The Settlers of Zarahemla Rulebook

Table of Contents

How to Use This Handbook
Game Summary
Complete Game Rules
Specific Actions
Special Actions
Winning the Game (The End of the Game)
Quick Reference Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Game Components

How to Use This Handbook

Game Summary – Start here by reading over the 10-point Game Summary which will give you a brief introduction of how to play The Settlers of Zarahemla.

Game Rules – These rules will teach you everything you need to know to play the game.

Quick Reference Guide – This part contains additional definitions and examples to answer every question about the game.

Game Summary

Here is a brief, 10-point overview of The Settlers of Zarahemla to help you get started. After reading this introduction, please review the complete rules prior to your first playing.

The land of Zarahemla lies before you. The land consists of 19 terrain hexes surrounded by jungle, a scoring track and the Temple of Zarahemla. Your goal is to settle the land and expand your territory to become the largest tribe in Zarahemla.
There are five types of resource hexes and one Gadianton Robber Hideout in Zarahemla. Each resource type produces a different kind of resource:
- Green produces Wood
- Red produces Brick
- Blue produces Water
- Yellow produces Wheat
- Gray produces Stone
- Brown produces nothing (Gadianton Robber Hideout)
You begin the game with two Settlements and two Roads (unless you are playing a two-player game, in which you will start with three Settlements and three Roads). Each Settlement is worth one Victory Point. The first player to acquire 12 Victory Points wins the game.
To gain more Victory Points, you must build new Roads and Settlements or upgrade Settlements into Cities. Each City is worth two Victory Points. To build new Settlements or to upgrade to Cities, you need resources. You can also earn Victory Points by purchasing Development Cards and by helping to build the Temple at Zarahemla.
How do you acquire resources? It's simple. Each turn, a dice roll determines which hexes (indicated by the numbered markers) will produce resources. If, for example, a "5" is rolled, then all terrain hexes containing the "5" produce resources. One of the hexes may produce Brick and the other Stone.
Players can only collect resources if they own a Settlement or a City that borders a hex producing a resource. If the red Settlement (A) borders on Brick and the blue Settlement (B) borders on Stone, then a dice roll of "5" gives the red player Brick and the blue player Stone.
Since Settlements and Cities usually border on multiple terrain types (up to a maximum of three), it is possible, depending on the dice roll, to harvest a variety of resources. A red Settlement C bordering on Wheat, Water and Wood can collect resources from all three of these hexes when the appropriate number is rolled. A yellow Settlement D on the jungle border, bordering only on Wheat and Water, can only collect resources from those two hexes when the appropriate number is rolled. (Neither the Gadianton Robber Hideout – in brown – nor the Jungle produce any resources.)
Trade is a critical element in the game. It is, of course, impossible for you to have Settlements or Cities everywhere (You only have five Settlements and four City pieces!). Therefore, you may have to do without certain resources. This can be tough, for all new construction requires specific combinations of resources. For this reason, you can trade with the other players. Make them an offer, or let them make you an offer. If you trade successfully, you might just get the card you need to build a new Road or Settlement!
A new Settlement can only be built on an unoccupied intersection and only if you have a Road leading to that intersection. All Settlements must be at least two intersections apart.

Complete Game Rules

This section contains the complete game rules for The Settlers of Zarahemla. If you have additional questions after reading through these rules, please refer to the "Zarahemla Quick Reference Guide" below.

Constructing the Land of Zarahemla

Setup is quick and easy. The hex strips are double-sided so that you can create a variable board that is different every time you play. Setup proceeds as follows:

Unfold the board and place it on the playing surface.
Find the 5-hex strip and pick one of the sides. Then place this strip in the middle of the cut-out area. It can go vertical, horizontal or halfway in between. It should fit into the board like a puzzle piece.
Now it is time to place the number markers: take both of the 4-hex strips and place them on either side of the 5-hex strip.
Now take both of the 3-hex strips and put them on either side of the four-hex strips.
You have now setup the land of Zarahemla! Notice that depending on the way you lay the strips, what order you put them in and what side you lay them on, you can have a different setup every time you play.
Each number marker displays a letter of the alphabet. Place the number markers on the board in alphabetical order beginning with the letter A, starting on an outside perimeter hex of your choice and continuing counterclockwise. The Gadianton Robber Hideout (brown hex) does not receive a number marker.

The setup phase now begins.

