Game Objective

In Beacon Patrol, you are Coast Guard captains working as a team to ensure the safety of the North Sea coast. The goal is to explore as much of the sea as possible, locating lighthouses and buoys along the journey. At the end of the game, you will score points for the explored tiles on the board. Tiles are considered "explored" when they are connected to other tiles in all four directions. Explored tiles that contain lighthouses and buoys grant bonus points.

Setup

1. Place the Beacon Patrol HQ tile in the center of the table.>
2. Remove the expansion pieces (representing windmills and piers).
3. Shuffle the remaining basic tiles to form the draw pile and place it face down at the edge of the table, within reach of all players.
4. Each player chooses a ship and its corresponding reference card. Then, the ships are placed on the Beacon Patrol HQ tile.
5. Next, each player takes tiles and movement tokens according to the number of players:
   • 1 player: 3 tiles and 4 movement tokens.
   • 2 players: 3 tiles and 3 movement tokens.>
   • 3 players: 3 tiles and 3 movement tokens.
   • 4 players: 2 tiles and 2 movement tokens.
   Each player places their tiles face up in front of them and the movement tokens (with the blue side up) below them.
6. Return any remaining ships and movement tokens to the box.
7. The player who last visited the sea goes first.

Gameplay

Players take turns clockwise, starting with the first player. There are three types of actions you can perform during your turn, in any order:

• Place a tile
• Move your ship (using a movement token)
• Trade tiles with another player (once per turn)

A player's turn ends when they cannot or do not wish to perform any more actions. At the end of the turn, follow these steps:

1. Discard any unplaced tiles in front of you (discarded tiles are removed from the game and are not reshuffled into the draw pile). Then, draw new tiles (draw 3 tiles if playing with 1 to 3 players, and 2 tiles in 4-player games). If playing solo, you may keep 1 unplaced tile and do not need to discard it. In this case, draw only 2 new tiles.
2. Flip all your movement tokens back to the blue side.

Actions and How to Play

Placing Tiles

You can place the tiles prepared in front of you to visit new areas with your ship. You can place up to 3 tiles if playing in a 1 to 3 player game, and up to 2 tiles in 4-player games. Do not draw new tiles until you have completed your turn.

Placement rules:

1. Adjacent to the Ship: The tile your ship is on is called your "current tile". When adding a new tile, you must place it in an empty space adjacent (up, down, right, or left, but never diagonally) to your current tile.
2. Correct Orientation: All tiles must face the same direction (use the arrow in the upper right corner of each tile as a reference, and keep it in the same direction as the Beacon Patrol HQ tile).
3. Compatible Edges: All placed tiles must fit appropriately with the adjacent tiles on all sides (land must always touch land and water must touch water).>
4. Mandatory Movement: When you place a tile, you must move your ship onto it. This movement is free and does not use a movement token.
5. Move through Water: Since ships cannot move through land, the tile you are about to place must connect to your current tile via a water edge.

Moving your Ship

You can use a movement token to move your ship to an adjacent tile (up, down, left, or right, but never diagonally). Ships can only travel through water, so you can only move your ship to a tile that is connected to your current tile by a water edge.

Each time you move your ship one space, flip one of your movement tokens from the blue side to the red side. This way, you can track how many moves you have left in your turn.

From the tiles in front of you, you can also discard those you cannot or do not want to play to move one space per discarded tile. Discarded tiles are removed from the game. Do not flip a movement token when moving this way.

Trading Tiles (for games with 2 or more players)

Once per turn, you can trade unplaced tiles with another player. You may place the new tile immediately. You must discard the tile traded if you do not place it during this turn.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when all tiles have been placed or discarded.

To calculate the final score, total the points from top to bottom, row by row. Only explored tiles grant points.

• Explored tiles with a lighthouse (including the Beacon Patrol HQ): 3 points.
• Explored tiles with a buoy: 2 points.
• Any other explored tile: 1 point.

Tips for Winning

• Work as a team to explore as much of the sea as possible, locating lighthouses and buoys along the journey.
• Be efficient, as time is short, and explore as much of the sea as possible.
• Collaborate with your fellow captains to receive the highest honors.