Colonial: Europe's Empires Overseas
Colonial: Europe's Empires Overseas Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Object of the Game
- Revised Rules
- 1 | Game Components
- 2 | Terminology
- 3 | Setting Up the Game
- 4 | Turn Sequence
- 5 | Controlling Resources
- 6 | The Progress Tracks
- 7 | Prestige
- 8 | Colonies
- 9 | Unrest Markers
- 10 | The Diplomacy Track
- 11 | Special Exploration Rules
- 12 | Exchanges between Players
- 13 | Ambassador
- 14 | Conqueror
- 15 | Explorer
- 16 | Financier
- 17 | Governor
- 18 | Merchant
- 19 | Missionary
- 20 | Rebel
- 21 | Scientist
- 22 | Sovereign
- 23 | Trader
- 24 | Viceroy
- 25 | Game Variants
- Game Credits
- Player Reference
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to reach such a high level of Prestige that your nation becomes a stable and dominant empire.
In game terms, the first player to reach 10 Prestige without having any debt wins the game.
Revised Rules
Rules that differ from the basic edition are highlighted with this symbol: ⬥
Note that the rules use masculine pronouns throughout for consistency.
1 | Game Components
The game includes:
- One 86 x 55 cm world map
- 10 special six-sided dice
- 6 x 40 15mm wooden counters (value 1 each)
- 56 Prestige tokens
- 28 Unrest/Mission markers
- 7 x 7 Colony markers
- 24 x 5/10 value cardboard counters
- 5 Booming City markers
- 1 First Player token
- 6 sets of 6 Character cards
- 5 Nation cards
- 6 players' Nation boards
- One rules booklet
- 200 stickers for the Nations Variant
The Board
The board is a map divided into Territories. Most of them feature at least one Resource indicator (A), sometimes more.
Almost all Territories also have one or more Native Power symbols (B), which show the strength of local civilisations.
A Territory is also defined by a number ranging from 3 to 7, which measures the Difficulty (C) of discovering and exploring it. The Levant, Barbary and Egypt do not feature a Difficulty rating because they start the game already explored. Difficulty relates to the actual discovery date of the territory by Europeans.
Resource Indicator
There are 10 types of Resources. Only the outside edge color of Resources matters for game purposes. The territories and their Resources are:
- China, India, Indochina — Silk
- China, India — Opium
- Canada, New England, Wild West — Fur
- East Indies — Spices
- Barbary — Salt
- Egypt — Cotton
- Levant — Fine Fabrics
- Arabia — Coffee
- Persia — Rugs
- China — China (goods)
- Ethiopia, South Africa — Agriculture
- New Spain, Peru, West Africa — Gold
- West Indies, Brazil, New France — Tobacco / Sugar Cane / Cotton
- China, India — Tea
- Australia, California, Guyanas, Japan, La Plata — Precious Metals
- Angola, Mozambique, West Africa — Slaves
The Marketplace
The Market holds the Goods.
In Colonial, Goods are brought back from Resources to the Market by Merchant Fleets. There they are available for manufacturing and trade.
The Loan Display
The Loan display can hold an unlimited number of Loans. Each Loan must form a distinct and separate pile.
A Player's Nation Board
Each player has a Nation board. The Prestige track in the center of it is used to accumulate Prestige. The Treasury is the focal point for many game actions. You mainly earn Treasury by selling Goods, or by taking out a Loan. There are many more ways to spend Treasury. The board also features the Merchant Fleets and Naval Forces boxes.
2 | Terminology
Adjacent Territories
Determining if two territories are adjacent or not is obvious most of the time. When it is not, an arrow has been added on the map.
Counters
Counter is the generic term used to describe the wooden playing pieces. The larger sized cardboard counters are worth 5 on one side, 10 on the other; the wooden ones are worth 1 for all game purposes. Treasuries are counters in your Treasury box. Goods are counters on the Market. Squadrons are counters in your Naval Forces box, whereas Counters in the Merchant Fleets box are called Merchant fleets.
Booming City Markers
Markers that show the value of the current Booming City.
Dice
The game features 10 special Success dice. Except for two sides with laurels (which represent successes), Success dice are blank.
Explored Territory
An Explored Territory is a Territory which has no Prestige on it (because an Explorer has taken it, or because it started the game without one).
Unexplored Territory
An Unexplored Territory is a Territory that contains a Prestige token.
First Player
The First Player is the one controlling the First Player token.
The Pool
The Pool is a convenient place away from the game where a player keeps his unused, or lost, counters.
Prestige
A Prestige token, abbreviated Prestige.
Unrest / Mission Markers
Double-sided markers that indicate unrest, or a mission, on a Territory.
3 | Setting Up the Game
- The set-up is different for 2 or 3 players. Check the variants at the end of these rules.
- Place 1 Prestige in each Territory on the map, but 2 in Australia and none on the Levant, Barbary and Egypt.
- Place 2 Prestige in the Discovery of America box.
- Each player forms a Pool with all the counters of his color and takes his set of 6 Character cards.
- Each player picks a Nation board and places 5 counters of his color in the Treasury space, 2 in the Merchant Fleets box and 1 in the Naval Forces box.
- Each player places 1 counter of his color on the first space on each of the 4 Progress tracks and on the fourth space from the left on the Diplomacy track.
- Randomly choose a First Player. He takes the First Player token and must discard 1 Treasury.
