Broadhorns: Early Trade on the Mississippi Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object
• Setup
  • Preparing for a New Expedition (St. Louis)
• Playing the Game
  • 1. Refresh Market
  • 2. Spoil Cargo
  • 3. Take 2 Actions
    • Port Action
    • Sell (part of a Port Action)
    • Buy (part of a Port Action)
    • Travelers
    • Move Action
  • 4. Draw an Expedition Card
  • Hand Limit
  • Ending an Expedition and Selling the Broadhorn
• Examples
• Seasons
• Game End
  • Determining the Winner

Contents

• 4 Broadhorn Game Pieces
• Start Player Marker
• 8 Broadhorn Boat Cards (2 of each color)
• Gameboard
• 4 Gold Markers
• 73 Expedition Cards
• 4 Summary Cards
• 60 Cargo Barrels (12 of each type)
• Draw Bag
• 60 Town Tiles

Object

The object of the game is to be the most successful merchant by having the most gold at the end of the game.

Setup

Place the game board in the center of the table.

For each town, shuffle and draw 3 corresponding town tiles and place them in a face up stack on the town space. Place the remaining tiles in the box.

Shuffle the expedition cards and place them in the draw box on the game board.

Place matching barrels on all the 2 and 3 spaces on the market. Place the remaining cargo barrels in the draw bag.

Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding broadhorn boat cards (2), broadhorn game piece (1) and gold marker (1). All players place their broadhorn game piece in the water space adjacent to St. Louis.

Choose a player to go first, that player takes the start player marker.

The first player begins with 6 gold. The second player begins with 7 gold. The third and fourth players begin with 8 gold. Players place their score markers on the corresponding gold space on the score track.

Each player draws 1 expedition card as their starting hand, discarding any spoil cards and drawing again. Once all players have a non-spoil card shuffle any discarded spoil cards back into the deck.

Preparing for a New Expedition (St. Louis)

At the beginning of the game and whenever an expedition is completed or terminated, the player's broadhorn game piece is placed on the space next to St. Louis and the player prepares for a new expedition. The players will perform a port action to purchase a new broadhorn for each expedition and then purchase cargo.

Types of cargo in the game: Flour, Apples, Pork, Furs, Whiskey.

Flour, apples and pork are perishable cargo and may spoil during an expedition (see 2. Spoil Cargo). Fur and whiskey are nonperishable and do not spoil.

Playing the Game

All players begin the game in St. Louis preparing for a new expedition. Beginning with the start player and continuing clockwise, each player performs the following 4 steps:

1. Refresh Market
2. Spoil Cargo
3. Take 2 Actions
4. Draw an Expedition Card

1. Refresh Market

If the previous player purchased cargo, then the market must be refreshed. Draw additional cargo barrels until the market again has 10 cargo barrels. For each cargo type, start with the space on row 3 and proceed down to row 2. Any additional cargo barrels are placed in the large 1 space.

Market Example: Cargo barrels are drawn until there are again 10 barrels on the market. The barrels are placed on the Market beginning with the "3" value space and proceeding down. Once the "3" and "2" spaces are filled for each type of cargo, any additional barrels of that type are placed on the large "1" space. For example, the first flour cargo barrel (white) is placed on the white 3 space. The second flour cargo barrel is placed on the white 2 space. Any additional flour cargo barrels are placed on the large 1 space.

The Market determines the price of each type of cargo.

2. Spoil Cargo

The player moves each of their perishable cargo barrels (flour, apples and pork) one space to the right on the cargo box. If any cargo barrels were already on the final cargo space they are lost and are returned to the draw bag. Skip this step during winter (See Seasons).

3. Take 2 Actions

The player performs 2 actions. Actions in the game are:

• Port (Sell, Buy and Pickup/Drop off travelers)
• Move (move broadhorn, may be performed twice on the same turn)

Port Action

A player may perform a Port Action when they are on the port entrance space of a town along the river. A player may only perform one port action per town per expedition. The player's broadhorn piece is moved to the port space; this does not cost a movement point. More than one broadhorn may occupy the port space at the same time. During a port action, the player may perform any or all of the port functions in order: Sell, Buy and Pickup/Drop-off travelers.

