Windward
Windward Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Modes
Windward has multiple modes of play:
- Solo Adventure (1 player)
- Cooperative Adventure (2-4 players)
- Head-to-Head (2 players)
- Free-for-All (3-5 players)
These rules are applicable to all Game Modes, with specific rules for some Game Modes provided on pages 9-10.
Base Game Components
- 6 Board Tiles
- 1 Trading Post (with Flag)
- 5 Ship Status Boards
- 1 Trading Post Board
- 5 Ship Pieces (5 colors)
- 10 Longboat Pieces (5 colors)
- 10 Mate Pieces (5 colors)
- 10 Achievement Tokens
- 15 Status Trackers (5 colors)
- 8 Grey Cresters
- 8 Red Cresters
- 1 White Crester
- 8 Grey Crester Teeth Pieces
- 8 Red Crester Teeth Pieces
- 8 Black Battle Dice
- 1 Blue Wind Die
- Supply Deck (58 Cards)
- 15 Crew Tiles
- 100 Gas / Cannon Tokens
- 16 "+2 Hits" Tokens
- 5 Coffee Tokens
- 6 Naturalist Tags
- 11 Life Tokens
- 8 Achievement Cards
Global Setup
- Shuffle and place all the Board Tiles in a circular layout to create the planet of Celus (use large planet).
- Place the Trading Post Mini in the center space, between the Board Tiles, and place the Flag on top of it.
- Create a stockpile of Crester Minis and Crester Teeth to one side of Celus.
- Place the Trading Post Board to the side of Celus, so that all players can see it.
- Place the Crew Tiles on the Crew Slot on the Trading Post Board.
- Create a Stockpile of Gas / Cannon, "+2 Hits" and Coffee Tokens beside the Trading Post Board. Additionally, place any Tokens associated with the Advanced Rule Variants beside the Trading Post Board.
- Have each player roll the Blue Wind Die. The player with the highest roll shall be the first player for the entire game. Turns proceed clockwise from the First Player.
- Shuffle the Supplies Deck and deal each player the following number of Cards face down (player Hand Limit is 5 Cards): 1st player: 2 cards | 2nd player: 3 cards | 3rd player: 4 cards | 4th/5th player: 5 cards
- Split the remaining Supply Cards into three semi-equal stacks and place them face up on the Supplies Slot on the Trading Post Board. When any one stack of Supply Cards runs out, shuffle all of the remaining Supply Cards with the discard pile and reset into three semi-equal stacks.
- Roll the Wind Die to determine the direction of the Wind, and turn the Flag to point in the direction of the corresponding Territory. The numbers are indicated on the Trading Post mini.
- Roll the Wind Die and place a Grey Crester Mini on the Feeding Grounds space use in the corresponding Territory. Repeat this step until there are a number of Cresters one less than the number of players. Two living Grey Cresters may not occupy the same Feeding Grounds, so re-roll any Wind Die rolls for a Territory where a Grey Crester is already present.
- Place a Red Crester mini on every Red Crester starting space on every Planet Board Tile. Each Board Tile acts as their individual territories.
- Place two Gas Tokens on each Gas Pocket space.
Board icons: Grey Crester Feeding Ground, Red Crester Starting Space, Gas Pocket.
Player Setup
- Give each player a random Player Board and all the pieces of the corresponding color to their Player Board. This includes: 1x Ship, 2x Longboats, 2x Mates, 3x Status Trackers.
- Place the Ship Mini on the At Port Slot of their Player board.
- Place one Longboat Mini in the Slot of the Longboats section of their Player Board. The second Longboat Mini should be placed to the side of their Player Board.
- Place the two Mate Minis on the Rest Slot beneath the "At Port" Slot of their Player Board.
- Place one of each Status Tracker on the following locations:
- On the Morale track value of "1"
- On the Longboats track value of "0"
- To the left of the Trading Post Board
Object of the Game
In Windward, your goal is to become the most notorious space captain on the Gaseous planet of Celus. Become the master of the skies by hunting, or researching, dangerous leviathan-like beasts called Cresters, plundering opponents and using cunning maneuvers to harness the power of the ever-changing wind.
The player with the most Notoriety at the end of the game wins!
Game Principles
This section is meant to explain the main components and general ideas of the game.
Notoriety
The Notoriety track (1-15) is shown on the Trading Post Board. There are many ways to gain Notoriety on the Planet of Celus. You can bring teeth of Cresters to the Trading Post to prove you defeated them in battle, buy Notoriety with Gas while at the Trading Post, complete achievements, or end your turn at Sky.
Strategic Notoriety Tip: The most efficient way to get Notoriety is getting a variety of Red Crester Teeth, Grey Crester Teeth, and achievements. Every turn is important, so try to accomplish multiple tasks every time you voyage the skies!