Setup Phase

After the board has been built, each player chooses a color and receives the corresponding game pieces:

5 Settlements
4 Cities
15 Roads
10 Temple Stones
1 Scoring Marker
1 Building Cost Card of the matching color

The Resource Cards, with the gold "Z" on their backs, are sorted and placed face up on the corresponding places on the board. The Development Cards, with the silver "Z" on their backs, are shuffled and placed face down on the corresponding area of the board.

Take out the dice and the three special cards (Longest Road, Largest Army, and Greatest Temple Contributor) and place them on the table next to the board.

The Gadianton Robber (black pawn) is placed on the Gadianton Robber Hideout (brown hex).

On the playing board, there is a scoring track numbered 1 through 12. Use the scoring track to track the number of Victory Points each player has during the game. Place your scoring marker on the scoring track. In a game of two players, each player will start with his Victory Point marker on the third space (Roman Numeral III). In a game with three or four players, each player will start with his Victory Point marker on the second space (Roman Numeral II).

Determine Who Will Start First

Each player rolls the dice and the player with the highest roll goes first. Play then proceeds clockwise.

Placement of Starting Settlements and Roads

In a game of two players, each player begins the game with three Settlements and three Roads. In a game of three or four players, each player begins the game with two Settlements and two Roads.

The first player may place one Settlement on the intersection of any numbered resource hex. The first player then places his first Road. Each Road must connect to the player's Settlement.

Hint: It is preferable to place your first Settlements in between three numbered hexes to increase your chances of resource production.

Example: The blue player has placed his Settlement in the middle of three numbered hexes so he may collect resources from all three hexes. He then places his Road between the "12" and the "8" hex.

Proceeding clockwise, each player places one Settlement and one Road. You can not build a Settlement that is adjacent to another Settlement or City (including your own). You can only build a Settlement on a vacant corner only if all of the adjacent corners are all vacant! After the last player places his first Settlement, then he immediately places his second Settlement and the others follow in a counter-clockwise order. In other words, the player who places first is first and last to put Settlements on the board.

In a two-player game, the first player places his first Settlement, then the second player places two Settlements, then the first player places two more Settlements and then the second player finishes with his last Settlement.

Next, each player selects one of his Settlements and receives one Resource Card of the appropriate type for each numbered terrain hex that borders the player's chosen Settlement. Note: Resource Cards are held concealed in the player's hand.

Example: The blue player has chosen this Settlement to receive his starting resources at the beginning of the game. He will receive one Water, one Wood and one Brick resource.

Note: The second (or third if you are playing two players) Settlement can be entirely independent of the first, as long as the distance rule is observed. The second Road must be placed adjacent to the second Settlement.

Note: In receiving your starting hand of resource cards, if you decide to choose a Settlement that lies on the jungle and your Settlement only borders one or two resource hexes, then you will only receive one or two Resource Cards to start the game.

Turn Overview

The player who rolled the highest number goes first. The first player starts and then each player does the following, in order, during his turn:

Plays one Development Card at any time, even before rolling the dice (optional).
Rolls for resource production (mandatory).
Trades, builds, and buys in any order (optional).
Then passes the dice to the player on the left, who continues the game (mandatory). The order of play always proceeds clockwise.

Note: You cannot play a development card that you just purchased during your turn. You must wait until your next turn to play it. The only exception is if you just purchased a Victory Point development card and playing it will allow you to win the game immediately.

Specific Actions

Resource Production

Each player begins his turn by rolling the dice. The number rolled determines which hexes produce resources. Each of the five different types of hexes produces a different resource:

Red produces Brick
Green produces Wood
Blue produces Water
Yellow produces Wheat
Gray produces Stone
Brown produces nothing (Gadianton Robber Hideout)

Each player who has a Settlement bordering a numbered hex marked with the number rolled on the dice, receives one Resource Card of the type that hex produces.

Example: If the production roll is a "12" then the blue player would receive one Wheat Resource Card. If the roll is a "10" the player would receive one Wood Resource Card. If the roll is an "8" the player would receive one Stone Resource Card.

The more often a number is rolled, the more each associated hex produces resources. Note the dots beneath the numbers on the markers. The greater the number of dots, the more likely it is that number will be rolled. The "6" and the "8" are the most frequently rolled numbers and are marked in red. They each have five dots because there are five ways to roll these numbers on two dice. The "2" and the "12" are marked with one dot and are colored blue. These are the resources that are least likely to be rolled during the game.

