Rum & Bones: Second Tide

To set up Rum & Bones: Second Tide, each player first chooses a faction (Deep Lords or Marea de la Muerte in the base game). Then, each player selects three heroes from their chosen faction, placing their miniatures on the board with bases matching their faction color. Each hero has a unique Hero Dashboard and three Skill Cards. Players also take their faction's Crew Dashboard and 24 Deckhands (square bases) and 6 Bosuns (round bases) miniatures. Twelve Deckhands are placed in groups of four on specific objective zones (Main Mast, Rigging Line, Wheel for Deep Lords; Captain Chest, Rigging Line, Wheel for Marea de la Muerte). The game board is assembled using ship tiles, with two smaller ships for Marea de la Muerte and a larger central ship for Deep Lords. Objective tiles are placed on designated zones, and various tokens (damage, activation, condition, Deadman, coins) and dice are kept nearby. Finally, the score tracker is set up with player tokens on zero.

The primary objective in Rum & Bones: Second Tide is to be the first player to accumulate 8 victory points. Players earn victory points by strategically engaging in combat, knocking out enemy heroes, and destroying enemy objectives. The game is a race to reach this point threshold, requiring a balance of offensive and defensive maneuvers.

A game round consists of each player taking turns activating their heroes or crew. On a player's turn, they choose one hero or crew member that has not yet been activated in the current round and does not have a Deadman token. The activated unit can perform up to three actions. Actions can include moving one zone orthogonally (not diagonally), using a skill (attack or ability), or performing a rigging check to move between ships. Movement can be split into two parts, allowing for strategic positioning. Skills have various costs and effects, and some are passive. Upgrading skills can be done during a hero's activation by paying coins. Once a unit has completed its actions, an activation token is placed on its dashboard, and play passes to the next player. A round ends when all players have activated all their available heroes and crew.

Victory points are primarily earned through combat and objective control. Players gain 1 victory point for knocking out an enemy hero. Additionally, destroying enemy objectives grants victory points as indicated on the objective tiles. Some skill cards and Tide Cards may also provide opportunities to earn victory points. The score tracker board is used to keep a running tally of each player's victory points, with the first player to reach 8 points declared the winner.

The game concludes immediately when any player reaches 8 victory points. That player is declared the winner. If multiple players reach 8 points simultaneously, specific tie-breaking rules, usually involving who reached the points first or other criteria, would be consulted in the full rulebook.