4 | Turn Sequence
A game turn is divided into 5 phases, one of which, the Endeavor phase, consists of five rounds.
- Endeavor
- Merchant Fleets
- First Player
- Naval Forces
- Loan Interest
Endeavor
The Endeavor phase is the main phase. Game actions are carried out by playing Character cards. There are 2 different Characters per card and 6 different cards.
During the Endeavor phase, players simultaneously and secretly choose 5 Character cards and line them up in front of them, face-down, in a sequence running from left to right (the order matters). The card that has not been selected is set aside.
When everyone has selected their cards, they simultaneously reveal their first card, i.e. the one furthest to the left. The first player uses one of the two Characters on this now face-up card. The player to his left then does the same and so on, until all players have played one card. This process is called a round. Five of these rounds are played out.
Merchant Fleets
During this phase, players can transfer 1 Treasury to their Merchant Fleets box for each of their Monopolies. A Monopoly is exclusive control of a Resource type. Rare, high-priced goods will encourage shipbuilders and captains.
First Player
On the first turn, the First Player is chosen at random. At the First Player phase, the First Player token moves to the player on the left. If any player controls more Monopolies than any other, he takes the token instead. The First Player starts every phase and round, followed by the other players in clockwise order.
Naval Forces
Each turn, players can move Treasury to their Naval Forces box. The maximum number of Treasuries allowed per turn is equal to the player's value on the Navy track.
Loan Interest
Each player adds 1 counter from his Pool to each of his Loan piles. Loans are taken out by the Financier Character. You do not have a Loan Interest phase if you do not have any Loans.
5 | Controlling Resources
Please read carefully, this section is a core concept.
On the map itself, counters must always be placed on Resource spaces. There is no limit to the number of counters (whether belonging to different players or not) that can be stacked on each Resource space. Only a counter directly on a Resource (i.e. the lowest in the pile if there is more than one) controls it. Excess counters are placed on top, in accordance with their order of arrival.
Example: Blue controls this Resource. Blue controls the red edge Resource (Spices). There is only one of this type, so he has got an obvious Monopoly. He also has a counter on India's blue edge Resource (silk) and another on Indochina's silk and no other player is on the third Resource of this type, in China, so that makes a second Monopoly. What's more, he is the only player controlling a brown edge Resource (Furs), therefore he has got a third Monopoly, so he will be allowed to buy 0, 1, 2 or 3 Merchant Fleets during the Merchant Fleets phase.
Monopolies
A Monopoly means having exclusive control of a Resource type. You have a Monopoly when you are the only one to control a Resource color.
You do not need to control all of a color's Resources to have a Monopoly; you just need to be the only player to control one of them! Remember that only the edge color of Resources matters, not the picture.
When a player breaks the Monopoly of another, by taking a free Resource space of a type that the other player had a Monopoly of, that player must move his marker one space to the left, if possible, on the Diplomacy track.
The penalty for breaking a Monopoly is only incurred when taking a vacant Resource space. Other aggressive moves relating to Resources are dealt with in the 'Taking control from another player' rule below.
Example: Red controls West Indies' beige edge Resource. Brazil and New France are not yet discovered. Blue explores New France and takes control of its beige edge Resource. Blue then moves back 1 space on the Diplomacy track, because he has broken Red's Monopoly.
The Gold Exception
Each Gold Resource (yellow edge) is considered 1 Monopoly on its own. Taking control of a Gold Resource from another player also leads to a move to the left on Diplomacy.
Taking Control from another Player
At any point in the game, if a player is discovered to have more counters than any other player on a particular Resource space, he immediately takes control of it by moving his counters to the bottom of the pile. Then he must move his Diplomacy marker one space to the left, if possible (see Diplomacy track). Other counters remain unchanged.
Example: Red has 1 counter on Brazil's Resource spot. Blue uses the Viceroy and places 2 counters on Red's counter. Because he is more numerous, Blue takes control of the Resource: he moves his counters under Red's, but moves back 1 space on the Diplomacy track.
You can never be forced to move back 2 spaces on the Diplomatic track when taking a single Resource space, so taking a Resource while at the same time breaking a Monopoly implies moving back only one space on Diplomacy.
Changing Situations
When the counter at the bottom of a pile is lost, for any reason, the next counter, if there is one, takes its place and controls the Resource. If, however, there are more counters belonging to another player in the stack, then this more numerous player takes the bottom position and control of the Resource (this time without any diplomatic penalty). If several players tie, then the player with the lowest counter(s) wins. Other counters remain unchanged.
6 | The Progress Tracks
Progress tracks represent your nation's mastery of and investment in four specific fields: Economy, Seafaring, Navy and Logistics. At the start of the game, you begin with one of your counters (markers) on the first space of each track (i.e. the one at the top left). During the game, the Scientist allows you to advance on these tracks, one space at a time. Note that the number printed on a track's space indicates both the cost to be paid to reach it and the bonus gained when on it.
Seafaring (Explorer)
The Seafaring track reduces the Difficulty of your Explorations (from 0 to 3).
Navy (Naval Forces Phase)
The Navy track determines the maximum number of Squadrons you can buy in the Naval Forces phase (1, 2, 3, 4).
Logistics (Viceroy)
The Logistics track shows the maximum number of Treasuries you are allowed to move to one Explored Territory when playing the Viceroy (1, 2, 3, 4).
