Archipelago
Archipelago Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Components
- Game Setup
- Turn #0 - Discovering the Archipelago
- How to Win
- Game Turn
- Phase 1: Disengagement
- Phase 2: Order of Play
- Phase 3: Population Effects
- Phase 4: Balance of the Archipelago
- Phase 5: Actions
- Phase 6: Evolution Card Purchase
- How to Use Evolution Cards
- Icon Glossary
- Constructing the Wonders
- End of Game
- Scoring Example
- 2-Player Rules
- Variants
- Card Glossary
- List of Objective Cards
- Credits
Game Components
- 1 action wheel (double-sided): one side for 2-4 players, the other side for 5 players
- 30 secret objective cards, 10 for each desired game length: short, medium, long
- 25 region hexagons, each double-sided with a different region on each side, stored in a separate storage tray
- 51 florin (ƒ) coins, including:
- 21 gold coins with a value of 5ƒ
- 30 silver coins with a value of 1ƒ
- 48 evolution cards, including 24 character cards and 24 progress cards. Reverse side: Balance of the archipelago
- 12 trend cards
- 82 resource cubes:
- 15 × green = Exotic fruit
- 15 × orange = Cattle
- 15 × blue = Fish
- 15 × brown = Wood
- 12 × grey = Stone
- 10 × black = Iron
- 5 sets of player pieces, per player:
- 4 ships
- 10 citizens (meeples)
- 5 Action Discs (AD)
- 1 turn order marker
- 13 market / port tokens
- 13 town / temple tokens
- An evolution track, with room for 5 evolution cards (scoring track on reverse side)
- A domestic market board (I)
- An export market board (II)
- A colony stability board (III) with: one marker to represent the colony population, and one to represent the rebellion level
- A surplus workers board (IV) with: one marker to represent the surplus workers level
- 24 explorer tokens
- 5 player screen aids
- One rule book
Meeple: a game piece in the stylized shape of a person
Game Setup
- Place the four boards (I-IV) at the end of the table.
- On the domestic market board (I), place 6 resource cubes, one of each color, in the corresponding zones. In each zone, place the cube in the upper-left-most corner.
- On the colony stability board (III), position the population marker and rebellion marker on their respective icons (both start at zero at the beginning of the game).
- On the surplus workers board (IV), position the surplus workers marker on its icon (it starts at zero at the beginning of the game).
- All remaining resource cubes, florins, market / port, and town / temple tokens constitute the bank of available resources, money and buildings.
- With the 24 explorer tokens, make 3 piles of 8 tokens each, storing them in the appropriate spaces in the storage tray.
- Assemble and place the evolution track next to the game box. Shuffle the 48 evolution cards, ensuring that they all have the same facing and orientation (this is very important). Place the deck in the storage tray in the space indicated, with the side showing the balance of the archipelago information (reverse side) facing up as shown.
- Place the open sea hexagon at the center of the table.
- Each player chooses a color, takes the player screen aid, 1 ship, 2 citizens, 3 action discs (AD), and the order marker of his color. He places the ship on the open sea hexagon, being careful not to cover any fish icons, and places the other pieces in front of his screen, visible to all. He also receives 10ƒ which he places behind his screen. His other player pieces stay in the box until needed.
- Place the action wheel within reach of all players, with the appropriate side showing for the number of players: one side for 2 to 4-player games; the other side for 5-player games.
Turn #0 - Discovering the Archipelago
- Randomly decide the order of play for this turn. Each player places his order marker on the evolution track in the icon corresponding to his position in the order of play.
- Shuffle the 24 region hexagons and deal each player 3 hexagons (providing 6 different region choices).
Region: one of the two sides of a single hexagon
- Initial exploration: In the order of play indicated on the evolution track, each player in turn chooses one of the 6 regions present on the 3 hexagons he has in hand. He then places it with one side adjacent to the open sea hexagon. Respect the continuity of the landscape: water touching water, fields next to fields, and mountains against mountains. Starting with the second player, hexagons can be placed adjacent to previously placed hexagons as long as they are also adjacent to the open sea hexagon and respect landscape continuity on all touching sides, as shown below. If a player can show that none of his hexagons can be placed, he discards them and draws 3 new hexagons from the top of the region deck.
Note: In later explorations (after turn #0), newly discovered hexagons will need to be placed in contact with at least two existing regions (see Exploration).
- Once a player has placed his first discovered region, he moves his ship from the open sea to the new region, takes the first explorer token from the first pile — closest to the edge of the box, and puts it behind his screen. Then two citizens of his color, taken from in front of his screen, disembark from his ship. Place both citizens on land areas, making sure not to cover any resource icons. The new citizens increase the population by 2 points: move the population marker up 2 points on the colony stability board (III).
Example: In a 4-player game, the population marker is at 8 at the end of turn #0.
- Most regions contain huts. Whenever a player successfully explores a new region by placing his hexagon in the archipelago, he must increase the surplus workers level by the number of huts on the region tile, moving the surplus workers marker accordingly. Note: On each region (except the volcano), the number of resources and huts always adds up to 5.
- Most regions also have resource icons corresponding to the 6 resource types in the game. When a player successfully explores a new region, he selects one of the resources produced by the region. He transfers the corresponding cube from the bank to the appropriate section in the domestic market, placing it in the upper-left-most available spot and moving across, then down. He then selects another resource produced by the region and takes the corresponding cube from the bank, placing it behind his screen. If the region produces only one resource, that resource goes to the domestic market.
Example: The newly discovered region produces 2 wood and 2 fish. The player can decide to place one wood on the domestic market and take one wood for himself, or he can do the same with the fish, or he can take one fish and place one wood on the domestic market, or vice-versa.
- Once all players have completed their first exploration, they return their two unused hexagons as well as any previously discarded hexagons back to the region deck. Shuffle the region deck again and place it in its dedicated storage tray.
- Turn over the first 5 cards from the evolution deck and place them along the evolution track in the orientation shown here: Iron Mine, Local Commerce, Merchant, Pirate, Bishop.
- Shuffle the trend cards, draw one at random, and place it face up so that it is visible to all players at all times. Put the remaining trend cards back in the game box; they will not be used in the game.
