Sauria
Sauria Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Goal of the Game
- Components
- Instructions
- Setup
- Step 1: Choosing the Characters
- Step 2: Placing the Location Tiles
- Step 3: Filling the Noise Bags
- Step 4: Shuffling the Card Decks
- Step 5: Creating the Dinosaur Deck
- Step 6: Determining the Starting Player
- Step 7: Round and Emergency Signal Markers
- Step 8: General Supply
- Step 9: Placing the Characters
- Step 10: Let's Go!
- Game Flow
- Winning the Game
- Areas (Gebiete)
- Noises (Geräusche)
- Dinosaurs
- Dinosaur Behaviours (Verhaltensweisen der Dinosaurier)
- Locations (Die Orte)
- Location Symbols (Ortssymbole)
- Encounters (Begegnungen)
- Power (Strom)
- Combat (Kampf)
- Weapons (Waffen)
- Life Points and Wounds (Lebenspunkte & Wunden)
- Items (Gegenstände)
- Combat Example (Kampfbeispiel)
- Lava
- Solo Adventure (Solo Abenteuer)
- Rule Clarifications (Regel Klarstellungen)
- Special Locations (Besondere Orte)
- Saboteur Special Cases (Saboteur Besonderheiten)
- Noises at Night (Geräusche in der Nacht)
- Frequently Asked Questions (Aufkommende Fragen)
- Variants (Varianten)
- Quick Reference (Kurzübersicht)
Goal of the Game
During a game of Sauria the players explore the island, collect useful items, encounter dinosaurs, and try to reach their secret goals while avoiding the burning lava. The aim is to bring yourself safely off the island at the end. The player who has collected the most victory points at the end of the game AND is still alive is the winner.
Components
- 8 character boards
- 38 dinosaur figures with plastic feet
- 8 character figures with plastic feet
- 7 six-sided dice (1 black, 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 green)
- 4 coloured noise bags
- 1 game board
- 25 location hex tiles
- 50 lava hex tiles
- 1 emergency signal marker
- 1 round marker
- 39 dinosaur cards
- 35 event cards
- 24 character goal cards
- 30 encounter cards
- 78 item cards
- 25 wound cards
- 12 lava cards
- 80 black wooden cubes (noise markers)
- 70 red wooden cubes (noise markers and blood cubes)
- 50 green wooden cubes (energy cubes)
- 15 dinosaur status markers
- 57 object markers
- 6 power markers
- 10 encounter markers
- 1 starting player marker
Instructions
The first part of the instructions is intended to explain to new players how Sauria is played. It is recommended to read these sections thoroughly before the first game.
At the end of the rulebook you will find some rule clarifications. There, exceptional situations and certain rules are explained again in detail. If questions come up during play that are not answered in these instructions, look at the rule clarifications at the back.
Definition: Dinosaurs
During a game of Sauria, dinosaurs will appear on the game board again and again. This happens through 3 different factors: noises, events and encounters.
In the game there are 2 sizes of dinosaur: large and small. A distinction is made between 2 types: herbivores (Pflanzenfresser) and carnivores (Fleischfresser). There are also 2 special traits: pack hunter (Rudeljäger) and hostile (Feindselig).
The icons used for these are: large, small, herbivore, carnivore, pack hunter and hostile.
Dinosaurs are placed on the game board in the form of their figures. In addition, a matching card should be placed face up in the play area for each dinosaur.
Example cards in the rulebook: the Tyrannosaurus (number 9) is a large carnivore; the Pachy (number 3) is a small herbivore.
The dinosaurs are divided into 4 stages, which can be told apart by the back of their card: stage 1 (green), stage 2 (yellow), stage 3 (red) and stage 4 (black).
Definition: Areas
The game board represents the island of Isla Sauria. There are 3 different areas: jungle fields, road fields and location fields.
Jungle fields: Fields without a road and without a location are jungle fields. Under the rules, players who enter a jungle field must draw a noise marker.
Road fields: Fields showing a road (but no location) are road fields. Under the rules, players who enter a road field do NOT draw a noise marker.
Location fields: There are 24 location fields on the game board, marked with the numbers 1, 2 and 3. These numbers represent the zones. They correspond to the numbers on the backs of the 24 location tiles.
The location fields are further divided into the following 5 location types: hazard locations (Gefahren-Orte), survival locations (Überlebens-Orte), technology locations (Technologie-Orte), ranger locations (Ranger-Orte) and maintenance locations (Wartungs-Orte).
Each location offers different location actions, properties and effects.
Zone 1 locations: In the interior of the island. The players start on these location fields.
Zone 2 locations: The second ring of location fields on the island. These fields do not secure survival, but important equipment items and abilities can be found on them.
Zone 3 locations: Along the coast of the island are the most useful but also the most dangerous locations. The locations for leaving the island are also in this area. Escape locations (Fluchtweg) are located here as well.
Definition: Characters
At the start of the game each player chooses a character. Each character has different abilities and goals, yet all characters play in the same way.
Goal cards: Each character has 3 different goal cards. These are specific to the character. For example, the goal cards of the hunter include hunting dinosaurs. Each goal card shows victory points that are gained when its goal is fulfilled.
Character board: Each character has an individual character board. On this board are the traits, the basic actions, the special actions and the energy that is needed for special actions.
Item cards and wound cards are also placed on the character board.
Traits (Fähigkeiten): Each character has different traits that give them specific advantages. Some traits give the character a unique item, while others help the character reach their goals.
Energy: Characters also have an individual number of energy. Energy is used up and removed from the character board when a character performs one of their special actions. As soon as there is no energy left on the board for a special action, that action can no longer be performed until the energy for it has been refilled. Energy can be refilled by resting or through various events and encounters.
Action points (AP): In the standard game each character has 3 AP per turn. These can be spent on basic actions, special actions, location actions, traits and to use items.
Example: The hunter can, in one turn, move 1 step, then sprint (using 1 sprint energy) and then fire a burst (Feuerstoß, using 1 burst energy). Because each of these actions costs the hunter only 1 action point (1 AP), all three actions can be taken in one turn.
In his next turn the hunter could first attack and then search. Because these are both basic actions, he does not need to use any energy. His turn would then be over after the two actions, since attacking costs 1 AP and searching costs 2 AP.
IMPORTANT: Items have the action points they cost when used (shown at the top left of the cards). If an item has no cost shown, another action is needed to use it. Example: weapons have no action points, because the player uses them during an attack or a burst and spends action points on that action.
Flavour note in the booklet: Regardless of what pop culture would have you believe, the Dilophosaurus had no frill, did not spit venom, and was about 6 feet tall.
Setup
Step 1: Choosing the Characters
Each player chooses a character. Place your character board in front of you and place green energy cubes into the designated recesses on the board, next to the special actions. Take the matching character figure and randomly draw one goal card of your character. Also take all the goal markers of your character; even if your chosen goal card does not need all of them. Discard the goal cards you did not choose and keep your own goal card secret.
Last, take the items your character starts with (see the traits on your character board).
Step 2: Placing the Location Tiles
Shuffle all location tiles face down and then place them on the matching fields on the game board according to their numbers. The tiles remain face down. Then place 4 encounter markers on the designated encounter fields of the game board.
