Endeavor: Age of Sail

First, select the appropriate side of the game board; one side is for 2-4 players in a low-conflict game, and the other is for 4-5 players in a higher-conflict game. Randomly place all 95 tokens face-up on all circular spaces on the game board, including sea routes, cities, flotillas, and circular connections. Sort the asset cards by region and arrange them in descending order of value, with the highest value card on top. Place the corresponding governor card next to each region, sliding it under the board so the symbols are visible. Prepare the building offer by placing all level 1 buildings in the leftmost column, sorted by type. Do the same for level 2 buildings in the next column. Randomly select four of the seven level 5 buildings and place them face-down in the bottom-right slot. The remaining three level 5 buildings are placed face-up in the rightmost column, sorted by type. Each player receives a player board, a small tray with cubes, and tokens of their chosen color. Place one cube on the '0' space of each of the four tracks on the player board. Randomly choose the first player and give them the crown token. Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses which side of the initial building they want to use. Place this building on the first available space on their player board and place one token from their supply onto the activation circle of that building. The setup is now complete.

The game is played over seven rounds, with each round consisting of five phases: Building, Growth, Payment, Action, and Discard. The player who has accumulated the most victory points by the end of the seventh round is declared the winner. Players must strategically manage their resources, expand their presence across regions, and utilize building and action benefits to maximize their score.

During the Action Phase, players take turns performing actions, starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise. On each turn, a player can either perform an action or pass. Once a player passes, they cannot perform any more actions in that round. There are two main ways to perform an action: activating a building or using an action token. To activate a building, a player moves one of their tokens from their port to an empty activation space on a building they own. This only activates the action; additional tokens may be required to execute the action fully. To use an action token, a player takes a blue action token from their port, removes it from the game, and performs the action depicted on it. When activating a building with multiple actions separated by a plus sign, both actions can be performed. If actions are separated by a slash, only one can be chosen. It is crucial to manage tokens effectively during the Payment Phase to ensure buildings are free for activation in the Action Phase.

At the end of the game, victory points are calculated from several sources. First, sum the points indicated by the final position of your cubes on all four tracks (Industry, Culture, Wealth, and Influence). Next, add victory points from all cities and connections you control on the main game board. Then, count the victory points from all asset cards on your player board, including those on buildings and any special governor card slots. For every three unused tokens remaining in your port, you gain one victory point. Finally, subtract one victory point for each slavery card you have set aside, as these represent negative points at the end of the game.

The game concludes immediately after the end of the seventh round. Once the seventh round's Discard Phase is completed, players proceed directly to final scoring. The player who has accumulated the highest total number of victory points from all categories wins the game. The built buildings on player boards can be used as a round counter to keep track of progress through the seven rounds.