Delta
Delta Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Materials
- 1 Game Board
- 4 Player Boards
- In Each Player Color: 1 Engineering Marker, 1 Turn Order Marker, 1 Victory Point (VP) Marker, 1 Extra VP Marker, 16 Exploration Markers, 4 Knowledge Markers, 3 Card Markers
- 3x Turn Order Bonus Tiles (position 1), 3x (position 2), 3x (position 3), 2x (position 4/5) — 11 Turn Order Bonus Tiles total
- 20 Dragonfly Tiles
- 16 Scientific Paper Tiles
- 14 Invention Tiles
- 25 Flasks
- 25 Crystals
- 21 Advanced Character Cards
- 24 Animal Cards
- 26 Mission Cards
- 12 Last Round Cards
- 10 Basic Character Cards
Setup
General
- Place the main game board in the center of the table.
- Each player chooses a color and takes the following items in that color: 1 engineering marker, 1 turn order marker, 1 Victory Point (VP) marker, 1 extra VP marker, 16 exploration markers, 4 knowledge markers, 3 card markers, and 10 basic character cards.
- Place a player board in front of you and shuffle your 10 basic character cards. Discard 1 card faceup in each zone at the bottom of your player board. These are your starting discard piles. The remaining 7 cards form your starting hand of cards. Your player board, as well as each component placed around it, is called your play area.
Workshop
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Place the round marker on the first space of the round track.
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Place all 11 turn order bonus tiles on the 4 matching spaces.
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Mix all the invention tiles facedown. Place 1 faceup on each of the 3 invention spaces. Place the rest in a facedown stack beside the board.
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Mix all the dragonfly tiles facedown. Put 2 of these facedown on each of the 3 dragonfly locations next to the engineering track.
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Shuffle the advanced character cards and deal a number of cards equal to the number of players, faceup, above this board section. Place the rest in a facedown draw pile beside the board.
Note: in a 2-player game, remove 1 of each type of advanced character from the deck before shuffling the cards.
Map of the Delta
- Place the VP markers on the first space of the VP track.
- Place one of your exploration markers on Boduka.
- Put two dragonfly tiles facedown on each of the dragonfly locations throughout the Delta.
- Shuffle the animal cards and deal a number of cards equal to the number of players, faceup, above this board section. Place the rest in a facedown draw pile beside the board.
Research Library
- Place 1 of your knowledge markers on the first space of each of the 4 knowledge tracks.
- Mix all scientific paper tiles facedown. Place 1 faceup on each of the 3 scientific paper spaces. Place the rest in a facedown stack beside the board.
- Separate the mission cards into 2 piles based on the round indication on the backs (Rounds 1-3 & 4-5). Shuffle the rounds 1-3 mission cards and deal a number of cards equal to the number of players, faceup, above this board section. Place the rest in a facedown draw pile beside the board. Shuffle the mission cards for rounds 4-5 and also place them in a facedown draw pile next to the board.
- Shuffle the last round cards and place them in a facedown draw pile beside the board.
Turn order and engineering track
- Randomly choose a start player. They place their turn order marker on an unoccupied turn order track space of their choice and immediately take the corresponding bonus tile (if any). In clockwise order, all other players do the same. This determines the turn order for the first round. The player who selected the topmost space will go first, and so on.
- In reverse turn order, place your engineering marker on space 4 of the engineering track (so the player who is now last in turn order places their marker first, the second to last player places their marker on top of the first one, and so on).
Gameplay
The game is played over 6 rounds, each made up of 4 phases:
Phase 1: Preparation — Choose turn order and bonus
Skip this phase in round 1 because it was done during setup.
A. The player who is highest on the engineering track places their turn order marker on the turn order track. In case of a tie, the player whose marker is topmost on the stack gets to place their marker first. They choose which number position they would like. The player who is second highest on the track is next to choose, and so on until all players have selected a space. Each position may only have 1 turn order marker. This order determines the turn order for this round.
B. When choosing your position, immediately receive one bonus tile from that same row (if any). The tile remains available to you during this round, but will be returned to the turn order track at the end of the round.
Turn Order Bonuses (specifics will be explained in the appropriate section):
- Position 1. You take the first turn this round, but no bonus tile is awarded.
