Objective
Carcassonne – South Seas is a standalone game in the Carcassonne series. The objective is to smartly place tiles and deploy followers to collect resources such as bananas, shells, and fish to fulfill ship contracts and earn points. The player with the most victory points at the end wins the game.
Components
- 73 Land tiles
- 24 Ship tiles
- 60 resource markers (20 fish, 20 shells, 20 bananas)
- 5 sets of 4 followers (1 set in each player's color)
Setup
- Each player chooses a color and takes the 4 followers in that color.
- The land tiles are shuffled face down and placed as a draw pile.
- The ship tiles are shuffled and placed face up beside the draw pile.
- Each player draws a tile from the face-down pile and keeps it secret.
Gameplay
The game proceeds in clockwise order. The player on turn performs the following steps:
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Draw & Place a Tile: Draw a tile from the pile and place it to fit the existing landscape tiles. The landscape features (seas, islands, markets) must match.
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Deploy a Follower (optional): The player may place one of their followers on the tile they just laid. Options include:
- Island: The follower gathers bananas.
- Sea: The follower gathers fish.
- Market: The follower gathers shells.
Followers can only be placed on unoccupied landscape features.
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Score and Collect Resources: If a region is completed with this tile (e.g., a closed island or sea), it is scored. The player collects the respective resources and the follower returns to their hand.
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Fulfill a Ship: The player can use collected resources to fulfill one or more ship contracts. Each ship shows a required set of resources. A completed contract awards victory points.
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End Turn: The next player takes their turn.
End of the Game
The game ends when all land tiles have been drawn and no further moves are possible. Players tally up their victory points, and the player with the most points wins.
Strategy Tips
- Resource Management: Be mindful of which resources you collect and which ships you aim to fulfill. A balanced strategy will yield more points in the long run.
- Positioning: Place tiles strategically to build your own resources while interrupting opponents.
- Timing: Sometimes, it’s better to leave a follower and wait for a more significant score. Beware of spreading resources too thin.
Enjoy playing "Carcassonne – South Seas"!
