Zagor: Odissea Americana Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Goal
• Contents
• Setup
• Wounded Characters and Steamboat Damage
• Gameplay
  • 1. Rolling the Action Dice
  • 2. Player Actions
    • Equipment
    • Possible Actions
    • Movement and Attack
    • Encounters in Unexplored Areas
    • Movement on the Steamboat
    • Combat
    • Rewards
    • Attacks by Zagor and Cico
    • Special Power
    • Hold Tokens
• Events
• End of Game
• Final Scoring
• Appendix
  • Character Powers
  • Event Cards
  • Enemies (Optional Rules)

Game Goal

Zagor - Odissea Americana is an adventure that combines a competitive aspect with a cooperative one. The players must defend the steamboat Athena and allow it to reach the Fort, to avoid dying on the mission and losing as a group. If the Athena completes its route, the player who has accumulated the greatest number of Victory Points wins. If, on the other hand, it sinks during the route, all the players will have lost!

Contents

• 1 game board (with the steamboat)
• 5 player boards
• 1 Zagor board
• 1 Cico board
• 1 steamboat marker, to be inserted in the blue plastic base
• 5 character markers, each to be inserted in a yellow plastic base
• 1 Zagor marker, to be inserted in the red plastic base
• 1 Cico marker, to be inserted in the green plastic base
• 6 Hull markers
• 1 Helmsman marker
• 21 Balloon markers
• 3 Bocce markers
• 20 Hold tokens
• 7 Stone Pinnacle markers, to be inserted in the transparent bases
• 2 Volcano markers, to be inserted in the transparent bases
• 20 Scar markers
• 5 Score markers
• 25 Reinforcement cards
• 12 Poem cards
• 30 Treasure cards
• 36 Object cards
• 36 Event cards
• 5 Summary cards
• 22 Beach encounter tiles
• 22 Forest encounter tiles
• 17 River Danger tiles
• 14 Monkey tiles

Variant "Enemies" components (used only when playing with the Enemies variant, see p. 15):

• 5 Enemy cards
• 5 Eagle cards
• 3 Black River Beast cards
• 6 Enemy tiles

Setup

1. Place the game board in the centre of the table.
2. Place the Hull markers on the corresponding spaces of the steamboat, on the "Navigation" side, following the indications printed on the side of the steamboat.
3. Shuffle the Hold tokens and place them face down next to the board. Draw three at random and place them face up on the corresponding spaces of the steamboat.
4. Each player takes a character board at random, or chooses one from Moreland, Bannington, Walter, Frisco Kid and Tattoo, and places the corresponding character marker on the Bridge together with Zagor and Cico. The player who has Bannington takes the three Bocce and places them next to their board with the coloured side face up.
5. Shuffle the Reinforcement, Object, Treasure and Event decks separately and place them face down in their respective spaces on the board.
6. Take the Balloon markers of all characters (including Zagor and Cico) and place them on the corresponding spaces of their respective boards, on the "Healthy" side (the one with the footprints).
7. Each player randomly draws three Object cards (two for Tattoo) and places them face up in the spaces of their board. Each player also takes a Summary card as a reference during play.
8. If Moreland is in play, the player who controls him takes the Helmsman marker; otherwise it is assigned at random.
9. Place the Scars and Score markers inside the Fort. Place the Monkeys and their Chief, the Pinnacles and the Volcanos next to the board. Keep the Attack die within reach.
10. Shuffle the Poem cards separately according to the reason on their back, and draw one at random from each pile. Reveal the two chosen cards and place them beside the board: they determine how Victory Points are obtained in the current game. Return the remaining Poem cards to the box.
11. Shuffle the Beach encounter tiles and place one face down on each Beach space of the board, without looking at them. Do the same with the Forest encounter tiles on every forest space of the board (including the two islands in the middle of the river).
12. Take one Player Action die (yellow) for each Balloon present on the player boards and place them next to the board. Return any excess dice to the box.

Wounded Characters and Steamboat Damage

During play, both the players' characters and Zagor and Cico can be hit and suffer wounds. The Balloons on the boards show the health of the characters. Each Balloon has two sides: the one with footprints ("Healthy") and the one with the exclamation of dismay ("Wounded").