- Position 2: Airship Tile. Place on a character card in play to add 1 airship toward your total for this round (see "Explore" below).
- Position 3: Initiative Tile. Place on a character card in play to increase its initiative value (see "Phase 3: Resolution" below).
- Position 4: Engineer/Biologist Tile. Place on a character card in play to turn the character into an Engineer (when played in the Workshop, see "Create an Invention") or a Biologist (when played in the Research Library, see "Publish a Scientific Paper").
- Position 5: Coin tile. Place on a character card in play to receive 2 of the resources that corresponds to that section of the board (see below).
Note: the spaces have more than 1 bonus tile as the Patron card offers you supplemental bonus tiles.
Phase 2: Actions — Play Character Cards
In this phase, players take turns in turn order to place 1 character card in each of the 3 sections of the board: the Workshop, the Map of the Delta, and the Research Library.
The card allows you to take the standard action(s) of each section, but depending on the type of character you play you may also activate certain special actions, or improve the standard action(s). After 3 turns, at the end of the phase, you will have 1 card in each section. In certain very rare situations, you will not have a card in hand to play on your turn, in which case you can only pass (and one or more sections will not contain your cards but they will contain your card marker).
How to play a card:
A. Choose the character card from your hand, and the section where you wish to play it (you may only have 1 card in each section per round). This card is now considered in play. In each section cards are placed in the spaces below the board, going from left to right. This order determines the outcome of ties during Phase 3, Resolution.
B. Place 1 of your card markers on the character card to indicate which card you have played. If you can't place a card because you ran out, leave a card marker in the leftmost available space of the chosen section.
C. At this time, you may place one (or more) of your turn order bonus tile(s) on this character. This tile is now also considered in play.
D. Claim the resources indicated on the side of the card, if applicable. Resources are duplicated on both sides of the card for ease of play, but only look at 1 side for collection. Some resources are not physical components (cogs, coins, airships) and they will be earned by playing this card, but not physically added to your play area.
E. Perform one or more actions in the section where you played your card. You may perform as many different actions pertaining to that section as your character card permits. All characters may perform the standard action or actions, but certain characters or bonus tiles are required to perform special actions. Some actions may be performed as many times as you wish, some are ongoing.
Here is a list of the different advanced characters and what they do so long as they are in play in the matching section:
- Engineer: Allows you to Create an Invention when placed in the Workshop.
- Patron: Allows you to Receive a Sponsorship when placed in the Workshop.
- Pilot: Allows you to Explore Islands requiring a Pilot when you perform the Explore action.
- Explorer: Gives you 1 extra VP when you perform the Explore action.
- Leader: Gives you a discount of 1 flask when you perform the Study Animals action.
- Biologist: Allows you to Publish a Scientific Paper when placed in the Research Library.
- Robot: This basic character can be used as either an Engineer or Biologist when placed in the appropriate section of the game board.
Resources on cards:
- Cogs. For each cog, move your engineering marker up on the engineering track 1 space. This may move you past a dragonfly location containing dragonfly tiles (see "Dragonfly Tiles" below). If you ever score more than 20 Cogs, you immediately receive 1 VP for each obtained cog above 20.
- Crystals. For each crystal, take 1 crystal from the supply.
- Flasks. For each flask, take 1 flask from the supply.
- Airships. Each airship in play is calculated toward the Explore action in the Map of the Delta.
- Coins. Coins earn different resources depending on where the card is played: when played in the Workshop earn 1 cog, when played in the Map of the Delta take 1 crystal, and when played in the Research Library, take 1 flask.
Example: Matthew has his turn order marker on the 4th row of the turn order track. He places a Patron card with an Engineer turn order bonus tile in the Workshop. He decides to Receive a Sponsorship and takes the initiative turn order bonus tile. Since he has an invention symbol in play, he can Create an Invention. He pays 4 cogs and takes the invention tile of his choice, placing it near his player board. He slides the remaining invention up and adds a new one to the bottom.
Workshop
Standard Action
None. You may play a card to this section but you take no action. You still claim resources and have initiative in that region for phase 3.
