FAQ
38 answered questions36 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Legion Wargames or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Returning an activated Rumor because it is three slots away — like a Discovery, it stays until an Explorer enters it. Ruling · Rule
- Placing a second Finding on a slot that already has one — return it. Ruling · Rule
- Putting a Mineral drawn as the second Event on the Encounter you stand on — Minerals need an empty slot. Ruling · Rule
- Using a Guide after a Special Discovery — your Time is already up and the Guide goes back. Ruling · Rule
- Letting the first two Porters carry Food or Gifts — they carry only Resources. Ruling · Rule
- Taking 5 Food from Fishing every Round — it is once per Game Turn, after the Map Phase move. Ruling · Rule
- Rolling an Ambush in a Jungle — a Warband has no effect there. Ruling · Rule
Showing 38 of 38
Which Resources are sparse and which are abundant? Official
Count the chits in the box: the types with 5 chits are sparse, those with 10 are abundant.
Source: BGG thread
Do the first two Porters carry any Food or Gifts? Official
No. They carry only your Resources, so with just two Porters you carry no Food or Gifts at all.
Source: BGG thread
What counts as "Items" when a Warband or a Hostile Village takes 5 Items? Official
Only Food and Gifts, in any mix you choose — never Resources.
Source: BGG thread
Can I get new Resources, Askaris or Porters during the game? Official
Resources are bought at the start. During the game you can gain a Guide or Canoes from Villages and Kingdoms, and occasionally a random Resource from a Tusk (after an Accident) or a Wildlife hunt (after a Storm). New Askaris and Porters come only from Missionaries. Food comes from hunting and trading, Gifts from hunting and Tusks.
Source: BGG thread
When I spend Cannabis at a Village, do I roll the Like-roll first? Official
No, you spend it instead of rolling and the Like-roll succeeds. A spent Resource goes back to the pool.
Source: BGG thread
If my last Porter is lost, do I keep all my Resources or only three?
You keep your Guide, Canoes and all your Ammo (Stock and Resources), plus any 3 other Resources you choose. Everything else goes back.
Source: BGG thread
Does Discontent do anything before it reaches 10? Official
No. Its only effect is the mutiny at 10, when your men kill you.
Source: BGG thread
In solo, where does my Turn marker go, and which rolls do I make? Official
In the topmost empty slot. If Disease is on 1 and Horror on 4, your marker goes on 2 and you roll only for Disease.
Source: BGG thread
Do I get the Dr Livingstone 2 DP when I only hurry across a region where another Explorer stands? Official
No, you must end your move in that region. It is rarely worth it, but you also gain 20 Food, which can help a battered expedition.
Source: BGG thread
How often does Fishing give 5 Food? Official
Once per Game Turn: at the end of your Map Phase Player Turn, if you have Fishing and your new region is a Water Zone.
Source: BGG thread
Is a region next to a Port of Entry a Water Zone just because it borders the port? Official
No. A region is a Water Zone only if a Water Marker or a printed river is on one of its borders. It may still become one if it is next to an unexplored Water Zone, through the River Chart (rule 4C). The Port itself is explored, so it doesn't count; you are free to move into any adjacent region.
Source: BGG thread
Are the pictured Sources placed on a border? Official
Yes. Every Water Marker except a Generic Source goes on a border; Generic Sources go beside the river they end.
Source: BGG thread
Can a region end up with two rivers flowing out of it? Official
No. A river can be fed by two branches upstream but always leaves a region across a single border. Once a region is a Water Zone, its borders are no longer valid for another river's origin, so a second outflow is a placement error.
Source: BGG thread
A Lake on our shared border blocks it. Can a river in a third region still come from my region? Official
No. The Lake makes both regions Water Zones, and a Water Zone is not a valid origin for another region's river.
Source: BGG thread
How should a Water Marker be turned when I place it? Official
With its arrow clearly pointing downriver into one region and its other end (the fork, for a Fork) pointing upriver into the region the water comes from.
Source: BGG thread
Does an activated Rumor stay in the Matrix when it is three or more slots away? Official
Yes. Like a Discovery, an activated Rumor stays until an Explorer enters it.