Town elements: Port Entrance Space, Port Space, Town Tile, Town Bonus, Space for Town Cards, Port Exit Space, Wreaths (end game bonus), Available Cargo Types, Cost Increases, Cargo Space, Cargo Value. Each player's boat card has a Cargo Box with an Initial Cargo Space and a Final Cargo Space.

Sell (part of a Port Action)

When a player performs a port action at a town they may sell cargo. A player may sell 1 cargo barrel for each empty cargo space at the town for the indicated value. Sold cargo barrels are placed on the corresponding cargo spaces. A player may always sell cargo barrels without corresponding empty spaces at the town for 1 gold each. Cargo barrels sold without empty spaces are immediately returned to the draw bag.

Deliver Cards. When a player sells a cargo barrel matching an empty cargo space at a town they may claim a delivery card to receive an additional 2 gold. The deliver card may be in the player's hand or on the space for town cards. Only 1 delivery card may be claimed per delivery and the bonus is only applied once even if multiple cargo barrels of the matching type are sold. Claimed deliver cards are placed on the discard pile.

Filling Up a Town. When a player fills the last cargo space for a town, the town is considered full. Once a town is full, the town resets at the end of the sell and all the cargo barrels are removed. The player chooses one of the perishable cargo barrels (flour, apples or pork) to place on the season track (see Seasons). The rest of the cargo barrels are returned to the draw bag. The player takes the town tile; the number of wreaths on the town tile are used for end game scoring. The revealed tile now shows the values at the town. If the third tile is removed from a town, the values on the board are the values for the town for the remainder of the game.

Town Bonus. If a player sells at least 2 cargo barrels that have empty cargo spaces or fills up a town's last cargo space, they receive the town bonus for that town. The town bonus is the number on the gold coin next to the town name.

Buy (part of a Port Action)

Buying in St. Louis. When a player performs a port action in St. Louis they are only able to buy. The player will first choose a broadhorn and then purchase cargo.

A. Choose a Broadhorn. The player chooses which size broadhorn (20ft, 30ft or 40ft) they will use for the expedition. At the beginning of the game the player will only be able to afford the 20ft broadhorn. The player moves their gold marker back along the score track the cost of the broadhorn. The smallest broadhorn has 0 cost, indicating that it is being constructed from available lumber. The player places the corresponding broadhorn boat card in front of them.

The characteristics of each broadhorn are printed on the boat card:

• Cost: the purchase cost of the broadhorn
• Occupants: number of travelers the boat may hold
• Speed: the number of spaces the boat may move per action (base speed)
• Resale: the gold received when the boat is sold for scrap wood at the end of an expedition
• Hand Limit: the maximum number of cards a player may keep in their hand

In addition, each broadhorn boat card has a number of cargo boxes indicating the amount of cargo the boat may hold. (For example, the 30 ft. broadhorn boat card has 5 cargo boxes.)

B. Purchase Cargo. The player purchases cargo barrels from the market, the cost being determined by the section where the cargo barrel is located on the market. A player may also purchase cargo barrels directly from the draw bag at a cost of 4 gold each. When in St. Louis, a player may purchase as many cargo barrels as they desire during the port action. The player moves their gold marker back along the score track equal to the cost of the purchased cargo. The player places each purchased cargo barrels on the initial cargo space in one of the cargo boxes on the player's broadhorn boat card (See Cargo Box). The player may not purchase more cargo barrels than available cargo boxes on the boat card. The player is not required to fill the boat completely and may decide to start the expedition with empty cargo boxes.

Example: Julia begins her turn in St. Louis with 12 gold preparing for her next expedition. The market looks like the Market Example. She begins by performing a port action. She first decides to purchase a 30ft broadhorn and moves her gold marker back 4. She decides to purchases 2 flour and 2 apple cargo barrels. The cost for the cargo barrels is 7 and she moves her gold marker accordingly. As her second action, she performs a move action and begins her expedition with 1 cargo box still empty on her broadhorn.

