Tonga Bonga
Tonga Bonga Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
1 game board, 4 ships, 16 camps, 12 crew dice, 4 hiring boards, 8 special tiles, 1 set of coins (1-coin: 33 pieces, 5-coin: 39 pieces, 25-coin: 16 pieces)
Game Setup
- The game board is laid out in the center of the table.
- Each person chooses their own color and brings four camps of that color along with three crew dice to place in front of them. Their ship is placed on a space filled with the wave pattern of the Tonga Bonga island.
- The 8 special tiles are flipped over, shuffled, and then 7 of them are placed face down on the spaces with dolphin icons on the game board, hiding their fronts. The remaining one is returned to the game box. All 7 tiles that were placed are then revealed face up.
- The person who most recently visited an island across the sea becomes the starting player.
- Arrange the four employment boards of each player in a row under the game board. The starting player's employment board is placed on the far left, and the rest are placed in clockwise order according to the seating arrangement.
- Each player receives 20 ducat (3 sets of 5 ducat and 5 single ducat) as starting funds.
Now you're ready to set sail for Tonga Bonga Island!
The Game Objective
The goal of the game is to arrive at as many islands as possible with your ship and set up camps to earn money quickly. The winner is determined by the player who earns the most money after someone has set up camps on four islands and returned to the Tonga Bonga island.
Game Play
The game progresses through multiple rounds, and each round consists of the following four steps, conducted in order.
- Wage Determination
- Crew Placement
- Navigation
- Wage Payment
At each step, starting with the player whose hiring board is placed furthest left and proceeding clockwise, each player takes their turn once.
Step 1: Wage Determination
When it's your turn, you determine the wages to be paid to the crew members you'll hire this round.
You place the amount of money you'll give to each of them on the icons of the captain and helmsman drawn on your hiring board. You must place at least 1 coin on each.
Once everyone has placed their wages on their hiring boards, proceed to the next step.
Step 2: Crew Placement
When it's your turn, roll all three of your crew dice and place them on other players' ships as desired. These dice represent crew members who are hired to work on other players' ships and earn wages.
Reroll: Players have the option to pay money to reroll their own dice if they wish. Initially, they pay 2 coins to the bank and choose to reroll 1 to 3 dice. Subsequent rerolls cost 3 coins, then 4 coins, with the cost increasing gradually.
- If the side with "leaning against the railing and feeling seasick" comes up on any of the dice, that die cannot be employed on a ship this round.
- You should place only one die on each ship other than your own ship. In a game with three players, you can place either one or two dice on other ships.
Depending on the situation of the ship where you're placing the dice, you determine the placement of the dice as follows.
- If the ship has no dice: The dice are placed in the leftmost space (Captain's space).
- If there is a die on the ship: Including the die to be placed, arrange the dice values in descending order from the leftmost position. If there are dice with the same value, the new die will be placed furthest to the left.
Example of Dice Placement: The yellow player placed 4 dice on the orange boat. These dice are placed on the captain space (far left). The red player placed 3 dice. Since the number on the red dice is smaller than that on the yellow dice, they are placed on the helmsman space. The white player placed 3 dice on the orange boat. Since the number matches the helmsman space, the existing red dice are moved to the far right space, and the white dice are placed on the helmsman space.
Step 3: Navigation
When it's your turn, you use the hired crew members to move your ship.
You gain movement points equal to the sum of all the dice values placed on your hiring board. You can use these movement points to move your ship. Ship movement must adhere to the following rules.
- Ships can only move to adjacent spaces, and they can only move to spaces with either ocean or wave patterns. They cannot move onto or through land spaces.
- Only one ship can exist in a small space (a single hexagon).
- Multiple ships can coexist in a large space (a space with two or more connected wave-pattern hexagons).
- When moving to a small space with no other ships, you use 1 movement point. When moving to a large space, regardless of the presence of other ships, you also use 1 movement point.
- You cannot move to a small space occupied by another ship, but you can pass through it. Since you need to maneuver to avoid the other ship, you must spend an additional 1 movement point to do so.
Example of Passing Another Ship: (a) Since I moved two spaces on regular small spaces, I used 2 movement points. (b) I used 3 movement points because I passed through a small space with another ship. From the initial position to the final position, I used a total of 5 movement points while moving.
When a ship enters a tile affected by a special effect or a wave-patterned tile, follow the instructions below.
- Effects of Special Tiles: If a ship enters a space with a special tile or a space adjacent to a ghost ship tile, its effect is resolved. Refer to the list of special tiles for each tile's effect (see Special Tiles below).
- Arriving at a Wave-Patterned Tile: When a ship arrives at a wave-patterned tile, you can set up a camp on the corresponding island. Setting up a camp does not require movement points, and you can still move your ship again after setting up the camp. This means you can move your ship to set up a camp and then use any remaining movement points to continue moving your ship.
When you set up a camp, you immediately receive 25 coins as income from the bank. Then, if there are other players' camps on the island, you must pay each of them 5 coins.
Example of Arrival at an Island: (1) I use 3 movement points to arrive at the island. (2) I receive 25 coins as income and establish a camp. Since there is already an orange camp on this island, I give 5 coins to the orange player. (3) Then, with the remaining 2 movement points, I move 2 spaces.
Step 4: Wage Payment
All players receive the wages assigned to their crew dice.
They only receive money from the spaces where their own colored dice are placed. Any wages from spaces without crew dice assigned are taken back by the ship owner.
The leftmost hiring board is moved to the rightmost position, and a new round begins.
Special Tiles
- Wind: When you arrive at a space with a wind tile, you gain additional movement points equal to the number shown.
- Sunken Treasure: When a ship ends its movement on a space with a treasure tile, you gain the amount of money shown on the tile. Then, remove the treasure tile from the game.
- Treasure Map: As soon as a ship enters a space with a treasure map tile, it acquires the tile. The player who acquires the tile gains the amount of money indicated on the tile when they arrive at the island marked on the tile, and then the tile is removed from the game.
- Ghost Ship: Ships cannot move to spaces with a ghost ship tile. Furthermore, if a ship moves to a space adjacent to a ghost ship, the owner of the ship must pay an additional wage of 3 coins for each die placed on the ship.
Game End
When a player has placed all four of his camps and arrives on the island of Tonga Bonga, the game ends after this round. Each player who has reached Tonga Bonga in this round receives 10 coins.
The player with the most money wins!