- Sort the objective cards into decks of 10 according to the duration icon on their backs. Select an objective card deck based on the desired game duration:
Average game duration in minutes
| Objective deck | 2 players | 5 players |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 30 | 120 |
| Medium | 60 | 180 |
| Long | 90 | 240 |
Do not mix objective cards from different decks. Put the two unused objective decks back in the game box. Shuffle the selected deck. Each player draws an objective card at random, looks at it secretly and places it face down beside him or behind his screen. This card is the most secret information in the game. It should not be revealed and the information on it should not be shared with the other players. Objective cards determine end-of-game and victory conditions (see How to win). Return all unused objective cards to the game box, without looking at them. They will not be used in the game.
See 2-player rules at the end of this rulebook.
- The first turn can now begin.
How to Win
Each objective card indicates an end-of-game condition on its upper half and a victory condition on its lower half.
The game ends when the end-of-game condition on any one player's objective card is met. It is therefore important for each player to constantly keep in mind the end-of-game condition on his objective card.
Example: In a 4-player game, there are four different end-of-game conditions. Each player is only aware of one of them.
At the end of the game, every player is ranked against the victory conditions of all objective cards in play, including those of the other players, and earns victory points (VP) based on his ranking in each objective. (One trophy / medal = 1 VP.)
Note: The end-of-game condition has no bearing on the victory condition. Finishing the game does not score VP.
The objective card layout: the end-of-game condition is on the upper half, with the game length icon in its upper-right corner; the victory condition is on the lower half, showing the ranking criteria on the left and the victory points (VP) awarded per player rank on the right.
Each player can also earn VP from the trend card in play, and from certain character and progress cards (King, Pope, Cathedral, Colossus, etc.).
For more details: See End of game.
For a list of all objective cards: See end of this rulebook.
Archipelago Independence
The game can end prematurely in case of archipelago independence. This happens if the rebellion marker moves past the population marker on the colony stability board (III).
Negotiating
Diplomacy, negotiations, promises, agreements, understandings, alliances... and treachery are commonplace activities in Archipelago. There can never be too much of it! This game is after all only semi-cooperative...
Negotiations and exchanges are authorized with the following constraints:
- Players can only negotiate during their round (Phase 5: Actions), during the resolution of a crisis, and when determining the order of play.
- Players can exchange, sell, give, or loan anything except their units or action discs.
- It is strictly forbidden for any player to voluntarily reveal his secret objective card.
Game Turn
Each turn is divided into 6 phases which must be played in this order:
- Disengagement
- Order of play
- Population effects
- Balance of the archipelago
- Actions*
- Evolution card purchase
*In the order of your choice:
- Play one action
- Use a character or progress card
- Use a market or a port
Phase 1: Disengagement
Skip this phase during turn #1.
Players disengage (rotate 90º counterclockwise) all engaged character and progress cards they control. On each region, citizens and ships that harvested during the previous turn are moved off the resource icons. Make sure that all resource icons are clear of any citizen or ship. Players who have rebel citizens (meeples lying on their backs) stand them up.
Phase 2: Order of Play
To decide the order of play, each player secretly bets a number of florins (ƒ) from behind his screen, placing the bet in his closed fist. Betting nothing is allowed. Each player holds his fist above the table. Once all bets are placed, everyone opens his hand to reveal the amount of his bet. All bet amounts are considered spent and go to the bank.
The player with the highest bet decides the order of play for all players. He can therefore change the order of the players' order markers on the evolution track as he likes. At this time, negotiations and bribes of all kinds are encouraged to try to convince the deciding player to award a better spot on the order of play. If no one has bet anything, the order of play stays unchanged. If two or more players are tied for the highest bet, the bet amounts go to the bank, and then those players bet again. In case of another tie, the order of play stays unchanged.
Phase 3: Population Effects
Colony population marker: Keeps track of the entire colony population, that is, the total number of meeples present on the archipelago at any time.
Citizen: a member of the colony, represented by a colored meeple on the archipelago
Rebellion marker: Keeps track of the level of discontent and frustration on the islands.
Surplus workers marker: Surplus workers are not yet part of the colony and are not physically represented on the archipelago. This marker keeps track of the level of available workers waiting to be recruited into the colony, whether natives or immigrants.
Apply population effects for each of the boards I to IV in order, by moving the surplus workers marker and the rebellion marker on their respective boards as follows:
Board I: Domestic Market
The domestic market is stocked with locally harvested resources. When too many resources are available, fewer workers are needed thereby potentially increasing the surplus workers level, or worse, the rebellion level.
For each of the 6 different resource zones, the row containing the lower-right-most cube indicates with a number of rebel or surplus workers icons by how much to move the surplus workers marker or the rebellion marker. Repeat for all 6 zones.
Example: 5 fish resources on the domestic market moves the surplus worker marker up 1 on the surplus workers board (IV). 6 iron resources moves the rebellion marker up 1 on the colony stability board (III).
Board II: Export Market
The export market is an exchange market with the continent. Resources are on the docks, ready to be shipped out. When the market is saturated, the surplus workers level goes up.
Adjust the surplus workers marker using the same method as for board I.
Board III: Colony Stability
Each game turn represents approximately 15 years of the citizens' lives. The colony stability board shows how the rebellion gains on the population over time. A growing population increases the surplus workers level and the rebellion level.
The row containing the population marker indicates with a number of rebel and surplus workers icons by how much to move the surplus workers marker and the rebellion marker.
Example: A colony population between 11 and 20 moves the surplus workers marker up 1. A colony population between 31 and 40 moves the surplus workers marker up 1 and moves the rebellion marker up 1.
Board IV: Surplus Workers
The surplus workers board displays the level of available workers waiting to be recruited into the colony. As the level increases, the surplus workers become increasingly unhappy.
The row containing the surplus workers marker indicates by how much to move up or down the rebellion marker.
Example: With a surplus workers level between 13 and 17, move the rebellion marker up 2.
Phase 4: Balance of the Archipelago
Skip this phase during turn #1.
The balance of the archipelago is threatened by consumption needs of its inhabitants and export demands from the continent. The nature of the crisis is determined by the back of the card on top of the evolution deck.
The upper half of the card shows the consumption crisis on the domestic market; the lower half shows the consumption crisis on the export market.
Both crises must be resolved to preserve the balance of the archipelago.
Important: In this phase, ignore any red-colored zones that might be present on the card (see Phase 6). The corresponding crisis is not solved in this phase.
