Rolling Seas Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Gameplay
• Setup
  • Home Port
  • Ship Board
  • Adventure Board
• Turn
  • I. Adventure Phase
    • 1. Smooth Sailing Card
    • Anatomy of an Adventure Card
    • 2. Adventure Card
  • II. Dice Phase
    • 1. Wind Dice
    • 2. Exploration Die
  • III. Action Phase
    • 1. Sail
      • Bonus
    • 2. Explore
      • Outfit Cannons
• End of Game
  • Renown Ranks
• Solo Mode
• Automa: Defeat the Legendary Captain Asher Ironside
  • Anatomy of an Ironside Card
  • Difficulty Level
  • Setup
  • Prepare Captain Ironside's Deck
  • Gameplay
  • Adventure Phase (Automa)
  • Action Phase (Automa)
    • • Acquiring Ship Tokens
  • Bonus Check
  • Captain Actions
    • • Sail (Based on the Adventure Card You Drew This Turn)
• Turn Summary
  • 1. Sail
  • 2. Explore
    • • Ancient Monoliths
  • 3. Visit a Port

Components

• 12 Adventure Boards (two-sided)
• 1 Exploration Board
• 6 Ship Boards
• 6 Ship Pawns
• 1 Central Compass
• 6 Personal Compasses (assembly required)
• 26 Adventure Cards
• 18 Smooth Sailing Cards
• 6 Dry-Erase Markers
• 6 Player Aides
• 12 Captain Ironside Cards (for the automa mode only)
• 1 Exploration Die
• 3 Wind Dice

Gameplay

As captain at the helm of your ship, you'll weather storms, harness the winds to sail the seas, and encounter sea monsters, but don't forget to share your adventures in the various Ports to increase your Renown!

Every turn, draw a card from the top of the Adventure Deck. If it's Smooth Sailing, you can breathe a sigh of relief, though it may well be that your enemies are simply biding their time and growing in strength. If it's an Adventure Card, the perils increase! Everyone draws the indicated shape on their Adventure Board.

Roll the Wind Dice and the Exploration Die, then choose and perform an action simultaneously with everyone else. Most of the time, you'll Sail, choosing one of the available Wind Directions and moving with it.

As you move, you'll encounter sea monsters, navigate currents, and experience the adventures that you've added to your board. This is your primary means of earning Story Points, which you will accumulate over the course of the game.

Each time you visit a new Port, you'll recount your adventures and convert your current Story Points into Renown. In each new Port, you'll tell the same story, with the addition of whatever trials and triumphs you've accumulated since your last recounting. The player with the most Renown wins the game, so it is crucial that you regularly stop at new Ports. You can't become the most famous pirate in the Archipelago if people never hear your story.

Setup

Place the Exploration Board, the Central Compass, the three Wind Dice, and the Exploration Die in the center of the table.

Each player takes an Adventure Board (the same one for everyone), a Ship Board, a Marker, a Personal Compass, and a Player Aide.

Prepare the Adventure Deck. Separate the Smooth Sailing Cards and the Adventure Cards into two piles and shuffle each of them. Set aside the top two Adventure Cards without looking at them. You will need those in a moment. Take 15 cards from each pile and shuffle them all together. Draw 5 cards from the top of the resulting deck and put them back in the box without looking at them. You should be left with a 25-card Adventure Deck.

Take the two Adventure Cards you set aside while preparing the Adventure Deck and reveal them, one at a time. All players must independently add those Adventures to their Adventure Boards in the same way you would during a normal turn (see "Adventure Phase," below). You can discard those two cards when everyone is done.

Home Port

Circle one of the eight Ports on your Adventure Board to indicate your Home Port. You will start the game from this location. Indicate the starting position of your Ship by placing a dot in one of the unoccupied Sea spaces adjacent to your Home Port.

Adjacency: Adjacency will come up a few times throughout this rulebook, particularly in the context of the actions Explore and Visit a Port. You are only considered adjacent to something when you are orthogonally adjacent.

Example: Alma reveals the Kraken, so each player draws the indicated three-square pattern on their Adventure Board, being sure that some part of the pattern is in either Row 2 or Column J. Alma chooses to place one square in Column J. She then reveals the Maelstrom, which she places in Row 11. Alma then chooses the Port in G7 as her Home Port, and places her Ship in H7.

Note: For a more challenging voyage, you can add fewer Smooth Sailing Cards to the Adventure Deck during setup. Prepare the deck as normal, but shuffle 12 Smooth Sailing Cards together with 18 Adventure Cards, instead of 15 and 15.

For your first game, we recommend playing without the two "Ambush" Adventure Cards. If you choose to play with them, only add them to the Adventure Deck after you've drawn the two cards needed for setup. The "Ambush" cards cannot be used during setup.

Ship Board

The Ship Board tracks: your starting Ship; Movement Points (MP); Cargo Hold Capacity; the cost to upgrade your Ship; the Renown Track; the Ancient Monoliths Track and Ancient Monoliths Awards; the Gold Piece Track; the Wind in Your Sails Track; the end-of-game Renown Bonuses; Instant Bonuses; the Story Track; the Provisions Track; the Sea Monster and Pirates Strength Track; and the Cannon Track.

