Embarcadero
Embarcadero Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 Game Board
- 4 Player Boards
- 6 Character Cards
- 1 Solo Player Aid Card
- 53 Building Cards
- 53 Ship Cards
- 13 Landmark Cards
- 9 Goal Cards
- 80 Building Tiles
- 53 Ship Tiles
- 30 Wharf/Infill Tiles
- 4 100-Point Tokens
- 160 Structures
- 25 Sunk Tokens
- 15 Resource Tokens
- 50 Coins
- 1 First Player Marker
- 8 Score Markers
Card Anatomy
Building Cards
- Card Type — The overall type: housing, merchant, government, or civic.
- Building Size — The footprint this building requires in the harbor.
- Market Cost — The money required to buy this card from the market.
- Resources — The resources this building provides once constructed.
- Scrap Action — The effect when this card is scrapped from hand.
- Construction Cost — The resources required to construct this building.
- Signature Cost — The resources required to place extra structures.
- Point Value — The points scored when this building is constructed.
- Building Bonus — The effect when this building is constructed.
Ship Cards
- Card Type — The overall type: housing, merchant, government, or civic.
- Ship Size — The footprint this ship requires in the harbor.
- Market Cost — The money required to buy this card from the market.
- Resources — The resources this ship provides once docked.
- Scrap Action — The effect when this card is scrapped from hand.
Game Setup
- Game Board — Place the double-sided game board on the table. Make sure to use the side marked for the current player count: 1-3 players or 4-5 players. (The Unsinkable expansion is required to play with 5 players.)
- General Supply — Place the ship tiles, wharf / infill tiles, resource tokens, sunk tokens, 100-point tokens, and coins off to the side as the general supply.
- Ship Cards — Shuffle the ship cards together. Deal four cards to each player, face down. Place the remainder of the deck near the game board, then reveal the top four cards from the deck and place them in a row beside the deck, face up.
- Building Cards — Shuffle the building cards together. Deal four cards to each player, face down. Place the remainder of the deck near the game board, then reveal the top four cards from the deck and place them in a row beside the deck, face up.
- Landmark Cards — Shuffle the landmark cards together. Place the deck in the labeled space on the game board, face down.
- Goal Cards — Shuffle the goal cards together. Draw three cards and place one in each of the numbered goal spaces on the game board, face up. Return the unused goal cards to the game box.
- Character Cards — Give each player one character card. You can deal them out randomly or have each player pick one. Return the unused cards to the game box.
- Player Pieces — Each player receives the player board, building tiles, structures, and score markers in their chosen color, as well as $15 from the supply. Each player places their score markers on the start spaces of the score track and council track.
- First Player Marker — Choose a first player by any method you like (perhaps whoever visited San Francisco most recently or whoever was most recently on a boat). Give the first player marker to that player.
- Starting Hands — Each player chooses any five ship cards and/or building cards, out of the eight they were dealt, to keep as their starting hand. For each card they keep, they must spend money equal to its market cost. All cards that players do not keep should be placed face up in discard piles next to the matching decks.
- Starting Ships — In turn order, each player places a size-3 ship tile on water spaces in the harbor so that one short edge is adjacent to the shoreline and one long edge is adjacent to a wharf, then places one structure on each space of the ship tile.
Basic Game
Use the basic sides of the character cards. On this side, the only difference between the character cards is their starting resources.
Advanced Game
Use the advanced sides of the character cards. On this side, the character cards each have several special abilities also.
Game Sequence
The game takes place over three rounds.
In each round of the game, the players take turns, beginning with the first player and proceeding in clockwise order. This continues until each player has taken five turns.
At the end of each round, round scoring occurs.
When this happens, the players score points for how well they met that round's goal as well as for their influence at the wharves and/or their position on the council track.
After the third round is complete, the game ends and final scoring occurs. The player with the highest overall score is then declared the winner.
Turn Details
Each player turn has two phases, which occur in order: first the Action Phase (A), then the Buy Phase (B). Both phases are mandatory.