Buying along the river. When a player performs a port action at a town, they may purchase cargo types indicated on the banner at the town. The cost of the cargo barrels is the market value in St. Louis plus the cost increase indicated on the cargo type. If a player had filled the town during the same port action they will use the cost increases on the just removed tile (see Filling up a town). Purchased cargo barrels are taken from the market.

Travelers

When a player performs a port action at a town, they may choose to pick up travelers, provided they have room on their broadhorn. The travelers may either be in the player's hand or on the space for town cards. The number of travelers may not exceed the number of occupants indicated on the boat card. If the player decides to pick up a traveler, they place it face up next to their boat card. When the player performs a port action at the traveler's destination town, the player discards the traveler card and receives the indicated amount of gold and advances their gold marker accordingly. The player may drop a traveler off at any town prior to the traveler's destination. The traveler is then placed on the card space for that town and no gold is received. If a player passes the traveler's destination without stopping at the port, then the traveler is placed on the discard pile. A player may perform a port action and not buy or sell in order to pick up and/or drop off travelers.

Move Action

The player moves their broadhorn the indicated speed (base speed) on the broadhorn boat card plus any modification from the current season (see Seasons). The player moves his broadhorn game piece on the alternating light blue and dark blues spaces on the river. The player does not have to move the full movement amount, but must move at least 1 space if using a move action. If a player performs 2 move action on the same turn they receive a bonus move action at the current speed (base speed plus any modifiers).

4. Draw an Expedition Card

The player draws the next card from the Expedition Card draw pile. Reshuffle the discard pile if the draw pile is empty. There are 6 types of expedition cards in the game: Delivery, Traveler, Spoil, Ice, Peddler and Good Current.

• Delivery cards (30 cards) - When a player draws a delivery card they add it to their hand. Delivery cards represent demand for each cargo and will be worth a 2 gold bonus when that cargo is sold at the town.
• Traveler cards (16 cards) - When a player draws a traveler card they add it to their hand. During the game, the players will be able to pick up the travelers and take them to their destination and receive the amount of gold shown on the card.
• Spoil cards (12 cards) - When a player draws a spoil card they reveal it to all players. The card is resolved, affecting all players, and placed on the discard pile. Each cargo barrel of the indicated type is moved one space to the right on the cargo box. During summer, all perishable cargo barrels are moved. The player then draws another card, discarding any additional spoil cards until a non-spoil card is drawn.
• Ice cards (5 cards) - When a player draws an ice card they add it to their hand. An ice card may be discarded to skip a spoil, either from a spoil card or the spoil step on their turn. Alternatively, an ice card may be discarded to receive a 1 gold bonus when a perishable cargo is sold.
• Peddler cards (5 cards) - When a player draws a peddler card they add it to their hand. A peddler card may be discarded during a buy action at any town in order to purchase 1 cargo of any type at market value +1.
• Good Current (5 Cards) - When a player draws a good current card they add it to their hand. A good current card may be discarded to move up to 2 extra spaces for each move action on a turn.

Hand Limit

When a player exceeds their hand limit (determined by the size of broadhorn they have chosen, see Choose a broadhorn) they must choose a card to discard. If the chosen card is a Traveler or Delivery, it is placed face up on the space for town cards next to the corresponding town. Ice, Peddler and Good Current cards are placed on the discard pile. Travelers cards that have been placed next to a player's boardhorn no longer count towards the hand limit (see Travelers). A player without a broadhorn has no hand limit. The player will discard down to the hand limit at the end of the turn when a new broadhorn is purchased.

Ending an Expedition and Selling the Broadhorn

A player may make as many stops on an expedition as desired. The player may end an expedition at any time. Ending an expedition does not cost an action. If the player ends the expedition not during a port action they return all undelivered cargo barrels to the draw bag and travelers they had picked up to the expedition discard pile. When a player decides to end the expedition during a port action, which is usually the same turn that they have sold their last cargo barrel or dropped off their last traveler, they receive the resale value for the broadhorn (sold for scrap wood). Reselling the broadhorn is done at the end of the port action. If the player had picked up any travelers and did not reach their destination town, then the travelers are placed face up at the current town. The player then places his broadhorn game piece back in St. Louis to prepare for a new expedition. If the player has an action left they may immediately perform a port action in St. Louis.

