Lost Cities: Rivals

To set up Lost Cities: Rivals, shuffle the starting wagers and deal two face-up to each player, ensuring no duplicates. Shuffle the main deck and divide it face-down into four roughly equal piles, using one as the active draw pile and setting the rest aside. Finally, divide the 36 gold coins evenly among all participants and hand the first player token to the person who most recently celebrated a birthday.

The main goal is to lead successful expeditions across different colored wilderness columns in order to earn the highest total fame score. Players must strategically collect numbered cards, multiplier wagers, and gold while managing column requirements and auction currency.

On your turn, you must choose one of two actions: uncover a card or start an auction. Uncovering simply flips the top card of the draw pile and adds it to the central display row. Alternatively, starting an auction lets players bid coins in clockwise order until only one highest bidder remains. The winner pays their bid into the central supply, takes any desired cards from the display to add to their expeditions, and optionally discards one unwanted display card to the box. Losing bidders take back their coins, the winner reveals the next draw card, and the turn passes to the left.

Scoring happens at the end of the game. Each expedition column is scored by summing its footprint symbols. Wagers placed at the start of a column multiply this total (one wager doubles it, two triples it, etc.). Columns containing four or more number cards award an extra eight-point bonus. Finally, each individual gold coin token held is worth one additional point.

The game is played across multiple phases corresponding to the four set-aside deck piles. When the last card of the current draw pile is revealed, play pauses, and any accumulated gold in the central supply is divided evenly among all players, leaving any remainder behind. A new deck pile is then introduced, and the game resumes. Once the final card of the last deck is revealed, the game ends immediately for final scoring.