A. Action Phase
In this phase, you must play a card from your hand to perform one action. There are three actions to choose from: dock a ship, construct a building, or scrap a card.
Dock a Ship
To dock a ship, carry out the following steps. If you cannot carry out all steps completely, then you cannot dock that particular ship.
- Play the ship card from your hand, placing it face up in the area along the right side of your player board, with any other ship cards in your display.
- Take a ship tile from the supply that matches the size and shape indicated by the ship card. Place the ship tile on water spaces in the harbor so that it is adjacent to at least one other ship tile, infill tile, or wharf.
- Pay a docking fee of $1 for each space of the ship that is adjacent to any wharf.
- Place one structure on any space of the ship you just docked.
The resources shown on the ship card are now available for you to use. They can be used every turn for the rest of the game.
Note: As you add ships to your display, you may want to overlap the cards to save room. Just make sure that the resources on the left edge remain visible.
Example: Docking a Ship — Amir decides to dock the Brilliant, placing the card in his display. He places a matching 4x1 ship tile on water spaces in the harbor. Three of the ship's spaces are adjacent to a wharf, so he pays a docking fee of $3. He then places one structure on the new ship.
Construct a Building
To construct a building, carry out the following steps. If you cannot carry out all steps completely, then you cannot construct that particular building.
- Check the available resources in your display — from ship cards, other building cards, your character card, and any resource tokens — to ensure that you have all of the resources required by the construction cost. Any money required must be paid in coins from your treasury.
- Play a building card from your hand, placing it face up in the area along the right side of your player board, with any other building cards in your display.
- Take one or more building tiles from your inventory that together match the size indicated by the building card. Place those tiles on top of a contiguous group of adjacent structures that you own in the harbor. Tiles can be placed in any orientation, including "L" and zig-zag shapes.
- You may place one structure on any space of the building you just constructed (optional).
- Score points equal to the point value shown on the building card and gain the building bonus shown on the building card. Some buildings have building bonuses that don't take effect until the end of the game, however.
The resources shown on the building card are now available for you to use. They can be used every turn for the rest of the game.
Note: As you add buildings to your display, you may want to overlap the cards to save room. Just make sure that the resources on the left edge remain visible.
Example: Constructing a Building — Brooke decides to construct the Firehouse, placing the card in her display. The size-3 building has a construction cost of $1, one wood, and one clay. She has the required resources and spends $1 from her treasury. She places a building tile on top of a contiguous group of three of her structures in the harbor. She then places one structure on the new building.
There are two other types of costs that some buildings have: sunk costs (mandatory) and signature costs (optional).
Sunk Costs
Some buildings require a firmer foundation. When you construct a building with a sunk cost, you must sink a ship. To do this, place a sunk token on any ship card in your display, covering the resources it provides.
You still own the sunk ship, but the resources it provides are no longer available. However, those resources can be counted toward the construction cost of the new building before the ship is sunk to pay the sunk cost.
You cannot place a second sunk token on a ship card that already has one sunk token on it.
Signature Costs
Some buildings can be constructed with extra resources. When you construct a building with a signature cost, you may pay the optional signature cost in addition to the required construction cost, if you have enough available resources.
If you pay the signature cost, you can place one structure on every space of that building, instead of just one space. You may voluntarily place fewer.
Example: Sunk Costs and Signature Costs — Cal decides to construct the Landscaper, placing the card in his display. The size-4 building has a construction cost of one steel, one wood, and two clay, which he has. He must also sink a ship to pay the sunk cost. The building has a signature cost of two wood, which he also has available, so he can place up to four structures on the new building instead of just one.
Scrap a Card
To scrap a card, carry out the following steps.
- Discard a ship card or building card from your hand, placing it face up in the discard pile next to the matching deck.
- Perform the specific scrap action shown on the discarded card -OR- perform one of the two basic scrap actions shown on your player board.
- You may choose to discard all cards from one of the two market rows and refill the market row with four new cards drawn from the matching deck.