When a player suffers a wound, the player turns the leftmost "Healthy" Balloon to its "Wounded" side. If a wound is healed, the rightmost "Wounded" Balloon is turned back to its "Healthy" side. If a character turns the last Balloon to its "Wounded" side, they faint and automatically return to the Bridge of the steamboat to recover (Zagor and Cico included). In this case, move the character marker to the Bridge and turn all their Balloons back to the "Healthy" side. Then take a Scar (worth -2 points at the end of the game) and place it on the corresponding space of your board. Take a Scar also if, as a result of one of your actions, Zagor and Cico receive the last wound.

WARNING: IF ZAGOR OR CICO TAKE THE LAST WOUND BECAUSE OF AN EVENT OR FOR A REASON NOT ATTRIBUTABLE TO A PLAYER'S ACTION, IT IS THE HELMSMAN WHO TAKES A SCAR!

The steamboat Athena can also take damage. This is tracked with the Hull markers, which are all initially on the "Navigation" side (the one with the steamboat icon). When the steamboat takes damage, turn the leftmost Hull marker on its "Navigation" side over to the "CRASH" side. When damage to the steamboat is repaired, turn the rightmost "CRASH" marker back to the "Navigation" side. If all the Hull markers are on the "CRASH" side, the steamboat is destroyed and the game ends in defeat for all players!

Gameplay

Each round of play consists of the following phases, to be carried out in order:

1. Rolling the Action Dice
2. Player Actions
3. Activation of Special Events
4. Movement of the Athena and Resolution of River Dangers

1. Rolling the Action Dice

Take one Player Action die (yellow) for each Balloon of the players' characters turned to its "Healthy" side. Similarly, take one Zagor Action die (red) for each healthy Balloon of Zagor and one Cico Action die (green) for each healthy Balloon of Cico. The Helmsman then rolls all these dice together and places them in the three sections of the board marked with the same symbol as the results obtained.

Note: before rolling the dice, remember to turn face up again the Object cards that are face down on the players' boards (see the Equipment box).

Example: the characters in play are Moreland and Tattoo. Moreland has received 2 wounds, while Tattoo is in perfect health. Zagor has also received 2 wounds, while Cico has suffered 1. The Helmsman will therefore roll 3 Player dice (1 for Moreland and 2 for Tattoo), 2 Zagor dice and 2 Cico dice.

2. Player Actions

Starting with the Helmsman, each player chooses any one of the available Action dice, carries out the action shown, and then removes the die from the board. The turn then passes to the next player in clockwise order.

Each Action die produces an effect on the character with which it is associated: a yellow die activates the character of the player who chose it, a red die activates Zagor, and a green die activates Cico.

When there are no more Action dice available, the Actions phase ends.

Equipment

All player characters have three spaces to equip Objects or Treasures on their boards (Tattoo has only two). When a player takes an Object or a Treasure, they must equip it in one space on their board or discard it. Objects are equipped face up and are visible to the other players. Treasures are always equipped face down, because only the player who collects them knows their value.

It is possible to equip two Objects of the same type.

• Some Objects show the "DISCARD" symbol. You may discard such Objects at any time during your turn, or apply the effect described below the symbol.
• Some Objects show the "COVER" symbol. You may use their effect only once per round: when you do, turn such an Object face down. Remember to turn it face up again at the start of the following round, before the Action dice are rolled.
• The Bow and the Axe show the die symbol: roll the Attack die to determine the effect of the weapon.

A player who has no space to equip one or more Objects or Treasures that they have drawn may always decide to replace their equipment, discarding the face-up Objects in the dedicated space of the steamboat's Galley (Cambusa). If a player is forced to discard a Treasure, they discard it face down in the relevant space of the Galley. Unless otherwise specified, it is never possible to voluntarily discard equipment without replacing it with another piece. If the Object deck runs out, shuffle the discards to form a new deck.

Whenever the rules refer to "Equipment", they mean both Objects and Treasures.

Possible Actions

Resupply: If the player's character is wounded, that is, has one or more Balloons turned to the "wounded" side, the player controlling that character can use this action to heal it by turning back over the rightmost wounded Balloon, and in addition draw one Object from the deck. It is possible to heal a character even if all of their Balloons are already on the footprints ("Healthy") side; in that case the player only draws the Object.

Example: Claudia controls Frisco Kid. She has suffered two wounds and has equipped two Objects and one Treasure. With the Resupply Action die, Claudia heals the rightmost wound on her board and draws an Object. The drawn Object is not to her liking, so she discards it face up in the dedicated space of the steamboat.

