Diluvium Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Materials
• Game Setup
• Gameplay and Goals
  • Action Board
  • Ocean Tiles
  • Round of Play
• Explore
  • Ship Movement and Revealing Tiles
  • Example of Ship Movement
  • Example of Explore Action
• Settle
  • Settlers
  • Example of Settle Action
• Produce
  • Resources and Gold
  • Example of Produce Action
• Engage
  • Engage a Warship
  • Scare Away Enemy Exploration Ships and Settlers
  • Military Strength Gauge
  • Engage a Monster
  • Engage Action Example 1
  • Engage Action Example 2
• The Ruins Cards
  • Ruins Card Reference
• End of the Game
• Asymmetric Variant
• Solo Mode
• Credits
• Quick Reference
  • Explore
  • Settle
  • Produce
  • Engage
  • End of the Game

Materials

For each player, in their color:

• 1 City Tile
• 1 Action Board with Ship's Wheel
• 9 Settlers (the tenth Settler is only for replacement purposes)
• 6 Exploration Markers
• 1 Military Strength Marker
• 1 Warship
• 1 Exploration Ship
• 1 Resource Tray

Shared materials:

• 29 Ocean Tiles
• 16 Ruins Cards
• 60 Gold Pieces (values 1, 3, and 10)
• 84 Resources: 28 Food, 28 Weapons, 28 Craft
• 8 Slain Monster Tokens
• First Player Token
• 4 Trays (3 Resource Trays and 1 Discard Tray)
• 1 Resource Holder

Game Setup

1. Based on the number of players, arrange the indicated number of Ocean Tiles in the center of the table. Tiles are placed faceup or facedown as shown and chosen randomly from the tiles of the indicated cost. The Exploration Cost is indicated on the back of the tile (0, 1, or 2).

2. Each player should have in front of them, in their color: 1 Action Board (A Side up for your first game) with a Ship's Wheel, 9 Settlers, 1 Exploration Ship, 1 Warship, 6 Exploration Markers, 1 Military Strength Marker, and a Resource Tray. Players then place their 6 Exploration Markers and 9 Settlers on their player boards, and set their Military Strength Marker to 1.

3. Each player places their two Ships on their City Tile.

4. Shuffle the Ruins Cards and form a deck with the cards facedown.

5. Place the resources in the corresponding Resource Trays in the following quantities:

   • 2 Players: 16 resources in each Resource Tray
   • 3 Players: 23 resources in each Resource Tray
   • 4 Players: 28 resources in each Resource Tray

   Put the remaining resources back in the box. The fourth tray serves as a Discard Tray for resources used during the game.

6. Place the Gold within reach of all players.

7. Choose the first player randomly, then give them the First Player Token.

Gameplay and Goals

As the leader of a powerful civilization, you must explore and settle the islands available to you, with the goal of gaining the most gold possible. Players choose one of four actions on their turn: explore, settle, produce, or engage. The game ends as soon as any one of the resource pools is exhausted. The civilization with the most Gold in their reserves is declared the winner.

Action Board

Every player has an Action Board divided into four sections, corresponding to the four actions the players will be able to perform during the game: Explore, Settle, Produce, and Engage.

Each action has a mandatory main effect as indicated by the icon in the red circle at the center of the board (turquoise), and optional effects (yellow) that can be used any number of times so long as the player can spend the required resources. Some actions also offer a bonus (pink) if the three Settlers from that section have previously been placed on the board (e.g. if there are no Settlers left on that action's section).

Finally, the Engage section has a Military Strength track, and the Explore section has a track for the Exploration Markers that players will place throughout the game.

Ocean Tiles

The game board, where players' ships will move, is made up of Ocean Tiles. These tiles include Exploration Spaces and islands. Most islands produce a resource of the indicated type (Food, Craft, or Weapons).

An island has 1 to 3 spaces where players can place Settlers in order to exploit the resource produced (only City Tiles have islands that produce different resources).

The Ruins Islands of the Mu Empire give players who place their Settlers there access to Ruins Cards. Some islands without locations are home to Monsters, which players can fight with Warships.