Note: If either of the decks is empty when you need to draw a card from it, reshuffle the cards from the matching discard pile to form a new deck, then continue drawing. If there are not enough cards remaining to fill a market row, draw as many cards as possible. If a card of that type is later discarded, immediately place it in any available space.
Example: Scrapping a Card — Dani decides to scrap the Euphemia, placing the card in the discard pile next to the ship deck. She can either perform the card's scrap action, which allows her to place three structures or gain $5, or one of the two basic scrap actions. She is low on cash, so she chooses to perform the card's scrap action and gains $5 from the supply.
B. Buy Phase
In this phase, you must buy a card from one of the two market rows, then store a card from your hand on your player board for next round.
Buy a Card
Choose one of the eight cards available in the market rows, then pay the market cost by spending money from your treasury. Take that card and add it to your hand, then immediately refill the empty slot in that market row with a new card drawn from the matching deck.
Note: If either of the decks is empty when you need to draw a card from it, reshuffle the cards from the matching discard pile to form a new deck, then continue drawing. If there are not enough cards remaining to fill a market row, draw as many cards as possible. If a card of that type is later discarded, immediately place it in any available space.
If you do not have enough money to pay the market cost of any of the cards available, instead reveal and take the top card from the deck of your choice, then move backward on the score track a number of spaces equal to that card's market cost. (It is possible to go below zero on the score track and thus temporarily have a negative score.)
Store a Card
Choose one of the cards in your hand (which could be the card you just bought), then store it face up on your player board.
The cards you store on your player board during one round will become your new hand of five cards during the next round. In the third round, the cards you store on your player board will instead be worth points during final scoring.
Note: As you store cards on your player board, you may wish to overlap them to save room. Just make sure that the top edge of each stored card remains visible.
Example: Buying and Storing a Card — Amir decides to buy the Elizabeth. The market cost is $3, so he spends $3 from his treasury. He adds the card to his hand and refills the market row with a new card drawn from the ship deck. Then he chooses a card from his hand, the expensive Campaign Office which he can't afford to construct yet, to store on his player board for the next round.
Additional Rules
There are a few more details that you need to know in order to play the game. This section contains those additional rules.
Character Cards
Each character card represents an influential person in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. The character card you are dealt provides you with a starting resource.
Decide during setup which side to use: basic or advanced. All players must use the same side. On the advanced side, each character has three special abilities: an ongoing ability, a one-time ability, and a scoring ability.
- Ongoing abilities can be used unlimited times per game. Each ability has a specific timing trigger that specifies when it is applicable.
- One-time abilities can be used only once per game, and only on your own turn. When used, place a sunk token face down on the character card to cover this ability.
- Scoring abilities are unique scoring conditions that will be evaluated at the end of the game during final scoring.
Structures
Placing structures is the main way to grow your business enterprise in the wharfside district. There are five different ways to place structures:
- When you dock a ship, you must place one structure on that ship.
- When you construct a building, you may place one structure on that building. (If you pay the signature cost, you may place additional structures.)
- When you infill, you must place one structure on that infill tile.
- When a scrap action indicates, you may place up to X structures on available spaces of ships and buildings that you own.
- When a council track bonus indicates, you may place up to X structures on available spaces of ships and buildings that you own.
The maximum height of any structure is four levels high. When a building tile is placed on the fourth level (L4), no structures can be placed on top of it for any reason. This includes the structure (or structures) that would normally be placed when the building is constructed.
When you place a structure, if it is adjacent to at least one structure owned by an opponent, advance one space on the council track. Structures are adjacent only if they are on the same level and orthogonal to each other.
You may not place structures on ships or buildings owned by opponents. You may not place structures directly on water spaces or wharf spaces. You may not place structures directly on top of other structures without a building in between.
The structures that you place always come from your inventory. If you run out, you cannot place any more structures. Previously placed structures cannot be moved.
Example: Structure Adjacency — Dani (gray) places a structure in an area with several opponents' structures nearby. It is not adjacent to Amir (red), because the only red structure on the same level is at a diagonal. It is not adjacent to Cal (green), because there is a wharf between them. It is adjacent to Brooke (gold), whose structure is on the same level and orthogonally adjacent.
