How to Play Dead Reckoning: Letters of Marque

Objective of the Game

In Dead Reckoning: Letters of Marque, players explore new regions and discover new tales across multiple games, incorporating a Saga expansion that gradually expands the game with new content. The core objective revolves around navigating the New Sea, a dominion of pirates and privateers, now attracting the attention of old-world empires. These empires seek assistance in procuring three primary magical resources: Dragonfish venom, Moon Salt, and Black Pearls. Players aim to gain the assistance, trade, and loyalty of these empires. By consistently trading and showing loyalty, a captain can obtain a Letter of Marque and the backing of an empire, while others may choose to remain independent. The game can also be played as part of a 6-game campaign, with a campaign winner determined at the end.

Preparation (Setup)

To set up Dead Reckoning: Letters of Marque, follow these steps:

1. Add an Explorer Sailor card to each player’s starting deck.
2. Each player receives two sets of Current Favor and Peak Favor markers. Each player places one set on the start space of each of the two Empire boards, with the Current Favor marker seated inside the Peak Favor marker.
3. Add the new Ship Upgrade tiles (Basic Ship Upgrade and Advanced Ship Upgrade) to the available upgrade options.
4. Shuffle the 16 Trade vessel cards into their respective Row decks. These cards are marked with "LoM" to indicate they are from expansion 3.
5. Prime Cargo tokens:
   • Place all Random Prime Cargo tokens in a mixed-up pile face down near the play area.
   • For each Row 1 Ocean board:
     • If it is an island, place one face down Random Prime Cargo token in the water part of the board ("in the water") and a second face down Random Prime Cargo token on the island part of the board ("on the island").
     • If it is an open sea, place one face down Random Prime Cargo token on it in the water.
   • Place a face down Random Prime Cargo token on each undiscovered Ocean board as a reminder to place one when it is discovered.
6. Empire boards:
   • Place the two Empire boards along the top edge of the Harbor board.
   • Place the Letter of Marque tokens face up for each empire on their respective spot on each Empire board.
   • Randomly place the 14 Favor Reward tokens on the Empire Favor tracks as indicated, allocating all of them across the two Empire boards.
   • Each player should have a set of their Current Favor and Peak Favor markers on the start space of each Empire board.

Saga Setup (First Game)

Before your first game incorporating the Saga content:

1. Shuffle cards with a small "3.00" in the top right (not from the tuck box) into their respective Advancement Row decks during setup, without looking at their backs.
2. Do not look at the cards inside the tuck box; only take out specific cards when instructed during gameplay.
3. Place the "Eliminated Cards" divider at the very back of the tuck box.
4. Place the Encounter Book nearby. Do not read it before the game; only read it when instructed during gameplay.
5. Do not open the hidden content envelopes and hidden content box until instructed.

Changing Tides Saga Materials Setup

At the beginning of the first game of the Saga:

• Place both of the 3.00A Open Letter cards (one for each empire) face up on the table.
• Place the 3.00B Open Letter cards face down beneath their respective 3.00A cards.
• If an empire’s 3.00A card was eliminated in a previous game, begin the game with the 3.00B card face up instead.
• At the start of the game, read the face up Open Letter cards aloud.

Fluxo do Jogo

The game follows the rules of the base game and other expansions, with the following additions and modifications:

Prime Cargo

Prime Cargo can be either face down ("Undiscovered") or face up ("Discovered"). They can be in the water, on an island, at a player’s Harbor, or on a Ship, where they occupy one hull space.

Prime Cargo When Exploring Ocean Boards

• Whenever an unexplored face down Ocean board with an island is explored, it gains an Undiscovered Prime Cargo (face down) in the water and another Undiscovered Prime Cargo on the island.
• When an open seas Ocean board is explored, it gains one Undiscovered Prime Cargo in the water.

Sagas

Sagas are expansion sets that introduce new Advancements and Encounters. Most new content is discovered organically during gameplay through Encounters and player choices, becoming part of all future games unless explicitly "Eliminated."

