The River

To set up The River, first place the main game board in the center of the table, orienting it according to the number of players (two players or three-to-four players). Each player then selects a color and takes five pioneers, a boat, and a player board, placing the board in front of them with the correct player count side face up. Four pioneers are placed on the boat, and the fifth is placed on the designated spot on the right side of the player board. Shuffle the land tiles and place them face down in their designated spots on the main board. Draw land tiles equal to the number of players plus one, and place them face up in the corresponding spaces. Shuffle the building cards and place them face down, then draw and place one face up on each island space. Place the resource tokens (wood, clay, stone) on their respective islands according to the player count. Finally, form two stacks of bonus tokens (one with '0' tokens, one with numbered tokens in descending order) and randomly determine the first player, giving them the first player token.

The objective of The River is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the game. Players achieve this by strategically placing land tiles on their player boards to create settlements, collecting and managing resources, and constructing various buildings. The game encourages efficient resource management and careful planning of land tile placement to maximize scoring opportunities from different sources.

A turn begins with an optional 3-for-1 resource trade, where any three resources can be exchanged for one food. This trade can only be performed if the necessary resources are available on both the player's board and the main board. After trading, the player places one pioneer from their boat onto an available action space on the main board. There are three types of action spaces: single-pioneer spots, two-pioneer spots (for each player), and special spots with no pioneer limit. Actions include taking a land tile (placing it on their player board, potentially covering symbols but moving resources), producing resources (based on production symbols on their player board), or constructing buildings (by paying resources and placing a pioneer on the building card). The round ends when all players have emptied their boats of pioneers.

At the end of the game, players tally their victory points from several sources. Points are awarded for each building card they have constructed, as indicated on the cards. Bonus tokens collected throughout the game also contribute points. Players receive one point for every three leftover resources they possess. Additionally, points are awarded for columns of identical land tiles on their player board: two points for columns with two identical land tiles and six points for columns with three identical land tiles. Finally, any special land tiles with immediate point values are added to their total.

The game concludes immediately when one of two conditions is met: either a player has collected five bonus tokens (four in a two-player game), or a player has filled all 12 available spaces on their player board with land tiles. The current round is completed, and then final scoring takes place. The player with the highest total victory points is declared the winner. In case of a tie, tied players share the victory.