Faraway

To set up Faraway, first, shuffle all the region cards thoroughly. Each player is dealt three region cards to form their starting hand. The remaining region cards are placed face down in the center of the playing area to create the region draw pile. Next, shuffle the sanctuary cards and place them face down to form the sanctuary draw pile. Finally, reveal a number of region cards from the region draw pile equal to the number of players plus one. These cards are placed face up in the center of the table, forming the market from which players will select cards during the game.

The primary objective in Faraway is to accumulate the highest total number of victory points by the end of the game. Victory points are primarily earned through two main avenues: the region cards themselves, which have individual point values and symbols, and the completion of sanctuary objectives. Sanctuary objectives are special cards that provide points for having specific sets or patterns of region cards in your personal tableau, which represents your journey.

A game of Faraway unfolds over eight rounds. In each round, players simultaneously select one region card from their hand and place it face down in front of them. Once all players have made their selection, all chosen cards are revealed. Players then determine turn order for that round based on the numerical value of the region card they played, with the lowest numbered card going first. Starting with the first player, each player chooses one face-up region card from the market and adds it to their personal tableau, extending their path of regions. After all players have selected a market card, any remaining market cards are discarded, and new region cards are drawn to replenish the market for the next round. Players then draw new region cards to bring their hand back up to three cards.

At the conclusion of the eighth round, the game proceeds to the scoring phase. Players score victory points for each region card in their tableau. The value of each region card is determined by its printed number and any symbols it displays, which may grant additional points based on other cards in their tableau. Crucially, players also score points for any sanctuary objectives they have successfully completed. These objectives typically require specific combinations or quantities of region card types or symbols to be present in a player's tableau. The player with the highest total victory points from their regions and completed sanctuaries is declared the winner.

The game concludes immediately after the end of the eighth round. At this point, each player will have a tableau consisting of eight region cards. All players then proceed to calculate their final scores based on the regions they have collected and the sanctuary objectives they have fulfilled. The player who has amassed the most victory points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the highest sum of region card numbers in their tableau wins.