OASIS New Hope
OASIS New Hope Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preamble
In Oasis, each scout (player) must fight to be the first to reach the Oasis. You will have to acquire Travel cards in different ways (Explore, Recycle) in order to play them in front of you in descending order, from your starting city Khalla #13 all the way to the Oasis #0 (Travel). During your journey, you can recruit powerful Companions or equip yourself with items that will help you in your quest for the Oasis. But beware! Your opponents share the same goal as you and will do everything they can to stop you from reaching your destination! Good luck, scouts, may the way of the desert favor you.
Goal of the Game
The first scout to reach the Oasis is declared the winner.
Components
- 1 rulebook
- 136 cards, comprising:
- 12 starting cards:
- 4 Game Aid cards (side A/B)
- 4 Companion Action cards (side A/B)
- 4 Khalla #13 cards
- 16 Equipment cards:
- 9 Compasses
- 5 Shields
- 2 Maps
- 69 Travel cards:
- 49 Deserts (#12 to #1)
- 18 Steps (#12 to #6)
- 2 Oasis (#0)
- 39 Companion cards:
- 27 base Companions
- 12 Specialists (used only in the Specialists variant)
- 12 starting cards:
Setup
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Give each scout 1 Game Aid card (side A), 1 Companion Action card (side A), and 1 Khalla #13 card.
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Remove the Specialist Companion cards from the game and shuffle all the base Companion cards to form a face-down deck. Reveal the top 4 Companions as shown in the diagram. You have just formed the Lair.
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Arrange the Equipment cards into three separate face-up piles, separating the 9 Compasses, the 5 Shields, and the 2 Maps.
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Place one Oasis #0 card face up in the center of the table. Shuffle the Travel cards (Deserts, Steps, and the remaining Oasis card), then reveal 9 cards next to the Oasis to form the starting Ruins.
Deal 4 Travel cards to each scout to form their starting hand. Place the remaining cards face down in the center of the Ruins. These cards form the Exploration deck.
In two-player games only, each scout adds one Shield card to their hand.
Each scout's play area consists of their Khalla #13 card and a space to its right for the future Travel cards they play, plus a row of (up to three) spaces below it for the future Companions they recruit.
The last scout to have drunk water goes first. They choose one Companion card from the Lair among the 4 face-up cards, or the top card of the Companion deck. Then all the other scouts do the same, in counter-clockwise order.
NOTE: Companions are not refilled during this preparation phase.
Once each scout has chosen a Companion, refill the Lair. The last scout to have chosen a Companion starts the game.
Destination: Oasis
Sequence of a Turn
On their turn, the scout must perform exactly one of the 5 following actions:
- Explore
- Recycle
- Recruit
- Travel
- Equip
At the end of their turn, after performing only one of the 5 available actions, the scout may perform the optional Send on a Mission action, then they must check that they hold no more than 8 cards in hand (see p.12 - End of Turn).
Then it is the turn of the scout to their left to play (clockwise).
Actions
Explore
The scout draws 2 Travel cards from the Exploration deck and adds them to their hand.
Recycle
The scout takes 1 card from the Ruins and adds it to their hand. They may only Recycle Travel cards from the Ruins. The Companion discard pile is not accessible during the Recycle action.
Recruit
The scout may either:
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Take a Companion card from the Lair and add it to their hand.
The scout may choose between the 4 revealed Companion cards from the Lair or the top card of the Companion deck. If they take a visible Companion, it is immediately replaced by the top card of the Companion deck. If that deck is empty, they shuffle the Companion discard pile to form a new deck.
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Play a Companion card from their hand into their play area and immediately carry out the 2 actions on its banner.
Companions are arranged into three separate piles, by clan, as shown below. It is allowed to own several copies of the same Companion.
The scout must always take care to leave the action banner of their cards visible.
Companions
When playing a Companion card, the scout carries out, in order, the actions printed on its banner. Some banner actions are base actions (see p.8 - Actions); two others are Companion-only actions, explained below:
Pillage
The scout targets an opponent and randomly takes 2 cards from their hand. They choose one of these 2 cards to add to their own hand, then return the second card to its owner.
NOTES:
- If a Shield is revealed among these 2 cards, the pillage fails. Both cards remain in their owner's hand.
- It is not possible to Pillage a scout who has only a single card left in hand.
Improved Equip
The scout may perform the Equip action while discarding 1 fewer card than the cost normally requires.
Travel
The scout plays one or more Travel cards into their play area. Travel cards are played from left to right, in descending order of value, starting from the #13 card. During a single Travel action, the scout may play as many Travel cards as they wish, as long as they respect the following conditions:
- The card played must follow, without skipping a number, the last card in their play area, in descending order.
- Playing a Step card ends the current Travel action.
There are 3 types of Travel cards:
Desert
A Desert card lets the scout advance on their Journey with no special benefit. A Desert card may be replaced by a Compass card (see p.11 - Equip action).
Step
A Step card lets the scout advance on their Journey and benefit from the 2 effects on its banner, resolved immediately after playing the card:
- Stop — The scout ends their Travel action. They may not play any other Travel cards during this same action.
- Recruit — The scout immediately performs the Recruit action.
