Nuevo Mundo Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• I. Introduction
  • 01. Idea of the Game
• II. Game Elements
  • 01. Materials
  • 02. Map Details
  • 03. Details of the Pieces and Ships
  • 04. Details of the Cards
  • 05. Details of the Criptex
• III. Game Summary
  • 01. General Explanation
• IV. Start of the Game
  • 01. Preparations
• V. Placement Stage
  • 01. Credits and Purchases
  • 02. Placement
• VI. Operative Stage
  • 01. Mobilization
  • 02. Embarking and Disembarking
  • 03. Attack
• VII. Round and Turns
• VIII. Examples
  • 01. Exploration and Occupation
  • 02. Attack on a Settlement on a Neighboring Island
• IX. End of the Game
  • 01. Victory by Points
  • 02. Victory by Categories
  • 03. Victory by Survival

I. Introduction

01. Idea of the Game

Nuevo Mundo is a turn-based strategy game for 2 to 5 players. It is played on scenarios that simulate an imaginary area of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, where each player commands a colonizing expedition in America, sponsored by a European empire that covets lands, riches and discoveries. By building strategic positions and expanding their influence, players obtain the imperial credit that guarantees the resources and favors needed to carry out their mission.

In this ambitious competition, courtesy and peace are as valid as betrayal and weapons.

II. Game Elements

01. Materials

• 36 map tiles
• 1 turn order tile and credit table
• 5 boxes of different colors, each containing: 60 small round pieces, 10 large round pieces and 20 rectangular pieces
• 10 ships
• 40 discovery cards
• 1 numeric die
• 1 color die
• 1 white cone
• 3 red cones
• 2 battle criptex
• 1 rulebook
• 1 maps annex

02. Map Details

Game map. Nuevo Mundo proposes that each game be played on a different scenario. The game board is drawn using the numeric die and is built by joining tiles according to the instructions in the Maps Annex. Each particular board is a map showing land and sea regions separated by borders.

Types of regions

• Land regions (T): separated from each other by land borders.
• Sea regions (M): separated from each other by sea borders.

On land as at sea, only those regions that share a stretch of border are considered neighbors.

Types of coasts

• Open coasts: indicated with a double arrow. They are the land-water link and allow launching ships, embarking and disembarking troops.
• Closed coasts: without a double arrow. They prevent the player from reaching dry land from the sea and vice versa.

Note: To make the illustrations easier to understand, regions are identified throughout the rulebook with capital letters. On the actual game maps the regions have no names.

Illustration: AT, BT, CT and DT are land regions. AT is a neighbor of BT and CT, but not of DT. The regions AM, BM, CM, DM and EM are sea regions. BM is a neighbor of AM, CM and DM but not of EM. On the island there are only 2 open coasts, the AT-AM coast and the DT-BM coast; the rest are closed.

03. Details of the Pieces and Ships

Conquistadors. The round pieces are conquistadors, hereafter called CQ. CQ can move, embark, disembark, attack and defend. (The large round piece represents 10 CQ; the small one 1 CQ.)

Constructions. The rectangular pieces are constructions, hereafter called CA. CA remain fixed and can defend. 2 CA are needed to complete the construction of 1 settlement.

Ships. Ships are the means of sea transport for CQ. When CQ embark they can reach any island on the map.

04. Details of the Cards

The deck contains 40 discovery cards classified in 6 categories: Seeds and roots, Nuts and leaves, Riches, Fruits, Cultures and Animals. The color of each card identifies the discovery category it belongs to.

According to the importance of the discovery, the cards give 1, 2, 3 or 4 points. The player obtains them:

• From the table, when building a settlement.
• From another player's hands, when destroying an enemy settlement.

Discovery cards are laid out on the table next to the game map. (Example: cards of 2 different categories that add up to 5 points.)

05. Details of the Criptex

Nuevo Mundo has a new and exclusive system for resolving conflicts. This system uses 2 unique elements called criptex. On the criptex, 3 battle criteria (half, balance and double) and 5 possible combat tactics are identified.

The criptex has a viewer for criteria and tactics, a part to select criteria (moved longitudinally) and a knob to select tactics. (Example: a criptex with tactic 1 selected under the balance criterion.)