Cresters
Cresters are giant, flying, aggressive beasts that roam the skies of Celus. Cresters are very valuable, as they provide much needed Gas, which keeps the Ships and inhabitants of Celus afloat. There are three types of Cresters: Grey, Red and Great White (see Advanced Rule Variants for more information). Sky Captains grow their Notoriety by bringing back Teeth of the Cresters they have Defeated to show off to the inhabitants of the Trading Post.
Grey Cresters: Grey Cresters are the most placid type of Cresters, choosing to remain within their Feeding Grounds, but will still put up a fight when provoked, and have resulted in the death of many an arrogant sailor. Grey Cresters may be either Alive or Defeated. Grey Cresters spawn on Feeding Grounds, which are any space containing an image of one or more Grey Cresters.
Red Cresters: Red Cresters are strong and aggressive, chasing down any Ship that enters their Territory. A combination of arms, skill and luck are required to defeat a Red Crester. Red Cresters may be either Alive or Defeated. Red Cresters spawn on any space containing an image of a Red Crester.
Crester Teeth: Crester Teeth are the trophy that sailors use to prove that they defeated a Crester. At the Trading Post, Grey Crester Teeth are worth 3 Notoriety, and Red Crester Teeth are worth 4 Notoriety.
Gas
Gas is the currency on the planet of Celus. With Gas you can buy items (Crew, Notoriety, Supply Cards, Cannons, or Morale) at the Trading Post.
Trading Post
The Trading Post is the only city on Celus. A player may use one speed to move from any of the 6 hexes adjacent to the trading post to the "At Port" text of their player board. To go back onto the planet board, they may use one speed to move from "At Port" to any of 6 hexes adjacent to the Trading Post. These movements are not affected by the wind direction. Players cannot enter port with a Crester in the cargo hold area. While entering port, any Teeth in the Cargo Hold are immediately traded in for 3 (Grey Tooth) or 4 (Red Tooth) Notoriety. While At Port, Players may freely buy items with Gas during their turn.
Ships
Ships are the primary way you engage with the skies of Celus in Windward. Use your Ship to navigate the skies, battle Cresters and other ships, and transport goods back to the Trading Post. Your Ship's Cargo Hold, Cannons, Morale, Gas storage and crew are reflected on your Ship Status board. If your Ship is on the same space of the board as any of the following items, you can take them into your Cargo Hold immediately without using an action: (Defeated Red Crester, Defeated Grey Crester, your own Longboat, Gas Tokens, Crester Teeth, and +2 Tokens).
Cargo Hold: The Cargo Hold is an area on your ship where you store Defeated Cresters, Crester Teeth, +2 Hit Tokens. At Sky, you may drop these items from your Cargo Hold onto the space you're on. If there are items on the space your Ship is on, you can freely take them from the planet into your Cargo Hold.
Longboats
Longboats are smaller than ships, and are typically stored on your Ship. The purpose of a Longboat is to battle and bring Grey Cresters back to your Ship. Throughout the game, you may want to drop/move a Longboat from your Ship to battle a Grey Crester and pick the Longboat back up later after it has defeated the Grey Crester. Longboats can battle each other to gain control of defeated Grey Cresters.
Crew Morale
Throughout the game, your Crew Morale will go increase and decrease depending on the choices you make. Crew Morale determines how much Gas you are able to process from each Crester. By losing a battle or running out of supplies, your Morale might reach zero. If your Morale reaches zero, your Ship is Lost. (More on this in "Ship Lost", Page 9)
Features of Celus
The following section explains some features of the planet of Celus and will help you understand how to master the skies!
Feature icons: Grey Crester Feeding Ground, Red Crester Starting Space, Drift, Zephyr, Gas Pocket, Around The Planet.
Elevation
On the planet of Celus, there are two layers of elevation (Lower and Higher). Ships and Red Cresters are always in Higher Elevation. Longboats & Grey Cresters are always in Lower Elevation.
Pieces on these two layers of elevation do not affect each other.
For example: A Red Crester (higher elevation) moving onto the same space as a Longboat (lower elevation) does not affect the Longboat, because they are on different layers of elevation. Another example: a Longboat towing a Grey Crester may move freely through a space with an opponent's Ship because they are on different elevations.
Elevation Diagram: Higher Elevation — Red Cresters, Ships. Lower Elevation — Grey Cresters, Longboats.
Wind
Celus' Winds are ever-changing. The Wind direction is shown using the Flag atop the Trading Post Mini. Wind direction is set at the start of the game, and changes at the end of each Round, or when players use the Aerogenerator Card.
Wind only affects the movement of Ships, in the following ways:
- Ships can move any number of spaces in the same direction as the Wind without spending any Speed (see Move Ship).
- Ships CANNOT move directly into the Wind (opposite to the direction of the Flag).
Terrain
There are four elements of the terrain you need to know while flying the skies.
Drift: The floating crusts of cooled core rock scattered around the planet indicated by spaces with dark rocks. Ships, Longboats and Cresters may not normally move onto or through a space with Drift. Players may use the Deadweight Card to permit their Ships to pass through a space with Drift.