NOTE: Thanks to a Step's Recruit effect, the scout may play a Companion with a Travel ability. During their turn, they can therefore Travel, be stopped by a Step, and then carry out a new Travel action.
EXAMPLE:
- On his turn, Max travels. He plays cards #12, #11, and #10 Step.
- He stops and recruits Jade: he plays her from his hand.
- Jade lets him Explore (draw 2 cards from the Exploration deck) and Travel. Max then plays Travel cards #9 and #8.
Oasis #0
A scout who plays an Oasis #0 card immediately wins the game. The Oasis #0 may not be replaced by a Compass card. The Oasis #0 may be replaced by a Map #0 Equipment card.
Equip
The scout chooses an available Equipment card. They discard the number of cards from their hand corresponding to the Equipment's cost, then add it to their hand. If an Equipment's supply is exhausted, scouts no longer have access to that Equipment.
Equipment
Compass (cost: 2 cards)
The Compass counts as a Travel card. During the Travel action, the scout may play it in place of any number (except #0).
Shield (cost: 2 cards)
The Shield is an Equipment that only protects against the Pillage action. This card is passive; it stays in its owner's hand (see p.9 - Pillage action).
Map (cost: 3 cards)
The Map is used during a Travel action and may only replace the Oasis #0 card. A scout who plays a Map card immediately wins the game.
End of Turn
After performing their mandatory action, the scout MAY perform the optional Send on a Mission action.
Send on a Mission
The scout sends on a mission one or more Companions of the same clan present in their play area. The Companions sent on a mission go to the Companion discard pile. The scout then carries out the highlighted action of each Companion card discarded this way.
- Sending a Companion of the Explorers clan on a mission lets the scout perform the Explore action.
- Sending a Companion of the Scrappers clan on a mission lets the scout perform the Recycle action.
- Sending a Companion of the Marauders clan on a mission lets the scout perform the Pillage action.
NOTES:
- If the scout recruited a Companion during their turn, they may not send Companions of the same clan on a mission this turn.
- The scout is not required to send every Companion of a clan on a mission in order to perform the Send on a Mission action.
- The scout may not choose Companions from different clans.
EXAMPLE: After performing his mandatory action, Max decides to perform the optional Send on a Mission action. Among his 3 Scrapper Companions, he decides to send 2 on a mission. He places the 2 Companions in the Companion discard pile, then carries out each highlighted action. In this specific case, he performs the Recycle action twice, and then his turn ends.
Hand Limit
At the end of their turn, the scout must have a maximum of 8 cards in hand. If they have more than the allowed limit, they must discard as many cards as necessary to keep only 8 cards.
It is not possible for the scout to discard down to fewer than 8 cards in hand in order to get rid of cards.
Discarded cards go to their respective discard pile, face up:
- Travel cards go to the Ruins and are accessible to everyone through the Recycle action;
- Companion cards form a discard pile next to the Lair;
- Equipment cards return to their corresponding Equipment pile.
End of the Journey
The Journey ends immediately as soon as one of the following conditions is met:
A Scout Reaches the Oasis
When a scout plays an Oasis #0 or Map #0 card, this means they have found the Oasis first. They immediately win the game.
The Exploration Deck Is Exhausted
When the Exploration deck is exhausted, the scout finishes their turn, then every scout plays one more turn (including the scout who triggered the end of the game).
The scout closest to the Oasis wins the game.
In case of a tie, whoever finds and touches a source of water first (fountain, faucet, water bottle, canteen, lake, river...) wins the game.
Epilogue
Congratulations, you have arrived at the Oasis, this Eden in the apocalypse! Notify your clan and lead them to this haven of peace. The location of the Oasis can no longer be kept secret. An entire clan moving in to settle there is bound to be noticed...
May the way of the desert favor you, scout — you and your clan will need it greatly...
This new chapter of the story will be available in "OASIS: THE LONG ROAD."
Specialists Variant
This variant is reserved for scouts who have already played several games of Oasis New Hope. More aggressive, it would penalize new participants in a first game against experienced players.
If you wish to refresh your gaming experience, the Specialists variant offers you new possibilities and greater interaction.
During setup, each scout flips their Game Aid card and their Companion Action card to their B side. Add the 12 Specialist Companion cards to the Companion deck: Ka, Medee, and Prescia.
Follow all the previous rules while taking into account the following 2 additions:
7-Card Hand Size
In this variant, your hand is limited to 7 cards at the end of your turn.
Specialist Companions
These Companions follow the standard Recruit rules but offer 3 new Companion actions that cannot be countered by a Shield:
Eliminate
The scout chooses an opposing Companion or a visible Companion from the Lair. The targeted Companion is discarded, and the scout whose turn it is immediately carries out the highlighted action of the Companion discarded this way.
NOTE: It is not allowed to eliminate your own Companions.
Swindle
The scout targets an opponent and gives them a card from their hand. Without looking at the card received, the opponent gives back 2 cards of their choice from their hand in exchange.
NOTES:
- It is not possible to Swindle a scout who has only a single card left.
- A Shield may be exchanged during this action.
Slow Down
The scout targets an opponent and takes the last Travel card from their play area (Desert, Step, or Compass) to add it to their own hand.