Trailblazers
Trailblazers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Standard Game Components
- 8x 3 Camp Cards (Hiking, Biking, Kayaking)
- 12x Goal Cards (6 In-Game, 6 End-Game)
- 1x Solo Card
- 270x Trail Cards (2 decks of 135 cards)
- 8x 4 Player Cards
- 1x Score Pad (double-sided)
Expansion Components
- 20x 6 Animal Tokens (Moose, Wolf, Bison, Bobcat, Eagle, Bear)
- 8x 3 Traveler Figures (Hiker, Biker, Kayaker)
- 1x Animal Tray (to hold your animal tokens)
- 1x Solo Sheet
- 42x Campfire Tokens
Goal
Score the most points by building hiking, biking, and kayaking trail loops from your camps. A loop is a contiguous run of trail of a single type that starts at a matching camp and returns back to that camp.
Setup
- Each player takes 3 Camp Cards (1 of each type) and 4 Player Cards of a single type.
- Shuffle the In-Game and End-Game Goal Cards separately. Draw and place 2 of each type face up in the center of the play area. Return the rest to the box.
- For 2-4 players, use one deck of Trail Cards. For 5-8 players, combine both decks. Shuffle the Trail Cards and place the deck in the center of the play area.
Gameplay
The game is played over 4 rounds of simultaneous play, with players selecting and arranging a total of 3 camp cards and 24 trail cards in their own personal areas. Trail cards contain 3 possible trail types (hiking/biking/kayaking) that match the camp types.
To start the round, deal each player a hand of 8 trail cards. Once players have had a chance to review their hands, they simultaneously select and place a camp from the remaining camps in their supply. (In the 4th round, no new camp will be placed).
The round consists of 3 turns in which players simultaneously select and place 2 trail cards from their hand. The remaining cards in hand are then passed to the player on their left in rounds 1 & 3 and to their right in rounds 2 & 4. After 3 turns, players discard the 2 cards remaining in their hand, and that concludes the round.
Card Placement
A camp or trail card must be placed orthogonally adjacent to or overlapping (partially or fully) an existing card. There are two exceptions:
- The first camp begins a player's area, so it starts out adjacent to and overlapping nothing.
- No cards may overlap a camp.
Legal placements:
- Place orthogonally adjacent to existing cards.
- May overlap trail cards.
- Not required to connect matching trail types.
Illegal placements:
- Cannot overlap camps.
- Must be orthogonally adjacent to existing cards.
In-Game Goal Cards
At the end of any turn, if a player has met the criteria for either In-Game Goal Card, then they may place their Player Card into the highest unclaimed slot of that card (1st/2nd/3rd will score 6/3/1 points). If multiple players meet the criteria on the same turn, they all place their cards in the same highest unclaimed slot to score full points. If all slots have been claimed on an In-Game Goal Card, then players can no longer score points for that goal.
Note: Once an In-Game Goal is achieved, the Player Card remains there permanently, even if the player later disrupts a loop that was required to meet the goal.
End Game & End-Game Goal Cards
The game ends at the completion of the 4th round. Players now check to see how they performed on the End-Game Goal Cards and place their Player Cards accordingly. If there is a tie, all tied players will be placed at the same rank. A qualifying player will still place a scoring card into the 2nd or 3rd slot even if there is a tie above that slot.
Scoring
Players score points for their completed loops and for In-Game and End-Game Goal Cards. The player with the most points wins. If players are tied for most points, the tied player who achieved the most In-Game and End-Game goals (i.e. the tied player who placed the most player cards) wins the game. If there is still a tie, the victory is shared.
Scoring Loops
Players score 1 point per length of each completed loop. The length of each loop is determined by counting the trail markers along the trail. Trail markers are displayed on every intersection and bend; they include bridges, berms, rapids, mud, rocks, and tunnels.
Note: Whenever a loop intersects itself, the trail marker at that intersection will end up being counted twice (once each time it is passed over).
Animal Expansion
The animal expansion is an optional module to the standard multiplayer game that adds another challenging layer with more scoring opportunities.
Setup Changes
Add the animal tray (containing all animal tokens) to the center of the play area.
Gameplay Changes
Some cards display animals on them. When placing a card that displays an animal, a player may place a matching animal token onto the center of that card. This decision of whether to add a matching animal token can be made only during the turn that the card is placed.
