Overview
Each Scout (player) must fight to be the first to reach the Oasis.
To reach your goal, you will need to draw (Explore), take (Recycle), or steal (Pillage) numbered Journey cards and play them in front of you (Travel) in descending order, from your starting city Khalla #13 to the Oasis #0.
You can increase your chances of being the first to find the Oasis by recruiting powerful Companions (Recruit) or buying useful pieces of equipment (Equip).
Beware traveler! You are not the only one looking for this Eden. Your opponents have the same goal as you and will do everything they can to prevent you from reaching your destination! Be efficient and mindful to keep others in check and control the game.
Game Lore
XXIIIrd Century
The Earth is no more than an immense desert. During the previous century, overpopulation led to a resource war. Food and water became scarce, forcing nations to face each other during the War of Hunger.
The atomic weapon was used again and caused an increase in the Earth's temperature. The radiation forced the survivors to flee the ruined cities.
But the madness of humans did not stop there. Since the fall of governments, survivors have been waging a merciless war to recover the last resources instead of organizing to rebuild the world.
After an old man revealed the existence of an Oasis, an Eden located 2,000 km to the East, scouts from all over are dispatched to confirm the rumor.
Three clans decide to offer their support: the Explorers, the Scavengers, and the Marauders. They do this not out of kindness, but to increase their chances of finding the Oasis first.
Game Setup
There are two helpful action summary cards available in the bottom left corner of the screen (click on the circle to expand), which explain what each action symbol represents.
Companion cards are shuffled and form a face-down draw pile (Companion deck). The first 4 cards are revealed face-up to form the Lair.
Equipment cards are organized into 3 face-up piles: 9 Compasses, 5 Shields, and 2 Maps.
Each Scout begins with 1 Khalla #13 card in their play area.
One Oasis #0 Journey card is placed face-up in the center of the table. The remaining Journey cards are shuffled and form a face-down draw pile (Exploration deck). The first 9 cards are revealed face-up in the center of the table (along with the Oasis #0 card) to form the Ruins.
Starting Hand
Each Scout is given 4 Journey cards to form their starting hand.
In 2-player games only, each Scout also starts with a Shield card in their hand.
Each Scout will also choose 1 starting Companion (see below).
Choosing a Starting Companion
The first Scout to choose a Companion card can either select from the 4 visible Companions in the Lair or draw the first card from the face-down Companion deck.
Then, all other Scouts do the same (choose from the Lair or draw from the deck). The Lair is NOT replenished during this preparation phase.
After each Scout has chosen a Companion, the Lair is replenished with new Companions from the Companion deck.
The last Scout to choose a Companion starts the game.
Part 1 of Your Turn: Mandatory Action
On your turn, you must choose from one of the five possible actions:
- Explore: Draw 2 Journey cards from the Exploration deck and add them to your hand
- Recycle: Take 1 Journey card from the Ruins and add it to your hand
- Equip: Discard X cards (Journey, Companion, or Equipment cards) to take 1 Equipment of cost X (see below for more information about this action)
- Travel: Play any number of Journey cards (see below for more information about this action)
- Recruit: Play 1 Companion card from your hand and immediately perform the 2 actions on its banner OR Take 1 Companion card from the Lair (one of the 4 face-up cards or the top card from the face-down Companion deck) and add it to your hand (see below for more information about this action)
More Information About the Equip Action:
Discard a number of Journey, Companion, and/or Equipment cards from your hand equal to the cost of the Equipment.
You can only take one Equipment card per Equip action. If the supply of an Equipment is depleted, Scouts no longer have access to that Equipment.
Discarded Journey cards are added to the Ruins, discarded Companion cards are added to the Companion discard pile, and discarded Equipment cards are returned to their corresponding Equipment decks. (There is no limit to the number of cards that can be in the Ruins.)
Available Equipment:
- Compass (cost: 2 cards): The Compass is considered a Journey card. During a Travel action, a Scout can play it instead of any number (except Oasis #0).
- Shield (cost: 2 cards): The Shield can provide protection against the Pillage action. This card is passive and remains in the owner's hand. (See below for more information about the Pillage action.
- Map (cost: 3 cards): The Map is played during a Travel action and can replace only the Oasis #0 card. A Scout who plays a Map card immediately wins the game.