Each player who has a City bordering the producing hex receives two of the given Resource Cards instead of one. Each player who has more than one Settlement and/or City bordering the producing hex receives one Resource Card for each of his adjacent Settlements and two Resource Cards for each of his adjacent Cities.

Exception: The hex containing the Gadianton Robber never produces any resources. See "Rolling a 7" under "Special Actions".

Trade

Players may trade for resources.

Trading With Other Players

You may trade resources with the other players. You may announce which resources you need and what you are willing to give in return. You are free to accept offers from other players and to make counter proposals. The sky is the limit here, so have fun!

Important: Only the player whose turn it is can initiate a trade. The other players may not trade among themselves.

Trading Posts

You can also trade without the participation of the other players. Regardless of the locations of your Settlements and Cities, you can always make a 4:1 trade by placing four identical Resource Cards into the resource pile and taking one Resource Card of your choice.

If you have a Settlement or City on a Trading Post area (marked by semi circles), you are said to "have a Trading Post" and the trade ratio is more favorable. You can make a 3:1 trade if you have a Trading Post with a 3:1 marking. Place three identical Resource Cards back into the resource pile and take any one Resource Card of your choice. You can make a 2:1 trade if you have a Trading Post with a resource symbol; you are then allowed to trade two Resource Cards of that specific type marked on the symbol for one Resource Card of your choice.

Important: Put all the cards you are trading face up in front of you before returning them to the resource pile. This will permit other players to see what you are trading.

Building

The last thing that you can do during a turn is build. Building is the most common way to increase your Victory Points.

You must build by using specific resource combinations. You return a combination of Resource Cards to their piles in exchange for the appropriate Roads, Settlements, or Cities from your stock. You cannot build an item that is out of stock.

Road

Requires Brick and Wood

Roads form connections between Settlements or Cities. Roads are placed on paths between hex corners. Only one Road can be built on a given path. (A path is the edge of any terrain hex.)

A new Road must always connect to another Road, Settlement, or City.

The first player to build a continuous Road of five or more pieces receives the Longest Road card, which is worth two Victory Points. The player places this card face-up in front of him. Note that any branch Roads do not count, as the Road must be continuous. Only count the longest single chain of continuous pieces. If another player builds a longer Road, then the Longest Road card transfers to him. The player moves his scoring marker two points forward on the scoring track and the player who loses the card moves his marker back two points on the scoring track.

Settlement

Requires Brick, Wood, Water, and Wheat

Settlements are placed on the corners of hexes. You can not build a Settlement that is adjacent to another Settlement or City. You can only build a Settlement on an empty corner, and only if all of the adjacent corners are all vacant.

A Settlement must be connected to at least one of your Roads.

You can collect resources from all the terrain hexes adjacent to the Settlement (except for the Hideout). When a given terrain hex produces, you get one Resource Card per Settlement bordering that hex.

Each Settlement is worth one Victory Point. The player moves his Victory Point marker up one point on the Victory Point chart for each Settlement built.

City

Requires Three Stone and Two Wheat

If you decided to upgrade one of your Settlements to a City, you return the Settlement piece to your stock and replace it with a City piece.

Cities double the resource production of adjacent terrain hexes. You get two Resource Cards per City bordering a given terrain hex when the corresponding number is rolled.

Each City is worth two Victory Points. The player moves his scoring marker one point on the scoring track for each Settlement upgraded to a City.

Buying Development Cards

Requires Stone, Water, and Wheat

Development Cards can not be played on the turn that they are purchased. If you purchase a Development Card, you must wait until your next turn to play that particular card (except for Victory Point cards).

You may only play one Development Card per turn and you can play that card at any point during your turn, even before you roll the dice.

There are seven types of Development Cards as described below:

Stripling Warrior – 14 total

Move the Gadianton Robber to a hex of your choice and steal one resource from one player with a City or Settlement on that hex.

The first player to play 3 Stripling Warrior cards in front of him will receive the Largest Army Card and move their scoring marker 2 spaces ahead on the track.

If another player plays more Stripling Warrior cards, then the Largest Army card transfers to him. That player moves his scoring marker two points on the scoring track and the player who loses the card moves his marker back two points on the scoring track.

Prosperity – 2 total

When you play this card, announce one type of resource. All other players must give you all of their Resource Cards of that type.

