Nepal
Nepal Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Each player chooses a set of pieces and places one piece on Kathmandu. Place one piece on the scoring track. Place 5 random cards from the trade deck face up so all players can see them.
The number of pieces and trade cards depends upon the number of players:
- 3 players: 40 pieces each, use 20 trade cards
- 4 players: 35 pieces each, use 23 trade cards
- 5 players: 30 pieces each, use 26 trade cards
Place all remaining pieces and trade cards aside, they will not be used during the game.
Object of the Game
Nepal is the crossroads for trade in Asia. The object is to control as many of the lucrative trade routes and territory as possible. Players can score points for trade routes during the game, at the end of the game, and for territories that come under their influence at the end of the game.
Turn Sequence
- Move / Grow (Perform 3 actions)
- Claim Trade Routes
- Reveal New Trade Routes
- Resolve Conflict
Rules of Play
Each turn, you can perform up to three actions. They may be any combination of the following choices, except that you cannot perform three of the same actions in one turn:
- Move – move one piece to one adjacent province.
- Grow – place one piece of your type in a province where you already have one or more pieces.
Movement
You may move one piece to any adjacent province (hex) inside Nepal. You can leave the original province unoccupied if desired. If the province you move into has more pieces in it than the stated population limit, then conflict occurs at the end of your turn, after you have executed all your actions and after you have scored any points for being the first player to claim a trade route.
Grow
This action is allowed only in provinces where you already have at least one piece (exception: you can always Grow in Kathmandu even if you have no pieces there). Add one piece of your type to that province. A province that already has reached its population limit may grow. (But the excess population may be removed due to Conflict at the end of the turn unless it is moved out of the province).
Claim Trade Routes
If you can trace an unbroken path of pieces of your type in each province between the two locations (including the starting and ending city in each province) on any of the face-up trade cards in play, the you have established a trade route. For trade routes outside of Nepal, you must be able to trace an unbroken path to the province in Nepal that has an arrow connecting to that location. Place one of your pieces on the trade card as follows:
If you are the first player to establish the route, you score 3 points immediately. Move your score marker up an appropriate number of spaces. Place your piece on/next to the higher number on the card. (First circle on the left side of the card).
If you are second player to establish the route, you score 2 points immediately. Move your score marker up an appropriate number of spaces. Place your piece on/next to the second circled number on the card.
If you are the third or later player, place your piece in the circle on the card in order behind the last one placed. You do not score immediately, but may score points for this route at the end of the game.
You must place your piece on the trade route as soon as you establish it. Your piece stays on the card until the end of the game, even if you lose control of the trade route during the game.
The numbers listed on the trade cards are scored at the END of the game, not when a player establishes a trade route between the listed cities during the game. (Numbers with an asterisk (*) next to them are scored only in four and five player games – they are not scored in the three player game) It is a good idea to occasionally review the trade route cards to ensure that you receive proper credit for every route you have managed to establish.
Reveal New Trade Routes
Whenever a trade route is claimed, turn over a new card from the trade deck and put it into play. Thus there will always be five unclaimed trade routes available during the game (except near the end). Note the turn order – you cannot Reveal a new trade route and Claim the new trade route in the same turn.
Conflict
When the population of a province exceeds the population limit (printed on the province on the map) at the END of the current player's turn, conflict occurs.
The player who has the lowest number of pieces in the province removes one piece. If there is a tie, then all tied players remove one piece at the same time. Then the player with next lowest number of pieces removes, and so on. Pieces are removed until the remaining population is less than or equal to the limit. Note that it is possible to have pieces from different players in the same province without conflict if the population limit is not exceeded. It is also possible that there may be no pieces remaining in a province at the end of a player's turn (e.g. if two different players are in a province with a population limit of one, then both pieces are removed). Conflict can also occur if you are the only player in the province – you must still reduce your population to the stated limit at the end of the turn.
Pieces removed due to conflict return to the player's hand, and can be used on future turns.
Note the turn order – you could Move into a province, Claim a trade route to a city in that province, and then have your piece removed at the end of the same turn due to Conflict.
Special Rules: Kathmandu
The province with Kathmandu has no population limit. Players can always GROW in Kathmandu, even if they have no pieces there. There is NEVER conflict in Kathmandu. Use the space provided on the board to store excess population in Kathmandu if required (it is considered to be part of the same province for all game purposes).
Game End
The game ends when one player runs out of pieces in their hand OR all trade route cards have been drawn. Each player then takes one more complete turn (including the player who triggered the end of the game) and then scores points.
End of Game Scoring
The map of Nepal is divided into five regions, each denoted by different color. Points are awarded on the basis of which player dominates the trade routes in each region. The player who has the most pieces in a region receives 5 points, the player who has the second largest number of pieces receives 3 points. If there is a tie, the player with pieces in more provinces in that region receives 5 points, the other player 3 points. If there is still a tie, both players receive 4 points.
All Trade Route cards that have at least one player piece on them are reviewed….
If the first player to control the route still has an unbroken path between the two cities on the trade card, then the player receives the larger number of points (again). If the first player does not control the route, then remove their piece from the card and "promote" the second player's piece to the larger number. Also, "promote" the third player's piece to the smaller number printed on the card. If the second player does not control the route, then remove their piece from the card and "promote" the third player's piece to the larger number. Repeat this until you find the first player that controls the route. Then repeat the same process to determine the second player that controls the route at the end of the game. Score all points from all trade cards in this manner.
The player with the most VPs wins. In the case of ties, the player with FEWER pieces on the board wins. If there is still a tie, the player with control of the longest controlled trade route (most direct route) at the end of the game wins.
Optional Rules
- Start of Game – players put one piece in Kathmandu, then go around the table for 3 rounds – each player placing one piece per round anywhere on the board subject to population limits. If a province already has pieces in it equal to the population limit, you cannot place there.
- Population boom – all population limits in provinces with cities in them are increased by one.
- Fortress – once per game, a player may use all three actions on one turn to place a "Fortress" (two of the player's pieces stacked on each other), in any province other than Kathmandu. The fortress acts like Kathmandu in the province it is placed in for that player for the rest of the game. (Player may ignore population limits, player is not affected by the Conflict rules at the end of the turn, player may Grow even if they have no pieces in the province.) The fortress also counts for control of trade routes (you do not need to have other pieces in the province, aside from the fortress, to control that province for scoring purposes). Only one player may place one Fortress in any province. A fortress counts as an extra province and two extra pieces for scoring "domination" points in a region at the end of the game for the player who built it.