Contents

1 Goa Game Rules

Goa Game Rules

Hey there! Ready to dive into the exciting world of Goa? In this guide, I’ll walk you through the basic rules of the game and help you get started on your adventure.

First things first, let’s talk about the goal of Goa. Your ultimate aim is to become the most successful spice trader in the 16th century. You’ll need to cleverly manage your resources, establish colonies, and dominate the spice trade to come out on top.

But how exactly do you achieve this? Well, let’s break it down step by step.

First, you’ll need to start by acquiring Goa cards. These cards represent the buildings you can construct in your colony. Each card provides various benefits that will aid you during the game. Do your best to choose wisely and select cards that align with your overall strategy.

To build these cards, you’ll need money, and money doesn’t grow on trees! Luckily, you can earn money by sailing your ships to foreign lands and setting up trade routes. Each successful trade will fatten up your wallet and give you the means to expand your colony even further.

Now, here’s something exciting – colonies! As you progress through the game, you can establish colonies on the Indian Peninsula. These colonies will grant you victory points and additional action tokens that you can use to take more turns.

But keep in mind, the competition is tough. You’ll be competing against other players for resources and the best trade routes. It’s a cutthroat world out there, my friend.

To make things even more interesting, there are event cards that can shake up the game. These events can have a big impact on your strategy, so be prepared to adapt and change your plans accordingly.

Remember, every decision you make in Goa can have repercussions. So think carefully, stay one step ahead, and seize every opportunity that comes your way.

Alright, you’re all set to embark on your Goa adventure! I wish you the best of luck in becoming the most legendary spice trader of all time. Have a blast and may fortune smile upon you!

Hey there! Let’s get started with the game. First, I want you to sort the game tiles. You’ll see that each tile has a front and a back, labeled A and B. Take the 27 A tiles and shuffle them face down. Now, place them randomly on the 5 x 5 grid on the game board, which is the area where we’ll be playing.

Now, you’ll also find 2 unused A tiles. Place them face down without peeking at them, and put them back in the box. We won’t be using them for now.

Next, we need to set up some cards. We have ship cards, colonist cards, ducat cards, and additional action cards. Each of these cards has a specific place on the game board. Players can use the ducat, ship, and colonist cards to make change during the game. For example, if you only have a 3 ship card but need to pay 2 ships, you can use the 3 ship card and get 1 ship back as change.

We’ll also need some expedition cards. Shuffle them and place them face down on the game board.

Lastly, let’s sort the colony tiles. Make sure they’re facing up, and place them on the game board. Don’t forget to keep the spice sacks next to the game board as a supply.

Spices, colonists, and ships are not just game pieces. They have a special role in the game, and if you run out of them, don’t worry! You can use other tokens to represent them.

To start the game, each player chooses a color and gets their own supply board, development board, and auction markers in that color. The auction markers are placed on the supply board. The number of auction markers used depends on the number of players: with 4 players, all 5 markers are used; with 3 players, only the 1-4 markers are used; and with 2 players, only the 1-3 markers are used. Any unused markers are returned to the box.

Now, let’s set up the development boards. Each player places 5 gray success markers in the top row of their development board. This is where you’ll track your progress throughout the game. Finally, each player takes cards worth 4 ships and 2 colonists. These cards will be essential for your journey.

Now that we’re all set up, it’s time to embark on our adventure!

When we play the game, the youngest player goes first. They draw the first card from the expedition deck, and then everyone else takes their turn in order. We keep going around in a circle until someone flips a card with a tiger on it. That person gets to be the starting player for this round. They even get a special flag and some money to start with – 7 ducats, to be exact. But don’t worry, the other players aren’t left empty-handed. They each get 10 ducats of their own.

Now, here’s a little twist – no one knows how much money the others have. It’s a secret! We have to keep our cash to ourselves. Oh, and remember, the oldest player gets to be the banker. They’re in charge of all the money stuff.

After we’ve done all that, we place the cards we’ve flipped face up on the discard stack. That way, we can keep track of what’s been played already.

What’s the Aim of the Game?

The goal is to have the highest number of victory points when the game ends. You can earn victory points in various ways: by making progress on your development boards, building colonies, acquiring special tiles, having the most money, and holding expedition cards at the end of the game.