Domestic Consumption Crisis
The upper half of the card indicates the type of resource consumed and how many citizens can be sustained by one cube of that resource.
In the example shown, 6 citizens can be sustained with each stone resource cube consumed.
To resolve the crisis, lay all the citizens on their backs, for all players and across the entire archipelago. Ships are not affected by the crisis.
Starting with the first player and continuing in the order of play, each player attempts to satisfy the consumption needs of the archipelago by providing the necessary resources, taking them either from the domestic market board (I) — starting from the bottom-right-most cube of the appropriate section and moving towards the top-left-most cube — or from behind his own screen. Once the responsibility of satisfying consumption needs has moved to another player, previous players can no longer participate in helping solve the crisis.
Obviously, the first players will tend to use up the resources present on the domestic market board (I) first. Then they will use up their own resources, if they so wish. All consumed resources are returned to the bank.
For each resource cube consumed — wherever it comes from — the player who consumed it stands the corresponding number of citizens of his choice up, potentially including other players' citizens.
In the same example shown, the player can stand 6 citizens up for each stone cube consumed.
Once again, this is an ideal time to enter negotiations with other players to compensate any services rendered. The player who consumed the resource must stand the indicated number of citizens up unless all citizens are standing already, even in the case of failed negotiations.
When all citizens are standing again, the crisis has passed and the balance of the archipelago is maintained. Go directly to the resolution of the export market crisis.
Once every player in turn has had a chance to participate, if any citizens are still lying on their backs, they become rebel citizens and will stay rebels until phase 1 of the next turn. Move the rebellion marker up by the number of rebel citizens.
Export Consumption Crisis
The lower half of the card indicates the number and type of resource that must be provided to the export market.
In the same example still, 3 cattle resource cubes must be consumed on the export market.
Starting with the first player and continuing in the order of play, each player will attempt to satisfy the consumption demand of the continent by providing the necessary resources, taking them either from the export market board (II) or from behind his own screen. All consumed resources are returned to the bank.
Once every player in turn has had a chance to participate, if the required number of resources has not been supplied, move the rebellion marker up 1 for each missing resource.
Event
The backs of some evolution cards show an event instead of a domestic or export consumption crisis.
Event: Move the rebellion marker down 2 for each temple in the archipelago.
Important: In this phase, ignore any red-colored events that might be present on the card (see Phase 6).
If the event is not red, it is resolved here.
Note: If the card stays visible on top of the evolution deck for multiple turns, the event is resolved in phase 4 of each of those turns.
Rebel vs. Active Citizens
Rebel citizens refuse to work. They cannot perform any actions. They cannot use or control a building, and they do not contribute to any money during a taxes action.
Active citizens are citizens who are not rebels. They work towards the development of their colony, and can therefore participate in all actions, and can use and control buildings.
Rebel citizen: meeple lying on its back
Active citizen: meeple standing up
Independence
If the rebellion marker ever moves past the population marker, an uprising ensues and the archipelago claims its independence. The game ends immediately. All players have lost the game, unless a player has the Separatist objective card in which case he alone wins the game (see End of game).
Note: Independence is not declared if the rebellion marker is at the same level as the population marker.
Explorer Token Conversion
An explorer token can be turned into a single resource cube of any type during the resolution of a crisis. The explorer token is then removed from the game (do not put it back on the explorer token piles).
An explorer token can only be converted during a crisis or when a player performs an action requiring one or more resources. A resource so obtained contributes towards the action's resource requirement, including selling that same resource. Multiple explorer tokens can be converted into resources during the same action or crisis.
Phase 5: Actions
The action wheel provides 13 different possible actions identified by various zones, including 6 actions to harvest the different types of resources.
The action zones on the wheel are: resource harvest (6 zones), construction, market, recruitment, transaction, reproduction, migration, port, taxes, and exploration.
Rounds: Starting with the first player, and continuing in the order of play, each player plays one round by placing one of his action discs (AD) on the action wheel and performing the corresponding action. Players continue playing rounds until all players have used up their action discs or cannot play anything; then they proceed to phase 6.
At the beginning of the game, each player has 3 action discs. Once the first explorer token pile becomes empty (see Exploration), each player immediately gets a 4th action disc of his color which he can use for the rest of the game, starting with this turn. Once the second explorer token pile becomes empty, each player immediately gets a 5th action disc of his color which he can use for the rest of the game, starting with this turn.
Unlimited action zones: The following actions can be performed more than once by the same or different players: the 6 resource harvest actions, recruitment, construction, transaction, and migration. Just pile up the various action discs on the same action zone (do not cover the action icon). There is no limit to the number of action discs that can be piled on these actions.
Limited action zones: Taxes, reproduction, and exploration can only receive a limited number of action discs, as indicated by the colored circles within the action zones. A player who wishes to perform one of these actions must place his action disc on the circle corresponding to his color if it is not yet occupied. If it is occupied, place the action disc on one of the multicolored circles if one remains available.
The port and market are not considered action zones. They receive florins instead of action discs (see Port, Market).
Do not place the action disc on the icon!
Active player: the player whose round it is
Unit: any ship or citizen (active or rebel)
Active unit: an active citizen or a ship (Ships are always considered active as they cannot rebel.)
Taxes
The taxes action can only be performed a limited number of times per turn.
Move the rebellion marker up 1 each time a player performs this action. For each active citizen, ship, town and temple under his control, the active player receives the number of florins indicated on the tax table from the bank.
| Tax table | Florins |
|---|---|
| Citizen | 1 |
| Ship | 1 |
| Town | 2 |
| Temple | 2 |
Reminder: Rebels do not contribute any money during a taxes action.
Harvest
The harvest actions cover the 6 resource types: Fish (blue cube), Exotic fruit (green cube), Cattle (orange cube), Stone (grey cube), Wood (brown cube), Iron (black cube).
Choose a resource to harvest. The active player deploys as many active, non-engaged units across the entire archipelago as desired on unoccupied resource icons of that type, one unit per icon.
Each unit must remain in the region (hexagon) it occupied before the action.
Fish resources can only be harvested by ships. The other resources can only be harvested by active citizens.
For each deployed unit, the player takes a corresponding resource cube from the bank and places it behind his screen.
There is no limit to the number of resource cubes that can be harvested during a single harvest action. However, a single harvest action can only harvest one type of resource.