Step 3: Filling the Noise Bags
For each player in the game, put 4 black and 1 red noise marker into each bag.
Step 4: Shuffling the Card Decks
The 4 item decks are shuffled separately. Then the encounter deck, the wound deck and the lava deck are shuffled together. Finally, the decks of day and night events are shuffled separately from each other. All card decks are placed near the game board.
Step 5: Creating the Dinosaur Deck
First, the 3 double-sided pack cards of the raptors must be sorted out and set aside.
Then draw 1 card per player from each dinosaur stage. (There are only 4 stage-4 cards, so with 5 players still only 4 stage-4 dinosaurs are played.)
Each stage is shuffled separately. The 4 individual stacks are then joined face down into one stack, so that the stage-4 cards lie at the bottom, on them the stage-3 cards, then the stage-2 cards, and on top the stage-1 cards. This is your dinosaur deck.
All remaining dinosaur cards are placed face down to the side. These form the discard pile (Ablagestapel). Both piles are needed during the game and should be placed so that they are easily reachable for everyone.
Step 6: Determining the Starting Player
Choose a starting player at random. If you cannot decide, choose the player who can tell the best dinosaur joke. This player receives the starting player marker.
Step 7: Round and Emergency Signal Markers
Place the round marker on field 1 of the round track and place the emergency signal marker with the red (Off) side facing up on the corresponding signal field.
Step 8: General Supply
Place the dinosaur figures, the lava hexes, and the red and black noise markers near the game board.
Step 9: Placing the Characters
Beginning with the starting player and then going clockwise, each player places their character on a location field of zone 1.
After every player has chosen a starting field, each field on which a character stands is turned face up. NOTE: Only turn over fields on which a character stands.
Step 10: Let's Go!
The booklet gives no further text for this step; the illustration shows the fully set-up board.
Game Flow
Sauria is played over 16 rounds. In each round there are five phases, which are played in the following order:
- Event phase
- Lava phase
- Action phase
- Dinosaur phase
- Clean-up phase
1. Event Phase
In this phase an event card is drawn that relates to the current round. Depending on the round, it is either a day event or a night event.
During this phase the starting player reveals an event card from the face-down deck. There are 2 kinds of event cards: day events and night events. If the round counter is on a white number, it is day and a day event is drawn. If it is on a black number, it is night and a night event is drawn.
Resolve the event on the card. Some effects last the whole round (round icon), others take effect immediately only (lightning icon). Some may not apply to the current situation. If that is the case, nothing happens.
2. Lava Phase
This phase begins only in round 9 and occurs in every subsequent round until the end of the game.
In this phase a lava card with a specific area is drawn, and in that area several hex fields are covered by lava tiles. Dinosaurs on an affected field take damage.
In rounds 9 and 10 no lava card is drawn. Instead, place lava hexes on the prescribed locations in the middle of the island.
From round 11 onward, the starting player draws a lava card. The colour on the lava card shows for which of the four areas on the game board it applies. Resolve the card by placing lava tiles on the corresponding fields in the drawn area.
Lava is described in more detail on pages 15 and 16 (see the lava section below).
3. Action Phase
During this phase the players alternately perform actions, reveal locations, fight or flee from dinosaurs, and try to fulfil their goals.
Beginning with the starting player and then going clockwise, the players take their turns. A player can spend up to 3 action points during their turn. As soon as they have used or passed all 3 action points, their turn ends.
An action allows the player to move their character, fulfil goals, fight dinosaurs, or escape from them. During this phase players perform many different actions and must understand various procedures, such as combat and location actions. Therefore the following action types are presented in simplified form here and explained in more detail later.
- Basic actions: These are listed on the character board. All characters can perform these actions, and they normally cost the same action points. They are described in detail on the back of this booklet.
- Special actions: These are listed on the character board. Almost all characters can perform the same actions, and they cost the same action points. They are described in detail on the back of this booklet. How often a character can perform a special action is limited and is shown by green energy cubes. Each time a special action is performed, remove one energy cube from that action. This is called "using up 1 energy" (erschöpfe 1 Energie).
- Location actions: These can be activated at certain locations. Players may only perform this kind of action while they are at that location. Some locations need power (Strom) before their action can be used.
- Item actions: Some items require an action point to use them, others do not. Some items are discarded after use, while others can be used repeatedly. Some items improve an action you already have (for example, a weapon improves an attack).
- Encounter actions: Some encounters offer the possibility of performing an action. Unless otherwise stated, this type of action costs NO action points.
Dinosaur Phase
Dinosaurs seem to have simple actions, but their turns are influenced in different ways. For this reason their actions are presented here in simplified form and explained in more detail later.
Beginning with the carnivore with the most life points (Lebenspunkte), and then in descending order of life points, the carnivores perform EXACTLY ONE action each: move (Bewegen), attack (Angreifen) or eat (Fressen).
As soon as all carnivores have performed an action, the herbivores perform their actions. Normally the herbivores pass and do nothing in their turn. Certain situations can, however, cause a herbivore to attack or move.
At the end of the dinosaur phase, remove all stunned (Betäubt) markers and distracted (Abgelenkt) markers. Then turn all narcotised (narkotisiert) markers over to their distracted side. Remove all panic markers from all dinosaurs that no longer have any reason to panic. Stand up all living dinosaurs that are lying on their side (behaviours are explained on page 11).
Booklet caption: Pachycephalosaurus (or Pachy for short) had a solid, bony dome on its head that was ten inches thick!
Clean-Up Phase (Aufräumphase)
In this phase the players remove certain components and prepare for the next round.
In a game of Sauria, dinosaurs and characters will probably die.
If a carnivore is on a field with a dead dinosaur or a dead character, leave their figures on the field. The carnivore performs the action Eat (Fressen) in the next dinosaur phase.
If a dinosaur is dead and no carnivore is on its field, remove its figure from the game board. If a character is dead and no carnivore is on the field, lay the character's figure on its side. Other characters may loot all items that are on the board of the dead character.
Remove the event card from the event space on the game board.
Move the round indicator one field further.
Pass the starting player marker to the next player clockwise.
Winning the Game
The player who collects the most victory points (Siegpunkte) AND survives on Isla Sauria is the winner.
Players receive victory points by reaching the goals on their goal cards and by fulfilling the requirements on certain encounter cards.
Surviving Isla Sauria is, however, the most important task. A player who has 10 victory points but has not survived would lose against a player with 0 victory points who did survive.
Goals (Ziele)
Each character has three goal cards. Each goal card contains four different but similar goals. Above each goal is a victory-point value: the top goal is worth four victory points, followed by goals worth three, two and one victory point.
The top goal, worth 4 victory points, is usually the most difficult. The fewer victory points a goal is worth, the easier it tends to be to reach.
When you reach a goal you do not have to tell the other players. Use object markers to record what you achieved in your turn. Some object markers simply serve to mark what you have done, while others act as items that must be carried in an item slot and are scored at the end of the game.
Example goal card (booklet illustration, "The true wonder of this place isn't on the guided tour."):
- 4 victory points: Trigger 4 encounters.
- 3 victory points: Tranquilise or stun a large carnivore.
