Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Credits
- Content
- Set Up
- The Aim of the Game
- The Game
- The Turn
- Embassy
- Bank
- University
- Academy
- The Different Categories by Type
- Expedition
- Publication
- Ending your Turn
- End of the Round
- End of the Game
- Annex
- Sepultus Creatura
- Solo Mode
- Variants and Tips
- F.A.Q.
- The History Behind Encyclopedia
- Gaming Aid
Credits
Authors: Éric Dubus & Olivier Melison Producer: Jamie Parsons Project manager: Quentin Saint-Georges Artistic directors: Joëlle Drans, Jérémie Prugneaux & Quentin Saint-Georges Illustrators: Joëlle Drans, Jérémie Prugneaux & Ronan Toulhoat Graphic designers: Joëlle Drans & Jérémie Prugneaux Marketing & communication: Georgina Parsons Community Manager: Kayla Soule Proof readers: Raphaël Alcantara, Josée Guillemette & Georgina Parsons Videos: Jean-François Belvoix & Jonhatan Picard Editors: Éric Dubus, Olivier Melison & Jamie Parsons
And of course, a huge thank you to all our contributors!
Content
- 1 Central board
- 75 Animal cards
- 55 Expert cards
- 12 Round tokens
- 1 First Player token
- 4 Reputation tokens
- 8 Score tokens
- 1 cloth bag
- 20 dice (x4 green, x4 red, x4 blue, x4 purple, x4 yellow)
- 120 wooden Research cubes (x30 blue, x30 yellow, x30 red, x30 green)
- 28 "5 cubes" tokens
- 69 Coin tokens (x17 of value 5, x52 of value 1)
- 47 Royal Seal tokens
- 54 Expedition tokens
- 3 Token Boxes
- 4 Character extensions
- 4 Player boards
- 4 Game aid extensions
Token box setup
Unfold each Token Box, fold the walls up and slot the tabs into place to assemble the box.
Solo Mode
- 15 Continent cards (x3 of each of the 5 continents)
- 3 Behavior cards & 3 Scoring cards
Set Up
-
Unfold the central board and place it in the center of the table.
-
Each player takes a Player board, a Game aid extension and then chooses a Character extension. You may play with either side of the Character extension, it does not affect gameplay. These are assembled and placed in front of the players.
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Each player then takes the Score and Reputation tokens as well as the Research cubes and "5 cubes" tokens of the colour of their choice. All the Score tokens are placed on the 0 space of the score track on the central board and each player places their Reputation token on the first space of the Reputation track on their Player board. Each player's Research Cubes and "5 cubes" tokens are placed next to their Player board.
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The first player is chosen randomly. They take the First Player token. Starting from the first player and going clockwise around the table, we can define the 2nd, 3rd and 4th players.
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Place the Expedition, Coin and Royal Seal tokens in their respective Token Boxes next to the central board.
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Randomly draw 6 Round tokens and place them face down on their spots at the top of the central board.
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Shuffle the Expert cards and place the deck face down next to the central board. Then, draw 6 cards and place them in the University spaces near the top of the board.
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Shuffle the Animal cards and place the deck face down next to the central board.
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Draw and place Animal cards on the Academy section of the center board. The number of cards available during the game depends on the number of players:
NUMBER OF ANIMAL CARDS 2 players 3 players 4 players 6 7 8 -
Starting with the last player and ending with the first player, each player chooses 2 of the available Animal cards from the board, placing them below their player board. Once all players have taken their starting cards, replace the Animal cards that were taken from the board.
-
Finally, each player then receives an Expedition token and a number of Coins depending on their position in the starting order:
COINS AND TOKENS RECEIVED 1st player 2nd player 3rd player 4th player 2 Coins + 1 Expedition token 3 Coins + 1 Expedition token 3 Coins + 1 Expedition token 4 Coins + 1 Expedition token
You can now start the game!
The Aim of the Game
In Encyclopedia, you play as intrepid naturalists setting out to help the Comte de Buffon complete his Encyclopedia of Natural History.
Through a dice placement mechanic, you will be able to choose animals to study, collect funds and resources, lead expeditions to other continents, or recruit experts for your research team. All this will allow you to reach your main goal: publishing your findings to impress the public and increase your fame!
At the end of the game, the player with the most Victory Points wins!
Note: Each player board has two sides, A and B. Side A is for players, whereas side B is for the AI (see "Solo Mode" p.21).
Note: This extension is your gaming aid. Side I shows you the information that you'll need during play. Flip it over to side II at the end of the game for information about final scoring.
The Game
A game of Encyclopedia consists of 6 rounds. At the beginning of each of these rounds, players will draw dice and, over the course of several turns, place them onto the central board to perform Actions.
Start of the Round
First, refill the Animal and Expert cards on the central board. This is not done at the start of the first round as the cards will have already been set up.
Then, turn over the leftmost Round token on the track and immediately apply its effect.
| Round token | Effect |
|---|---|
| Expedition token | Each player gains 1 Expedition Token. |
| Coins | Each player gains 3 Coins. |
| Expert (scroll) | Starting with the first player, then going around the table by order of turn, each player takes 1 Expert card for free from those currently available. Once all players have taken a card, draw new cards to fill the empty slots. |
| Animal (magnifying glass) | Starting with the first player, then taking turns, each player takes 1 Animal card for free from the available cards. Once all players have taken a card, draw new cards to fill the empty slots. |
| Die | Each player draws 1 additional die for this round. They must then allocate 2 dice to the same location on their Player board (see "Drawing Dice" section). |
| Blank | No effect. |
Finally, each player draws the dice they'll be using for the round:
Drawing Dice
Starting with the first player, each player draws 4 dice at random from the bag. Each player then rolls their dice and places each of them on their Player board in one of the four spaces provided. You may place each die in any location you wish.