Units that participate in the harvest must remain on the resource icons they harvested until the next disengagement phase. They are considered engaged.
Engaged units: Certain actions like harvest, construction of a building, using a port or market engage the units used to perform the action. This means that they are not able to perform additional actions that would require moving them. However, they can still reproduce and recruit in their region.
A player cannot harvest resources in a region that is controlled by another player unless he has that other player's permission (see Towns).
Note: Resource cubes are limited in quantity. If a resource is nearly out of stock at the bank, it is possible that the harvest will not yield as many cubes as the number of harvested locations.
Transaction
Transaction: purchase or sale of one resource cube on either the domestic or export market
The active player may perform one transaction on the domestic market or the export market.
For a purchase, take the lower-right-most cube in the chosen resource zone. For a sale, place the cube on the upper-left-most available space of the corresponding resource zone.
The price of the transaction is determined by the row from which the cube is taken, or on which it is placed. The corresponding money goes to or comes from the bank.
Note: If a resource section is full on a given market, it is no longer possible to sell that resource on that market.
Example: Purchasing one fish cube will cost 4ƒ, a second one also 4ƒ, a third one 6ƒ. Selling one fish cube would bring 4ƒ, selling a second one 3ƒ.
Exploration
The exploration action can only be performed a limited number of times per turn.
The active player decides whether he wants the first visible hexagon of the region deck. If not, he discards it to a separate discard pile and takes the next one. He must make that choice without advance knowledge of the next hexagon and without looking at the other side of the first visible hexagon. The hexagon deck must stay in its dedicated storage tray at all times. Once he has picked a hexagon, the player can look at both sides and decide which region to use.
Note: If the hexagon deck in the storage tray ever becomes empty, shuffle all discarded hexagons into a new deck and place it back into the tray.
Constraints that must be met
- The new region must be placed adjacent to at least two other regions.
- Place the region so as to create a coherent landscape with respect to the sea, field, and mountain connections.
- One of the adjacent regions must contain one of the player's active, non-engaged units (see Engaged units).
- That unit is moved to the newly discovered region, and must be able to get there by sea for a ship, or by land for a citizen (no sea convoy allowed, see Migration). Only one unit is moved to the new region for each exploration.
Effects of exploration
- If the active player cannot place the new hexagon, his exploration fails and the hexagon is discarded.
- If the exploration is successful, the active player receives an explorer token from the first available explorer token pile and places it behind his screen.
- When that pile becomes empty, each player immediately receives an extra action disc of his color (5 maximum).
- The active player chooses a resource among the resources that the new region is capable of producing and takes a corresponding cube from the bank which he places on the domestic market.
- If there are other resource icons on the region, the active player receives a resource cube of his choice from the bank from the remaining resources that the new region is capable of producing. If the region produces only one resource cube, it goes to the domestic market and the player receives nothing.
Example 1: The region has two resource icons, one wood, one exotic fruit. The player places an exotic fruit cube on the domestic market. Since there is no more exotic fruit, he is left with a wood cube for himself.
Example 2: The region has two cattle icons. One cattle cube goes to the domestic market and the second cattle cube goes to the player.
- Increase the surplus workers level by the number of huts shown on the region.
Reproduction
The reproduction action can only be performed once per player per turn.
On each region where the player controls exactly 2 citizens, he can add 1 citizen of his color, taking a meeple from the box. Move the population marker up by the number of new citizens generated by reproduction.
Reminder: The population marker must always match the exact number of citizens present on the archipelago.
Rebels do not reproduce; however, active, engaged citizens can reproduce.
A player can never control more than 10 citizens of his color. A player cannot reproduce in a region where he already has 3 citizens, whether active or rebel.
3-citizen limit: There can never be more than 3 citizens, whether active or rebel, controlled by the same player on a single region. Having units of different colors in the same region is allowed as long as the limit of 3 citizens per player is respected. There is no limit on the number of ships.
Recruitment
The active player can recruit as many workers as he wishes in a single action, as long as he can pay for them and place them.
The recruitment cost for a worker is shown on the surplus workers board (IV), next to the row containing the surplus workers marker. The recruitment cost is paid to the bank.
Example: If there are 5 surplus workers before recruitment, the active player can recruit 1 worker for 3ƒ, and a 2nd worker for another 3ƒ. However, a 3rd worker would cost 4ƒ.
The player takes as many meeples of his color from the reserve as the number of workers recruited and places them on land areas in the regions of his choice where he is already present with at least one active unit, engaged or not. He cannot place them in regions where he already has 3 citizens (see 3-citizen limit).
Lower the surplus workers marker by the number of workers recruited, and increase the population marker by the same number.
Reminder: The population marker must always match the total number of citizens on the archipelago.
Note: Recruiting is not possible if the level of surplus workers is at zero!
Migration
The active player can move all of his active, non-engaged units. Each unit can move to an adjacent region, or it can move to an unoccupied building on the same region or an adjacent region. Ships must move by sea and cannot enter land areas. Citizens must move by land and cannot cross seas unless transported by ships of the same player (see Sea convoy).
At the end of his migration action, a player cannot have more than 3 citizens in a single region (see 3-citizen limit).
Sea convoy
A ship can help one or more citizens cross the sea. A migration of citizens by sea convoy does not use up the ship's migration action. However, citizens who are transported by ship use up their migration action by choosing to be convoyed by sea.
To perform a sea convoy, place the ship participating in the convoy at the junction line between the departure region and arrival region, staying on its region, or on a sea inlet separating two land areas on the same region. The ship can perform its own migration before or after the sea convoy.
Linked convoy: By using multiple ships in a linked convoy, a citizen can be transported across more than one region with a single migration action.
The illustrated examples show: migration to a building on the same region; migration to a building on an adjacent region; sea convoy across a sea inlet on the same region, then the ship moves; migration by land to an adjacent region; a ship leaving port to migrate to an adjacent region; a sea convoy to an adjacent region; and a linked convoy transporting 2 citizens across 2 regions.
Construction
| Construction | Cost |
|---|---|
| Ship | 1 wood + 1ƒ |
| Town | 1 stone + 1 wood + 2ƒ |
| Market | 1 exotic fruit + 1 cattle |
| Port | 1 stone + 1 fish + 2ƒ |
| Temple | 2 stone + 1ƒ |
Building a town, market, port, or temple
The active player can construct a building for the price indicated on the construction cost table above. The construction must happen in a region containing at least one active, non-engaged citizen of the player's color, or alternatively, a ship of his color if building a port.