Bountiful Harvest – 2 total

Take any two Resource Cards from the bank and add them to your hand. They can be two different resources or two of the same resource. They may immediately be used to build.

Road Building – 2 total

Place two new Roads as if you had just built them.

Temple Building – 2 total

Place two Temple Stones as if you had just built them.

Liahona – 2 total

Play this card before the production roll. Instead of rolling the dice, you decide what the results of the roll will be.

Victory Point Cards (Worth 1 Victory Point each) – 5 total

King Benjamin
Alma
Mosiah
Samuel the Lamanite
Mulek

Note: Development Cards DO NOT count towards the total cards in your hand when a "7" is rolled and the Gadianton Robber is activated. Also, Development Cards cannot be stolen by the Gadianton Robber. See "Rolling a 7".

When you buy a Development Card, take the top card from the stack. Conceal all development cards until they are played.

Buying a Temple Stone

Requires Brick and Stone

Players may at anytime during their turn help to build the Temple in Zarahemla. The cost is one Brick and one Stone per Temple Stone.

The first player to play 3 Temple Stones on the Temple of Zarahemla will receive the Greatest Temple Contributor and moves his scoring marker 2 spaces ahead on the track. If another player plays more Temple Stones, then the Greatest Temple Contributor card transfers to him. That player moves his scoring marker two points on the scoring track and the player who loses the card moves his marker back two points on the scoring track.

Special Actions

Rolling a "7" – The Gadianton Robber is Activated

If you roll a "7", you activate the Gadianton Robber. The following occurs:

No players receive resource production from any hex.

Each player who holds more than seven Resource Cards must select half (round down) of his Resource Cards and discard them.

You must then move the Gadianton Robber to any new numbered terrain hex of your choice. You cannot leave the Gadianton Robber in its current location or move it back to the hideout.

You may take one Resource Card from any one player who has a Settlement or City adjacent to the hex now occupied by the Gadianton Robber. You choose which player will be affected. The player victimized by the Gadianton Robber then holds the cards face down and you select one at random and add it to your hand.

A hex containing the Gadianton Robber produces no resources, even if that hex's number is rolled, until the Gadianton Robber moves to another hex!

Playing Development Cards

You may play one – and only one – Development Card at any time during your turn (even before your production roll).

Exception: You may play any number of Victory Point cards in any given turn and at any time.

You may not play a Development Card on the turn you purchase it. Victory Point cards are an exception to this rule, for they can be played immediately.

Once played, players must follow the directions on the card. The card is then removed from the game (except for the Stripling Warrior Cards which stay face up in front of you).

Stripling Warrior Cards

If playing a Stripling Warrior card, immediately do the following:

You must move the Gadianton Robber to any numbered terrain hex of your choice. You cannot leave the Gadianton Robber in its current location.

Take one Resource Card from any player who has a Settlement or City adjacent to the hex that now contains the Gadianton Robber. If two or more players have Settlements in the adjacent terrain, then you may choose which player must give up a resource. The player victimized by the Gadianton Robber holds his cards face down and you select one card at random and add it to your hand.

Important: If the numbered hex that contains the Gadianton Robber is rolled in a subsequent turn, the players with Settlements or Cities on the adjacent corners collect no resources. The Gadianton Robber remains in place and can only be moved by another Stripling Warrior Card or if someone rolls a "7".

Stripling Warrior cards that have been played remain face up in front of you.

The first player to turn up three Stripling Warrior cards gets the Largest Army Card, which is worth two Victory Points. The player moves his scoring marker up two points on the scoring track. If another player plays a larger number of Stripling Warrior cards, then the player who controls the Largest Army card must transfer the card to its new and proper owner and loses the two victory points. The new owner moves his scoring marker ahead two spaces on the scoring track.

Winning the Game (The End of the Game)

The first player to get 12 Victory Points wins the game.

Players get Victory Points for the following:


1 Settlement	1 Victory Point
1 City	2 Victory Points
1 Victory Point Card	1 Victory Point
Longest Road	2 Victory Points
Largest Army	2 Victory Points
Greatest Temple Contributor	2 Victory Points

Since players start with two Settlements apiece, they each begin with 2 Victory Points. Therefore, they only have to get another 10 Victory Points to win!

Game variant: To shorten the playing time of the game, try playing to 10 or 11 victory points instead of 12.