- 2 victory points: End the game with 2 (object markers of the egg type).
- 1 victory point: Escape from Isla Sauria.
Object markers (the booklet shows eight marker types in a row: tent, target, film, butterfly, flask, dinosaur, shield and gear): these are used by every character as markers to track what they have achieved.
Object markers that must be carried as items (the booklet shows egg and DNA-type markers): these are carried as items and scored at the end of the game.
Surviving the Island (Die Insel überleben)
Isla Sauria is a dangerous place, and the players will probably have to work together in order to survive. There are 3 ways to survive Isla Sauria:
- Escape by helicopter (Flucht per Helikopter), from the helipad.
- Escape by boat (Flucht per Boot), from the docks.
- Survive in the bunker (überleben im Bunker).
Each type of survival has special prerequisites that must be created beforehand before it can be used at all. So it may happen that not every survival option is available in every game.
The three location tiles in the booklet read as follows (English text on the tiles):
- Helipad: If the emergency signal has been activated by round 13, all characters here escape at the end of round 16.
- Bunker: Characters are safe here.
- Docks: Place the boat in adjacent water. The boat is made with boat parts. (The booklet shows an additional cyan boat-parts tile, which is only partly legible in the print.)
Escape by Helicopter (Flucht per Helikopter)
To escape from Isla Sauria by helicopter requires 2 things:
- The emergency signal must be switched on by round 13. There are 2 ways to do this:
- Switch on the power (Strom) at the radio tower and send the emergency signal from there, OR
- Find and use the satellite phone (contained in the technology deck).
- Every character who wants to escape by helicopter must be on the helipad at the end of round 16.
Once the emergency signal has been sent, it cannot be reversed or switched off. This is not changed even if the power is switched off again or the radio tower is sabotaged.
Escape by Boat (Flucht per Boot)
To escape from Isla Sauria by boat requires 2 things:
- The boat must be repaired from the docks using the boat parts (contained in the mechanical deck). The boat parts card reads: "Allows the boat to be repaired using Repair. Discard after use."
- Every character who wants to escape by boat must be on the boat space (Bootsfeld) at the end of round 16.
Ending the Game in the Bunker (Das Spiel im Bunker beenden)
To end the game in the bunker requires 2 things:
- The bunker must be uncovered before round 10 (when it is covered with lava) and supplied with power (Strom).
- Every character who wants to end the game in the bunker must be in the bunker at the end of round 16.
Areas (Gebiete)
Isla Sauria is divided into 4 areas. They can be recognised by the different colours of the fields: blue, black, red and white.
Noises (Geräusche)
Noises are the main reason why dinosaurs are placed on the game board. Players cause noises in the areas in which they are located.
Noises are represented by black and red markers. For each noise a player causes, they must draw a noise marker from the bag that corresponds to the area they are in.
- If a black marker is drawn, nothing happens.
- If a red marker is drawn, a dinosaur card must be drawn and the matching dinosaur figure placed on the field where the red marker was drawn. If more than one red marker is drawn, exactly as many dinosaur cards must be drawn.
There are five basic ways to cause noise:
- Actions: Some actions have a noise symbol next to them. When performing such an action, a noise marker must be drawn.
- Movement: Moving into jungle fields or location fields that show a symbol also requires drawing noise markers.
- Events: Some events require the player to draw noise markers.
- Encounters: Some encounters offer options that require the player to draw noise markers.
- Night phase: During night rounds (black round numbers), all players who do not have a light source must draw one additional noise marker whenever they perform an action that contains at least one movement or at least one noise marker. This can cause a player to draw up to 2 additional noise markers. Example: the action "sprint" contains a movement and a noise marker.
When a player performs an action that causes noise, they must draw the noise marker from the bag that corresponds to the area in which their action ends. If at some point there are no noise markers left in a bag, the bag is refilled with the number of noise markers that were also used during setup.
Example 1: The palaeontologist moves onto a jungle field in the black area. The player must draw a noise marker from the black noise bag, because they moved onto a jungle field in the black area.
Example 2: The scientist sprints onto a jungle field in the black area and then on to a jungle field in the blue area. The player must draw three noise markers from the blue bag: 1 for the sprint, and 1 for each jungle field entered. Because the action ends in the blue area, the noise markers are drawn from the blue bag.
Dinosaurs
Surviving the dinosaurs of Isla Sauria is no easy task, so it is a great advantage to know how the dinosaurs behave on their turn.
Carnivores (Fleischfresser)
Carnivores are the greatest threat on Isla Sauria. They hunt players and herbivores, and sometimes they even hunt each other. They have a prey priority order (Rangfolge) when choosing their prey. The priority order states which prey they favour over others. If a carnivore is equally distant from 2 different types of prey, the priority order decides.
There are 2 kinds of carnivore, large carnivores and small carnivores, and each kind has its own prey priority order.
Large Carnivores (Große Fleischfresser)
They are the titans of the island: mighty, resilient and deadly. They ignore small carnivores except when eating.
Prey priority:
- Bleeding player (Blutiger Spieler)
- Player
- Large herbivores
- Small herbivores
- Large carnivores
- Pack hunters of the same species (no prey)
Example card: Allosaurus (number 6).
Small Carnivores (Kleine Fleischfresser)
They are somewhat smaller, but sometimes just as deadly as large carnivores. They ignore all large dinosaurs and other carnivores except when eating.
Prey priority:
- Bleeding player
- Player
- Small herbivores
- Pack hunters of the same species (no prey)
Example card: Dilophosaurus.
Carnivore Actions
In its turn a carnivore performs 1 of 3 actions: move, attack or eat. Players can determine the carnivores' actions quite simply with "if – then" rules.
- Move (Bewegen): If a carnivore is on a field WITHOUT prey and WITHOUT a dead character or dinosaur, it moves one field further towards the nearest prey (following its priority order!). A carnivore never moves onto or next to a lava field.
- Attack (Angriff): If a carnivore is on a field with at least one prey, it attacks that prey. If there are different types of prey on the field, the priority order decides. If a player is attacked, the dinosaur attacks only once. If a dinosaur is attacked, the attack continues until one of the dinosaurs dies.
- Eat (Fressen): If a carnivore is on a field with a dead character or dead dinosaur, it eats. As soon as a dinosaur eats, it becomes distracted (abgelenkt; explained below). Afterwards all dead characters and dinosaurs are removed from the field.
If a player tries to move away from a field with a carnivore, the carnivore immediately performs an additional attack.
Herbivores (Pflanzenfresser)
Herbivores are considerably more passive than carnivores, and in the right situation they can even serve the players as a useful distraction or diversion. However, herbivores can become aggressive when they are frightened or panicked, or when they are attacked. In their turn a herbivore performs 1 of the following 3 actions: move (if adjacent to a lava field), attack (if frightened or panicked), or pass.
Frightening a Herbivore
If a player moves onto a field with a herbivore and, in the same turn, moves off that field again, the herbivore is frightened and attacks.
Self-Defence
If a player attacks a herbivore, the herbivore becomes aggressive. (Explained in a later section.)
Dinosaur Behaviours (Verhaltensweisen der Dinosaurier)
Dinosaurs are living beings that show different behaviours. To keep track of temporary behaviour types (distracted, panicked, stunned, narcotised), players can use dino behaviour markers. Most behaviours end or improve at the end of the dinosaur phase.