Zephyr: Wind currents, represented by storms with lightning, allow Ships to travel from one Zephyr to another, at the cost of one Speed. Longboats and Cresters may not travel from one Zephyr to another through this method.
Gas Pocket: At the beginning of the game, each Gas Pocket, denoted by hot air balloons, contains two Gas Tokens. A Ship that lands on a Gas Pocket space may freely pick up the Gas Tokens and put them into their Gas Storage, as long as they have unoccupied Gas Storage Slots. Gas Tokens do not respawn after they are taken from a space.
Around the Planet: Ships may move from one corner to the opposite corner of the map, where indicated by the Around the Planet icon, ">>", at the cost of one Speed. This movement is not affected by the Wind direction. Longboats and Cresters may not travel Around the Planet.
Taking a Turn
Starting with the First Player, players take turns doing any of the following actions in any order. When the player's desired actions are complete, they perform the steps in "Ending Your Turn", and play continues clockwise.
Move Ship | Move Longboats | Spend Gas | Use a Supply Card | Pick Up | Collect Rewards | Give Orders
Move Ship
Ships can use the Wind to move incredible distances through the skies of Celus. Each player's Ship has up to 4 Speed to spend each turn. Feel free to use the Wind Die to keep track of your remaining Speed during your Turn. Players may spend one Speed to do any of the following:
- Move from one space to another, adjacent space on Celus.
- Move from the Trading Post (and off the player's Ship Status Board) to any space adjacent to the Trading Post, or vice-versa. The Wind does not affect any of these movements.
- Travel Around the Planet using an "Around the Planet" space.
- If your Ship is on a Zephyr space, move to any other Zephyr space on Celus.
Wind: Players DO NOT spend Speed to move any number of spaces in the direction of the Wind. Ships CANNOT move any number of spaces directly into the Wind (opposite to the direction of the Wind).
Note: If, at any time during your turn, your Ship enters a space occupied by an alive Red Crester, White Crester or another Ship, your Ship MUST initiate a Battle.
Move Longboats
Longboats are unaffected by the Wind and require rested Rowers to propel. At any point during their turn, players may spend Longboat Speed, by reducing their Longboat Speed track. Players may move each Longboat At Sky one space for each Longboat Speed, and may split the movement from the Longboat Speed spent across all of their Longboats At Sky.
Notes:
- See "+X Longboat Speed" in Give Orders to increase your Longboat Speed Tracker.
- Two Longboats of the same color, cannot be moved or dropped onto the same space.
- If, at any time, one of your Longboats enters a space occupied by a Grey Crester or another Longboat, you are initiating a Battle.
- If a Longboat and a Defeated Grey Crester are in the same space, the Defeated Grey Crester is considered as being Towed by the Longboat, and cannot be picked up by another player's Ship. When that Longboat moves, the Defeated Grey Crester moves along with it. These two are grouped together until either defeated or picked up by that Player's Ship.
- A Longboat towing a Defeated Grey Crester CANNOT enter another space with a Grey Crester (either Alive, or Defeated).
- A Longboat may NOT enter the Trading Post at any time.
- Longboat Speed is held between turns. It does not reset every turn.
Spend Gas
While your Ship is At Port, you may freely spend Gas, returning Gas Tokens from your Gas Storage to the Stockpile, to purchase services, as specified by the Trading Post Board. These services are listed below, with the Gas Token cost specified in parentheses. See Give Orders section for details on each order.
- Fill 1 Cannon (1 Gas): Execute the Fill Cannon Order.
- Hire Crew Mate (2 Gas): Execute the Hire Crew Order.
- Rum (1 Gas): Execute the +1 Morale Order.
- 1 Notoriety (2 Gas): Increase your Notoriety by one.
- 3 Supply Cards (1 Gas): Execute the Take Supplies Order.
Use a Supply Card
During your Turn, you may freely play Supply Cards. Once the effect of a Supply Card has been resolved, place the Card face-down (to differentiate from the available Supply Cards on the Trading Post Board) onto a Discard stack, near the Trading Post Board. Cards cannot be discarded without resolving their effect.
Some Supply Cards specify conditions under which they may be used, such as those that may be played during a Battle. Clarifications for some of the Supply Cards are provided below:
- Coffee: The Coffee Card permits the player to give one additional Order for each Coffee Card played this Turn, covering the associated Order space with a Coffee Token. Players CANNOT repeat any Orders that are currently covered by a Mate Mini or Coffee Token.
- Bait: Players may place a Grey Crester from the Stockpile onto any unoccupied Feeding Ground space of their choice.
Pick Up
During your Turn, you may, at no cost, pick up any of the following items from Celus to your Ship Status Board, when your Ship is on the same space as the items: a Longboat of your color, a Defeated Crester, and/or any Cargo ("+2 Hit" Tokens, Crester Teeth, etc.).
Collect Rewards
If, at any time, you move your Ship to the Trading Post, while you have one or more Crester Teeth in your Cargo Hold, complete the following steps:
- Return all Crester Teeth to the Stockpile.