Quick Reference Guide

This Quick Reference Guide contains detailed examples and rules for The Settlers of Zarahemla. These are not the game rules, but a supplement to the rules. You do not have to read this material prior to your first game. Instead, use the game rules above. Please refer to this guide if you have questions about any individual item during game play.

Building

You may build after you have rolled the dice for resource production. To build, you must pay certain combinations of Resource Cards. (The spent Resource Cards are returned to the appropriate piles.) You may build as much as you like or purchase as many Development Cards as you choose – until you elect to stop building or you exhaust your supply of Resource Cards.

Note: See also Building Costs, Roads, Settlements, Cities, Temple Stones and Development Cards.

Your turn is over when you have finished building and you pass the dice to the player to your left, who then continues the game.

Building Costs

The Building Cost Cards show what can be built and the resources required. When you pay building costs, you return the required Resource Cards to their respective resource piles. You can build Roads and Settlements. Additionally, Settlements can be upgraded to Cities (even during the same turn you build that Settlement). You can also purchase Temple Stones and Development Cards.

Cards

See the entries for Development Cards, Resource Cards and Special Cards.

Cities

Only an existing Settlement can be upgraded to a City. You can, however, build and upgrade a Settlement to a City during the same turn. When you upgrade a Settlement to a City, pay the resource costs, take the Settlement off the board, and place a City on that intersection. Return the Settlement to your stock.

Each City is worth two Victory Points. Its owner receives two Resource Cards from each hex adjacent to the City when those hexes produce resources.

Example: On a resource production roll of "6", the blue player gets three Stone cards; one for the Settlement and two for the City. The red player gets two Wood for his City.

Hint: It is practically impossible to win the game without upgrading Settlements to Cities. Since each player has only five Settlements, these can only give the player five Victory Points.

Development Cards

You can purchase Development Cards with a combination of one wheat, one stone and one water. These cards allow you to acquire Victory Points, obtain resources, build Roads or Temple Stones, pick the resource production roll, or move the Gadianton Robber and take other players' resources.

Hint: Keep your Development Cards concealed until you are ready to play them. This leaves the other players wondering what you have in your hand!

Note: Development Cards DO NOT count towards the total cards in your hand when a "7" is rolled and the Gadianton Robber is activated.

Development Cards, Playing

A player may only play one Development Card during his or her turn. The card may be played any time during the player's turn. The player may not, however, play a card that was purchased during that turn. He must wait until the next turn to play that card.

Exception: You may play any number of Victory Point cards in any given turn.

Hint: Only play your Victory Point cards when they help you reach 12 Victory Points and win the game on that same turn.

Distance Rule

A Settlement can only be placed on an open corner if there are no Settlements or Cities on the three adjacent corners.

Example: Since the "A" corners already have Settlements, no Settlements may be placed on the "B" corners. Settlements can be placed on the "C" corners if the Road requirements are met.

Ending the Game

If a player has or reaches twelve Victory Points during his turn, the game ends immediately. The player has the largest tribe of Zarahemla and can gloat forever to his friends and family. Or at least until the next game starts!

Example: Molly has two Settlements (2 points), the "Longest Road" (2 points), three Cities (6 points), and one Victory Point card. She then buys a Development Card and gets another Victory Point card. Molly uncovers both Victory Point cards and wins the game!

Gadianton Robber

The Gadianton Robber (black pawn figure) is placed on the Hideout (brown-colored hex) at the beginning of the game. It is only moved when a player plays a Stripling Warrior card or when a 7 is rolled.

A hex containing the Robber produces no resources when the number of that hex is rolled.

Gadianton Robber – Rolling a 7 and Activating the Robber

If a player rolls a "7" for resource production, none of the players receive resources. Each player then counts the Resource Cards in his possession, and any player with more than 7 cards must choose half (rounding down) and return them to the resource piles on the board.

Example: Jeremy rolls a "7". He has six cards in his hand, Miles has seven, and Guido has eleven. Guido must discard five cards (round down). Guido selects three wood and two water cards and returns them to the pile.

The player who rolled the "7" moves the Robber to a numbered hex of his choice. The Robber may not be moved back to the Hideout.

The player may then take one Resource Card from one of the players who has a Settlement or City adjacent to the Robber. The player randomly selects a Resource Card from the other player's hand.

The player then continues his turn with the trading phase.

Game Play

Game play occurs after setup. Setup is variable (see Setup Phase for more information).