Each location is linked to an effect that you gain if another player takes that die from you (see below).
Note: Only one die may be allocated to each slot on your player board, unless the Round token awarded you with an additional die.
Joelle picks 4 dice from the bag and rolls them. She then places them on her Player board.
Anatomy of a Player board
- Dice spaces and effects
- Reputation Track
- Game Aid Extension
- Character Extension
- Expert slots
- Animals being studied
- Published Animals
Then, the first turn of the round can begin. Play goes clockwise around the table, starting with the First player.
The Turn
Choose a die
On your turn, take a die to perform an Action. You must take a die from your board or an opponent's board.
- If the die comes from your Player board, no effect is applied.
- If the die belongs to an opponent, then that player immediately gains the effect associated with that die.
| Dice space | Effect |
|---|---|
| X | No effect |
| Coins | The player immediately receives 2 Coins |
| Two stars | The player immediately receives 2 Reputation points |
| 3 (laurel) | The player immediately receives 3 Victory Points |
Jeremie takes the red 4 die belonging to Joelle. As this die is placed on the Reputation slot on her Player board, Joelle immediately gains 2 Reputation points and moves her Reputation token forward 2 spaces.
Performing an Action
You then use the chosen die to perform one of these Actions:
- Embassy
- Bank
- University
- Academy
- Expedition
- Publication
You may perform the same action multiple times during a round.
Anatomy of the central board
- Embassy
- Round counter
- University
- Bank
- Score Track
- Academy
- Expedition
- Publication
Dice symbols used on the board:
- Multicoloured die: The die can be of any colour.
- Die with a check mark: The die must be the same colour.
Embassy
A successful voyage requires lots of preparation!
Place your die on the Embassy location and then, depending on the value of that die, immediately earn 1 to 3 Expedition Tokens. The color of the die does not matter.
| Dice value | 1-2 | 3-4 | 5-6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expedition tokens | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Eric places a 5 die on the Embassy location. He earns 3 Expedition Tokens.
Using Expedition Tokens
Expedition tokens can have one of two effects:
- During any Action, you may discard 1 Expedition Token to change the colour of a die. Simply announce what the new color is. The die is then considered to be that colour for the duration of your Action.
- During an Expedition Action, you may discard 1 or more Expedition Tokens to increase the value of your die by 2 per token.
Bank
The pursuit of knowledge is a costly business…
Place your die on the Bank location and take 5 Coins. The colour and value of the die do not matter.
If you are the first player to place a die on the Bank this round, then you also become the first player, taking the token from its previous owner. This does not affect the order of play for the current round. However, you are considered the "First Player" for any other effects or sequences.
Georgina places a die on the Bank location. Regardless of the colour and value of the die, she immediately gains 5 Coins. In addition, being the first player to place a die on the Bank this turn, she takes the First Player Token that previously belonged to Olivier.
Using Coins
During any Action you can increase the value of your die by 1 for each Coin you discard.
To clarify:
- There is no limit to the number of Coins you can spend to increase the value of a die.
- You can increase the value of a die beyond 6.
- You may use Coins to increase the value of a die for any action.
University
The most brilliant minds of your time are clamoring to join your team…
Place your die on the University location and then take 1 Expert card of your choice from those available. The value of the die does not matter. Expert cards are not replaced until the beginning of the next round.
You may use a die of any colour to take an Expert card. However, if the die is the same color as the recruited Expert, you gain 1 Expedition Token.
Anatomy of an Expert card
- Name
- Continent colour
- Duration of the Effect
- Effect
Place the recruited Expert card on one of the four available Expert slots on your Player board. You may only have 4 active Experts at any one time. If you have no more empty slots you can cover an existing Expert card or place it under an existing Expert card.
Covered cards will still count towards Continent collections at the end of the game.
Using Experts
An immediate (lightning bolt) Expert card has an immediate, one-time effect that can be activated at any time during your turn. When used, it is flipped face down to show that it has been expended. When taking a lightning bolt card you can choose to either use its effect immediately and then place it on your player board face down (below another card if you wish), or leave it visible and therefore active until you wish to use its effect.
The effect of an infinity (permanent) Expert card remains active for the entire game, as long as that Expert is visible on your Player board. If it has been covered, its effect is no longer active.
The effect of a bell (end of game) Expert card occurs at the end of the game during final scoring, and only if the card is visible on your Player board. If it has been covered, its effect is no longer active.
Jamie places a green die on the University location. He then chooses to recruit the Expert Egbert Rensing, placing him on a free slot on his Player board. Since the die is the same colour as the Expert's continent, Jamie also gains 1 Expedition Token.
Academy
Which Animal will you choose to study?
Place your die on the Academy location. You must then take 1 Animal card of your choice from those still available. The die used must be the same colour as the Animal you wish to take. Animal cards are not replaced until the beginning of the next Round. You cannot perform this action if there are no Animal cards left on the central board.
Remember: You can use an Expedition token to change the colour of a die.
Also, depending on the value of the die used, you gain 1 to 3 Reputation points.
| Die value | 1-2 | 3-4 | 5-6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reputation points | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Finally, place the taken Animal card below your Player board.
Joelle places a purple die with a value of 4 on the Academy space on the central board. She wants to research the Lemur Catta (yellow), so she changes the colour of her die by discarding one of her Expedition Tokens. She takes the Animal card and places it in front of her Player board. In addition, as she discarded 1 Coin token to increase the value of her die from 4 to 5, she gains 3 Reputation points.
Anatomy of an Animal card
- Name
- Continent
- Illustration
- Research cube spaces
- Types and Categories
The Different Categories by Type
Each Animal in Encyclopedia has 5 major criteria in the form of Types. For each Type, there are multiple Categories. These represent where the animal lives, what kind of animal it is, what it eats as well as its preferred habitat and climate.