Distracted (Abgelenkt): If a dinosaur is distracted, it does not attack and does not move in this round, unless it is attacked or is located adjacent to a lava field. This behaviour ends immediately when the dinosaur is attacked or is located adjacent to a lava field.
Panicked / Aggressive (Panisch / Aggressiv): If a dinosaur is located adjacent to a lava field, it always uses its action to move onto a field that is not adjacent to a lava field. If it cannot move onto any field that is not adjacent to lava, it becomes panicked. Panicked dinosaurs can neither move nor eat.
If the dinosaur is a carnivore, a herbivore that was attacked by a player, or a herbivore with the hostile symbol (Feindselig) on its dinosaur card, it is aggressive.
Panicked and aggressive dinosaurs attack, in the dinosaur phase, the players who are on the same field. They also attack players who are on the same field and try to leave it (unless the player has chosen "Evade"). Panicked and aggressive dinosaurs do not attack other dinosaurs.
Stunned (Betäubt): If a dinosaur is stunned, it cannot perform any action in this round. The dinosaur figure is laid on its side and the corresponding marker is placed on the dinosaur card.
Narcotised (Narkotisiert): If a dinosaur is narcotised, it cannot perform any action in this round and is distracted in the next round. The dinosaur figure is laid on its side and the corresponding marker is placed on the dinosaur card.
Pack Hunter (Rudeljäger): If dinosaurs of the same species with the pack hunter symbol are closer to each other than to any prey, they move towards each other. As soon as they are on a shared field, they count as one unit (pack) and move together or attack together.
Locations (Die Orte)
As already mentioned on page 4, there are 5 different location types: hazard locations (Gefahren-Orte), medical locations (Medizinische Orte), technology locations (Technologie-Orte), ranger locations (Ranger-Orte) and maintenance locations (Wartungs-Orte).
Translator's note on terms: the booklet calls the green-cross type "Überlebens-Orte" (survival locations) on page 4 and "Medizinische Orte" (medical locations) on page 12. These refer to the same location type, shown by the green-cross icon.
Hazard Locations (Gefahren-Orte)
Hazard locations cannot be searched for items and give no bonuses or additional abilities. They always have negative effects and often dangerous effects.
Medical Locations (Medizinische Orte)
Medical locations can be searched for items. These items help you stay alive, heal wounds, and form the edge of Isla Sauria.
Maintenance Locations (Wartungs-Orte)
Maintenance locations can be searched for items. They contain useful items for repairs, headlamps and torches. Boat parts can also be found at a maintenance location.
Ranger Locations (Ranger-Orte)
Ranger locations can be searched for items. Ranger items are almost all weapons, from the machete, through a pistol, up to the assault rifle.
Technology Locations (Technologie-Orte)
Technology locations can be searched for items. Technology items are often very useful and strong. They range from a rail cannon that kills every dinosaur in the park, down to a small bottle of T-Rex urine.
Location Symbols (Ortssymbole)
- Noise symbol (diamond with exclamation mark): Draw an additional noise marker when entering the field.
- Encounter symbol (dinosaur claw in a circle): The first player who enters this field triggers an encounter. (Encounters are explained in a later section.)
- Tunnel system symbol (tunnel entrance): Part of the tunnel system. Once the tunnel entrance has been uncovered, a player can spend 3 action points to move from a field with a tunnel-system symbol to any other field with that symbol.
- Power symbol (yellow warning triangle with lightning bolt): Power-capable fields (power is explained in a later section).
Encounters (Begegnungen)
Encounters are unique events that are triggered whenever a player enters a field with an encounter symbol. Encounters are carried out immediately when a player triggers them, even if the player has already spent all their action points.
If a location with an encounter symbol is uncovered without a player having been moved onto that field, place an encounter marker on the field/location. The first player who enters this field triggers the encounter.
After the location's encounter has been resolved, remove the encounter marker from the game board. Each location triggers only 1 encounter per game.
Some encounters allow the player to perform an action (for example move or attack). Unless otherwise stated, these actions cost NO action points. A player can therefore perform the action of an encounter card even though they have already spent all their action points. It is important to note that the actions of encounters follow the same rules as normal actions.
Example: An encounter allows a player to move. If it is the night phase, or if the player moves onto a jungle field, the player must draw one (additional) noise marker.
Power (Strom)
Locations with the power symbol are called power-capable locations or fields. At the start of the game the power is out. If a power-capable location is uncovered and the power is not yet switched on, place a power marker with its "Off" side facing up on the location. As soon as the power is switched on, turn the marker so that its "On" side faces up. Some locations need power as a prerequisite before their location action can be used.
There are 4 ways to switch the power back on for some or all locations:
- Repairing the power plant: As soon as the power plant is uncovered, it counts as sabotaged. When the power plant is repaired, all power-capable locations are supplied with power (exception: sabotaged locations).
- Emergency generator: The emergency generator can be used to switch on all power-capable locations in one area.
- Petrol (Benzin): Petrol is an item found in the maintenance cards. Petrol can be discarded to supply one power-capable location with power. The player must be on that location field to do so.
- Event: The event "Power surge" (Stromstoß) supplies all power-capable locations with power for the current round.
Location examples shown in the booklet (the small icons on these tiles are only partly legible in print):
- Aviary (hazard location, red border): It shows a noise symbol, a tunnel-system part and the hazard-location symbol. The tile text reads: "All characters with a blood cube are attacked with a red cube."
- Nursery (technology location, blue border, power-capable): The tile text reads "When powered on: place 2 [object marker icon]. Gain [object marker icon] for 1 [icon]." The final icon is not legible in print.
- Shed (maintenance location, yellow border): The tile text reads "No [icon] to Scour." It also shows an encounter symbol.
Combat (Kampf)
Players attacking dinosaurs, and dinosaurs attacking players or other dinosaurs, occur often in a game of Sauria. A fight is resolved by a dice roll.
In total there are 4 different kinds of attack dice and 3 possible results of a roll: no hit, hit and no retreat.
- If "no hit" is rolled, the die causes no damage, but the attack still counts as an attack action.
- If "hit" is rolled, 1 damage is counted for each hit.
- If "no retreat" is rolled, it counts as a hit, UNLESS this result is rolled when a player wants to leave a field with a dinosaur. In that case "no retreat" does not count as a hit; instead it prevents the player from leaving the field by moving. (The player can still suffer damage from other dice.)
The attack dice:
- Green dice: a low chance of a hit, little damage.
- Yellow dice: a medium chance of a hit, low damage, and a possibility of "no retreat".
- Red dice: a high chance of a hit, low to medium damage.
- Black dice: a very high chance of a hit, low to very high damage.
Example: The Ceratosaurus rolls one red, one yellow and one green attack die.
There are two kinds of attack: ranged (Fernkampf) and melee (Nahkampf). Dinosaurs always perform melee attacks.
Melee attacks can only be carried out when the attacker and the target are on the same field. If a player performs a melee attack and does not kill the dinosaur outright, the dinosaur then starts a counterattack.
IMPORTANT: A stunned or narcotised dinosaur never starts a counterattack.