- Increase your Notoriety by 3 for each Grey Crester Tooth, and by 4 for each Red Crester Tooth, returned to the Stockpile.
Give Orders
Each player has 2 Mate Minis that can be used to Give Orders at any time during their Turn. The "At Sky Orders" may only be used when your Ship is At Sky, and the "At Port Orders" may only be used when your Ship is At Port.
To give an Order, place a Mate Mini on the associated Order space and then perform the action listed.
At Sky Orders: These may only be used when your Ship is At Sky.
- Drop Longboat: Take a Longboat from your Ship Status Board and place it on the same space occupied by your Ship. A Longboat CANNOT be dropped onto a space occupied by anything other than your Ship. Once dropped, a Longboat may remain At Sky until it is either defeated in Battle or picked up by its Ship.
- +X Longboat Speed: Increase your Longboat Speed by the value specified on the Order. This represents your Mate ordering Rowers to rest and prepare for their next shift. The current Longboat Speed cannot exceed the maximum value (8) on your Ship Status Board. If your Order would cause the Longboat Speed to exceed the maximum value, place your Status Marker on the maximum value.
- +1 Ship Speed: Increase your Ship Speed by one for this Turn. If you are using the Wind Die to track your Speed, increase its value by one.
- Process Crester: If you have a Defeated Crester in your Cargo Hold, you may process it, by completing the following steps:
- Return the Crester to the Stockpile beside Celus.
- Take 1 Crester Tooth of the same color of the Crester processed and add it to your Cargo Hold.
- Collect a number of Gas Tokens from the Stockpile equal to your current Morale value and place them in the Gas Storage section of your Ship Status Board. If you do not have enough Slots remaining in your Gas Storage section, to place all of the Gas Tokens collected, then return the excess Tokens to the Stockpile.
At Port Orders: These may only be used when your Ship is At Port.
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Take X Supplies: Take a number of Cards from any of the Supply stacks, one at a time, up to whichever of the following occurs first:
- You reach the number of supplies listed on the Order.
- You reach your Hand Limit of 5 Cards (+1 from the Purser crew tile, if you have hired that crew member on your Ship).
Once you have reached your Hand Limit, you may not collect any more Supply Cards from the Trading Post Board.
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+X Morale: Increase your Morale by the number specified on the Order. Your current Morale cannot exceed the maximum value (4) on your Ship Status Board.
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Fill Cannon: Collect a Cannon Token from the Stockpile and place it on a Cannon Slot on your Ship Status Board. If you do not have enough Slots remaining in your Ship Cannons section, to place the Cannon Token collected, then you cannot give this Order.
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Hire Crew: Add any Crew Tile from the stack of Crew Tiles on the Trading Post Board to an unoccupied Crew Slot on your Ship Status Board, so long as each Crew Slot is only occupied by one Crew Tile with either of the names specified on the Crew Slot. Once hired, you CANNOT change or remove Crew from your Ship Status Board for the remainder of the game.
Epic Turn Example: Gary (GREEN) begins his turn with a Red Crester Tooth in his Cargo Hold, a Morale of 4, three Cannons, one Coffee Supply Card, one Fuel Supply Card and one Harpoon Card.
Gary begins by moving with the Wind (does not cost speed) to attack the Red Crester. He uses his 3 Cannon Tokens and Harpoon Card to defeat it and take it into his Cargo Hold. He places a new Crester on that territory. He gives the "Process Crester" order using their first Mate Mini and gains 4 Gas (because his Morale is 4) and a Red Crester Tooth.
He uses his Ship's base 4 Speed (using the Zephyr Space) to move to the space labeled '4' on the diagram. You don't always have to use all 4 Speed in a row, but in this turn he decided that was the best strategy. He then moves with the Wind to pick up a Grey Crester Tooth on the map that was left there by a different player.
He uses his Fuel Card to move one space, then moves with the Wind closer to the Trading Post. He uses his second Mate Mini to give the "+1 Speed" order and move into Port.
He trades his two Red Crester Teeth and one Grey Crester Tooth from his Cargo Hold in for 11 Notoriety. He then spends 2 Gas Tokens to gain an additional 1 Notoriety. He spends one more Gas Token to gather 3 Supply Cards (two Fuel, and one Harpoon), and one Gas Token to gain one Cannon Token.
He spends a Fuel Card to move out to Sky and enters his rest phase. He discards a Fuel Card. A Red Crester moves towards him 3 spaces, but does not reach him to attack. He gains 1 Notoriety. Throughout his entire turn, he had gained a total of 13 Notoriety.
Crew
Crew are members of your Ship that you can hire to improve it. They can be hired by spending Gas at the Trading Post or by using the "Hire Crew" order.
- Purser: Gain 2 Gas Storage Slots and increase your Hand Limit by one.
- Gas Worker: Gain 2 Gas Storage Slots and collect 1 additional Gas Token when you execute the Process Crester Order.
