Teach the Game

A script to read aloud: how you win, the boards, a round, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.

How you win

1835: the HMS Beagle reaches the Galápagos. Over five rounds you send your crew out to explore the islands, sail the coast, write to the scientific world and study at the Academy. You collect specimens, deliver them to the Museum and build up the Theory of Evolution. The most victory points at the end wins.

What you need, and how you get it:

You need	Why	How
Trained workers	Every action space asks for Wax Seals on the worker you send	Buy seals at the Academy; 4 seals = silver distinction, 6 = golden
Specimens	Delivered to the Museum they pay Coins and push your Evolution marker	Stop your Explorer or Ship on a specimen and research it
Theory of Evolution books	The biggest end score: books reached × the Museum multiplier	advancements from deliveries, letters and tiles
Objectives	Points and permanent perks on your personal board	take tiles, meet their requirements, slot them face down

The loop: train a worker → send it to explore, sail or write → research and deliver specimens for money and books → spend the money on more seals and unlocks.

The boards

1. Main Diaries — Exploration, Navigation, Correspondence and Academy spaces, stronger lower down
2. Special Action Diary — six random Special Action tiles, unlocked with Lens tokens
3. Small Diary — two spaces to unlock a locked location with your Lens
4. Academy Scrolls — the Wax Seal market; lower Scrolls cost more
5. Envelopes — three Correspondence tiles, scored each round by Stamp majority
6. Museum display — where delivered specimens go, row by row
7. Objective display — silver and golden Objective stacks with two of each on offer
8. Turn Order track — who plays first next round
9. Theory of Evolution track — your Evolution marker and its Book multipliers
10. Silver plate — the Special Wax Seals (purple)
11. Island tracks — your Explorers walk here, past specimens and campsites
12. Ocean track — your Ship and the HMS Beagle
13. Beagle Goal tiles — one is scored at the end of each round
14. Victory point track — round the edge

1. Workers — four at the start, each in its own row
2. Wax Seal rows — new seals fill from the left; the numbers are their Coin cost
3. Fifth worker space — opened by the leftmost golden Objective
4. Objective rows — silver on top, golden below; each space shows its reward
5. Specimens — 16 specimens: four types ( ) in four colours
6. Tents — taking a Tent frees the action beside it
7. Stamps — emptying a stack frees the action beside it

A round

Five rounds, four phases each. (Full round)

1. Action phase. In turn order, place one worker and do the actions of that space; repeat until everyone has placed all workers. A worker can only go where it has the seals shown; Temporary Knowledge stands in for a missing seal. A Diary section already holding a worker costs 3 Coins at 2 players, 2 Coins at 3–4.
2. Turn Order phase. Workers on the Turn Order space set next round’s order.
3. Reward phase. Each Envelope pays its 1st and 2nd Stamp majorities; then everyone scores the Beagle Goal tile under the Beagle, minus lagging penalties if their Ship is behind it.
4. Cleanup. The Beagle sails on, workers come home, new Objectives come out and the top Academy Scroll is cleared and refilled.

Before the first placement, rehearse a qualification check: a space asking for two yellow seals accepts a worker with one yellow seal if you spend one Temporary Knowledge token. The seal stays on the worker; the token is spent. Then check the Diary section for its placement penalty. (Worker placement)

How the game ends

After the fifth Reward phase, skip Cleanup and do final scoring: the Theory of Evolution track, your personal board, leftover Coins and Temporary Knowledge. Ties: furthest on the Theory of Evolution track, then most Coins; then a shared win. (Final scoring)

Ways to score

Source	How	When
Theory of Evolution	Books reached × (2 + completed Museum rows)	End
Objective spaces	The victory points printed on the spaces where you slotted achieved Objectives; 4 more if both rightmost spaces are filled	End
Trained workers	3 for a worker with 5 seals, 10 for one with 6	End
All 5 Tents out	5	End
Coins and	1 per 5 Coins, 1 per Temporary Knowledge token	End
Beagle Goal tiles	Points per seal, specimen, Lens, Tent, Objective or empty Stamp stack — minus lagging penalties	Each round
Island and Ocean tracks	Golden ribbons (first to cross), +3 for first to a track’s end, VP spaces	When reached
Letters, Special Actions, Crew cards	where shown	When gained
[Fireland] Time and Adventures	Lose 0 to 18 VP for Time spent; Adventure tokens score −10 to +15 by count (Fireland)	End
[Oceania] Hazards, Villages, Consequences	Lose 5 per Hazard past the fifth step and points from Consequence tiles; golden Village points and 2 per Consequence tile kept (Oceania)	Each round and End

What each resource is for

Resource	Why you need it	How you get it	How you use it
Coins	Seals, unlocks, placement penalties and second deliveries all cost money — it is tight	4 at the start; Museum deliveries; Turn Order and Objective spaces; letters; your Lenses when others use them	Pay costs in red; 1 VP per 5 at the end
Wax Seals	Let a worker use spaces; 4 and 6 give distinctions; 5 and 6 score	Academy; Crew cards at setup	Never removed; count for Crew cards, Objectives and Beagle goals
Special Wax Seal	Counts as any colour for placement and Crew cards	Special actions, Crew card 11, an Objective space	Not for Objectives or Beagle goals
Temporary Knowledge	One-off missing seal when placing a worker	1 at the start; letters, tiles, Crew cards	Spend while placing; never for Objectives or Crew cards; 1 VP each at the end
Lens tokens	Unlock locked spaces for everyone, and you do the action at once	Unlock Lens Location	Opponents who use your Lens pay you 1 Coin (from the supply)
Explorers and Ship	Reach specimens, campsites and rewards	Exploration and Navigation; crossing a silver banner adds an Explorer	Stop on a space to do its action
Research tokens	Mark specimens you have studied	Explore or sail onto a specimen; Museum research	Needed to deliver; count for Objectives and Beagle goals
Tents and Stamps	Each Tent placed or Stamp stack emptied unlocks the action next to it	Campsites; Correspondence	5 Tents placed = 5 VP; Stamps win Envelope majorities
Objectives and Crew cards	Points, perks and one-shot actions	Objective display; 3 Crew cards at setup	Achieve when you meet the requirements, on your turn or in the Reward phase

Teaching tips

• Start with the personal board: a worker row, its seals, and the space it can reach. Everything else follows from “who can go where”.
• Say early that money is tight and that the first deliveries to the Museum are the main income.
• Rehearse Unlock Lens Location: after paying and placing the Lens, you may immediately perform the unlocked actions without placing a worker or meeting seal requirements. Point out this optional bonus before moving on.
• Point at the Beagle and the lagging penalties before round 1: Ships that never sail lose points every round.
• Use the first-game setup: fixed Special Action, Correspondence and Beagle tiles, and fixed Crew cards. (Setup)