villager[tip] [green]This tutorial is best experienced on a full screen desktop browser at 1080p[/green]
Welcome to the tutorial for Lost Cities, a fascinatingly quick 2-player card game designed by Reiner Knizia, with easy to master rules, but with lots of depth and interesting choices.
You are a brave archeologist tasked with forming expedition routes that lead you to 5 remote and mysterious corners of the world.
- the tall and icy cold Himalayan mountains
- the lush and deadly Central American rainforest
- the hot and unforgiving Egyptian desert
- the mysterious volcano leading to the center of the earth
- the deep sunken city of Atlantis
Do you have what it takes? Are you daring enough to bet on the success of your expedition, or will you drown in debt trying?2maintitlebar_content000board_surface aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzcxNTc2NzIuNDY0NjU4MTAuanBn/36/-25 player_name_85070696 aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzcxNTc2NzIuNDY0NjU4MTAuanBn/97/0
villagerYou and your opponent have access to tattered and torn map fragments for the 5 locations.
Each location has 9 Route cards that progressively mark the route to the Expeditions treasure.
Let's look at the amazing picture that is built when all the cards come together, starting with the lush Central American rainforest.
(made up of Green cards)
[img]https://x5.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/img6785ec348f48c8.09428925.jpg[/img]3maintitlebar_content000page-title aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzRjOGE3NjAuNjAyMTAwNTYuanBn/474/4 board_surface aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzRjOGE3NjAuNjAyMTAwNTYuanBn/0/0 board_surface aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzRjOGE3NjAuNjAyMTAwNTYuanBn/0/0
villagerThe Himalayan mountains..
[img]https://x5.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/img6785ec35b3f9d2.68865478.jpg[/img]
(constructed with White route cards)5maintitlebar_content000page-title aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzVlNTZmNzIuMTY4ODAxNTAuanBn/472/4 board_surface aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzVlNTZmNzIuMTY4ODAxNTAuanBn/0/0 board_surface aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzVlNTZmNzIuMTY4ODAxNTAuanBn/0/0
villagerthe sunken city of Atlantis..
[img]https://x5.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/img6785ec374e29b3.64127219.jpg[/img]
(constructed with Blue route cards)7maintitlebar_content000page-title aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzc4N2EwODQuNTc0ODIwOTcuanBn/444/-52 player_name_85033551 aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzdhOTQ5NzAuNzE2NDA1ODEuanBn/94/0
villagerand finally, the Ancient Volcano..
[img]https://x5.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/img6785ec36433dd6.85711767.jpg[/img]
(constructed with Red route cards)8maintitlebar_content000page-title aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzY3NWE3NTAuNjg3MDI4MTguanBn/434/-12 board_surface aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzY3NWE3NTAuNjg3MDI4MTguanBn/0/0 board_surface aHR0cHM6Ly94NS5ib2FyZGdhbWVhcmVuYS5uZXQvZGF0YS90dXRvcmlhbHMvaW1nNjc4NWVjMzZhZmJmMzMuNzIyOTIzMDcuanBn/0/0
villagerThe 5 locations and the expedition routes will be formed here.. one COLUMN for each color of the route card.9expeditions_panel000expeditions_panel 6
villagerSo again,
- there are 5 locations (with the background colors of Yellow, Blue, White. Green, and Red)
- each location has 9 route cards, numbered 2 to 10.
- each location also has 3 Wager cards
*That creates a deck of 60 cards.*
Out of which 8 are randomly dealt to you, and 8 to your opponent.
This is your hand!10avatar_85033551000player_hand 6
villager44 cards remain in the face-down draw deck.
Once this deck is exhausted, the round ends and scores are compared. BGA automatically scores at the end of every turn.
The winner of the round is the one with the most *Expedition Points*.11deck_count_nbr000deck_count 6
villagerThe game is setup to be played over 3 rounds.
[green]Player with the highest overall score at the end of 3 Rounds wins![/green]
If you are looking for a shorter game, BGA lets you setup a 1 Round game too.12round_count000round_count 6
villagerLike most card games, a player's turn is very simple.
1) PLAY or DISCARD a card from the hand
2) DRAW a card from the Draw deck or one of the 5 Expedition discard piles.13maintitlebar_content000
villagerIt's important to note that *in order to start an expedition, costs are incurred.*
In other words, [red]if you place a route card under a map column, then you immediately start with NEGATIVE 20 Expedition Points.[/red]
[green]*Your first goal is to lay enough route cards, IN ASCENDING ORDER, in that column to counter this deficit.*[/green]
For example if you managed to play a 6, 8, and 10 cards on the yellow Egyptian expedition column, you would score 24 points from the cards. With the negative 20 you started with, your score would be 4.
