TREOS Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Components
  • Wooden Components
  • Cardboard Components
  • 184 Cards
  • Quick Reference
• Setup
  • Central Display
  • Each Player
• Course of Play
  • Sunrise: Planning
  • Morning, Midday, Evening: Movement
  • Sundown: Clean-Up
• Your Turn
  • Map Spaces
  • Which Direction Is "Up"?
  • Movement Cards
  • Lakes
  • Moves
  • Highwaymen
  • Events Showing
• Special Spaces
  • Towns: Quests
    • Rewards
  • Forts: Weapons
  • Inns: Side Quests
  • Secret Places: Mileposts, Settlements, and Portals
• Game End
• Variants
  • Variable Setup
  • No Events
  • Meaner Highwaymen
  • Higher Goal
• Character Abilities
  • Carolijn Cerfontain (red)
  • Leonardo Bastoras (yellow)
  • Sophie Larousse (purple)
  • Urs von Hallen (green)

Objective

Head out and explore the world: complete quests and side quests to collect enough gold faster than the others. Who knows how many luck potions there are anyway? The first player to collect 20 gold wins the game.

Components

Wooden Components

• 8 towns (in different colors)
• 4 character tokens (1 per player)
• 4 forts
• 5 highwaymen

Cardboard Components

• 4 regions (map pieces)
• 1 gold track
• 4 inns
• 9 secret places
• 16 weapons (4 each of 4 types)
• 4 turn order markers
• 4 character boards (1 per player)
• 4 gold markers (1 per player)
• 12 intrigue markers (3 per player)
• 4 cover tiles (1 per player)

184 Cards

• 48 common quests (12 per region)
• 4 personal quests (1 per player)
• 36 common movement cards
• 48 personal movement cards (12 per player)
• 24 side quests
• 20 events
• 4 overview cards

Quick Reference

Course of Play:

• Sunrise: event (skip on day 1); draw and assign 5 cards: bid for turn order, plan moves + assign intrigue tokens, discard or return remaining card
• Morning, Midday, Evening: carry out each phase in turn order; each move: use arrows or type of path; after movement: move highwayman using current card
• Sundown: discard all cards

Collecting Gold:

• 1-3 gold for completing a quest
• 0-4 gold for collecting a new weapon
• 1 gold for discovering an inn
• 1 gold for discovering a secret place
• Carolijn only: 1 gold for completing a side quest

Game End: immediately when any player collects 20 gold

Setup

Set up the game as follows; when finished, return any unused components to the game box.

Central Display

1. Turn the four regions to the side showing colored towns and, in random orientation, place them in a 2×2 arrangement in the center of the playing area to form the map. Sit down at the table so that each player is facing an edge of the map. (Players are allowed to face the same edge.)
2. Place the gold track near the map.
3. In each region, place the following components on the marked spaces: a. 1 town each on the spaces with matching shape and color, b. 1 random secret place, gold side up, on each space, c. 1 fort on the space that is closer to the edge of the map and, on top of it, a number of weapons of one type equal to the number of players, d. 1 inn, gold side up, on the other space and, on top of it, 1 highwayman.
4. Place the remaining (fifth) highwayman on the central lake space in the region with the blue and green towns.
5. Separate the common quests by their backs into four piles. Shuffle each pile separately and place it next to the region containing the towns shown on the back.
6. Turn the topmost card of each quest pile face up.
7. Shuffle the side quests and place them in a face-down pile near the map. Repeat this process with the events and common movement cards.
8. Keep the turn order markers ready at hand. In a 3-player game, only use markers 1 to 3; in a 2-player game, you can play without them or use markers 1 and 2.

Each Player

9. Take a random character board, the components of matching color, and a cover tile: a. Place your personal quest face up above the space, at the top left of your character board. b. Place the cover tile on the space at the top of your character board, covering those icons. The character Sophie Larousse (purple) covers the right one of the two spaces. c. Shuffle your 12 personal movement cards and place them as a face-down draw pile on the left of your character board; place your 3 intrigue markers nearby. d. Place your gold marker on the "0" space of the gold track; it will always show how much gold you have. e. Place your character token next to the town of matching color.
10. If needed, take an overview card.

