Wondrous Creatures
107 questions players ask about Wondrous Creatures, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-29.
107 questions players ask about Wondrous Creatures, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-29.
Any player may start. The line refers to a real-world animal and is just a playful way to pick a starter.
A forum reply says the text is right and the picture wrong; the poster is not tagged official.
Four, placed at random on the 2nd to 5th spaces. The example picture on page 4 shows five, which is a mistake in the example; the text is correct.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Player order is set when the extra starting resources are handed out, which happens after players have chosen their starting cards.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes. Every card is unique, although some effects are similar.
No. The page 11 sweep text is an example, not a free action. You sweep only when a card ability, special effect or track space tells you to.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
It refills automatically at the end of every player's turn. Sweeping is an extra refresh you use only when an effect allows it.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek. It relayed the designer's answer.
Yes. Once you pick that action you must sweep first and then take a card; you cannot take the card without sweeping.
No, treat it as mandatory. The rulebook says to perform the icon's effect immediately and, unlike the page 11 sweep, gives no 'may'. This reading comes from players, not an official ruling.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Card effects are optional: use all, some or none. Effects joined by arrows must resolve left to right once you start them. Score track rewards are mandatory.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
It takes the egg from the supply. If none of that species remains, you gain no egg. Only a random (question mark) egg is drawn from the pouch.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
You gain 2 VP instead of the egg, whatever its species. You may not refuse an egg you have room for.
Official statements conflict and the later one is secondhand.
Unclear. The designer said it returns to the supply; a later secondhand report of the publisher and some players say it leaves the game or goes back to the box. Either way you gain 2 VP.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. Every egg space has a reward, and you receive it immediately when an egg lands there.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. A habitat tile you take can be placed on any lake space of the board.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. The pond is board art, not a space. Only land and mountain tiles can be placed, like the ocean around the island.
A single reply cites the page 16 wording.
Yes. Even once unlocked and placed, a Captain's ability is optional; for example, Octavia's discard need not be used.
Single forum reply.
Yes. A drawn card always goes to your hand.
One reply quotes the page 7 rule text.
No. Once you have gone past 50 VP, the score track reward icons can no longer be claimed.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes. Both hatched and unhatched eggs count as part of your reserve for end-card scoring, as the page 7 picture and the scoring example show.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Resources and cards come only from habitats already adjacent when the crew is placed. A tile placed earlier in the same placement (step 2) counts in step 3, and a Butterfly Net can still be used on a later tile.
Single forum reply.
Yes. Each adjacent tile gives its own independent choice, so you may take a different benefit from each.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No. It takes the egg on its own hex for free. Each adjacent egg costs one Butterfly Net to take.
Single forum reply.
One resource in total.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No. You take a card from the Wilderness; the deck is drawn from only when an effect says so.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. The Captain's ability cannot be used until the Captain is placed, so the cost must be paid from resources you already hold.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
You always gain a Net. The 3 VP is a separate special effect you may buy by spending a Net as a free action.
One reply, without official confirmation.
Nets work on printed special effect icons, not on ordinary habitat resources.
Replies cite the page 9 and 19 text.
No. The matching-habitat limit applies only to the Place a Crew Member action.
No. A special effect gives only the resource shown, unlike a habitat tile.
The rulebook defines one Basic Action per turn.
No. Complete an Achievement is a single Basic Action and you take one Basic Action per turn.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. Eggs used are flipped to hatched, only unhatched eggs count, and cards are not used up. When you exceed the goal you choose which eggs or icons to use, so you may hatch eggs even when cards would suffice.
One reply, citing the glossary and appendix.
Yes. Hatching is flipping an egg to its hatched side, so flip-based scoring triggers.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes. 'Flip' works in either direction. Flipping to unhatched lets an egg be reused for another Achievement; flipping to hatched can score on flip cards.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Recharge discards only down to 5, so with 5 or fewer you discard nothing. Only the player taking Recharge discards.
Yes. A Recharge discard counts as a discard for every purpose.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Sweeping is not discarding from hand, so discard-triggered effects do not fire. Placing cards into the discard pile by an effect likewise is not discarding.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. 'Up to X' means anywhere from 0 to X.
Probably yes, if other effects (Nets, activation cards) trigger it again; no cited text limits a Recharge card to once per turn, though one player recalls such a rule. Energy is separate and limited to once per card per turn.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes. You resolve the token (adding eggs) and also perform the symbol beneath it, including taking a printed Net.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No. Eggs are added only when the hourglass reaches a time token during Recharge. Spaces under crew or existing eggs are skipped.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Every space has an icon that you perform when the hourglass covers it.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
At any time on your turn: before, after or even during a Basic Action. Exceptions: Nets cannot be used between the steps of placing a crew, and Tingent's captain energy allocation must finish first.
No. Use it before you start or after you finish placing, because mid-placement use can change what the action yields. An earlier forum answer allowed it, but the publisher ruled otherwise.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Generally yes, if it does not interfere with or bypass the effect being resolved. Free actions are allowed between Recharge cards activated by an Achievement reward.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Only one chosen Recharge card resolves, and it is not a Recharge action, so Wayfinder does not trigger.