Encounters

• Non-Merchant ship Encounters are mixed into the Advancement Row decks. Like Merchant ships, their back sides should not be looked at when drawn and placed on an Ocean board.
• Instead of attacking these Encounters, players may pay the indicated cost to explore them. After paying the cost, the Encounter is turned over and read aloud.
• These count as one of the two Advancements and/or Encounters a player may interact with each turn.

Fortune Encounters

• Fortune Encounters are identified by a specific icon. They count as Encounters and can sometimes be both an Encounter and an Advancement.
• They do NOT count as the available Advancement/Encounter on the space they are placed, nor do they count towards the maximum of two Advancements/Encounters for the turn.
• When a Fortune Encounter is drawn, place it on the Ocean board, then draw another card from the Row deck and place it on the same board.
• An Ocean board can have any number of Fortune Encounters but must have at least one non-Fortune Advancement/Encounter.
• The specific condition to encounter a Fortune Encounter is spelled out on the card's front.

Campaign-Specific Rules

A campaign plays out over six games, ideally with the same group. A campaign winner is determined at the end of the sixth game.

Before the First Game

• Each player receives a Campaign Log sheet to track progress.
• Players name their "memoir" by filling in the space after "Voyages of__".
• If Saga content is already partially discovered, players take a -2 Campaign point penalty for each Saga item they have at the beginning of the campaign. This penalty applies only at the start of the campaign.

After Each Game

After each game in the campaign, players mark their Campaign Log:

• Campaign points for winning:
  • 1- or 2-player campaign: 6 points for winning, 0 for losing.
  • 3-player campaign: 6 points for winning, 3 for second, 0 for last.
  • 4-player campaign: 6 points for winning, 3 for second, 1 for third, 0 for last.
• Mark each Achievement gained during the game, filling columns from top to bottom. If a column has four marks, no more marks are placed for that column.
• Mark Sailor cards that ended the game at level 4, filling rows from left to right. If a row has three marks, no more marks are placed for that row. (Note: Only one row for Deck Hands and Gunners; two rows for Crew).
• Write down any Saga items owned to remember which cards to start with next game.

Before Games 2 through 5

• The player who got last place in the prior game (and third place in a 4-player game) gains a Tenacity Bonus by marking one spot on the back of their Campaign Log. This bonus is gained for the current game but cannot be chosen again in future games.

Ações e Como Jogar

All rules from the base game and other expansions apply, with the following additions:

Loading Prime Cargo

• You never load Undiscovered Prime Cargo.
• Undiscovered Prime Cargo can be "Discovered" (flipped over) using the Prime Discovery icon if your Ship is on the same Ocean board.
• Discovered Prime Cargo in the water may be loaded onto your Ship on the same Ocean board without restriction.
• To load Discovered Prime Cargo from an island onto your Ship on the same Ocean board, you must control the island.
• Each Prime Cargo on your Ship takes up one hull space, like regular Cargo and Goods.

Prime Discovery Icon

This icon allows you to discover (flip to face up) one Undiscovered Prime Cargo on the same Ocean board as your Ship. It remains in its location (water or island). When a Prime Cargo is discovered, it may add more Undiscovered Prime Cargo to the game:

• If an icon along the edge of the discovered Prime Cargo shows an island, add an Undiscovered Prime Cargo from the supply to the island on the Ocean board one space in the relative direction (if possible).
• If an icon along the edge shows water, add an Undiscovered Prime Cargo from the supply to the water on the Ocean board one space in the relative direction (if possible).
• An icon showing an island with a plus sign allows you to add one Undiscovered Prime Cargo to any island.

Using Prime Cargo

You may only use Prime Cargo that is on your Ship. After use, place it in a face up Discard pile. If the supply of Random Cargo runs out, shuffle all discarded Random Cargo face down into the supply.