Adventure Board

The Adventure Board shows: a Cardinal Directions Indicator (in the same colors as the Central Compass); Pirates; Sea Spaces; Land Spaces; Ports; Ancient Monoliths; and the Adventure Board Number.

Turn

A turn has three phases:

• Adventure Phase: Draw a card from the Adventure Deck.
• Dice Phase: Roll the Wind and Exploration Dice.
• Action Phase: Everyone chooses and performs an action.

Begin each turn by having one player reveal the top card of the Adventure Deck. It does not matter who does this, because the revealed card will affect everyone. If you reveal a new Adventure — Sea Monsters, Perils of the Sea, Currents, Reefs, or Ambushes — all players add that Adventure to their board simultaneously, following the rules below.

Next, roll the Wind Dice, which will either help or hinder you as you Sail through the Archipelago, and the Exploration Die, which determines what Bonuses players will receive if they Explore this turn.

Finally, each player simultaneously chooses and performs one of three actions: Sail to move across the water and encounter adventures; Explore to gather valuable resources; or Visit a Port to Fill your Hold, Upgrade Your Ship, and Tell Your Story to gain Renown.

I. Adventure Phase

Reveal the top card of the Adventure Deck and resolve it.

1. Smooth Sailing Card

If you reveal a Smooth Sailing Card, all players apply the indicated effects before proceeding to the Dice Phase.

• Gold Piece icon: Gain a Gold Piece.
• Provisions icon: Gain a Provision.
• Wind in Your Sails icon: Gain a Wind in Your Sails.
• Sea Monster icon: Increase Sea Monster Strength by 1.
• Pirate icon: Increase Pirate Strength by 1.

Note: What good is an Adventure if nobody's there to experience it? The more Adventures you encounter on your journey, the more stories you'll have to tell in the taverns and inns at port, so don't hesitate to place Adventures along your path. To learn more about the effects of different Adventures, see "Sail" below.

Anatomy of an Adventure Card

Each Adventure Card shows: the Adventure Type; the Card Name; the Adventure Color; an Illustration; the shape you will draw on your Adventure Board; the Row where you may draw the shape; and the Column where you may draw the shape.

2. Adventure Card

If you reveal an Adventure Card, each player independently and simultaneously adds the indicated Adventure to their own Adventure Board. Draw the shape shown in an eligible location of your choice, and mark the square(s) with either the Adventure's symbol or a letter of the alphabet. Choose whatever will most help you remember what kind of Adventure it is. This is important, since there are several types of Adventures, and they all work differently! When you draw an Adventure, you may rotate it, but you may not flip or reverse it.

There are several rules to follow when drawing any Adventure:

• Adventures must be drawn on empty Sea Spaces free of any other markings.
• At least one square of the Adventure must go in the row or column indicated on the Adventure Card, if possible. If you can't do that, draw the Adventure wherever you like, following other placement rules.
• Adventures may not completely block access to a Port. This only applies to Perils of the Sea, Currents, and Reefs.
• Adventures may not prevent your Ship from moving, nor may they completely block access to any part of the board.

Additional details for placement of different types of Adventures are outlined below:

• Sea Monster: Large and terrifying, yes, but they have no special rules for placement.
• Perils of the Sea: You cannot stop on a space occupied by Perils of the Sea, so be careful not to block your access to Ports when placing these Adventures!
• Currents: Currents move your Ship. You cannot place Currents so they would lead you onto Land Spaces, across Reefs, or off the edge of the map.
• Reefs: Each player passes their Adventure Board to the player on their left or right, as indicated on the Adventure Card. Draw Reefs like any other Adventure, following the rules outlined above, then hand the Adventure Board back to the player it belongs to. Ships cannot enter Sea Spaces occupied by Reefs.

Note: Since Ships cannot Sail through Reefs, be careful not to completely block access to a Port when placing a Reef on your opponent's Adventure Board! You can, however, force them to take a scenic detour.

Note: The Out of Sight icon is only used for solo games. Don't worry about it in multiplayer games.

• Ambush: Each player passes their Adventure Board to the player on their left or right, as indicated on the Adventure Card. Add your first initial or an identifying symbol to an empty Sea Space that is Out of Sight of the Ship (see "Out of Sight," below). Then, distributed as you see fit amongst any empty surrounding Sea Spaces (diagonally or orthogonally adjacent), add a total number of dots equal to or less than the number of Cannons your Ship has. Once that's done, hand the Adventure Board back to the player it belongs to.

Example: If possible, at least one of the Kraken's three squares must be in Column J or Row 2. You can rotate the symbol any way you like when drawing it.

II. Dice Phase

Roll the three Wind Dice and the Exploration Die. If all three Wind Dice match, reroll them until at least one of them is different.

1. Wind Dice

Place the Wind Dice on the Central Compass, in the directions indicated by the dice. These are the available Wind Directions for this turn.

2. Exploration Die

Place the Exploration Die on the Exploration Board, in the location corresponding to the number shown on the die. The Exploration Die determines the rewards you will receive if you Explore this turn.