- Marine: Gain 2 Cannon Slots and add 2 Hits during a Battle against a Red Crester.
- Sergeant: Gain 2 Cannon Slots and add 1 Strength to any Battle where your Ship is the Attacker.
- Harpooner: Gain 1 Longboat Slot and add 1 Strength to any Battle involving one of your Longboats. Add your second Longboat to your Ship Status Board.
- Coxswain: Gain 1 Longboat Slot and gain 1 Longboat Speed at the start of each of your turns. Add your second Longboat to your Ship Status Board.
Battle
A Battle is initiated when:
- A player's Ship moves into a space occupied by another player's Ship, or an alive Red or White Crester;
- A Longboat moves into a space occupied by another player's Longboat, or an alive Grey Crester;
- Vice-versa for any of the situations specified above.
Note: A Battle may be initiated by moving your Ship from the Trading Post (and off your Ship Status Board) to any space adjacent to the Trading Post containing another player's Ship or an alive Red/White Crester.
Once a Battle has been initiated, complete the following steps:
- Each player calculates their total strength on the space and at the appropriate Elevation. Base strengths for each Party that can engage in Battle are: Ship: 2 | Longboat: 1 | Grey Crester: 1 | Red Crester: 5 | White Crester: 8
- Designate the Attacker (the Party that initiated the Battle) and Defender (the Party being attacked). If the Attacker or Defender is a Crester, then the player to the right of the player engaged in Battle shall roll for the Crester; this player cannot play tokens or cards on behalf of the Crester.
- If the Attacker is a player's Ship, then the attacking player may choose to spend Cannon Tokens from their Ship Status Board, returning them to the Stockpile, to increase their Strength by 1 for each Token spent.
- The attacking player then rolls a number of Battle Dice equal to their Party's strength and counts the number of Hits shown.
- If the Defender is a player's Ship, then the defending player may choose to spend Cannon Tokens from their Ship Status Board, returning them to the Stockpile, to increase their Strength by 1 for each Token spent.
- The defending player then rolls a number of Battle Dice equal to their Party's strength and counts the number of Hits shown.
- If the Attacker is a player's Ship or Longboat, then the attacking player may play Supply Cards and/or "+2 Hit" Tokens and add the value to their roll result.
- If the Defender is a player's Ship or Longboat, then the defending player may play Supply Cards and/or "+2 Hit" Tokens and add the value to their roll result.
- The Party with the highest total number of Hits is the winner of the Battle.
- If there is a tie, then the Attacker moves back to their previous space. If the Attacker is a Ship or a Longboat, then all players involved in the battle take a "+2 Hits" Token from the Stockpile and places it into their Ship's Cargo Hold. The Attacker may continue their turn, but CANNOT initiate the same Battle again this Turn.
- The impact of the loss on the losing Party is then determined during the Conclusion.
Note: If the Attacker was a Ship that moved from the Trading Post to a space adjacent to initiate the Battle, and is required to move back to their previous space, then the Ship moves back to the Trading Post and the At Port Slot on the player's Ship Status Board.
Conclusion:
After a Battle has been conducted and if a losing Party has been determined, then complete the following steps, depending on the type of losing Party:
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Ship: Move the Status Tracker on the Ship's Morale track down by the difference between the total number of Hits between the Parties. If this causes the Status Tracker to move off the Morale track, then see Ship Lost (previous page).
If the Ship has 1 or more Morale remaining, then the losing player collects a "+2 Hits" Token from the Stockpile and places it into their Ship's Cargo Hold and the Attacking Party moves back to their previous space.
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Longboat: The Longboat is taken off the map and placed back onto the corresponding player's Ship Status Board. If the Longboat was towing a Defeated Grey Crester, then it remains in the space from which the Longboat was removed.
The losing player collects a "+2 Hits" Token from the Stockpile and places it into their Ship's Cargo Hold.
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Grey Crester: Remove the Cloud Base from the Grey Crester and place it back on the same space on the map. If there is a Longboat on the same space as the Defeated Grey Crester, it is now considered as being Towed, and may not be picked up by another player's Ship.
Important! Check if the number of Alive Grey Cresters is one less than total number of players. If not, then the current player should roll the Wind Die and place a new Grey Crester from the Stockpile on the Feeding Ground space of the specified Territory. Continue doing this until there is one less than the number of players. If there are no Grey Cresters in the stockpile, skip this step.
If the Feeding Ground is already occupied by another Grey Crester or a Longboat, roll the Wind Die again, until the Grey Crester has been placed on the map.
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Red Crester: Remove the Cloud Base from the Red Crester and place it in the Cargo Hold of the winning player's Ship. If the winning player's Ship already contains a Crester, then place it back on the same space on the map. If there is a Red Crester in the Stockpile, the winning player MUST place a Red Crester from the Stockpile on any unoccupied space in their Ship's current Territory.