Type 0 - Continent: America (red), Europe (blue), Asia (purple), Africa (yellow), Oceania (green)
Type I - Class: Mammal, Bird, Reptile
Type II - Diet: Omnivorous, Carnivorous, Herbivorous
Type III - Habitat: Terrestrial, Arboreal, Aquatic
Type IV - Climate: Hot, Cold, Temperate
The Reputation Track
Your Reputation token starts the game on the first space of the track on your Player board. Each time you earn Reputation points, move your Reputation token along the Reputation Track the same number of spaces.
As soon as you reach or pass a space with a bonus on it, you immediately earn the bonus shown.
Once you reach the end of your Reputation track, your next move forward returns you to the beginning of the track.
Reputation bonuses:
| Bonus | Effect |
|---|---|
| Expedition token | The player immediately gains 1 Expedition token. |
| Expert (scroll) | The player chooses 1 Expert card from those available. If they get this bonus during another player's turn, they must wait until the end of that player's turn to choose. If there are no more Expert cards available, the player takes the first card from the deck. |
| Coins | The player immediately gains 3 Coins. |
| Animal (magnifying glass) | The player chooses 1 Animal card from those available. If they get this bonus during another player's turn, they must wait until the end of that player's turn to choose. If there are no more Animal cards available, the player takes the first card from the deck. |
| Royal Seal | The player immediately gains 1 Royal Seal token. |
Expedition
To truly study an animal, it has to be observed in the wild…
Now that you've chosen the animals you wish to research, it's time to go and study them in their natural habitat! Place your die on the leftmost available space of the Continent you wish to explore. The die used must be the same colour as the Continent.
Remember: You can change the colour of your die by discarding 1 Expedition token.
You may place a die of any value you wish, however, that value will represent the base value of your Expedition. The higher the value of your Expedition, the more Research you'll be able to do!
Depending on the placement of the die, you immediately gain 0 to 3 Reputation points as indicated by the star icons in the space where you place your die. Also, some locations give you a bonus on the value of your die, as indicated by the dot icons in the circle below where you place your die.
The first player to lead an expedition to a continent has the prestige of getting there first, whereas subsequent visits will be less prestigious but easier due to the terrain having already been explored!
You can also further improve the value of your Expedition in several ways:
- Spending Coins (+1 per discarded Coin token)
- Using an Expedition Token (+2 per discarded Expedition Token)
- Using a Royal Seal (+5 per discarded Royal Seal token)
- Possessing Expert cards that increase the value of your Expeditions.
There is no limit to the amount of Coins, Expedition tokens and Royal Seals you can spend to increase the value of an Expedition.
Olivier decides to go on an expedition to Africa. He places a red die with a value of 5 on the leftmost available space on that continent. Since his die is red, he first decides to change its colour to yellow by discarding an Expedition Token, allowing him to perform this Action.
Once you have determined the final points value of your Expedition, you can use those points to research animals from that continent (colour). Just how much that research will cost you will depend on how closely you wish to study your chosen animals…
Researching an Animal card requires a certain number of points depending on which Type you want to research for it:
| POINTS REQUIRED FOR RESEARCH BY TYPE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type I | Type II | Type III | Type IV |
| 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
You can deduct the required points from the value of your Expedition to place a Research cube on the space of the Type you are researching.
Type II, III and IV locations immediately earn you Victory Points when you place a Research cube on them, as indicated on that Type's space.
During the same Expedition, you can research as many different Categories and Types on as many Animal cards as you like as long as they are from the same continent (colour).
Olivier wants to research two Type I and one Type III on his two African Animals. He therefore needs an Expedition worth 11 points (2+2+7). His die roll is worth 5, +1 due to his location on the continent, to which he adds +2 by discarding an Expedition Token, and +3 by discarding 3 Coins. His Expedition value is now 11 (5+1+2+3), so he can place two Type I Research Cubes and one Type III Cube.
In addition, by placing a Research cube on a Type III, Olivier immediately gains 3 Victory Points.
Publication
You've travelled far and wide, studying some of the world's most fascinating creatures. Now, it's time to present your discoveries to the world!
Start by placing your die on one of your Animal cards. This will be your Reference Animal. The die used must be the same colour as your Reference Animal. Your choice of Reference Animal is very important as it determines which Categories you'll be able to publish Research cubes from during this action.
We recommend moving your Reference animal away from your other cards to avoid confusion.
The value of the die determines which Types you can publish - the higher the value of the die, the higher the value of Types you can publish.
Remember: You can change the colour of a die by discarding an Expedition token. You can increase the value of a die by discarding Coins.
| DIE VALUE REQUIRED FOR TYPES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 0 (Continent) | Type I | Type II | Type III | Type IV |
| 2+ | 3+ | 4+ | 5+ | 6+ |
Eric decides to publish his research. He places a blue die worth 4 on his Reference Animal, Aix galericulata. The Animal is European (blue), so his blue die is valid, but Eric wants to publish up to Type III, which requires a value 5 die. He spends 1 Coin to raise his die to a value of 5.
You can now publish Research cubes from your Reference Animal, up to the highest Type defined by your die.
As Eric has chosen the Aix galericulata as his Reference Animal, his die value allows him to publish categories up to Type III. He will therefore publish Research cubes from these Categories:
- Type I : Birds
- Type II : Omnivorous
- Type III : Aquatic
However, you do not have to publish Research cubes only from your Reference Animal. You may also publish cubes from the same Categories on other Animals you have researched.
Starting with the Category of the highest Type you can publish, you must take the corresponding Research cube from your Reference Animal. You may then take Research cubes of the same Category from any of your other animal cards.
You do not have to take Research cubes from cards other than your Reference Animal if you do not wish to. If you do Publish a Research cube from another card however we recommend pulling that card back from the others as a reminder that you are using it for this action.