Movement and Attack

Movement and attack: The player moves their character, Zagor or Cico (depending on the colour of the die), a number of adjacent spaces equal to or less than the number of footprints visible on the leftmost "Healthy" Balloon of that character. It is also possible to remain on one's own space.

Attention: the black arrows printed on the board do not direct characters. They are used only for the movement of the Monkeys and for the Event card "The Infernal Fog" (see Activation of Special Events and the Appendix).

River spaces can be crossed but not ended on, except for the space holding the steamboat: in that case the character boards the steamboat (see the box "Movement on the Steamboat"). The red borders of the spaces are cracks that cannot be crossed, forming true barriers; spaces separated by a red border are nevertheless considered adjacent for all other game effects. Characters may voluntarily enter the Monkeys' camps. Characters cannot enter or pass through the Fort, the Red Rocky Mountains, or the three dice areas (the Indian camp, the Indian clearing, and the trading post).

Example: Moreland has a wound, so on his leftmost "Healthy" Balloon there are 2 footprints visible: he can move up to 2 spaces. With his movement he can reach the highlighted spaces, avoiding the barriers. He may also cross the river to reach the beach on the other bank, or board the Athena.

Example: on their turn, Andrea chooses a Zagor "Movement and attack" Action die and moves Zagor onto a space where a Monkey and a face-down encounter tile are present. Andrea reveals the tile, which is a Trap with a surprise effect: "take a Scar". Andrea places the Scar marker on her character's board, then chooses whether Zagor will disarm the Trap or face the Monkey.

Encounters in Unexplored Areas

Encounters can be met on Beach and Forest spaces; those in the forest are generally stronger than those on the beach. Encounters are classified by the symbol shown at the top left: Humans, Animals or Places. The three types of tile differ in the effect that weapons have against them, and they can provide Victory Points at the end of the game according to the Poem cards in play (see "Final Scoring"). To collect these tiles, you must defeat the opponent with your character, with Zagor or with Cico.

If a character ends its movement on a space with a face-down Encounter tile, the player reveals the tile and resolves its surprise effect (shown at the bottom left of the tile). The player then faces the encounter, or faces one of their choice if two or more are present on the space (not necessarily the one just revealed).

There are three types of surprise effect:

• The character must discard one of their Objects or Treasures. If they have none, nothing happens. Zagor and Cico never suffer this surprise effect.
• The character suffers a wound (see the box "Wounded Characters and Steamboat Damage").
• The player takes a Scar marker and places it on their board.

Surprise effects activate only as soon as the tile is revealed, and only affect the character that triggered it. If a character ends its movement on a space where an Encounter has already been revealed, its surprise effect does NOT apply.

Movement on the Steamboat

If a character ends its movement on the steamboat, it boards and may choose which position on the steamboat to enter from among the following:

• Bridge (Ponte): A character who enters this zone heals all its wounds, turning all its Balloons back to the "Healthy" (footprints) side. When a character takes its last wound and faints, it ends up in this zone (see the box "Wounded Characters and Steamboat Damage"). Note: when Zagor and Cico return to the steamboat, they may occupy only the Bridge.
• Helmsman (Timoniere): The player takes the Helmsman marker, then chooses whether to equip an Object of their choice from the Galley (the space holding the discarded Object and Treasure cards), or, at random and without revealing it, one of the face-down Treasures in the Galley.
• Hold (Stiva): The player repairs one damage to the steamboat (turning the rightmost "CRASH" marker back to the "Navigation" side) and chooses one of the three Hold tokens present in the Hold (see the box "Hold Tokens"). The chosen token is immediately replaced from the reserve. If the steamboat already has all its Hull markers on the "Navigation" side, the player draws only the Hold token.
• Chest (Forziere): The player may store their Treasures in the chest by removing them from their board and placing them face down next to it (they will count for Victory Points at the end of the game). For each Treasure stored in this way, the player draws and equips an Object from the deck.

With a Movement action it is possible to move from one space of the steamboat to any other available space, regardless of the number of steps allowed to the character in question. It is also possible to remain in place in order to activate the same space again.