Economy (Trader and Governor)
The Economy track (2, 4, 6, 10) is used when selling Goods with the Trader, when creating a Booming City using the Governor and when borrowing Treasury using the Financier. The Economy track also notes economic restrictions:
- Tea and Opium (green and purple edge Resources): you cannot place any counter on these Resources before you have reached Economy 6 or higher (thus, one cannot colonize India or China before reaching Economy 6).
- Once ANY player reaches Economy level 10 (abolition of slavery), any shipment of slaves by any player must be accompanied by a move backwards on the Diplomacy track, if possible.
7 | Prestige
When you successfully explore a Territory with the Explorer, you take 1 Prestige from the Territory and add it to your Prestige track.
You also gain Prestige for using the Conqueror or the Governor. This Prestige is taken from the Pool and added to your Prestige track.
At the conclusion of a war using the Sovereign, one Prestige is taken from the defeated player. When this type of Prestige transfer is due to take place, one Prestige is taken directly from the defeated player's track, if possible, and added to the victorious player's.
If you go above 10 Prestige but cannot win because you still have outstanding Loans, just add your excess Prestige to the track.
8 | Colonies
The Conqueror Character can found Colonies. A Colony is marked by a colored Flag token. It offers the following benefits to its owner:
- Restricted access: no other player apart from the owner can place counters on a Colony, although if there were other players' counters there before the Colony was founded, they stay.
- Commercial outlets: when using the Trader, you add 1 to your Economy for each Native Power symbol in all of your Colonies.
Loss of a Colony
A Colony is immediately lost when its owner no longer has a counter on it. Remove the Colony marker and all Unrest markers, and the former owner loses 1 Prestige. Then place an Independent State marker on the Territory.
Independent States (White Flag Tokens)
Independent States double their Native Power at all times and for all purposes, as long as they are Independent States. This is the only change resulting from being an Independent state. When a new Colony is founded on an Independent State, remove the Independent State marker (and stop doubling Native Power).
9 | Unrest Markers
A Territory which contains at least 1 Unrest marker, but no Mission, can revolt as a result of playing the Rebel Character.
Note: there are two different illustrations for Unrest markers, but they make no difference for game purpose.
10 | The Diplomacy Track
The Diplomacy track works differently from the Progress tracks. Spaces don't cost anything and you can only make progress to the right along this track by using the Ambassador Character.
The starting space on the Diplomacy track is the fourth from the left. Of course, you cannot go further to the left and right than the printed limits.
The Diplomacy track prevents a player less advanced than another from waging war on him. A less advanced player is a player 'further to the left' on the track.
Example: Red cannot wage war on Green or Blue, but Blue or Green can wage war on Red.
When a player is on the leftmost space of the Diplomacy track and an action would have him move to the left, he can still perform the action without any diplomatic penalty.
11 | Special Exploration Rules
See the Explorer Character (below) for standard Exploration procedures.
Discovery of America
Before the Americas have been discovered, (i.e. before an American Territory has been successfully explored) the printed Difficulty of each American Territory is raised by 2. Once a Territory in the Americas (North, Central, South or The Caribbean) has been successfully explored, this penalty disappears. The first player to successfully explore an American Territory gains 1 bonus Prestige (for a total of two, including the one from the Territory), taken from the Discovery of America box. The remaining Prestige from the box is moved to the Circumnavigation compass rose.
Example: no American Territory has yet been explored. Blue tries to discover the West Indies. His Seafaring bonus is 1, so he must roll 4 Success or more to succeed (see Explorer Character).
Circumnavigation
When a player uses the Explorer anytime in a round or turn after America has been discovered, he can choose to make an attempt at Circumnavigating the World. This is an extra action, which requires him to discard one Treasury, and is taken after the standard Exploration attempt. Proceed as follows: make a Difficulty 6 Exploration roll, reduced by his Seafaring bonus and by 1 for every continent where he has at least 1 counter. There are four possible continents for the purposes of this rule: Africa; The Americas; Asia; and Oceania (comprising the East Indies and Australia). Levant, Barbary and Egypt are excluded from this rule. If successful take the Prestige from the Circumnavigation box. His action is over and the Circumnavigation rule does not apply anymore. If not, any other player can attempt Circumnavigation in the same fashion.
Example: Red successfully discovers America. Next round, Blue (successfully) plays the Explorer on New Spain. Whatever the result, a Circumnavigation opportunity follows. Blue discards one Treasury and takes a chance: he has got Seafaring 2 and a counter on the East Indies' spices, so he needs 3 Successes to Circumnavigate.
Discovery of Australia
Australia has two Prestige. A player successfully exploring it takes 1 Prestige and can make another roll. If he fails this second time, his action is over, without performing step two of the Explorer action; the second Prestige remains in place and is available to be taken by successful play of the Explorer character by any player subsequently – including by the original player on a later turn. When the roll for the second Prestige succeeds, the player can take the second Prestige and perform step two.
12 | Exchanges between Players
Players can freely exchange Treasury (and only Treasury), at any time during the game.
Character Cards / Actions
When using a card, you choose which one of the two Characters to use; you may not use both of them. You may also choose to forfeit your round without taking any action.
13 | Ambassador
- The Ambassador can move any single player's marker 1 space to the right on the Diplomacy track.
- Additionally, the Ambassador can remove an Unrest marker anywhere on the map.
14 | Conqueror
The Conqueror can found a Colony (only one per play). You can do so in a Territory where you have at least as many counters as the Native Power and where you control all the Resources. If these conditions are met, place a Colony marker of your color on the Territory and gain 1 Prestige.
