Fisheries of Gloucester Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Basic Setup
• Variant Setup
• Overview
• Playing the Game
  • Phase I: Take Ocean Tiles
  • Phase II: Add Time
  • Phase III: Taking Turns
    • Special Case: Double Turn
    • Action 1: Chart a Course (cost: no hours)
    • Action 2: Sail (cost: 1+ hours)
      • The Fleet Rule
      • Special Case: Moving Backwards
    • Action 3: Fish (cost: 1+ hours)
    • Action 4: Preserve Fish (1x/day; no cost)
      • Card Requirements
      • Action Icons
• Game End
• Variant
• Game Summary

Components

• 1 Game Board
• 2 Player Boards
• 2 Time Markers
• 6 Ships (3 of each color)
• 2 Progress Boards
• 32 Ocean Tiles
• 6 Chart Cards
• 14 Preservation Cards
• 1 Initiative Card
• 24 Fish (6 each of 4 colors)
• 2 Lobsters
• 6 Rough Water tiles (variant)
• 6 Island Tiles (variant)

Basic Setup

1. Place the game board with the A side face up.
2. Place the progress boards beneath the game board as shown. Note: If sitting opposite each other, one player can flip her progress board and place on her own side of the game board.
3. Randomly place 1 fish into each space marked with a fish icon.
4. Sort the ocean tiles and place in piles above the board
5. Sort the preservation cards into 6 stacks by icon type (e.g. 1 fish, 2 of the same, 3 of the same), mix each stack, and place the stacks face-up above the board. Note: Most stacks are only 2 cards.
6. Shuffle the chart cards and place in a face-down draw pile near the ocean tiles.
7. Each player chooses a color and takes the player board and time marker in their color.
8. Each player places a time marker on the zero space of their time track.
9. Each player takes 1 lobster and puts it on their player board.
10. Players take a 1-square and a 2-square ocean tile.
11. Determine a starting player and give her the initiative card.
12. The non-starting player takes an additional single ocean tile.
13. Place ships on starting spaces. The player with the initiative card puts ships on the 1's. The other player puts ships on the 2's.

Variant Setup

After a few games, try using the B-side of the board. Place the island tiles, rough water tiles, and fish tokens in different places on the board, as you see fit. You should probably keep the first two columns clear. Both players should evaluate the placement of the rough water tiles to ensure that it is not unfair.

Overview

On each of 6 days (rounds), players take turns performing actions: charting a course, sailing, fishing, and preserving fish. By preserving fish and docking ships on islands, players earn points. At game's end, the player with the most points wins.

Playing the Game

Each day is divided into 4 phases:

1. Take Ocean Tiles
2. Add Time
3. Perform Actions
4. Ending the Day

Phase I: Take Ocean Tiles

• Flip the top chart card.
• Both players take the ocean tiles showing on the card from the general supply and add them to their personal supply.
• Discard the chart card.

Example: You flip this chart card. Both players take the matching ocean tiles from the general supply.

Phase II: Add Time

• Players raise the time marker on their time track.
• The player going first adds 6 hours.
• The other player adds 7 hours.
• Players may have a maximum of 12 hours.

Example: You start the day with 2 hours and you are going first, so you raise your time marker to 8.

Phase III: Taking Turns

On the first day, the player with the initiative card goes first. On all days, the player with the initiative card begins the phase by placing it back into the supply, then players take turns. On the second through sixth day, the first player is determined by the player who "ends the day" first (see "Ending the Day").

On a turn, perform 1 of 4 actions:

1. Chart a Course
2. Sail
3. Fish
4. Preserve Fish (1x/day)

For actions that cost time, a player moves the time marker down accordingly. After performing an action, it is the next player's turn. Players continue taking turns until the day ends.

Special Case: Double Turn

You may discard your lobster to immediately take another action. Note that the lobster does not allow you to preserve twice in the same day (see "Preserve Fish").

Action 1: Chart a Course (cost: no hours)

Place 1 ocean tile from your personal supply onto the board following these rules:

• Place it on a space orthogonally adjacent to a space with a ship, whether yours or your opponent's.
• The tile must fit inside the board's grid and only on calm water spaces (light blue).
• No part of the tile may cover a fish token, an island, the shore, a ship, or rough waters (dark spaces).
• Note: after a fish token is removed, the empty space is now a legitimate space to place a tile.
• You may orient the tile in any way.
• You may only play 1 tile per turn, though you may perform this action multiple times on the same day.

Example: To place this 3-square ocean tile next to the green ship, you have only these 2 options. You may not cover rough water, a fish, a shore space, or another ship.

Action 2: Sail (cost: 1+ hours)

Move 1, and only 1, of your ships per turn following these rules:

• Move only on ocean tile spaces, rough water spaces, island spaces, and starting spaces, not on the board's calm water spaces.
• Move orthogonally only.
• Spend 1 hour to move 1 space on an unoccupied ocean tile space or on a starting space (after the opponent has vacated it).
• Spend 1 hour to enter an island space (where a ship must stay for the rest of the game).
• Spend 2 hours to enter a space with another ship. You may not stop that space, but must pass through to another space (and pay hours accordingly).
• Spend 2 hours to enter a rough waters space, where you may stop or pass through.
• Important: moving a ship counts as 1 action, regardless of how many spaces you move.