Combat

To resolve combat, the character's Total Strength is compared with the Encounter's strength. The character's Total Strength is its Base Strength, written on the board, plus the modifiers obtained from any weapons it carries. Some weapons have different effects depending on the type of Encounter (Humans, Animals or Places, shown by the icons on the tiles). Some weapons require rolling the Attack die to determine their effectiveness. All the usable values of the equipped weapons are added together, including those of two identical weapons (although the player may choose not to use one or more of the equipped weapons).

The Base Strength of an Encounter is the number written in red on the tile itself. If one or more "Reinforcement" symbols are present on the Encounter tile, draw as many Reinforcement cards. These may contain modifiers to the strength of the Encounter or special powers. All Reinforcement cards activate their effects simultaneously, unless the text of a card states otherwise. Used Reinforcement cards are discarded in the dedicated space on the board. The Encounter's Total Strength is the sum of its Base Strength plus any Reinforcement cards.

• If the character's total is greater than the Encounter's, the Encounter is defeated: the player takes the tile and keeps it face down beside their board.
• If the character's total is equal to the Encounter's, nothing happens. The Encounter tile remains face up on the board and may be faced again with a later action (if there are Reinforcement symbols, new cards are drawn at the next combat).
• If the character's total is lower than the Encounter's, the character suffers a wound. In this case too, the Encounter tile remains on the board and may be faced again with a later action.

Rewards

When a player defeats an Encounter, they take any reward shown in the bottom right corner of the tile:

• Treasure: draw a Treasure from the deck and equip it (place it face down in the Galley without looking at it if the Encounter was defeated by Zagor or Cico).
• Object: draw an Object from the deck and equip it (place it face up in the Galley if the Encounter was defeated by Zagor or Cico).
• Hold token: take a Hold token of your choice from the Hold, then place a new token from the reserve in the Hold.
• Event: draw the first card from the Event deck and resolve it.
• Discard tile: discard the tile without collecting it (after obtaining the other reward shown).

Among the Beach Encounters there are three "Friends" of Zagor, which are not marked by a numeric value. A player who meets a Friend collects the reward shown on the tile and then discards the tile. The Friends are the only tiles that cannot be collected as trophies.

Attacks by Zagor and Cico

Zagor and Cico move and attack like the other characters, with one difference: when they fight, the player rolls the Attack die and checks the result against the boards, using the column of Zagor's axe (for Zagor) or of Cico's pistol (for Cico). To the value so obtained, add the character's Base Strength.

• The result marked with the black burst symbol on the column of Zagor's axe means the Encounter is automatically defeated.
• The result marked with the white burst symbol on the column of Cico's pistol means the Encounter is automatically defeated, but Cico suffers a wound.

The automatic victory of Zagor and Cico also counts for the Reinforcement card "Spiritual Protection".

If Zagor or Cico defeats an Encounter, the player who controls them collects the tile as a trophy. If the reward includes Treasures or Objects, these are drawn and placed in their respective piles in the Galley (Treasures face down, Objects face up).

Example: Moreno attacks with Zagor. He rolls the die and gets a 6. Nice shot! Zagor adds +8 to his Strength!

Example: Tattoo attacks a whisky trafficker. The trafficker's strength is 4, plus one Reinforcement card (as indicated by the symbol below the number). The player turns over the first Reinforcement card from the deck, and it is a 3 (Terror!). The trafficker's total strength is now 7! Tattoo has strength 3 and is equipped with a rifle and a machete, so his total is 9: the trafficker is defeated. The player takes the Encounter tile and the reward shown at the bottom right (a Treasure card). He may place the Treasure in the "sack" space, not wishing to give up his two Object cards.

Special Power

The player activates the Special Power exclusive to their character (yellow die), one of the two Special Powers of Zagor (red die), or one of the two Powers of Cico, chosen by the player (green die). See the list of Special Powers in the Appendix.

Example: Alessandro takes a Zagor Special Power die and chooses to use the power "The Spirit with the Axe": without revealing them to the other players, he looks at the adjacent Encounters (two in the Forest and one on the Beach), then chooses to attack the coyote and reveals it.

Special Power + Event: some faces of the Special Power also show the Event symbol (!). When you choose one of these dice, place it on top of the Event deck. Perform the Special Power action as described in the previous paragraph. Then, before discarding the Action die, draw the first card from the Event deck and carry out the action described (see "Events"). Only then does the turn pass to the next player.

