From Batavia
From Batavia Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Players take simultaneous actions during each phase. Firstly, players choose a Cargo card face-down from their hand and reveal them together. Players pay the cost by discarding cards from their hand, but these discards go to their left neighbour.
The Cargo cards are placed onto their Ship cards to generate profits. When the values of the Cargos matches the Ship's total, the Ship is full and the player takes a new Ship card.
The first player to complete their third Ship is the biggest merchant and wins!
Preparation and Components
- 120 Cargo cards: 24 Gingers, 24 Cinnamons, 24 Peppers, 24 Cloves, 24 Cardamons. Each Cargo card shows a Cost, a Value, an Effect and Icon(s).
- 24 Grain cards
- 36 Ship cards (6 colors, 6 cards for each). A Ship card shows a Hold number, Icon(s) and a money value.
- 30 Coins
- 1 Leader card
Shuffle the Cargo cards and place them face-down on the table as the Cargo pile. The Grain cards simply go in a pile next to the Cargo pile. Place the Coins near them too. Discarded Cargo cards will go face-down near the Cargo pile, but discarded Grain cards just go straight back into the Grain pile.
According to the number of players (see table below), sort out which Ship cards are used. The remaining go back into the box unused. Then sort the Ship cards into their colors and number of icons, one at the top, two and then three at the bottom.
| Players | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 icon | 1 card | 1 card | 2 cards | 2 cards | 2 cards |
| 2 icons | 1 card | 2 cards | 1 card | 2 cards | 2 cards |
| 3 icons | 1 card | 1 card | 2 cards | - | - |
The player who most recently bought spices is the Start Player (otherwise choose a player randomly). The player on their right takes the Leader card.
Starting with the Start Player and going clockwise, each player takes one Ship card from the top of the pile. Each player must take a different colored Ship card from the other players. The number on the Ship card is the size of its Hold. When Cargo cards placed on the Ship reach a total value equal or over the Hold number, the Ship is full.
NOTE: Each Ship card also has an icon or icons. These are also counted when applying the effects of the Cargo cards.
The players each receive 5 Cargo cards drawn from the Cargo pile.
Hand Cards: Both Cargo cards and Grain cards go into the player's hand.
Hint: In your first game, it will help you to get Cloves into your ship by the first or second round.
Flow of the Game
This game is played over several rounds, with four phases in each round. During each phase, players act simultaneously.
1. Market Phase - New Round Starts
At the start of each new round, each player chooses one Cargo card from their hand, and places it face-down in front of themselves. Once each player has chosen, all players turn their card up and place it on their own Ship card. Successive Cargo cards are placed staggered so that all the icons at the bottom are clear.
2. Payment Phase
Each player pays the cost of their Cargo card, which is the number on the played card. The player chooses cards from their hand as payment, the total number of cards chosen equal to the cost. A player can choose any selection of Cargo or Grain cards to pay. The chosen cards are passed face-down to the player on their left. When everyone has chosen, the passed cards are taken into hand.
A player can choose not to or may not be able to pay the cost, in which case the played Cargo card goes back into their hand. Then they draw one Cargo card face-down from the pile and this goes unseen to the player on their left.
Important: If the player chooses to pay with a card of the same color as the played Cargo card, this counts as two cards for the cost.
3. Effect Phase
Now the Effect on each new Cargo card played is applied (details of the effects are below). Most Effects are cumulative, so the player counts all the icons on their display; icons on played Cargo cards and icons on their own Ship cards.
NOTE: some Cargo cards have a Special Ability as well as an Effect. The Effect happens when the card is played. The Special Ability happens during play when relevant.
4. Refresh Phase
- A full Ship, and a new Ship. If the Cargo cards on a Ship now have a total value equal to or over the Hold number on the Ship, the Ship is now full. A player may not place any more Cargo cards onto a full Ship card. If this is the player's third Ship, the game ends (go to End of the Game). Otherwise, the player takes a new Ship from the top of one of the Ship piles. The new Ship must be a different color to any of the player's previous Ships. If a player has been collecting Coins, these go onto the Ship and are included when assessing the total value. If the Ship is now full, any surplus Coins go onto the new Ship card. If two or more players fill their Ship, the player with the Leader card takes a new Ship card first, and the other players follow going clockwise. The last player taking a Ship card also takes the Leader card.
- Discard cards. Now players can freely discard any cards from their hand (optional). NOTE: Grain cards simply go straight to the Grain pile. Discarded Cargo cards go onto a face-down discard pile separate from the Cargo pile. NOTE: there is no hand limit. A player may wish to accumulate cards to pay for an expensive Cargo card.