III. Game Summary

The general mechanics of Nuevo Mundo are explained below; the fundamental aspects of the game are then described in detail.

01. General Explanation

Objective. The objective of the game is to gather discovery cards that add up to 20 points, or to collect all 6 discovery categories. To achieve this, the competitors expand their domains, build settlements and settle their differences by arms.

Start. The playing order is determined, then the players place their first pieces on the map wherever they choose.

Development. The game is played with a turn order system that varies in successive rounds. Each turn has 2 stages, one mandatory and one optional.

• Placement stage (mandatory): the player determines their credit production, to spend on pieces. Then they decide where to place them, considering the options best suited to their strategy.
• Operative stage (optional): the player carries out their course of action through mobilization, embarking, disembarking and/or attack.

End. The game ends when one of the players meets a victory condition.

IV. Start of the Game

01. Preparations

Assembly and arrangement of pieces. The game map is assembled. To one side the turn order tile and credit table is placed, with 3 discovery cards face up and the rest of the deck face down next to them. The ships, cones, color die and criptex are kept at hand. The players choose a color and take their respective boxes of pieces.

Determining the initial turn order. In order, the players roll the numeric die. Whoever gets the highest number places 1 of their 10-CQ pieces (it will be their turn order marker during the game) in the first place of the turn order track. The other players place their respective markers in the following places of the track, going clockwise.

Example: In a 4-player game the yellow player got the highest number, so plays the first turn of the game, as shown by their marker on the turn track.

Before starting each round the turn order must be determined (see Round and Turns).

Entering the board. Following the order indicated on the turn track, each player must:

1. Choose 1 unoccupied land region and place there 2 CA joined together, to build their 1st settlement.
2. Choose and take 1 of the 3 discovery cards available on the table, hide its score, and replace it from the deck.
3. Place 3 CQ in the region next to the settlement.

When the last player of the round completes the above, the game begins.

V. Placement Stage

This is the first stage of the turn and is mandatory. During it the player spends their imperial credits on pieces and then incorporates them into the game map.

01. Credits and Purchases

Available credits. Imperial credit is by definition the intangible currency of this game. To determine it the player must count:

• The number of settlements they have on the map
• The number of islands on which they have at least one settlement

By entering this information in the CREDIT PRODUCTION TABLE the player determines their available credits. (Rows: settlements; columns: islands.)

Settlements \ Islands	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1	3
2	5	7
3	7	9	11

Example: the yellow player has 3 settlements on 2 islands, so has 9 credits to buy pieces and/or ships during their turn.

Purchase of pieces. The player must spend all the credits of the turn on the purchase of CQ, CA and/or ships. When buying they may choose the combination that suits them best, respecting the costs:

• CQ: 1 credit
• CA: 2 credits
• Ship: 1 credit

In principle, the more settlements and occupied islands a player has, the greater their credits available to spend per turn, and consequently the greater the number of pieces and/or ships they can add to the board.

02. Placement

Placement of conquistadors. To place the purchased CQ the player whose turn it is must take into account that:

• They may place CQ only in land regions occupied by pieces of their own.

Placement of construction pieces. To place the purchased CA the player whose turn it is must take into account that:

• They may place CA only in land regions occupied by pieces of their own.
• They may not place more than 1 CA per region during the turn; they may only do so in different regions.
• They may not build more than 1 settlement (2 CA) per region.

Obtaining cards for building a settlement. When a player places the second CA in a region that already has one, the settlement is finally built; they must then choose and take 1 of the 3 discovery cards available on the table, hide its score, and then replace it from the deck.

Placement of ships. To place the purchased ships the player whose turn it is must take into account that:

• They may place ships only in land regions with an open coast to the sea occupied by pieces of their own, which allows the ships to be put into the water.

Having done so, the player must take from the region 1 CQ (fixed crew), put it in the vessel, and then definitively launch the ship into the water.

Example: If the player with yellow pieces buys 1 ship they may place the ship in AT, load the crew (1 CQ) aboard and launch the vessel toward AM; or place it in DT, load the crew (1 CQ) aboard and launch the vessel toward CM. Here they create a conflict region.