Other player's counters above yours in the stack(s), if any, are unaffected. There can only be one Colony per Territory. A Colony cannot be established if the Territory has no Native Power. See 'Colonies' (8) for details on game effects.
Example: Red has 4 counters on New Spain's Resource (there's also an Unrest marker). He uses his Conqueror to found a Colony (Native Power is 4, so this is okay). He places one of his flag tokens on it and gains a Prestige. Among the options, he chooses: 1. Company: he transfers one of the counters and adds it to his Merchant Fleets box. 2. Pillage: he takes 8 counters (Gold..) from his Pool and adds them to his Treasury and he places a second Unrest on New Spain. 3. Repression: he removes one Unrest and moves one space to the left on the Diplomacy track.
When founding a Colony, you can either opt for a simple exploitation Colony (no further change), or choose one or more of the following options and gain immediate further advantages. If you choose several options, you must perform them in numbered order.
Colony Founding Options
1. Company: Transfer 1 of your counters from the Territory to your Merchant Fleets box (if this does not leave the Colony without any of your counters). Joint-venture, private endeavors or powerful commercial companies were often in the front line of colonial expansion.
2. Pillage: Gain Treasury equal to the Territory's Native Power and place an Unrest marker on it. If the Territory has a Gold Resource gain twice as much Treasury as its Native Power (and still place an Unrest marker).
3. Repression: Discard one or two Unrest markers from the Territory and move your marker the same number of spaces backwards (to the left) on the Diplomacy track, if possible.
4. Plantation (and triangular trade): Only in Territories featuring a beige edge Resource. Steal 1 Merchant Fleet belonging to another player for every black-edged Resource you control (take a Merchant Fleet from another player and add it to your Merchant Fleets box). The high profits of the Triangular Trade attracted many merchants - in the game this is represented by the stealing of other players' merchant fleets.
15 | Explorer
- To explore, choose an Unexplored Territory and then roll ten special dice. In order to succeed, your number of Successes must equal or exceed the Difficulty of the Territory. Reduce the Difficulty by your Seafaring bonus. Also reduce the Difficulty by 1 if you have at least 1 counter on an adjacent Territory (no multiple bonus for multiple adjacent Territories).
Example: Red uses his Explorer. He chooses India (difficulty 4). He is on Seafaring 1, so he must obtain 3 Success at least. If he had a counter in adjacent Persia, he would need 2.
If successful, take one Prestige from the Territory and add it to your Prestige track, then proceed to stage 2.
Special Exploration rules: For Australia, the Americas and Circumnavigation see 11 above.
India and China Diplomacy bonus: When successfully Exploring India or China, move your Diplomacy marker one space to the right, if possible.
- You can either end your action or choose one of the following options:
a) Place one of your Merchant Fleets on a Resource space in the Territory (establishing a trading post).
b) Conquistadors/adventurers: move 1 Treasury onto a Resource space in the Territory and place an Unrest marker on the Territory as well.
Example: Red rolls 4 Success and successfully explores India. He takes India's Prestige and adds it to his Prestige track. He also move his marker one space to the right of the Diplomacy track (India and China's special bonus). Then, he decides to establish a trading post there. He chooses to send adventurers, so he places 1 Counter from his Treasury on a Resource in India, and puts an Unrest marker there as well.
16 | Financier
Take up to twice as many counters from your Pool as your value on the Economy track and form a pile on the Loan display on the board (each Loan forms a separate pile). Add the same number of counters from your Pool to your Treasury. There is no limit to the number of Loans you can take out during the game. At any time during one of your round in the Endeavour phase, you can interrupt play to pay back Loans, partially or completely. For each Treasury discarded, you can discard one counter from one of your Loans.
Important reminder: as long as you have at least 1 counter on the Loan display, you cannot win the game.
Example of Interest: you have two Loan piles. During the Interest phase, you add 1 counter from your Pool to both of your Loan piles (for a total of 2 added this turn).
17 | Governor
The Governor can place the Booming City on any Explored Territory where he has at least 1 counter, as long as the chosen Territory does not already contain it. To do so, the player must discard at least MORE Treasuries than the value of the Booming City currently on the map. If there is no Booming City on the map, he must pay at least 1. Notwithstanding, he cannot pay more than the level of his Economy, so if his economy does not permit it then a player cannot place a Booming City. If the conditions are met, place the Booming City marker with the appropriate paid value (1 to 10) on the Territory.
When the new Booming City is successfully established, remove the former Booming City marker, because there can only be one Booming City in the game at a time.
Example: Red uses the Governor and wants to place a Booming City. He has a counter in the West Indies and wishes to place it there. There is no Booming City on the map yet. He pays 1 Treasury and places a value 1 Booming City marker on the Territory, then gains 1 Prestige, since he has a Colony there. His Economy is 2, so he could have chosen a 2 value City. Next turn, Blue uses the Governor in order to create a Booming City in his New England Colony. Blue's Economy is 4, so he can pay 2, 3 or 4 and place the equivalent value Booming City marker on New England, gaining 1 Prestige and discarding Red's former Booming City. Later, Red could place a new Booming City back in the West Indies (or in any other eligible Territory), removing Blue's marker if he does so, but only if he upgrades his Economy to more than the value of Blue's Booming City first.