Now you are ready to go!

Course of Play

The game is played over several rounds, called days, comprising 5 phases each. Each round you will be planning out three turns in advance, which you will then carry out one by one. This cycle repeats until someone collects 20 gold (or more), thus immediately winning the game.

Sunrise: Planning

From day 2 on, at the start of every day, reveal the next event from the top of the deck and read aloud which rules change on that day. Unless stated otherwise, the event applies to all phases of that day. (Do not draw an event on day 1!)

Then all players carry out the following three steps simultaneously:

1. Draw 5 movement cards from your draw pile. If the draw pile runs out before you have 5 cards in hand, shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile; then draw the remainder.

2. Assign the drawn cards face down to the spaces below your character board as follows. You may look at these cards at any time.

   On the turn order space, you bid for turn order: the higher the card number on the bottom left of the card you place there, the earlier you will move that day.

   On the Morning, Midday, and Evening spaces, you plan out your 3 turns for that day, considering the movement options on the cards you place there.

   The fifth card is not used that day: either return it to the top of the draw pile (to draw it on the next day) or place it on the discard pile—either way, place the card face down.

3. Place an intrigue marker face down on each card on the Morning, Midday, and Evening spaces. The marker with the highwayman symbol indicates when you will move a highwayman. (More on that under "Highwaymen" below.) You may look at these markers at any time.

Once all players have completed steps 1-3, turn the card below the turn order space face up and assign the turn order markers according to the card numbers: the player with the highest number gets marker 1, the player with the next highest number gets marker 2, etc.

Morning, Midday, Evening: Movement

During each of the following three phases, in ascending numerical order of your turn order markers, each player takes exactly one turn.

On your turn, first reveal the movement card and the intrigue marker that you assigned to that phase; then carry out that turn as described on the following pages.

Sundown: Clean-Up

After all players have carried out their third turn, place all movement cards below your character board face down on your discard pile. Return the event card of that day face down to the bottom of the event deck. Then proceed with the Sunrise phase of the next day.

Your Turn

On your turn, you move your character token across the map. If you end up on a special space, you may use its effect. On one of your three turns, you can also move a highwayman.

Map Spaces

The spaces on the map are connected by paths: trails, roads, and water. Some spaces are special: towns, forts, inns, and secret places.

The map space symbols are: lake, trail, road, water, town, fort, secret place, inn, and highwayman.

Each space can have paths in up to eight directions: up, down, left, right, and the diagonal directions in-between. The available directions are indicated by a compass rose.

Arrows (i.e., the winds of the compass rose) indicate in which direction you may leave your current space, regardless of the type of path used.

Example: Both depicted cards allow you to move across the marked path: one shows an arrow in that direction; the other allows movement across trail.

Which Direction Is "Up"?

When using arrows on movement cards, always consider the directions from where you sit at the table when holding the card "upright". You are not allowed to turn a movement card sideways or upside-down.

Example: Julia sits across Luke. Luke's "up" is Julia's "down"; for Alex, this is "right". It doesn't matter though: always carry out your cards from your perspective.

Movement Cards

During the Morning, Midday, and Evening phases, you use the movement cards that you assigned to those phases to move your character token from map space to map space. Each card shows several options for how you can move across the map, its number of moves, and its card number.

Trails, roads, and water allow you to leave your current space via the corresponding path, regardless of direction.

Example: With the depicted card, you can move across the marked river.

Lakes

The map features lakes in the center, in the corners, on the edges, and a couple inland. When moving into a lake, you can move to any space directly connected to that lake.

Example: You're on a space connected to a lake. The depicted movement card allows you to move to any of the marked spaces, because they are all connected to that lake.