Hold Tokens

There is no limit to the number of Hold tokens a player can collect during the game. However, only ONE token may be used in conjunction with each Action die. When a Hold token is used, turn it over but leave it in front of the player. AT THE END OF THE GAME ONLY THE TOKENS THAT HAVE BEEN USED WILL BE WORTH VICTORY POINTS (as indicated on the Poem cards). Hold tokens may be used before or after performing the action of the chosen die, but never during the turn of another player.

• "+2": adds 2 to a character's strength during a combat. This token may be used in combat by any player, and in combat by Zagor or Cico.
• "Discard Reinforcement card": allows the player to discard a Reinforcement card of an Encounter after it has been revealed. It may be used in combat by a player, and in combat by Zagor or Cico. The power of this token can be combined with that of Walter.
• "Move the Steamboat": allows the player to move the Athena forward one space on the river. After the movement, the River Danger tile of the destination space is revealed and resolved, along with any Event symbol on that space.
• "Footprints": for Zagor or Cico, allows movement of up to two more spaces than usual. It can only be used in combination with a "Movement and attack" action, or with a Special Power action that includes a movement action (that of Tattoo, Bannington or Walter).
• "Telescope": allows the player to secretly look at the first card of the Event deck and then choose whether to put it back on top of the deck face down or place it at the bottom of the same deck.
• "Reroll a die": allows the player to roll the Attack die again during a combat. It can be used in combat by Zagor and Cico, and when the Attack die is used in combination with certain Objects, or for the strength of the Red Archer (see p. 15). This token cannot be used to reroll Action dice or to determine the result of the Event "Rocks at Water Level".

3. Activation of Special Events

In this phase some Special Events are activated, if they are in play:

• Volcanoes: Volcanoes enter the game through the "Volcano" Event. In this phase each Volcano on the board erupts, inflicting a wound on each character on its own space or on an adjacent one, including Zagor and Cico. The Athena also suffers damage if it is adjacent to a Volcano and, along with it, all the characters on board suffer a wound. The Volcanoes erupt separately; if there are two on the board, the Helmsman chooses which to resolve first.
• Permanent Events: Some Permanent Event cards ("Collapse" and "Ambush") are activated in this phase. If more than one is in play, the Helmsman decides the order of activation.
• Monkeys: The Monkeys enter the game through the "Monkeys" Event. In this phase each Monkey on the board moves one space following the direction of the black arrows on the board. If a Monkey reaches one of the two camps, the game ends immediately (see "End of Game").
• Enemies: If there are Enemy tiles face up on the board, their end-of-Round effect is activated (see the Appendix).

4. Movement of the Athena and Resolution of River Dangers

In this phase the Helmsman moves the steamboat forward by its current speed. The speed of the steamboat is given by the number of steamboat symbols shown on the leftmost Hull marker. At points where the river forks, the Helmsman chooses which direction the steamboat takes.

Example: if the leftmost marker shows this symbol, the steamboat moves two spaces.

At the end of the movement, the Helmsman reveals and resolves the River Danger tile on the destination space, then discards it. There are three types of River Danger tile:

• Event: The Helmsman reveals and resolves the first card of the Event deck (for a description of the Events, see the Appendix).
• Carnivorous Plants: Carnivorous plants attack the Athena: the steamboat suffers a number of damage equal to its current speed. Starting with the Helmsman and proceeding clockwise (one full turn), each player whose character is on the steamboat chooses whether that character takes one or more wounds (it cannot take more wounds than it has available). On their turn, the Helmsman, before choosing for their own character, also decides whether Cico and Zagor (if they are on board) take wounds. For each wound absorbed by the characters, the damage to the Athena is reduced by one.
• Rapids: The Athena is caught in rapids! The steamboat suffers one damage and advances one space along the river, revealing a new tile and resolving its effect.

If, at the end of the movement, after all River Danger and Event tiles have been resolved, the steamboat is on a space depicting an Event symbol (the last 4 spaces of the river), the Helmsman reveals and resolves the first card of the Event deck.

Events

The player who draws an Event card must show it to everyone, read it aloud, and immediately apply its effects. If it is a NON-PERMANENT Event, the player discards it to the corresponding discard pile. (See the Appendix for the effects of the Events.)