VI. Operative Stage

The second stage of the turn is optional and may be skipped. During it the player may develop, combine and coordinate various types of operations with their CQ: Mobilization, Embarking, Disembarking and/or Attack.

01. Mobilization

This is the operation of moving CQ through neighboring regions of the map, whether land or sea. In each mobilization the following are identified:

• Region of origin, from where the troops depart.
• Region of destination, toward where they head.
• Common border, which the troops try to cross.

The player whose turn it is may attempt to mobilize unless the region of origin is a conflict region (see Attack/Blockade in a conflict region).

Making a mobilization. When a player wishes to mobilize their CQ over land or water, they take the white cone and place it on the border they intend to cross. Then they throw the color die, whose possible results are: success (green), failure (red), death (black).

Throwing green. The player is enabled to cross the border indicated by the white cone. If the mobilization is by land, the player determines how many CQ to move from the region of origin to the destination region; if by water, they must move the ship. If the player has several ships in a sea region and wishes to take them to the same destination, they may mobilize them as a fleet; in that case the die throw is valid for the whole group of ships. After the move they remove the white cone; if they wish, they may place it on another border and continue mobilizing.

Example: The yellow player wants to mobilize troops toward BT, places the white cone on the AT-BT border, which they wish to cross. Throwing green, they choose to move 3 of their CQ, then remove the white cone. At sea the yellow player succeeds in mobilizing their ship across the AM-CM border.

Throwing red. The player cannot make the desired troop movement and until the next turn that border will remain closed to that player. In this case they must place a red cone on the border and remove the white cone. The white cone may not be placed again on borders marked with red cones for the rest of the turn. The mobilization operation is forbidden when the 3 red cones are on the map (see Mobilization/Card combos).

Example: The player with yellow pieces throws red when trying to mobilize from AT toward region BT; they must replace the white cone with a red one on the land border AT-BT. Now they cannot try to cross AT-BT until the next round, but can try to reach BT by crossing the AT-CT stretch and then CT-BT. At sea, the player throws red and fails to mobilize the ship from AM toward the destination region CM, so must replace the white cone with a red one on the sea border AM-CM, which will remain closed for the rest of the turn.

Throwing black. The player loses 1 CQ from the region of origin. Throwing black does not disable the border, so it is allowed to try the movement again (see Mobilization/Card combos). If a player has a ship loaded with only 1 CQ and when trying to mobilize it throws black, the crew and the ship are removed from the board.

Example: The yellow player throws black when trying to mobilize troops toward BT so removes 1 CQ; nevertheless they may retry crossing AT-BT. At sea, the yellow player throws black when trying to mobilize toward CM, so takes 1 CQ from their ship, but may try to cross again; if they decide not to, they remove the white cone.

Card combos. During their turn the player may use certain combos of discovery cards to cancel the effects of throwing red and/or black in a mobilization, as explained below:

• With 2 cards of the same discovery category, the player cancels the effect of having thrown black. That is, they do not remove 1 CQ from the board.
• With 3 cards of the same discovery category, the player cancels the effect of having thrown red, so they do not place 1 red cone on the board.

Combos may be used only once per turn; the player decides when to use them. It is not allowed for the same card to be part of 2 combos. When using a combo the player must point out the corresponding group of cards and then continues playing their turn normally.

02. Embarking and Disembarking

This is the operation of embarking CQ from a land region onto a ship at sea and vice versa. In each embarking/disembarking the following are identified:

• Region of origin, from where the troops depart.
• Region of destination, toward where they head.
• Open coast.

The player whose turn it is may embark or disembark unless the region of origin is a conflict region (see Attack/Blockade in a conflict region).

Making an embarking. It is done when a player has CQ in a land region with an open coast and loads them onto a ship located in the sea region that shares that coast. A ship supports a maximum load of 15 CQ (1 crew + 14).

Example: The player with yellow pieces may embark directly from AT onto their ship in AM and/or from DT toward conflict region DM to reinforce their ship with CQ.

Making a disembarking. It is done when the player has CQ on a ship located in a water region with an open coast and unloads them in the land region that shares that coast. The maximum number of troops a ship can unload equals its total load minus its crew of 1 CQ.