Ship Lost
A Ship is considered Lost whenever your Morale falls below 1. This can be caused by losing a Battle or lacking a Supply Card when taking the Rest action At Sky. When a Ship is Lost, complete the following steps:
- If the Ship was Lost due to a lack of Supply Cards, or by losing a Battle against a Crester, then drop all Cargo (Defeated Cresters, Crester Teeth, "+2 Hits" Tokens, etc.) from the Ship's Cargo Hold, into the current space occupied by the Ship. Do not drop Gas or Cannons.
- If the Ship was Lost by losing a Battle against another player's Ship, the winning player collects any Crester, and then chooses half (rounded up) of the remaining Cargo from the losing player's Cargo Hold and transfers them to their own Ship's Cargo Hold. The Cargo NOT chosen by the winning player remains in the losing player's Ship. Teeth in their Cargo Hold are exchanged for Notoriety at the beginning of their next turn.
- If the winning player already has a Defeated Crester in their Cargo Hold, then the Defeated Crester is dropped into the space occupied by the losing player's Ship.
- Set Morale to 1.
- Place the Lost Ship in the At Port Slot of the losing player's Ship Status Board.
- Collect a "+2 Hits" Token from the Stockpile and add it to the losing player's Cargo Hold.
- If it was the losing player's current Turn, then the Turn ends immediately and the player does not gain the benefits of the Rest action this Turn.
Ending Your Turn
Once you have completed all of your desired actions for the Turn, complete the following steps:
- Return any Tokens (such as Coffee) used during your Turn to the Stockpile.
- Move both of your Mate Minis to the appropriate Rest space on your Ship Status Board, depending on whether your Ship is At Sky or At Port. Execute the steps associated with the appropriate Rest space.
At Port
When resting At Port, increase your Morale by the number specified on your Rest space.
At Sky
When resting At Sky, complete the following steps:
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You MUST either discard 1 Supply Card (without resolving it) OR reduce your Morale one. If this causes your Morale to be reduced below 1, then go to Ship Lost.
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If a Red Crester is present in your Territory, and it was not a Party in a Battle with you this Turn, move it 3 spaces, ignoring Wind direction, towards your Ship (if playing on Small Planet Board, it moves 2).
Notes on Red Crester Movement:
- The Red Crester CANNOT leave its current Territory in order to move towards your Ship.
- If, at any time during its movement, the Red Crester is no longer able to move towards your Ship, the Red Crester ends its movement.
- Red Cresters will NOT attack or move through spaces occupied by other player's Ships.
- If the Red Crester lands on a space occupied by your Ship, it is initiating a battle with you.
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If your Ship is still At Sky after moving the Red Crester, then increase your Notoriety by one.
Ending the Round
Once play returns to the first player, a new round begins. The first player then rolls the Wind Die and set the Wind direction for the start of the next Round. If the Wind direction is the same as the current Wind direction, roll the Wind Die again, until a new Wind direction is set. Then, the first player takes their turn.
Ending the Game
The following trigger to end the game and win condition are suitable for the Head-To-Head and Free-For-All Game Modes. For more information on end game triggers and win conditions for Advanced Rule Variants, or other Game Modes, see their respective sections.
End Game Trigger
When a player reaches the final space on the Notoriety Track (15 or greater), this turn will be that player's final turn. The game will end immediately before that player's next turn begins. Each other player gets to take a final turn to try to get as many Notoriety as they can. If a player goes beyond the final space on the Track (15), they will count their extra points by beginning again at the start of the Notoriety Track (starting at 16).
Win Condition
After all players have taken their final turn, the player with the most notoriety is the winner. If two players have equal Notoriety, each player takes another final turn (starting with the player that triggered the end game). Any player is still eligible to win. Continue this until one player has the highest Notoriety.
Alternate Play Modes
These are two optional play modes that your group can try instead of the standard Free-For-All or Head-To-Head. The game rules stay the same besides the changes shown. We suggest learning the Standard Play Mode before playing an Alternate Play Mode.
Windward Solo Adventure
Story & Game Overview
You, a captain on the skies of Celus, have stolen an adolescent Red Crester to attempt to train as your own. All of the Red Cresters on the planet are now chasing you down. The Windward Solo Adventure allows players to explore Celus alone in a unique and extremely challenging mode of play. This is played by a single player taking turns over and over until the game ends.
This solo adventure follows the same rules as the Standard Game with the few exceptions written below. The object of the game is to defeat all 6 Red Cresters and the Great White Crester on the Planet. However, if your Ship is defeated once, in any way, you lose and the game is over.
Setup
Set up a Standard Game of Windward, but place a Grey Crester on every Feeding Ground Space and start the game with 5 Supply Cards. You do not use Achievement Cards.
Turn End
If you end your turn At Port: The adolescent Red Crester of Celus destroy your ship. You lose.
If you end your turn At Sky: Choose to discard a Supply Card OR reduce Morale by 1 (if Morale drops to zero, you lose).
