Game Objective

"Land ahoy!" Prepare for an exciting adventure in **Tobago**, the island of forgotten treasures! Your objective is to be the richest treasure hunter by the end of the game. How? By reconstructing **treasure maps** with **clues**, unearthing these treasures before your rivals, and, of course, collecting the most valuable **gold coins**. But beware, the island holds secrets and **curses** that can disrupt your plans. The player with the most **gold coins** at the end wins!

Setup

Let's set up the table for this treasure hunt!

1. Assemble the Variable Board: Connect the 3 board sections and the 3 braces. The sections are double-sided ('a, b, c' or 'A, B, C' sides), allowing for 32 different island configurations. Interlock the irregular edges without leaving gaps and use the braces to secure them.
2. Organize the Location Markers: Create four **treasure map areas** near the board. Separate the 68 **location markers** by color into four piles: White, Gray, Black, and Brown.
3. Position the Objects on the Island: Place the 4 **huts**, 3 **palm trees**, and 3 **statues** on the island, following these rules:
   • Each space can only have one object.
   • Identical objects (e.g., palm trees) must be at least 4 spaces away from each other.
   • **Statues** cannot be adjacent to the ocean and must face directly one of the 6 spaces surrounding them.
4. Stack the Amulets: Place 21 **amulets** on the corresponding symbol on one of the braces.
5. Position the Jeeps: Each player takes a **Jeep** of their color and places it on any space on the island.
6. Take the Compasses: Each player takes 15 **compasses** of their color.
7. Distribute the Clue Cards: Shuffle the **clue cards** and deal 4 to each player (6 cards in 2-player games). The remaining cards form the **clue card deck**.
8. Prepare the Treasure Deck: Combine the 39 **treasure cards** and the 2 **curse cards**. Shuffle the two **curse cards** (face down) with the 27 lowest-value **treasure cards**. The remaining 12 treasure cards go on top.
9. Start the Treasure Maps: Each player draws a **clue card** from the deck and places it, face up, in one of the four empty **treasure map areas** (below the pile of location markers). Mark the card with one of their **compasses**. (In a 3-player game, for example, 3 maps will be started. The fourth can be started at any time).

The Game Turn

Players take turns clockwise, starting with the player who most recently visited an island (or the youngest player, if it's the first time). On your turn, you can perform one of two main actions:

A) Play a Clue Card

Choose a **clue card** from your hand and place it, face up, below the last **clue card** of one of the **treasure maps**. Mark the newly played card with one of your **compasses**.

Rules for Adding Clues:

• The clue must reduce the possible treasure locations by at least one space.
• It cannot contradict any clue already present on the map.
• It must allow for at least one location where the treasure could be hidden (the treasure cannot "disappear from the island").

After playing the clue, draw a **replacement card** from the **clue card deck** to maintain 4 cards in hand (6 in 2-player games). If the deck runs out, shuffle the discarded cards to form a new one.

How Clues Work:

Each clue eliminates spaces on the island as possible treasure locations. Mark the remaining spaces with the corresponding colored **location markers**. As more clues are added, remove markers from eliminated spaces. The treasure's location is determined when only one **location marker** remains on the board. Only then can the treasure be unearthed.

Types of Clue Cards (Summary):

• Within the Landmark: The treasure is in a type of terrain or near a specific object. Ex: "In the jungle."
• Near the Landmark: The treasure is adjacent to a type of terrain or object. Important: Cannot be within the landmark. Ex: "Near a palm tree."
• In Sight of the Landmark: The treasure is 1 or 2 spaces away. Important: Cannot be within the landmark. Ex: "In sight of the ocean."
• Not Within the Landmark: The treasure is not in a type of terrain or object. Ex: "Not in the mountains."
• Not Near the Landmark: The treasure is not adjacent to a type of terrain or object. Important: Can be within the landmark. Ex: "Not near a statue."
• Not In Sight of the Landmark: The treasure is not 1 or 2 spaces away (i.e., further than 2 spaces or directly on it). Important: Can be within the landmark. Ex: "Not in sight of a hut."

B) Move your JEEP

You can move your **Jeep** up to 3 steps.

What counts as a step:

• Moving within a terrain: Any movement within the same type of terrain, regardless of distance.
• Changing terrain: Moving to an adjacent space of a different type of terrain (e.g., from jungle to a lake).

Your **Jeep** can enter any space on the island, even if it contains palm trees, huts, or other Jeeps. It cannot enter the ocean.