- Draw one Cargo card. Any player now with 5 cards or fewer in their hand draws one card from the Cargo pile. Once the Cargo pile is exhausted, the discard pile is shuffled and placed face-down as the new Cargo pile. Caution: When drawing Cargo cards, check for the Special Abilities of the Cardamon cards, and of the Clove cards.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately when any player has filled their third Ship. That player is the winner!
If two or more players fill their third Ships at the same time, the winner is the player with the highest combined Value of their three Ships. If there is still a tie, then the total value of the Cargo cards plus Coins on the three Ships is calculated, and the highest value actually shipped is the winner.
Special Cost for Cargo Cards
The cost of the high value Pepper and Cardamon cards are reduced by other played cards.
- PEPPER (8, 9): The cost of Pepper is reduced by the number of all other colors on the player's Ships. This played card is not included in the number, but a previously played Pepper does. For example: One Cinnamon and one Ginger are already placed on the Ship card. So the cost of the 8 Pepper card is reduced to 6.
- CARDAMON (8, 9): The cost of Cardamon is reduced by the number of the other Cardamon cards already played on the player's Ships. If the cost becomes less than 0, it's 0. This card is not included in the number.
Details for Cargo Cards
Cinnamon
The player takes one Coin. Additionally, the player can discard one card from their hand in exchange for one Coin, up to the total number of Cinnamon icons now on their played Cargo cards and on their own Ships. The Coins are placed on the Ship card and count to the total value on the Ship. If this causes the Ship to be full, any remaining Coins are placed on the new Ship card.
Example: The player plays a 3 Cinnamon card onto a Pepper card. The player takes one Coin, and then checks the icons on their played Cargo cards and on their Ship cards. With two Cinnamon icons already on the Ship cards, and one Pepper icon on the Cargo card covered, and one Cinnamon icon on the played Cargo card, the player may now exchange up to four cards for Coins.
Ginger
The player draws Grain cards (see Clove section for Grain rules). The number drawn is the total of the Ginger icons on the played Cargo cards and on the player's Ship cards, including this played card.
Pepper
Please read carefully. When the player plays a Ginger, or a Cinnamon, or a 5 or 8 Cardamon card onto a Pepper card, all Pepper icons on their played Cargo cards and on their own Ships count as the played card icon (Ginger, or Cinnamon, or Cardamon accordingly).
Caution: Playing a Pepper or a Clove card onto a Pepper card does nothing. The effect only occurs when it is a Ginger, or Cinnamon, or Cardamon card played onto a Pepper card.
Clove
NOTE: Clove icons on Ships and Cargo cards give a Special Ability any time a player draws any Cargo cards.
Special Ability: Any time after drawing Cargo cards, the player counts up the total number of Clove icons now on the player's played Cargo cards and their own Ships. The player must then draw Cargo cards equal to this number (not Grain cards), and then discard Cargo or Grain cards equal to this number. The player can discard the Cargo cards just drawn in this way.
Effect: The player chooses to draw one Cargo card OR two Grain cards.
Grain: Grain cards are only used as payment for a Cargo card played in the Market phase. Grain cards used as payment go to the player on the left, not to the Grain pile. A Grain card cannot be chosen as the played card in the Market phase.
Example: The player has two Cloves already on Ships and plays a third Clove. The player chooses to draw a Cargo card, and then must draw three more Cargo cards into their hand. The player now pays for those three cards using any Cargo or Grain cards from their hand (including those Cargo cards just drawn). The payment goes to the discard, not to the left player. Cargo cards go to the discard pile, Grain cards onto the Grain pile.
Cardamon
The different value Cardamon cards each have their own effects. Cardamon also gives a Special Ability.
Special Ability: Played Cardamon cards affect the "3) Draw one Cargo card" rule in the Refresh phase. The player counts up the number of Cardamon icons on their played Cargo cards and on their own Ships and adds 5 to this. Now, if the player's hand is less than this total, they draw one Cargo card.
- 3: The player discards any number of cards from their hand, and draws back the same number of Cargo cards. Discarded Cargo cards go to the discard pile, Grain cards onto the Grain pile.
- 4: The player draws one Cargo card (now check for the Clove Special Ability).
- 5: The player totals up the number of Cardamon icons on their played Cargo cards and on their own Ships. The player can discard one card from their hand in exchange for one Coin, up to the total number of Cardamon icons in their display.
- 8: The player totals up the number of Cardamon icons on their played Cargo cards and on their own Ships and draws that number of Grain cards.
- 9: This card has the same effect as a Pepper card. When the player plays a Ginger, or a Cinnamon, or a 5 or 8 Cardamon card onto a 9 Cardamon card, all Cardamon icons on their played Cargo cards and on their own Ships count as the played card icon (Ginger, or Cinnamon, or Cardamon accordingly).