Round of Play

Starting with the first player, turn order moves around the table in a clockwise direction. On their turn, each player chooses one action, rotating the Ship's Wheel so that the arrow points to the chosen action.

Players are not allowed to select the same action two turns in a row.

Rotating the Ship's Wheel at the start of your turn is required. For your first turn, you may choose whichever of the four actions you like.

Explore

1. The player must move their Exploration Ship up to two faceup tiles away (see Ship Movement and Revealing Tiles, below).
2. The player may, if they wish, move additional spaces by discarding Food Resources. For every Food Resource discarded, the ship may move one additional tile.

Once movement is complete, the player must Explore the Ocean Tile they've landed on (if it's not already explored by them):

3. The player removes the leftmost Exploration Marker from their player board, immediately gaining the amount of Gold indicated on the board beneath the marker.
4. The player places their Exploration Marker on one of the available Exploration Spaces on the tile where they completed their movement and immediately applies the indicated effect:
   • The player gains the amount of Gold indicated.
   • The player moves one of their Settlers, either from their Action Board or elsewhere on the map, to a free space on this Ocean Tile (see Settlers, below).

Note: Players may not explore the same Ocean Tile twice. Players may explore Ocean Tiles revealed by other players so long as there are free Exploration Spaces remaining on the Tile.

Ship Movement and Revealing Tiles

• To move a Ship to an adjacent facedown Ocean Tile, the player must discard the number of Food Resources indicated on the back of the tile, flip it faceup to reveal what's there, then move their ship onto the tile. Movement then ends immediately.
• Ships can pass through enemy City Tiles, but cannot stop there.
• All Ships can pass through Ocean Tiles containing opposing Warships, but only a Warship can stop on a tile containing an opposing Warship.

Example of Ship Movement

Adeline moves her Warship 2 tiles, then discards a Food Resource to move an additional tile. Her Warship crosses the Greek City Tile as well as the Ocean Tile where Braley's Warship is located. Alternatively, she could have chosen to discard two Food Resources to flip the facedown tile and move onto it - her movement would have then immediately ended.

Example of Explore Action

Braley sets her Ship's Wheel to the Explore action. She moves her Exploration Ship 2 tiles, then discards a Food Resource to move her ship an additional tile. She takes her first available Exploration Marker and gains the amount of Gold indicated underneath (1 Gold). She must place her marker on one of the free Exploration Spaces on the destination tile. She chooses to place it there and gains an additional 2 Gold.

Settle

1. The player must move two of their Settlers. Each Settler may be moved from either the player's action board or from a space on the game board, to a free space on either the player's City Tile or any Ocean Tile with one of their Exploration Markers.
2. If all three Settlers from the Settle section of the player's action board were placed prior to the beginning of the current turn, the player must take a resource of their choice.

Settlers

• When a Settler is moved to a location producing a Food, Craft, or Weapons Resource, the Settler immediately harvests that resource. The player must take a token of this resource from the corresponding Resource Tray.
• When a Settler is moved to a Ruins Location, the player immediately draws a Ruins Card.
• When a Settler is moved, it must be moved to a different island. This new island can be of the same type as the starting island.
• A Settler cannot be moved onto an Ocean Tile containing an opponent's Warship.

Example of Settle Action

Joe turns his Ship's Wheel to the Settle action. He wants to move one of the Settlers from his Action Board to a free space on an Ocean Tile. The target island must be on a tile with one of Joe's Exploration Markers on it (so he cannot move his Settler to a tile without one), and must not be on a tile with an opponent's Warship. He chooses to place the Settler on a Ruins Space, so he immediately draws a Ruins card. Joe performs this operation a second time and moves another of his Settlers, already on the game board, to a free space on his City Tile. He chooses to place it on the Food Space and immediately takes a Food Resource.

Produce

1. The player chooses a tile with one or more of their Settlers: each of their Settlers present on the chosen tile produces a resource of the type corresponding to the Settler's location. The player takes the resource(s) from the corresponding tray(s). (See Resources and Gold, below.)
2. The player may discard 2 Craft Resources to gain 3 Gold. This action can be repeated as many times as desired.
3. The player may discard 2 Weapons Resources to move their Military Strength marker up one space. This action can be repeated as many times as desired.
4. If all three Settlers from the Produce section of the player's action board were placed prior to the beginning of the current turn, the player gains 1 Gold.