Special Actions
Create an Invention Requires an invention symbol in play
It was through the trial and error of invention that Delargue harnessed the energy for her crystals. If you have an invention symbol in play in this section, you may create one invention. Pay cogs — by moving your engineering marker down the engineering track — equal to the cost of the invention tile you wish to create. Take the invention tile and keep it near your player board until you want to use it. Slide the remaining inventions up in the direction of the arrows, and refill with an invention from the stack next to the board.
Inventions will either add animals to your collections or grant you additional actions later in the game (see the Appendix for invention tile details).
Receive a Sponsorship Requires Patron in play
Scientific discovery takes education, time, and money. Finding a patron who believes in your research is paramount!
If you play a Patron character card in this section, take 1 turn order bonus tile from the position above or below your turn order marker. It is only available to be used for the remainder of this round.
Map of the Delta
Standard Action
Explore
Follow in the footsteps of Delargue - with a little help from her technology to get you there faster.
First of all, let's take a closer look at the map and its regions. The Map of the Delta shows many different islands, connected either by bridges or airship rails.
The Islands are divided into 3 different regions (saltern, swamp, forest) of the Delta. Boduka and Terapa are considered islands outside a region.
With any card played to this section, you may Explore one new island in the Delta by respecting the following rules:
A. The explored island must be adjacent to one that already has one of your exploration markers. At the start of the game, you have 1 marker in Boduka. Adjacent islands are connected by a bridge or an airship rail.
B. You can't Explore an Island that you already explored.
C. Some islands require one or more airships symbols to be available to enter. The number of airships required to reach a specific island is depicted on the Airship rail that connects to it. "Available" means:
- On character cards in play. Each airship symbol on your character cards in play counts as an available airship, no matter in which section of the board it has been played.
- On this horse animal card in play. This counts as an available airship, as long as the card is in play (see Study Animals below).
- On this turn order bonus tile in play. This tile counts as an available airship, as long as the tile is in play.
Note: There is a dragonfly tile (see next section) and a mission card that also display an airship, but those get immediately discarded after use.
D. Some islands require one Pilot symbol to be available to enter. "Available" means:
- On a Pilot character card in play. This counts as an available Pilot, as long as the card is in play in this section.
- On this horse animal card in play. This counts as an available Pilot, as long as the card is in play (see Study Animals below).
Note: "available" means that you do not spend the airship or Pilot symbols required, they have to be on cards or turn order bonus tiles that are in play.
Once all conditions are met, you must first pay the number of crystals shown on the island. If there are already 1 or more markers from other players on the same island, you must pay 1 extra crystal. Then, place an exploration marker on the island you just explored.
Then, if there are dragonfly tiles in your new island, take a reward (see next section).
Finally, you immediately gain the indicated amount of VP.
If you perform this action with an Explorer character card you gain 1 extra VP.
Note: If you ever gain more than 50/100 VP, place your extra VP marker near the end of VP track with the appropriate side up (50+/100+).
Example: Leo places his Explorer in the Map of the Delta section. He receives 2 crystals. He decides to Explore Salama, which does require an available Pilot. Since he has a horse card in play with a Pilot symbol, he's allowed to do so. Salama doesn't require any crystals, but Emma and Kate already have an exploration marker there so he pays 1 Crystal, and he places his exploration marker on the island. He gains 5 VP (4 + 1 for his Explorer).
In a future round, Leo performs his standard Explore action and wants to Explore Tellina, but exploring this island would require 2 available airships. He only has 1 available through a character card he played earlier in the Workshop. But he then realizes he can use a Dragonfly tile he acquired previously to get the second airship he needs. He flips the tile facedown, pays 7 crystals, adds his exploration marker to the island, and gains 10 VP. Finally, he takes one of the two dragonfly tiles present on the island.
Dragonfly Tiles
When you reach dragonfly tiles (either by moving your engineering marker or exploring an island), you may look at all tiles on that space/island (if more than 1). Choose 1 to keep and place it faceup on the appropriate space of your player board. Put the other tile back facedown.
- Dragonfly Tiles acquired from the Map of the Delta are stored on the right-most space of your player board (no limit on the number of tiles).
- For dragonfly tiles from the Workshop, you may only have 1 tile from each space (A/B/C); The first time you pass a big green cogwheel (spaces 9, 13 and 17) take a Dragonfly tile and place on the matching space of your player board (A/B/C).
