Cartographers

To set up, each player receives a double-sided map sheet and a pencil. Players must agree on which side of the map sheet to use for the game. The four Edict cards (A, B, C, D) are placed in a row. The Scoring cards, identified by their backs, are sorted into four stacks, and one card from each stack is randomly placed face-up below the corresponding Edict cards. The four Season cards (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) are stacked face-up in order. The Explorer cards, identified by their backs, are shuffled, and one Ambush card is randomly shuffled into this deck. The remaining Ambush cards are set aside but kept accessible.

The objective of Cartographers is to earn the most reputation stars by mapping regions according to the Queen's edicts. Players will draw shapes representing different terrain types onto their personal map sheets, aiming to fulfill the scoring conditions set by the active edicts each season, while also trying to avoid leaving empty spaces around monsters that appear.

Each turn consists of three phases: Explore, Draw, and Check. In the Explore phase, the top card of the Explorer deck is flipped over. This card will show terrain types and shapes to be drawn. In the Draw phase, all players simultaneously choose one of the shapes shown on the revealed Explorer card and draw it onto their map sheet, filling it with one of the available terrain types. Shapes can be rotated or flipped. Players cannot overlap existing terrain, mountains, or wastelands. If a player cannot legally draw any shape, they must draw a single 1x1 square anywhere and fill it with any terrain type. If a Ruins card is revealed, players must draw the next Explorer card and overlay its shape onto a pre-printed Ruins space on their map. If an Ambush card is revealed, players pass their map sheet in the indicated direction and draw the monster shape shown on the opponent's map, filling it with the monster terrain type. If no legal space exists for the monster shape, a single 1x1 monster square is drawn instead. After an Ambush, map sheets are returned to their owners, and the Ambush card is discarded. In the Check phase, players sum the time values of all revealed Explorer cards. If this sum meets or exceeds the current season's time threshold, the season ends; otherwise, a new round begins.

At the end of each season, players score points based on two specific Edict cards indicated on the current Season card. Each player calculates their score for these two edicts based on the terrain configurations on their map. Additionally, players gain one reputation star for each coin they have circled on their coin track. Finally, players lose one reputation star for each empty space adjacent (not diagonally) to a monster square on their map. All scores are recorded in the designated sections on the map sheet.

The game ends after the Winter season has been scored. Each player totals their reputation stars from all four seasons, along with any collected coins and monster penalties, to determine their final score. The player with the highest total reputation stars wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player who lost the fewest total points to monsters wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.