Published Research cubes are placed in the space dedicated to that Category in the Publication section of the central board.
Finally, you score Victory Points for each published cube depending on its Type value.
| VICTORY POINTS PER CUBE AND PER TYPE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 0 (Continent) | Type I | Type II | Type III | Type IV |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
Eric starts with his highest Type, Type III, of the Aquatic Category. As well as his Reference Animal, he has two other cards with Research cubes on them for this Category, making 3 in total. He takes these cubes and places them on the Aquatic Category section of the central board. He scores 15 VPs (3x5). He moves the two other Animal cards back from his board as a reminder that he has Published cubes from them.
Once the Category of this Type is completed, proceed in the same way for the Type directly below. Continue until you reach Type 0: Continent.
For each Type, you can only publish one Category, that of your Reference Animal.
You can only Publish cubes from other cards if you publish one of the same Category from your Reference Animal.
Eric continues by moving to Type II, the Omnivore category. He has 3 Research cubes of this Category on his Animal cards. He takes these cubes and places them on the Omnivore Category section of the central board. He scores 9 VPs (3x3).
Eric then moves on to Type I, the Birds Category. He has 5 Research cubes available in this Category. He takes all the cubes and places them on the Birds Category section of the central board. He scores 10 VPs (5x2).
Finally you can Publish your Animal cards for Type 0, the Continent. Take your Reference Animal as well as all the cards that you published at least one cube from and discard any Research cubes remaining on them.
You may also take cards that are of the same Continent (colour) as your Reference Animal, even if you did not publish any cubes from them during this action. Any cubes on these cards are discarded.
From these cards, take your Reference Animal and any other cards of the same Continent (colour) and place them face down next to your Player board. These will count towards your Continent type collections at the end of the game.
Any cards that are not from the same Continent as the Reference Animal are discarded and removed from play.
Note: It is possible to Publish an Animal card that has no Research cube (whether it is a Reference Animal or not). This Animal will then only contribute to your Continental Type collection.
Eric finishes by moving to the Continental Type, the Europe category. He has 3 Animals from that Continent. He takes these 3 cards and places them next to his Player board. He scores 3 VPs (3x1).
Eric's 2 remaining Animals do not belong to the same continent as his Reference Animal so they are removed from the game. He also loses an Arboreal Category cube that he was unable to use.
Finally, gain 1 Royal Seal token after your Publish Action.
Eric has completed his Publish Action, so he receives 1 Royal Seal token.
Royal Seal
These tokens give you many advantages! You can discard a Royal Seal token during any action to gain 5 Coins, or increase the value of a die by 5 AND change its colour at the same time, which can be very useful for leading large Expeditions.
These tokens may also be used at the end of the round to take an additional Action (see "End of the Round").
Each Royal Seal still in your possession at the end of the game will earn you 4 Victory Points.
"5 Cubes" tokens
Particularly prolific researchers may find themselves lacking Research cubes towards the end of the game. In that case you can always free some up by replacing 5 of your cubes on a Publication space with a "5 cubes" token.
Ending your Turn
Once your Action is complete, it is the turn of the player to your left. This continues until there are no more dice available on any of the Player boards.
Once all players have completed all their turns (ie. there are no dice left on any player's board), the End of Round phase takes place.
End of the Round
In the End of Round phase, each player may choose to perform one final Action by discarding a Royal Seal, starting with the first player and moving around the table by order of turn.
If you choose to take an extra Action, discard a Royal Seal token, then retrieve a die of your choice from the central board. Roll this die and perform a new Action of your choice.
If you do not wish to take an additional Action, do not discard any tokens and move on to the next player.
Once each player has had the chance to spend a Royal seal, the round ends. All remaining Expert and Animal cards on the central board are discarded, and all the dice are put back in the bag. A new round begins.
End of the Game
When the 6th and final round is over, the game ends. Players discard the remaining Animal cards in front of their Player boards (they only keep those set aside after their Publication Actions). If these cards have Research cubes on them, then those cubes are lost and discarded back into your reserve.
Final scoring may then begin. Players will have already gained a certain number of Victory Points during the game, but now they will earn additional points for their different collections.
A collection is only valid if it consists of at least 4 elements (Animal cards, Expert cards or Research cubes). If it is less than 4, then it does not earn any Victory Points.
Victory Points are counted for each collection in the Categories of the Publication section of the central board. Each player receives a certain number of Victory Points according to the number of Research cubes for each of their collections.
For the Continent Type category, each player counts the Animal cards from a continent as well as the Expert cards from that same continent. Be sure to count all your Expert cards whether they're active (visible) or not.
| VICTORY POINTS BY CATEGORY/CONTINENT | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nb of elements | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Victory Points | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 22 | 28 | 35 | 40 |
Players also add any Victory Points and Research cubes gained from the abilities of their Expert cards.
Each player also gains:
- 4 VP per Royal Seal
- 1 VP for every 2 Coins
- 1 VP per Expedition Token
During the game, Jeremie accumulated 72 VPs. He now adds his collections to that score. He has 5 Research cubes in the Hot Climate category, giving him 5 points. He also has 8 cubes in the Carnivore category, worth 17 points. He also has 10 cubes in the Reptile category, for 28 points.
Jeremie also has 6 animals from Oceania and 6 Expert cards from the same continent, which gives him a large collection of 12 Oceania cards worth 40 points!
Jeremie has also accumulated 6 Royal Seal Tokens, which gives him 24 points. Finally, he has 4 Coins left, which gives him 2 points.
In total, he scored: 72 + 5 + 17 + 28 + 40 + 24 + 2 = 188 VP!
A good score!
Once final scoring is complete, the player with the most Victory Points wins the game.
In the event of a tie, the player who Published the most Animals wins. If there is another tie, then the win is shared.
