Objective of the Game

Welcome to the bonnie lands of 19th-century Scotland, where the industrial revolution is brewing, and so is some fine whisky! In Clans of Caledonia, you'll step into the shoes of a unique historical clan, striving to become the most prosperous by producing, trading, and exporting agricultural goods and, of course, that famous Scottish whisky. Your goal is to accumulate the most Victory Points (VP) by the end of five rounds, proving your clan is the true chief of Caledonia!

Preparation (Setup)

Alright, gather 'round, clan members! Let's get this Scottish economy humming. Here's how to set up your game:

1. Assemble the Game Board: The board is made of four double-sided Board Sections (A-D). Randomly choose one side for each and arrange them clockwise in alphabetical order, making sure the rock formations showing the letters are in the center.
2. Place Port Bonus Tiles: Shuffle all Port Bonus Tiles and draw four. Place each one adjacent to a factory in each corner of the board. The exact location depends on player count (look for the 1-2 player icon for smaller games, or the other arrow for 3-4 players). Return unused tiles to the box.
3. Set up the Market Board: Place the Market Board with the correct side up for your player count. Put the transparent Price Markers on their circled starting prices. Arrange the six types of wooden Goods (Wool, Milk, Grain, Bread, Cheese, and Whisky) and their corresponding tiles in separate stacks below the market.
4. Set up the Export Board: Place the Export Board with the correct side up. Shuffle the Appraisal Tiles, draw five, and place them face-up in any order in the five slots along the edge of the Export Board. Shuffle the Export Contracts to form a face-down draw pile. Place one Export Contract face-up on each crate on the Export Board (one crate remains empty in solo and 3-player games). Place player Fame Markers and Import Goods Markers (Cotton, Tobacco, and Sugarcane) next to the board.
5. Player Starting Materials: Each player chooses a color and takes a Player Board and all matching game pieces. Then, each player does the following:
   • Place four of each of your Sheep, Cows, Cheese Dairies, Bakeries, Fields, and Distilleries on their corresponding spaces on your Player Board.
   • Place your eight Workers on the four forest locations (as Lumberjacks) and four mountain locations (as Miners) on your Player Board.
   • Take four Port Tokens in your color.
   • Fill the Trader Track with five cubes, representing Traders. Place the remaining two cubes below your Player Board as starting supply.
   • Place your Ship Token on the leftmost space of the Shipping Track.
   • Place the two Technology Tiles with the arrow side up on their designated spaces below your Workers.
   • Take one Export Crate Tile and place it with the correct side up (based on player count).
6. Determine Player Order: Choose a starting player. For the first round, play proceeds clockwise. Place all Player Order Tokens accordingly on the Order Track of the Export Board. In subsequent rounds, player order is determined by the order players pass.
7. Choose Clans: Take a number of random Clan Tiles equal to the number of players plus one (e.g., four for a 3-player game). Take an equal number of Starting Tiles and randomly place one next to each Clan Tile. Starting with the last player in turn order and going counter-clockwise, each player chooses a Clan Tile and its assigned Starting Tile, placing both in front of them. The starting player will choose last from the two remaining clans. Players receive the Goods and Money shown on their Starting Tile.
8. Place Initial Workers: Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player places one Worker (Lumberjack or Miner) from the top of their Player Board onto an empty hex on the game board. Lumberjacks must be placed on an empty forest hex, Miners on an empty mountain hex. You must pay for both the land (cost shown on the hex, £1-£6) and the Worker (£6 for a Lumberjack, £10 for a Miner). Then, in reverse order (starting with the player who placed last, and going counter-clockwise), each player places a second Worker. This second Worker does not need to be adjacent to the first. Remember, only one unit (Worker, Sheep, Cow, etc.) can occupy a hex at a time.

The Game Turn

A game of Clans of Caledonia unfolds over five rounds, each with four distinct phases:

Phase 1: Preparation Phase

(Skip this phase in the first round.) Flip the Appraisal Tile from the previous round face-down. Refill any empty crates on the Export Board with new Export Contracts. Players retrieve all their Traders from the Market Board and place them back next to their Player Board.