Source: BGG thread
Can Encounters and Events be placed on the "End here" slot? Official
Yes, while you explore. Only the Discovery Procedure at the start leaves "Start here" and "End here" empty. Entering "End here" with Time left doesn't end your search; you may leave it again.
Source: BGG thread
Does everyone do the Discovery Procedure before anyone moves in the Matrix? Official
The intended order is that each player does it just before their own first Matrix Player Turn, but either way works.
Source: BGG thread
Can I move onto the same Encounter twice? Official
No. An Encounter you dealt with stays for a while because it can change the Encounter in your next slot, but once you leave it is under your Arrow and is returned.
Source: BGG thread
Must a returned chit meet all three conditions — illegal, under the Arrow, and three slots away? Official
No, any one of them is enough. The Arrow is the slot you just came from.
Source: BGG thread
Can a second Finding be placed in a slot that already has one? Official
No, a slot never holds two Findings: return the second one.
Source: BGG thread
Can a Mineral drawn as my second Event go on the Encounter in my slot? Official
No. A Mineral needs an empty slot, so as a second Event it can only be placed if your own slot is empty; standing on an Encounter, return it.
Source: BGG thread
The activated Rumor must move to a slot holding my Arrow. Do I reroll? Official
No. Reroll only if you or a Discovery occupy that slot.
Source: BGG thread
If Lost drops my Time to zero as I enter an activated Rumor, do I still draw the Special Discovery? Official
Yes. It is an ongoing Discovery, so you finish it.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use my Guide after a Special Discovery to keep exploring? Official
No. A Special Discovery ends your Time as soon as you have applied it (the Wildman excepted), and your Guide is returned at that moment. Use the Guide at the start of a Player Turn, before you enter the Rumor.
Source: BGG thread
Where do chits go when they are returned, and what do I keep when my Time is up? Official
Every returned chit goes back to its own bag, cup or pile — Discoveries to the Event bag, Encounters to the Encounter bag. Of your Resources, only the Guide is returned when your Time is up.
Source: BGG thread
Does a Warband do anything in a Jungle? Official
No, it has no effect there.
Source: BGG thread
What can Success do if I draw it as my first Event? Official
Only remove the Encounter (and any Finding) in the slot you are in before you move: you roll no dice between the two Events. That is useful when the next Encounter would combine badly with the one you are leaving.
Source: BGG thread
When an Impassable drawn as my second Event removes a Discovery, what happens to a Rumor on it? Official
A Rumor on a Kingdom is removed with the Kingdom. A Rumor on a Village Encounter stays, because the Encounter stays.
Source: BGG thread
Can I still hunt with no Ammo left? Official
Yes. The hunt rolls against your Askaris; the Ammo Stock only modifies the roll (+1 when it is lower than your Askaris).
Source: BGG thread
Does a modified 9 on the hunt still kill a Porter? Official
No — it is the modified result that counts. A natural 9 turned into an 8 by a Telescope kills no one.
Source: BGG thread
An Accident hits when I have no Gifts at all. Do I lose a Porter?
Yes. You can't pay the full result, so a Porter runs off as the rule says.
Source: BGG thread
How much Time do I start each Game Turn with? Official
Your current Health + 5, set when your previous Time ran out.
Source: BGG thread
Which modifiers apply to a Sanity-roll? Official
The mirror of the Health-roll: +1 if your Health is higher than your Sanity, −1 if lower.
Source: BGG thread
Why does a low Sanity make Askaris less likely to desert? Official
Because they are afraid of a leader who is going mad: the Sanity modifiers on the Askari desertion roll are negative on purpose.
Source: BGG thread
When my men revolt at Discontent 10, do I finish my Player Turn? Official
Yes, as with death or insanity (rule 6E).
Source: BGG thread
Why does adjusting the balance remove Discoveries and Findings instead of Incidents? Official
On purpose: the draws play the absent explorers, who would have found those wonders, so the race to 50 DP works at every player count. Living rules 1.0d reword rule 6G to say so. With two players who just want the story, feel free to house-rule it.
Source: BGG thread
Does anyone lose DP for an opponent's Patron when chits are removed by the balance draw? Official
No, the chits are simply removed.
Source: BGG thread