Example: Green spends 2 hours to move into the space with the yellow ship, 1 hour to move down, and 2 hours to move into the rough waters space. Thus, Green spends 5 hours to move this ship on this turn.

The Fleet Rule

You may not move any of your ships more than 3 columns from your leftmost ship. After you move your leftmost ship, adjust the progress board so the ship icon is in the same column as your ship closest to shore. The arrow shows the furthest your other ships may move.

In this example, yellow may not move her middle ship until she moves the bottom ship.

Special Case: Moving Backwards

You may move your ships back toward shore. As a result, the leftmost ship may be more than 3 columns behind the rightmost ship.

Action 3: Fish (cost: 1+ hours)

Pick up fish from the board following these rules:

• Spend 1 hour to take 1 fish from any space orthogonally adjacent to any of your ships.
• Place fish on your player board.
• You may fish from different ships on the same turn.
• You may fish from any space type that your ship is on.
• Important: Fishing counts as 1 action regardless of how many fish you catch. Each fish caught, however, costs 1 hour.

Example: The yellow player can catch the silver and blue fish for 1 hour each. The black fish is diagonally adjacent so cannot be caught from this position.

Action 4: Preserve Fish (1x/day; no cost)

Preserve fish to earn preservation cards (worth points at game end) according to these rules:

• You may preserve only once per day.
• Spend no time to preserve fish.
• Discard fish from your player board to meet one of the preservation card's requirements (see below).
• Place the preservation card to the left of your player board.
• Immediately perform the preservation card action, if you can and wish to, shown on the card (see below).
• The revealed preservation card in the stack, if any, is now available.

Card Requirements

• The card requirement is shown by the icon at the top of the card.
• If the icon is a white fish, you must discard a specified number of the same fish (equal sign) or different fish (unequal sign).
• If the icon is colored, you must discard 1 fish of the specified color.

Requirement icons (examples):

• 3 = Three of the same fish
• 4 ≠ Four different fish
• Blue fish: One blue fish

Action Icons

• Sand Timer: Increase your time by the specified amount.
• Ship: Advance 1 of your ships up to the specified amount, following normal rules of sailing.
• Ship + Tile: Move 1 of your ships the specified amount and place the matching ocean tile from the general supply onto the board, according to normal placement rules. Perform in either order. You may perform only 1, if you wish.
• Helm: At game end, score the specified number of points.

Example: You discard 3 blue fish to take this card. You can move 1 of your ships 1 space. You'll score 4 points at game end.

Clarification: Any sailing power gained from the preservation card may not be increased by spending time. Also, you are not required to move.

Phase IV: Ending the Day

• At the start of your turn, you may "end the day" instead of taking an action.
• If you are the first person to end the day, take the initiative card and declare whether you will go first or second in the next day.
• Show your decision by turning the initiative card to the appropriate side.
• Reminder: the second player in the next day receives an additional hour at the day's start.
• After one player ends her day, the other player may continue to take actions, if he wishes, until he decides to end his day.

If both players end their day and 6 rounds have passed, go to Game End. If the chart cards deck is empty, you will know 6 days have passed.

If 6 days have not passed, prepare for a new day by doing the following:

• Move the preservation card earned to the right of your player board.
• You may keep 1 ocean tile to use the following day. Return excess to the supply.

Game End

The game ends after 6 days. Sum the values on your preservation cards. To this sum, add points for each island reached with your ships. Earn 1 point for each helm shown on each island you have reached. The player with the most points wins.

In case of ties, the player with the most fish on their player board wins. If still tied, the player who took the initiative card on the final day wins.

Variant

During setup, shuffle the preservation cards, flip a row of 5 cards and place the remainder in a draw pile. Only the 5 cards are available to be earned. After a card is earned, flip a new one to take its place. This adds luck and makes the game less predictable.

Game Summary

The game lasts 6 days (rounds). Each day has 4 phases.

• Phase I: Take Ocean Tiles — Flip chart card and take corresponding ocean tiles.
• Phase II: Add Time — Increase time on player board. First player adds 6 hours; second player adds 7 hours. Place initiative card back in supply.
• Phase III: Taking Turns — Take turns performing 1 action at a time.
  1. Chart a Course — Place an ocean tile adjacent to a ship over calm water spaces only.
  2. Sail — Spend time to move ship(s).
  3. Fish — Spend time to fish from adjacent spaces.
  4. Preserve Fish — Discard fish to take a preservation card. Perform bonus action, if any. You may preserve only 1 time per day.
• Phase IV: Ending the Day — Player taking initiative card determines turn order for next day.

Game End: After 6 days, players score points for preservation cards and islands reached. The player with the most points wins. If tied, the player with the most fish remaining wins. If still tied, the player taking the initiative card on the final day wins.