Note: Ruins Spaces are not affected by the Produce action. Ruins Cards can only be gained by placing a Settler.

Resources and Gold

• Resources are placed on the displays so that players know the number, but not the nature of their opponents' resources. At the end of any one player's turn, no player at the table may have more than 6 resources on their rack. Any player with more than 6 resources on their display at the end of any player's turn, not just their own, must discard resources of their choice until they are down to 6.
• Discarded resources are removed from the game and placed in the provided Discard Tray.
• If a Resource Tray is empty, the corresponding resource is no longer available.
• Gold is always gained from the supply. It is never taken from another player. Gold is always kept facedown on the table, but players may check the amount of Gold they have at any time.

Example of Produce Action

Gavin turns his Ship's Wheel to the Produce action, gaining 1 Gold since no Settlers are present in the Produce section of his Action Board. He chooses a tile. All of his Settlers present on that tile produce the resource corresponding to their locations. Gavin therefore takes 2 Craft Resources and 1 Weapons Resource. However, he does not draw a Ruins Card for the settler placed on the Ruins Spaces. Finally, Gavin discards 4 Craft Resources to gain 6 Gold and 2 Weapons Resources to increase his Military Strength by 1.

Engage

1. The player moves their Warship up to two faceup tiles away (see Ship Movement and Revealing Tiles, above).
2. The player may, if they wish, move additional spaces by discarding Food Resources. For every Food Resource discarded, the ship may move one additional tile.

Once movement is complete, the player will complete the following actions in the following order: engage an enemy Warship, scare away enemy Exploration Ships and Settlers, and fight a Monster present on the Ocean Tile.

Engage a Warship

At the end of movement, if an enemy Warship is on the destination tile, that player and the current player must fight.

The outcome of the fight will depend on the Military Strength of both players. Military Strength can be increased for the current engagement by spending Weapons Resources:

• At the start of combat, both players take all of their resources into one hand. Each secretly places in their other hand the number of Weapons Resources they wish to add to their Military Strength.
• Both players simultaneously reveal the number of Weapons Resources they have committed to the fight.

The player with the highest Military Strength (Track + Weapons Resources) wins the fight. In case of a tie, the attacker wins. Both players discard spent Weapons Resources. The loser moves their Warship to their City Tile. The winner gains the amount of Gold indicated by the loser's Military Strength Marker.

If the winner is the attacker, provided all three Settlers from the Engage action section of their Action Board have been placed, they also collect the amount of Gold indicated by their own Military Strength Marker.

Finally, if the Ocean Tile contains any of the loser's Exploration Ships or Settlers, the winner scares them away (see below).

Scare Away Enemy Exploration Ships and Settlers

At the end of movement, if the Ocean Tile on which the player's Warship is located does not contain an opposing Warship, or after having won an engagement with an enemy Warship already present, the current player causes Exploration Ships and Settlers on the same Tile to flee in terror:

• Opposing players move their present Exploration Ships onto their City Tiles. They move their present Settlers either to the free spaces on their Action Board or to the free spaces on their City Tile (in this case, they collect the resources corresponding to the destination spaces, see Settlers, above).
• The attacking player gains 1 Gold for each Exploration Ship or Settler they scare away.

Military Strength Gauge

The Military Strength gauge, part of the Engage action on the Action Board, provides two pieces of information:

• The number covered by the marker indicates the player's Military Strength (In the illustration, it is 3).
• The amount of Gold a player's opponent will win if they defeat said player in an engagement (see rules above). The amount of gold depends on the position of the marker: 1 Gold if the marker is at 1 or 2, 2 Gold at 3 or 4, 3 Gold at 5, and 4 Gold at 6.

Engage a Monster

At the end of movement, if there is an undefeated Monster present on the Ocean Tile, the Warship may choose to engage it. The player's Military Strength and the Monster's Strength are compared. Military Strength can be increased for the current engagement by spending Weapons Resources:

• If the player's Military Strength is greater than or equal to the Monster's Strength, the player wins the engagement. All spent Weapons Resources are then discarded.
• The player gains the amount of gold indicated on the Monster. A Slain Monster Token is placed on the Monster to show that it can no longer be fought.

