# Corps of Discovery: Expansion 1 – Insecta ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2025 - **BGG Rating**: 8.4 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 1-4 - **Duration**: 45-60 min - **Weight**: — - **Designers**: Jay Cormier, Sen-Foong Lim - **Artists**: Matthew Roberts - **Publishers**: Off the Page Games, GaGa Games - **Categories**: Deduction, Expansion for Base-game, Exploration - **Mechanics**: Deduction ## Verdict If you enjoy unraveling mysteries and dealing with tense situations, this Corps of Discovery expansion will hook you!Engaging deduction challengeCreative new threatsPressure-filled logisticsExpands the base gameRequires base gameCan be challengingFOR GENRE FANS ## Description Hey folks! Ready for another adventure with the Corps of Discovery? This time, the expedition ventures deeper into uncharted territories, and what they find is… a bit creepy! The forests are swarming with giant insects, and the only way to deal with this plague is a potent insecticide. The catch? All the scientific gear was left behind on the boat. To make matters worse, an amphibious monster, the Ranidae, lurks in the river waters, right on the path between the shore and the vessel, making resource transport a real hassle. You'll need to use all your wits to figure out how to gather the ingredients and concoct the poison, all while avoiding this terrifying creature. It's a deduction and logistics challenge that will test your ability to think fast and plan every move. This expansion brings fresh challenges and dangers to the base game, requiring you to adapt to new threats and strategies. If you enjoy solving puzzles under pressure and exploring the unknown, this one's for you! Get your notebooks ready, because science and survival go hand in hand in this new undertaking. ## How to Play Objective of the Game In Insecta, your crew is under siege by a swarm of giant insects. To survive, you must create Insecticide to clear the path. The ultimate goal is to kill 4 Insects. You must manage your Resources, navigate the map, and deal with the Ranidae—a frog-like monstrosity blocking your return to the ship—to succeed. Setup Complete the core game setup, then follow these additional steps: Place the Boat Board near the Map Board and Reference Board. Place the Ranidae token, Ranidae side face up, onto the Boat Board. Start the game with 3 Meat tokens beside your Supply Board (note: Meat is not a Resource). Place the Insect tokens nearby. Players begin exploring on any Path in Column 7 of the Map. Game Flow The game progresses through turns where players Explore and perform Free Actions. The Ranidae acts as a global obstacle that prevents the Shuttling of Resources to the boat unless it is Distracted. During the Night phase, the Ranidae token is flipped back to the Ranidae side if it was previously Distracted. Actions and How to Play Explore On your turn, you may Explore by removing a Path Token and activating the Terrain of that Path. When gaining a Resource from Exploring, you may Shuttle it to the Boat Board if the Ranidae is Distracted. Free Actions Before or after you Explore, you may perform various Free Actions, including: Distract the Ranidae: Discard 1 Meat (or 1 Water if you have no Meat) and guess the next Terrain type before you Explore. If correct, the Ranidae is Distracted until the end of the day, allowing Shuttling. Shuttle Resources to the Boat: Place a Resource or Water gained from Exploring directly onto the Boat Board. Once 1 of each Resource and 1 Water are on the board, flip it to the Insecticide side. Use Character/Gear/Destiny Cards: Utilize specific abilities provided by your cards. Remove a Threat Card: Manage active Threats. Insect Mechanics Insect tokens are placed on Unexplored Paths. If you are near an Insect, you must discard 1 Resource or Water before Exploring an adjacent or diagonal Path. You cannot Explore a Path containing an Insect. End of Game and Scoring Victory: You win immediately when you kill the 4th Insect. Insects are killed when you create Insecticide (all Insects currently on Explored Paths die) or through specific card effects. Loss Conditions: You lose if you die of thirst, starvation, run out of Challenge cards, or if it becomes impossible to create Insecticide (e.g., a required Resource is removed from the game or becomes permanently unreachable). Tips for Winning Manage your Terrain: Since some Terrain types are only guaranteed to appear 3 times, be careful not to make required Resources unreachable. Time your Exploration: Use the Row Complete reward (moving an Insect to an adjacent Path) strategically to lure Insects onto Explored Paths right before you finish the Insecticide. Distraction Timing: Only Shuttle when the Ranidae is Distracted. Once a Resource is in your Backpack, it can no longer be Shuttled to the boat. ## FAQ ### Do I need the base game 'Corps of Discovery' to play this expansion? Yes, absolutely! This expansion adds new elements to the core game, so you need the base game to enjoy everything it offers. ### What is the complexity level of this expansion? The expansion introduces deduction and resource management challenges, so it might be slightly more complex than the base game, but nothing too daunting for those already familiar with the series. ### How many players can participate with this expansion? The expansion maintains the player count of the base game, which is for 1 to 4 players. ### How long does a game session with this expansion take? The estimated playtime is between 45 and 60 minutes, quite similar to the base game. ### What are the main new components or mechanics? The expansion introduces new threats like giant insects and the Ranidae monster, along with a greater focus on ingredient gathering and deduction to create an insecticide. ### Is this expansion more focused on combat or puzzle-solving? The main focus is on deduction and logistics to overcome challenges, with 'puzzle' elements involved in figuring out how to craft the poison and deal with the threats. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 11.99 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6435276&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 14.10 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6452098&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 15.00 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6441793&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 15.00 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6510615&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 15.00 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6998770&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 15.52 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6719798&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 15.84 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=7216572&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 16.35 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6396491&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 17.71 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6984386&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 19.67 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=6373532&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/79847/corps-of-discovery-expansion-1-insecta?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com