How to Play

The game consists of two parts: Part A and Part B. Each part consists of four rounds. When Part A ends, all remaining game tiles are removed and replaced with 25 random B game tiles. The unused tiles from Part B are discarded. Then, Part B begins. When Part B ends, the game is over, and players calculate their victory points.

Here’s how each round unfolds:

Place auction markers
Participate in title auctions
Take actions

I. Place Auction Markers

Let’s start the game by placing the flag on the game board. I’ll put my number 1 auction marker right on top of it. Now it’s your turn. You need to place your number 2 auction marker on a tile next to or diagonal to the flag. Remember, it has to be a tile that’s not already occupied.

We’ll keep taking turns clockwise. The next player will place their number 3 auction marker on an empty tile adjacent to or diagonal to my number 2 marker. And we’ll keep going, with each player placing their auction marker in the same way.

Make sure not to stack the auction markers on top of each other. They need to form an increasing number trail. For example, if there are four players, the trail will be 1-2-3-4-5. If there are three players, it’ll be 1-2-3-4. And if there are only two players, it’ll be 1-2-3.

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When you start playing the game, you have the option to place the flag on any empty space within the playing area. Another option is to place it on a space at the edge of the playing area that is right next to a space in the playing area. It’s important to note that you must choose a spot for the flag where there is at least one tile next to it either horizontally or vertically, diagonally won’t work. Once you’ve picked the right spot, the next step is for the next player to place their number 2 auction marker on one of the spaces adjacent to the flag or on a space that is diagonal to it.

When it’s my turn to place an auction marker, I might run into a problem. If there are no empty game tiles next to or diagonal to the marker I want to place, I can’t put my marker down. But don’t worry, there’s a solution! I can choose any empty game tile in the playing area that doesn’t have an auction marker on it, and put my marker there. This becomes the new base for the other players to place their markers. So even if the number trail gets broken, we can still keep playing. If the next players can’t place their markers for the same reason, we can break the trail again and again.

II. Title Auctions

Let’s talk about auctioning the flag. It all starts with the owner of the flag, who is also the starting player and the auctioneer. They start the bidding by offering 0 for the flag. After that, each player takes turns bidding or passing, going clockwise. To bid, you have to offer a higher bid than the previous one. The auctioneer gets the last chance to bid or pass.

When it’s time to auction off the flag and the additional action card, the person who bids the most gets to take them. They also have to pay the auctioneer the amount they bid. But here’s the twist: if the auctioneer makes the highest bid, they get to keep the flag and the action card too. They still have to pay the bank though! Now, if everyone decides not to bid and the highest bid is zero, the auctioneer gets to keep the flag for free. In that case, they can also take back their number 1 auction marker and put it back on their supply board.

So, now it’s your turn to be the auctioneer! You get to auction off the tile under your number 2 auction marker. Just like in the flag auction, you start the bidding at 0. The other players will then take turns bidding higher or passing. The auction will end when either you make the last bid or you decide to pass.

Whoever places the highest bid will have to pay you, the auctioneer. But if you make the highest bid, you’ll have to pay the bank instead. And of course, the highest bidder gets to take the game tile. Once the auction is over, you can take back your auction marker and put it back on your supply board. Don’t worry, the auctions will keep going in a clockwise direction until all the tiles with auction markers are auctioned off.

III. What You Can Do

When it comes to playing the game, each player gets to do 3 things. The person with the flag goes first and does their first action. Then, everyone else takes their first actions, going in a clockwise order. After that, the person with the flag does their second action, followed by everyone else. Finally, all players do their third actions, starting with the person who had the flag.

To keep track of everyone’s actions, we use spice sacks. The person with the flag puts a spice sack on it after their first action, then adds a second sack after their second action, and a third sack after their third action.

Now, let’s talk about the different actions you can take:

Progress on the development board

So, when I want to make progress in the game, I have to move my success marker on my development board down one row. To make this happen, I need to use spices and ships. The number of ships and the type and amount of spices I need are shown on my development board. There are these figures between the rows that represent the number of spice sacks I need, like 1, 2, 3, or 4. I have to give up all the spice sacks shown to move my success marker, and for each spice sack, I have to give up one ship. I take the required spices from my plantations and colonies and the ships from my play area, and then I put them back in the supply. Let’s say I want to move my success marker from row 2 to row 3 in the taxes column. I would need 1 pepper, 1 cinnamon, and 2 ships. I take them from my play area and put them back in the supply. There are two important things that happen when I move my success marker on the development board:

At the end of the game, you earn victory points based on the placement of your success markers. The lower your markers are on the board, the more points you get.