Wharf Tiles
Extending the wharves earns you a little bit of cash and increases the point values of the individual wharves. Place wharf tiles strategically to extend wharves where you currently have lots of influence or think you will soon.
You gain $1 each time you place a wharf tile. When you place a wharf tile, you must place it at the end of a wharf, extending that wharf out into the harbor, following the printed wharf outline. No other tiles may be placed in the printed wharf outlines.
When a wharf is scored, it is worth as many points as the number of spaces on the wharf. All wharves start with seven spaces (i.e., worth seven points). Each wharf tile added increases the wharf's point value by one point.
Infill Tiles
Infilling allows you to expand your footprint in the harbor without having to dock a ship. Place infill tiles strategically to create space for your buildings, block your opponents, and increase your standing in the city council.
When you place an infill tile, you must place it in a water space adjacent to at least one ship tile or infill tile you own. You then place one structure on the infill tile. If the structure is on a space adjacent to a wharf, you must pay a $1 docking fee.
Council Track
Advancing on the council track triggers bonus effects. Your position on the council track represents your political influence in the city of San Francisco. There are two ways to advance on the council track:
- When you place a structure, if it is adjacent to at least one structure owned by an opponent, you advance one space on the council track. Structures are adjacent only if they are on the same level and orthogonal to each other.
- When a scrap action or building bonus indicates, you advance a certain number of spaces on the council track.
The council track has many bonus spaces. When you reach or pass a bonus space on the council track, you trigger the associated bonus effect. Scoring spaces, however, only matter during final scoring at the end of the game.
There is no limit to how many players can occupy the same space on the council track at the same time. Simply place the score markers next to each other in the space.
If you reach the end of the council track, ignore any further advances that you would gain.
Landmark Cards
Each time a player reaches or passes a landmark space on the council track, they must reveal the top card of the landmark deck and place it near the market rows. Once a landmark has been revealed, it is available to be constructed by anyone.
You may construct one available landmark per turn. This is a free action, which is in addition to the normal action you take during the Action Phase on your turn. Follow all of the normal steps that apply when you construct a building.
If you construct a landmark and a normal building in the same turn, you can use some or all of the same resources to pay for both construction costs. Each resource in your display can be used once per construction.
Landmarks are considered to be buildings, for the purposes of other game effects.
Resource Tokens
When you reach or pass certain bonus spaces on the council track, you take a resource token of your choice from the supply.
Resource tokens can be spent at any time as one advanced resource of the type shown on the token: paper, brick, or steel. These tokens can be spent to pay for costs or to be counted for other game effects that refer to resources in your display.
However, these tokens are one-time use, unlike the resources printed on cards. Once a token has been spent for its resource, return it to the supply.
End of the Round
After each player has taken five turns, the round ends. When the round ends, carry out scoring for the current round, then preparation for the next round. Which categories will be scored changes from round to round:
- Round 1: Goal #1 + Wharves
- Round 2: Goal #2 + Council
- Round 3: Goal #3 + Wharves + Council
Note: If you ever pass the "99" space on the score track, take the 100-point token in your color, then start on your second lap around the score track.
Goal Scoring
When goal scoring occurs, players score points based on who ranks first, second, and third in the category shown on that round's goal card. Each goal card shows three point values, awarded to the players who rank first, second, and third in that goal category.
Ties are resolved by adding together the point values for the tied rank and the next rank down (or the next two ranks down if the tie involves more than two players), then dividing those points as evenly as possible between the tied players, ignoring any remainder. Players cannot score points for a goal if they have zero of the required item.
Example: Goal Scoring — For this game, the first goal is "most government icons." At the end of the first round, the government icon totals are Cal (three), Amir (two), Dani (two), and Brooke (one). Cal scores ten points for first place. Amir and Dani score four points each for their second-place tie. Brooke, who is pushed to fourth place, scores no points.
Wharf Scoring
When wharf scoring occurs, players score points based on who ranks first, second, and third in influence at each wharf. Score each wharf separately, one at a time.