Special Movement Cases:

• Unearthing a treasure ends your movement, regardless of remaining steps.
• Collecting an **amulet** automatically ends a step.

Actions at Any Time During the Turn

At any time during your turn, you can, if possible:

• Unearth Treasures: If the exact location of a treasure is defined (only one location marker) and your **Jeep** is in that space, you can unearth it. Place one of your **compasses** below the last **clue card** of the corresponding map. Remove the **location marker**.
• Play one or more Amulets: Use your **amulets** to activate their special powers (see "Amulet Powers" below).

Unearthing a Treasure

To unearth a treasure, two conditions must be met:

1. Only one treasure **location marker** remains on the board.
2. It is your turn and your **Jeep** reaches (or already occupies) the space with the marker.

When unearthing, place one of your **compasses** below the last **clue card** of the map. Remove the **location marker**.

Treasure Distribution:

All players with **compasses** on (or below) the treasure map draw the number of **treasure cards** corresponding to their compasses. The player distributing the treasure draws an additional card from the treasure deck. The cards are shuffled and offered one by one, from bottom to top in the sequence of the compasses (starting with the player who unearthed the treasure). Whoever takes a card returns the **compass** used to claim it.

Cursed Treasures:

If a **curse card** is revealed during distribution:

1. The remaining treasure cards are not distributed.
2. Any player with **compasses** on the map must discard an **amulet**. If they don't have one, they lose their most valuable **treasure card**.

The **curse card** is removed from the game. The **clue cards** of the unearthed treasure go to the discard pile. The player who claimed the last **treasure card** (or who unearthed it, if a curse was the first card) starts a new treasure map.

The Mysterious Appearance of Amulets

Whenever a treasure is unearthed, 3 **amulets** appear in the ocean. Take 3 amulets from the pile and place each on the coast, in the last island space in the line of sight of each **statue**. If a space already has an amulet, do not place another. Then, rotate each **statue** 60° clockwise.

Collecting Amulets:

• If your **Jeep** is already in a space with an **amulet** at the start of your turn, you automatically collect it (does not count as an action).
• If you move your **Jeep** to a space with an **amulet** (Action B), you can collect it, but this ends one of your steps.

Amulet Powers

You can play as many **amulets** as you wish at any time during your turn. Each **amulet** played grants one of the following powers (only affects treasure maps whose exact location has not yet been determined):

• Remove a Location Marker: Remove any **location marker** from the board, eliminating that space as a possible treasure location. Cannot remove the last marker of a given color.
• Play a Clue Card: Gain an extra "Play a clue card" action.
• Move your Jeep: Gain an extra "move the Jeep" action. Caution: You are not allowed to collect amulets when using this power.
• Swap your Clue Cards: Discard all your **clue cards** and draw the same number from the deck. (You can do this without an amulet, but you give up your entire turn).
• Protect Against a Curse: Discard an **amulet** when cursed to avoid losing your most valuable **treasure card**.
• Double-Claim: Place two **compasses** on the clue card you just played, or an additional compass on a card that already contains one of your compasses. Each compass allows you to claim one treasure card.
• Swap Compass Positions: Swap the positions of two single **compasses** or two double-claims on the same treasure map.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when the **treasure card deck** runs out, but not before the current treasure has been distributed. If there are still **compasses** remaining during distribution, the discarded **treasure cards** are shuffled to continue. After distribution is complete, the game ends immediately.

All played or discarded **amulets** return to the common amulet pile.

Final Count:

Each player counts the number of **gold coins** on the **treasure cards** they collected. The player with the highest amount of **gold coins** wins the game!

Tips for Winning

Want to be Tobago's greatest treasure hunter? Pay attention to these tips:

1. Contribute Clues Strategically: Don't just play clues randomly! Try to play clues that benefit you, bringing the treasure closer to where your **Jeep** is or where you plan to go. Observe other players' clues and try to "piggyback" on their work to unearth treasures they helped locate.
2. Manage your Amulets Wisely: **Amulets** are very powerful! Save them for crucial moments. Using them to remove a **location marker** and unearth a treasure before an opponent, or for an extra **Jeep** action to reach a valuable treasure or **amulet**, can be the difference between victory and defeat. And don't forget protection against **curses**!
3. Keep an Eye on Cursed Treasures: **Curse cards** can be a setback, but also an opportunity. If you have **amulets** to protect yourself, or if the treasure isn't that valuable to you, it might be worth the risk. Additionally, being the player who starts a new treasure map after a curse can give you an early advantage in the next hunt.