Note that *if you don't play any Route cards under a particular Expedition column, then you neither gain nor lose any Expedition points.*14maintitlebar_content000
villagerYour opponent starts Round 1, by placing a Red Wager card under the Red Volcano map.
There are 3 Wager cards for every Expedition location. They have the icon of a handshake on the corner.
*[red]Wager cards need to be the very first card in any Expedition column[/red]*.. numerically, they are lower than the 2-value card. They are optional to play! You don't have to wager!
[img]https://x5.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/img6785ec36c698d9.55929217.jpg[/img]1board_stack_561b9250e03ae600card_background_card_27 6
villagerNotice, their score is -40 Expedition Points (*hereafter termed as EPs*) after playing that Wager card!
yes, NEGATIVE 40 EP!
As the name suggests, by playing a Wager card, you are betting that you can place enough point cards on the respective Expedition column, to counter the initial negative 20 EPs.
*Every Wager card increases the multiplier on that column's score.*
In this case, as the current column score is -20 EP (as an Expedition has started), the 1st Wager card doubles it to -40 EP.
As soon as you play enough Expedition Route cards, the score for that column will go into positive territory :)2player_score_8507069661b9250e03ae600player_score_85070696 6
villagerAnd they Drew 1 random Route card from the deck to replenish their hand.
1deck_card61b9250ef157300
villagerIt's your turn. You too have a :
- Green Rainforest Wager card
- Red Volcano Wager card
2hand_panel_inner61b9250ef157300player_hand_item_1 1 player_hand_item_51 1
villager[tip]I think we can confidently play a Green Wager card, and hope to get some huge Expedition points in that column, considering we already have a Green-9 and a Green-10 Route card.
*1) Select the Green Wager card to play it*
*2) and then click the bottom 2 arrows under the Green map to start the Expedition.*4maintitlebar_content61b9250ef157310player_hand_item_15 3 player_hand_item_43 3 player_hand_item_51 16
villagerYour score too now goes to -40 EPs.
*Now DRAW a card from the deck to replenish your hand*1deck_count61b925112490510deck_action 16 overall_player_board_85033551 6
villagerHmm.. your opponent too is Wagering on the success of the green Rainforest Expedition. There will be some competition to save and play the Green route cards, as there are only 12 cards / Expedition color in the deck (9 Route cards + 3 Wager cards).
And as expected, the current score gets another -40 EPs, taking it to -80 EPs!1card_background_card_561b92514037ac00card_background_card_5 6 overall_player_board_85070696 6
villagerIt's your turn!
*Play the White Wager card to the respective Expedition column*
*remember to click the bottom 2-red arrows, and not the top 2-red arrows* (will explain what those do soon).1maintitlebar_content61b92514d9cce10player_hand_item_30 16
villageragain, *Draw from the deck to replenish your hand of 8 cards.*1deck_action61b92517e017c10deck_action 16
villagerwow! your opponent is doubling down on the Red Volcano Expedition, by placing another Red Wager card!
Interestingly, their score is now -100 EPs!!
That's because:
1) 2 Red Wager cards does a 3X multipler. So -20 EPs becomes -60 EPs.
2) 1 Green Wager card does a 2X multipler. So -20 EPs becomes -40 EPs.
That makes it a very low total of -100 EPs currently.
*Wager carefully! The losses / rewards can add up quickly!*1card_background_card_1861b9251ddc85200card_background_card_18 6 overall_player_board_85070696 6
villagerIf you manage to start an Expedition column with ALL 3 Wager cards played, then the score multiplier is 4X.2card_background_card_1861b9251ddc85200
villagerLet's do the same!
*Play the 2nd White Wager card to the Himalaya Expedition column*
[tip] with a White-7 and White-8 route card in hand, already totaling 15 EPs, there is a very good chance that we can get a few more White route cards played in our side of the column, and get huge Expedition points! 1maintitlebar_content61b9251f3250410player_hand_item_8 6 player_hand_item_59 6 player_hand_item_33 16
villager*again, Draw from the deck*
we will soon see that we can also Draw from the board... currently no one has discarded any cards there though.1deck_action61b92520d2f8610deck_action 16
villagerSo far we've been seeing turns where Route cards where played under the respective Expedition column.
In this turn, your opponent decided to DISCARD the Yellow-3 route card... probably they do not want to invest in that Expedition at all.1card_background_card_5061b92525052e900card_background_card_50 6
villagerOver the course of the game, many such Route cards will be discarded to the five Expedition spots on the board.