Phase 2: Action Phase

This is where the magic happens! In player order, each player performs exactly one Action per turn. This continues until all players have chosen to Pass. You have eight actions to choose from, and all (except Passing) can be performed multiple times per round:

1. Trade: Use Traders from your supply (not your Player Board) to buy or sell Goods on the Market Board. Place one Trader on the buy (up arrow) or sell (down arrow) area of the chosen Good for each unit you wish to trade. These Traders stay on the Market Board until the next Preparation Phase. You pay/receive the current price multiplied by the number of goods traded. All transactions are with the general supply. After the trade, adjust the price of the traded Good by moving its Market Token as many spaces in the direction of the arrow as goods traded. You can only trade one type of Good per Trade Action. No "flash trading" multiple goods at once!
2. Acquire Export Contract: Pay the current round's cost (shown next to the Appraisal Tiles on the Export Board) to take an Export Contract of your choice and place it on your empty Export Crate. In the first round, you *receive* £5 instead of paying. You can only have one unfulfilled Export Contract on your crate at a time (unless you're Clan Buchanan!). You must fulfill it before acquiring a new one.
3. Expand: Move a unit (Sheep, Cow, Cheese Dairy, Bakery, Field, Distillery, Lumberjack, or Miner) from the top of a column on your Player Board to an empty hex on the game board that is either adjacent to or within Shipping Range of one of your existing units. Pay the cost of the unit (red number above it) and the cost of the land (red number on the hex, £1-£6).
   • Landscape Restrictions:
     • Grass: Sheep, Cows, Cheese Dairies, Bakeries, Fields, Distilleries.
     • Forest: Lumberjacks.
     • Mountain: Miners.
     If a hex has multiple landscape types, you can place any suitable unit there.
   • Adjacency Bonus: If you expand onto a hex adjacent to an opponent's unit (adjacent and not separated by a river), you immediately get an extra Trade Action! You can buy the type of Good that unit produces from the general supply at a reduced price: £2 off for Basic Goods (Wool, Grain, Milk) and £3 off for Processed Goods (Bread, Cheese, Whisky). You can buy up to three units (four in a 2-player game) of that good. You still need the appropriate number of Traders to use this bonus. Prices are adjusted as normal. You can use this bonus for each adjacent opponent unit.
   • Construction Bonus: If you place your fourth building of the same type (Cheese Dairy, Bakery, or Distillery) and your Export Crate is empty, you immediately draw the top three Export Contracts from the draw pile. Take one (or none) and return the others to the bottom of the pile. If you take one, you pay the cost as if performing the Acquire Export Contract Action.
4. Upgrade Shipping Range: Pay £4 to advance your Ship Token one space, increasing your ship's range. This allows you to expand across rivers and lochs. You can never jump over land hexes, even along a river.
   • Shipping Range Levels:
     • No Shipping Range: Cannot expand over water.
     • Cross Rivers: Can expand across a river to an adjacent hex.
     • 1-Loch: Can cross rivers and one loch hex.
     • 2-Loch: Can cross rivers and two loch hexes, and so on.
5. Upgrade Technology: Pay £10 to flip one of your Technology Tiles on your Player Board. Upgraded Workers (Lumberjacks and Miners) will yield £2 more income in the Production Phase each round. If you receive a Bonus Upgrade Action and choose this, you pay £5 instead of £10.
6. Hire Trader: Pay £4 to hire a new Trader. Take one Trader from your Player Board and place it in your supply, ready for future Trade Actions.
7. Fulfill Export Contract: To fulfill an Export Contract on your Export Crate, pay the Goods shown on the left side of the tile. Then, receive the benefits shown on the right. These benefits can include Import Goods (like Hops, Cotton, Tobacco, or Sugarcane) and Immediate Export Bonuses. If you import Cotton, Tobacco, or Sugarcane, advance the corresponding Import Goods Marker on the Export Board Track by the number of goods imported. If the marker reaches or passes a marked space, you receive £1 (don't forget, or you lose the bonus!). Once fulfilled, place the Export Contract Tile next to your crate, freeing it up for a new contract.
   • Slaughtering Animals: Contracts requiring Meat (Beef or Mutton) are fulfilled by slaughtering your Cows or Sheep. Remove the animal from the game board and return it to your Player Board. This reduces your Milk or Wool production and frees up the hex for future expansion. Slaughtering is only allowed to fulfill an Export Contract.
   • Immediate Export Bonuses: These provide instant benefits:
     • Money: Take money from the general supply.
     • Free Space: Immediately perform an Expand Action without paying the land cost (you still pay for the unit). All expansion rules and the Adjacency Bonus still apply.
     • Bonus Upgrade Action: Choose one of the following: a Technology Upgrade Action for £5, a free Shipping Range Upgrade, or a free Hire Trader Action (taking a Trader from your Player Board or retrieving one from the Market). You can choose different or the same bonuses if you get multiple.
8. Pass: If you can't or don't want to perform any more actions this round, you must Pass. You'll take no further actions this round. Move your Player Order Token to the leftmost available position on the Order Track for the next round. You receive the Pass Bonus (money) indicated on your new position. The order in which players pass determines the player order for the next round.