Then, move ALL Red Cresters towards your Ship in the shortest route possible (you choose if there are options). All Red Cresters start the game by moving 3 spaces per turn. For every Red Crester that has been defeated, the Red Cresters' speed increases by 1. (Example: if 3 have been defeated, each Red Crester would now move 6 spaces per turn) Red Cresters CAN move off of their starting territory in Solo Mode, and a maximum of two Red Cresters can be on the same space. After moving all of the Red Cresters, resolve any battles. Multiple Red Cresters may attack you at the same time - they add their strength together. Then, if you're still alive, roll for a new Wind and start your next turn.
Cresters
Cresters (both Red and Grey) never respawn in Solo Mode. Instead of Trading Teeth for Notoriety at the Trading Post, you may choose to trade in Teeth for Gas (3 for a Grey Tooth, 4 for a Red Tooth).
Final Battle
As soon as the final Red Crester has been defeated in battle, choose an "Around the World" space on the edge of the planet to place the Great White Crester. The White Crester acts as it normally would in a Free-For-All game (see Battle). The Great White Crester moves at the end of the same turn it was placed - even if the final Red Crester was defeated as part of the Rest Phase. If you defeat the Great White Crester in battle, you win the game.
Windward Cooperative Adventure
This Cooperative Adventure follows the same rules as the Standard Game with the few exceptions written below. In Cooperative Mode, 2-4 players are all on the same team. The object of the game is to kill the Great White Crester by removing all of its lives. If your team loses all of your lives, the players lose.
Setup — Set up a Standard Game of Windward on the large map with these exceptions:
- Place a Grey Crester on every Feeding Ground Space.
- Each player is given 2 Supply Cards to start.
- You cannot use Achievement Cards.
- Roll the Blue Wind Die, and place the White Crester on the "Around the Planet" Arrow Space on the edge of the map on the territory determined by the Wind Die.
- Choose a difficulty level which changes the number of spaces the White Crester moves towards your ship at the end of your turn. Easy: 5 spaces per turn | Normal: 6 spaces | Hard: 7 spaces | Impossible: 8 spaces
- Place Life Tokens on the White Crester Remaining Lives Card, and Captains remaining Lives Cards equal to the number of players. (Example: If there are 3 players playing, place 3 Life Tokens in the White Crester Card, and 3 Life tokens in the Captains Card.)
Trading
Players may trade Supply Cards with each other openly - at any time - if both player's ships are At Port.
Players Ships and Boats
You cannot initiate combat with another player. That means you cannot move onto a space (and same elevation) occupied by another player. Only one player may be in battle at a time - you cannot team together on the same space to be in the same battle together.
Turn End
If you end your turn At Port: Move your Mates to that rest space, and then the White Crester moves towards the Trading Post. If it moves onto the Trading Post space, Your Ship is defeated and you remove a Life Token from the Player Co-op Card. The White Crester then moves back one space. After the White Crester has finished moving, and if your ship was not defeated, you gain +1 Morale.
If you end your turn at Sky: Move your Mates to that rest space and choose to discard a Supply Card OR reduce Morale by 1. Then, move any Red Crester that is on your territory 3 spaces towards your Ship. Red Cresters cannot move off of the territory they started on. If another player's Ship is on a space of that same territory, the Red Crester cannot move onto that space; it takes a different path. If it is blocked from reaching your Ship, it does not move. If a Red Crester already battled you this turn, that Red Crester does not move again at the end of your turn.
The White Crester now moves towards your ship in the same fashion as a Red Crester would (shortest path, does not attack Red Cresters or Other Ships). The White Crester CAN move across different territories.
Cresters
Red and Grey Cresters do not respawn in Co-Op Mode. Instead of trading Crester Teeth for Notoriety at the Trading Post, you may choose to trade in Teeth for Gas (3 for a Grey Tooth, 4 for a Red Tooth). If the White Crester is defeated by a player, immediately choose an "Around the Planet" arrow space for the White Crester to respawn on before the next player's turn begins.
Victory / Defeat
If any players ship is defeated for any reason, remove a Life Token from player area of the Player Co-Op card. If you remove the last Life Token from this card, the players have lost the game. When the White Crester is defeated in battle, remove a Life Token from the White Crester Co-Op Card. If you remove the last Life Token from this card, the players have won the game.
Advanced Rule Variants
The following rule variants are meant to be added to the game as you'd like.
Before you begin a game, you may pick and choose which variants to add.
Great White Crester
The fabled Great White Crester is believed to remain slumbering at the lowest levels of Celus' atmosphere, only to appear when a grave threat to the Crester population arises.
The White Crester can be added to your game by adding the following steps to the corresponding sections:
Setup
Place the White Crester Mini on the 10 space of the Notoriety track. It is on the Higher Elevation.
Additional Rules
When the first Player reaches the 10 space on the Notoriety track, that Player rolls the Wind Die to determine the starting Territory for the White Crester. Place the White Crester on the map on the Around the Planet space of the specified Territory. If that space is occupied, roll the Wind Die to determine a new starting Territory.