By moving your success markers, you can increase the resources you receive and use them for other actions.

Now let’s talk about building ships. When you choose the build ships action, you take ships from the supply. The number of ships you take depends on the position of your marker in the ship column. For example, if your marker is in the second row, you take 2 ships from the supply.

#image.jpgWhen I choose to harvest, I get to collect spices from the supply and put them onto my plantations and/or colonies. The number of sacks I can take is determined by where my marker is on the spice column. If I have more sacks than empty fields on my plantations or colonies, I can only take what will fit. For example, if I have room for 4 spice sacks, but I take 6 from the supply, I can only keep 4. It’s all about managing the space I have available. Just like in the picture below:
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Taxes

#image.jpgWhen I choose the taxes action, I get some ducats. The number of ducats I get depends on where my marker is in the ducat column. For example, if my marker is in position 6, I take 6 ducats from the bank. #image.jpg

The Journey

When you choose the expedition action, you take expedition cards from the supply. The position of your marker in the expedition column shows how many cards you can take. The number on the left tells you the maximum number of cards you can take, while the number on the right is your expedition card limit. Make sure you never have more cards than your limit, even for a moment!

When you choose to build ships, harvest, collect taxes, or go on an expedition, you can take ships, spices, money, or expedition cards. Put them in your hand or on your supply board. But remember, this doesn’t work for founding colonies (see below).

You can’t acquire colonist cards through a specific colonist action. Instead, you can get them by purchasing a colonist tile in a tile auction.

What does the number in the colonist column on the development board mean? It tells you how many colonists you must recruit when you choose the found colony action.

Welcome to the Found Colony Action!

Hi there! Are you ready to embark on a journey to found a colony? Let’s get started! When you choose the Found Colony action, you’ll have the opportunity to establish your very own colony. But first, there are a few things you need to know.

So, how do you found a colony?

Well, it’s simple, really. Let me break it down for you:

Step 1: Naming your colony

First things first, you’ll need to give your colony a name. You have four options to choose from – Quilon, Cochin, Madras, and Calicut. Just remember, once you’ve named a colony, you can’t name another one with the same name. So choose wisely!

Step 2: Recruiting colonists

Now comes the exciting part – recruiting colonists! There are three ways you can do this:

Using the colonists on your development board

You may already have some colonists on your development board. You can recruit them to join your new colony.

Calling for reinforcements

To get more colonists, draw two expedition cards from the stack. Count the number of colonists shown on those cards and add them to your recruitment count.

Mixing it up

Feel free to use a combination of the colonists on your development board and the ones you draw from the expedition cards. The choice is yours!

That’s it! Now you know how to found a colony. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and make history!

If I have enough colonists, I’m good to go. If not, I need to play colonist cards from my hand to make up the difference.

When I establish a colony, I place the colony tile on the corresponding empty space on the bottom row of my supply board. There are 5 different tiles with various combinations of spices for the Quilon and Madras colonies. When I found one of these colonies, I can pick from the remaining colony tiles in the stack. The colony tiles for Cochin and Calicut are all the same. I immediately fill the spice fields of the newly founded colony with spices from the spice supply.

For Quilon and Madras colonies, I can choose between 2 spices. For Cochin and Calicut, I have a choice of all 5 spices.

Whenever I try to establish a colony, there’s always a chance that it won’t work out. It could be because I didn’t manage to recruit enough colonists, even with the help of my cards. Or, it could be that I had enough colonists in my hand, but I decided not to use them all. In either case, the colony won’t be founded, and I’ll have to settle for just one colonist card from the supply. Oh well, at least it’s something. I’ll have to discard any expedition cards I drew while trying to found the colony, though.

The End of a Round

After all of us have finished taking our three actions, there’s still some more to do depending on how many action cards we have. We go in order, starting with the player who had the first turn, and go around the table clockwise. Here’s what happens:

It’s my turn, and I get to play one more action card and take one more action. Cool!

In this game, each player can play one additional action card, but they can’t play any more in later rounds. You can only keep one additional action card, so if you have more than one, you have to play all but one of them. The action cards that are used are returned to the supply.

The round ends when all players pass in order. At the end of the game, after the fourth round of part B, players score their victory points. The player with the most victory points wins. If there’s a tie, the player with the most money wins.