Annex
Expert Cards
America
- Alonso Rossette: Each time you place a Research cube on a Type I Category, gain 1 Coin.
- Audrey Morton: Each time you place a die on an Expedition to America, gain 3 VP.
- Cristian Miller: Each time you place a die on the University location, gain 2 Coins.
- Elena Lewis: Each time you place a die on the Publication location, gain 2 Reputation points.
- Etienne Lebeau: Each time you place a die on the Embassy location, gain 2 Reputation points.
- Fernanda Brito Pedroso: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Mammal Category.
- Maddalena Rotella: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Arboreal Category.
- Nargiz Tatilian: At the end of the game, gain an additional 1 VP for each remaining Expedition Token you have.
- Renell Victorie: All of your Expeditions to America have their value increased by 2.
- Rogério Luz: All of your red dice have their value increased by 1.
- Salvador Ortíz: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Omnivore Category.
Africa
- Adamu Ashenafi: Each time you place a die on the University location, gain 3 VP.
- Aymar Dibumbè: Each time you place a die on the Embassy location, gain 2 Coins.
- Gidea Grobbelaar: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Reptile Category.
- Girgis Al-Ghumari: All of your Expeditions to Africa have their value increased by 2.
- Habib Abdalla: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Temperate Climate Category.
- N'Kogolo Bakumi: At the end of the game, gain 1 VP for each Expert card in your possession.
- Rabiah Assaf: Each time you place a die on an Expedition to Africa, gain 3 VP.
- Safi Limbila: Immediately gain 5 Coins, then discard this Expert.
- Samara El-Ouadie: Each time you place a die on the Bank location, gain 2 Reputation points.
- Simon Hodesmann: Each time you place a Research cube on a Type III Category, gain 2 Coins.
- Yaban Peker: All of your yellow dice have their value increased by 1.
Asia
- Ankshu Ragavan: At the end of the game, gain 1 VP for each space between your Reputation counter and the start of the Reputation track.
- Gangesh Mukerji: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Hot Climate Category.
- Gao Zhelan: Each time you place a die on the Publication location, gain 3 Coins.
- Ishiwata Eiko: Gain 3 Reputation points immediately, then discard this Expert.
- Kedar Ghale: Each time you place a Research cube on a Type IV Category, gain 3 Coins.
- Morishita Shinzo: Each time you place a die on an Expedition to Asia, gain 3 VP.
- Piaar Jhari: Each time you place a die on the Embassy location, gain 3 VP.
- Pu Geun-Young: All of your Expeditions to Asia have their value increased by 2.
- Shanti Shevade: Each time you place a die on the Academy location, gain 2 Reputation points.
- Suriani binti Sulung: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Carnivore Category.
- Thao Trí Hùng: All your purple dice have their value increased by 1.
Europe
- Adriana Zarek: Each time you place a die on the Publication location, gain 2 Reputation points.
- Cathrin Holzhausen: Each time you place a die in the Academy location, you gain 2 Coins.
- Katie MacSweeney: All of your Expeditions to Europe have an increased value of 2.
- Leonardas Vaikutis: Each time you place a die on the University location, gain 2 Reputation points.
- Lotte Paulsen: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Birds Category.
- Louwrens Korte: Each time you place a die on an Expedition to Europe, gain 3 VP.
- Manuel Núñez: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Cold Climate Category.
- Mathias Hass: Each time you place a Research cube on a Type II, earn 1 Coin.
- Mathieu Aubert: All your blue dice have their value increased by 1.
- Rachel Mostinckx: Gain 5 Coins immediately, then discard this Expert.
- Vlad Koulechov: At the end of the game, gain an additional 1 VP per Royal Seal token.
Oceania
- Akona Wikiriwhi: All of your Expeditions to Oceania have an increased value of 2.
- Arnold Schuman: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Terrestrial Habitat Category.
- Egbert Rensing: Each time you place a die on the Publication location, gain 3 Coins.
- Emilia Morris: Each time you place a die on an Expedition to Oceania, gain 3 VP.
- Etano Palamo: All of your green dice have their value increased by 1.
- Ilmatar Iivonen: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Aquatic Habitat Category.
- Kiteni Sariman: At the end of the game, add 2 Research cubes of your colour to the Herbivore Category.
- Matilda Glenn: Gain 3 Reputation points immediately, then discard this Expert.
- Paipau Piripi: Each time you place a die on the Academy location, gain 3 VP.
- Phoebe Burke: Each time you place a die on the Bank location, gain 3 VP.
- Pora Paniu: At the end of the game, gain an additional 1 VP per set of 2 Coins.
Sepultus Creatura
During one of your expeditions, you've stumbled across an unprecedented discovery: the gigantic bones of previously unknown creatures! Your best guess is that they are the remains of animals from long, long ago. It's up to you to study these bones and define their specificities, even if your research is… approximate. After all, who could possibly prove you wrong?
Sepultus Creatura is an exclusive mini-expansion that is included in the first edition of Encyclopedia.
This expansion is compatible with Solo Mode. The Automa will not interact with these cards.
Contents
6 Sepultus Creatura cards
All Sepultus Creatura have the bone icon in their bottom right hand corner, making them easily distinguishable from the cards in the core box.
Rules
When setting up the game, shuffle the 6 Sepultus Creatura cards with the Animals from the base game. When a Sepultus Creatura card is drawn, it is placed on the Academy space in the same way as an Animal card. To get a Sepultus Creatura card, place a die of the same value as the die shown on that card, then place that card with your other Animal cards in front of your Player board.
Clarifications:
- The colour of the die does not matter.
- You still gain from 1 to 3 Reputation points depending on the value of the die placed.
- Sepultus Creatura cards are not affiliated to any Continent.