Examples

Example 1. John begins his turn on the port entrance space for Vicksburg. All of Vicksburg's cargo spaces are empty and there are delivery cards for Fur and Whiskey. He performs a port action and moves his broadhorn to the port space. He has an Apple delivery card in his hand. John only has 1 apple cargo barrel on his 20ft broadhorn so he sells the apple cargo barrel and receives 6 gold (4 + 2 for the delivery card). He places the apple cargo barrel on the apple cargo space and places the Apple delivery card on the discard pile. He also drops off a traveler for 3 gold and places the traveler card on the discard pile. He ends his expedition by selling his broadhorn for 1 gold and placing his broadhorn game piece next to St. Louis to prepare for a new expedition. He then uses his second action to perform a port action in St. Louis.

Example 2. Sarah begins by performing a move action and ends her movement on the port entrance space for Vicksburg. Vicksburg's Apple cargo space is filled. She then performs a port action. She moves her broadhorn to the port space and decides to sell whiskey, pork and furs cargo barrels; filling up the town. She decided to claim the pork delivery card from her hand. She also decides to sell her apple cargo barrel which is about to spoil but only receives 1 gold for it since there is not a free apple space. She also receives the +2 town bonus for selling 2 or more cargo barrels. Sarah receives 17 gold: 13 for the cargo barrels, +2 for the delivery card and +2 for the town bonus. The delivery card is placed on the discard pile. Since the town was filled up, she places one of the perishable cargos (flour, apple or pork) on the Season Track and returns the other cargos barrels to the draw bag. Also, since the town filled up she takes the top town tile. She then decides to buy 2 flour at a cost increase of +2, the value on the town tile that was just removed.

Example 3. William begins his turn on the port entrance space of Vicksburg and performs a port action. He does not have any cargo barrels he wishes to sell but he does want to buy cargo. There are 2 flour cargo barrels in the "1" section of the market, he purchases these for 3 gold each due to the cost increase of +2 at Vicksburg. He also picks up a traveler heading to Baton Rouge. William then uses his second action to perform a move action.

Seasons

The game is played over the course of a year beginning in the autumn. The game concludes with a harvest and one final autumn season. The seasons are tracked on the season track. The current season is the season where the last cargo barrel was placed.

Whenever a town is filled up, the active player chooses one of the perishable cargo barrels from the town and places it on the next space of the season track. The rest of the cargo barrels are returned to the draw bag.

Each season has different attributes:

• Autumn - no special rules.
• Winter - spoil cargo step is skipped; base speed is reduced by 1.
• Spring - base speed is increased by 1.
• Summer - when a cargo spoil card is drawn, all perishable cargo barrels are moved along the spoil track.

The harvest occurs when the first space of the final autumn season is filled. Remove all the previous cargos barrels from the season track and return them to the draw bag to begin the final autumn season.

Game End

The game ends when a player fills the last space on the season track, play continues to the start player so all players have taken the same number of turns. During this final turn, if a player sells their broadhorn they do not return to St. Louis. At the end of the game the players receive 2 gold for each cargo barrel still on their broadhorn. The players also receive the resale value of their broadhorn. Players do not receive any value for travelers that did not reach their destination.

Determining the Winner

Players total the number of wreaths on the town tiles they collected during the game and receive the following end game bonus:

• 2 Players - 7 gold (1st)
• 3 Players - 12 gold (1st), 6 gold (2nd)
• 4 Players - 15 gold (1st), 10 gold (2nd), 5 gold (3rd)

If 2 players tie for a position, they sum the position and the next position and divide the gold (rounded down).

The player with the most gold wins the game. In case of a tie, the player who collected the most town tiles is the winner.