[green]So when DRAWing a card, you now have the choice of either drawing from the deck, or from the board.[/green]
[red]you cannot DRAW the exact same card that you discarded in the same turn. But you can draw back your discards if still available on future turns[/red] :)1card_background_card_5061b92526c0a4300card_background_card_50 13
villager*Let's play the Red-2 route card to the Volcano expedition*
Any guesses on what that will do to the score?2maintitlebar_content61b92526c0a4310player_hand_item_23 16
villagerIf you said -118, take a bow! You now know how scoring works in Lost Cities.
To clearly explain, this move added:
* -20 Expedition points (EPs) to start a new column
* +2 EPs from the Red-2 card
Totaling -18 EPs.
Add that to your previous score of -100 EPs, and we are now at -118 EPs.
Trust me.. this game will have positive scores at the end of round, assuming you play smartly :) If you play enough route cards in an Expedition column to counter the initial -20 EP, then the excess will be multiplied via the number of Wager cards.1player_board_8503355161b925293a44b00player_score_85033551 6
villagerIt's your turn..
you played a Red-2 route card in a previous turn. *Let's add the highlighted Red-4 route card below it.*
Again note the important rule, *Expedition Route cards MUST BE in ASCENDING order.*
[red].. and if you have started an Expedition column with a numbered Route card, you cannot place a Wager card there anymore. A Wager card is numerically the lowest card, and must be placed first on any Expedition column [/red]1maintitlebar_content61b92531c00b510player_hand_item_1 13 player_hand_item_12 16
villager*Let's go ahead and discard the Blue Wager card*.
This time, after selecting the card, *click the top 2-red arrows to discard to the board.*1maintitlebar_content61b92541c530d10player_hand_item_10 16
villager:) Not only did your opponent wager on the blue Atlantis Expedition by playing a Wager card from their hand, but they also grabbed the one you discarded :)1card_background_card_4261b9254c210f300
villagerAnd as expected they are now doubling-down on the blue Atlantis Expedition. :)
Be careful about what you discard.. don't let your opponent maximize their Expedition Points.1card_background_card_1061b9254fd455800card_background_card_10 6
villagerHmm.. your opponent grabbed a Blue-2 route card. They are definitely going to play that next..
*Let's grab that Blue-3 route card from the board, and deny them that card*1pick_card_261b92552825ed10pick_card_2 16
villagerAt this point, you know all the core mechanics and rules of the game.
One final scoring rule.. [green]if in any column, a player has placed 8 route cards of that color (including Wager cards), then they score an additional BONUS 20 Expedition points!
Note that the bonus 20 points are not multiplied by the Wager cards.
[/green]
When the round finishes, the player with the highest overall score so far, starts the next round.1maintitlebar_content61b9255367ecf00
villagerYou now know all the core rules to have a fun game at Lost Cities!
*Expedition Summary:*
1) start Expeditions by playing route cards in a column, in ascending order. Sum of all cards played gives the Expedition Points (EPs) for that column.
2) every Expedition started deducts -20 EPs.
3) Optionally, play 1 to 3 Wager cards to get a score multiplier. These must be played at the very beginning.
4) if a column contains 8 or more cards, score another bonus 20 points.
5) Round ends when the last card from the deck is drawn.2maintitlebar_content61b9255367ecf00
villagerCongratulations on completing the tutorial. Hope you liked it.
See you at the next table :)
P.S. You will get to rate this tutorial in the next popup. If you feel it can be made better, can you please share your feedback with Villager? Feel free to directly message me with your comments.3archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment61b9255367ecf00
Get rid of the Premium advertising screen at the start of your games.
Play from the same place.
Play with someone using the same Internet connection as you, or even using the same device ('Hotseat' mode). Only one player needs to be Premium to play from the same location as someone else.
Video/Voice chat.
Integrated voice or video chat to play with your friends as if they were here.
Statistics.
Access game statistics after each game, and study your opponents' statistics, strategies & rank evolutions.
Choose your color.
When possible, play with your favorite color.
Create tournaments.
Create your own tournaments, for friends or for everyone.
Cancel your membership anytime.
About Board Game Arena Premium
Board Game Arena's main goal is to promote board games to a large audience. This is the reason why the service is free for everyone.
As you can imagine, this website needs a lot of time and some money to keep things running smoothly. Some players are helping us with contributions or through donations. This website can only exist because of the help from these players, and to thank them we make them Premium members.