As with any other Animal, you can research a Sepultus Creatura card during an Expedition action. Since these cards are not tied to a Continent, you can research them during an Expedition to any Continent. However, you must spend an Expedition value equal to the one shown on the card. Then place one of your Research cubes on the Category of your choice among those indicated on the card.
Clarifications:
- The Expedition value required by the card is spent.
- You may only place 1 Research cube on a Sepultus Creatura card.
- You may research other Animal cards during the same Expedition.
You may perform a Publication action including a Sepultus Creatura card, but you cannot use that card as your Reference Animal. When publishing, and as with a normal Animal, if the Category chosen on your Sepultus Creatura card matches a Category on your Reference Animal, then add that cube to your collection of that Category. Then keep this card as if it were from the same Continent as the Reference Animal.
Sepultus Creatura cards are also joker cards! At the end of the game, each of your Sepultus Creatura cards can be added to the Continent collection of your choice.
For example, you could mount an Expedition to the Americas to research a Sepultus Creatura card, then include it in an Asian Animals Publication, and finally account for it in a Oceania Continent collection during final scoring. No one has studied these creatures yet, so you're free to make a few educated guesses!
The first documented research on dinosaur bones took place in the early 19th century, shortly after the publication of the last volumes of Buffon's Natural History. The word "dinosaur" first appeared in 1841. We allowed ourselves this anachronism in the setting of Encyclopedia, because we liked the idea that our aspiring naturalists could discover these bones and establish their own, mostly likely erroneous theories about them.
Solo Mode
This mode allows you to play against one or several adversaries controlled by an AI system. This mode was designed for solo play, but you can also use it to spice up your multiplayer games by adding one or more AI players!
As with a normal player, the AI will gain tokens, take Animal and Expert cards from the central board (including ones you might be after), organise Expeditions and create Continent collections that can earn it a lot of points!
Each Player board has two sides: A and B. A is always used by normal players, whereas side B is only for the AI. This ensures that you can never have more than 4 players in a game.
Setup
The following is a setup example for a solo game using one AI player. You can choose to play with more than one AI, or add them to a multiplayer game (see p. 25).
Setup is identical to the rules of the core game, except that the AI's board is flipped over to side B. Choose 1 Behavior card and 1 Scoring card for the AI.
You can choose between 3 Behavior cards and 3 Scoring cards, allowing you to create up to 9 different AI systems. These cards have a difficulty level ranging from 1 clover to 3 clovers. For the first time you play, we recommend using Behavior card 1 clover and Scoring card 1 clover.
Place these two cards onto the AI's player board. Then, take 1 Continent card of each type (Europe, America, Africa, Asia and Oceania), shuffle them together, and place them above the player board, sliding them partly underneath to gain space if necessary. These cards will remain in place for the entire game, and define the AI's priorities for its actions (from highest priority on the left to lowest on the right). Then, complete setup as normal for the rest of the game (like a real player, the AI receives tokens and takes Animal cards before the first round). As usual, the first player is determined randomly. If it's the AI, they are given the 1st Player token.
Rules
At the beginning of each round, the AI draws the same number of dice as a normal player. The dice are then placed onto the AI's Player board, going from the lowest value on the left, up to the highest value on the right. If there are dice of the same value, then they are placed by order of colour as determined by the priorities on the Continent cards (from the lowest priority to the highest). At the start of the round, the AI obtains the same round bonus as the other player. Play then begins as normal.
Here, the dice have been placed from the lowest value to the highest. However, two dice have the same value (2). According to the order of priority, the AI will then place the lowest priority die (the yellow die) the furthest to the left and the highest priority (the red) on the right.
On the player's turn
- The AI receives all of the usual bonuses when one of their dice is taken by another player. The player applies the effect.
- The player also manages the AI's Reputation token, moving it along the track on the AI's Player board, and applies any bonuses obtained by Reputation to the AI when necessary.
- Whenever the AI takes a card (Animal or Expert), they choose their card depending on their priorities, going from left to right.
On the AI's turn
- The AI always chooses the highest value die available (either on their board or on the player's board). If there are several dice of the same value available, the choice is made depending on their priorities, and what is the least beneficial to the player.
- The AI then carries out each stage of the Action related to the value of the die, as described on their Behavior card.
- If an AI's action comes into conflict with a rule from the core game, then the AI's rule always takes precedence.
- Only the rules of the Behavior card are strictly applied. The Automa does not gain the bonuses indicated on the central board.
The Carl Von Linné AI places a value 5 die on the University space. They take an Expert card according to their order of priority. The colour of the die does not match the colour of the Expert taken, so according to the core rules, the AI should not receive an Expedition token. However, their Behavior card states that they gain an Expedition token from this action, so this is the rule that is applied: the AI gains 1 token.
Particularities of the AI
- The AI never performs Publication actions, and as a result, never uses Research cubes.
- The AI never applies Expert card effects.
- During play, a player will gain most of their Victory points from Publications, whereas the AI will mostly gain points from Expeditions.
- When taking an Animal card, the AI chooses according to its priorities (the colour of the die does not matter).
- The Automa cannot take an additional Action at the end of the round with a Royal Seal token.
End of the Game (Solo)
The player calculates their Victory points as they normally would. The AI calculates their Victory points as shown on their Scoring card.