The first player starts and then each player does the following, in order, during his turn:

Plays one Development Card at any time, even before rolling the dice (optional).
Rolls for resource production (mandatory).
Trades, builds, and buys in any order (optional).
Then passes the dice to the player on the left, who continues the game (mandatory).

Greatest Temple Contributor

Players may at anytime during their turn help to build the Temple in Zarahemla. The cost is one Brick and one Stone per Temple Stone. The first player to play 3 Temple Stones on the Temple of Zarahemla will receive the Greatest Temple Contributor and moves his scoring marker 2 spaces ahead on the track. If another player plays more Temple Stones, then the Greatest Temple Contributor card transfers to him. That player moves his scoring marker two points on the scoring track and the player who loses the card moves his marker back two points on the scoring track.

Hex Corners

Settlements & Cities may only be placed on corners of hexes. You may also build on a point of a hex that does not touch any other hexes and is only surrounded by jungle.

Largest Army

The first player to play his third Stripling Warrior card during his turn receives this special card, which is worth two Victory Points. The player places this card face up in front of him. Only one player can possess this card at any given time. If another player plays a larger number of Stripling Warrior cards, then the player who controls the Largest Army card must transfer the card to its new and proper owner.

Longest Road

If another player builds a longer Road, then the Longest Road card transfers to him.

Example 1: The red player has built a seven-part Road between intersections A and B, and receives the Longest Road card (the branches, marked with arrows, do not count).

However, the Road can be broken!

Example 2: If the blue player manages to build a Settlement on intersection C, then the Road is broken, and the blue player gets the card, since his Road is now the longest.

If, after a Road is broken, there is a tie for the Longest Road, the original player keeps the card until a different player builds a Road with more Road segments.

Number Markers

These circular number markers are marked with the numbers "2" through "12" on their fronts. There is only one "2" and one "12" and there is no "7".

The more often a number is rolled, the more often each associated hex produces resources. Note the dots beneath the numbers on the markers. The greater the number of dots, the more likely it is that the number will be rolled. The "6" and the "8" are the most frequently rolled numbers. They each have five dots because there are five ways to roll these numbers on two dice.

The small letters on top of the number markers are important during the setup phase (see Setup Phase).

Paths

Paths are defined as the edges of the hexes. Paths run along the borders of two terrain hexes or one terrain hex and the edge of the jungle. One Road can be built on each path. Each path leads to a corner of a hex.

Resource Cards

There are five types of Resource Cards: Bricks, Wood, Wheat, Water and Stone. Players acquire these cards when any player rolls the dice and the number corresponds to any hex where you currently have a Settlement (1 resource) or a City (2 resources). (See Resource Production.)

Players should keep Resource Cards concealed in their hand.

If a type of Resource Card should run out, players cannot acquire that resource (except through trades with other players) until those Resource Cards are replaced by building or trading, or if they are lost to the Gadianton Robber.

Resource Production

The first thing a player does during his turn is to roll for resource production. The number rolled determines which hexes produce resources. (On a roll of "2" or "12" only one hex produces resources.)

There are five types of hexes (six if you count the Hideout). Each terrain produces a different type of resource (Brick, Wood, Wheat, Water and Stone).

All players who have Settlements or Cities adjacent to those hexes receive the resources those hexes produce when their number is rolled. Settlements produce one resource per hex; Cities produce two resources per hex.

Example: The blue player has rolled a "4". His Settlement is adjacent to two hexes containing the "4" chip; Wood and Water. He takes one Wood and one Water resource into his hand. If his settlement was a City, he would have taken two Wood and two Water resources into his hand.

Roads

Roads form connections between Settlements or Cities. Roads are placed on paths. Without building Roads, you cannot build new Settlements. Roads only provide you Victory Points if you hold the Longest Road card (see Longest Road).

Example: The blue player would like to build a Road. He may build a Road on any of the paths marked with arrows. Only one Road may be built on each path. Players may build Roads between the resource hexes and the jungle.

Scoring Track

At the beginning of the game, all players should place their scoring marker on the #2 on the scoring track. As each player starts out with two Settlements, you also start out with 2 points. (If you are playing a 2 player game you start out with three Settlements apiece so you will have 3 points on the scoring track.) As you gain and lose points during the game, keep track of your score by moving your respective scoring marker. The first player to reach 12 points, and the end of the scoring track, wins!

Settlements

A Settlement is worth one Victory Point. Settlements are placed on corners of hexes. A player with a Settlement collects resources from each (one, two, or three) adjacent hex when the corresponding number is rolled.