If the Territory is a Colony, the owner of the Colony gains 1 Prestige when the Booming City is established. If a Colony is founded on the Territory containing the Booming City, the founder of the Colony gains 1 extra Prestige.
A Booming City that is located in a Colony that is lost remains in play. The owner loses 2 Prestige; 1 for the loss of the Colony, and 1 for the newly Independent Booming City.
For effects of the Booming City on the game, see the Merchant Character.
18 | Merchant
The Merchant can ship Goods equal in number to the number of Merchant Fleets a player has in his Merchant Fleets box. Any counter on the map Controlling a Resource produces 1 Goods.
- For every Goods shipped by a Merchant Fleet (from one of your controlled Resources or from another player's), add a counter from your Pool to the Market.
- For each Goods that you take from a Resource another player controls, this player adds 1 counter from his Pool to his Treasury. You still add a counter from your pool to the Market. Both players earn something. Any player is free to refuse to sell his Goods to you (i.e. to refuse to let you ship his Goods).
Example: Blue has 6 counters in his Merchant Fleets box. He can ship 6 Goods to the Market. He takes all of his own, on the 4 Resources he currently controls and asks Red for permission to ship 2 of his. Red accepts, so Blue takes 6 counters from his Pool and places them on the Market. Red adds 2 counters to his Treasury.
Merchants and the Booming City
If there is a Booming City in play, all Merchants must first ship the Booming City's Territory's Goods, irrespective of which player controls them. This is mandatory. In this case, the controller(s) of the Resource(s) cannot refuse the transaction.
At the beginning of the Merchant play, there's a Booming City shipment sequence.
- If Goods have to be bought from others, these player(s) earn their Treasury(ies).
- If the Booming City's Territory has Unrest on it, a Pirate check will take place. To resolve: roll one die per Unrest marker. If there is at least one Success result, shipper must lose 1 Merchant Fleet and cannot ship from this Territory. If 2 Successes or more are obtained, additionally to the above the Booming City has been pillaged by Pirates. Replace it by a Booming City marker of 1 less in value (do not do so if the City's value is 1).
Example: Red plays the Merchant and owns 6 Merchant Fleets. A Booming City is in West Africa. Blue controls the Slaves, and Green the Gold. Red has to start by shipping Slaves and Gold from West Africa. He can choose in which order. Red tries to ship Slaves from Blue. As there are two Unrest markers on the Territory, Red rolls two dice. He obtains one blank and one Success, so he discards one of his Merchant Fleets lost to pirates and does not ship Slaves nor Gold. Then he has 5 Merchant Fleets left to freely ship other Goods from anywhere else.
When this is done, proceed to another Resource with the Merchant action, if possible.
If the Booming City is in a multiple-Resources Territory, you must ship all its Goods, if possible, in the order of your choice, but Pirate attack happens only once per Merchant action. Conversely, if the Booming City ends up in an independent State, no player can ship from it.
19 | Missionary
The Missionary permits the flipping of an Unrest marker on the map to its Mission side or, less effectively, but still useful, to place a Mission marker on an explored Territory if there is no Unrest marker on it. Missions prevent Rebellions.
20 | Rebel
Using the Rebel, you can either:
- Spark a Rebellion in a Territory containing at least 1 Unrest marker and no Mission;
Or
- Place 1 Unrest marker on an Explored Territory;
Or
- Discard a Mission marker from the map.
Resolving a Rebellion
Roll 1 special die for each Native Power symbol, multiplied by the number of Unrest markers on the Territory. Each Success causes the loss of one of the counters on that Territory. The player who played the Rebel chooses casualties.
Example: West Africa has 2 Unrest markers, 1 Blue counter and 2 Green counters. Red plays the Rebel there, so he rolls 6 special dice and must remove a Blue or Green counter for each Success, his choice.
Note that whether the Territory is a Colony or not does not matter.
Casualties resulting from a Rebellion must be satisfied if at all possible, including, as a last resort, by the player who sparked the Rebellion, if he happens to have counters on the Territory.
21 | Scientist
The Scientist can advance you 1 space on one Progress track if you pay (discard) as many Treasuries as indicated by the number on the space being moved to.
Example: your marker is on Seafaring 0. You must use the Scientist and pay 1 to move to Seafaring 1.
22 | Sovereign
You can declare War and attack another player who is not more advanced (i.e. more to the right) than you on the Diplomacy track. Move your Diplomacy marker back 1 space (i.e. to the left) if possible, after declaring war.
Resolving a Year of War
A year of war is resolved in 2 theatres of conflict: on Land and at Sea.
The mechanics are the same for each theatre: each warring player simultaneously rolls a number of special dice equivalent to the numbers of Counters/Squadrons they have, to a maximum of 5 dice. Then, casualties are removed and the war moves on to the next step. Follow this sequence:
a) War on land: Fight as explained above in every Territory where both sides have counters. Treat every shared Territory as a separate battleground. Casualties are enemy counters in that Territory (max 5 dice per Territory per player). Casualties are removed by the player inflicting them. After removing all casualties, check for changes in resource control as normal, but do not incur diplomatic penalties for changes in control.
b) War at Sea: Naval Forces (Squadrons) attack (max 5 dice). Casualties are enemy Naval Forces first, then enemy Merchant fleets, once enemy Naval Forces are lost.
c) Surrender: The defender must decide first, followed by the attacker. Players at war must resolve at least one year of war before being able to surrender.