More Information About the Travel Action:
Journey cards are played in descending order. You can play as many Journey cards as you want during the Travel action, as long as you follow these two conditions:
- (1) You cannot completely skip a number, but you can play a Compass card in place of a number you do not have (except Oasis #0)
- The game will automatically place Compass cards where needed to fill in gaps
- (2) Playing a "Stage" card ends the current Travel action
- A Stage card is a Journey card with a "Stop" hand symbol and a Recruit symbol
- After this card is played, immediately perform the Recruit action (see below for more information about this action)
If you play an Oasis #0 card (or Map) during your Travel action, you immediately win the game!
More Information About the Recruit Action:
During a Recruit action, you have 2 options:
(1) Play a Companion Card
Play 1 Companion card from your hand (add it to your play area) and immediately perform the 2 actions on its banner, in order from top to bottom.
You can have multiple Companions from the same clan (same color banner) and even multiple copies of the same exact Companion in your play area.
In addition to the basic actions already described above, there are two Companion-specific actions:
- Pillage: Target 1 opponent and randomly take 2 cards from their hand
- If either of the 2 cards is a Shield, give both cards back to their owner
- If neither of the 2 cards is a Shield, choose 1 card to add to your hand, then return the other card back to its owner
- Note: You cannot Pillage a Scout who has only one card left in their hand
- Upgraded Equip: Perform the Equip action, but the cost of the Equipment card is decreased by 1 (you discard 1 less card than usually required)
Note: You cannot Mission a Companion played this turn, nor can you Mission any other Companions from the same clan as the played card. (See below for more information about the optional Mission action.)
(2) Take a Companion Card
Take 1 Companion card from the Lair (one of the 4 face-up cards or the top card from the face-down Companion deck) and add it to your hand. Do not perform any of the actions on the card.
When players take one of the face-up Companion cards from the the Lair, the Lair is immediately replenished.
Creating a Chain of Actions
Thanks to the Recruit effect of Stage Journey cards and/or the Travel action on Companion cards, it is possible to create a chain of multiple actions within the same turn.
Note: You will discard down to 8 cards at the end of your turn, but you are allowed to have more than 8 cards in your hand during your turn.
Here's one example of a useful chain of actions:
- Recruit: Play a Companion card from your hand that allows you to perform the Explore action and the Travel action
- Explore: Draw two Journey cards
- Travel: Play Journey cards (possibly including 1-2 cards that you just drew during the Explore action), including a Stage card, which stops the Travel action and allows you to perform the Recruit action
- Recruit: Take a Companion card - or if you have another in your hand, play a Companion card (possibly one that allows you to travel again!)
Another useful chain of actions is similar to above but with a Recycle action instead of Explore (and then you know exactly what number card you will be adding to your hand).
Additionally, you would still be able to perform the optional Mission action after the chain of actions. (See below for more information about the optional Mission action.)
Part 2 of Your Turn: Optional Mission Action
After performing one of the five possible actions above, you MAY perform the optional Mission action, if it is available to you.
During the Mission action, you may discard one or more Companions of the same clan (same color banner) from your play area. You then perform the top highlighted action of each discarded Companion card.
Available Mission Actions:
- Explorers (gold banner): Perform the Explore action
- Scavengers (purple banner): Perform the Recycle action
- Marauders (red banner): Perform the Pillage action
Rules:
- You are not required to Mission available Companions (you can save them to Mission them on a future turn)
- If you have multiple Companions from the same clan, you may Mission any number of them (you are not required to Mission all of them)
- You cannot Mission Companions from multiple clans
- You cannot Mission a Companion played this turn, nor can you Mission any other Companions from the same clan as the played card (but you can Mission Companions from a different clan, if available)
- If you Mission multiple Marauders, you may pick the same or different targets for each Pillage action
Part 3 of Your Turn: Discard Down to 8 Cards (If Needed)
You can have a maximum of 8 cards in your hand.
If you have more than 8 cards in your hand, you must discard down to 8. You may not discard down to a lower number.
Discarded Journey cards are added to the Ruins, discarded Companion cards are added to the Companion discard pile, and discarded Equipment cards are returned to their corresponding Equipment decks. (There is no limit to the number of cards that can be in the Ruins.)
Be careful about discarding Journey cards needed by your opponents, as they can Recycle the card on their next turn!
Game End
The game ends immediately when a Scout plays an Oasis #0 card or a Map card. This means they have found the Oasis first!
Alternatively, the game ends when the Exploration deck runs out of cards. The Scout who finishes the deck finishes their turn. Then, ALL Scouts play one more turn (including the Scout who triggered the end of the game). The Scout closest to the Oasis wins the game.