Moves

With your personal movement cards, you may carry out 1 or 2 moves; common movement cards, which you can get as the game progresses, provide 3 or 4 moves per turn.

For each move, choose one of the movement options provided by your current movement card. You may choose the same option for some or all of your moves or choose a different option for every move.

The character tokens of other players do not stand in your way: you may move past them or share the space with them.

Example: You (red) are on your way to the indicated secret place. First, you use an arrow to move down; next, you choose water to move across the lake; finally, you move down to the secret place.

You may use fewer moves than your card allows or not move at all. If you move at least one space, you may not return to the space on which you started that turn. You may return to that space on a later turn though.

Highwaymen

There are five highwaymen on the map; spaces occupied by highwaymen are considered blocked: you may not move onto or through those spaces.

At the end of the phase in which you placed the intrigue marker with the highwayman symbol, you may move exactly one highwayman as follows:

• Move the highwayman using the same movement card with which you have just moved your character token. Again, you may use fewer moves than allowed or not move any highwayman at all.
• Highwaymen may not move onto or through towns and forts, or any space occupied by a character token. They may, however, move onto inns, secret places, and spaces without character tokens.
• Any number of highwaymen may share the same space.

In other words: Highwaymen may not share a space with any wooden component except other highwaymen.

Note: You must first complete your character token's movement before you may move a highwayman.

Example: After you have moved your character token, you can also move a highwayman up to 3 spaces, because you have placed the corresponding intrigue marker. The depicted highwayman may not move into the yellow town, so you move it down and across water to the right, leaving it there in hopes of blocking Urs von Hallen (green).

Events Showing

Some events show the depicted intrigue marker: these events do not apply to all phases of a day but only to the phase in which you reveal the corresponding intrigue marker; this may be a different phase for each player.

The following explains a few of these events in detail, as they change the rules notably:

• Attacks: You may move a highwayman onto a space occupied by other players' character tokens. If you do, displace those character tokens to adjacent spaces of your choice. If your own character token is present, leave it where it is. If you displace a token onto a space with another highwayman or any special place, nothing further happens. As always, you may not move the highwayman onto a space with town or fort.

• Fast Currents/Wanderlust/Tailwind: These events provide an additional move on a specific type of path, which you may carry out irrespective of your current movement card. You may use the additional move at any point during your turn: as your first or last move, or any move in-between. As always, you must complete your movement before you move a highwayman or use the effect of a special space.

Special Spaces

When you end your movement in a town, fort, inn, or secret place, you may use its effect. You do not get the effect if you did not move at all that turn.

Towns: Quests

You start the game with a personal quest requiring you visit a town in a different region. If you do, you get 1 gold, as depicted on the quest, and you may take a new quest from the quest deck of the region you are currently in.

Also, when you complete your personal quest (by visiting a town in a different region), remove the cover tile from your character board and return the personal quest to the game box. From now on, you may have up to two common quests above your character board. Sophie Larousse (purple) may have up to three common quests at the same time once she completes her personal quest; before that, she can already pick up one common quest.

All common quests require you visit a specific town or one of two specific towns. If you end your movement in a town for which you have multiple quests, you may complete all of these quests one after the other. Each completed quest provides one or more rewards.

After completing a quest, return it to the bottom of the pile from which you have taken it.

Example: In the morning, you move to Westend (black), where you pick up a quest for Sarass Fords (yellow). You already have a quest for Sarass Fords so, later that round, you go there to complete both quests, gaining 3 gold and 1 side quest total. Finally, you take a new common quest from the deck.

Rewards

• Gold: Advance your gold marker on the gold track accordingly.
• Movement card: Draw a common movement card from the deck and, without looking at it, place it face down on top of your draw pile.
• Side quest: Draw a side quest from the deck and place it face down above your character board. See "Inns" section for details.