If the player wins the fight, they also collect the amount of Gold indicated by their Military Strength Marker, provided all three Settlers from the Engage section of their Action Board have been placed.

Note: If a Warship ends its movement on a tile containing both an opposing Warship AND an undefeated Monster, the player must first fight the opposing ship. Once that fight concludes, the player may choose to fight the Monster in the same turn.

Engage Action Example 1

Joe sets his Ship's Wheel to the Engage Action. He moves his Warship two tiles, and chooses to fight the Monster there. Joe spends a Weapons Resource to raise his Military Strength to 5 for this fight (4 Military Strength on his Action Board + 1 Weapons Resource). He wins the fight and discards the spent Weapons Resource. Joe gains the amount of Gold indicated on the Monster (6 Gold) and places a Slain Monster token on the tile. All three Settlers from the Engage section of his Action Board have already been placed, so he gains 2 Gold as indicated by the position of his Military Strength Marker.

Engage Action Example 2

Adeline turns her Ship's Wheel to the Engage action. She moves her Warship one tile. Since Gavin's Warship is on the destination Ocean Tile, Adeline must fight it. Each takes their resources into one hand, secretly choosing the number of Weapons Resources they wish to spend to add to their Military Strength. Both players reveal their resources simultaneously. Adeline's Military Strength for this engagement is 3 (2+1 Weapons Resource). Gavin's Military Strength is also 3 (1+2 Weapons Resources). The attacker wins ties, so Adeline is the winner. The Weapons Resources used by each player are discarded.

Adeline gains 1 Gold as indicated by the position of Gavin's Military Strength Marker. The engagement concluded, Gavin must move his Warship to his City Tile. His Exploration Ship and 2 Settlers must also be moved. First, he moves his Exploration Ship to his City Tile and one of his 2 Settlers to the only free space on his City Tile. This Settler immediately collects the corresponding resource (Food). With no free spaces left on his City Tile, Gavin must choose a space on his Action Board to place the second Settler. He chooses the empty space in his Engage section, leaving his Produce bonus intact for a future turn. Adeline gains an additional 3 Gold for scaring away one Exploration Ship and 2 Settlers.

The Ruins Cards

When a player moves a Settler to a Ruins Space, they must immediately take a Ruins Card. These powerful forgotten artifacts from the Mu Empire can give those who possess them a one-time significant advantage.

Ruins Cards may only be played by the active player, but a player can play as many Ruins Cards as they want before and/or after their action.

A Ruins Card can be played the same turn it was drawn. When a Ruins Card is played, the player immediately applies the effect and then discards the card.

There is no hand limit for Ruins Cards. If a player needs to draw a Ruins Card but the draw pile is empty, shuffle the discarded Ruins Cards and form a new draw pile.

Ruins Card Reference

• Cornucopia — The player takes 3 Food Resources from the corresponding tray.
• Automated Machines — The player takes 3 Craft Resources from the corresponding tray.
• Legendary Weapons — The player takes 3 Weapons Resources from the corresponding tray.
• Zephir Compass — The player may increase the movement of their Exploration Ship or Warship by 0, 1, or 2 tiles (this card may only be played during an Explore or Engage action).
• The Treasure of Mu — The player gains 2 Gold.
• Storm Cannon — The player moves their Military Strength Marker up one.
• Traveler's Gate — The player moves one of their Settlers, either from their Action Board or on the game board, to a free space on either their City Tile or an Ocean Tile where they already have an Exploration Marker (see Settlers, above).
• The Forgotten Map — The player takes the leftmost Exploration Marker on their Action Board and gains the gold shown underneath. Place the Exploration Marker on one of the free Exploration Spaces on a faceup Ocean Tile and apply its effect. n.b.: A player can never explore the same Ocean Tile twice. A player may use the Forgotten Map to place an Exploration Marker on a tile containing an enemy warship.

End of the Game

At the start of the first player's turn, if one of the three Resource Trays (Food, Craft, or Weapons) is empty, all players take one last turn and the game ends.

