A Wayfarer's Tale
A Wayfarer's Tale Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
A Wayfarer's Tale is a Print & Play game. To play it, you'll need to print:
- 1-4 Companion sheets
- 1-4 Maps
Please note: low-ink versions of these files are also available.
Pieces to Plunder
(steal these from another game!)
A total of 4-5 standard 6-sided dice.
You'll need 3 Travel dice of the same colour, and 1 Active die of another colour.
Optionally, a 5th Treasure die of a third colour (or you can reuse the active die).
4 Pencils or Pens
You could also use markers, crayons - or old-timey quills for bonus style points!
Go Green! If you can, print once and laminate or plastic sleeve your copies to re-use again and again.
Setup
Each player takes a pen, Explorer sheet, and Map.
Decide as a group which island map you would like to play on.
Everyone then places their map in front of them with the same island side face-up.
If it's your first time playing, we recommend starting with 'The Great River' map!
Next, each player rolls a single die to determine which Starting Town they will begin the game in, and marks it with a cross. In addition, mark off your first Town space.
- Roll a 1 or 2 → Starting Town 1-2
- Roll a 3 or 4 → Starting Town 3-4
- Roll a 5 or 6 → Starting Town 5-6
Finally, place all dice in the middle of the table and choose someone to become the Active Player for the first turn, using your preferred method.
Game Loop
At the start of the turn, the Active Player rolls a pool of 4 dice, placing the 3 Travel dice in the middle of the table and keeping the Active die for themselves.
Players then simultaneously choose 2 dice to use for the turn, adding their values together.
As the name might suggest, only the Active Player can use the Active die result - but all players may choose freely from the Travel dice results!
Using this combined total, players explore the island, marking the total in a box on their Companion sheet and drawing a line on their Map to a valid hex.
Once all players have marked their sheets, the turn ends with the Active Player passing all 4 dice to the player on their left, who becomes the Active Player for the next turn.
Play continues until someone visits every town on the map, or crosses off their third Miss Roll - both of which will be explained in more detail, soon.
Routes
Players travel around their island map by forming Routes, represented by drawing a line from one adjacent hex to another.
Your first Route must extend from your Starting Town into a surrounding hex, but on future turns you can either extend any of your existing Routes, or start a new one (new routes can only start from a town).
You can only visit each hex once, so Routes may never cross each other or double back!
Existing Routes
Once a Route has been started, you can extend it by travelling to any adjacent hex that you haven't already visited.
Routes must form a continuous, unbroken line. They may never split or fork, except at Towns.
New Routes
After you visit a Town on your map, you may treat this like a hub, starting new Routes in every available direction.
- You cannot cross Ravines.
- You cannot enter the open sea. Open sea can only be crossed in special places defined by a sailboat (this is covered later).
- You cannot cross or fork off a Route.
- You may always begin a new Route or multiple routes from a Town you started at or visited.
Companions
Before you can extend or start a Route into new hexes, you must activate an Explorer that corresponds to the terrain of the hex you want to travel to. To do this, players use the sum of their dice values to fill a box next to a Companion on their Companion sheet.
Each Companion has a limited number of boxes in their section, so choose carefully!
Each of the 5 Companions can travel to specific terrain types, but you can only activate them if you choose dice values that meet the special rules for their section.
Coachman
When activated, lets you travel to Grass or Mountain terrain.
The Coachman requires numbers that are equal to or greater than the ones before them.
Numbers for the Coachman's section must start in the leftmost box, moving to the right without skipping any boxes.
Hint! When activating the Coachman for the 1st time, start with the lowest number you can.
Taverns
The first 6 spaces of the Coachman's section are available from the start of the game, but you must visit Taverns on the Map to access the remaining 6 spaces.
When a player travels to a hex with a Tavern, they cross off the next Tavern on the Coachman's section and unlock 3 more boxes to use.
Taverns are defined on your companion sheet with a Tavern image and line.
Taverns are not considered Towns, and will not score you points, so know the difference!
Guide
When activated, enables travel to Desert or Jungle terrain.
The Guide requires numbers that match or exceed the value above each space.
Like the Coachman, numbers for the Guide's section must start in the leftmost space, moving to the right without skipping any spaces.
Merchant
When activated, enables travel to Desert or Grass terrain.
The Merchant requires numbers that match the row or column of a space you wish to cross off.