Determine each player's influence at a wharf by counting the total number of their structures that are adjacent to that wharf — no matter what level those structures are on. This is different than how structure adjacency is counted elsewhere in the game!
The points available at each wharf is based on the total number of spaces that make up that wharf. At the start of the game, all wharves have seven spaces, but that will change during the game as players extend the wharves.
- First Place: Score points equal to the number of wharf spaces.
- Second Place: Score half the points of first place (rounded down).
- Third Place: Score half the points of second place (rounded down).
Ties are resolved by adding together the point values for the tied rank and the next rank down (or the next two ranks down if the tie involves more than two players), then dividing those points as evenly as possible between the tied players, ignoring any remainder.
Example: Wharf Scoring — At this wharf, the influence totals are Dani (three), Brooke (two), Cal (one), and Amir (zero). Both Dani and Cal have other structures on ships adjacent to the wharf, but they do not count because the structures themselves are not adjacent to the wharf. This wharf has seven spaces, so Dani scores seven points for first place, Brooke scores three points for second place, and Cal scores one point for third place.
Council Scoring
When council scoring occurs, players score points based on their position on the council track, relative to their opponents. Each player scores three points for each opponent who is at least one space behind them on the council track.
If two or more players occupy the same space on the council track, none of those players are considered to be "behind" the other players who occupy that space. The order in which they arrived at that space does not matter.
Example: Council Scoring — On the council track, Amir (red) is ahead of the three other players, so he scores nine points. Brooke (yellow) and Dani (gray) are next on the council track, but they are in the same space as each other, so they each only score three points, because they are each only ahead of one other player. Cal (green), who is last on the council track, scores zero points.
Round Preparation
At the end of the first and second rounds, carry out the following steps to prepare for the next round. At the end of the third round, skip all of these steps except gaining money.
- Each player gains $1 for each rent resource in their display.
- Discard all cards from both of the market rows and refill each market row with four new cards drawn from the matching deck.
- Each player picks up the five cards that they stored on their player board this round. These cards become their new hand for the next round.
- Pass the start player marker to the player who is in last place on the score track. In the case of a tie for last place, the start player marker goes to the tied player who was latest in turn order during the previous round.
Note: If either of the decks is empty when you need to draw a card from it, reshuffle the cards from the matching discard pile to form a new deck, then continue drawing. If there are not enough cards remaining to fill a market row, draw as many cards as possible. If a card of that type is later discarded, immediately place it in any available space.
End of the Game
After the third round is complete, the game ends and final scoring occurs. During final scoring, each player scores points in four categories.
- Buildings — Score points for any buildings in your display (including landmarks) with building bonuses that have end-game scoring conditions.
- Council Track — Score points equal to the highest scoring space you reached or passed on the council track.
- Stored Cards — Score points equal to the market costs of all five cards that you stored on your player board in the third round.
- Character — Score points based on the end-game scoring ability of your character (only if using the advanced sides of the character cards).
The player with the highest overall score is the winner! In the event of a tie, apply these tiebreakers: most structures placed > farthest on council track > most leftover money. If the tie persists, the victory is shared until the next time you play Embarcadero.
Sole Proprietor Solo Game Mode
Game Setup
- Set up the game as usual, using the 1-3 player side of the board, but do not use the goal cards.
- Choose the basic or advanced side of your character card:
- If playing with the basic side of your character, start the game with 7 points.
- If playing with John C. Fremont's advanced side, the one-time ability allows you to advance one space on the council track.
- Choose a color for a Non-Player Character (NPC):
- Place the NPC structures and building tiles in a convenient place.
- Place one NPC score marker on the breakwater near the start of the top wharf.
- After placing your starting ship, place one size-6 ship adjacent to and parallel with each of the three wharves and place two NPC structures on each of them, with both structures adjacent to the shore. You may choose on which side of each wharf to place the NPC ship.
- The NPC does not need a scoring marker on either scoring track and does not require a character card.