There can only be one construction of each type per region. Therefore, each region can contain at most one town, one port, one market, and one temple. Constructions are limited by the number of building tokens available in the game.
Once the construction cost in resources and florins is paid to the bank, place a token representing the construction on the region. Town, temple, and market tokens are placed on land areas, not covering any resource icons. Port tokens are placed on the water in contact with the coastline.
The unit that performed the construction is placed on the construction token. That unit is now engaged.
Building a ship
Instead of a building, the active player can build a ship of his color in a region containing a sea area. The ship is built by an active, non-engaged citizen.
Building a ship does not engage the citizen that builds it. The newly built ship is placed on the sea and is immediately available.
Note: Each player is limited to its 4 available ships.
Controlling a building
A player controls a building if he has an active unit on that building.
If a unit leaves a building, the building is no longer controlled, and the first unit that comes to it during a migration, even an opponent's unit, takes control of the building.
Ports
An active, non-engaged citizen or ship can build a port, occupy it, and operate it.
Each port gives its controlling player the opportunity to perform two transactions on the export market (see Transaction) without using action discs. To control a port, the player must either occupy it with an active unit, or control it from a town.
Each player can use one port or market during each of his rounds. To do so, he spends 1ƒ from behind his screen on the action wheel on the port zone matching his color. Each controlled port can be used once and only once during the entire actions phase. Therefore, a player controlling 2 ports could use each port once for a total cost of 2ƒ placed on the port area of his color.
A unit using the advantages provided by the port becomes engaged and is therefore not able to perform any other action that requires engaging it or moving it.
Markets
An active, non-engaged citizen can build a market, occupy it, and operate it.
Each market gives its controlling player the opportunity to perform two transactions on the domestic market (see Transaction) without using action discs. To control a market, a player must either occupy it with an active citizen, or control it from a town.
Markets work the same way as ports. The player spends 1ƒ on the action wheel on the market zone matching his color.
A citizen using the advantages provided by the market becomes engaged and will therefore not be able to perform any other action that requires engaging it or moving it.
Temples
An active, non-engaged citizen can build a temple, occupy it, and operate it.
A citizen on a temple is never laid on its back during the resolution of a crisis. In addition, during the resolution of a crisis, when it is the turn of the player controlling the temple, this player may choose to stand any desired number of citizens present in the temple's region up for free — of his color and/or other players' colors.
To control a temple, a player must either occupy it with an active citizen, or control it from a town.
Special case: If a player controls a temple from a town, but the citizen on the town becomes a rebel, the temple is no longer controlled. In order to use the temple, the player must first be able to stand the citizen up on his town before standing the other citizens on the region up.
Tactical note: Many events on the back of evolution cards move the rebellion marker down by an amount proportionate to the number of controlled temples in the archipelago.
Towns
An active, non-engaged citizen can build a town, occupy it, and operate it.
A town gives the player control of the region on which it is placed as long as he has an active citizen on that town. Controlling a region means that the player controls all the other buildings in the region — port, market, temple — even if he does not have active units engaged on the other buildings. The player can therefore benefit from the advantages provided by the port, market, or temple located in the region as long as he controls the town. Opponents cannot take control of any port, market, or temple on that region.
Using a port or market: If a player uses the advantages of a port or market from the town, the citizen controlling the town becomes engaged and will therefore not be able to perform any other action that requires moving it. He may however use a port in one round, and a market in another.
Controlling harvest: A town also provides control of all the resources present on a region. If other players wish to harvest those resources, they must ask for the town controller's permission. This provides another opportunity to enter negotiations and demand compensation from opponents for services rendered.
Multiple players in a region: If player A builds a town in a region that contains a port, market, or temple which is occupied, and thus controlled by player B, player B remains in control of his building as long as his unit remains on it and does not become a rebel:
- As soon as player B leaves the port/market/temple, player A automatically assumes immediate control of the abandoned building.
- At the end of the resolution of a crisis, if the unit belonging to player B that occupies the port/market becomes a rebel, then player A can choose to expel it from the building and assume control since he controls the town in the region. He removes the rebel from the building and moves it elsewhere on the region, keeping it lying on its back (rebel state).
Player B can take the risk of building a port/market/temple in a region containing a town controlled by Player A. The same rules above apply, meaning that player B will control the building as long as he stays on it, but if he leaves it or if the unit on it becomes a rebel, player A will assume its control.
Sea Inlets
Two citizens on opposite banks of a sea inlet cannot reproduce. A citizen cannot harvest a resource located on the opposite bank. A ship may recruit workers on either or both banks. A town controls the resources and unoccupied buildings on both banks. A temple allows that citizens may be stood up on both banks.
During the exploration in turn zero, you may deploy your citizens on either or both banks.
Phase 6: Evolution Card Purchase
Return all used action discs to their respective players. The 1ƒ coins on the port and market zones of the action wheel go to the bank.
At any given time, the evolution track contains 5 cards representing the current set of evolution cards available for purchase.
Starting with the first player and continuing in the order of play,
each player must either:
- Purchase an evolution card and rotate one of the remaining cards — in that order
or
- Rotate two different cards.
The red triangles on the evolution track point towards the cost icon of each card (in florins). When purchasing a card, the player pays the cost indicated by the red pointer to the bank; then he takes the card and places it in front of him, visible to all players.
When rotating a card, rotate it 90º clockwise.
The cost of the card will change, going up or down depending on the card. If the red pointer points to the skull on the card after the card is rotated, discard the card.
Once a card is purchased and/or cards are rotated, if any spaces on the evolution track become empty as a result, fill them with cards drawn from the evolution deck, one at a time, to fill the empty spaces. Each new card is oriented upright such that it can be read, like the Merchant on the example shown.
Example: The first player chooses to rotate two cards rather than make a purchase. He rotates the Pirate card and the Local Commerce card.
Two more players also rotate the Pirate card. The red triangle now points to its skull icon, so it must be discarded.
The space left empty is filled with the top card of the evolution deck. The new card is the Exporter. It is placed in the empty slot, oriented upright so it can be read. The back of the card on top of the evolution deck contains a red zone, a crisis on the domestic market, which must be resolved immediately.
