How to Play Engis

Game Objective

In Engis, players are leaders of nomadic Neanderthal clans, going back 50,000 years in time. The objective is to explore territories, find resources, craft weapons and tools, and develop unique skills to survive the harshness of nature. The game lasts exactly 8 rounds. At the end of the last round, the most skilled survivor, with the highest score, wins the game.

Setup

To set up a game of Engis (example for 3 players), follow these steps:

1. Place the collective board in the center of the table, within reach of everyone.
2. Each player chooses a color and receives:
   • 01 individual board (all must use the same side; for the first games, the side with 2 adjacent printed terrains at the top is suggested).
   • 04 meeples.
   • 11 markers.
   • 01 help card.
   Each player starts the game with 2 meeples on each printed terrain of their individual board.
3. Each player receives 8 different scoring cards, one of each type: (Water - Food - Mammoth - Shelter - Tribe - Objects - Same Terrains and Different Terrains).
4. Shuffle the 32 terrain hexes and form a face-down pile. Draw four hexes from the top and place one in each space of the collective board. Reveal them later.
5. Separate the skill cards by type and form two rows on the table. In the top row, place the eight level 1 skills. In the bottom row, place the others in ascending order of level. Place the two neutral meeples near the Neanderthal skill. (For 3 and 4 players, use two cards of each skill; for 2 players and solo mode, use only one of each).
6. Separate the 18 weather cards into two groups: yellow footer (12 cards) and green footer (6 cards). Shuffle each group separately. From the yellow group, randomly draw 4 cards and place them below the collective board, one card on each number (1-2-3-4). Reveal them later. Return the remaining cards to the box. From the green group, draw and give one card to each player. These cards are kept secret and revealed only at the end of the game. Return the remaining cards to the box.
7. Each player places a marker on the 00/50 space of the scoring track and another near the turn order track at the bottom of the collective board.
8. Leave the 50/100 cards on the table. When a player exceeds 50 points on the scoring track, they take one of these cards and continue moving their marker normally on the track.
9. The oldest player starts the game. Give them the 1st player card.

Game Flow

Each round of Engis has three phases. All players complete one phase before starting the next.

1. PHASE 1: EXPAND TERRITORY
2. PHASE 2: ACTIONS
3. PHASE 3: USE A SCORING CARD

After Phase 3, the round ends and End of Round procedures are performed before starting the next one.

End of Round

When the round ends, follow these steps:

1. Bring meeples back: Players remove meeples from the collective board and place them back on their individual boards. Meeples must be placed with other player pieces. If the player returns 4 pieces (and there are none on their board), all must be placed on the same hex.
2. Pass the 1st player card: The player who played last in the turn order of the round that ended receives the 1st player card and places it in their play area. Then, remove the markers from the turn order.
3. Replenish terrain hexes: The new 1st player draws four terrain hexes from the top of the pile, places them in the empty spaces of the collective board, and reveals them later.

Actions and How to Play

Each round is divided into three phases:

PHASE 1: EXPAND TERRITORY

In this phase, each player acquires exactly one terrain hex and places it on their individual board. The 1st player (the one with the card in front of them) makes the first bid of the auction, offering 0 to 4 meeples. The player removes the meeple(s) from any position on their individual board and places it/them in the top row of the collective board. If the bid is 0, they must place one of their markers in the row.

After the 1st bid, clockwise, the next player must make their bid. The rule is that EACH BID CAN BE GREATER OR SMALLER THAN A PREVIOUS BID, BUT NEVER EQUAL.

Once all players have made a bid, the turn order for the rest of the round is established. The player with the highest bid wins 1st position, the next highest bid wins 2nd position, and so on. Players signal this by placing the markers next to the collective board in spaces 1, 2, 3, and 4.

To finalize the phase, following the new turn order, each player chooses a terrain hex from the offer and places it in an empty space on their individual board. Added hexes must be placed adjacent to any other already existing in the player's territory. It is not allowed to forgo choosing and repositioning a new hex.

All meeples used in the auction remain on the collective board until the end of Phase 3.

In games with 3 players, the last to choose will have two terrain options, having to choose one and discard the other. Discarded hexes are placed in a free area of the table and are visible to everyone.

There are 8 empty spaces on the individual boards, and players will occupy one each round. When the last space is occupied, it will be the last round of the game.

PHASE 2: ACTIONS

In this phase, following the turn order, each player can perform up to 3 different actions, one after another and only once each action, in any desired order.