Out of Sight: This concept is only used for Ambush Adventure Cards. An Ambush is always Out of Sight of a Ship if it is 4 or more spaces away. The mountainous terrain of the Carmine Archipelago makes seeing across land difficult, so Ambushes placed on the opposite side of a Land Space are also Out of Sight, even if they are within 4 spaces of a Ship.

Example: While Alma sits in Port, Sara readies an Ambush just 2 squares away. Because of the strip of land between them, this placement is valid. Sneaky!

III. Action Phase

All players simultaneously choose and perform one of the three available actions: Sail, Explore, or Visit a Port. Each chooses their action independently of the other players. You can only perform one action per turn. Once everyone has performed their action, a new turn begins.

1. Sail

To Sail, rotate the needle of your Personal Compass so that the silver arrow points in the direction indicated by any one of the Wind Dice. If you struggle with cardinal directions, use the colors on the compasses and your Adventure Board to help keep yourself oriented!

Your ship provides you with a certain number of free Movement Points (MP), which can be used every time you Sail.

Your starting ship has 3 MP.

Example: This turn, the Wind Dice point in three directions: northeast (NE), west (W), and southeast (SE). Sara chooses the SE direction, and points the silver arrow on her Personal Compass towards the southeast (SE). For this turn, each square she moves to the SE costs 1 MP, every square she moves to the south (S) or the east (E) costs 2 MP, every square she moves to the southwest (SW) or northeast (NE) costs 3 MP, every square she moves to the west (W) or north (N) costs 4 MP, and any movement to the northwest (NW), directly against the wind, costs a whopping 5 MP.

You can move your ship in any direction, including diagonally, as long as you have enough MP. Moving one square downwind (in the same direction as the wind) costs 1 MP. The further your direction of movement strays from the direction of the wind, the more MP each square will cost (see example above).

Important: You are not limited to your ship's free MP. If you wish, you can spend Provisions to gain additional MP. For each Provision you spend in this way, you gain 1 MP.

Note: When spending Provisions or Gold Pieces, cross off the oldest available Provisions first.

When moving, draw a line starting from the middle of the space where your Ship is currently located. As the game goes on, you will end up with a single contiguous line that shows the path your ship has sailed. You can change the direction you sail as often as you like, but the Wind Direction does not change once you've made your choice for that turn. If you want, you can end your movement with a dot, to indicate that your ship is now located in that spot. Use your Personal Compass to calculate the cost in MP. Each arrow tells you how many MP a move in that direction will cost.

As you might expect, you can only Sail through Sea Spaces. You are allowed to backtrack and/or cross your own path. Once you have encountered an Adventure, that Sea Space has no effect for the rest of the game. For example, once you have passed through a Current, nothing will happen if you pass through the same Current again. Note that Perils of the Sea and Sea Monsters Adventures are made up of multiple, independent spaces. Encountering one square of a Peril of the Sea or a Sea Monster has no impact on the other squares.

The Adventures on your board will impact your route and the stories you tell. Don't hesitate to cross paths with them!

Prerequisites: You must be able to fully resolve an Adventure in order to Sail into its space. Therefore, you must have enough Cannons or Provisions to enter a space occupied by a Sea Monster or Pirate.

• Sea Monster: Each time you encounter a Sea Monster, spend 1 Provision and gain 2 Story Points. If you have Cannons equal to or greater than the Sea Monster's Strength, gain 2 Story Points without spending Provisions.
• Perils of the Sea: Gain 1 Story Point each time you Sail through a Perils of the Sea. Ships cannot stop on a space occupied by Perils of the Sea.
• Currents: When you enter a space occupied by Currents, you must immediately move to the end of that Current. You do not spend any MP for this movement. Gain 1 Story Point for every two consecutive spaces you cross.
• Reefs: These are obstacles. Ships cannot enter a space occupied by Reefs.
• Ambush: At the end of your turn, if you have passed through a space occupied by an Ambush (either the central square or any of the surrounding dots), resolve a Sea Battle. The player who added the Ambush to your board initiates the battle by rolling the Exploration Die. If they roll a 6, they automatically win the Sea Battle. If they roll a 1, they automatically lose. If neither is the case, you now roll the Exploration Die. You get the same deal; if you roll a 6, you win, and if you roll a 1, you lose. If neither player rolls a 6 or a 1, each player adds their Cannons to their roll and compare the results. The player with the higher value wins.
  • Winner: gain 3 Story Points, 2 Gold Pieces OR 3 Gold Pieces, and fill your Hold to Capacity with Provisions.
  • Loser: lose 1 Provision, -1 Gold Piece OR 1 Provision, -2 Gold Pieces (if neither is possible, choose whichever would cause you to lose more and pay what you can).
  • Tie: gain 2 Story Points for each player.
• Pirates: Stop moving the moment you enter a space occupied by Pirates. Check your Cannons against the Pirates' Strength. If you do not have Cannons equal to or greater than the Pirates' Strength, spend 3 Provisions to gain 3 Story Points and 2 Gold Pieces. If you do have Cannons equal to or greater than the Pirates' Strength, gain 3 Story Points, 2 Gold Pieces, and any reward from the Exploration Board corresponding to a location with a value less than or equal to your Cannons. If you have the maximum number of Cannons, claim two different Exploration Rewards. Mark one adjacent Land Space as though you had Explored it (see "Explore," below). You cannot continue movement for that turn after encountering Pirates, even if you have MP remaining.