Some Events, instead, are "Permanent Events" (marked with a circular arrow symbol). When one is drawn, place it in the dedicated spaces on the board. If all the spaces are already occupied by other Permanent Events, place it beside the board.

Permanent Events remain in play until they are discarded. To discard a Permanent Event, a player, on their turn and instead of performing their action normally, must SACRIFICE the Action die indicated by the discard condition described on the card, discarding it without applying its effect. The player who has discarded a Permanent Event keeps it beside their board.

Example: "The effect of this Event is permanent... at least until a player sacrifices a Zagor or Cico Action die" (the card is "Dangerous Waters").

Note: if you discard a Special Power + Event die, always remember to draw a new Event card at the end.

End of Game

The game ends immediately if one of the following conditions occurs:

• The last Hull marker of the steamboat is turned to the "CRASH" side. In this case the Athena sinks before reaching the Fort. The mission has failed, and all players are considered defeated.
• A Monkey reaches its camp (one of the two camps marked with a skull). In this case the Monkeys have succeeded in sabotaging the journey. The mission has failed, and all players are considered defeated.
• The Athena docks in front of the Fort. The mission has succeeded! The steamboat passes the last river space and docks in front of the Fort. All players count their Victory Points.
• The Event deck is exhausted. In this case the mission presents no further dangers. The Athena is immediately placed on the beach in front of the Fort, and all players count their Victory Points.

Final Scoring

Poems: Players earn Points as indicated by the Poem cards selected for the game.

• The Poem on the left awards Points to all players for the Beach and Forest Encounter tiles collected, for the Hold tokens used and, in some cases, for the Permanent Event cards possessed.
• The Poem on the right awards Points to the player who has the majority in the categories indicated. IN CASE OF A TIE, ALL THE TIED PLAYERS EARN THE POINTS.

Example: "The Hunter's Tale" awards 2 Points for each Beach tile collected, 3 for each Forest tile, and 1 for each Hold token used. It also awards 5 Points to the player with the highest total Strength value on the Animal and Place tiles, 4 Points to the player with the most Scars, and 3 Points to the player with the most Treasure cards.

Example: "The Steamboat's Adventure" awards 6 Points for each pair of Beach and Forest tiles owned. Beyond the 2 Points for each Hold token used, it also awards an additional 4 Points to the player with the majority of Hold tokens. Furthermore, the first player with the highest total Strength value across all Encounter tiles earns 7 Points, and the second earns 2 Points. Finally, 1 Point for each Permanent Event card resolved.

Travel Bonus: All players who end the game aboard the steamboat earn 2 Points.

Treasures: All the Treasures the players have equipped or stored in their chest are worth Points equal to their value.

Enemies: If playing with the optional "Enemies" rules (see the Appendix), each Enemy tile collected, in addition to providing points as a Forest Encounter, provides 2 additional Points.

Objects: Some Objects provide Points if the players have them in their equipment at the end of the game, as indicated by the stars. Note: the Map provides one additional Point for each Permanent Event resolved.

Scars: Each Scar collected is worth -2 Points.

Recording the points: Players remove the cards from the scoring track so that it is visible. Each player places their Score marker on the 0 space of the track to indicate the Points earned. If a player exceeds 50 Points, turn their Score marker over to the +50 side. The player with the most Points wins. In case of a tie between several players, the one closest to the Helmsman in clockwise order wins.

Appendix

Character Powers

ZAGOR - Base Strength 4

Zagor has two Special Powers. When you choose a Zagor Special Power Action die, you must choose which of the two Powers to use.

• Ahyaaaak!: Zagor lets out his battle cry and uses the vines to swing quickly through the forest. Move Zagor onto any space on the board, then reveal any hidden Encounter there, apply its surprise effect if present, and finally attack one of the Encounters on that space.
• The Spirit with the Axe: Exploiting his gifts as an explorer, Zagor can discover possible dangers in advance. Secretly look at all the Encounters on spaces adjacent to Zagor, then move Zagor onto one of them, reveal it (resolving any surprise effect), and attack it. This power ignores the impassable barriers on the board, both when checking adjacency and for movement.

CICO - Base Strength 1

Cico has two Special Powers. When you choose a Cico Special Power Action die, you must choose which of the two Powers to use.

