How to Play Greenland (Third Edition)

Game Objective

In Greenland (Third Edition), players represent one of four tribes (Tunit, Norse, Sea Sámi, and Thule) struggling to survive in Greenland between the 11th and 15th centuries. Each tribe sends Hunters to gather food and fuel to sustain their children, elders, and livestock, while accumulating victory points by eliminating competing species or gathering resources. Historically, the climate turned frigid, and all tribes except the Thule (Inuit) went extinct. The objective is to survive and accumulate more victory points than your opponents, or be the sole remaining culture.

Setup

1. Event Cards: Separate the event cards and randomly select 10 of them to form a face-down, shuffled deck. The remaining cards will not be used this game.
2. Draw Decks: Separate the North Greenland biomes (with a green/yellow icon in the top right corner) and form a face-down, shuffled deck. Do the same for the South Greenland biomes (with a blue/red icon in the top right corner), forming a deck directly below the North deck.
3. Greenland Biomes: Reveal the top six cards from the North Biome Deck and spread them in a row to the right of the draw deck. Do the same for the South Biome Deck. These are the North and South rows. All cards start to the right of the deck, on the "warm" side.
4. New World: Place the Markland card in the North row and the Vinland card in the South row, in a position between the deck and the leftmost card of the row. This brings the number of cards in both rows to 7. Both start "Peaceful" (blue side up).
5. Tribal Placard and Cards: Randomly assign a Placard to each player (starting on the "Polytheism" side). Each player also receives their color's daughter cards (three for Yellow and Green players, two for Blue and Red players). The Red player (the Norse) additionally starts with one side of a Norse farm animal card of their choice (cattle, pony, sheep, or goat). Set unused Norse farm animals aside for possible later use. The Blue player (Sea Sámi) additionally starts with one side of the Sámi farm animal card (domestic reindeer or lappget). Place your cards in a row called your tableau.
6. Tribesmen: Each player receives their 18 tribesmen and Alpha of their color. Place the Alpha plus 5 tribesmen below your Placard; these are your unassigned tribesmen. Place 6 tribesmen next to your Placard, one next to each row; these are your starting Elders. Place the remaining tribesmen in a common dead pile called Valhalla.
7. Tunit Markland Colony: The Green player starts with 5 tribesmen on the Markland card in the North row, taken from Valhalla. These are colonists and are permanently assigned.
8. Starting Discs: Each player starts with 5 orange (energy) discs, 1 white (ivory) disc, and 1 black (iron) disc.

Game Flow

The game progresses in turns, each representing a generation. Each turn has six phases, during which each player performs their actions for the phase before moving to the next. Player order is determined by the event card, with the first player performing their actions, and then the turn passing to the next player color in line, except in phases 3, 4, and 6.

1. EVENT (D): Reveal an event card to start the turn. Then, determine the first player and apply the effects of the event icons from left to right to all players. If the card shows a Norse trade ship, auction its imported good.
2. HUNTER ASSIGNMENT (E): All players assign their unassigned tribesmen as Hunters, Elders, Guards, Colonists, or Sabine/Livestock Raiders.
3. NEGOTIATE and ATTACK (F): Players may bribe others to peacefully withdraw tribesmen from contested biomes, including marrying them to their daughters. Unless withdrawn, they must use their tribesmen to attack other tribesmen on the same card, treating the card as a "medallion" biome. If a New World card ends with more than 6 colonists, flip the card to its hostile side.
4. ROLL FOR HUNT (G): All players make hunt rolls, rolling one die for each of their assigned tribesmen. If the number of or rolled is at least equal to the number shown on the biome being hunted, add new babies (i.e., unassigned tribesmen for the next generation) and/or new resource discs, as indicated. For cards in the row on the "cold" side, only are successful. The bloody die icons show which die rolls kill Hunters, regardless of hunt success. Surviving Hunters are returned to their unassigned tribesmen.
5. DOMESTIC ANIMALS (H): Each card in your tableau gives you the specified babies without a hunt roll, if you spend the specified energy or elders. At the end of this phase, anyone living on a hostile New World card may spend an ivory to pacify it.
6. ELDER ACTIONS (I): Finally, all players perform elder actions, if they have elders in the appropriate rank (i.e., row on their Placard). If you have no elders, you may convert to monotheism (i.e., flip your Placard).

Player Order

• Phases 1, 2, and 5: The icons in the top center of the turn's event card show the color of the first player, who is the first to perform their actions in each phase. Then, play passes to the next player color in line.
• Phase 3 (Negotiate/Attack): The player with the most iron (black discs) determines the order of negotiations between cards containing tribesmen from different players. Unless all but one player's tribesmen leave a card, all players must immediately attack, starting with the player with the most iron. In case of a tie, the player order from Phase 1, 2, and 5 is followed.
• Phase 4 (Hunt): The first player decides which card is hunted first, second, etc. On a contested card, the player with the fewest tribesmen there rolls first. In case of a tie, the player order from Phase 1, 2, and 5 is followed.
• Phase 6 (Elder Actions): All polytheists go first (in the player order from Phase 1, 2, and 5), then all monotheists (also in player order).