Whether you completed a quest or not, you may take exactly one new common quest from the quest deck of the region you are currently in. Place the new quest on an empty quest space above your character board. If need be, discard a side quest first to make room (see also "Inns" below). You may never discard a personal or common quest. If you take a quest, turn the next card of that deck face up.

Note: Even if you have room for more than one quest, on each turn, you may take at most one new common quest.

Forts: Weapons

Your character board features four weapon spaces on which you may collect different weapons; each fort on the map provides a unique type. Place the weapons you collect, from left to right, on the designated spaces, collecting the depicted amount of gold and, potentially, an additional character-specific reward:

• Carolijn Cerfontain (red): Draw a side quest from the deck and place it face down above your character board. See "Inns" section for details.
• Leonardo Bastoras (yellow): With your second and third weapon only, draw a common movement card from the deck and, without looking at it, place it face down on top of your draw pile.
• Sophie Larousse (purple): You may take a common quest from the quest deck of the region you are currently in. Place the new quest on an empty quest space above your character board. If need be, discard a side quest first to make room. If you do not have room, you still get the gold but no quest. If you take a quest, turn the next card of that deck face up.
• Urs von Hallen (green): In total, you get more gold than the other characters. For your first weapon, you do not get any gold.

You may visit a fort you have already been to, but you will not get another weapon; you may only collect different weapons. The order in which you collect them does not matter.

Inns: Side Quests

Draw a side quest from the deck and place it face down on an empty side quest space above your character board. Note:

Your character board features three side quest spaces, of which one can hold either a common quest or side quest after you remove the cover tile (see "Towns" section above). Sophie Larousse (purple) has two such spaces.

If you do not have room for the new side quest, you must discard one: either a side quest you already have or the new one. If you do, return the discarded side quest face down to the bottom of the side quest deck. You may discard side quests at any time and for no reason.

You may look at your side quests and rearrange them at any time.

Discovery bonus: When you enter an inn that nobody has entered before, in addition to the side quest, you also get 1 gold. Advance your gold marker on the gold track accordingly. Then turn the inn to the reverse side (that does not show a gold coin).

Completing a side quest: Side quests impose a task on you, which you may complete on the next phase or later. If you do, you get the depicted reward: draw a common movement card from the deck and place it, without looking at it, face down on top of your draw pile. Then return the completed side quest to the bottom of the side quest deck.

Note: All inns are blocked by highwaymen at the start of the game.

Secret Places: Mileposts, Settlements, and Portals

There are three types of secret places, each with a different effect:

• Milepost (4×): Draw a common movement card from the deck and, without looking at it, place it face down on top of your draw pile.
• Settlement (2×): Draw a side quest from the deck and place it face down above your character board. See "Inns" section for details.
• Portal (3×): If there is only one portal, it has no effect. As soon as there are two or three portals, you can use them—at the start, during, or at the end of your movement. All spaces with portal are considered one and the same space: it does not consume a move to hop from one portal to another. You may use a portal even on the turn that you discover it. Highwaymen can use portals too. If a highwayman occupies a portal, only that exit is blocked.

Discovery bonus: When you enter a secret place that nobody has entered before, in addition to its effect, you also get 1 gold. Advance your gold marker on the gold track accordingly. Then turn the secret place to the reverse side (that does not show a gold coin).

Example: In the evening, you move to an undiscovered secret place (1), for which you get 1 gold. You turn the tile to the reverse side, revealing a portal. How convenient—on the next day, you were planning to go to Virrat (blue), which has another portal nearby. You finish your turn by placing your character token in that portal (2).

Game End

The game ends immediately when any player collects (at least) 20 gold—you do not finish the current day. That player wins the game! Then read the epilogue:

The leather bag with the gold coins is heavy. You count it again—you've made it! Heart pounding with excitement, you put spurs to your horse and head towards Treos as fast as you can. The luck potion is all you can think about.