Spaces can be filled freely in the Merchant's section, there is no predefined order.
Crossing off a space with a Monster on it will trigger a Monster roll, while crossing off a full row or column of spaces will trigger a Treasure roll - these are explained under Treasures & Monsters, below.
Adventurer
When activated, enables travel to Jungle or Mountain terrain.
The Adventurer requires numbers that increase and decrease with the height of their spaces.
Numbers for the Adventurer's section must start in the bottom left-most space, moving to the right and following the mountain-shaped stairs, without skipping any spaces.
As the player works their way 'up the mountain', the numbers entered must increase, and when they work 'down the mountain', the numbers must decrease.
As a result, numbers entered in each of the three 'mountains' may not be equal to the previous space (no repeat values). This restriction does not apply to the spaces between the Adventurer's 'mountains'.
Sailor
When activated, enables travel to Water terrain - the only Explorer capable of this!
The Sailor requires numbers that are made up of double dice values.
Numbers for the Sailor's section must start in the topmost space, moving down without skipping any spaces. There are no numerical restrictions between the spaces for the Sailor.
Miss Rolls
Caution! If you cannot mark a space next to any of your Companions, you must cross off a Miss Roll for your turn, instead!
You may also choose to mark a Miss Roll if you have exhausted 2 companions.
Treasures & Monsters
You may have noticed that some spaces on the Companion sheet have Treasure and Monster icons attached to them.
Whenever a player writes a number into one of these spaces, they must also write the same number in the Treasure or Monster section, respectively.
When a player triggers a Monster or Treasure by crossing off a space in the Merchant's section, they roll a D6 to determine what value they must enter into the corresponding section, instead.
Note: If you don't have extra dice, please make sure all players have chosen their dice for the round before using any for Treasures or Monsters rolls!
Special spaces near the end of an Explorer's section may include a x2 tag, which indicates that the value entered into the Treasure or Monster section should be doubled.
Shields & Gems
Shields and Gems let a player retry a Monster or Treasure roll from the Merchant, respectively.
When a player travels to a hex with a Shield or Gem, they circle the corresponding icon on their Companion sheet to show that it is available for use.
After making a roll from the Merchant but before writing in its value, the player may then:
- Cross off 1 Shield to re-roll the die on a Monster roll
- Cross off 1 Gem to re-roll the die on a Treasure roll
Multiple Shields or Gems can be used on a single roll if you have them available, and the final value written into the Monster or Treasure section can be chosen from any of the roll attempts, not just the final roll!
End Game
When a player visits the last Town on their island, the game ends immediately.
Don't let this take you by surprise! Multiple players can achieve this feat in the same turn, so we recommend keeping a close eye on your competition.
The game will also end if a player ever needs to cross off their third and final Miss Roll.
In either scenario, the other players still complete the final turn as normal - including any Treasure or Monster rolls - before all players proceed to Scoring.
Miss Rolls
If you cannot activate any Explorers on your turn, you must instead cross off 1 Miss Roll.
This can happen if:
- You cannot enter a valid number next to any Companion
- You cannot travel to any adjacent terrain hexes (using any Companion(s) that you can legally activate with your dice values.)
Finally, players may choose to mark a Miss Roll on their turn instead of using an Explorer to travel, but only after they have completely filled 2 of the Explorers on their sheet.
DON'T FORGET: Three Miss Rolls triggers the end game.
Scoring
During final scoring, each player earns points for the following criteria:
- 5 points for each Town explored
- 3 points for each Town in your longest continuous route
- 1 point for every Treasure discovered
- -1 point for every Monster faced (add up your monster values, this is your -monster number)
After adding up your scores, the player with the most points wins!
In the event of a tie, the player who visited the most Towns wins. If there is still a tie, the players rejoice in their shared victory!
Special Hexes
Each map in A Wayfarer's Tale features unique scoring opportunities and, often, special hexes that have their own rules.
Sailboats
Sailboats provide safe passage across long distances, denoted by a dotted line with a sailing ship icon. To use a Sailboat, players must roll a double and activate the Sailor, drawing a line from an adjacent hex to the ship icon. Then, on a future turn, the player must activate an Explorer that is capable of travelling to the terrain type of the shore on the other side.
If there are no Sailboat symbols present then the connected hexes are treated as though they're simply adjacent.