- Embarcadero: Sole Proprietor may be played with or without the Unsinkable Expansion. If you are playing with the event cards, remove the "Raise the Stakes" card before starting. The NPC will not take any actions during the event phase of each round.
In the example, the NPC is red and Jada, the player, is gray. Jada has chosen to place the NPC ships above the top wharf and below the other two wharves. She has placed her own ship on the bottom wharf. The NPC score marker is on the breakwater next to the top wharf.
Gameplay
- Play your turns as you normally would in a standard game of Embarcadero: Play a card, buy a card, store a card.
- Treat the NPC ships, buildings, and structures the same way you would any other player's structures in a standard game. If you place next to an NPC structure, advance along the council track as normal. When counting majority on a wharf, count the NPC structures like you would any other player's structures.
- When you would normally reveal a landmark card, reveal two landmark cards instead.
NPC Turn Details
After you purchase a card on your turn but before you refill the market, the NPC will take a turn, following these steps:
- The NPC takes the card located in the same position of the other market row, opposite the one you purchased this turn. If you drew from the top of a deck, the NPC takes the top card from the other deck.
- NPC Ship Card: If the NPC takes a ship card, dock the indicated ship next to the wharf where the NPC score marker is currently located.
- Always place the ship touching the wharf with the longest side along the wharf.
- Place the ship as close to the shore as possible and parallel to the wharf.
- If the ship extends beyond the end of the wharf, extend the wharf so that every space of the ship is adjacent to the wharf.
- The NPC player never pays docking fees and never receives coins for extending a wharf.
- Place one structure in the space of the ship closest to shore and adjacent to the wharf.
- Third Round Exception: If the NPC takes a ship card in the third round, do not place an NPC ship on the board. Instead, place a number of structures equal to the size of the ship on NPC ships or buildings located at the current wharf, using the structure placement rules below. If there are not enough available spaces at the current wharf, place any remaining structures on NPC ships or buildings at one of the other wharves, starting with the wharf that was active in the previous turn.
- Discard the ship card.
Example: NPC Ships — The Pilgrim is the NPC card for this round. Jada takes a size-3 ship and places it below the wharf in the location closest to shore. Because the ship extends beyond the wharf, she adds 1 wharf tile and then places a structure in the space closest to shore.
- NPC Building Card: If the NPC takes a building card, construct a building of the appropriate size near the wharf where the NPC score marker is currently located. There may be several locations on the wharf where the building could be constructed—The building is placed using the following rules:
- If there is a place where the building could be built using structures already in place, then build it there. If not, place any additional structures needed, following the structure placement rules below.
- If there is more than one valid location, choose the location using these priorities:
- Fewest additional structures needed;
- Lowest level;
- Closest to shore;
- If still equal, you may choose which location to use.
- If there is no location where it is possible to construct the proper-sized building, construct as large of a building as possible, but treat it as a signature building and place a structure on every space of the newly-placed building tile.
- For standard buildings, always place the usual single structure on the newly built building using the structure placement rules below.
- The NPC receives no points or bonuses for buildings.
- Discard the building card.
- Move the NPC score marker down to the next wharf. If the score marker is on the bottom wharf, move up to the top wharf.
- After Finishing the NPC turn, refresh the market and move on to the next turn.
In this example, the NPC is building the Park. The Park requires a structure area of size 2. There is no size-2 area available on this wharf at the moment, so the NPC requires new structures. There are two possible locations: In this case, location A is chosen since it requires fewer structures to be added.
Structure Placement Rules
NPC structures are always placed in a location where a valid building could be constructed. When placing structures for any reason, place them according to these priorities:
- As close to the active wharf as possible.
- On the lowest level possible.
- As close to shore as possible.
- If a situation is not covered by the rules above, you may choose where to place the structures.
End of Round Scoring
There are no goal cards.
When scoring wharves, calculate the majority on each wharf the same way you would in a regular game:
- For each wharf you win, calculate the point value of the wharf as you would in a standard game.
- In the event of a tie, take the full point value of the wharf.
- No points are awarded for a wharf where you do not have the most structures.