Your tile may be saved for later use or used immediately. If saved, it is stored faceup on your player board. Once used, claim the bonus, and then flip the tile facedown (see the Appendix for tile details).
Research Library
Standard Actions
Gain Knowledge
Studying the mechanimals is the best way to piece together Delargue's unwritten findings.
With any card played to this section, you may choose to discard one character or mission card from your hand to increase your knowledge of the animal(s) depicted on the card. Remove the card from the game. Move your knowledge marker 1 space to the right on the relevant knowledge track(s).
Example: Kate visits the Research Library and decides to discard her Pilot. The card has a flamingo and a horse symbol. She removes the card from the game and moves her marker one space to the right on the flamingo and horse track.
Study animals
If you can get close to the mechanimals, you may find they can't help unlocking their secrets.
With any card played to this section, you may play animal cards from your hand to obtain benefits. You may play as many cards as you can afford.
- Choose the animal card(s) you wish to play.
- Pay the cost in flasks as depicted on the card. Put the card next to your player board. This card is now considered in play and the benefit depicted on the lower half of the card is immediately available (see the Appendix for animal card details).
If you perform this action with a Leader character card, you receive a total discount of 1 flask (no matter how many animals you study this turn).
Example: Emma visits the Research Library with her Leader and decides to Study Animals. She receives 3 flasks (two as indicated on the Leader + 1 extra for playing a coin in this section). She decides to play two animal cards from her hand. The total cost would normally be 6 flasks, but because she placed her Leader, the total flask cost is reduced by 1, and she pays 5 flasks. She places both cards next to her player board, and immediately receives 5 crystals from her flamingo and 2 flasks from her bull. Her bull will yield her 2 more flasks at the beginning of each subsequent turn.
Special Action
Publish a Scientific Paper Requires a scientific paper symbol in play
For the love of science, publish your findings! We must pass on our discoveries for the future!
If you have a scientific paper symbol in play in this section, you may Publish one Scientific Paper. To do so, pay the number of flasks indicated on the paper. Take the scientific paper tile and place it next to your player board until the end of the game. Immediately replace the scientific paper tile with a new one from the stack.
Scientific papers give you VP during final scoring (see the Appendix for scientific paper details).
Example: Matthew plays a Robot card in the Research Library. He gains 1 flask, and then Gains Knowledge by discarding a mission card with a horse symbol on it. He moves 1 space to the right on the horse knowledge track. Then, he decides to Study Animals and places 2 animals from his hand next to his player board by paying 7 flasks. Lastly, because he has a scientific paper symbol in play, he can perform the Publish a Scientific Paper action. He pays 2 flasks to publish the scientific paper of his choice, placing it next to his player board. This tile will yield him 1 VP for each character card he owns at the end of the game.
Phase 3: Resolution — Acquire New Cards
Evaluate each of the 3 board sections from left to right, starting with the Workshop. Each player will acquire 1 card from each section.
A. In each section, determine who has the most initiative (including turn order bonus tiles). In case of a tie, the player whose character/card marker is leftmost in the section goes first.
B. In initiative order, take a card from the top of that board section. These are:
- Advanced character cards when resolving the Workshop.
- Animal cards when resolving the Map of the Delta.
- Mission cards when resolving the Research Library.
- In round 6, these will all be last round cards.
C. Acquired cards go into your hand, except for the last round cards: you immediately play those when you obtain them.
Example: Emma and Matthew both have 2 initiative in the Workshop, but Matthew's character card is further to the left, so he gets first pick. He selects an advanced character card above that section, followed by Emma. Kate and Leo follow in that order with 1 and 0 initiative, respectively.
Phase 4: Upkeep — Prepare for the next round
A. Above each section of the board, refill the cards by dealing a number of cards faceup equal to the number of players. Use the advanced character draw pile for the Workshop, the animal draw pile for the Map of the Delta, and the mission draw pile for the Research Library. Remember to use the mission cards appropriate to the upcoming round. At the end of round 5, refill all spots with the last round cards.
B. Remove the topmost invention tile, back to the bottom of the stack, move the other tiles up, and refill the last spot with 1 invention tile from the stack.
C. At the end of round 3, remove all 3 scientific paper tiles, back to the bottom of the stack. Then, refill the display with 3 new scientific paper tiles from the stack.