Example: Alma has 3 Cannons. Sea Monsters have 4 Strength and Pirates have 2 Strength. She decides to Sail towards the Pirates. She therefore stops her movement and gains her rewards: 3 Story Points, 2 Gold Pieces, and an Exploration Reward. Since she has 3 Cannons, she can choose any of the first three Exploration Rewards. She chooses the second reward and gains 1 Cannon, 1 Provision, and 2 Gold Pieces.

Example: Sara starts the game with her Ship on H13. One of the Wind Dice shows NE, and she chooses to Sail in that direction. She turns her Personal Compass so the silver arrow points NE, then Sails one space E, onto a Current on I13, which costs her 2 MP. She crosses off a box for encountering the Current. She still has 1 free MP left, since her Ship provides 3 every turn. She heads NE for only 1 MP and crosses off another box by encountering a second Current. She has used up her Ship's free MP, but she can't stay in the Current space, so she spends 1 Provision to go further. She runs into a Perils of the Sea and spends 1 Provision to cross off 2 more boxes before deciding to spend 3 additional Provisions to reach N8. By the end of the turn, she will have spent 5 Provisions, 1 for the Perils of the Sea and 4 for moving 4 spaces NE, and she will have marked a total of 4 Story Points.

Bonus

You gain a Bonus when you fill a column of Provisions or Gold Pieces on your Ship Board, when you buy certain Cannons, when you Explore an Ancient Monolith, and when you mark off certain squares on the Story Track.

If the Bonus has a yellow background, it will provide you with Renown at the end of the game. If the Bonus has a blue background, gain the indicated Bonus immediately:

• Gain a Story Point.
• Gain a Gold Piece.
• Gain a Wind in Your Sails.
• Fill your Hold to Capacity with Provisions.

2. Explore

If you are adjacent to land, including the stretches of mainland to the far east and far west of the Adventure Board, you can Explore. Note that you cannot explore at a Port and you cannot explore the same Land Space twice.

Example: Sara's ship is between two unexplored Land Spaces, so she can explore whichever one she wants. Anyone who Explores on this turn will gain 4 Gold Pieces and 2 Provisions.

If you explore a Land Space that has Provisions, Gold Pieces, or a Story Point, gain that reward in addition to everything indicated by the Exploration Board.

When you Explore, you gain the Exploration Rewards corresponding to the current location of the Exploration Die on the Exploration Board.

Cross off the Land Space you just Explored. You will not be able to Explore that space again.

Important: During your turn, the amount of Provisions in your Hold can exceed your Ship's Hold Capacity. At the end of your turn, however, you must cross off the oldest circled Provisions until you reach your Hold Capacity.

Outfit Cannons

After Exploring, but before crossing off any excess Provisions, you can Outfit Cannons. Spend 4 Gold Pieces to add a Cannon to your Ship. Every Cannon you Outfit in this way costs you 6 Gold Pieces. You can also Outfit Cannons after Exploring an Ancient Monolith, or after you have defeated Pirates using Cannons. When you Outfit a Cannon, cross off its price tag and gain the indicated Bonus, if any.

Ancient Monoliths

If you Explore a space occupied by an Ancient Monolith, you have more say over the Exploration Rewards you get. When you Explore an Ancient Monolith space, you can gain the reward indicated by the Exploration Die OR either of the two adjacent Rewards. In other words, you can treat the Exploration Die as though it were +1 or -1 from its current value. Under these circumstances, you may treat 6's as 1's and vice versa.

Additionally, every time you Explore an Ancient Monolith space, cross off the first Ancient Monolith on your ship. Gain 1 Story Point for the first Ancient Monolith, 2 Story Points for the second, and an immense treasure when you Explore the third. At that moment:

• If you are the first player(s) to Explore all 3 Ancient Monoliths, take the top reward, which becomes unavailable to all other players.
• If you are the second player(s) to Explore all 3 Ancient Monoliths, take the second reward, which becomes unavailable to all other players.
• Any and all subsequent players to Explore all 3 Ancient Monoliths take the bottom reward.

In the event of a tie, all applicable players receive the topmost available reward.

3. Visit a Port

If you are adjacent to a Port, you can Visit a Port. There, you can Tell Your Story and increase your Renown, thus scoring more points. You can also, if you wish, Upgrade Your Ship, Fill Your Hold, and Arm Yourself.

Fill Your Hold

You may, if you wish, fill your hold. To do so, spend 1 Gold Piece and add Provisions until your Hold is full to capacity.

Example 1: Tim still has the first Ship, with a capacity of 5 Provisions, and 2 Provisions in his hold. He chooses to fill his hold by Visiting a Port, and thus gains 3 Provisions.

Example 2: Alma has the third Ship, with a Hold capacity of 7 Provisions, and 3 Provisions in her hold. By Visiting a Port, she gains 7 Provisions.

Arm Yourself

While Visiting a Port, you can, if you wish, improve your armaments. To do so, cross off Gold Pieces equal to the price of the Cannon(s) you wish to purchase, and cross off the price tag for each Cannon you do, in fact, purchase. You may purchase multiple Cannons at once if you have enough Gold Pieces.