Two conditions must be met when building a Settlement:

A Settlement must always be connected to the player's own Road.
The "distance rule" must be observed.

Example: The blue player would like to build a new Settlement. He may do so on all intersections marked with an "A". He cannot build a Settlement on intersections marked "B" since he has no Roads leading to those intersections.

Note: If a player has built five Settlements, he must first convert a Settlement to a City before building another Settlement because each player only has five total Settlements in his stock!

Setup

Please see the game rules above for information on setting up the game.

Special Cards

There are three types of special cards.

Longest Road (2 Victory Points) – This card goes to the player with the longest Road of at least five Road segments. Another player, who then creates a longer Road, will then own this card.

Largest Army (2 Victory Points) – This card goes to the player with the largest army of at least three Stripling Warriors. Another player, who then creates a larger army, will then own this card.

Greatest Temple Contributor (2 Victory Points) – This card goes to the player who has at least three Temple Stones. Another player, who then builds a higher number of Temple Stones, will then own this card.

Stripling Warrior Cards

When a player plays a Stripling Warrior card, he must immediately move the Gadianton Robber.

The player must move the Gadianton Robber to a hex containing a number marker (the Gadianton Robber may not be moved back to the Hideout).

The player may then take one Resource Card from one of the players who has a Settlement or City adjacent to the Robber. The player pulls the Resource Card randomly from the other player's hand.

Example: It is Miles' turn and he plays a Stripling Warrior card. He must move the Gadianton Robber from the Hideout it is currently on, so he decides to place it on the "6" Stone hex. Alvin owns Settlement A, while Jon owns Settlement B. Miles may take a Resource Card at random from either Alvin or Jon. If a 6 is rolled during subsequent turns, neither Alvin nor Jon will receive Stone from that hex, as long as the Gadianton Robber is on that hex. The Robber can be moved again when someone either 1) rolls a 7 or 2) plays a Stripling Warrior card.

Tactics

Since this game is played with a variable map, the starting situation is different in each game and tactical considerations should be taken into account. There are some points that players should always consider:

Bricks and Wood are the most important resources at the beginning of the game. Both are needed to build Roads and Settlements. As a result, players might try to place at least one of their first Settlements on a good Brick or Wood hex. ("Good" means any hex containing the numbers 5, 6, 8 or 9.)
Keep in mind that Wheat and Stone become increasingly critical as the game progresses. Stone is especially important, but if Stone, Wood, Brick and Water are rare – and Wheat is also rare – go for the Wheat! Try and place a Settlement on the best Wheat hex you can find because you'll find it harder to trade for Wheat.
Do not underestimate the value of Trading Posts. For instance, a player who has a Settlement linked to a productive Wheat hex should try to build a Settlement on a Wheat trading post.
Leave enough room to expand when placing your first and second Settlements. The middle of the island could be a bad place for a starting Settlement as it can be rapidly surrounded and isolated by the other players.
The more you trade, the better your chances for victory. Even if it is not your turn, you should offer trades to the active player. A successful trade can expand your options during your next turn.

Temple Stones

Players may at anytime during their turn help to build the Temple in Zarahemla. The cost is one Brick and one Stone per Temple Stone. If you are the first to place 3 Temple Stones, then you receive the Greatest Temple Contributor card worth 2 Victory Points. If someone then builds more Temple Stones than you (in this case 4), then they would take the card away from you and you would lose the 2 Victory Points.

Trade

After rolling for resource production, a player may trade resources with the other players or with the bank (at the trading posts), trading in his own resources for others he needs.

The player may trade as long as he has Resource Cards.

Trading Posts

During your turn, you can trade with the bank (as opposed to other players) via the Trading Posts.

The most basic and unfavorable trade is based on a ratio of 4:1. On his turn, a player may discard four identical Resource Cards and take one Resource Card of his choice. No trading post is needed.

Example: Gavin returns four Stone cards to the pile and takes one Wood card. It would, of course, be better to trade with the other players to get a better deal, but if no one wants to trade, sometimes that is the only option.

Players with Cities or Settlements on Trading Posts can trade more effectively. There are two types of Trading Posts:

Generic Trading Post (3:1) – You can trade any resource at a Generic Trading Post, which is denoted by a "?" symbol. During the trading phase a player who has a Settlement or City on one of the semi-circles next to a Generic Trading Post may trade resources at a 3:1 ratio.