Ranged attacks often require the player to be on the same field as the dinosaur. Some weapons, however, also allow an attack from an adjacent field. Dinosaurs do not respond to ranged attacks with a counterattack.
Against small dinosaurs, players can always carry out a melee attack with their fists, using a green die.
Weapons (Waffen)
Weapons can strengthen the players' attacks. Each weapon comes with a specific set of attack dice; these replace the player's standard attack dice.
- Melee weapons can be used as often as a player wants to attack.
- Ranged weapons need ammunition (Munition). When a ranged weapon is drawn, the corresponding number of red markers is placed on the card/weapon to represent the ammunition. With each attack one ammunition marker is used up. To attack with a ranged weapon, at least one ammunition marker must still be on the weapon.
Example: Shotgun. The shotgun has 4 shots (4 ammunition markers). Ammunition can be reloaded at the corresponding location type from which the weapon comes. In this case: ranger locations.
Each weapon has an attack value against large dinosaurs and one against small dinosaurs.
Example: Wrench. The wrench allows, for example, an attack with a yellow die against a small dinosaur. An attack on a large dinosaur is not possible with the wrench. The card also notes that repairing costs 1 action point.
Life Points and Wounds (Lebenspunkte & Wunden)
Each dinosaur has a certain number of life points. Place 1 red marker on the dinosaur's card for each damage it suffers. As soon as there are as many red damage markers on a dinosaur card as the dinosaur has life points, it is dead. Lay the dinosaur figure on its side and discard its card.
Each character board has 5 spaces for wound cards. When a player suffers damage, they draw as many wound cards as the damage they suffer. Each damage is placed in its own space, face down.
As soon as all 5 wound spaces are filled, the player must, for each further damage, turn over 1 wound card on their character board. Thereby 1 further damage becomes an impairing wound. When all 5 spaces with wounds are filled and every card has been turned face up, the character is dead.
Face-up wound cards have strong negative effects that make survival extremely difficult. It is therefore always best to heal damage, so as not to suffer the 6th damage that forces you to turn over the first wound card.
IMPORTANT: If a player must turn over a wound card because of an action they perform (for example, because they are leaving a field with an aggressive dinosaur), all effects of the wound card are resolved directly after the action ends.
Items (Gegenstände)
Through the actions "search" (suchen), "quick search" (Schnellsuche) or "scour" (durchkämmen), as well as through encounters and events, players can collect items at locations. There are 4 item decks, each matching one of the 4 location types that can be searched. When you perform one of the search actions at one of these locations, draw a card from the matching deck.
Items are placed in the spaces on the character board. If an item is shown horizontally on its card, it is placed across 2 spaces. At no time may a character own more items than they have spaces. If this situation arises, the player must discard the excess items.
Combat Example (Kampfbeispiel)
Emily plays the scientist. She moves onto a jungle field and draws a noise marker. It is a dinosaur noise marker, so she draws the top card of the dinosaur deck and reveals it. Since the card shows a Ceratosaurus, she places a Ceratosaurus figure on the game board and places the drawn card in her play area.
Emily has an assault rifle with 2 shots of ammunition and a machete. The machete allows only a green combat die against large dinosaurs and is also a melee weapon, which means the Ceratosaurus would strike back if she attacks with it. She decides to use the assault rifle for an attack.
She has already spent 1 action point to reach this field, so 2 action points remain in her turn. She spends 1 more action point to use the burst (Feuerstoß) action and uses up the corresponding energy.
The burst allows her to attack twice with one action. She rolls twice and rolls a total of 4 damage. The Ceratosaurus has only a single life point left after the attack, but it has survived. Because a burst is loud, Emily must then draw one more noise marker. She is lucky: she draws an empty (black) noise marker.
With her last action point she makes one more desperate attempt to kill the Ceratosaurus. She uses her machete and rolls. Unfortunately she rolls a blank face and thus does not hit. Since the machete is a melee weapon, the Ceratosaurus defends itself and strikes back. Emily rolls for the Ceratosaurus and suffers 2 damage as a result. Since she already has 4 wound cards on her character board, she takes a 5th wound card, and for the 2nd damage she turns over one of the 5 wound cards.
The turned-over wound card is a broken arm, which forces her to discard an item from her inventory. She decides to discard the assault rifle, since she has just fired it empty in the attack and without ammunition it no longer helps her in this situation.
Emily's turn is now over. After all other players have completed their turns, the dinosaur phase begins. The Ceratosaurus attacks Emily and inflicts 3 damage on her. She must therefore turn over 3 more wound cards: a broken leg, a punctured lung and a mangled hand.
Emily is in a bad way. The round ends: the event is read out, lava is placed, and the next action phase begins. Isaac is now the starting player. On his turn he moves next to the Ceratosaurus and shoots it with his tranquilliser pistol. Hit! The Ceratosaurus is stunned (betäubt).
Emily could take the opportunity to finish off the Ceratosaurus with her machete, since because of the stun it cannot strike back. But she decides instead to move onto the next field, to be safe.
"Thanks, but why did you help me?" asks Emily.
"One of my goals is to stun a large carnivore," laughs Isaac.
Booklet item cards shown in the example: the Assault Rifle (6), the Machete (a sturdy survival machete: draw one noise cube when moving through a jungle field), and the Tranq Pistol (3: a compact pistol that tranquilises dinosaurs on a hit but does no damage; reload on ranger locations).
Lava
Beginning with the 9th round, parts of Isla Sauria are covered by lava fields. Lava is a deadly threat that puts even the most dangerous dinosaurs on the island to flight. Lava fields are laid out systematically, yet they will bring unrest and chaos into the game.
Dinosaurs will always use their movement to remove themselves from an adjacent lava field. They will never enter a field that is adjacent to a lava field, let alone a lava field itself. Should they ever be unable to leave an adjacent lava field as described, they fall into panic (see the dinosaur behaviours on page 11).
Lava fields destroy the locations they cover; any effects or abilities of those locations are lost.
Lava fields cause severe damage. If a player moves onto a lava field, or their own field is covered by lava, players and dinosaurs suffer 5 damage! Using lava to scare off dinosaurs is a very risky, but also effective, move.
First Eruptions (Erste Ausbrüche)
The lava phase is skipped completely in the first 8 rounds. From round 9, lava begins to flow out of the volcano and will cover the complete centre of the island.
- Round 9: Lava fields are placed on the inner ring of fields adjacent to the volcano.
- From round 10: Lava fields are placed on the four locations of zone 1. If the bunker has been uncovered and supplied with power, its doors lock automatically and protect it from destruction. The bunker is then placed on the lava field and can only be reached via the tunnel network. If the bunker has been neither uncovered nor supplied with power, it is destroyed and covered by a lava field.
Eruptions (Ausbrüche)
After the first two eruptions it is no longer possible to foresee where the lava will flow. In every following lava phase a lava card is drawn. These cards each show an area colour. If, for example, blue is drawn, the lava flows over the blue fields. The more often a colour is drawn, the closer the lava comes to the coast.
- When a colour is drawn for the first time: cover all fields of that area's colour that are adjacent to the inner lava ring or to a zone 1 field.