Example: The player with yellow pieces may disembark directly from AM to AT, from CM to CT and finally from DM toward DT to create a conflict region.

03. Attack

This is the operation whose aim is to destroy enemy conquistadors, settlements and/or ships. In each attack the following are identified:

• The conflict region, which is the battlefield.
• The attacking CQ, which are those belonging to the player whose turn it is.
• The defending pieces, which are those belonging to another player.

The 2 criptex are used to carry out this operation.

Conflict region. The player whose turn it is creates a conflict region when they move their CQ to the land or water region occupied by another player, whether to attack them or with the sole purpose of trying to pass through that region (see Negotiating the retreat). There are 4 ways to create the conflict region:

• placement of a ship and launch
• disembarking of CQ
• mobilization of CQ over land
• mobilization of CQ over water

Examples: The yellow player places 1 ship and 1 CQ in AT, loads the crew aboard the vessel and launches it toward AM to found a conflict region there. If the player wishes to attack they may embark additional CQ from AT. / Yellow reaches from a ship the open coast of region AT occupied by another player, disembarks their CQ and founds a conflict region. / The yellow player mobilizes 4 CQ over land across AT-BT and founds the conflict region. / In two steps the yellow player mobilizes one ship across the border stretch BM-AM and the other across CM-AM. They enter with their two ships and found the conflict region in AM.

Blockade in a conflict region. Once the conflict region is created the player has 2 options: negotiate the retreat or make the attack. They cannot do anything else, because their CQ are blocked from embarking, disembarking and mobilizing from a region they do not occupy exclusively.

Negotiating the retreat. When the player whose turn it is has CQ blocked in a conflict region but does not wish to fight, they may try to free them through an agreement with the other player. In that case they must make 2 announcements:

• First: their wish to take all their troops out of the region
• Second: the destination region chosen to withdraw them.

If the defender expressly accepts both points, the player whose turn it is must embark or try to mobilize their CQ (as the case may be) to carry out the retreat. If on the contrary the defender does not agree, or if the retreat by mobilization fails, the players must fight until only one survives.

Making the attack. When the player whose turn it is creates the conflict region and announces the attack, each contender must take a criptex.

Determination and selection of the battle criterion. To determine the applicable criterion, count the pieces occupying the conflict region for each side:

• The attacker: adds up the CQ.
• The defender: adds up the CQ and also the CA (if any). Each CA is added to the defense as 1 CQ.

According to the above, the criterion applicable to the battle is determined*:

• Double: Used by the player who presents in the combat at least double the pieces of the opponent.
• Half: Used by the player who has at most half the pieces of the opponent.
• Balance: In all cases in which double and half do not apply, both players fight under this criterion.

* The criterion is located by moving the front of the criptex longitudinally until the corresponding symbol is seen in the criteria viewer.

Figure (not reproduced): the criteria applicable to 5 confrontations between yellow and violet, shown with the number of pieces on each side.

Choice and selection of a tactic. By rotating the knob each player must freely choose one of the 5 black numbers on a white background. In this combat system there are no infallible tactics; they defeat each other cyclically: tactic 5 beats 4, 4 beats 3, 3 beats 2, 2 beats 1 and finally 1 beats 5.

Determination of the result. Both players reveal their choice to the opponent and locate the rival's tactic in their viewer to determine the result:

• Victory: the player wins when they locate the enemy tactic on a green background, to the right of theirs.
• Defeat: the player loses when they locate the enemy tactic on a black background, to the left of theirs.
• Tie: the player obviously ties if the chosen tactics coincide.

Pieces to remove. Below the tactic numbers there is a certain number of dots indicating the number of pieces that the defeated player must remove from the conflict region. In case of a tie, each player removes 1 piece from the conflict region.

Example: the criptex give the same information from the point of view of both protagonists, in a confrontation where yellow chooses tactic 1 and violet 4. On yellow's criptex we see the 4 on a green background, to the right of the 1: this is a victory for yellow. The 2 dots under the 4 indicate that violet loses 2 pieces. On violet's criptex we see the 1 on a black background, to the left of the 4: a defeat for violet. Under the 1 there are 2 dots, indicating that the defeated violet removes 2 pieces.