Tell Your Story

If you Visit a Port you haven't Visited before (which is to say, a Port that hasn't been crossed off), tell your story.

• Gain Renown equal to the number of Story Points you've accumulated so far this game. Write this number in the bottommost available slot of your Renown Column (Box 1 for your first Port, Box 2 for your second, etc.).
• Next, cross off one Story Point. There's always something happening at a port that you can tell people about later.
• Cross off the Port on your Adventure Board. You cannot Tell Your Story again in this Port, though you can always come back later to perform other Visit a Port actions.

Upgrade Your Ship

You may, if you wish, Upgrade Your Ship. To do so, you must have enough Gold Pieces to pay the purchase price of the next Ship shown on your Ship Board. You must purchase the second Ship, which costs 4 Gold Pieces, before purchasing the third, which costs 5 Gold Pieces, but you may purchase both in the same turn if you have enough Gold Pieces.

When you purchase a new Ship, cross off both the Gold Pieces spent and the new Ship's price tag. Your new Ship has more MP, a larger Hold, and earns more Renown at the end of the game.

Wind in Your Sails

You can spend available Wind in Your Sails at the beginning or end of any action, whether you Sail, Explore, or Visit a Port, to move one space in any direction, regardless of Wind direction. Cross off each available Wind in Your Sails once you use it.

Cannons

Cannons are crucial to encounters with Sea Monsters and Pirates. Indeed, if you have as many or more Cannons than a Sea Monster or Pirate has Strength, you defeat them without spending any supplies (see "Sail," above). Unlike Provisions or Gold Pieces, you never spend your Cannons.

You start the game without any Cannons, but you can buy them when you Visit a Port, and you can also find abandoned or shipwrecked Cannons along the coastline when you Explore.

Sea Monster and Pirates Strength

Sea Monsters and Pirates begin the game with 1 Strength.

Throughout the game, you will draw Smooth Sailing Cards that instruct you to increase the Strength of either Sea Monsters or Pirates. Indicate this on your Ship Board by crossing off the next appropriate box on the Power Track beneath the Cannons. If both Sea Monsters and Pirates are at maximum Strength when you draw such a Smooth Sailing Card, ignore its effect.

End of Game

When you draw the last card from the Adventure Deck, finish the current turn, and then end the game.

When the game ends, you get to tell your story one last time, even if you are on the open sea. Perhaps you write your tale down on a piece of paper, put it in a bottle, and throw it in the water. It'll be read one day.

• Final Story: Tell one last time your story in this box.
• Ending Port: If you end the game adjacent to a Port, gain 5 Renown. If you end the game adjacent to your Home Port, gain 10 Renown.
• Bonus Renown Points: Add up all the Renown you have accumulated by purchasing new Ships, unlocking Bonuses in your Hold and on the Story Track, purchasing the seventh Cannon, visiting all three Ancient Monoliths, and visiting all eight Ports.
• Pirates: Lose 5 Renown for each Pirate you didn't encounter.

Add up all the Renown in your Renown Tracker and write the total in the bottom box. The player with the most Renown wins the game! In the event of a tie, the player with the most unspent Gold Pieces in their Hold wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most unspent Provisions in their Hold wins. If there is still no winner, you share the glory, knowing your names are sung in all the ports of the archipelago.

Renown Ranks

Renown	Rank	Description
0-75	Small-Time Braggart	People know you, yes, but they'll find any excuse to sit on the opposite end of the tavern.
76-125	Boring Storyteller	People will listen to your story, so long as the ale keeps coming and you keep paying.
126-150	Rent-a-Bard	Children eagerly gather round as you recount your adventures.
151-175	Wandering Minstrel	Many people fondly recall gathering to hear your tales.
176-200	Renowned Poet	Royal courts far and wide are always happy to host you of an evening.
201-225	Storyteller Extraordinaire	Crowds come from far and wide to hear your tales.
226-250	Master of Stories	Songs of your adventures will be sung for years to come.

Solo Mode

The solo version of Rolling Seas plays just like the multiplayer game, though you don't use the Ambush Adventure Cards and, instead of passing your Adventure Board to someone who isn't there, you add your own Reefs. Each Reef card has a set of coordinates, a row and a column. You must draw each Reef as close to its indicated coordinates as possible. If you can't draw a Reef at the intersection of the indicated row and column on that card, then you must draw it as close to that point as possible while still being in the row or column on the card marked with an Anchor. If you cannot add the Reef anywhere in the Anchored row or column, then draw it as close to the intersection as possible while still being in the row or column on the card that is not marked with an Anchor. If that is still not possible, we give up. Draw the Reef anywhere you like.

In order to earn the first reward for Exploring all three Ancient Monoliths, you must have visited them all by the end of the 15th turn (count the number of revealed Adventure Cards to check). If you Explore all three Ancient Monoliths between the 16th and 20th turn, you gain the second reward. On the 21st turn or later, claim the third reward.

At the end of the game, look at what rank you've earned, based on your Renown, to see how you will be remembered.