Important: If, as a result of drawing a card, the next card on top of the deck includes a red zone on its back, the corresponding crisis or event must be resolved immediately, following the rules in Phase 4. Non-red zones are ignored in this phase. They will come into play in Phase 4 of next turn.
Examples of red zones: an immediate crisis on the domestic market; an immediate crisis on the export market; an immediate event: Move the rebellion marker down 1 for each temple in the archipelago; an immediate event: Move the rebellion marker up 1 for each town in the archipelago.
Note: It is possible for two cards to be removed from the evolution track at the same time, potentially causing two immediate crises and/or events to be triggered during a single player's purchase.
Tactical note: Unlike in a normal crisis resolved in Phase 4, in an immediate crisis, only the total number of citizens still lying on their backs at the end of the crisis matters because they increase the rebellion level. It does not matter who they belong to, since all citizens will become active again in Phase 1 of the next turn.
How to Use Evolution Cards
Evolution cards (character or progress) can only be used during the actions phase. It is therefore not possible to use a card immediately after purchase because the actions phase is over at that time.
Each player can use one evolution card during each of his rounds. Pay the card's activation cost, engage it by rotating it clockwise one quarter of a turn, and apply its effects. Once a card is activated, it cannot be activated again in the same turn. It must first be disengaged during the disengagement phase.
Example (progress card — Sawmill): Player A wants to harvest wood. He uses player B's Sawmill card to double his harvest, by paying 2ƒ to player B, the normal 1ƒ cost and an additional 1ƒ (see Icon glossary), and engaging his card. If he sends 3 citizens to 3 different wood resource icons on the archipelago, he will harvest 6 wood resources instead of 3. Now player B can no longer use his Sawmill card until it is disengaged again in the next disengagement phase.
Example (character card — Pirate): Player B wants to use his Pirate card. Only he can use it. He engages it, places 1 action disc on the card and applies its effects.
Icon Glossary
- Black arrow: Only the player who owns the card can activate it to use its effects. He pays the cost in florins and resources to the bank.
- Multicolored arrow: Any player can activate the card to use its effects. He pays the cost in florins, plus 1ƒ, to the card's owner. If there are no florin costs, he still pays 1ƒ to the owner. Resource costs are paid to the bank. If the card's owner uses the card, he pays the normal cost in florins and resources to the bank.
- Multicolored disc: Spend the indicated number of action discs by placing them on the card.
- Coin with a number: Pay the indicated cost in florins.
- Coin with a question mark: Pay the cost as described on the card. Any mention of a minimal cost refers to the lowest cost in florins among the three costs shown in the card's corners.
- Resource cube: Pay the indicated cost in resources to the bank.
- Multicolored cube: Any resource cube. See text on the card for more information.
- +/- rebel face: Move the rebellion marker up or down by the number of icons shown.
- +/- native face: Move the surplus workers marker up or down by the number of icons shown.
- Resource ×2: During harvest of the resource type shown, double the number of resource cubes received.
- Medal: Earns the player 1 VP / medal at the end of the game. If the card is a wonder, it must be built first.
- Book: See Card glossary for more information.
Constructing the Wonders
Progress cards with a construction icon are wonders. Wonder cards do not have activation arrows. They are not activated, they are built.
During his round, instead of using a normal evolution card, the active player can build one of his wonders purchased in a previous turn.
He pays the card's building cost, and applies its one-time effect; once built, a wonder cannot be built again.
Then, he removes one of his active, non-engaged citizens from anywhere on the archipelago and places it on the wonder just built. Move the population marker down 1.
A built wonder earns the controlling player VP at the end of the game, as indicated on the card.
Note: Unbuilt wonders do not earn the player VP. However, they still count as a progress card when scoring that criteria.
Example (Great Lighthouse): The player must control at least one port to be able to build the Great Lighthouse. Spend 1 iron resource, 2 stone resources, and one action disc, and place one of the player's active, non-engaged citizen on the card. Every player adds a ship in each region where he controls a port. The Great Lighthouse earns its controller 1 VP at the end of the game.
End of Game
The game can end in one of two ways:
War of independence: The rebellion marker moves past the population marker on the colony stability board (III). The game ends immediately.
End-of-game condition reached: A player reveals his objective card as soon as the end-of-game condition on the card is achieved. The game ends at the end of the active player's round.
For a list of all possible end-of-game conditions: See List of objective cards at the end of this rulebook.
Who wins?
- If a war of independence is declared and no player has the Separatist objective card, all players have lost.
- If a war of independence is declared and one player has the Separatist objective card, he alone wins the game. All other players have lost.
- If the game ends because an end-of-game condition is reached, all players have won the game. Players then count the victory points earned to determine the grand winner.
Note: The Separatist and the Pacifist participate in counting victory points and can thus win the game independently of their objective.
Scoring Objective Cards
(One trophy / medal = 1 VP.)
Lay the objective cards of all players down side by side. Set aside the Separatist and Pacifist cards if present. The remaining cards contain objectives that concern all players. One card at a time, rank the players according to the criteria specified in the victory conditions zone of the card. The highest-ranking player in the specified criteria scores 3 VP, the second best scores 2 VP, the third 1 VP.
Players who have nothing that can match the criteria are not ranked. If two players are tied on a given criteria, they both get the points corresponding to their ranking. The next players in the ranking are not shifted down: they take the next spot. Players can only earn VP if they place in the top 3 rankings.
Example: Yellow and Red are tied for first place, so they both earn 3 VP. Blue takes second place and earns 2 VP, and Green gets 1 VP for third place.
Pacifist objective: If, at the end of the game, the difference between the population marker and the rebellion marker is achieved as described on the Pacifist card, the Pacifist player alone scores 3 VP.
For a list of all possible victory conditions: See List of objective cards at the end of this rulebook.
Scoring the Trend Card
Each player is also ranked according to the criteria specified on the trend card, earning between 2 and 4 VP.
Benefactor
The Benefactor card is different from other trend cards. It is divided into 5 zones, one for each player color. When a player spends a resource cube or explorer token from behind his screen to help resolve a crisis, he takes 1ƒ from the bank and places it on the Benefactor card in the zone corresponding to his color. He does the same when he builds a temple.