Example: a) Red wages war on Blue. They share India (3 Red 2 Blue) and West Africa (1/1). Red starts with India (why not..) and rolls 3 Special dice, while Blue rolls 2. Red obtains one Success and Blue none. Red discards a Blue counter of his choice from India. Then to West Africa: both roll 1 die. No success. Then on to the war at sea. b) Red has 10 squadrons while Blue has 6. Red rolls 5 dice (2 Successes) and so does Blue (2 Successes as well). Both discard 2 Squadrons. In the Surrender phase. c) The defender, Blue, has a chance to surrender. He does. He hands one of his prestige (if he has any) to Red, and the war is over. If Blue had not surrendered, then Red would have had an opportunity to do so. Red obviously would not have done, so there would have been another year of war, with further battles in India, West Africa, and at sea again.
Ending a War
A war is over when one of the following happens:
1) SURRENDER: if one player decides to surrender, then the war ends, and the player who surrendered gives one Prestige to the victor, if possible (a player with no Prestige can still surrender).
2) DEFEAT (forced surrender): when one side is unable to fight (to roll dice), neither on land nor at sea, whereas the other still can, then he loses the war and gives one Prestige to the victor, if possible.
On Land: if players do not share counters in any Territory (even if this has previously been the case), they are both unable to fight on land.
At Sea: when a player still controls at least one Squadron while the other does not, the former is considered as still being able to fight.
3) STALEMATE (Draw): if both sides are unable to fight, then the war ends with no further action.
Subsequent Year(s)
If the war does not end, then proceed to play another year of war, and repeat the process until one side Surrenders, is Defeated, or there is a Draw.
Another example of war, with forced surrender: Green declares war on Orange: a) They share West Africa (1 Green and 2 Orange counters): Green rolls 1 die, no success. Orange rolls 2, 1 success. Green is wiped out from West Africa. b) Green (8 Squadrons) and Orange (5 Squadrons) roll 5 dice each. Green 2 successes, Orange 2 as well. Both players lose 2 Squadrons. c) Orange doesn't surrender, neither does Green. Second year of war: a)-b) Green (6 Squadrons) rolls 5 dice: 1 Success. Orange (3 Squadrons) rolls 3: 1 Success. Both lose 1 Squadron. c) Neither side surrenders. Third year of war: a)-b) Green (5 Squadrons) rolls 5 dice: 1 Success. Orange (2 Squadrons) rolls 2: 1 Success. c) Neither side surrenders. Fourth year of war: a)-b) Green (4 Squadrons) rolls 4 dice: 2 Success. Orange (1 Squadron) rolls 1 die: no Success. Orange loses his last Squadron and 1 Merchant Fleet. c) Orange is forced to surrender because he is not able to fight anymore and hands 1 Prestige (if he has any) to Green. This is the end of the war.
Another example of war, stalemate: Yellow wages war on Red. a) They share no Territories, so they fight a purely Naval War. b) Both Yellow and Red have only one Squadron. They both roll 1 die. Both get a Success, so they both lose their entire Naval Forces. This is a draw. The war ends with no winner.
23 | Trader
The Trader can move Goods from the Market to your Treasury.
You can move as many Goods as your Economy level, plus the combined Native Power of all your Colonies.
- When you move Goods of your color, simply add them to your Treasury.
- When you move Goods belonging to another player, he takes them back, adding them to his Treasury and you take 1 counter for each one from your Pool and add it to your Treasury. Thus, both players earn something. Any player is free to prevent you from moving their Goods.
Example: Blue uses the Trader. He has Economy 4 and 2 Colonies, one in West Africa and the other in New Spain. Combined native power of these Colonies being 7, the maximum number of Goods he can move equals 11. There are 7 Blue Goods in the Market and 3 Red. Blue takes the 7 Blue Goods, adds them to his Treasury and asks Red for his: Red accepts, so Blue takes 3 counters from his Pool and adds them to his Treasury, while Red adds his 3 Goods to his own Treasury.
24 | Viceroy
The Viceroy can place Treasury counters on the Resources of any one single Explored Territory (except if it is another player's Colony).
The maximum number of Treasury counters that can be placed equals the player's level on the Logistics track. They can be freely placed on any or all of the Resources in the chosen Territory.
Remember the rules of Resource control when playing the Viceroy. Diplomatic consequences may occur.
Example: Red has 1 counter on West Africa's Gold Resource and wants to reinforce it. He uses the Viceroy. He has Logistics 2, so he can place up to 2 counters (from his Treasury) on the Resource. He choses to place 1 more on the Gold, and another on the Slaves Resource (he has to check if he breaks any Slaves Monopoly).
25 | Game Variants
The Nations Variant
After a few games, you can try this variant, where players take charge of a real colonial nation rather than a 'color'. The Nations variant is for a maximum of 5 players.
At the start of the first turn, the last player, i.e. the one on the First Player's right, chooses one of the five Nation cards. Then, the other players make their choice from the remaining cards, one at a time in anti-clockwise order. Modifications on the cards apply to their owning player.
- You only gain 1 Prestige with the Conqueror when founding a Colony on one of your historical goal Territories. You can still found Colonies elsewhere, but do not gain Prestige for doing so.
- Extra Character: each player takes the Character mentioned on his Nation card from the surplus card set(s) and adds it to his hand for the entire game (except for Portugal, see below). This card can be played just like any other, but only the named Character can be used twice in a turn. The other Character on the same card can also be used, but not twice during the same turn (except for Great Britain, which can use both the Trader and the Financier twice).