- When a colour is drawn for the second time: cover all fields of the corresponding colour that are not coastal fields, i.e. that do not border the ocean.
- When a colour is drawn for the third and final time: cover all fields in this area that show a road or jungle.
The probability of drawing all three cards of one colour is low, but not impossible. If it happens, every field of this area should be covered with lava, except for the zone 3 locations.
Booklet diagrams: the diagrams show the lava placement for round 9 eruption and round 10 eruption, and note that the bunker is not covered in round 10 because the power has been switched on.
Lava Example
The following is an example of the lava phase, beginning in round 11.
- Round 11: During the lava phase the starting player draws a lava card. It shows the blue area. It is also the first blue card drawn. All blue fields that border the inner ring and zone 1 are now covered with lava fields.
- Round 12: The starting player draws another lava card. This time it shows the white area, and it is also the first white card to come into the game. Therefore all white fields that border the inner ring and zone 1 are now covered with lava fields.
- Round 13: The second blue lava card is drawn. All fields of the blue area that do not border the ocean are now covered with lava.
- Round 14: The lava card turns out to be the third blue card. All fields in the blue area that show jungle or road are now covered with lava.
- Round 15: The first red lava card is drawn. Again, all fields of the red area that border the inner ring and zone 1 fields are covered with lava.
- Round 16: The starting player draws the second red card during the lava phase, so all fields of the red area that do not border the ocean are now covered with lava.
Solo Adventure (Solo Abenteuer)
Sauria has a relatively short solo mode with a big challenge. A solo game lasts about 30 to 45 minutes. The rules and the course of play are fairly similar to the multiplayer game.
Solo Setup (Spielaufbau)
Follow the set-up instructions on pages 6 and 7 with the following differences:
- Step 1: Drawing the goal card. If the drawn card does not show the following symbol (a single-figure icon), discard it and draw a new one.
- Step 2: No changes.
- Step 3: Follow the instructions as in a 2-player game.
- Step 4: Remove the boat parts and satellite phones from the item decks.
- Step 5: Follow the instructions as in a 2-player game.
- Step 6: Even if there is no reason to determine a starting player, you should still tell yourself a good dinosaur joke.
- Step 7: Place the emergency signal marker on its designated space and turn it to the switched-on (On) side.
- Step 8: No changes.
- Step 9: Place your character on a zone 1 field as in the normal setup. Then uncover all zone 1 and zone 2 location fields. Place power markers (with the switched-off side facing up) on all uncovered power-capable fields, except the bunker. Turn the power marker for the bunker to its switched-on side.
Surviving and Winning in Solo Mode
In solo mode your goal is to end the game with 10 victory points.
There is a lot to do and you must hurry, so you have 4 action points instead of the usual 3.
Last but not least, the emergency signal has already been sent, the power in the bunker has been switched on, and the boat has already been repaired. This means that to escape from the island by boat or helicopter, you only need to reach the corresponding fields before the game ends. To end the game in the bunker, you do not need to take care of the power supply there.
If you end the game with fewer than 10 victory points, you have lost. This is a big challenge. For an easier start, you can also try to reach 7 victory points at first, and then work your way up to 10.
Rule Clarifications (Regel Klarstellungen)
This section of the booklet is for everyone who is already familiar with the basic rules but still has one or another open question because of special game situations.
Players (Spieler)
Players can have different status effects, and special rules apply in different situations.
Bleeding (Blutig): Players can start bleeding because of some encounters, location effects and wound cards. When a player bleeds, place a red blood cube on or next to their character board.
As long as you are bleeding, you are the top target for dinosaur attacks and the preferred prey of all carnivores. In addition, with some event cards and the aviary, you become a target. A further disadvantage is that you cannot hide while you are bleeding.
Bleeding therefore has very negative effects, so you should bandage it as soon as possible, with a bandage, a first-aid kit or through a location ability. NOTE: Resting never removes the blood cube. Even if resting removes the wound that caused the blood cube, the blood cube remains.
Trading (Tauschen): Even though it is not mentioned on the character boards, players who are on the same field can exchange items with each other. This costs the active player 1 action point (no matter how many items are exchanged). There are only 2 conditions: the other player must agree to the trade, and both players must have enough inventory spaces to accommodate all the traded items. Only items and object markers that occupy an item slot (for example eggs) can be traded.
Death (Tod): Once a player has revealed their 5th wound card, they are immediately killed and eliminated from the game.
When a player dies, their figure is laid on the field where they were killed. All other players may later in the game come to this field and loot the items or object markers of the dead player, for 1 action point each. They do not need the dead player's consent.
As soon as a carnivore arrives at the dead character's field and eats them, the figure is removed from the game board and nobody can loot this character any more.
Shooting each other (Beschuss untereinander): At no time may a player shoot at or attack another player. Some items and events bring the other players into difficult situations; that is permitted.
Detailed Dinosaur Matters (Dinosaurier detaillierte Einzelheiten)
Situations can arise with the prey priority, and with several dinosaurs on one field, that were not explained in the previous sections.
Dinosaur combat (Dinosaurierkampf): When dinosaurs fight each other, their attacks should be rolled simultaneously and not one after the other. Damage suffered should also be applied simultaneously after each attack.
So it is possible for 2 dinosaurs in the same combat round to fall to 0 life points and therefore both kill each other simultaneously.
Equal distance with equal prey (Gleiche Entfernung bei gleicher Beute, Rangfolge):
- If 2 or more dinosaurs or players are the same distance from a carnivore and are at the same position in its prey priority (for example 2 players), which prey does the carnivore move towards? The current starting player decides.
- If 2 or more dinosaurs or players on the same field as a carnivore are also at the same position in the prey priority, whom does the carnivore attack? If they are dinosaurs of the same prey priority, the current starting player decides. If they are players who are also at the same position in the prey priority, the player who entered the field first is attacked.
Several dinosaurs on one field (Mehrere Dinosaurier auf einem Feld):
- If 1 carnivore is on a field with several herbivores, the carnivore attacks the herbivore with the highest prey rank (in case of a tie, the current starting player decides). Then both or all herbivores attack the carnivore. This repeats until either both herbivores or the carnivore are dead.
- If 2 or more carnivores are on a field with 2 or more herbivores, the carnivores attack the animal with the highest prey rank (in case of a tie, the current starting player decides). The herbivores then attack first the carnivore with the fewest remaining life points (in case of a tie, the current starting player decides).
- If small and large carnivores are on a field with small and large herbivores, the small carnivores attack the small herbivores and the large carnivores attack the large herbivores. Should the small carnivores be killed in the process by the small herbivores, the large carnivores attack the small herbivores as soon as the fight against the large herbivores has been won.
- If 2 or more large carnivores (not pack hunters of the same species) and herbivores are on the same field, and the carnivores have killed the herbivores, the carnivores fight each other until only 1 carnivore (or pack) remains.
Small carnivores (Kleine Fleischfresser): Compared with large carnivores, small carnivores have a shorter prey priority. Small carnivores ignore large herbivores and large carnivores.
Hunting in a pack (Jagen im Rudel): If 2 or more pack hunters of the same species are on one field, they form a pack. A pack never separates by itself; it always moves forward together and also attacks together, the same prey.