At the end of the game, the player who has the most florins in his zone of the Benefactor card scores 4 VP, the second highest scores 3 VP, and the third highest 2 VP. Players can replace five 1ƒ coins with a single 5ƒ coin if needed during play.
Scoring Evolution Cards
Some character cards, such as the King and the Pope, earn the players VP at the end of the game, as shown by the medal on the card. All built wonders earn the players VP.
And the Grand Winner Is...
Each player adds up his VP scored. The player with the most VP is declared the grand winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most money behind his screen among the tied players is declared the grand winner.
Scoring Example
The cards used in this example are: the Temple trend card, the Iron objective, the Progress objective, the Temple objective, and the Separatist objective.
A 4-player game ends with two resources running out. One of the players has the Separatist objective but was unable to trigger a war of independence, so he does not earn any VP from his card. It is shown in reduced size in the example. The objective cards of the other 3 players are laid down side by side along with the trend card.
Temple trend: Green controls 4 temples, Blue controls 3 temples, Red controls 2 temples, and Yellow controls 1 temple. Green ranks first scoring 4 VP, Blue ranks second and scores 3 VP, Red ranks third and scores 2 VP. Yellow ranks fourth and does not earn any VP.
Iron objective: Yellow reveals 6 iron cubes from behind his screen, ranks first, and scores 3 VP. Red ranks second with 4 iron cubes and earns 2 VP. Blue and Green have no iron and do not participate in the ranking.
Progress objective: Blue has 3 progress cards, Yellow also has 3, Red has 1. Blue and Yellow are tied on this criteria and score 3 VP each. Red ranks in second place and scores 2 VP.
Temple objective: Just as for the temple trend card, Green is first and scores 3 VP (fewer VP than with the trend card), Blue is second and scores 2 VP, Red is third and scores 1 VP.
Wonders: Blue built the Great Lighthouse which earns him 1 VP.
Character cards: Green controls the King, which earns him 1 VP.
Grand winner: A tally of the score shows that Blue is first overall with 9 VP, Green is second with 8 VP, Red comes in third with 7 VP, and Yellow is fourth with 6 VP.
Note: Since two cards involved temples (trend and objective), players scored VP twice for this criteria.
Hint: To speed up and simplify the scoring, use units in the color of each player, taken from the reserve in the storage tray — or, if the reserve is empty, from units on the map not related to any of the objectives — and place them on each card on the line corresponding to their respective ranking, as shown in the example. It makes it easy to add up each player's score across all the cards. As an alternative, flip over the evolution track and use the scoring track printed on the back with ship units to mark the scores.
2-Player Rules
The game is played with the following modifications:
- Remove the Pacifist and Separatist cards from the objective deck.
- Each player draws and plays with 2 objective cards.
- One player controls the warm colors (red and yellow), the other controls the cool colors (green and blue). If they run out of ships or citizens in their first color, they can start using the second color. However, players are still limited to 5 action discs each, not 10.
- In case of a tie while determining the order of play, there is not a second bet. The order of play stays unchanged.
Variants
The following variants will provide different game experiences. Most of them can be combined for even more diversity.
Desert Start
Use the desert village region as the starting region. Players start the game without a ship. Each player starts with 2 citizens on the desert region. Since the desert region has 5 huts, start the surplus workers marker at 5. Play turn #0 as for the normal open sea start. After placing his first hexagon, each player moves one of his two citizens to the newly discovered region. The rest of the game is played normally.
No Secrets Between Friends
Players do not draw objective cards at the beginning of the game. Remove the Separatist and Pacifist cards from the deck. Reveal as many objective cards as there are players. Leave them visible for all players to see for the duration of the game. These cards show end-of-game and victory conditions that are common to all players. In a way, they behave as trend cards. Do not use trend cards if using this variant.
More Control
Reveal two trend cards at the beginning of the game.
More Spice
Each player draws two objective cards at the beginning of the game, chooses one, and discards the other.
Choose the Trend
At the beginning of turn #0, before the players receive their 3 hexagons, they discuss and collectively choose the trend card they want to use.
Benefactor
Use the Benefactor trend card, and draw a second trend card from the deck. Remove the Separatist and Pacifist objective cards from the deck. Choose this variant to reduce the odds of a war of independence breaking out. Players still draw objective cards. This variant is recommended in a 2-player game.
Card Glossary
Amphitheater: Earn 2ƒ from the bank and move the rebellion marker down 1.
Archbishop: Move the rebellion marker down as determined by the total number of temples in the archipelago:
- 0-2 temples: move the marker down 1
- 3-4 temples: move the marker down 2
- 5 temples or more: move the marker down 3
Barbarian: The coin stays on the pillaged resources for the rest of the game indicating that they can no longer be harvested. Note: Towns do not protect against the Barbarian.
Cathedral: You must control at least one temple to be able to build the Cathedral. Spend 3 stone resources and 2 action discs. Move the rebellion marker down 1 for each temple in the archipelago. The Cathedral earns its controller 2 VP at the end of the game.
Colossus: Spend 3 iron resources and 1 action disc. Move the surplus workers marker down 1. The Colossus earns its controller 1 VP at the end of the game.
Emigration: Move the surplus workers marker down 1 for each port in the archipelago.
Exporter / Merchant: The price of each cube is determined by the row in which the cube is placed or from which it is taken, as in a regular transaction action.
Gifts from the clergy: Option 1: give an exotic fruit resource to the bank and move the rebellion marker down 1, OR: Option 2: give an exotic fruit resource and a cattle resource to the bank and move the rebellion marker down 2.
Great Lighthouse: You must control at least one port to be able to build the Great Lighthouse. Spend 1 iron resource, 2 stone resources, and one action disc. Every player adds a ship in each region where he controls a port. The Great Lighthouse earns its controller 1 VP at the end of the game.
Head-hunter / Researcher: Ignore any red-colored zones on the 5 revealed cards. However, if a red-colored zone appears on the 6th card now on top of the evolution deck, resolve it immediately.
Pirate: The destroyed ship goes back to the player's reserve and can be rebuilt at a later time.
Pope: Move the rebellion marker down 1 for each temple in the archipelago. The Pope earns its controller 1 VP at the end of the game.
Pyramid: Spend 5 stone resources and 2 action discs. Move the rebellion marker up 2. The Pyramid earns its controller 2 VP at the end of the game.