• For All the Concoctions of My Pharmacist Grandfather!: Heal one wound on Zagor, then draw two Objects from the deck and choose whether and how to equip them on your character's board (discarding any excess ones in the Galley of the steamboat). If Zagor has no wounds to heal, draw 2 Objects anyway.
• Caramba y Carambita!: Return Cico and your character to the steamboat. Cico always returns to the Bridge (healing all its wounds); for your character, choose a space. If your character or Cico is already on the steamboat, they may also remain in place and activate the space again.

MORELAND - Base Strength 1

Moreland begins the game with the Helmsman marker.

• Command: Moreland has full control of the steamboat of which he is captain. Wherever Moreland is on the board, his Special Power replicates the effect of one of the steamboat's spaces, without having to move onto it.

WALTER - Base Strength 2

• Experience: Walter knows how to move through unexplored lands and is ready to face the dangers that hide there. With his Special Power, move and attack normally; however, if the Encounter he faces requires Reinforcement cards to be revealed, reveal one fewer.

BANNINGTON - Base Strength 0

In addition to his Special Power, Bannington has 3 ink Bocce, each of which may be used only once during the whole game. When choosing an Action die, you may use a Bocce to change the colour of the chosen die to that of the Bocce. Bocce may be used only on the Movement/Attack, Special Power and Special Power/Event faces. Using a Bocce virtually changes the colour of the die without modifying the face to be used. When you use a Bocce, turn it over to indicate that it has been used.

Example: the player who controls Bannington chooses a Cico Special Power/Event die and decides to use the red ink Bocce, turning it over to its grey side. This allows them to perform a Zagor Power action. At the end of the move, they draw an Event card.

• Request for Help: Bannington is not used to fighting and so has no qualms about asking his companions for help. When using his Special Power, move and attack normally, but add to your total Strength the Base Strength of all the characters (including Zagor and Cico) on your space or on an adjacent one (spaces divided by barriers are considered adjacent).

TATTOO - Base Strength 3

Tattoo has space for only two pieces of equipment; however, he has a Sack that can hold up to 2 Treasures (it can also hold Objects). Treasures in the Sack are considered equipped for all effects, and can be subject to effects that strike equipment (for example, the surprise effects of Encounters).

• Brute Force: Tattoo is a bundle of muscle ready to pounce! With his Special Power, move and attack normally, but you have a +3 bonus on the attack.

FRISCO KID - Base Strength 2

• Shrewdness: Frisco Kid grew up on the streets, so he has no qualms about harming his companions. With his Special Power, steal an Equipment piece (Object or Treasure) from another character within reach, that is, at a distance equal to or less than the number of footprints visible on the leftmost Balloon of your board. Frisco Kid may also steal from a character on the steamboat, if the steamboat is within reach. When Frisco Kid uses this power he does not move. A stolen face-down Object is always placed face up on Frisco Kid's board.

Event Cards

The following is a summary of all the effects of the Event cards, with a more detailed text than that printed on the cards themselves.

• Dangerous Waters: Every character (including Zagor or Cico) that gets on or off the steamboat takes 1 wound at the end of the movement. A character that returns to the Bridge as a result of an event does not suffer further damage at the moment it returns to the steamboat. PERMANENT - DISCARD: sacrifice a Zagor or Cico Movement Action die.
• Ambush: All characters (Zagor and Cico included) that are on the same space as, or adjacent to, at least one Human or Animal Encounter take 1 wound. Spaces divided by a barrier are considered adjacent. Repeat this effect in the "Activation of Special Events" phase at the end of the round. PERMANENT - DISCARD: sacrifice a Zagor Special Power Action die.
• Peaceful Landing: Repair one damage to the steamboat, turning the rightmost "CRASH" marker to the "Navigation" side. If the steamboat has no damage, nothing happens.
• Assault: Starting with the Helmsman, each player may choose to take a Scar to cancel one of the following effects. At the end of the round, the effects that have not been cancelled are applied in this order:
  1. Remove from the game the rightmost "Navigation" marker. This means that from now on the steamboat can take one less damage before sinking.
  2. Draw and resolve two Event cards (draw and resolve the first, then draw and resolve the second).
  3. The steamboat suffers 2 damage.
• Advancing into the Darkness: As long as this Event is in play, the other Permanent Events cannot be discarded. This Event must be discarded if you want to discard other Permanent Events. PERMANENT - DISCARD: sacrifice a Zagor or Cico Special Power Action die.
• Scorching Heat: Every time the steamboat moves, all characters on board (including Zagor and Cico) take 1 wound. If the steamboat moves several spaces in one go, the effect applies only once. If it moves because of rapids on the river, the effect applies for each rapid. The effect also applies if the steamboat moves as a result of a Hold token or of an Event effect.

