Board Actions
Every action on the main board and the map: Unlock Lens Location, Academy, Navigation, Exploration, the Theory of Evolution track, research, campsites, Correspondence, the Museum, Turn Order and Objectives.
These actions appear on the main board’s spaces and on the Island and Ocean tracks. Most also turn up on Special Action tiles and Crew cards.
Gain victory points
Move your marker up the victory point track by the number shown. See over 50 points.
Gain Coins
Take that many Coins from the supply.
Unlock Lens Location
Put one of your personal Lens tokens on a locked space of a Main Diary or the Special Action Diary, paying the 
Coin cost printed on that space.
- Unlocking bonus: you immediately do all the actions of the space you unlocked — without placing a worker there and ignoring its seal requirements.
- From now on it is an ordinary Lens space for everyone. A player who places a worker on your Lens gives you 1 Coin from the supply.
- On each page of a Main Diary, spaces unlock in order, top to bottom. Special Action tiles unlock in any order.
- You normally reach this action through the Small Diary, which counts as an occupied section if a worker is already there.
Academy
Buy one Wax Seal from any Academy Scroll and pay the Coin cost of that Scroll’s row (the top Scroll is free).
Put the seal on the leftmost empty seal space of any worker’s row on your board, paying the cost printed on that space. A worker’s 4th seal gives it the 
silver distinction, its 6th the 
golden distinction (Distinctions).
Navigation
Move your Ship along the Ocean track up to the number of spaces shown on the icon. Any number of Ships, the HMS Beagle included, may share a space.
Silver banner: when your Ship crosses one, put an Explorer from your supply on the starting space of the island with the matching symbol. Any number of Explorers may share a starting space.- Then do the action printed where your Ship stopped, if any. A Beagle space has no effect.
- The first Ship to reach the last space of the Ocean track scores 3 extra victory points.
Exploration
Move one of your Explorers along its Island track up to the number of spaces shown.
- Spaces holding another player’s Explorer are skipped and do not count.
- Only one Explorer may stand on each space, except the first and last of each track.
Golden ribbon: the first Explorer to cross it scores the victory points shown on it.- Then do the action printed where your Explorer stopped.
- The first Explorer to reach the last space of an Island track scores 3 extra victory points.
Theory of Evolution track
Move your Evolution marker forward one space per step shown. Some spaces carry Book multipliers: they only count at final scoring.
Research Galapagos Specimen
The Specimen tokens on the Island and Ocean tracks carry this action. When your Explorer or Ship stops on one, put a Research token on the matching specimen of your personal board: same type (
reptile, 
fossil, 
plant, 
bird) and same colour.
Research tokens stay on your board for the whole game, even after you deliver that specimen.
Establish Campsite
Only possible if a Tent space next to the icon is empty.
- Take the top Tent from your personal board and put it on that empty Tent space, paying any cost printed there.
- Do the actions shown at the campsite.
- Then do the action that the Tent uncovered on your personal board. Where two actions are split by a slash, choose one.
With no Tents left you cannot establish a campsite. You may still end a move there.
Correspondence
Move as many Stamps as the icon shows from your personal board to one Envelope on the main board. Take them from any mix of your three stacks. You may place fewer.
- When a stack becomes empty, do the action next to it on your board — each stack emptied this action.
- Out of Stamps on your board? Take Stamps of your colour back from the used Stamps tray.
- Each Envelope pays its 1st and 2nd majorities in the Reward phase.
Deliver Specimen
Deliver one specimen to the Museum — only if you hold a Research token on it and its Museum tile is not in the Museum display yet.
- Put the matching Museum tile on its space in the display.
- For every other space in that tile’s row and column: empty → gain 1 Coin; filled → move your Evolution marker one step. The new tile itself gives nothing.
- First tile delivered to that row (tiles placed at setup don’t count): take the Coin beside the row.
- Last tile of that row: one more Evolution step.
You may deliver a second specimen in the same visit for 3 Coins, paid with the Coins from the first if you like.
Research Museum Specimen
Choose a Museum tile already in the display and put a Research token on that specimen on your board. A second one costs 3 Coins. Useful for Objectives and Beagle goals — you cannot deliver a specimen whose tile is already there.
Reserve Turn Order
Place your worker on the leftmost empty spot of the rectangular magnifying glass above the Turn Order track and take 2 Coins (3 at two players). Several of your workers may go there. The order of workers there sets next round’s turn order.
Gain Objective
Take one Objective tile from the display and put it face up in your reserve, to the right of your Objective rows. The reserve holds two tiles of any colours. If it is full, the new tile must go face up on an empty Objective space of its colour on your board, paying that space’s cost. The board space with this action also pays 2 Coins. (Objectives)