Bridges
Bridges are solid connections between island hexes, treating them as if they were adjacent. Unlike Sailboats, there is no special movement requirement to cross a Bridge; players treat hexes connected by a bridge as adjacent to each other.
Statues
Statues are linked opportunities for bonus scoring. The first player(s) to visit every hex with a matching Statue icon writes the higher amount shown into their Treasure section. Any players who visit the same hexes in later rounds will earn the lower amount of Treasure.
High Peaks / Thick Jungle
High Peaks and Thick Jungle are hard-to-reach places, denoted by a flagged mountain top icon or leaf icon, respectively. To travel to a hex with a High Peak or Thick Jungle, players must use the Active die when creating a value to activate an Explorer. This means that in a Multiplayer game, you will only be able to travel to one of these hexes on your turn.
Monster Hideouts
Monster Hideouts are denoted by a skull, indicating the presence of Monsters. When a player travels to a hex with a Hideout, they wake the monsters lurking within. All players put a large cross through this spot. Any additional players who traverse this spot must roll the monster die and input the value. They may re-roll using a shield as normal.
Wait until everyone finishes their turn before announcing the Monster!
Solo Rules
A Wayfarer's Tale can also be played as a solo campaign over the course of 8 separate scenarios, with only a few exceptions to the multiplayer rules.
Before embarking on your campaign, you may spend up to 12 points to equip yourself with items from the shop (see Buying, below).
To begin each scenario of your campaign, cross off Monster spaces based on which scenario you're playing, as indicated by the Scenario table, below.
| Scenario | Starting Monster crosses | Additional Monster points |
|---|---|---|
| Journey Begins: Map 1 - Reach all Towns | 9 | 30 |
| Greedy Wayfarer: Map 1 - Reach all Towns and all gems | 9 | 40 |
| New Horizons: Map 2 - Reach all Towns | 6 | 50 |
| Scared of Water: Map 2 - Reach all Towns and statues without using Sailboats | 3 | 40 |
| Tougher Obstacles: Map 3 - Reach all Towns | 0 | 30 |
| Hidden Places: Map 3 - Reach all Towns and all statues | 0 | 30 |
| Here be Monsters: Map 4* - Reach all Towns | 0 | 30 |
| Roads End: Map 4* - Reach all Towns, both statues and cross all bridges | 0 | 30 |
Then, roll a single die to determine your Starting Town and mark off your first Town space, as in the multiplayer game.
3 Dice
In a solo game, you roll 3 dice every turn; 2 Travel dice and the single Active die of another colour.
Whenever you use the Active die during your turn, you must also cross out one box in the Monster space of your character sheet.
Exception: This does not apply when playing on Map 4.
Spending Towns
As you visit Towns on your journey, mark them off on the left side of your map with a cross. Towns can be 'spent' in the solo game by circling the box of a Town you've visited for one of three special powers:
- Before rolling for your turn, you may spend 1 Town to roll an additional Travel die.
- This action may only be performed once per turn.
- The additional die is removed at the end of the turn.
- After rolling for your turn, you may spend 2 Towns to re-roll all dice rolled this turn.
- You have to reroll every dice, you cannot save some results and re-roll others.
- After rolling for your turn, you may spend 1 Town to increase or decrease a dice value rolled this turn by 1.
- You may do this action multiple times by spending multiple towns.
Note: The Town symbol printed on each map may also be 'spent', meaning you will always start with two available Towns - your Starting Town and the printed Town symbol.
Miss Rolls
When playing solo, you may choose to mark a Miss Roll at any time (you do not need to fill 2 Explorers to use this option.)
The player just ignores the current dice values, marks a Miss Roll, and takes another turn.
If you mark your third Miss Roll, the game is immediately lost.
Scoring
Add all treasure together.
DO NOT add any points for Towns visited or your longest continuous route. DO NOT add any values for statues.
Subtract the sum of all Monster values, including the Additional Monster Points for the Scenario you are attempting.
If you have a positive number, you have won the game - congratulations! Input your score in the Scenario table so you know what you have to spend for the next scenario.
If you have a negative number, the monsters have overcome you. Input your negative score in the Scenario table. (If your score is ever less than -20, input -20.)