The Behavior cards
Carl von Linné (1 clover)
| Value of the die used | Action |
|---|---|
| 6 | Places their die on the Academy. Gains 1 Animal card. Gains 3 Reputation points. |
| 5 | Places their die on the University. Gains 1 Expert card. Gains 1 Expedition token. |
| 4 | Places their die on an Expedition space on the Continent from where they currently have the most Animal cards. Gains the Reputation points from that space. Discards all of their Expedition tokens. Gains 4 VP per Expedition token discarded. |
| 3 | Places their die on the Embassy. Gains 2 Expedition tokens. |
| 2 | Places their die on the Bank. Gains 5 Coins. Becomes 1st Player if the token has not already been claimed. |
| 1 | Places their die on an Expedition space on the Continent from where they currently have the most Animal cards. Gains the Reputation points from that space. Discards all of their Expedition tokens. Gains 3 VP per Expedition token discarded. |
Abraham Trembley (2 clovers)
| Value of the die used | Action |
|---|---|
| 6 | Places their die on an Expedition space on the Continent from where they currently have the most Animal cards. Gains the Reputation points from that space. Discards all of their Expedition tokens. Gains 5 VP per Expedition token discarded. |
| 5 | Places their die on the Academy. Gains 1 Animal card. Gains 3 Reputation points. |
| 4 | Places their die on the University. Gains 1 Expert card. Gains 1 Royal Seal token. |
| 3 | Places their die on the Bank. Gains 5 Coins. Becomes 1st Player if the token has not already been claimed. Gains 1 Expedition token. |
| 2 | Places their die on the Embassy. Gains 2 Expedition tokens. |
| 1 | Places their die on the Academy. Gains 1 Animal card. Gains 1 Reputation points. |
Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton (3 clovers)
| Value of the die used | Action |
|---|---|
| 6 | Places their die on the Embassy. Gains 3 Expedition tokens. |
| 5 | Places their die on an Expedition space on the Continent from where they currently have the most Animal cards. Gains the Reputation points from that space. Discards all of their Expedition tokens. Gains 6 VP per Expedition token discarded. |
| 4 | Places their die on the Academy. Gains 1 Animal card. Gains 2 Reputation points. |
| 3 | Places their die on the University. Gains 1 Expert card. Gains 2 Reputation points. |
| 2 | Places their die on an Expedition space on the Continent from where they currently have the most Animal cards. Gains the Reputation points from that space. Discards all of their Expedition tokens. Gains 5 VP per Expedition token discarded. |
| 1 | Places their die on the Bank. Gains 5 Coins. Becomes 1st Player if the token has not already been claimed. Gains 1 Royal Seal token. |
The Scoring cards
La Boudeuse (1 clover)
| Scoring element | Victory Points gained |
|---|---|
| Animal cards | For each Continent, the AI gains Victory Points equal to the number of cards they have from the same Continent (Animals and Experts), multiplied by the number of Animal cards they have from that Continent. |
| Expert cards | Sort the AI's Expert cards by Continent, and determine the 3 largest Collections they have (from the largest to the smallest). The first collection scores 3 VP / Expert. The second collection scores 2 VP / Expert. The third collection scores 1 VP / Expert. |
| Coins | 1 VP / 2 Coins. |
| Expedition token | 2 VP / Expedition token. |
| Royal Seal | 4 VP / Royal Seal token. |
HMS Resolution (2 clovers)
| Scoring element | Victory Points gained |
|---|---|
| Animal cards | For each Continent, the AI gains Victory Points equal to the number of cards they have from the same Continent (Animals and Experts), multiplied by the number of Animal cards they have from that Continent. |
| Expert cards | Sort the AI's Expert cards by Continent, and determine the 3 largest Collections they have (from the largest to the smallest). The first collection scores 4 VP / Expert. The second collection scores 3 VP / Expert. The third collection scores 2 VP / Expert. |
| Coins | 1 VP / 2 Coins. |
| Expedition token | 3 VP / Expedition token. |
| Royal Seal | 5 VP / Royal Seal token. |
L'Astrolabe (3 clovers)
| Scoring element | Victory Points gained |
|---|---|
| Animal cards | For each Continent, the AI gains Victory Points equal to the number of cards they have from the same Continent (Animals and Experts), multiplied by the number of Animal cards they have from that Continent. |
| Expert cards | Sort the AI's Expert cards by Continent, and determine the 3 largest Collections they have (from the largest to the smallest). The first collection scores 5 VP / Expert. The second collection scores 4 VP / Expert. The third collection scores 3 VP / Expert. |
| Coins | 1 VP / Coin. |
| Expedition token | 4 VP / Expedition token. |
| Royal Seal | 6 VP / Royal Seal token. |
Variants and Tips
These AI rules were designed to give you more than one opponent to test your skills against! This Solo Mode is challenging, interesting and highly replayable, and can be adapted to your specific needs and tastes.
Changing the difficulty
With 3 Scoring cards and 3 Behavior cards to mix and match, you will be able to create up to 9 different AI experiences! For your first games, we recommend playing with the lowest difficulty (which would be Carl von Linné / La Boudeuse), before building up towards more challenging combinations. The Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton / L'Astrolabe combination will prove to be a very difficult opponent to beat!
Playing with multiple AI opponents
If you wish to make your solo game even more challenging, you can choose to play against more than one AI opponent. This Solo Mode includes 3 sets of Continent cards to define their priorities.
Using AI in multiplayer games
This AI system can also be used in a multiplayer game! Spice up your experience with an additional adversary who you'll be competing with for high value dice, Animal cards and Experts. Have fun!
F.A.Q.
Is it possible to complete only part of an Action?
No, you can only choose to take an Action if you can complete the entire Action. For example: you may not perform the Academy Action if there are no more Animal cards available, in order to gain Reputation points. However, if a bonus granted by that Action would allow you to complete it, then you may do so.
Quentin places a die on an Expedition to America, when he doesn't have any Animal cards from that Continent. However, the Reputation points gained from the Expedition allow him to gain 1 Animal card of his choice (thanks to the bonus on his Reputation track). He chooses an Animal from America, which allows him to complete his Expedition Action.
Do I have to replace an Expert or Animal card once it is taken?
No, Expert and Animal cards are never replaced during a round. You'll have to hurry to get the ones you want! The remaining Expert and Animal cards are discarded at the end of the round, and new ones are placed at the beginning of the round.