Automa: Defeat the Legendary Captain Asher Ironside

Do you think you've tamed the turbulent, monster-infested seas and become a living legend? Test yourself (either solo or with other players) against the legendary Captain Asher Ironside and see if you can claim to be the greatest captain of all. Will you etch your name into history?

Anatomy of an Ironside Card

Each Captain Ironside Card shows: a condition to trigger an action rather than another; Captain Ironside's action; a bonus the Captain Ironside earns if a Wind die shows a particular direction; the Difficulty (only look at the difficulty you chose); and the Bonus earned by the Captain Ironside.

Difficulty Level

• Training: Captain Ironside doesn't gain any Bonuses from Captain Cards.
• Basic: Captain Ironside gains the Basic difficulty Bonus from Captain Cards.
• Standard: Captain Ironside gains the Standard difficulty Bonus from Captain Cards and 1 Story Point every time you draw a Reef Adventure Card.
• Formidable: Captain Ironside gains the Formidable difficulty Bonus from Captain Cards and 1 Story Point per Reef on your Adventure Board every time you draw a Reef Adventure Card.
• Legendary: Captain Ironside gains the Formidable difficulty Bonus from Captain Cards and 1 Story Point per Reef on your Adventure Board every time you draw a Reef Adventure Card. On turns when you draw a Reef Adventure Card, he takes a full turn after shuffling his discard pile back into the Captain's Deck. You do not use Ship Tokens at this difficulty level, so you cannot block Captain Ironside's actions or bonuses.

Setup

Choose your level of difficulty.

You will need the 12 Captain Ironside Cards and, unless playing on Legendary difficulty, the Ship Tokens. Place one Ship Token next to each die space on the Exploration Board. Take an unused Ship Board to track Captain Ironside's Story and Renown. He begins the game with 1 Story Point marked.

The rest of setup is the same as usual.

Adjust Difficulty: Some Adventure Boards are more difficult than others, but Captain Asher Ironside has mastered them all. Once you've beaten him on one board, try the others for a new challenge. If he proves too challenging an opponent, you can apply one or more of the following modifications to adjust the difficulty closer to your preference:

• Start the game with two Ship Tokens and place the other four on random Exploration spaces.
• Use only one Ship Token to block an action.
• Place a Level 1 Sail Captain Ironside Card in the Level 2 pile during setup.
• If you visit the third Ancient Monolith before the Captain, he receives the third-place reward when he visits his third.

For a more challenging experience, try one or more of these variations:

• Move a Visit a Port card from the Level 2 pile to the Level 1 pile during setup.
• Remove Ship Tokens from the game after using them.
• Move a Pirates & Monoliths Card from the Level 2 pile to the Level 1 pile during setup.
• If Captain Ironside's last action of the game is Visit a Port, he gains a bonus of 5 Renown. If his final action of the game is Sail, he gains a Story Point.
• If Captain Ironside reaches the third Ancient Monolith before you, you claim the third place Bonus instead of the second place Bonus.

Prepare Captain Ironside's Deck

Separate the Captain Ironside Cards into three piles:

• 7 Level 1 Cards
• 3 Level 2 Cards
• 2 Ambush Cards

Shuffle the cards in each pile separately. The Level 1 Cards form the Captain Ironside Deck. Set the Level 2 Cards aside. If you are playing with the Ambush Cards, see the Ambush section below. Otherwise, return those two cards to the box.

Ambush: If you are playing with Ambush Cards, use the Ambush Cards from Captain Ironside's supply of cards. Shuffle one Ambush Card, chosen randomly, into the last four cards of the Captain Ironside Deck, and set the other aside, facedown, near the Level 2 Cards. Do not use the Ambush Cards from the Adventure Deck.

Gameplay

When playing against Captain Asher Ironside, each turn includes the following four phases:

1. Adventure Phase
2. Dice Phase
3. Action Phase
4. Captain Ironside Phase

Phases 1-3 work more or less the same as they do in the standard game (see "Turn," above), with any differences explained below. The Captain Ironside Phase is a new phase specific to this game mode (see "Captain Ironside Phase," below).

Adventure Phase (Automa)

If you draw a Smooth Sailing Card, apply its effect to Captain Ironside as well. If the Smooth Sailing Card offers a choice of two options, proceed to the Dice Phase, where the Exploration Die will choose for him. If the Exploration Die shows an odd number, apply the first Smooth Sailing option to Captain Ironside. If the Exploration Die shows an even number, apply the second.

Action Phase (Automa)

Acquiring Ship Tokens

When Exploring, you may take a Ship Token, provided there is one next to the appropriate Exploration Reward. The use of Ship Tokens is explained below (see "Using Ship Tokens").

Note: When you Explore an Ancient Monolith or Explore after defeating Pirates with your Cannons, you can take a Ship Token if there is one next to whichever Exploration Reward you take.

If you did not draw a Reef Adventure Card, draw a Captain Ironside Card.

If the Captain Ironside Deck is empty, shuffle his discard pile while adding in one of the set-aside Level 2 Cards if possible, then draw a Captain Ironside Card.

Perform a Bonus Check (see "Bonus Check," below).

Captain Ironside performs the action indicated at the top of the Captain Ironside Card (see "Captain Actions," below). The effect of this card may vary depending on the Adventure Card you drew at the start of the turn.

