The Quest for El Dorado

To set up the game, first assemble the game board by connecting terrain tiles as suggested in the rulebook or by customizing your own course. Randomly place blockade tokens between terrain tiles. Each player receives an expedition board and 8 starting cards, which they shuffle and place face-down on their board, then draw 4 cards into their hand. Place all adventurers on the starting tile; in a 2-player game, each player controls 2 adventurers, with the starting player on cells 1 and 3, and the second player on cells 2 and 4. Finally, prepare the market by organizing expedition cards into stacks of 3 and placing all cards with the market symbol below the market board.

The primary objective of The Quest for El Dorado is to be the first player to successfully navigate your adventurer(s) through the jungle and reach the legendary city of El Dorado. In a 2-player game, both of your adventurers must reach El Dorado to trigger the end-game condition.

Each turn consists of two main phases: movement and purchasing. First, you must move one of your adventurers by playing cards that match the terrain type and power value required by the cell you wish to enter. Cards without a specific terrain can be used for any movement. You cannot add power values of multiple cards for a single move. If you move across a blockade, you remove it and keep it. After moving, you can use any remaining cards in your hand to purchase one new card from the market. Cards with a coin symbol are worth their power value, while other cards are worth 0.5 coins. Purchased cards are placed on your discard pile, not directly into your hand. Finally, discard all cards you played or used for purchasing, and draw new cards from your deck until you have 4 cards in your hand. If your deck runs out, shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck.

The game concludes once an adventurer reaches El Dorado. If only one player's adventurer(s) reach El Dorado, that player wins. If multiple players' adventurers arrive at El Dorado during the same round (after all players have had an equal number of turns), the player who has collected the most blockade tokens wins. In the event of a tie in collected blockades, the player with the highest numbered blockade token wins.

The game ends immediately when an adventurer reaches El Dorado. However, turns proceed until the player to the right of the starting player has completed their turn, ensuring everyone has an equal number of turns. In a 2-player game, both of a player's adventurers must reach El Dorado to trigger this condition. Once the game ends, the winner is determined based on the scoring conditions.