During a Publish Action, do I have to take all the cubes of my other Animals if they are of the same Category?
No, you may decide to not include some Animal cards in your Publication, in order to perform another Publication Action later.
Can I do the Publication Action with just one Animal?
Yes, it's actually a valid strategy. Publishing often will cost you more actions, but it's also a good way to collect more Royal Seal tokens.
Can a Publication Action be made taking into account only the Continent Type of the Animals included, without collecting any Research cubes?
Of course! This can have several advantages: your Action will only require a low-value die, and the cards will contribute to a Continent Type collection at the end of the game.
Is there a limit to the number of Animal cards I can have under study?
No, you can have as many Animals under study (in front of your Player board) as you want!
Is there a limit to the number of Expert cards I can have on my Player board?
Yes. You may only have 4 active Expert cards (meaning face up on your Player board) at any one time. However, you may discard an Expert card on your player board by flipping it face down, in order to place another card you have just acquired on top. Some Expert cards must be discarded for their effect to be used. You may have as many of these discarded (face down) cards on your player board as you like, placing them under your active (face up) Expert cards.
Only active Expert cards can have their effect applied. This includes ones whose effect only applies at the end of the game. However, discarded, face down cards still count towards your Continent collections at the end of the game!
I don't have enough Research cubes of my colour for my publications, what can I do?
You can use the x5 tokens to replace 5 cubes of your colour in a Category in the Publication section of the central board, thus freeing up several Research cubes for your personal reserve.
The History Behind Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia was inspired by the works of the Comte de Buffon (1707-1788). Member of the Académie Française and the Académie des Sciences, he was a naturalist, biologist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher and writer. As one of the great minds of his time, he made considerable contributions to the Age of Enlightenment.
His most renowned work is undoubtedly his encyclopedia: Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du cabinet du Roy. Buffon wrote 36 volumes over the course of 40 years. After his death, the Comte de Lacepede continued his work, adding a further 8 volumes. At the time of its publication, Histoire Naturelle was an immense success, comparable to that of Diderot's Encyclopédie, which appeared at around the same time.
Today, Histoire Naturelle is known to have a number of shortcomings, including theories which have since been disproved. However, Buffon's work remains exceptional in many ways. By describing living creatures in minute detail and compounding large quantities of previously fragmented research, his encyclopedia allowed the natural sciences to make great progress. In a certain sense, Buffon was one of the first science popularizers, bringing scientific research into the public eye. He influenced many future generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Charles Darwin.
If you're feeling curious, many of the volumes of Histoire Naturelle have been digitalized and can be consulted for free on the Gallica website, the digital branch of the French National Library.
gallica.bnf.fr
Encyclopedia is heavily inspired by history and the natural sciences, but the game does not claim to be historically and scientifically exact.
We took inspiration from the facts, while prioritizing giving you the best gaming experience possible!
Gaming Aid
The Round
Preparation
- Draw and place new Expert and Animal cards (except for the first Round).
- Turn over the next Round token and apply its effect.
- Each player draws and rolls 4 new dice from the bag and places them on their player board.
Actions
Starting with the first player and going clockwise around the table, each player performs one action of their choice from the following:
Place a die on the Embassy (p. 8)
The player gains 1 to 3 Expedition tokens depending on the value of the die. The colour of the die has no effect.
Place a die on the Bank (p. 9)
The player gains 5 Coins and the First Player token if they are the first to perform this action. The value and colour of the die have no effect.
Place a die on the University (p. 9)
The player gains 1 Expert card of their choice. If the die is the same colour as the Expert, the player gains 1 Expedition token.
Place a die on the Academy (p. 10)
The player gains 1 Animal card of their choice, and 1 to 3 Reputation points depending on the value of the die. The die must be of the same colour as the Animal the player wishes to take.
Place a die on an Expedition (p. 12)
The player places 1 die on the continent space of their choice, on the leftmost available slot. They gain the number of Reputation points shown. The die must be the same colour as the Continent. The value of the die determines the base value of the Expedition.
The value of an Expedition is equal to: the die value + the Expedition slot bonus + 2 per Expedition token + 1 per Coin token. The player then uses this value to add Research cubes to the Types of their choice on any Animal cards they have from the Continent of their Expedition.
Perform a Publication (p. 14)
The player places a die on their Reference Animal. They can then publish all Research cubes of the same Categories as those on their Reference Animal. The player then gains a Royal Seal token. The die must be the same colour as the Reference Animal. The value determines how high a Type the player can publish.
End of the Round (p. 17)
- When players have no dice remaining on their Player boards, the Round ends.
- Going by order of turn and starting with the first player, each player can then choose to perform an additional action by discarding a Royal Seal.
- Discard all remaining Expert and Animal cards. All the dice are put back in the bag. Then begin a new Round.
During your turn, you may:
- Discard 1 Coin to increase the value of a die by 1.
- Discard 1 Expedition token to change the colour of a die.
- Discard 1 Expedition token to increase the value of an Expedition by 2.
- Discard 1 Royal Seal to gain 5 Coins.
- Discard 1 Royal Seal to increase the value of a die by 5 AND change its colour.
End of the Game (p. 17)
Once all 6 Rounds have been played, final scoring begins.
Players now add the point value of their different collections to the points scored during play.
Players start by adding the points value of their Research cube collections on the different Category sections of the central board.
Players then add the value of their different collections of Continent types: which include the Animal cards they published as well as Expert cards of the same colour.
Players will then add to these scores any additional points from active Expert cards.
Each player also gains:
- 4 VP per Royal Seal
- 1 VP for every 2 Coins they have remaining
- 1 VP per Expedition token
The player with the most Victory points wins!
In the case of a draw, the player with the most published Animal cards wins. If there is still a draw, then the victory is shared.