Once the action is complete, the Captain Ironside Phase is over. Begin your next turn.

Bonus Check

If any of the Wind Dice match any of the directions listed in the orange box corresponding to your chosen difficulty, Captain Ironside receives the indicated Bonus. The Bonus that reduces the cost of purchases at any Port only applies during the current turn. All other Bonuses are applied before the Captain performs his action.

Example: For this turn, on Basic difficulty, Captain Ironside gains no bonus. On Standard, he gains 1 Gold Piece if at least one of the Wind Dice points either NW or SE. On Formidable or Legendary, he gains 1 Gold Piece and 1 Provision if at least one of the Wind Dice points either NW, NE, SE, or SW.

Captain Actions

The top of each Captain Ironside Card indicates an action. Some indicate an alternate action to be performed under certain conditions. If the conditions of the alternate action are met, the Captain performs that action instead of the main action.

Example: If the Captain has visited fewer Ports than you, he Visits a Port. Otherwise, if he has visited at least as many as you, Captain Ironside Sails.

Captain Ironside performs the action indicated at the top of the Captain Ironside Card. The effect of this card may vary depending on the Adventure Card you drew at the start of the turn.

Sail (Based on the Adventure Card You Drew This Turn)

• Current: The Captain gains 1 Story Point per Ship level. For example, if he has acquired the second Ship, he gains 2 Story Points.
• Perils of the Sea: The Captain gains 1 Story Point. If 2 Wind Dice show the same direction, he gains an additional 2 Story Points.
• Sea Monster: The Captain gains 2 Story Points. If he can defeat the Sea Monster with Cannons, he gains an additional 1 Story Point.
• Smooth Sailing: The Captain gains 1 Story Point per Wind in Its Sails.

Explore

Captain Ironside gains the Exploration Reward indicated by the Exploration Die.

Visit a Port

Captain Ironside performs the following actions in order:

• Tell His Story: Captain Ironside scores Renown, then gains 1 Story Point.
• Upgrade His Ship: If the Captain can afford to buy a Ship, he crosses off the necessary Gold Pieces and does so.
• Fill His Hold: If the Captain has at least 1 Gold Piece, he spends 1 Gold Piece and gains Provisions equal to the value of the Exploration Die.
• Arm Himself: If the Captain can afford to buy a Cannon, he crosses off the necessary Gold Pieces and buys the next Cannon. He can only buy 1 Cannon per turn.

Note: The Captain can only visit 8 Ports. In the unlikely event that he Visits more than 8, he gains 1 Story Point and any applicable Captain's Card bonuses. Then, discard the Visit a Port card and draw a new Captain's Card.

Though there are only three Pirates on any one Adventure Board, Captain Ironside can defeat more than three Pirates.

Pirates

The Captain confronts a Pirate. He immediately gains 3 Story Points and 2 Gold Pieces. If he defeats them using Cannons, he also Explores.

Monoliths

The Captain visits an Ancient Monolith. He marks the first available Ancient Monolith in his Hold and gains the appropriate Bonus. He gains the Exploration Bonus indicated by the Exploration Die.

Note: Captain Ironside races to visit all the Ancient Monoliths like any other player. If you are playing solo against Captain Ironside, ignore the solo rules for Ancient Monolith rewards.

Solo: He's competing for first place, just like anyone else. If you're playing solo against the captain, use this rule — not the number of turns as indicated in the solo mode — to try to take first place.

Ambush

Immediately resolve a Sea Battle (see "Ambush" under Sail, above). The card you drew during the Adventure Phase determines who attacks: if you drew a Smooth Sailing Card, Captain Ironside attacks you. If you drew an Adventure Card, you attack Captain Ironside. Remove the Ambush from the game, and add the second Ambush to the Captain's discard pile if possible. Draw a new Captain Ironside Card.

Note: If Captain Ironside is supposed to gain Provisions, Gold Pieces, Cannons, or Story Points, but the corresponding track is full, add a tick mark to his Bonus Renown box on the Renown Track. Each tick gives him one more point at the end of the game. If Captain Ironside visits more than 3 Ancient Monoliths, he simply Explores. Captain Ironside never spends Provisions, and there is no limit to how many Provisions his Ship can hold.

End of Game (Automa)

The game ends normally (see "End of Game," above). Count up your points as in a regular game. Captain Ironside Tells His Story one last time, just like you, though he doesn't gain any Bonus for ending the game in a Port and he doesn't lose any points for Pirates he didn't defeat. He does gain the 20 Renown Bonus if he Tells His Story eight times.

Using Ship Tokens

If you have Ship Tokens, you can use them to block Captain Ironside from performing an action or receiving a Bonus. You do this by spending one or two Ship Tokens before the Captain Ironside Card is revealed. You cannot prevent more than one thing from happening per turn, even if you have enough Ship Tokens to do so.

Spend 1 Ship Token: Captain Ironside gains no Bonus from Captain Ironside Cards this turn. He still gains any end-of-turn Story Points related to difficulty.