The maze of alleyways in the east of the city gets narrower and darker. A hooded old woman attempts to sell you a rabbit's foot. You refuse and ask her where one can buy potions nearby. She clicks her tongue disapprovingly, but points to the end of the alley. There you can see a staircase leading up to a crooked arcade.

There is only one door at the top. It is open and leads to a low, smoky attic. By the light of an oil lamp, a young woman is heaving clay pots into a corner of the room. When you make yourself heard with a knock, she flinches.

Stuttering, you make your request, whereupon she pulls a vial out of her apron. "This is the last one." She pulls her hand back as you reach for it and holds out her other hand to you in invitation. You count out the gold coins, take the potion, and drink it immediately. The liquid tastes of apple juice, delicious, golden yellow apple juice like you haven't had in a long time. A feeling of happiness spreads through you as you realize that the potion could have tasted like cod-liver oil.

You say goodbye, beaming. Where to next? You feel like all the doors in the world are open to you.

Variants

Once you are familiar with the game, you can try out the following variants. Note that these variants may increase playing time.

Variable Setup

Turn the regions to the reverse side without colored towns and modify setup as follows:

1. Assign a random common quest deck to each region.
2. Place the towns depicted on the back of the quest deck randomly on the spaces.
3. Place the fifth highwayman on a random space in the central lake.

The remaining setup instructions and rules remain intact.

No Events

Most events help you throughout the game and not always will they be equally beneficial to all players, so you may decide to play without them.

Meaner Highwaymen

In this variant, you must move at least one space on every turn, if possible—you may not simply skip movement. Consequently, being blocked by highwaymen becomes much more devastating: not only will it prevent you from taking the intended path, but you might even be forced to move in a totally different direction. This variant makes planning more challenging.

Higher Goal

If you think the game ends too quickly, you may decide to play until someone collects 25 gold. This variant is best suited for 2-player sessions, as they tend to be shorter than multiplayer.

Character Abilities

The following explains the character abilities in detail and provides tips on how to use them to your advantage. If you want to explore the game for yourself, do not read those tips.

Carolijn Cerfontain (red)

Carolijn also gets 1 gold for each side quest that she completes, in addition to the movement card.

Tip: Carolijn benefits the most from inns and quests with a side quest reward. With each new weapon that she collects at a fort, she also gets a side quest.

Leonardo Bastoras (yellow)

Leonardo gets 1 additional move when he reveals the intrigue marker with the highwayman symbol. If he takes that move, he must perform it according to his current movement card. The additional move does not apply to the highwayman he will move after.

Tip: Leonardo gets a movement card when he collects his second and third weapon. That and his additional move can help him collect gold much faster.

Sophie Larousse (purple)

Sophie can have up to two quests from the start, i.e., she can pick up a common quest before completing her personal quest. Once she completes the latter, she can have up to three common quests at the same time.

More important than that, though, is the fact that Sophie may complete common quests in either of the two towns in the region of the target town.

Example: Sophie has a quest for Virrat (blue), which she can complete in either Virrat or Treos (green).

Tip: Sophie also gets a common quest when she collects a new weapon. Combined with the fact that she can have two quests from the start, she can head to the nearest fort for a second quest and then complete both that and her personal quest in one go.

Note: During the "Trading Office" event, all players benefit from Sophie's ability of completing common quests in neighboring towns for that day; Sophie does not benefit from that event.

Urs von Hallen (green)

Urs von Hallen is the only character who can wrap around the map. The following rules apply to him only:

• If he leaves the map on a road, he will reappear on the corresponding road at the opposite side of the map.
• If he leaves the map from a lake at an edge spanning over two regions, he will reappear in the corresponding lake at the opposite edge of the map.
• If he leaves the map from a lake in a corner, he will reappear in any lake in a corner of his choice.

Tip: For Urs, distances are much shorter, and all forts are basically near each other so he can collect 9 gold via forts quickly. That's almost half the goal!

Note: During the "Borderwalker" event, all players benefit from Urs' ability; Urs does not benefit from that event.