Darwin's Journey: Fireland Expansion

To set up, replace the base game map with the Fireland expansion map. Integrate new mission, special action, correspondence, and objective tiles, as well as new crew cards, into their corresponding base game stacks. Place the time track board near the map, and put the delay penalty tokens on it. Choose one of four scenario cards or follow normal setup for mission, special action, correspondence, and delay penalty tokens. Place adventure tokens on land and sea spaces on the map, adjusting the number based on the player count (e.g., in a 3-player game, do not place tokens on 4-player spaces). Shuffle observation point tokens and place one at the end of each corresponding track. Shuffle the land and ocean adventure decks and place them within reach. Each player receives two additional explorers and two additional ships, and places one additional cube of their color on the '0' space of the time track. Each player also receives one adventure scoring card. All other base game components are set up as usual.

The core objective of Darwin's Journey remains the same: players aim to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the game. The Fireland expansion introduces new avenues for scoring and strategic considerations, primarily through managing the 'time' resource, engaging in 'adventures' on the new map, and utilizing new special actions and crew members. Players must balance their exploration efforts with the costs associated with time and the rewards gained from successful adventures, all while still striving to fulfill objectives and contribute to the museum.

During a player's turn, they place workers to perform actions, similar to the base game. However, the expansion introduces the 'time' resource, which players will gain or spend based on various actions, moving their cube forward or backward on the time track. New action icons on expansion components indicate when time is gained or spent. When moving through adventure spaces on the map, players must draw and resolve an adventure card, choosing between two options, each with a cost and a reward. Players must be able to pay the cost to receive the reward. If they cannot pay for either reward, the card is discarded without effect. All actions gained during a turn, including those from adventure cards, can be resolved in any order, but individual actions cannot be interrupted. Additionally, new exploration and navigation options allow players to unlock more explorers and ships by passing specific icons on the map.

At the end of the game, after five rounds, players calculate their final scores. In addition to the standard victory points from the base game, players will adjust their scores based on their position on the time track. Depending on where their time cube is located, they may gain or lose victory points, with penalties for being too far advanced on the track. Players also score points based on the number of adventure tokens they have collected, as indicated on their adventure scoring card. Having at least four adventure tokens is crucial to avoid losing points from this category.

The game concludes after the fifth round has been completed and all players have taken their final turns. Following this, a comprehensive final scoring phase is initiated. During this phase, players tally their victory points from all sources, including those from the base game and the new elements introduced by the Fireland expansion. This includes evaluating their position on the time track for potential penalties or bonuses, and counting the adventure tokens collected to determine additional victory points. The player with the highest total victory points is declared the winner.