Pack hunters are stronger together than alone. For each additional pack member, roll one additional yellow die. Example: a pack of 3 raptors rolls a total of 5 dice: 3 red dice (1 for each raptor) plus 2 yellow dice (1 for each additional member beyond the first). If a pack member dies, do not forget to roll the corresponding number of dice fewer.
The Raptor Pack (Das Raptorenrudel)
It can happen that raptors form a pack naturally, or are moved onto the same field by events or movement. But whenever the game refers to "the raptor pack", it means THE raptor pack consisting of the 3 raptors.
When the Raptor Pack card is drawn, discard it, find the 3 pack member raptor cards and place them in the play area. Additionally, place all 3 matching dinosaur figures on the field. (Setup step 5 sets aside the 3 double-sided raptor pack cards.)
There are further raptors, and other individual raptors can be drawn into the pack. A pack of 6 raptors is entirely possible, and frightening.
Special Locations (Besondere Orte)
Helicopter Landing Pad (Helikopter Landeplatz)
The helicopter landing pad is one of 2 locations from which the players can leave the island. If the emergency signal is switched on by round 13, the helicopter comes and rescues everyone who is on the landing pad at the end of round 16. Any player who is already on the landing pad beforehand remains in the game as normal and can still be attacked by dinosaurs.
Boat / Docks (Boot / Bootsanlegestelle)
From the docks the boat can be repaired. The boat is an independent location on the game board. It lies in the ocean, adjacent to the docks. The players can flee on the boat as soon as it is repaired. Players on the boat are protected from most threats: dinosaurs cannot reach the boat, and no noise markers need to be drawn on the boat, not even when an event card asks for it.
If players suffer damage through an event card or by revealing a location, this also affects players who are on the boat.
Players who end the game at the docks are not rescued and are not in safety, and they lose the game.
Access to the Tunnel System (Zugang zum Tunnelsystem)
To be able to use the bunker, it needs power. As long as the bunker has no power, it offers no protection. As soon as the power in the bunker has been switched on once, the players in it are protected from every danger. Players in the bunker do not need to draw noise markers, are not attacked, and remain spared from the negative effects of event cards. As soon as the bunker is covered with lava, dinosaurs can no longer breed there.
If a player is in the bunker and another player switches the power off, the player in the bunker remains safe, but nobody else can enter the bunker as long as the power has not been switched on again.
As soon as the bunker is covered with lava, the only way into the bunker is via the tunnel system (symbol: tunnel entrance).
Saboteur Special Rules (Besonderheiten der Saboteurin)
Uncovering the access to the tunnel system allows all players to use the tunnel system. As long as the access has not been uncovered, the players cannot use the tunnel system (except the saboteur).
If the tunnel access is uncovered, players can spend 3 action points to move from a location with the tunnel symbol to another location with the tunnel symbol.
Saboteur Special Cases (Saboteur Besonderheiten)
During the game, some situations can arise that concern or influence the goals of the saboteur.
- When a sabotage marker is repaired, turn it over to its repaired side. This shows that the location has been repaired, and at the same time that the saboteur had previously sabotaged the location, which counts towards their goals.
- When the power plant is uncovered, a sabotage marker is placed on it. If this automatic sabotage is never repaired during the game, the sabotage also counts towards the saboteur's achieved goals. If the power plant is repaired, remove the sabotage marker from the game.
Noises at Night (Geräusche in der Nacht)
Within the night rounds (rounds with a black number on the round track), noises are caused more quickly, and even simple movements can escalate more quickly.
If a player moves, they must draw one additional noise marker. This applies to every action that shows the movement symbol. Evading (movement plus evade symbol) also requires drawing a noise marker at night, even if the player evades onto a road field. Even sneaking (movement, with a reduced noise value) would cause noise, whereby the noise markers would effectively cancel each other out, as long as the player does not sneak onto a field that also causes noise (for example a jungle field). In that case the player must draw 1 noise marker.
Example: sneaking onto a jungle field at night:
- +1 movement at night
- +1 movement onto a jungle field
- -1 sneaking
- = 1 noise marker
In the night phase you must also, for actions that already cause 1 noise marker by day, draw 1 further noise marker. Example: the burst (Feuerstoß), which attacks twice, causes 1 noise marker by day. If you use the burst at night, you must draw 2 noise markers.
If a player performs an action with several movement or noise symbols, they do not have to draw an additional marker for every single symbol. Instead they draw only 1 additional marker for the movement symbols and 1 for the noise symbols.
Example: the sprint (rennen) shows two movement symbols and one noise symbol. At night the player must draw 2 additional noise markers.
Note on the sprint: the earlier noise example in the Noises section describes the sprint as containing one movement and one noise marker, while this section shows two movement symbols and one noise symbol for the sprint. Both are reproduced as printed.
Example of the most noise-heavy action in Sauria: the advisor (Beraterin) uses the action "sprint" (three movement symbols and two noise symbols), running through 2 jungle fields and landing on the game trail (Wildpfad). All of this happens in the night phase.
- Sprint: +2 noise
- Jungle: +2 noise
- Location: +3 noise
- Night phase: +2 noise
- Total: 9 noise markers
That is a lot of noise markers! The simplest way to avoid noise at night is to own an item that counts as a light source, for example a torch (Taschenlampe). This cancels all the noise that would arise in the night phase.
Frequently Asked Questions (Aufkommende Fragen)
The bag of noise markers is empty! When noise markers are drawn, it is sensible to place the drawn markers near the bag from which they were taken. Should a bag ever be empty, all noise markers that were drawn from that bag are put back into it. This should be the same number as at game setup, so that you can check there again if necessary.
The dinosaur card deck is empty! It can happen that the dinosaur deck is completely used up. If this is the case, the players cannot draw any further noise markers, since no further dinosaurs can be placed on the game board. Through some events and encounters, however, dinosaurs can still be bred.
There are also situations in which dinosaur cards are added to the dinosaur deck. If this happens when the deck was already empty, dinosaurs can again be placed from that moment on, and therefore drawing noise markers must also resume from that moment.
What do I do with discarded items? Players can discard as many items as they like at any time during their turn. This costs no action points and can even be done while the player is drawing new items.
Each discarded item is removed from the game. Items are limited on Isla Sauria so that they can run out.
What happens to the cards of killed dinosaurs? Dinosaurs do die in Sauria (very sad, yes). If a dinosaur dies, remove its figure (according to the clean-up phase rules on page 9) and add its card to the dinosaur discard pile. It can therefore happen that the same dinosaur card is revealed several times (they must be twins that you did not know about yet).
From which deck are the dinosaurs taken that are placed by encounters? Whenever an encounter says "place a (dinosaur)" and does not explicitly name a card deck, look first through the discard pile. If you cannot find the dinosaur you are looking for there, search through the dinosaur deck.
If you take the card from the dinosaur deck and you know which stage it is in, skip the other stages, then reveal cards one after another from the top of the correct stage until you reveal the card you are looking for. Once you have found it, shuffle all other revealed cards of that stage and place the individual stages back together into one dinosaur deck, as before.
Variants (Varianten)
Although the base game has only 2 modes, "Standard" and "Solo Adventure", there are some ways to vary the game a little.