Note: The animal token should always be positioned on the center of the card because it is linked only to the single long trail on the card — never to the two short trails — for gameplay purposes.
If a player chooses to place an animal token on a card, that card may never be overlapped by other cards.
Designer's note: Trail cards that display animals always consist of two short trails that do not match the long trail type. Also note that each long trail shape is linked to a specific animal type — this is useful to know when planning your routes.
Scoring for Animals
Players will score additional points for each completed loop based on the number of unique animal tokens that were placed on that trail: 1/3/6/10/15/21 points for 1/2/3/4/5/6 unique animals respectively.
Designer's note: Multiple animal tokens of the same type along the same loop won't do you any good. That's because humans are fickle folk, and anything that starts out as new and thrilling is rapidly taken for granted once familiar.
Example: The short kayaking loop scores 1 animal point for the moose token. The long kayaking loop scores 6 animal points because there are 3 unique animal tokens along the trail — the bobcat, moose, and wolf tokens. Although they are nearby, the eagle token and the bear token do not score animal points for this loop because they are tied to the hiking trail and biking trail respectively, not the kayaking loop. Despite having 3 unique animal tokens, the biking trail does not score animal points because it is not a finished loop.
Adventurer Expansion
The Adventurer Expansion is a separate playable mode from the base game. It modifies the base game rules in the following ways:
Goal
Race to stay ahead of the two adventurers traveling on your trails by constructing long, exciting loops for them to enjoy and camp along.
Setup Changes
Do not include goal cards. Add the animal tray and campfire tokens to the center of the play area, as they will be used in this game. Give each player one hiker, one biker, and one kayaker figure.
Gameplay Changes
Gameplay proceeds as if you are playing the standard game with the animal expansion (minus the goal cards). All rules for card and animal placement apply. At the start of round 2, after placing your second camp, place a matching hiker/biker/kayaker figure onto each of your two camps. Discard your third camp and traveler figure, they will not be used in this game.
For the rest of the game, at the end of each turn (after selecting and arranging two trail cards from your hand), both of your figures must move 3 trail markers along their trail. For their very first movement, select any matching trail that starts at the camp card and move the traveler along it — they will continue on that trail and in that direction for the rest of the game.
Whenever a hiker/biker/kayaker figure passes an animal token that is new to them (they haven't seen this animal type before), the traveler will slow down to "take a picture." The new animal token is treated as an additional marker on the trail. As a result, the traveling figure will move a total of two trail markers, and its third movement will be to stop at or move past the animal.
If a hiker/biker/kayaker figure ever cannot move a full three steps because it reaches a dead end, then it must stop at the last trail marker and camp early. Take a campfire token and lay it flat next to the figure. This figure does not move again for the rest of the round. At the start of the next round, begin moving the figure again as normal.
If your figure reaches its camp card during the game (i.e. completes the loop it was traveling along), it does not move again or earn more campfire tokens for the rest of the game.
You may not place new cards under campfires or travelers. You also may not extend or add animal tokens to a previously traveled route segment. Otherwise, all normal card placement rules apply.
At the end of rounds 2, 3, and 4, you may place a campfire token (standing up) next to your figure unless:
- It reached a dead end and had to camp early this round.
- It reached the camp card (completed the loop).
End Game & Scoring
The game ends as usual, at the completion of the 4th round. Players tally their scores in the following manner, and the player with the highest score wins the game.
Points are scored only from the two trails that the figures were traveling along. Each trail will score the following points only if the loop was closed (the trail starts and ends at its matching camp):
- Each standing campfire is worth 5 points (campfires that were laid flat due to camping early are worth nothing).
- Each unique animal type is worth 2 points.
- Each trail marker after the third & final campfire token (this token must be standing) is worth 1 point (i.e. count your trail length between the third valid campfire token and the end of your loop).
Credits
- Game Design by Ryan Courtney
- Artwork by Seth Lucas
- Edited by Jon Healey
- Published by Nick Murray & Kyle Spackman
- Development by Tim Kizer
- Special thanks to our playtesters and Kickstarter backers!
Bitewing Games — https://bitewinggames.com
© Bitewing Games LLC. All rights reserved. © Ryan Courtney. All rights reserved.