Overview

There are 4 rounds in which to gain the most points

Each round has an Action Phase, a Feed Phase, and a Decree Phase

Action Phase

Each player takes a single action in order until all have passed

If a player chooses to pass, this is a hard pass and they are out for the remainder of the phase. The first player to do this becomes the new first player next round.

There are 6 actions to choose from:

Navigation

Acquisition

Discovery

Invitation

Engagement

Construction

Navigation

Choose a destination with no ship and place 1 of your ships from your bay onto the dock of the destination

Some destinations have a bread cost too which will provide a bonus, if you can't pay the bread cost you can't go there

Take all the destination benefits from left to right, if you can't fully take a benefit take as much as allowed

Private Destinations will be unlocked through the game, only the player who discovered these can access them

Most destinations allow you to send a ship from your bay to a particular resource hold (if the wild resource symbol is shown, the player chooses the hold)

Some destinations ask you to discard the rightmost Artwork or Character from the main display, then this is replaced

Some destinations allow you to take a character from the main display, this may cost or gain you some bread depending on what position it is taken from, then a new card is drawn for the main display

Some destinations allow you to build a lighthouse from your player board and place it anywhere where there's a vacant lighthouse symbol (including private destinations of opponents). If the place lighthouse reveals a symbol, you gain a benefit. If you have no more lighthouses to build, you may instead take a character or 2 VP.

If a destination holds a lighthouse, when it is visited the OWNER of the lighthouse either pays 2 bread to send a boat from their bay to the resource hold depicted on the destination OR they gain 1 bread. Lighthouses continue to activate for players after they have passed.

There are three evolving destinations, these will be randomly changed up each round, with the round number they will change on shown on the lower right

Acquisition

This allows you to buy artwork from the main display, the cost is shown in the top left and, if split, you can choose what amount of each resource to pay with

Depending where in the display you buy from, there may be additional costs or you may gain some bread

Score the VP shown in the top right of the bought artwork then gain any bonuses it offers before placing it in your personal area

There are three types of artwork

Books are red triangles, mainly cost red, mainly cost 4-8, mainly gain 4-10 VP

Paintings are blue circles, mainly cost blue, mainly cost 5-9, mainly gain 5-11 VP

Monuments are green squares, mainly cost green, mainly cost 6-10, mainly gain 6-13 VP

Discovery

This is how to gain private destinations

The cost is shown in the top left and, if split, you can choose what amount of each resource to pay with (purple is the most common resource used here)

Depending where in the display you buy from, there may be additional costs or you may gain some bread

Score the VP shown in the top right of the bought artwork before placing it in your personal area

Once gained, a private destination can be visited by its OWNER via the Navigation action

Invitation

This is the main way to play character cards previously gained through Navigation

The cost is shown in the top left and, if split, you can choose what amount of each resource to pay with

There are four types of characters

Immediate cost bread and happen once when played

Permanent cost a stated resource and activate whenever their conditions are met

End cost any resource and grant VP at end of game based on criteria

Engageable cost a stated resource or bread and can be used through the Engagement action

Engagement

Pick an engageable character you own and is unexhausted

Apply the effect

Turn the card to exhaust it

Each new round, all exhausted characters are straightened

In addition, some effects allow you to straighten exhausted characters early (these effects happen at the time they occur, i.e. you can't "gain a straighten", exhaust for use, then immediately straighten with a previous unused straighten)

Construction

This allows you to make new ships

The cost is round based at a cost of 5-4-4-3

You can construct as many ships as you want in the same action

Newly constructed ships go to your Port so cannot be used immediately

If constructing a ship reveals a benefit, take the benefit

Optional Actions

At any time, on your turn or an opponents, you may additionally either move ships from holds to bay or discard characters to gain extra bread, the extra bread is ready to be used immediately

Feed Phase

Check the rightmost space of your shipyard and pay the depicted quantity of bread

For ease of reference, you start with a feed of 2, and add 1 to this for each ship you build

For bread you lack, if any, lose 3 VP per failed feed, e.g. if you lack 2 bread then you lose 6 VP

Decree Phase

Earn VP based on the current round's criteria

New Round

As long as you didn't just finish round 4, the following applies:

Every player collects their ships from destinations and their port and puts them in their Bay

Update the evolving destinations

Discard the rightmost character and artwork

All players straighten any exhausted characters

Start a new round

Game End

The game ends at the end of round 4

End game characters score now

The player with the most VP wins