The player with the most Gold wins the game. In the event of a tie, the player with the fewest Settlers on their action board wins. If there is still a tie, the winners share the victory.

Asymmetric Variant

Once you are comfortable with the gameplay, you can use the B Side of the Action Boards. They are asymmetrical, emphasizing various styles of play.

• The Warmonger starts with a higher Military Strength and can spend Food Resources in order to move their Warship further.
• The Artisan can sell Craft Resources for 4 Gold instead of 3, and the Settlement Bonus is 1 Gold instead of 1 Resource.
• The Explorer earns more Gold each time they place an Exploration Marker, and their Exploration Ship can move up to 3 tiles (instead of 2).
• The Settler unlocks Action Bonuses more quickly, by having 3 Settler slots on the Explore action. Additionally, the Settler receives 1 Gold when placing a Settler.

Solo Mode

In the Solo booklet, you will find a Solo Campaign to play alone. The operation of the Solo Mode is detailed there. You can use the Solo Mode to play both the campaign and a series of individual scenarios.

Credits

Game design: Antoni Guillen. Illustration: Maud Chalmel & Henri Kermarrec. Solo mode: Yohann Hériot.

© 2023 Nuts! Publishing, all rights reserved • 2 rue Castelmeur, 29000 Quimper, France • www.nutspublishing.com

Quick Reference

The rulebook closes with a condensed action summary, reproduced here.

Explore

Move your Exploration Ship up to 2 faceup tiles.

You may discard Food Resources to move additional spaces.

To move a Ship onto an adjacent facedown Ocean Tile, discard the amount of Food Resources indicated on the back of the tile, flip it over, and move the ship onto the tile. The move ends immediately.

At the end of your move, Explore by placing an Exploration Marker on one of the empty Exploration Spaces on the current Ocean Tile. Apply the effect of the space and gain the Gold indicated under your marker.

Exploration Space effects: gain the indicated amount of Gold, or move a Settler to a free space on the current tile.

Settle

Move two of your Settlers, from your Action Board and/or the game board, to your City Tile or an Ocean Tile with one of your Exploration Markers. The Ocean Tiles you choose must not be occupied by an opposing Warship.

Harvest the appropriate resource if you move your Settler to an island that produces any.

Draw a Ruins Card if your Settler is moved to a Ruins Space.

If all three Settlers were removed from the Action Board prior to the start of this turn, you must take a resource.

Produce

Choose ONE tile containing one or more of your Settlers: each Settler produces a resource corresponding to their location. This does not apply to Ruins Cards.

You may discard 2 Craft Resources to gain 3 Gold. This action may be repeated as many times as you can afford.

You may discard 2 Weapons Resources to raise your Military Strength by 1. This action may be repeated as many times as you can afford.

If all three Settlers were removed from your Action Board prior to the start of this turn, gain 1 Gold.

Engage

Move your Warship up to 2 faceup tiles.

You may discard Food Resources to move additional spaces. To move a ship onto an adjacent facedown Ocean Tile, discard the amount of Food Resources indicated on the back of the tile, flip it over, and move the ship onto the tile. The move ends immediately.

Engage a Warship in Battle: You can temporarily add to your Military Strength by discarding Weapons Resources. The player with the highest Military Strength wins the engagement. In the event of a tie, the attacker wins. The loser places their Warship on their City Tile. The winner gains the amount of Gold indicated by the loser's Military Strength Track. If all three Settlers have been removed from the Engage section of the attacker's Action Board, they also gain additional Gold as indicated by their own Military Strength Track.

Scare Off Enemy Exploration Ships and Settlers: All players who aren't the victor move any Exploration Ships on the present tile to their City Tiles, and Settlers to either free spaces on their City Tiles or their Action Boards. The winner gains 1 Gold for each Exploration Ship or Settler removed from the Tile in this manner.

Engage a Monster: Compare your Military Strength with the Monster's Strength (keeping in mind that you can discard Weapons Resources to temporarily augment your strength). If you are victorious, gain the amount of Gold indicated on the Monster and place a Slain Monster Token on it. The Monster can no longer be fought.

End of the Game

If any one Resource Tray is empty at the start of the first player's turn, complete one final round. The winner is the player with the most Gold.