Example: The red player returns three Wheat cards to the bank and takes one Stone card.

Special Trading Posts (2:1) – Special Trading Posts are associated with a specific resource that is illustrated by the blue Settlement piece. A player with a Settlement or a City on a Special Trading Post can trade two of the indicated resource for one of any resource.

Example: The blue player has a Settlement on the Water trading post. He can therefore trade two Water cards for the resource of his choice (in this case Stone). The blue player can also trade in four Water cards for two cards of his choice, or six Water cards for three cards, etc. This type of trading post does not entitle a player to a 3:1 trade.

Trading With Other Players

After rolling for resource production, a player may trade resources with the other players. The terms of the trade are entirely at the players' discretion. Only the player whose turn it is may trade; the other players may not trade with each other.

Example: It is Neblis' turn, and he needs one Brick to build a Road. He has two Wood and three Stones. Neblis asks: "Who will give me one Brick for one Stone?" Matt replies, "If you give me three Stones, I'll give you two Bricks." Molly counters, "I'll give you one Brick if you give me one Stone and one Wood." Neblis accepts Molly's offer and receives one Brick and gives Molly one Stone and one Wood.

Important: Since it is Neblis' turn, Molly and Matt may not trade with each other.

Turn Sequence

See the Turn Overview above for details.

Victory Point Cards

Victory Point Cards are Development Cards that players can buy. Victory Point Cards represent important Prophets in the Book of Mormon. Usually, Victory Point Cards should remain concealed in the player's hand. If a player has twelve Victory Points, then he uncovers the cards. (In this case, the player may uncover multiple cards.)

Hint: Don't give away information. If a player has a card face down in front of him that he never uses, other players will assume that it is a Victory Point card. Try to hide them in your hand if you can.

Victory Points

The first player to get 12 Victory Points wins the game. Players get Victory Points for the following:


1 Settlement	1 Victory Point
1 City	2 Victory Points
Longest Road	2 Victory Points
Largest Army	2 Victory Points
Greatest Temple Contributor	2 Victory Points
Victory Point Cards	1 Victory Point

Since players start with two Settlements apiece, they each begin with 2 Victory Points. Therefore, they only have to get another 10 Victory Points to win.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I interrupt an opponent's Road?

The blue player has a six-part continuous Road, giving blue the "Longest Road" card.
The red player builds a Settlement (B) that interrupts the blue player's Road.
The red player now has the longest Road.
Although the blue Road has been interrupted, the blue player can still continue to build on the Road (A).

Can I build a Road behind an opponent's Settlement?

No. A player may only build a Road adjacent to his or her own Road, Settlement or City.
The blue player may build a Road adjacent to his Settlement.
The red player may not build a Road behind the blue Settlement.

I just built a Settlement on a Stone Trading Post. Can I immediately use the Trading Post to trade two Stone for another resource?

Yes, building and trading can happen at any time.

Can you build a City without building a Settlement first?

Yes, but only if you pay the resource costs for both the Settlement and the City.

Can I play a Stripling Warrior card before I roll?

Yes, Development Cards may be played any time during the player's turn, even before rolling the dice.

If a player has no Settlements on the Trading Posts can they still trade at 4:1?

Yes. The 4:1 ratio is independent of a Settlement's location.

Game Components

Each game includes the following components:

1 Fold-Out Game Board
5 Hexagonal Strips
- 1 5-Hex Strip
- 2 4-Hex Strips
- 2 3-Hex Strips
18 Number Tokens
1 Robber Piece
1 Rules and Information Booklet
2 Dice
4 Sets of Playing Pieces in 4 Colors
- 20 Settlements
- 16 Cities
- 60 Roads
- 4 Scoring Markers
90 Resource Cards
- 18 Wood Cards
- 18 Brick Cards
- 18 Water Cards
- 18 Wheat Cards
- 18 Stone Cards
29 Development Cards
- 14 Stripling Warrior Cards
- 5 Prophet Victory Point Cards
- 2 Liahona Cards
- 2 Bountiful Harvest Cards
- 2 Round Building Cards
- 2 Temple Building Cards
- 2 Prosperity Cards
40 Temple Stones, 10 in Each Color
4 Building Cost Cards
3 Special Point Cards
- 1 Longest Road
- 1 Largest Army
- 1 Greatest Temple Contributor