D. Choose one of the 3 discard piles from the bottom of your player board and take all cards in that pile back into your hand. Then, discard the played character cards from each section of the board (left, center, right) to the corresponding left, center, and right discard piles on your player board, 1 per discard location.
E. Return your turn order markers to your play area and return any turn order bonus tiles you may have to the 4 matching spaces in the Workshop.
F. If you have not yet played Round 6, move the round marker 1 space to the right. After round 6, instead proceed to the end game scoring.
End Game Scoring
At the end of the game add the following VP to the VP you earned during the game.
A. Gain 3/6/10/15 VP if your engineering marker has reached or passed the cog space 5/9/13/17. This is indicated on the engineering track.
Example: Leo has 15 cogs, which earns him 10 VP.
B. Gain the VP indicated on each mission card (from rounds 1-3) if you have met the requirements (see the Appendix).
Example: Kate managed to meet the requirements of 2 of her 3 mission cards. She gains 5 + 6 VP for a total of 11 VP from her 2 cards.
C. Gain VP according to your scientific papers. Scientific papers earn you VP for certain elements you acquired or goals you achieved in the game (see the Appendix).
Example: Matthew has a scientific paper tile that grants him 2 VP for each dragonfly tile he collected. He collected 6 of them during the game, so he gains 12 VP.
D. Gain VP for each animal you have collected. For each type of animal, gain VP for each picture that you have on the faceup cards and invention tiles in your play area, based on the position of your corresponding knowledge marker.
Example: Emma has 3 flamingos and 5 horses in her play area. According to the position of her markers, each flamingo earns her 3 VP, and each horse 2 VP. She gains a total of 9 VP + 10 VP = 19 VP.
E. Gain 1 VP for every 3 leftover crystals and flasks you have. They may be combined.
Example: Leo still has 2 flasks and 2 crystals left at the end of the game, which earns him 1 VP.
The player with the most VP wins the game! In the event of a tie, the player who scored the most round 1-3 mission cards wins. If there is still a tie, players rejoice in their shared victory.
Appendix
Missions cards
Missions rounds 1-3
- Gain 5 VP if you Explored 5 or more islands in the saltern region.
- Gain 5 VP if you Explored 5 or more islands in the swamp region.
- Gain 5 VP if you Explored 5 or more islands in the forest region.
- Gain 6 VP if you Explored at least 2 islands in each region.
- Gain 5 VP if you created at least 3 inventions.
- Gain 5 VP if you have reached 16 or more cogs on the engineering track.
- Gain 6 VP if you have reached 18 or more cogs on the engineering track.
Missions rounds 4-5
These cards are designed to help you in your adventure. Hold onto and use these cards in your turn. Remove from the game immediately after use (back to the box).
- Gain 5 VP if you have published 2 or more scientific papers.
- Gain 6 VP if you have reached the end of both the flamingo and horse knowledge tracks.
- Gain 6 VP if you have reached the end of both the turtle and bull knowledge tracks.
- Gain 5 VP if you advanced 8 or more steps on the knowledge tracks (combined).
- Gain 5 VP if you have at least as many advanced character cards as basic character cards.
- Gain 4 VP if you have 3 or more dragonfly tiles.
- Gain 6 VP if you have 5 or more dragonfly tiles.
- Gain 2 crystals.
- Gain 1 coin. (Resource of your choice: cog, crystal, or flask.)
- Play whenever you need this airship to Explore an island.
- Gain 2 flasks.
- Gain 2 cogs.
- Remove a card from your hand (back to the box) and advance on the animal track(s) shown on that card.
Last Round Cards
- Place an exploration marker on any island of the Map of the Delta. You don't need to be adjacent, have the required airships or Pilot available, or pay crystals, but you also don't gain any of the VP or dragonfly tiles.
- Remove a card from your hand (back to the box) and advance on the animal track(s) shown on that card.
- Advance 1 step on 1 of the depicted animal knowledge tracks.
- Adds 1 turtle/flamingo/horse/bull to your collection for end game scoring.
Animal cards
The cost to play is shown in flasks. When played, the reward on the bottom is available immediately. The animal shown on the top will gain VP at the end of the game.
