Cape May

To set up, place the double-sided game board in the center of the play area, ensuring the correct side is face up for the number of players. Place the event deck face down in its designated area. Put all bird tokens into the included bag and set it nearby, along with the landmark bases, coins, and fire tokens. Sort the upgrade cards into four distinct decks based on their colors and names, shuffling each deck and revealing its top card. Each player selects a color and collects a player board, two wooden markers, a prestige token, an income token, 10 cottage tokens, 10 shop tokens, and seven movement cards. Players also take $20 from the supply and eight Victorian and eight business miniatures in their chosen color. Place each player's income token on the '0' space of the income track on the main board. One wooden marker from each player is placed on the compass space on the board, and the other is placed on the '0' space of their player board's activity track. Shuffle the activity cards into a face-down deck and deal two to each player. Shuffle the bonus cards, deal four to each player, who then privately chooses two to keep and returns the rest to the box. The player who most recently visited a beach receives the first player token.

In Cape May, players aim to become the most prestigious developer by strategically building cottages, shops, businesses, and landmarks across the town. Players must also navigate various challenges presented by event cards and engage in bird watching to collect unique bird tokens. The ultimate goal is to accumulate the most prestige points by the end of the game through careful planning, resource management, and fulfilling bonus conditions.

Each round in Cape May consists of three main steps: revealing an event card, taking actions, and advancing the lighthouse. During the 'reveal an event card' step, the first player draws and reads the top card from the event deck. Immediate effects are resolved, and ongoing effects or fire outbreaks are noted. The 'take actions' step allows each player, in clockwise order, to perform up to three actions. These actions can include playing a movement card to move their figure and potentially resolve space-specific effects (like drawing bird or activity tokens), building cottages or shops on adjacent lots, upgrading existing buildings to Victorians or businesses, drawing two activity cards, retrieving all discarded movement cards, or collecting $3 from the supply. Players track their actions using a marker on their player board. The 'advance lighthouse' step involves moving the lighthouse marker one space clockwise on the round wheel. If the lighthouse crosses a specific line, players receive income based on their current income track position. If the lighthouse reaches the final space of the track, the game proceeds to final scoring.

Final scoring in Cape May involves several components. First, players score points for each Victorian house and landmark they own, with points varying based on the zone (gravel, grass, dirt, sand) they are located in. Next, players score for building majorities in each zone. For each zone, the player with the most total buildings (of any type) receives the 'most' points, and the player with the second most receives the 'second most' points. In case of ties for 'most,' tied players split the combined 'most' and 'second most' points evenly (rounding down). If there's a tie for 'second most,' tied players split the 'second most' points evenly. Players then reveal their secret end-game upgrade cards and score points if they meet the specified conditions. Bird tokens collected throughout the game are grouped into collections of unique birds, and points are awarded based on the size of each collection. Finally, players score one point for every $10 they have remaining in their possession.

The game concludes immediately when the lighthouse marker on the round wheel reaches the final space of the track. At this point, players proceed directly to the final scoring phase. During final scoring, players calculate their prestige by tallying points from Victorian houses, landmarks, building majorities in each zone, end-game upgrade cards, bird token collections, and leftover money. The player with the highest total prestige wins the game. In the event of a tie, the tied player with the most bird tokens wins. If a tie still persists, the tied player with the highest income level on the income track wins. If there is still a tie after these tie-breakers, the tied players share the victory.