Example: The Dutch Republic has two Merchant/Governor cards. Therefore it could play an Endeavor phase using the Explorer, Merchant, Merchant, Trader and Scientist, but not Explorer, Governor, Governor, Trader and Scientist. Explorer, Merchant, Governor, Trader and Scientist would also be possible. Great Britain can play 2 Traders and/or 2 Financiers.
- Names given in brackets after historical goal Territories are Historical Booming Cities. A player creating a Historical Booming City on one of his goal territories can place a Booming City marker of 1 more in value than what he paid for it, even if this exceeds his Economy (but the maximum is still 10). Furthermore, in the Nation Variant, establishing the Booming City causes a player to receive 1 Prestige only when it is an Historical Booming City.
Example: Spain establishes Santo Domingo in the West Indies for 4. The player can place a 5-value Booming City marker.
- Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain and Portugal cannot place counters outside of their goal territories (until this rule ends on reaching 6 Prestige).
- As soon as Spain and Portugal reach 6 Prestige for the first time, their special rules marked ** do not apply anymore.
- Extremadura, the cradle of the Conquistadores: Spain's Conqueror can found Colonies in the Americas in the normal way, or alternatively, by using the Extremadura rule: in this latter case a Mission must already be present in the Territory and its Resource must be controlled by Spain, but there is no minimum requirement regarding counters. If a Colony is founded using this alternative rule, then one Unrest marker is placed in the Territory before Colony options are chosen.
Example: Spain can found a Colony in New Spain with only one counter (providing there is a Mission).
- Flamboyance: Spain must choose either to discard as many Treasuries as it has Prestige at the end of every turn, or discard one Prestige.
Examples: Spain has 4 Prestige and 3 Treasury. It cannot pay enough, so it is forced to lose 1 Prestige. Spain has 5 Prestige and 7 Treasuries. It chooses not to pay and discards a Prestige.
- Logistics maximum 1 means this Nation cannot go beyond this value.
To remember this, do not place any of this Nation's counters on the Logistic track, and remember it always has 1.
- +2 basic Monopoly: The Dutch Republic gets 2 free bonus Monopolies at all times.
E.g. if it has 0 on the Map, it is considered to have 2. If it has 2, treat it as having 4.
- Great Britain's re-roll: each year of war, during the War at Sea phase, Great Britain can choose to re-roll all its dice. The player must keep the new result.
- France can play 2 Sovereigns in the same turn to fight two separate wars. France can also use Sovereigns to move 1 space to the right on the Diplomacy track, instead of waging war.
Be warned when choosing Nations that Portugal changes the whole shape of the game as it forces other players to react fast against its ability to win the game quickly.
The 2-3 Player Game
The 2-3 player game is played using the Nations Variant rules (see above).
Exclude from the game all Territories that are not named on any player's Nation card's historical goals.
Example: In a game with Spain, France and Great Britain: Persia does not appear on any nation's historical goals, therefore it is excluded from the game.
Put black tokens on excluded Territories as reminders.
If neither Portugal nor Spain is in the game, Circumnavigation and Discovery of America are ignored (consider America discovered and do not place Prestige in the Circumnavigation box).
First Turn Guide for Beginners
It can be difficult to learn to play Colonial well. This guide may help you with your first game.
A typical first round should start with the Scientist to upgrade Seafaring, followed by the Explorer to go to West Africa or the East Indies. You need Monopolies in order to enlarge your Merchant Fleet. Gold and Spices are obvious ones. If they are already taken, then look for other Resources nobody controls yet.
Next, the Viceroy will give you the opportunity to place one Treasury on any Explored Territory's resource, even if it is one discovered by another player; alternatively, in the Levant, Egypt or Barbary.
Your fourth card should be the Financier or Merchant. You can go for a Loan, or use your two Merchant Fleets to try and ship two goods (belonging to you and another player) to the Market.
Your last card can be either the Rebel or Trader. The Rebel is aggressive, so be careful; you don't want to make too many enemies in this diplomatic game.
Do not be in an obvious hurry to accumulate as much Prestige as possible from the start because you will become a target. What's more vital is to build up your economy, so you don't end up close to victory, but unable to resist your opponents' wrath.
Always keep an eye on naval forces. Neglecting this aspect is NOT an option.
Game Credits
Developers: Maxence Dumontet & Patrice Gasser.
Rules editing and 'Nations variant' consulting by: Mark A. Solomon
Main Playtesters: Cedric Balmat, Antoine Didisheim, Louis Megroz, Luis Fernandez, Alexandre Groppi, Christian Jankiewitz, Richard Mumenthaler, Jean Necyb, Ismaël Van Trappen and Guillaume Zuber.
Thanks to: all the playtesters and Adrienne Dapples, Guillaume Estoppey, Didier Oberli, Paul Lister, Tim Seitz and James D. Wells.
This edition dedicated to: K.S. Ajikumar
Find game support on Colonial's page at Boardgamegeek.com.