- Turtle. Pay 1 flask.
- Take all cards from 1 of your discard piles back into your hand (1x use).
- Place an exploration marker on any island of the Map of the Delta. You don't need to be adjacent, have the required airships or Pilot available, or pay crystals, but you also don't gain any of the VP or dragonfly tiles (1x use).
- Flamingo. Pay 2 flasks.
- Gain 5 crystals (1x use).
- Gain 5 cogs (1x use).
- Advance 1 step on a knowledge track of your choice (1x use).
- Horse. Pay 3 flasks.
- 1 permanent available airship (ongoing).
- 1 permanent available Pilot (ongoing).
- Advance 1 step on 2 different animal knowledge tracks of your choice (1x use).
- Bull. Pay 4 flasks.
- Immediately gain 2 crystals. At the start of each subsequent round, in Phase 1, you gain 2 more crystals.
- Immediately gain 2 flasks (note: these cannot be used to pay for the card). At the start of each subsequent round, in Phase 1, you gain 2 more flasks.
- Immediately gain 2 cogs. At the start of each subsequent round, in Phase 1, you gain 2 more cogs.
Invention tiles
The cost is shown in cogs.
- Adds 1 turtle to your collection for end game scoring.
- Adds 1 flamingo to your collection for end game scoring.
- Adds 1 horse to your collection for end game scoring.
- Adds 1 bull to your collection for end game scoring.
- At any time on your turn, you can perform an additional Explore action as if you have an available Pilot (1x use. Flip after use.).
- At any time on your turn, you can perform an additional Explore action as if you had one airship and 2 crystals (1x use. Flip after use.).
- At any time on your turn, you can perform an additional Explore action as if you had 4 crystals (1x use. Flip after use.).
Note: when you perform an additional Explore action with an invention tile, you may spend extra crystals, and use any available airships or Pilots if needed.
Scientific papers
The cost is shown in flasks.
- Gain the end of game VP you received from the engineering track a second time.
- Gain 1 VP for each character card you have (basic and advanced, in hand and in discard piles).
- Gain 1 VP for every airship you needed to Explore the islands.
- Gain 2 VP for each dragonfly tile you have.
- Gain 3 VP for every invention you have created.
- Gain 3 VP for each scientific paper you have published, including this one.
- Gain 1 VP for each leftover crystal and/or flask at the end of the game instead of the regular 1 VP for every 3 leftover crystals and flasks you have.
- Gain 1 VP for each step your knowledge markers have moved. For instance, if your markers collectively advanced 8 steps, you gain 8 VP.
- Gain 2 VP for each island you Explored in the saltern region.
- Gain 2 VP for each island you Explored in the swamp region.
- Gain 2 VP for each island you Explored in the forest region.
- Gain 3 VP for each set of 2 islands you Explored in the saltern and swamp regions.
- Gain 3 VP for each set of 2 islands you Explored in the saltern and forest regions.
- Gain 3 VP for each set of 2 islands you Explored in the swamp and forest regions.
- Gain 5 VP for each set of 3 islands you Explored in each of the 3 regions. For instance, if you Explored 4 islands in the saltern region, 2 in the swamp and 3 in the forest, you have 2 complete sets of 3 islands and gain 10 VP.
- Gain 3 VP for each island you Explored that contains a Pilot symbol.
Dragonfly Tiles
Once acquired, a dragonfly tile should remain faceup in its storage space until it is used.
- Play with a character card in a section of the board to receive 2 of the local resources (cogs, crystals or flasks). Do not forget to place it back after usage on the space it came from.
- Play with a character card in a section of the board to get one more initiative at the end of the round. Do not forget to place it back after usage on the space it came from.
- Receive 2 of the indicated resource.
- Advance on the indicated knowledge track.
- Play whenever you need this airship to Explore an island. Flip immediately.
Credits
GAME DESIGN: Franz Couderc • ARTWORK: Nastya Lehn • PROJECT MANAGER: Rudy Seuntjens • GAME DEVELOPMENT: Seb Van Deun • ART DIRECTION: Rafaël Theunis • EDITOR: Amanda Erven • PROOFREADERS: Simon Weinberg • QUALITY CONTROL: Eefje Gielis • LOGISTICS: Wim Goossens
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