Recruiter: The worker's recruitment cost is determined by the surplus workers board (IV), as in a regular recruitment action.
Thief: If the targeted player only has one resource, he places it in one hand and leaves the other hand empty. If he has none, he must lift up his screen to prove it.
List of Objective Cards
Each objective card shows an end-of-game condition on its upper half and a victory condition on its lower half.
Long Game Objectives
| End-of-game condition | Victory condition |
|---|---|
| total number of towns in play: 5 towns in a 2-player game, 6 towns in a 3-player game, etc. | number of explorer tokens behind each player's screen |
| total number of ports in play: 5 ports in a 2-player game, 6 ports in a 3-player game, etc. | amount of money behind each player's screen |
| total number of markets in play: 5 markets in a 2-player game, 6 markets in a 3-player game, etc. | number of temples controlled by each player |
| any 3 resources run out at the bank | number of ports controlled by each player |
| total number of character and progress cards in play: 12 cards in a 2-player game, 16 cards in a 3-player game, etc. | Each player adds up the total number of fish resources in regions he controls with towns. |
| total number of temples in play: 5 temples in a 2-player game, 6 temples in a 3-player game, etc. | Each player adds up the total number of exotic fruit resources in regions he controls with towns. |
| all 3 explorer token piles are exhausted | number of character cards controlled by each player |
| total number of ships in play: 6 ships in a 2-player game, 8 ships in a 3-player game, etc. | number of progress cards controlled by each player |
| surplus workers level higher than 21 | Pacifist: If the difference between the population marker and the rebellion marker is higher than 10, the Pacifist alone scores 3 VP. |
| bank is out of money | Separatist: If the rebellion marker moves past the population marker, the Separatist wins alone. |
Short Game Objectives
| End-of-game condition | Victory condition |
|---|---|
| any 2 resources run out at the bank | number of temples controlled by each player |
| total number of progress cards in play: 4 cards in a 2-player game, 5 cards in a 3-player game, etc. | number of markets controlled by each player |
| 2 explorer token piles exhausted | amount of money behind each player's screen |
| total number of temples in play: 2 temples in a 2-player game, 3 temples in a 3-player game, etc. | number of character cards controlled by each player |
| total number of character cards in play: 4 characters in a 2-player game, 5 characters in a 3-player game, etc. | number of explorer tokens behind each player's screen |
| total number of markets in play: 3 markets in a 2-player game, 4 markets in a 3-player game, etc. | number of iron resources behind each player's screen |
| total number of towns in play: 3 towns in a 2-player game, 4 towns in a 3-player game, etc. | number of ports controlled by each player |
| total number of ports in play: 3 ports in a 2-player game, 4 ports in a 3-player game, etc. | number of progress cards controlled by each player |
| Population marker reaches or exceeds: 22 citizens in a 3-player game, etc. (not used in a 2-player game) | Pacifist: If the difference between the population marker and the rebellion marker is higher than 15, the Pacifist alone scores 3 VP. |
| all 3 explorer token piles exhausted | Separatist: If the rebellion marker moves past the population marker, the Separatist wins alone. |
Medium Game Objectives
| End-of-game condition | Victory condition |
|---|---|
| total number of character cards in play: 5 characters in a 2-player game, 8 characters in a 3-player game, etc. | number of fish resources behind each player's screen |
| all 3 explorer token piles are exhausted | Each player adds up the total number of iron resources in regions he controls with towns. |
| total number of markets in play: 4 markets in a 2-player game, 5 markets in a 3-player game, etc. | Each player adds up the total number of wood resources in regions he controls with towns. |
| total number of temples in plays: 4 temples in a 2-player game, 5 temples in a 3-player game, etc. | total number of character and progress cards controlled by each player |
| total number of towns in play: 4 towns in a 2-player game, 5 towns in a 3-player game, etc. | number of explorer tokens behind each player's screen |
| Population marker reaches or exceeds: 20 citizens in a 2-player game, 27 citizens in a 3-player game, etc. | total number of ports and markets controlled by each player |
| total number of ports in play: 4 ports in a 2-player game, 5 ports in a 3-player game, etc. | number of temples controlled by each player |
| total number of progress cards in play: 5 cards in a 2-player game, 8 cards in a 3-player game, etc. | amount of money behind each player's screen |
| any 3 resources run out at the bank | Pacifist: If the difference between the population marker and the rebellion marker is higher than 12, the Pacifist alone scores 3 VP. |
| bank is out of money | Separatist: If the rebellion marker moves past the population marker, the Separatist wins alone. |
Credits
- Christophe Bœlinger — Game design, Graphic vision, Communication, Graphic layout (Ludically)
- Jean-Charles Mourey — Graphic layout, Rules doctor, English translation, Manufacturing, Website (Ludically)
- Vincent Boulanger — Principal illustrator: Covers, Progress illustrations, Game components, Icons, Pencil sketches etc.
- Ismaël — Tile artwork
- Chris Quilliams — Character artwork
- Saskia Ruth — German translator, Fair promoter, Dungeon Twister champion
Thank you!
We are very grateful to all the playtesters who have followed and contributed to the evolution of Archipelago since its inception. There are so many of you that it would be impossible to make a list here. Thank you all!
Thank you to the artists: Vincent Boulanger, Ismaël, and Chris Quilliams, who gave life to the project with their talent and passion.
Thank you to our outstanding German translator and Dungeon Twister champion: Saskia 'Puk' Ruth.
Thank you to our diligent reviewers of the rules: Cecilia Mourey, Alexandre Figuière, Fabrice Wiels (Sherinford), Xavier Saissy, Eric Franklin, Olivier Grassini, Henri Bendelac, Vesna Six, Christian Senksis.
Thank you to Mops, Phal, Guido from Tric Trac, as well as all their readers, for their support and enthusiasm.
Thank you to Stefan Blessing from Ludofact for his efficiency and friendliness. Thank you to Léonidas Vesperini from Ravage for his support.
Thank you to Stéphane Burgunder and his skiing / gaming weeks in Valmeinier, where Archipelago was largely created, reworked, and tested with skiing gamers ;)
Thanks to you, the reader, who is still reading this... But you'd better go play! You have an archipelago to explore...
For latest updates on Archipelago and other games: www.ludically.com — email: [email protected]
(Rulebook version 2.0)