When scoring the council, you score 2 points for each council scoring space you have reached or passed.
End of the Game (Solo)
At the end of the third round, score your end-of-game points as usual and compare your total to the list below:
- 0-50: Bankrupt. Perhaps you should have tried your luck in the gold mines.
- 51-75: Lemonade Stand. You made an effort, but you lacked the instinct for business.
- 76-100: Cash Cow. You never got rich, but you made a living. Not bad.
- 101-125: Entrepreneur. You did well enough in business to join high society.
- 126-150: Mogul. Your business took off—you are a household name across the country.
- 150+: Titan of Industry. You retire to philanthropy. Your legend will live on through history.
Achievements
For an extra challenge, try to accomplish one or more of the following during a game:
- Mayor: Reach the end of the council track.
- Fast Track: Reach 100 points by the end of round 3.
- Skyscraper: Build a size-6 building on level 4.
- On Every Corner: Win a majority on all 3 wharves in round 3.
- Structural Integrity: Place all of your structures.
- The Long Wharf: Extend a single wharf to the edge of the game board.
- Buoyant: Finish the game without sinking any ships.
- Landlord: Collect 10 or more coins in a single action or income phase.
- Trust Fund: Have 25 or more coins in your supply at one time.
Credits
- Game Designers: Adam Buckingham and Ed Marriott
- Developer: T.C. Petty III
- Illustrator: János Orbán
- Graphic Designer: Melanie Graham
- Editor: Dustin Schwartz
- Solo Rules Editor: William Niebling
- Production Artist: Cold Castle Studios
Icon Glossary
Card Types
There are four types of ship cards and building cards: housing, merchant, government, and civic. Many game effects grant money, points, or other benefits based on how many cards of a certain type you have.
| Name | Scrap Actions | Building Bonuses |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | structures | points based on building height (L1 = level 1, L2 = level 2, etc.) |
| Merchant | structures and money | points or money based on certain criteria |
| Government | wharf / infill, structures, council track | council track movement, with extra movement based on building height (L1 = level 1, L2 = level 2, etc.) |
| Civic | various | points based on certain criteria at game end |
Resource Types
There are seven resources in the game. The three basic resources are wood, clay, and iron. The three advanced resources are paper, brick, and steel. The one unique resource is rent. Resources are required to construct buildings, and many game effects grant money, points, or other benefits based on how many resources of a certain type you have.
- Wood
- Clay
- Iron
- Rent
- Paper
- Brick
- Steel
Scrap Actions / Building Bonuses
The game uses iconography to indicate the scrap actions of ship cards and building cards, and the building bonuses of building cards. This is a guide to understanding those icons.
| Description | Example |
|---|---|
| Gain money from the supply. | Gain $1 from the supply per rent icon in your display. |
| Place structures on your ships and buildings. | Place one structure per housing icon in your display plus two. |
| Advance on the council track. | Advance three spaces on the council track. |
| Place wharf / infill tiles in the harbor. | Place three wharf tiles and/or infill tiles in the harbor (in any combination). |
| Ignore a cost. | Construct an available landmark without paying its costs. / Ignore the market cost of the card you buy during the Buy Phase. |
| Spend money from your treasury. | Spend $2 from your treasury. |
| Score victory points. | Score two points for each housing icon in your display. |
| Indicates an end-game scoring condition. | At game end, score one point per size-2 ship in your display. |
Indicates a complete set of the items shown between the brackets {...}. | Score five points for each complete set of govt, merchant, and housing icons in your display. |
| Sink a ship by placing a sunk token on it. | Sink a ship to construct a landmark without paying its costs. |
| Indicates sunk tokens currently on your ships. | Score three points for each sunk token in your display. |
| Indicates the number of levels of structures below a building. | Score five points if this building is on the second level. |
| Indicates the scoring spaces on the council track. | The active player scores the highest scoring space they have reached or passed on the council track. |
| Trigger an immediate wharf scoring for all players. | Trigger an immediate wharf scoring at one wharf of your choice. |