Galapagos
Galapagos Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Set Up
- The island is built randomly from the 37 island fields set into the frames; the volcano forms the center.
- The frame is designed so that each player has a section with dice spots on it in front of him/her.
- Each player receives 5 dice.
- The sand timer is placed on the volcano.
- All turtles are placed in the cloth bag. For the beginning of the game five turtles (with 2 players) or 6 turtles (for 3 and 4 players) are drawn from the bag and placed with the colored shells up on the island tile with matching numbers.
- Each player then draws a turtle from the bag and places his/her pawn on that island tile (number). Those turtles are then placed back into the bag.
Playing the Game
The game plays over several rounds. First all players plan their moves. The first to finish turns over the timer signalling how long everyone else has to plan. The first to finish planning moves first, then play follows clockwise.
Planning Phase - Your Path with the Dice Rolled
All players roll their 5 dice, then sort them into the order they want to use them for movement, placing the dice from left to right on their segment of the board. You do not need to use all of your dice (cited in the example picture).
Once the first player has completed his planning, he grabs the sand timer, flips it over and puts it in front of him. He may NOT re-order his dice. When the timer expires, the planning phase ends for all players. Any dice not on a player's set up area cannot be used for the movement phase.
Movement Phase - Move and Collect Turtles
Moving Figures
The player who turned over the sand timer moves his figure first. With each die in his line he can move to a neighboring island space. It is important that he follow the sequence of dice, using first the left-most die and so on. The player may enter multiple island spaces, one for each die.
Note: You cannot enter the volcano spot.
Collecting Turtles
If a player moves onto an island space with a turtle, he takes the turtle and places it in front of him shell-side up. (see picture/example)
If a player's next die in his plan does not match the color of one of the island spaces around his pawn, his movement is done. Also, a player may voluntarily stop moving, not using all of his dice. Once a player finishes moving, the person sitting to his left moves.
Movement by Sea Around the Island
If a player moves to one of the six corner sections of the island, he can move from there to one of the two adjacent corner spots. (see example, page 3)
Note: A player who starts movement with a turtle on his island spot can collect that turtle. However, a player who moves before him could move to that island spot and collect that turtle before he has a chance to move.
Next Round
Once everyone has finished his/her movement, return the sand timer to the volcano tile and remove the dice from their programmed spots.
Replenish the number of turtles on the island by drawing 5 (2 players) or 6 (3-4 players) and placing them in their numbered fields.
The next round starts with another round of planning.
End of the Game
If the bag of turtles is empty, continue playing until all of the turtles are collected.
After that, players count their turtles:
- For a set of 6 different-color turtles = 8 points
- For each additional turtle = 1 point
The winner is the person with the most points. In case of a tie, all tied players win!
Two-Player Variant
Play proceeded the same as above, but with the additional victory condition that if a player collects 5 turtles of the same color, he/she immediately wins.