Attack on CQ on land. Both players must count the CQ they have in the conflict region. While the conflict lasts they remove CQ as indicated by the criptex. (Example: the player with yellow pieces attacks violet in conflict region BT; the attacker and defender remove pieces per the criptex and the conflict continues.)

Attack on a settlement with or without CQ. When the defending player has 1 settlement or 1 CA in the conflict region, for combat purposes each CA must be counted as 1 CQ. In case of defeat they must first remove the CQ and only when these are exhausted may they remove the CA from the map. (Example: after a disembarking, yellow attacks violet in conflict region AT and partially destroys the violet settlement; the conflict continues.)

Obtaining a card for destroying a settlement. When the attacked settlement is totally or partially destroyed, the defender must show the backs of all their discovery cards so that the attacker can choose one of the category that suits them best.

IMPORTANT: If the attacked player loses their last settlement, they must hand to their conqueror only 1 discovery card. Then the player, their pieces and other cards leave the game, while the game continues for the rest of the participants.

Attack on embarked CQ. The players must count the CQ they have aboard each vessel, not counting the ships. If a player has 2 ships or more in the conflict region, they add the CQ of all their vessels to battle. If a ship loses the last CQ it had aboard (crew) it must be removed from the game map. (Example: in conflict region AM the 7 CQ of yellow in a fleet of 2 ships attack a ship of the violet player with 3 CQ aboard. With yellow's victory, violet's ship is left empty and leaves the game; end of the conflict.)

Every time a player ends their turn there may be no conflict regions left on the map.

VII. Round and Turns

End of the individual turn. If after the placement stage the player carries out the operative stage, the turn ends when they no longer wish or are unable to continue it; the same happens if they decide to skip it. In all cases when the player declares their turn finished they must remove all cones they have placed on the map.

Determination of the turn order of the round. When the last player of the round has finished their turn, the turn order of the next round must be determined. First the players must calculate the amount of imperial credits they would receive at that moment. Then the player who produces the fewest credits places their "marker piece" in the first place of the turn order track, and following this criterion all position themselves, until the player who produces the most takes the last position. In case of a tie, the turn order of the previous round is respected.

Example: If at the end of the round the green player is the one who produces the most credits, while the rest kept their credit production, green will play the last turn of the next round.

VIII. Examples

01. Exploration and Occupation

The yellow player plans to occupy regions BT and DT with CQ to be able to build new settlements there in the following rounds.

Placement stage:

1. Yellow player has 3 credits and spends them on 3 CQ.
2. Places the 3 CQ in region CT.

Operative stage:

1. Places the white cone on the CT-BT border, throws green and mobilizes 1 CQ toward BT.
2. Places the white cone on the CT-DT border, throws green and mobilizes 1 CQ toward DT.

02. Attack on a Settlement on a Neighboring Island

The yellow player plans to destroy a settlement that the violet player has in region DT, in order to take one of their discovery cards.

Placement stage:

1. Yellow player has 3 credits and spends them on 3 CQ.
2. Places the 3 CQ in region AT.

Operative stage:

1. Embarks CQ from region AT onto the ship located in AM, until totaling 7 CQ aboard.
2. Places the white cone on the AM-BM border, throws green and mobilizes the ship toward BM.
3. Places the white cone on the BM-CM border, throws green and mobilizes the ship toward CM.
4. Disembarks 6 CQ in region CT; 1 CQ must remain inside the ship.
5. Places the white cone on the CT-DT border, throws green and mobilizes the 6 CQ toward DT.
6. Attacks violet in conflict region DT with the double battle criterion in their favor because yellow attacks with 6 CQ and violet defends with 3 (1 CQ + 2 CA). If yellow succeeds in destroying the enemy settlement, they win a discovery card from the hands of the violet player.

IX. End of the Game

The game ends when any of the following 3 victory conditions is met.

01. Victory by Points

A player wins when they can show that the sum of the scores of their discovery cards reaches or exceeds 20 points.

02. Victory by Categories

A player wins when they can show that with their cards they have managed to collect all 6 discovery categories.

03. Victory by Survival

The player who manages to eliminate all enemy settlements wins the game.