Leviathan Wilds

To set up a game of Leviathan Wilds, players select one of the seventeen Leviathans from the spiral-bound book, ranging from complexity level one upwards. Each player takes a player board, a matching climber deck with three starting cards, and character components. Threat cards corresponding to the chosen Leviathan are shuffled and placed in a row alongside the rage track. Starting markers and tokens are positioned as indicated by the scenario rules.

The main objective is fully cooperative: players act as skilled climbers working together to scale the gigantic creature and destroy all binding crystals causing its frenzied rage. Depending on the scenario, players may also need to collect or carry specific old kingdom relics to meet ultimate victory conditions.

Each round consists of specific steps: first, reveal the leftmost threat card which dictates harmful actions or movement; second, activate the climber to spend action points on moving, climbing orthogonally, jumping, gliding, striking crystals, healing, or resting; third, resolve the threat's effects based on the active player's position; and finally, draw cards up to a hand limit of three.

The game is not about individual victory points; rather, it is a binary cooperative challenge. Success is measured entirely by whether the team successfully smashes all binding crystals and meets all scenario requirements before any player falls in defeat.

The game ends immediately when either condition is met: the players win if every required crystal is successfully destroyed and relics are secured, or the players lose if a player's health marker and blight marker meet or cross each other due to taking too much damage or failing to resolve threats.