Overview

Cartographers is a flip-and-write game in which each player fills out a map. Each round, you'll add a new feature to your map. After a few rounds, you'll score based on the presence or arrangement of these features. The player with the most points at the end of four rounds wins!

Setup

Each player has a map. This map starts mostly blank, but may have mountains, ruins, and wasteland spaces already included.

Each turn, a card from the landscape deck determines what types and sizes are used.

The game uses four scoring cards, labeled A, B, C, and D. These take a specific format:

• One of these cards looks for village spaces
• One of these cards looks for forest spaces
• One of these cards looks for water and farm spaces
• One of these cards looks at the whole map, usually involving filled segments or patterns.

Season cards determine which two of these cards will be scored at the end of the round and how many cards will be flipped in the next round:

• Spring lasts 8 time units. Players score cards A and B.
• Summer lasts 8 time units. Players score cards B and C.
• Autumn lasts 7 time units. Players score cards C and D.
• Winter lasts 6 time units. Players score cards D and A.

Turn Overview

The top card of the landscape deck is flipped, usually containing two possible shapes or two different terrain types. All players simultaneously put one of those two choices on their map. The shapes can be flipped and rotated, but cannot hang off the map edge or overlap.

If any player can't place a particular shape, they instead place a single 1x1 square of any terrain type on their board.

Some shapes have a gold coin. These shapes are worth 1 point each scoring phase. You can also earn coins by filling all four spaces adjacent to a mountain space.

Each landscape card has a number on the top left corner indicating the value of its time unit. When the sum of all cards played equals the season's number, the round ends.

Special cards

There are two "Ruins" cards in the deck. If either of these cards is drawn, the next shape must overlap with one of the "Ruins" spaces on the map.

The landscape deck has one "Monster" card. If drawn, the next player draws this Monster's shape on your map. Players lose points for each empty space next to a Monster space.

The landscape deck also has one "Rift Lands" card. If drawn, all players draw a 1x1 square of any terrain type on their map.

Scoring

At the end of each round, the two scoring cards are resolved (see above). Players gain 1 point for each gold coin used. Players lose 1 point for each empty space next to a Monster space.

After scoring, the landscape deck is reshuffled.

After Winter is scored, the game ends. The player with the most points wins!

In the event of a tie, the player who lost the fewest points to empty spaces near monsters wins.

Expansions

Map Pack 1 - Nebblis: Plane of Flame

When a volcano card is revealed, all players put the indicated volcano shape on their map. It must be placed adjacent to the volcano -OR- adjacent to a cluster of destroyed spaces that is adjacent to the volcano. It destroyes all spaces in the new volcano shape.

Volcano spaces may overlap empty spaces and filled terrain spaces, but may not overlap mountain spaces, destroyed spaces or the 2x2 volcano.

If a volcano card is revealed immediately after a ruins card, the volcano card is resolved normally. The effect of the ruins card will apply to the next explore card that is revealed.

Destroyed spaces are considered to be filled spaces, but they have no terrain type.

Map Pack 2 - Affril: Plane of Knowledge

Before the game begins, each player fills any connection dot between two islands on their map.

Players may only put shapes on connected islands. A player may spend a coin at any time to fill a connection dot between a connected island and a new island. If they cannot legally put any of the available shape s on their map, they must spend a coin to fill a connection dot first.

Spent coins do not earn points at the end of each season.

If a player cannot afford to fill a connection dot when required to do so, they gain a coin instead, but do not get to put the normal 1x1 square on their map.

Map Pack 3 - Undercity: Depths of Sabek

If playing with map U2, each player starts by putting a gate in any empty space directly above the ground line on their map.

The map have two sections: above ground and below ground, which are separated horizontally by the ground line. These sections are connected by the gate, which is considered to be a filled space.

Players may only put shapes so that they are entirely above ground or below ground. A player must put every new shape below ground so that a continuous path of filled spaces can be traced from the new shape back to the gate.

If a player cannot legally put any of the available shapes on their map, they instead put a 1x1 square filled with any terrain type (excluding mountains) on their map. They must still be able to trace a continuous path back to the gate.