Buying
Before your first scenario, you may spend up to 12 points to buy items from the shop, which give you powerful one-time abilities. Mark any items you purchase.
| Cost | Item | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Sword | Reduces a Monster value to 0. |
| 5 | Compass | Change the Active dice to a number of your choice. |
| 7 | Potion | Rub out 2 crosses from the Monster box. |
| 7 | Camp | Instantly claim all gems and shields ready for use (including any previously used ones). |
| 10 | Provisions | Recover 3 used Town spaces. |
| 10 | Magic Cloud | Mark a movement on your map without inputting a number. |
Before each subsequent scenario, you may use any positive points from your previous scenario score to do the same. If you scored negatively or lost the previous scenario, you may spend up to 5 points to re-equip yourself.
Points spent at the shop are NOT deducted for campaign scoring purposes, and any unspent points cannot be used later.
After purchasing, items will remain in your inventory until you use them. Once you activate the ability on an item, it is used and you must remove the mark to show you no longer own it.
You may purchase any combination of items, but may only hold one of each item at a time.
Campaign Scoring
Once you have completed all scenarios, you have finished the campaign. Add up all of the scores (both positive and negative) from the 8 scenarios.
If you have a positive total, congratulations! You have completed the solo campaign for A Wayfarer's Tale. Record your total as your current High Score and consult the score guide to see how well you have done.
If you have a negative total, then the monsters have regrettably overcome you. We wish you better luck on your next adventure!
| Score | Rank |
|---|---|
| 0-49 | You won, congratulations |
| 50-99 | A successful adventure Wayfarer |
| 100-149 | A hero among Wayfarers |
| 150-199 | A legend among heroes |
| 200+ | A god amongst mortals |
Treasure Seeker Tier and Expert Play Sheet
In the Frozen North map, you will find new special hexes.
Note: Frozen North map is exclusive to the Treasure Seeker Kickstarter Tier.
Glaciers
Glaciers are impassable until they thaw. Once a player has visited a number of Towns equal to the value on a Glacier hex they announce it to the group. All players then draw a line around the edge of the corresponding Glacier hexes. Players may now pass through these hexes as though they were Water.
Teleportation Stones
Teleportation Stones allow players to teleport between hexes that contain a stone, once per game. Players follow normal movement rules when travelling to a hex containing a Teleportation Stone. Their next move after visiting a stone may then be taken from a hex containing one of the remaining unvisited stones. This teleportation cannot be saved for later use, and any unused stone(s) will act like regular terrain hexes.
Expert Player Sheet
The Expert Player Sheet contains an additional Bonus track. Whenever a player enters a value into a box containing a Star icon, they may choose to input the same value into the Bonus track. Numbers in the Bonus track must start from the bottom space, increasing in value as you move up the track. When a player fills a box in the Bonus track, they may circle the corresponding bonus to show that it is available for use. These may be used at any time during the game by crossing them off on the Expert Player Sheet.
The bonuses are as follows:
- +/-1 - Adjust the value of a dice you're using this turn by 1.
- Gem re-roll icon - Gain an additional Gem (Treasure re-roll).
- Reroll icon - Reroll all dice when you are the Active Player.
- +/-1 (Treasure) - Immediately input this value as a Treasure, following normal rules.
- +/-2 - Adjust the value of a dice you're using this turn value by up to 2.
- Cross off Monster icon - Cross off a Monster symbol from a space on your player sheet which has not yet been triggered. This space will not trigger a Monster roll during this game.
- x2 Gem - Immediately input double this value as a Treasure, following normal rules.
Companion changes
Merchant: Star icons crossed in the Merchant can be inputted in the Bonus track as the value used to cross them. All other Treasures and Monsters triggered by the Merchant are determined by a roll of the Treasure die as normal.
Guide: The Guide now has a split track. When a player inputs their 4th value in the Guide they must choose which track to use. Future values may only be inputted into the chosen track and the other track is left blank.
Adventurer: The Adventurer path now follows a different shape. Values must be inputted that are either higher or lower than the previous value. This is indicated by the position of the following box.
Credits
Designer: James Emmerson Artist: Tristam Rossin Developer: Bridget Emmerson Rules editor: Jonny Foster
A Wayfarer's Tale is © Copyright James Emmerson and Tristam Rossin 2022.
Playtesters: Heather Baker, Sebastian Clarke, David Emmerson, Sam Guille, James Hitchmough, Daniel Howitt, Mateusz Jurczynski, Frazer Leslie, Greg Skulnick, Lewis Smith, Michael Warnock, Stewart Watt