Once per icon per tile each turn. Different tiles count separately, and Captain or card abilities add extra uses. An earlier once-per-round wording was replaced.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Yes, with a crew already on the map. On a Recharge turn, use the Net before the crew are retrieved.
One reply cites page 19.
Use as many as you have in a turn; you can hold at most three.
Yes. After the Recharge and full sweep your turn continues, so Energy can take a newly revealed card. Nets cannot be used because your crew are already removed.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
The game does not end. The tracker stays and each later Recharge removes one trophy until none remain.
Players agree, no citation.
Yes. Every other player takes one more turn, but the player who took the last trophy does not, so they may end up a turn short.
One reply reasoning from card text.
Yes. Bustosaur's text only makes sense if several End cards can be scored.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. They need you to actually receive a trophy. You can still complete Achievements without one.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. It moves one card right whether it claimed or forfeited, but it cannot move onto a card whose colour does not match.
Yes. Regular crew follow Captain placement rules, scoring 1 VP per matching adjacent habitat immediately. An early reply saying only the Captain scores was corrected.
An egg matching the target achievement's species from the supply; for multi-species, the top (leftmost) species. Only one egg even with two identical icons.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. It always moves to the next best spot and cannot land on its previous hex. Only if no legal spot exists does it not move, in which case you draw a new card.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Only the type shown. A Captain icon moves the Captain, a regular crew icon moves regular crew. Solo mode only.
Replies cite page 23.
Treat it as place-or-move, since crew never leave the map. If it cannot move any, draw a new card.
Reply quoting the designer secondhand.
No. Tingent takes the open spot with the most of that icon, which may be one.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. It completes the achievement and gains end scores but takes no trophy.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
End cards count 0 during play; only the card's shown value matters. A tie on multi-species goes to the leftmost card.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. The order is draw, action, track move, so a card whose action cannot be done is discarded wholesale and a new one drawn.
No. Without meeting the upper requirement it gets nothing; if it meets it, it takes that achievement and Trophy. It aims for the higher tier.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Only a Sweep clears it.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek. It relayed the designer.
Yes. It places its marker on an empty, highest-scoring space.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek. It relayed the designer.
Advance the Time Tracker each time the marker would have moved.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
It flips the token, places the egg and triggers any Sweep. It receives no Net and retrieves no crew.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. Its VP are tallied there, but it gets no score track bonuses.
A single reply explains it.
On the leftmost space with an egg, even far right; if no water space holds an egg, the leftmost empty water space.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. It copies only the card played immediately before; Blizzard and Berrong cannot reactivate each other. If no earlier instant exists, the effect is lost and a card cannot trigger itself.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. A repeated instant copies only its instant effect, such as gaining a Net. The discard cost applies only when played from hand.
Designer and publisher disagree on this ruling.
Unclear. The publisher says you may discard up to 5 anyway; the designer says the discount step is skipped when payment is skipped. Both agree you still gain the 5 VP.
Yes, 5 VP are gained. Without arrows the parts are independent, and the VP applies regardless of how many cards you discarded.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes. You get the discard reward first (Octavia, Wifinn, etc.), then Throiamet plays the card.
Any time on your turn while the Energy is unused. Each Energy can be used once per turn even if restored.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Examine what remains, shuffle the discard pile into a new deck, and continue until you have seen three cards; keep one.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. It refers to the owner's conditions and only saves an action.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. You gain only one egg and must choose one of Quadred's icons.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
They are species symbols: they count for species scoring and achievements but cannot be hatched or used for the 8-unhatched-eggs achievement. Each must be a different species available in supply.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Announcing the habitat icons of the 4 drawn cards is enough; other players may check those icons.
No. Targets must be Recharge cards; Instant cards are not.
Yes, on play; this is a group reading some dispute.
Reasoned from card text.
Yes. Nothing says to discard it.
Single reply.
You do not take it; abilities are optional.
One reply cites the glossary.
No. Choose one species and gain one egg.
Replies cite the glossary.
Both hatched and unhatched eggs count.
No. Only a species not already present.
One report of the rulebook.
No.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Claiming a Beast is its own Basic Action, so the ability is not available that turn.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Each player is limited to one Beast card.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Four spaces total, to the eye symbol.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Per single matching icon, e.g. 5 Mammal and 3 Insect icons give 8 VP.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Beasts are not Creature or End cards.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. Beasts are not Energy cards.
Yes. Add Beast cards (not Tingent's), creatures and captains; Tingent does not interact with them, making it about half a star easier.
The designer answered this directly on BoardGameGeek. Relayed by the publisher.
Captains yes. Creature cards with the Beast Track can be added but the designer suggests leaving them out.
Reply quoting the expansion rulebook.
You hatch 4 eggs from your reserve to claim it.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No, Spirits do not count toward enabling a Gargantuan Beast. The two expansions can be combined, but the publisher does not recommend it.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
No. It is not modular.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes, with Winterfall.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
It is replaced by card 21; do not use both.
The publisher answered this directly on BoardGameGeek.
Yes.
Single reply.
No; eggs are not on habitat hexes.