Move Ship
If, at any time, your Ship enters a space occupied by a Red or White Crester, or another Ship, a Battle is initiated.
White Crester Battle
White Crester: Base Strength 8.
When a Player defeats the White Crester in battle, that Player increases their Notoriety by six immediately. It does not go into their cargo hold or produce Gas/Teeth.
Ending Your Turn
At Sky
If your Ship is still on Celus after the Red Crester moves, move the White Crester, ignoring Wind direction and Territory boundaries, 5 spaces (regardless of planet size) towards the Player's Ship.
If, at any time during its movement, the White Crester is no longer able to move towards your Ship, the White Crester ends its movement. White Cresters will NOT attack or move through spaces occupied by other Player's Ships.
If the White Crester lands on a space occupied by your Ship, you must initiate a Battle.
If, and only if, your Ship is still on Celus after the White Crester moves (and potentially initiates a Battle with you), do you gain the standard +1 Notoriety for ending your turn At Sky.
The Naturalist
The Naturalist is an asymmetric player faction that can be added to your game by adding the following steps to the corresponding sections:
Setup
Give the player with the purple Ship and Ship Status Board the 5 Naturalist Tags.
Give Orders
The Naturalist has the "Research Crester" Order instead of the "Process Crester" Order.
Research Crester
If you have a Defeated Crester in your Cargo Hold, you may research it, by completing the following steps:
- Collect a Cloud Base from the Stockpile, place a Tag over the stem and replace the Defeated Crester on the Cloud Base.
- Place the Tagged Crester on any unoccupied space adjacent to your Ship that does not contain Drift.
- Collect a number of Gas Tokens from the Stockpile equal to your current Morale value and place them in the Gas Storage section of your Ship Status Board.
- If you do not have enough Slots remaining in your Gas Storage section, to place all of the Gas Tokens collected, then return the excess Tokens to the Stockpile.
Note: When you do this, you are increasing the population of the Cresters. A territory may have multiple Red or Grey Cresters in the same territory. If a player ends their turn in a territory with more than one Red Crester, all Red Cresters move towards that player, one at a time, within the territory as normal. The nearest Red Crester moves first, and if a battle occurs, resolve that battle. Continue this process until all Red Cresters in that territory have moved. Red Cresters cannot move onto the same space as another Red Crester.
Note: A Tagged Grey Crester is NOT considered Alive, for the purposes of counting the number of Grey Cresters currently on Celus. Tagging a Crester permanently increases the population of that type of Crester.
Note: If a Tagged Crester is defeated, it is no longer Tagged.
Tagged Crester Battle
Grey / Red / White Crester: If another player defeats a Tagged Crester, they should immediately remove the Tag and return it to the Naturalist player.
Note: The Naturalist player cannot gain Notoriety from Crester Teeth at the Trading Post. If, at any time, the Naturalist player's Ship has a Crester Tooth in its Cargo Hold, then the Crester Tooth is immediately discarded to the Stockpile.
Ending Your Turn
At Sky
Perform the normal Rest At Sky procedures, and then, if your Ship is still on the map, increase Notoriety by 3 for every Tagged Red Crester and by 2 for every Tagged Grey Crester on Celus.
Achievements
In the tavern aboard the Trading Post hangs a notice board with a list of achievements of the Great Sky Captains.
Achievements can be added to your game by adding the following steps to the corresponding sections:
Setup
Shuffle the Achievements deck and place two Achievement Cards up by the Trading Post Board.
Collecting Rewards
If, at any time, a player meets the conditions of an Achievement Card, and do not already have an Achievement Token on the Card, complete the following steps:
- The player may increase their Notoriety by the highest visible number on the Achievement Card.
- If there are two numbers visible on the Achievement Card, then the player should place their Achievement Token over the higher number.
- If only one number is visible, then the player should place their Achievement Token on the Card without covering up the number. Other players may still gain Notoriety for meeting the conditions of this Achievement.
Small World
The Smaller Map to Planet (on the backs of the Planet Boards) can be added to any game if you'd like more of a challenging world while playing. To play on the Small Map to Planet, change the following steps to their corresponding sections:
Setup
When setting up the Planet Board, use the Smaller World to Planet.
Ending Your Turn
At Sky
On the Smaller Map to Planet, Red Cresters move 2 spaces towards your Ship instead of the standard 3 spaces.
Credits
Game Designers: Hayden Lapiska, Daniel Aronson, Nick Tompkins
World Builder: Hayden Lapiska
Artist: Justin Spice
With Special Thanks to: Eeshwar Rajagopalan, Other BGG users, and all of our Kickstarter Backers.
Copyright © 2021 PlayMonster LLC, Beloit, WI 53511 USA. Made in China. All rights reserved. Windward™ and Harness the Wind, Master the Skies™ are trademarks of PlayMonster LLC. Parts and colors may vary from those shown. Game by Hayden Lapiska. Developed in conjunction with El Dorado Games.