10 Days in the National Parks
10 Days in the National Parks Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents of the Box
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1 Game Board — United States perimeter divided into territories that each have a national park.
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76 Scenic National Park Cards — There is at least one card per scenic national park. Each park is displayed in one of five colors corresponding to the game board territories.
The following national parks have two cards in the deck and are indicated on the game board with a x2 icon near the expanded pin: Badlands, Canyonlands, Gateway Arch, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Basin, Great Sand Dunes, Great Smoky Mountains, Hot Springs, Indiana Dunes, Mammoth Cave, New River Gorge, and Yellowstone.
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14 Transportation Cards — 8 double-ended Motorhome/Airplane cards and 6 double-ended Pacific/Atlantic Ocean Boat cards.
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4 Sets of Card Holders — 2 holders per set.
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Journey Guide — This rulebook.
Setting Up
- Place the game board in the center of the table.
- Give one set of card holders to each player. Display them so that DAYS 1–10 are in order, facing that player.
- Shuffle the Scenic National Park and Transportation Cards together. Spread them out face down next to the game board.
Getting Started
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All players begin by filling their card holders, as such:
Without taking turns, each player draws a card, looks at it, and places it into any open day's slot. Players continue to draw, and place, one card at a time, until all players have placed ten cards in their card holders.
Once placed, a card may not be moved or flipped within the card holder. However, a card may be replaced during a player's turn (see A Player's Turn and Making Connections). Card holders should be positioned so that the placed cards will not be in view of other players.
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The remaining cards are stacked, face down, in the DRAW space on the game board. From this draw pile, the three top cards are then placed face-up in the other slots to start the three discard piles.
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Select a player to take the first turn. We suggest the person who last spotted a wild animal. Turns continue clockwise.
A Player's Turn
On your turn, complete the following two steps.
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Draw a Card. Select the top card from one of the three discard piles — OR — the top card from the draw pile.
If the player depletes the draw pile, all cards in the three discard piles, EXCEPT the top card on each pile, are shuffled together to form a new draw pile.
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Place the Card. Replace any one of the ten cards in your card holder with the drawn card or discard it.
Whether you replace a card in your card holder — OR — choose to discard the drawn card, always discard cards face up, onto one of the three discard piles.
If one of the discard piles is empty, you must place your discarded card there. As a result, players will always be able to select from three face-up cards, as well as the top card in the face-down draw pile.
Completing a 10 Day Journey
There are no restrictions as to where a drawn card may be placed during a player's turn. However, to win the game, a player must be the first to complete a 10 day journey. A 10 day journey is considered complete when, starting with DAY 1, each day is connected to the next day in the card holder.
The completed journey must also meet the following criteria:
- Completed journeys must start with a Scenic National Park Card and end with a Scenic National Park Card.
- It is not necessary to include a Transportation Card to complete a 10 day journey.
- Transportation Cards, next to each other, do not form a connection.
Making Connections
By Foot, Motorhome, Airplane, and Boat
Connecting by Foot: Players may hike from one national park to a bordering national park. The two Scenic National Park Cards are considered connected when they are positioned side-by-side in the card holder.
Four examples of a hiking connection. There are many national parks on islands that players can hike or drive to during this game. See Connection Notes on back panel for more details.
Connecting by Motorhome: Players may use a motorhome to travel from one national park to another by driving through a third national park that borders both. When a Transportation card is positioned with the Motorhome face-up between two Scenic National Park Cards, the three cards are connected. See example below.
In this example, the Motorhome is driving from Grand Teton to Yosemite through a third national park Great Basin.
Connecting by Airplane: Players may use an airplane to fly from one national park to another national park of the same color. When the Transportation Card is positioned Airplane side up between two National Park Cards that are the same color, these three cards are connected to each other. See example below.
In this example, a plane can fly from Kenai Fjords to Great Smoky Mountains because both national parks have a green background.
Winning the Game
If at the end of a player's turn, that player has completed a 10 day journey, they win 10 Days in the National Parks!
The winner must show that each day is connected to the next day.
Above is an example of a complete 10 day journey where each day connects to the next day for the win! In the example, DAY 1 (Wind Cave) hikes to DAY 2 (Grand Teton); DAY 2 drives through Great Basin, using the DAY 3 Motorhome/Airplane card, to DAY 4 (Yosemite); DAY 4 hikes to DAY 5 (Pinnacles). The example continues to DAY 10 (Congaree): DAY 6 to DAY 7 is a BOAT through the PACIFIC OCEAN; DAY 7 (Channel Islands) to DAY 8 (Joshua Tree) is a HIKE; and DAY 8 to DAY 10 is a FLY to a same-colored park.
Connecting by Boat: It is possible to take a boat to visit many of the island and coastal national parks. Regardless of the color of the national park, players may use a boat to travel from one national park to another bordering the same ocean. When you place the boat, pick either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean to travel through and place that side face-up between the Scenic National Park Cards. See example below.
In this example, a Pacific Ocean boat can be used to travel from the Crater Lake to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.
See important connecting details on the back panel: Connection Notes.
Space is provided at the bottom of the game board for the winning player's successfully connected 10 Day Journey reveal.
Connection Notes
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It is possible to travel by motorhome from one national park to a bordering national park provided there is a third national park that borders both. For example, a motorhome card could be placed between the Glacier and Theodore Roosevelt cards because Yellowstone borders both.
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Although Isle Royale National Park in Michigan is an island, you must hike, drive, or fly there. You cannot use a boat card.
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Players may hike, drive, or boat between the Channel Islands and the continental United States through Sequoia and Joshua Tree. They may do likewise, between the Dry Tortugas and the Everglades.
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For this game, Hawai'i Volcanoes and Haleakalā are considered national parks that share a border. You may hike or use a Pacific Ocean boat to travel between them. You may not use a motorhome since there is not a third national park that shares a border with both.
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Several Scenic National Park cards are featured in the deck twice. You may have both cards in your journey, but at least one other Scenic National Park card must be between them. Placing them side-by-side or only having a transportation card between them does not form a connection.
Component Notes
- x2 icon — On the game board, a national park marked with an x2 icon has two cards in the deck ("There are two cards of this national park.").