The object of the game is to establish a seat of power for the monarch Queen Gimnax of the Kingdom of Nalos by reclaiming the northern lands taken by the Dragul. [1] The selected location must satisfy several criteria, among them that the surrounding area provides natural defenses and resources. [1] Players assume the role of a surveyor scout that travels into the Dragul lands to find a suitable location. [1] Each player receives a pencil and the same double-sided map, agreeing before the start of the game which side to use. [1] The number of players is limited only by the number of available score sheets; each box includes 100. [1] You might not be scored on all four Edicts at the end of each season but it is still wise to work towards all four Edicts - A to D - simultaneously, if you can. Each Edict is scored in two different seasons, and A is scored in Spring and in Winter. You might have done badly at A in Spring but that doesn’t stop you doing well at it by the time you get to Winter! Now that the season has ended, it’s time to calculate your score. At the bottom of the map sheet there are four different scorings shown, each one divided into four sections. Each season scores differently.

Take time at the beginning of the game to familiarise yourself with how each Edict works. They are all fairly straightforward, but there’s nothing worse than curating a beautifully drawn map only to realise it won’t be scored highly because it doesn’t satisfy the Edicts correctly. You might still win the unofficial “Most Beautiful Map” award though….If a Ruins card was drawn in the Explore phase, players must place their shape such that it overlaps one of the Ruins spaces on the map. If they can’t overlap a Ruins space, or there are none left, then they must draw a 1×1 square with any terrain type anywhere on the map. Mastrangeli, Tony (17 April 2020). "2019 Board Game Award Winners". Board Game Quest. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021 . Retrieved 19 November 2021. a b c d Law, Keith (26 February 2020). "Best new board game apps of 2020". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022 . Retrieved 19 November 2021. Interactive Gameplay: Engage with the map and your opponents as you strategically fill in spaces, complete objectives, and make choices that impact the outcome of each game. Collaboration and competition go hand in hand.

Players have a year to map out the world, whilst simultaneously completing the queen’s four edicts. As they do so, they gather reputation stars. Whomsoever has the most at the end of the game is the winner. At the same time, all players make a mark on their score sheet based on the card that was flipped. Anywhere on your personal grid, draw the chosen shape and shade it in with the pattern of the chosen terrain type. You can put it anywhere it fits, you cannot overlap mountains or shapes you have already put down. You can rotate and flip, as long as the shape orientation stays the same. Each player will take a sheet with a grid on it. Across the grid are ruins and mountains and possible a massive canyon, depending on the difficulty chosen. You will then set up the cards for the current season. The four seasons you play through get progressively smaller - in theory, so you will need to make forward thinking decisions from the off. To score points you must collect coins, and achieve goals. Four goal cards are laid out but only two are scored each season. A & B, then B & C, then C & D, before D & A. This means each card will score twice and that you know when they will score, allowing you to plan ahead. Of course most games you will get lost in a couple of the objectives, forgetting the ones you were meant to concentrate on this round! If a Ruins card was drawn in the Explore phase, players must place their shape such that it overlaps one of the Ruins spaces on the map. If they can’t overlap a Ruins space, or there are none left, then they must draw a 1x1 square with any terrain type anywhere on the map. Replayability – With 16 different scoring cards, each game continues to feel fresh and challenging in terms of which strategies to pursue and how to most efficiently fill in the map.

There Is a Season (Turn, Turn, Turn)

Now in each season, you will be scoring two of the queen’s edicts. Edict A & B in Spring, B & C in Summer and so on, until each edict is scored twice. Score your two edicts. Add the number of coins you have gathered, and deduct points for each unfilled square that is adjacent to a monster square. At the end of the round, regather the explore cards and add in one more hero and ambush card. Any heroes or ambush cards that came out are discarded. Rooting For The Wrong Team The map sheets are also double sided. One side is a normal map with the reverse side containing a cavern in the middle, restricting your available space and thus making it more difficult. The end of the fourth season marks the end of the game, the winner being the player who has accumulated the greatest number of points. [4] Expansion [ edit ]

Aesthetic fun – The game creates an experience that feels like a good blend of board gaming and art, especially if you opt to use colored pencils to color in the different terrain types. This can give the game a fun and relaxing feel. Besides the unique scoring conditions of that season, you always score positive points for gold coins and negative points for spaces around monsters. For the coin space you fill in a number equal to the number of coins you have shaded in at that moment. For any empty spaces around monsters at that moment, take a negative point for each and fill it in. Add all together to form your season score. Ambush and Hero cards do not have a time impact, presumably because it doesn’t take long to write “don’t go there” on a map whilst running away. When an Ambush card comes out, pass your map to the player next to you in the direction indicated on the card. Your opponent will then draw the monsters for you, most likely in the most unhelpful place they can put it. Every once in a while, a monster card will be revealed, which requires all players to pass their map to a neighbor to their right or left (depending on the direction indicated on the card), and then each player will fill in squares with monsters on their opponent’s map based on the shape shown on the card. This creates an additional challenge for players to solve – during each scoring round, any empty space adjacent to a monster on their map will cause players to lose 1 reputation point. Although a bit meatier than other roll and writes it is still easy enough to understand, learn and teach new players. Gamers and non-gamers alike can get in to the game straight away without much explanation. The scoring cards are easy to understand and for the most part clear. Although the text on the cards is a little small to read form afar, especially if playing in large groups. In most instances they can be easily explained and then the symbology relied on.Each turn a card is drawn given you a shape or two to choose from and a terrain or two also. You will each sketch one of these terrain/shape combos on to your map, anywhere you like. Depending on the scoring cards you might want to cover ruins or place next to mountains or near the edge of the board.

Rift Lands: If the rift lands card is revealed, each player draws a 1×1 square anywhere on their map and fills it with any terrain type shown on the card. All normal rules and restrictions apply. Now take the Scoring Cards; you’ll notice that there are four of each set signified by a red, green, blue or yellow symbol. Shuffle each set of Scoring Cards and then draw one from each set, and place these four cards, at random, below the four Edict Cards. These give players the Edicts – the scoring conditions they’ll be working towards – so make sure everyone can see them! When drawing Monster shapes on your opponent’s map, try to consider how easily that player can fill in the adjacent squares. Also, some edicts, such as Stoneside Forest, give you reputation stars for connecting certain terrain together. If you can cut off these connections before they are formed you can get the upper hand on your opponent!

They Did the Monster Mash

Once the players have completed and scored for Winter, then they’ll add up their scores from each season and the person with the highest final score is the winner. Thoughts Some of you may be thinking “well, I may as well hold onto my coins, and use the rule that lets me put down one of anything when I can’t play the shape.” Sorry folks, the designers are ahead of you there. If you cannot draw the shape on your island but you do have more islands available, you must spend a coin to open a new island. If you do not have the coins to spend, you get a free one, but you must then spend it to expand. Player interaction – The monster cards add an element of direct player interaction, which is uncommon in flip/roll-and-write games. This aspect of gameplay manages to maintain the fun/lighthearted feel of the game without feeling too mean-spirited – it’s just enough to keep you on your toes, but not over the top with destroying other player’s plans.