Here’s how the scoring works: Victory points are awarded based on the positions of the success markers.

In this segment, I’ll break down the value of different rows in the game Catan, known as victory points (VP). VP stands for victory points, and they play a crucial role in determining the winner of the game.

Let’s start with the first row. The first row doesn’t give you any victory points. It’s like a warm-up round where you don’t earn any points, but it sets the stage for the rest of the game.

The second row, on the other hand, is where the fun begins. You earn one victory point for having a settlement on the second row. It’s your first taste of success and a stepping stone towards victory.

The third row is even more rewarding. You get three victory points for having a settlement on the third row. It’s a significant leap forward and puts you in a strong position.

The fourth row is where things start to get serious. You earn a whopping six victory points for having a settlement on the fourth row. It’s a game-changer and can catapult you to the top of the leaderboard.

Finally, we have the fifth row, which is the ultimate prize. You earn ten victory points for having a settlement on the fifth row. It’s the pinnacle of success and can secure your victory in the game.

But remember, victory points aren’t the only deciding factor in the game. Strategy and resource management also play a crucial role. So, make sure to plan your moves wisely and seize every opportunity that comes your way.

Now that you know the value of each row in terms of victory points, you can strategize better and aim for the top spot. Good luck!

Victory points for the number of colonies the player has founded:

In the game of Goa, colonies and expedition cards play a crucial role in determining victory points (VP). Let’s take a closer look at how these factors contribute to the overall game strategy.

Colony tiles are used to establish colonies on the board. The number of colonies you have directly impacts your VP. Here’s how it works:

– If you have one colony, you earn 1 VP.

– If you have two colonies, you earn 3 VP.

– If you have three colonies, you earn 6 VP.

– And if you have four colonies, you earn 10 VP.

Expedition cards are another way to earn VP in Goa. These cards have symbols on them, and the more symbols you collect, the more VP you earn. Here’s the breakdown:

– Each card with one symbol earns you 1 VP.

– If you have two cards with the same symbol, you earn 3 VP.

– For three cards with the same symbol, you earn 6 VP.

– If you manage to collect four cards with the same symbol, you earn 10 VP.

– And if you gather five or six cards with the same symbol, you earn 15 or 20 VP, respectively.

Understanding the importance of these mechanics is key to developing a winning strategy in Goa. By focusing on establishing colonies and collecting expedition cards with matching symbols, you can maximize your VP and increase your chances of victory. So, get ready to embark on a thrilling journey and conquer Goa!

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Let’s talk about victory points. You know how in a game, sometimes the player who has the most money gets rewarded? Well, that’s exactly what happens with victory points. If you have the most money in a game, you get 3 victory points. But here’s the thing, if more than one player has the same amount of money, they all get those 3 victory points. It’s a way of recognizing the players who are doing well in terms of their in-game finances. So, if you’re trying to win and become the ultimate champion, you might want to focus on making as much money as possible. Not only will it elevate your status in the game, but it will also give you a better chance of winning those valuable victory points.

If you’re wondering about the importance of victory points, then let me explain. Victory points, also known as VPs, play a crucial role in determining the winner of a game. They are what you strive for, what you aim to accumulate, and what you need to take into account when making strategic decisions.

Now, let me break it down for you. Victory points act as a measure of success in a game. They are awarded for various achievements, such as owning specific resources, completing objectives, or gaining control over certain areas. Each victory point you earn brings you one step closer to victory.

But here’s the thing – victory points are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they elevate your chances of winning and give you a sense of accomplishment. On the other hand, they also draw attention from your opponents, making you a target for their strategies and attacks. So, it’s important to find a balance between accumulating victory points and protecting your position.

Now, let me give you an example. Imagine a game where you are managing a plantation. In this game, victory points are awarded for each plantation you own. So, the more plantations you have, the more victory points you earn. However, owning too many plantations might spread your resources thin and make it harder for you to defend them. So, it’s crucial to find the right balance and strategically choose which plantations to acquire.

In conclusion, victory points are the key to success in many games. They represent the measure of accomplishment and determine the winner. But remember, they also bring attention and potential challenges. So, it’s important to strategize and find the right balance when chasing victory points. By doing so, you’ll increase your chances of winning and have a more enjoyable gaming experience.

When I complete the “Duty” tile, I earn 4 victory points. It’s a simple way to score in the game.