Darwin's Journey
168 questions players ask about Darwin's Journey. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-03.
Setup & Components
- In setup, do you draft Crew cards before or after the starting objectives?
- How are the starting Objective tiles chosen, and which tiles are the starting ones?
- Are the Correspondence tiles in the same position every game?
- Where do the leftover Specimen tokens and Museum tiles go in a 2- or 3-player game?
- What do the 3+ and 4+ marks and the rewards printed under Specimen spots on the tracks mean?
- How many Specimen tokens go on the board in a 3-player game?
- How does the number of players change the Diary Sections and red bookmarkers?
- Do all four starting workers have empty Wax Seal spots at setup?
- Can you end up with two Crew cards of the same seal color at the start?
Worker Placement & Wax Seals
- When do I pay a placement penalty, and how much is it?
- How many workers fit on each type of worker space?
- Do I pay or gain coins when I place a worker on a Lens token?
- Can coins I gain from a worker placement pay that same placement's penalty?
- Is there a placement penalty when I use the Small Diary to unlock a Lens location?
- Do Wax Seals on different workers add together for placement requirements?
- How does a purple Special Wax Seal count for placement?
- Does Temporary Knowledge add to a worker's seals or replace them?
- Which spaces can the fifth worker use without Temporary Knowledge?
- Can I move or replace a Wax Seal I already placed?
Board Actions
- Can I move an Explorer or Ship zero spaces to trigger the reward of the space it is on?
- Does everyone get the victory points on a golden ribbon, or only the first Explorer to cross it?
- When my Explorer or Ship moves several spaces, do I get the actions of spaces I pass?
- If an Exploration action gives me a further Exploration action, do I finish the first one before using the second?
- Do Explorers and Ships have to follow the printed arrows on the tracks?
- Can two Explorers share a space on an Island track?
- Does an Academy discount apply to placing the seal on my board as well as taking it?
- Can I split one Academy discount across two seals?
- Does an Academy action marked as free let me take and place a seal at no cost?
Special Actions, Crew Cards & Distinctions
- Does Perform Locked Action let me take every locked location or just one?
- Does a Repeat Delivery that completes a Museum row give the last-in-row Evolution step?
- Can a Repeat Delivery take a row's first-delivery Coin, for instance a row filled at setup?
- Which effect lets me deliver a Specimen already in the Museum, and can I do it twice?
- How do I achieve a Crew card, and can one worker complete more than one?
- Which Crew card can Copy Crew Card copy, and does the owner lose it?
- Can a Crew card triggered by my first seal pay for the second seal, and can its Explorer bonus go on an island I already have?
- With Crew card 9, can I use a locked action for free and place a Lens on it?
- With Special Action tile 12, can I complete the Objective I just gained, and what if my slots are full?
Objectives
- When a tent is reactivated, do I also get the personal board bonus beside the tent?
- When can I complete an Objective, and can I wait after meeting its requirements?
- Can I complete an Objective or Crew card in the middle of a multi-step turn?
- How do the Objective reserve and Objective slots on my board work?
- Which Objective can the Automatically Fulfill an Objective action complete?
- Do the Wax Seals for an Objective need to be on one worker or in order?
- Can purple seals or Temporary Knowledge count toward Objectives?
- Does the silver Objective research one Specimen or every Specimen on the island?
- Does the Lagging Penalty Cap Objective cap the total penalty at 2?
Turn Order, Reward & Cleanup
- In what order is the Reward Phase resolved, and does it use the old or the new turn order?
- Do Stamps I gain during the Reward Phase count toward a later Envelope's majority?
- If a reward places Stamps on the Envelope I am resolving, are they halved too?
- Do I earn an Envelope reward with zero Stamps on it?
- How are ties handled on Correspondence Envelopes?
- Do the remaining Stamps stay on the Envelope after the majority reward?
- If I decline a Correspondence reward, do I still remove half my Stamps?
- Who removes half their Stamps after an Envelope is resolved?
- Can I complete Objectives or Crew cards during the Reward Phase?
Final Scoring
Solo Rules (Alfred)
- Must Alfred's board go directly above my own?
- Does Alfred score end-game points for 5 or 6 Wax Seals on a worker?
- What does Alfred score at the end, and does he score the Beagle goal tile?
- Which rewards does Alfred take when his Explorer moves, and does he research a Specimen where my Explorer stands?
- What happens when I tie Alfred on a Correspondence Envelope, and where does his Stamp go?
- If Alfred comes second on Correspondence tile 8, which of its two actions does he take?
- Can Alfred be used with the Great Ships, Falmouth Port, Darwin, Pirates or Scenarios mini-expansions?
- Can Alfred take a bonus action between his other actions, such as delivering a Specimen and revealing another?
- When does Alfred's action card deck get reshuffled?
Mini-Expansions & Great Ships
- How does the Darwin worker from the Darwin mini-expansion work?
- What if the Darwin worker was already claimed this round and I complete the Darwin Crew card?
- Can the Darwin worker satisfy an Objective that needs a distinction?
- If Great Ship 8 reduces my exploration to 0 spaces, do I still get the reward of my current space?
- Does Great Ship 8 double a campsite reward I get from an exploration action?
- Does the blank circle on Great Ship 9 give a reward for placing a Lens?
- Does Great Ship 5 trigger again if the Beagle later passes my Ship?
- When does Great Ship 11 reward me for moving past another Ship?
- Does Great Ship 7 limit discards when I only earn second place?
- With Great Ship 4, can I place a Lens on a location that is locked but has a worker on it?
Darwin's Journey: Fireland ExpansionExpansion
- Does the Fireland adventure deck get reshuffled when it runs out?
- Do I have to go on an adventure when I cross an adventure token, and what if I cannot pay?
- When do I resolve an adventure I passed, and in what order are its rewards taken?
- Does a Fireland time penalty apply to Navigation or Exploration actions from tiles and Crew cards?
- How do Fireland time penalties interact with Academy discounts and free actions?
- Does the time penalty that removes a Stamp apply to Special Action tile F8?
- Is the time penalty paid for each delivery on a Museum space with two delivery icons?
- What does Special Action tile F6 let me move?
Darwin's Journey: OceaniaExpansion
- How do Antidote tokens work in Oceania?
- Must an Explorer stop on a Silver or Gold Village space?
- Does the Silver Village Special Coin ignore every Coin cost of an action?
- Can Perform Locked Action or free Unlock Lens target Special Action tiles on the Oceania map?
- What happens to Explorers removed by a Consequence tile?
- When do I gain a Hazard token in Oceania?
- Can Consequence Tile 1 reactivate a Village tent or the Special Tent?
- Can one worker complete several Oceania Crew cards, and how is the linked row marked?
- In Oceania cleanup, is the top Academy row always wiped?