1. Some abilities require spending a specific Prime Cargo (e.g., "Spend 1 Dragonfish (Cargo) to do something"). Discard the matching Prime Cargo from your Ship to use the ability.
2. All Prime Cargo have a built-in reward. You may discard a Prime Cargo from your Ship during your turn to gain its reward, unless specified otherwise. Examples of rewards include drawing a card, gaining Cargo, gaining Sail, gaining an Attack flag, repairing damage, causing an island to produce Cargo, gaining Influence, or gaining a Cannon.

Gaining and Losing Favor

Your Peak Favor marker indicates your furthest point on an Empire’s Favor Track, while your Current Favor marker indicates your current point.

• Gaining Favor: Move your Current Favor marker forward one space. If it moves ahead of your Peak Favor marker, move the Peak Favor marker forward as well and gain the Favor Reward on that space. If already on the rightmost space, gain 2 gold instead.
• Losing Favor: Move your Current Favor marker back one space. The Peak Favor marker remains. If already on the leftmost space, lose 2 gold from your chest.

Ways to Gain and Lose Favor

• Advancements: Some Advancements grant the ability to gain Favor with an empire, often by spending Prime Cargo or other resources.
• Battles: Winning a battle against a Trade vessel generally grants Favor with an empire. Losing a battle against a Trade vessel generally results in losing Favor with an empire.
• Trading to an Empire: To gain Favor, your Ship must be in Harbor. Discard a Prime Cargo from your Ship that matches one of the types the empire wants (indicated on their Empire board). Then advance one space on that empire’s Favor Track.
• Rival Penalties: Advancing your Peak Favor to a space with a rival empire's icon causes you to lose one Current Favor on that rival's track.

Favor Rewards

Favor Rewards can include gaining gold and/or Cargo at Harbor, choosing between repairs or other benefits, drawing a card, gaining a Basic Ship Upgrade tile, leveling up a card, adding a Building to a controlled island, or gaining a specific Ship Upgrade tile.

Letters of Marque

• When your Peak Favor marker advances to a space with the Letter of Marque icon, you may choose and gain one of the available Letter of Marque tokens for that empire. This grants an ongoing ability for the rest of the game.
• If your Current Favor marker moves backward past the Letter of Marque icon space, return the token to the Empire board.
• If your Current Favor marker advances past another player’s Current Favor marker on an Empire board, and they have a Letter of Marque from that empire, you may take it from them, exchanging it for your own Letter of Marque from the same empire if you have one.
• It is possible to have a Letter of Marque from both empires.

Bounties

• If your Current Favor marker moves back from the start space, you have a bounty on your Ship.
• If an opponent’s Ship defeats your Ship in battle (sinking not required), that player gains 1 Favor on the same track and 2 gold from your chest.
• After this, your bounty is cleared, and your Current Favor marker moves to the start space.

New Ship Upgrades

• New Basic and Advanced Ship Upgrade tiles are available. They function similarly, with Advanced Ship Upgrade tiles providing more hull space.
• One upgrade allows a Prime Discovery once each turn.
• The "Hallowed Gun" is a new Basic Ship Upgrade tile. To acquire it, you must pay 1 Moon Salt from your Ship in addition to any other costs. It provides a Battle ability that lets you drop a Saga Die into the Battle tower.
  • If you roll a 0 or 1: Replace the die with a cube from your supply. You may move that cube into an adjacent zone if you rolled a 1.
  • If you roll a 2: Replace the die with a cube from your supply, move it into an adjacent zone, then repeat the process of dropping a die.

Bolstered Outposts

• Bolstered Outposts are a new type of Outpost. Each island can still only have one Outpost, either bolstered or normal.
• Regular Outposts can be upgraded to Bolstered Outposts by discarding 1 Moon Salt from your Ship or Harbor on your turn. Replace a normal Outpost with a Bolstered Outpost.
• Each of your Bolstered Outposts allows you to do each of the following once per turn: turn over an Undiscovered Prime Cargo on its island, and move up to 2 Prime Cargo (Dragonfish, Moon Salt, or Black Pearls) from its island to your Harbor.

Saga Specific Actions

• Eliminating Cards: When instructed to "Eliminate" cards, store them in the Saga tuck box behind the "