Enemies (Optional Rules)

Once you are familiar with the main rules of the game, you can add a little more difficulty by inserting some of Zagor's historical enemies among the Encounters. Choose (or select at random) one or two "Enemy" tiles, add them to the Forest Encounters and shuffle them before placing them on the board. After placement, return the remaining Forest Encounters to the box without looking at them.

Each Enemy has an Entry effect, which is activated at the moment it is revealed. Note: the "Indian Shield" does not protect against the Entry effects of Enemies. In addition, during the "Activation of Special Events" phase, the Enemies threaten the group's mission with an End of Round effect.

If a player defeats an Enemy, the Enemy is not really defeated: the player takes the reward indicated, but the tile remains on the board. If instead the Enemy is defeated by Zagor or Cico, the threat is permanently eliminated, and the player who moved Zagor or Cico takes the Enemy's Encounter tile.

Blondie - Base Strength 9

• Entry effect: The player who reveals Blondie takes a Scar.
• End of Round effect: Each character (including Zagor and Cico) on the same side of the river as Blondie takes 1 wound. If Blondie is on an island, the Helmsman chooses which of the two sides is struck.
• Player reward: two Treasures.
• Zagor and Cico reward: two Treasures (placed face down in the Galley); the player who moved Zagor or Cico takes the Encounter tile.

Marie Laveau - Base Strength 4 + Slaves

• Entry effect: Each player chooses a Human or Animal Encounter tile from among those they have collected as trophies (excluding the other Enemies) and places it beside the Marie Laveau card. These become her Slaves.
• Players, Zagor and Cico may choose to fight Marie Laveau directly, but in that case each Slave present on her card adds a Reinforcement card to her Base Strength. Alternatively, you may choose to fight the individual Slaves: whoever defeats one takes its relative Encounter tile and any reward. All the Slaves still on the card are discarded from the game without effect.
• End of Round effect: If Marie Laveau has one Slave or fewer, repeat the Entry effect.
• Player reward: two Treasures.
• Zagor and Cico reward: two Treasures (placed face down in the Galley); the player who moved Zagor or Cico takes Marie Laveau's Encounter tile.

The Red Archer - Base Strength 3 + Attack die

• Entry effect: The player who reveals the Red Archer discards 2 pieces of equipment. If Zagor or Cico reveal the Red Archer, nothing happens. For each combat, the Red Archer's strength is determined by adding 3 to the result of the Attack die.
• End of Round effect: Each character on the same side of the river as the Red Archer discards 1 piece of equipment. If the Red Archer is on an island, the Helmsman chooses which side is struck.
• Player reward: two Treasures.
• Zagor and Cico reward: two Treasures (placed face down in the Galley); the player who moved Zagor or Cico takes the Encounter tile.

The Beasts of the Black River - Base Strength 5 + Reinforcement card

• Entry effect: The Helmsman places the three "Beasts of the Black River" cards on the steamboat, covering the three spaces Helmsman, Chest and Hold. Move all characters on the Athena to the Bridge. While the Beasts occupy a space of the steamboat, that space is not accessible and its effects cannot be activated (not even through Moreland's Special Power).
• End of Round effect: If there are no more Beast cards on the steamboat, repeat the Entry effect.
• Player reward: two Treasures; remove one Beast card of your choice from the steamboat (the corresponding space is accessible again).
• Zagor and Cico reward: two Treasures (placed face down in the Galley); the player who moved Zagor or Cico takes the Encounter tile. Remove all the Beast cards from the Athena.

The King of the Eagles - Base Strength 8

• Entry effect: Each player places an Eagle card on one of their equipment spaces, discarding any equipment present in that space. That space cannot be used as long as the Eagle remains on it.
• End of Round effect: If there are no Eagles in play, repeat the Entry effect.
• Player reward: two Treasures; remove the Eagle from your board.
• Zagor and Cico reward: two Treasures (placed face down in the Galley); the player who moved Zagor or Cico takes the Encounter tile. Discard all the Eagles in play.