Actions and How to Play

During the game, players perform various actions, mainly during the Hunter Assignment, Negotiate and Attack, Roll for Hunt, Domestic Animals, and Elder Actions phases.

Hunter Assignment (Phase E)

Each player assigns all their unassigned tribesmen. A tribesman can be placed on a Biome card (hunting), Placard (promotion), Daughter or Livestock (raiding or defense), or in the New World (colonization). You can place as many tribesmen as you wish on a card, or leave some unassigned. You can hunt multiple biomes.

• Hunting Biomes: Place Hunters directly on the revealed biomes.
  • Homeland: The Thule and Tunit share a homeland in North Greenland. The Norse and Sea Sámi share a homeland in South Greenland.
  • Mariner: You must have a Mariner (rank 6 elder) for each Biome or Tableau card outside your homeland where you place Hunters. Each Mariner can transport up to 4 Hunters to a single biome or tableau card per turn.
  • Sleds: If you have a card with a sled icon in your tableau, you can place any number of Hunters on a card outside your homeland without a Mariner. Sleds only work in Greenland, not the New World.
• New World Cards: Markland and Vinland are biomes in the New World. They are not part of any player's homeland, and you need a Mariner to go there (sleds do not work).
  • Inexhaustible: Any number of players can place tribesmen on these cards. The chevron icon indicates that, unlike all other biomes, any number of players can successfully hunt here.
  • Colonists: Tribesmen assigned to Markland or Vinland become Colonists and are permanently assigned, not being returned as unassigned tribesmen each turn.
• Promotion to Elder: By spending one energy, you can assign an unassigned tribesman to one of the six elder ranks on your Placard. Their powers are effective immediately and it is a permanent assignment.
• Livestock or Sabine Raid (Advanced): To raid a Livestock or Daughter card in an opponent's tableau, assign a Raider to their card. This will be resolved in Phases F and G. You must have a rank 4 Elder (War Chief) to assign a Raider.
• Guards: You can assign tribesmen to any of your Daughter or Livestock Tableau cards, or to daughters you are married to, as Guards to defend them.
• Navigational Reassignment: The Sun Stone/Sun compass card in your tableau allows you to reassign three of your tribesmen after everyone has assigned all their tribesmen.
• The Alpha: Each player starts with an Alpha. It is treated as a tribesman, except when used as a Hunter, you have the option to consider its hunt roll as , without actually rolling. You must decide to use this special ability before making the hunt roll.

Negotiate and Attack (Phase F)

If you have one or more tribesmen on the same card as an opponent, you can initiate negotiations. You can ask them to leave peacefully, or volunteer to leave. You can trade discs, hand cards, or Invention or Domestic Animal cards in your tableau, as well as offer daughters for marriage or make non-binding agreements about plays in future turns.

• Exogamy (Advanced): If agreed upon during negotiations or as a result of a Sabine Raid, you can convert one of the Raiders into a Husband, placing it in the exogamy box of a daughter card in a foreign tableau. This is a permanent assignment.
• Attack Roll (Advanced): Your tribesmen must attack other tribesmen on the same card by rolling a number of dice equal to the number of your tribesmen present. Each player is entitled to one round of attacks per card. Except for War Parties, each will kill one tribesman of the victim's choice.
• The New World Becomes Hostile (Advanced): If, after negotiations and attacks, more than 6 Colonists are on a peaceful New World card (counting all players' colonists combined), it flips to its hostile side.
• The Iron Rule (Advanced): Before rolling for a hunt or before an opponent makes their attack roll against you, you can spend 1 iron to cancel all casualties resulting from the roll.

Roll for Hunt (Phase G)

When it's your turn to hunt, make a hunt roll by rolling a number of dice equal to the number of your Hunters present. If the card is on the "warm" side, each die roll is a hit. If the card is on the "cold" side, only a die will hit. If your roll shows a number of hits greater than or equal to the number of dice shown in the top left corner of the card, the hunt is successful. After the hunt, all your surviving Hunters (except colonists) are returned to your pool of unassigned tribesmen.

• Sabine or Livestock Raids (Advanced): Each Raider makes a hunt roll. If any of the Raiders roll one of the die faces shown in the "success" field, the raid is successful, assuming at least one raider survives attrition.
• Re-rolls due to Biome Types: If you have one or more tableau cards or Elders representing a biome type with the re-roll icon, you are entitled to re-rolls of the indicated number for all hunt rolls in that biome type.
• Hunt Modifications due to Inventions: If you have an Invention or Import in your tableau with a purple icon corresponding to the biome type, dice showing the indicated number optionally become .
• Results of a Successful Hunt: If you successfully hunt a biome, first suffer attrition, if any