Picture References
Box: George Arnald, The Destruction of 'L'Orient' at the Battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798, 1825, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
Cards: Explorer / António Manuel da Fonseca, Vasco da Gama, circa 1460-1524, 1838, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. / Back / Geoff Hunt, Nina and Pinta racing Home February 1493. / Ambassador / Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors, 1533, National Gallery, London. / Trader / Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of Nicolaes Ruts, 1631, The Frick Collection, New York. / Back / William Miller, Ayr Market Cross engraving, 1840. / Financer / Angelo Bronzino, Portrait of Lucrezia de' Medici, ~1540. / Back / F. Mackenzie, The Bank Parlor. / Scientist / Thomas Oldham Barlow, Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. / Back / William Lewis, Commercium Philosophico-Technicum, 1763. / Missionary / Portrait of St-ignatius of loyola. / Back / Caspar David Friedrich, The Cross Beside The Baltic, 1815, Schloß Charlottenburg, Berlin. / Viceroy / Portrait of Francisco Pizarro. / Back / Capture of the City of Mexico by Hernán Cortés, Engraving. / Rebel / Jesús Helguera, Portrait of Cuauhtémoc. ~1950. / Back / The sad night, Jay I. Kislak Collection. / Merchant / Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Nicolaes van der Borght, Merchant of Antwerp, ~1630, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. / Back / H. T. Dawson, the Woolwoch Dockyard, Engraving. / Governor / J. Gambardella, Portrait of Edward Cornwallis, National Archives of Canada. / Back / Belgian colonial administrator Major Lothaire listened to a dispute in Congo. / Sovereign / Antoine-Jean Gros, Bonaparte at the Bridge of Arcole, 1801, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. / Back / Thomas Luny, The Battle of The Saints, 12 April 1782, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. / Conqueror / Richard Purcell aka Charles Corbutt, Portrait of William Howe, 1777, Anne S. K. Brown, Military Collection. / Back / E. Percy Moran, Battle of bunker hill, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington.
Nation Board: Treasury / William Miller, Tower of London, 1832, Engraving after W. Turner. / Naval Forces / Jacob van Meurs, America. / Merchant Fleets / Milcent, Le Havre, Collection Brindeau, Le Havre. / Logistics / August Gottlieb Boehme, Americae mappa generalis, 1746, BNF. / Economy / Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Map, 1766, BNF. / Seafaring / Gilles Robert de Vaugondy, Map, 1756, BNF. / Navy / Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, Map, 1700, BNF. / Loans / Beaurain fils, Map, 1776, BNF. / Market / Héritiers Homann, Insulae Corsicae, 1732, BNF. / Europe / Fontaine Des Innocents, 1853, Engraving. / Illustration into Territories / The World Digital Library.
Map: Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Map, 1755, BNF.
Rules: David Livingstone, Explorations in Africa, 1872, Ingersoll, Lurton Dunham, wdl: Page 2/8/ Irving, Washington; Robertson, W. M.; Davenport, Benjamin Rush, The discovery and conquest of the new world: containing the life and voyages of Christopher Columbus, 1892: Page 5/11/14/15/17/19/20/35 // Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, 1800: Page 27 // William Miller, Castle Rushen, 1845, W. L. Leitch: Page 13 / Jerusalem, 1836, Page 17, The Battle of Trafalgar, 1875, Page 29 and 33, Durham Cathedral, engraving after J M W Turner / Shields Harbour, engraving, 1827: Page 25 / Abbotsford from North-bank of Tweed, engraving after E Terry, 1845: Page 23 Durham Cathedral, engraving after J M W Turner, 1838: Page 36 / Ayr Market Cross engraving, 1840: Page 30 // building the first fort at Jamestown, May-June 1607, Sidney King: Page 21 // Battle of Quiberon Bay, 1759, Paul-Emile Boutigny, Page 28. // Discovery of the Mississippi, Hernando De Soto, 1541, William H. Powell, Page 31. // Pastoral landscape, 1861, Asher Brown Durand, Page 34 // The ninth wave, Ivan Aivazovsky, Page 36.
Player Reference
This quick-reference summary is printed on the inside back cover of the rules booklet.
Turn Sequence
- Endeavour
- Merchant Fleets: Players may transfer one Treasury to their Merchant Fleets box for each Monopoly.
- First Player: The First Player Token passes to the player on the left of the current First player, unless a player has more Monopolies than all other players, in which case this player takes it.
- Naval Forces: Players may move from their Treasury to their Naval Forces box up to the maximum allowed by their current level on the Navy Progress track.
- Loan Interest: Each player adds one counter from their Pool to each of their Loan piles.
Colony Founding Options
- Company: Transfer 1 of your counters from the Territory to your Merchant Fleets box.
- Pillage: Gain Treasury equal to the Territory's Native Power and place an Unrest marker on it (double if Gold).
- Repression: Discard one or two Unrest markers from the Territory and move your marker the same number of spaces to the left on the Diplomacy track, if possible.
- Only in Territories featuring a beige edge Resource. Plantation: Steal 1 Merchant Fleet belonging to another player for every black-edged Resource you control (take a Merchant Fleet from another player and add it to your Merchant Fleets box).
A Year of War
A. War on Land: in every Territory where both sides have counters. Treat every shared Territory as a separate battleground. Casualties are enemy counters in that Territory (max 5 dice per Territory per player). Casualties are removed by the player inflicting them. After removing all casualties, check for changes in Resource control as normal, but do not incur diplomatic penalties for changes in control.
B. War at Sea: Naval Forces (Squadrons) fight (max 5 dice). For each success rolled, casualties are inflicted first by removing counters from the defeated players Naval Forces box, then from their Merchant Fleets box if no more Naval Forces.
C. Surrender: The defender must decide first, followed by the attacker. Players at war must resolve at least one year of war before being able to surrender.