The Guild of Merchant Explorers: The Queen's Special Orders
The Guild of Merchant Explorers: The Queen's Special Orders Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1 rulebook
- 4 double-sided maps (4 North Proylia/Xawskil)
- 12 goal cards (6 per map)
- 34 island tokens
- 4 island boards
Maps
North Proylia
The northern cities in this province are difficult to reach but remain politically powerful. North Proylia is unique in its many dangerous ice wastes—vast stretches of ice that many are proud to call their home. While these regions are passable, they require proper gear and tenacity.
Special rules:
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One ice space can be explored with an explore action with 2 terrain of any type or with 1 “any space” action.
For example, 1 ice space could be explored with the “explore 2 desert spaces” action, or 2 adjacent ice spaces could be explored with the “explore any adjacent 2 spaces” action. You cannot discover villages on ice spaces.
Xawskil
The seas of Xawskil are due west of Avenia, with a dense archipelago of islands that can make navigation challenging. Each island and its small cities have unique offerings of trade, news, and good food.
Special rules:
- Each land you explore earns you coins at the end of the game, as indicated on the bottom of your map (and shown below). The first time you place an explorer on a land, also place an island token on the space indicating that the land has been explored. Lands cannot earn additonal [sic] island tokens by being explored again.
- A “land” is an area of terrain spaces isolated by sea, the border of the map, or both. Some goals refer to lands.
Because Xawskil is a larger map, you need to place the map extension piece on the left side of your map as shown before you start playing.
Xawskil Score Track
The bottom of the Xawskil map carries a score area with three printed elements. The rulebook prints these without written labels beyond the notes above, so they are transcribed as printed here:
- Land track. A top row of numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 is paired with a bottom row of coin values 3, 6, 10, 14, 18, 24, 32, 40. The bottom row carries a coin symbol under each value. Each land you explore earns coins at the end of the game as shown on this track.
- Stone icon. The icon is worth 1 coin in Era I, 2 coins in Era II, 3 coins in Era III, and 4 coins in Era IV. The rulebook does not name this icon in its text; the map legend shows the Era I value with the coin symbol and no numeral.
- Discovery tower icon. A tower icon is shown with coin values of 6, 8, 10, and 14, each shown beneath a row of 1 to 4 dot markers. The rulebook text does not explain the dot markers.
Goals
With each map, the Queen has issued a handful of missions for exploring particular areas. Naturally, a completed mission comes with a reward. The capital space is not treated as a village for any goals.
North Proylia
- Complete a trade route involving ice. You must be able to trace a line from one trading post to the other without backtracking. This goal can only be completed on the turn in which you complete the trade route.
- Discover 2 villages adjacent to a trading post. The villages could be adjacent to the same trading post or different trading posts.
The printed rulebook lists goals only for North Proylia. No Xawskil goals appear in this rulebook text; the goal section carries no Xawskil heading.