Spend 2 Ship Tokens and choose an action: Captain Ironside cannot perform the chosen action this turn. If he would otherwise perform the chosen action, he instead does nothing. You can thus prevent Sail, Explore, Visit a Port, Pirates, or even Monolith actions. Captain Ironside still receives any indicated Bonuses from Captain Ironside Cards when his action is prevented.

At the end of any turn during which you use one or more Ship Tokens, return each spent Ship Token to a separate empty space on the Exploration Board. You can never have more than one Ship Token on any one space.

Example 1: You spend 2 Ship Tokens to prevent the Pirates and Ancient Monoliths action. Wind Dice show the directions W, SE, and N. The Captain Ironside Card drawn indeed indicates the Pirates and Ancient Monoliths action. Since you are playing on Basic difficulty, Captain Ironside does not perform his action, but he does gain 1 Gold Piece. He may begin a new turn.

Example 2: You spend 2 Ship Tokens to prevent the Sail action. The Wind Dice show S, SW, and E, and you have Visited more Ports than Captain Ironside. The Captain Ironside Card drawn is the Sail or Visit a Port (if it has visited fewer than you) card. Because Captain Ironside has visited fewer Ports than you, he performs the Visit a Port action. You do not prevent him from performing this action. If you had chosen to prevent the Visit a Port action, you would have prevented Captain Ironside from performing his action this turn.

Captain Ironside Phase

Proceed to the Captain Ironside Phase after your Action Phase.

If the Adventure Card you drew at the beginning of your turn was a Reef, shuffle the Captain's discard pile back into the Captain Ironside Deck while adding one of the set-aside Level 2 Cards if possible. His turn ends immediately.

Note: Other effects may apply before the turn ends, depending on the difficulty level you've selected:

• Basic — Nothing else happens.
• Standard — Captain Ironside gains 1 Story Point.
• Formidable or Legendary — Captain Ironside gains 1 Story Point per Reef on your Adventure Board.
• Legendary — Discard the top card from the Captain Ironside Deck.

Using Captain Ironside in a Game With 2 or More Players

During setup, place one Ship Token per player, plus one for the Captain, randomly in the spaces between two sequential values on the Exploration Board (between 2 and 3, for example, or between 6 and 1). If you Explore and gain either of the Rewards next to either your own Ship Token or the Captain's, collect that Token. You cannot collect an opposing player's Ship Token.

Instead of blocking Bonuses or Actions, you can spend a Ship Token to gain Captain Ironside's Bonus for that turn. Note that the Captain's Bonus that reduces the cost of purchases does nothing for you, since you've already performed your action for that turn. If you have the Captain's Ship Token, you must use and return it before using your own.

Any time the Captain's action would be determined by comparing his achievements to those of a player, use the player who is furthest along in that particular category. For example, if someone has Visited more Ports than the Captain when the Visit a Port, otherwise Sail card is drawn, Captain Ironside will Visit a Port instead of Sailing.

Turn Summary

• Draw an Adventure Card and resolve it.
• Roll the three Wind Dice and the Exploration Die.
• Choose one of three actions:

1. Sail

Choose a Wind Direction. Move your ship using MP. You can spend Provisions to gain additional MP.

• Sea Monster: spend 1 Provision, gain 2 Story Points; OR if Cannons ≥ Sea Monster Strength, gain 2 Story Points.
• Perils of the Sea: don't stop, gain 1 Story Point.
• Currents: mandatory and free movement in direction of current; gain 1 Story Point per 2 spaces.
• Reefs: impassable.
• Pirates: stop, lose 3 Provisions, gain 3 Story Points, 2 Gold Pieces; OR if Cannons ≥ Pirates Strength: stop, gain 3 Story Points, 2 Gold Pieces, and an Exploration Reward.
• Ambush: must be drawn out of sight of the Ship, with as many dots in surrounding squares as you have Cannons. At the end of turn, if your Ship has passed through an Ambush space (the central space or any surrounding space with a Cannon), resolve a Sea Battle.

The player who added the Ambush to your board rolls the Exploration Die. If they roll a 6, they automatically win. If they roll a 1, they automatically lose. Otherwise, you now roll a die. Similarly, if you roll a 6, you automatically win, and if you roll a 1, you automatically lose. If neither player rolls a 6 or a 1, each player adds the number they rolled to their total number of Cannons. The player with the higher total value wins.

• Winner: gain 3 Story Points, 2 Gold Pieces OR 3 Gold Pieces.
• Loser: lose 1 Provision, -1 Gold Piece OR 1 Provision, -2 Gold Pieces (if neither is fully possible, choose one and pay what you can).
• Tie: gain 2 Story Points to each involved player.

2. Explore

If you are adjacent to a Land Space, gain the rewards corresponding to the Exploration Die.

Ancient Monoliths

If you Explore an Ancient Monolith, ±1 to the Exploration Die and cross off one Ancient Monolith on your Ship. You can choose to spend 6 Gold Pieces to Outfit 1 Cannon.

3. Visit a Port

• Tell Your Story: Write Renown equal to your Story Points.
• Cross off 1 Port and 1 Story Point.
• You may upgrade your boat.
• You may Fill Your Hold to capacity: spend 1 Gold Piece.
• You may buy one or more Cannons.

You may use Wind in Your Sails to move one space, regardless of Wind Direction, at the beginning or end of any action.