
The deck should have enough state cards to cover the first six rounds. (If you ran short, check to see if any got left in the box.) At the end of round 6, the new dealer should take all the state cards and shuffle them thoroughly. In round 7, any state can appear.
The cards are dealt as in rounds five and six: 7 cards to the spaces around the edge and then 2 to the center. As before, the cards in the center are the beginning and the end of your journey.
Choosing Destinations
You indicate your chosen states the same as before, by placing your tokens on two different spaces. Your path will go through these two states.
This time, you do not want the cheapest trip. You try to place your tokens so that the trip will cost as much as possible. Instead of paying for this trip, your will be receiving money from the bank.
Note: So you are trying to choose destinations that make the cheapest path very expensive. The other players will choose your path and the order in which you visit your chosen states.
Scoring
Use the two colored markers to indicate the start and end states, and then, for each player, use the colorless markers to indicate the player's chosen states.
As before, you will be looking for a path from the start to the end that goes through the two chosen states. This time, however, the path is chosen not by the player being scored, but by everyone else. In other words, you still have to travel via the path that costs the least.
Costs are calculated as follows:
- You get 10 euros for each border you must cross.
- You get 30 euros for each pair of marked states that border each other. (Except that you get no money for the case when the start and end state border each other.)
- You get 40 euros if you chose the space marked 40.
- However, you still have to pay 10 euros for each token beneath one of yours.
Note: It's never an advantage to be slower than the others.
Game End
The game ends after round 7. Add up your money (anything you had left over from the first six rounds, plus the money you got in round 7).
Whoever has the most money wins. If multiple players are tied for the most, then they all win.
Note: Really, though, it's a game about traveling. Everyone who enjoyed the trip is a winner.
Challenging Variant for Two or Three Players
Two- and three-player games are simpler. With fewer players, there is less competition for assignments, which makes a two- or three-player game good for those who need a little extra time to choose their destinations. For those who need a challenge, however, there is this variant.
To make a two- or three-player game more challenging, each player can play two colors. Take two traveler boards and the four tokens that go with them.
Stipend
You receive twice the usual stipend: 200 euros before round one, 400 euros before round three, and 600 euros before round five.
Note: Your doubled stipend is shared between your two travelers.
Choosing Destinations
You play both colors at once. As usual, you can only place one token at a time and you can only use one hand. You decide the order in which you place your tokens.
Each color must have a different assignment. In rounds 1 and 2, you place one token of each color. They must go on two different spaces.
Note: It is legal to play two tokens, one of each color, on the same space. But if you do, then the other two tokens must be on two different spaces.
In rounds 3 to 7, you place all four tokens. You cannot pick the same pair of destinations for both pairs of tokens.
Scoring
Score each color separately. The 10-euro penalty for each token under one of yours applies even if that earlier token is also one of yours.
Both colors pay from the same fund.
Note: This means that it is possible, for example, that one color will spend more than 100 euros in Part I.
Correcting Mistakes
If you accidentally chose the same pair of spaces for both colors, you must do the following:
- In rounds 1 and 2, if both your tokens are on the same space, you must remove your lower token from the stack and place it on a different space.
- This is also the way you fix the mistake of playing two tokens of the same color on the same space (which can happen even in the standard version of the game).
- In rounds 3 to 7, if you chose the same destinations for both your colors, you must remove your lower token from each of the two stacks and then place those tokens on the board legally.
Note: One of the two removed tokens can be put back on the space it came from (on top of the stack, this time). But the other will have to be put elsewhere.
Map Notes
Europe
The map has several ocean links. It is important that players become familiar with them before the game begins. We have included connections that link islands to one, two, or three nearby states, regardless of actual commercial passenger traffic.
- For example, Poland does not border Sweden, Denmark does not border Norway, and Italy does not border Spain, even though you might be able to find ocean liners linking these states.
If two states share a very short length of border, we have adjusted the map to make the border more obvious. Please note:
- Croatia borders Montenegro, but not Italy.
- Liechtenstein borders Austria and Switzerland, but not Italy or Germany.
- Monaco borders only France. It does not border Italy.
A state with islands is considered to be one contiguous state:
- Denmark borders Sweden (via the Öresund Bridge).
- Greece borders Turkey and Malta.
- The United Kingdom borders Ireland (because Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom).
Russia is a special case:
- You can find a little piece of Russia (the Kaliningrad Oblast) between Poland and Latvia. When choosing a path, these two parts act like separate states. If you cross a border into one part of Russia, your next border crossing must leave the same part of Russia.
- If Russia is marked as the start state, the end state, or one of your chosen destinations, either part of Russia counts as Russia.
- When calculating penalties for states that border each other, Russia is considered to border all the states that border either part, regardless of which part you choose to visit.
Example: In round 1, the starting state is Poland. Blue chooses Russia. The trip costs 40 euros: 10 euros for crossing from Poland to the smaller part of Russia and a 30-euro penalty because the two states border each other. A trip from Poland to Belarus to the main part of Russia would cost 50 euros: 20 euros for crossing two borders plus the same 30-euro penalty. Russia borders Poland regardless of which part Blue chooses to visit.
Red chooses Finland. The trip costs 30 euros. Red can go through Latvia and Lithuania or through Belarus and the main part of Russia. A path from Poland to Russia to Finland is not possible because Finland and Poland do not border the same part of Russia.
The same applies for Azerbaijan – its smaller part borders Turkey, but not Russia. Its bigger part borders Russia, but not Turkey.
Some states can only be reached from one other state. That means your path might have to visit the same state twice:
Example: In round 3, the starting state is Italy. Blue chose Monaco and Spain. The trip costs 40 euros: Italy to France to Monaco to France to Spain. He could visit the states in the opposite order, but the cost would be the same (Italy to France to Spain to France to Monaco).
USA
The map of the USA appears more straightforward, but there are a few things to watch out for:
- For the purposes of this game, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico all border each other at Four Corners. Thus it is possible to go directly from Utah to New Mexico or from Arizona to Colorado.
- The map has only two ocean links: from Alaska to Washington and from Hawaii to California. All other states have mainland boundaries.
- The two parts of Michigan are treated as one state. Michigan borders Wisconsin, but not Minnesota.
- Connecticut does not border New Jersey.
- Maine does not border Massachusetts.