Free Action: Use a Port Bonus Tile

If a Port Bonus Tile is adjacent to or within Shipping Range of one of your units, you can use its depicted bonus in addition to your main action for the turn (either before or after). You can use the bonus immediately or save it for a later turn (as long as your unit remains in range). When used, place one of your Port Tokens next to the Port Bonus Tile to mark it. Each player can use each Port Bonus Tile only once per game (but different players can use the same tile). You can use multiple Port Bonus Tiles in a single turn.

Phase 3: Production Phase

Time to reap what you've sown! In this phase, players receive income and produce goods from units on the game board. The amount of money and goods produced is indicated by the empty spaces on your Player Board where units have been removed. This phase proceeds in order:

• Worker Income: Each deployed Worker generates money:
  • Each Lumberjack yields £4 (£6 with Technology Upgrade).
  • Each Miner yields £6 (£8 with Technology Upgrade).
• Produce Basic Goods:
  • Each Sheep produces one Wool.
  • Each Cow produces one Milk.
  • Each Field produces two Grain.
• Produce Processed Goods (Optional):
  • Each Cheese Dairy may process one Milk into one Cheese.
  • Each Bakery may process one Grain into one Bread.
  • Each Distillery may process one Grain into one Whisky.
  The Basic Goods used for processing can come from anywhere: produced this phase, previous phases, or bought from the market.

Phase 4: Appraisal Phase

Players receive Fame Bonuses shown on the bottom part of the current Appraisal Tile if they meet the condition on the top part. Fame is tracked by advancing your Fame Marker on the track on the Export Board.

End of Game and Scoring

The game concludes after five rounds. It's time for the final reckoning! Fill in the Victory Points (VP) for all players on the score sheet. The player with the most VP is crowned the best Clan Chief of Caledonia and wins! Here's how final scoring works:

• Fame: 1 VP per step on the Fame Track.
• Basic Goods: 1 VP per Basic Good (Wool, Milk, Grain) in your supply.
• Processed Goods: 2 VP per Processed Good (Bread, Cheese, Whisky) in your supply.
• Money: 1 VP per £10. Remaining money breaks ties.
• Hops: 1 VP per Hop imported as shown on your fulfilled Export Contracts.
• Cotton, Tobacco, and Sugarcane: These are worth 3, 4, or 5 VP each, depending on their rarity. The Import Goods Marker furthest along the track (most commonly imported by all players) is the most common and worth 3 VP. The second is worth 4 VP, and the least imported is worth 5 VP. If tied, Cotton is rarest, then Tobacco, then Sugarcane. Players score for the number of imported goods shown on their fulfilled Export Contracts multiplied by their VP value.
• Export Appraisal: Players count their fulfilled Export Contracts.
  • 3-4 Player Game: 12 VP for the player with the most, 6 VP for second place.
  • 2-Player Game: 8 VP for the player with the most.
  In case of a tie, split the VP for the respective positions evenly among tied players (round down).
• Settlement Appraisal: Each player counts the number of their Settlements within Shipping Range of each other. A Settlement is a group of adjacent units of the same color (not separated by a river). Single units not adjacent to others of the same color also count as settlements. If not all your settlements are within shipping range of each other, only your largest group of settlements within shipping range counts for this appraisal.
  • 3-4 Players: Most settlements within shipping range: 18 VP; second most: 12 VP; third most: 6 VP.
  • 2 Players: Most settlements within shipping range: 12 VP; second most: 0 VP.
  Ties are split as in Export Appraisal. This appraisal is NOT about expanding over the most hexes, nor about the largest single settlement!

Tips for Victory

1. Master the Market: The Market Board is dynamic! Pay attention to prices and use your Traders strategically