Cooperative (Kooperativ)
Sauria is actually a semi-cooperative game: although you work together to escape, you also compete for the most victory points, and it is not always in your interest to help others.
If you want to experience a purely cooperative game, you only need to change a few rules a little. The game itself remains nearly the same; only the win condition is different. It no longer tries to have each player collect the most victory points. Instead, the whole group must reach a set number of victory points together, so each player tries to help everyone else. Only a few rules change.
- As in the Solo Adventure, when drawing goal cards: if you draw a goal card without the single-figure symbol, discard it and draw a new one.
- All players start from the same field. The players must therefore agree before the start of the game on 1 starting field in zone 1.
- To calculate the target, the number of players is multiplied by 8. In a full cooperative game with 3 players, the group must therefore reach 24 victory points together. How many victory points each individual player ultimately contributes to the total does not matter. What matters is the sum of 24 points.
- There is one catch: none of the characters may be killed in the cooperative variant. As soon as one player dies, the game is over. In this variant you are a team, since nobody should be left behind.
Easier Mode (Einfacher Modus)
Sauria can be especially hard for younger or less experienced players. If one player always dies quickly or is always eaten, you can adjust a few things to make it a little easier and more pleasant.
- Remove all encounters with the negative (minus) symbol.
- When building the dinosaur deck: replace 1 stage-2 dinosaur with 1 stage-1 dinosaur; replace 1 stage-3 dinosaur with 1 stage-2 dinosaur; replace 1 stage-4 dinosaur with 1 stage-3 dinosaur.
- Try to start with the setup from the Solo Adventure. Uncover all zone 1 and zone 2 locations. Turn the emergency signal to its "On" side. Switch on the power in the bunker, and when the boat is uncovered, do not place a sabotage marker on it.
Harder Mode (Schwerer Modus)
Experienced players might seek an even greater challenge. Perhaps they need this thrill; perhaps they need the pain. (Who knows; we are after all not here to judge.) Only a few small adjustments turn Sauria from a dinosaur park into your personal dinosaur hell.
- Remove all encounters with the positive (plus) symbol.
- When building the dinosaur deck: replace 1 stage-1 dinosaur with 1 stage-2 dinosaur; replace 1 stage-2 dinosaur with 1 stage-3 dinosaur; replace 1 stage-3 dinosaur with 1 stage-4 dinosaur.
- Start the lava phase already in round 7 instead of round 9.
- During the day, draw only events from the night deck.
Jurassic Mode (Jurassic Modus)
If you like the difficulty level in general, but after a few games of Sauria you feel that everything always runs relatively similarly, only a few small changes are needed, and every game becomes completely different. Be warned, however: the game played this way is not quite as fair and forgiving as the standard mode.
- Dinosaur deck: Build the dinosaur deck as described in the setup. Once all cards have been added, shuffle the deck completely once. Then another player lifts the deck once. In this variant the dinosaur cards are drawn from the bottom instead of from the top, so no one knows at any time which dinosaur will come into the game next.
- Event deck: Proceed similarly. Take 10 day events and 10 night events and form a stack from them. Shuffle this stack thoroughly and lift it once. In this variant too, events are drawn from the bottom, so that nobody knows which event will be drawn next.
- Starting field: Not every player chooses a starting field in zone 1. Instead, the group decides together on a shared starting field in zone 3.
You can play with all or only a selection of these changes. If you want real variety, however, you should play with all of them.
Quick Reference (Kurzübersicht)
The booklet's final page is a quick reference. Action costs are shown by coloured icons: green for 1 action point, yellow for 2 action points, red for 3 action points.
Actions (Aktionen)
Basic actions (Basisaktionen)
- Move (Bewegen), 1 AP: Move onto an adjacent field.
- Attack (Angreifen), 1 AP: Attack a dinosaur.
- Quiet move (Leise bewegen), 2 AP: Move onto an adjacent field without drawing a noise marker.
- Search (Suchen), 2 AP: Draw 1 item from the deck that matches the location you are on.
- Reload (Nachladen), 2 AP: Refill the ammunition markers, using 1 item that matches the location type you are standing on.
- Rest (Ausruhen), 3 AP: Refill all used energy. Heal 1 damage.
- Repair (Reparieren), 3 AP: Turn a sabotage marker over to its "repaired" side.
Special actions (Spezialaktionen)
- Sneak (Schleichen), 1 AP: Move onto an adjacent field and draw 1 noise marker fewer.
- Sprint (Rennen), 1 AP: Move 2 fields and draw 1 additional noise marker.
- Burst (Feuerstoß), 1 AP: Attack 1 dinosaur twice and draw 1 additional noise marker.
- Quick search (Schnellsuche), 1 AP: Draw 1 item from the deck that matches your location, and draw 1 additional noise marker.
- Evade (Ausweichen), 2 AP: Move onto an adjacent field and suffer no attack from a dinosaur.
- Scour (Durchkämmen), 3 AP: Draw 3 cards from the deck that matches your location. Keep 1 and discard 2.
- Hide (Verstecken), 3 AP: Lay your figure on its side. You are invisible to dinosaurs until you take an action other than resting. This action cannot be performed while you have a blood cube.
Phases (Phasen)
- Event phase (Ereignisphase): Draw 1 event card (day or night) and resolve its effect.
- Lava phase (Lavaphase, from round 9): In rounds 9 and 10 the inner ring and the zone 1 locations are covered. In rounds 11 to 16, 1 lava card is drawn each round and lava tiles are placed in the area shown on the card.
- Action phase (Aktionsphase): Players perform their actions, beginning with the starting player and going clockwise.
- Dinosaur phase (Dinosaurierphase): Dinosaur actions are performed. Then the "stunned", "distracted" and "panicked" markers are removed (where necessary). The "narcotised" markers are turned over.
- Clean-up phase (Aufräumphase): Dead dinosaurs (lying on their side) that are not on the same field as a carnivore are removed. Move the round marker one field forward. Pass the starting player marker clockwise to the next player.
How to Win (Wie gewinnt man)
Victory points (Siegpunkte): You receive victory points by reaching your personal character goals and by triggering certain encounters.
Surviving (Überleben): To survive Isla Sauria you must leave the island either by helicopter or by boat. Another possibility is to seek protection in the bunker. Each of these possibilities requires a few things to be done first before it can be used. You should therefore also cooperate to secure your survival.
The location tiles in the quick reference read as follows:
- Helipad: If the signal is on by round 13, all players here escape at the end of round 16.
- Boat: Starts with a marker (the icon is not legible in print). Dinosaurs cannot move here. Must be repaired with boat parts before players can move here. Players here are safe.
- Bunker: Players are safe here.
Staying alive (Am Leben bleiben): All victory points and all cooperation are ultimately worth nothing if you are killed. You have room for a total of 5 wound cards on your character board. The first 5 wound cards you must draw are at first only damage. But as soon as you have filled all 5 wound spaces and suffer further damage, you must reveal 1 wound card for each further damage. If you reveal the 5th wound card, your character is killed and you drop out of the game.
If you are not at the helicopter, on the boat or in the bunker at the end of round 16, you also die. If you die, you have lost. So always pay attention to this!