• MOVE Action: The player can move as many meeples as they wish on their individual board. Each meeple can perform only 1 movement in any direction. It is not allowed to cross or occupy empty spaces or volcano hexes. This action is optional, but important for positioning meeples on the correct terrains to optimize scoring in Phase 3.
• CRAFT AN OBJECT Action: There are 8 prehistoric objects represented on the boards, four made of wood and four of stone. The amount of resources (wood/stone) needed is indicated above each object and varies from 1 to 4. Each round, each player can craft only one object. To craft, the player needs to have the resource icons on the terrain hexes in their territory; nothing is spent. As soon as a player crafts the 4th object of the same group (wood or stone), they immediately receive 4 points and advance their marker on the scoring track. Crafting objects is important because they increase the score of cards in Phase 3. Having or not having meeples on the hexes is irrelevant for crafting.
• DEVELOP A SKILL Action: There are 16 skills in the game. Each player can develop only one skill per round, which means taking the card and placing it in their play area. To do this, the player needs to have the minimum amount of knowledge points according to the level of the chosen skill (level varies from 1 to 5). There are four ways to acquire knowledge:
  • At the beginning of the game, players already have 1 knowledge point printed on the boards.
  • Some terrains have an icon that equals 1 knowledge point.
  • By possessing five different terrains on their board, the player acquires 1 additional knowledge point.
  • The Knowledge skill gives the player 1 extra point for every three terrains of the same type they possess.
  Skills have various effects and can be used throughout the game, including in the same round they were developed. It is only allowed to have one card of each skill.

PHASE 3: USE A SCORING CARD

In this phase, following the turn order, each player chooses an available scoring card from their hand, plays it on the table, and scores. There are 8 different scoring types. Once used, these cards go to each player's discard pile. The idea is to know when to use the cards to get the most out of them.

When scoring a card, the player advances their marker on the scoring track of the collective board. Then, they place the card in a discard pile in their play area, keeping only the top card of the pile visible to everyone. Scoring cards are used only once in the game, unless the player has the INTELLIGENCE skill.

Types of Scoring Cards:

• WATER - FOOD - MAMMOTH: These three cards score in the same way. The player receives 1 point for each icon shown on the card (water, food, or mammoth) that they possess on the terrain hexes on their board. In addition, each meeple positioned on these hexes increases the final sum by 1 point. For each of these three cards, there is a related object that increases the final sum by 2 points, if the player has crafted it:
  • WATER - VASE object
  • FOOD - FLAKED STONE object
  • MAMMOTH - BOW AND ARROW object
• SHELTTER: When scoring this card, the player receives 3 points per cave hex on their board and an additional 1 point per meeple positioned on the hex. If the player has crafted the stones that produce fire, they receive an additional 2 points.
• OBJECTS: When scoring this card, the player checks which objects they have crafted (by the markers on the objects) and receives the sum of points according to the crafted items.
• TRIBES: When scoring this card, the player checks how many meeples are on their board (do not count the meeples used in the auction of Phase 1). The position of the meeples is irrelevant. The player receives 1 point per meeple and an additional 1 point per opponent who has fewer meeples than the active player on their individual board. If the player has crafted the club, they receive an additional 2 points, and if they have crafted the hand axe, likewise. With both objects crafted, it is possible to receive 4 extra points.
• SAME TERRAINS: When scoring this card, the player chooses a type of terrain on their board (forest, lake, mountain, desert, or savanna) and receives 1 point per hex, plus 1 point per meeple occupying the chosen terrain, and an additional 1 point for connections between hexes of the same type. If the player has crafted the raft, they receive an additional 2 points. This card does not apply to caves or volcanoes.
• DIFFERENT TERRAINS: When scoring this card, the player checks how many different types of terrains they possess (forest, lake, mountain, desert, and savanna) and receives 1 point per type, plus 1 point for each type of terrain occupied (it doesn't matter how many meeples are on the hexes). If the player has crafted the wheel, they receive an additional 2 points. This card does not apply to caves or volcanoes.

THREE-POINT RULE: Whenever a player uses a scoring card and their total points do not reach at least 3, the player must receive 3 points.

Immediately after each player has scored a card, Phase 3 ends.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends at the end of Phase 3 of the 8th round. Players calculate the final victory points and determine a winner.

To calculate the players' final score, check the following items:

• TERRAIN MAJORITIES: The player with the most hexes in each of the five terrain types (forest, mountain, lake, savanna, and desert) on their individual board receives 5 points. The two initial terrains printed on the boards must be considered. If two or more players tie in any terrain type, divide the points equally among them, rounding down. (caves and volcanoes do not count).
• KNOWLEDGE: The player with the most knowledge points receives 5 points. To calculate their total knowledge, each player must sum the original point printed on the board, the icons on the hexes, the extra point for the five different terrain types (if the player has them), and also any possible extra points due to the Knowledge skill card. In case of a tie, divide the points equally among the players, rounding down.
• SKILLS: Two skills yield points at the end of the game: Resistance and Exploration.
  • Resistance: The player receives 3 points for each volcano they possess at the end of the game.
  • Exploration: Yields points at the end of the game according to the diversity of hexes the player possesses on their individual board. If they possess at least 6 different types, they receive 5 points. If they possess all 7 types of hexes in the game (including caves and volcanoes), they receive 8 points.

After checking the items above and before determining the winner, it is necessary to evaluate the effect of the four WEATHER cards placed below the collective board