The first expansion for Arctic Scavengers introduces the notion of a base camp or headquarters for each tribe. This base camp consists of a Tribal Leader (complete with special abilities) and the potential to construct buildings that can be used strategically during game play.
Additionally, the game introduces alternative victory paths, new mercenaries, new tools, and the addition of the "engineering schematics" deck.
This expansion does not dramatically alter the core game mechanics or objectives. All cards and mechanics from the original game are involved, the contested resources still represent the game timer, and the winner is still determined based upon amassing the largest tribe.
Modules
The expansion is organized into modules. Players may want to play the expansion progressively in modules in order to ease into the various new elements the expansion introduces.
Module #1 - Medics, Tools, and Gangs
- Set up the game in the standard fashion.
- Add the stack of medic cards alongside the other mercenary cards.
- Shuffle the 8 new junkyard cards into the junkyard deck. For now, ignore the special ability of the toolkit.
- Locate the gearheads and pharmers. Place them on the table next to the mercenary stacks.
Medics (new Mercenary)
Medics are quite versatile. They have a draw of 1 (like a scavenger), can be played from the hand during a hire action to represent 1 med (like pills), and they can also be played from the hand to save another tribe member card from a sniper attack (they could even be used to save another player's tribe member from sniper attack).
Medkit, Pills |
Save (new Action)
Save - protect a tribe member or leader from a snipe attack.
Rifle (new Tool)
A versatile tool that is good at hunting and fighting. This is the first tool from the junkyard to grant a +2 in two categories.
Toolkit (new Tool)
A toolkit can be used to enhance digging (either junkyard or engineering schematics) or can be handed to any tribe member that is used to speed up the building process on a building. The toolkit enables additional cards to be removed from one building that is under construction.
Gangs (new Game Concept)
Three gangs are introduced in this expansion. Each gang is watching the struggle for survival among these various tribes from a safe distance. Once all of the contested resources have been gathered, then these tribes will choose to form an alliance with whichever tribe best meets their needs.
Each gang is motivated by different things (tools, medicine, buildings). Winning a gang could easily make the difference in a closely contested game.
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The Gearheads "Most tools" is determined by adding up all the cards with a tool icon from each player's deck. Ties are broken by counting the total number of tools that are contested resources.
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The Pharmers "Most Meds" is determined by adding the total 'meds' value of all pills and medkits in a player's deck. Ties are broken by counting the total number of medics.
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The Masons "Most buildings" is determined by adding the total number of completed and enabled buildings each player has in their headquarters. Ties are broken by adding up the total number of engineers.
Module #2 - Engineers and Buildings
- Set up the game just as you did for Module 1.
- Add the stack of engineer cards alongside the other mercenary cards. ,
- Shuffle the 12 building cards together (indicated by the building icon in the upper-left corner) and place then face-down next to the junkyard deck (they form a 3rd pile of cards next to the junkyard and contested resources piles)
- Add the 3rd gang card (masons) next to the other 2 gangs.
- The 'special' ability from the toolkit can now be used (since it works with buildings)
Engineers (new Mercenary)
Engineers can dig in the junkyard for resources, but the primary use of their dig action is to dig in the engineering schematics pile (in fact, they are the only mercenary capable of such digging).
Other cards with a dig ability can be combined with the engineer to improve engineering schematics digging. Much like the junkyard, only 1 card may be selected as a result of a dig in the engineering schematics pile.
The player places this card face-up in her play area to represent a construction project for a building that is currently underway. A number of cards equal to the building's 'build time' are drawn from the top of the player's deck and placed face down on top of the building which is under construction.
This represents the build timer. Finally, the engineer card is placed in the player's discard pile.
To learn more about buildings, see 'Buildings' below.
Buildings (new Game Concept)
Players can use engineers (see above) to construct buildings at the player's headquarters. These buildings take time to build, but once built offer the player strategic advantages in certain areas.
Constructing Buildings
The process of constructing a building is as follows:
- Play an engineer card
- Use the engineer's dig (combined with any modifiers) to draw cards from the engineering schematics pile equal to the dig value
- Select a maximum of 1 card to build and return the others to the bottom of the engineering schematics pile
- Place the new building card face-up in your play area
- Draw cards from the player's deck equal to the building's build time and place those face- down on top of the new building
- Discard the engineer card
- At the start of the player's next round, remove 1 card from each building that is under construction
- Starting with the round following the initial building placement, additional tribe members (and toolkits) may be played from the player's hand to accelerate construction on one building.
Each tribe member played can remove 1 card from a building that is under construction. If wielding a toolkit, then 2 additional cards may be removed.
Tribe members that work on construction projects may not take any other actions that round and are immediately discarded. - Once a building has zero cards stacked on it, it is complete and immediately goes into effect.
Building Types
Armory
Enables up to two tools to be stored under this card to be retrieved at any time (except during the skirmish). One or two cards may be placed in this building at a time.
Armory, Bunker |
Bunker
Enables up to three tribe member cards to be stored under this card to be retrieved at any time (except during the skirmish). Up to three cards may be placed in this building at a time.
Hydroponic Gardens
Generates 1 food each round to be used as part of a hire action. Food does not accumulate from round to round.
Using Buildings
Typically, buildings may only be used during a player's turn. Buildings may never be used during the skirmish. During another player's turn, the only building which a player may access is the bunker.
For example: a sniper team could be retrieved from a player's bunker and used during another player's turn in order to interrupt that player's resource gathering action.
During a player's turn, that player may place cards into the bunker or armory. Likewise, cards may be retrieved from these buildings. Once a player has committed cards to the skirmish, no cards may be placed into a building by that player nor can cards that come out of a building be added to the skirmish set.
Once a player has committed cards to the skirmish, no change may take place in those cards except for the case of using a saboteur or sniper team from the committed cards to interrupt another player's resource gathering.
The hydroponic garden comes into effect each round and generates food in real time in much the same way that a hunt of 1 generates food (although it does not involve hunting and thus does not benefit or suffer from hunting-related modifiers).
Store (new Action)
Take one or more cards of a given type from your hand and place them, face-down, under a completed building. Do not exceed building capacity or violate type.
Retrieve (new Action)
Take one or more cards from an active building and place them in your hand. This action can occur any time during a round so long as the skirmish has not been initiated.
Module #3 - Tribal Leaders
- Set up the game just as you did for Module 2.
- Shuffle the tribal leader cards together, and deal two, face-down, to each player. From those two, each player keeps only 1 to represent her tribal leader (players may look at them to decide).
The card that is kept is placed face-up in the player's play area for everyone to see. The other card is set-aside as it will not be used this game.
Tribal Leaders (new Game Concept)
The introduction of tribal leaders provides players with a unique capability that no other player in the game will have. A leader might grant special abilities to a tribe's refugees, provide unique protection against certain kinds of attacks, or grant the player other advantages.
At the start of the game, each player chooses one tribal leader (out of two provided to him/her) to lead the tribe to victory. The selection of a tribal leader may have a profound impact upon strategy and game play.
Butcher / Cannibal / Fanatic
Cards that are removed from play cannot return to the game and do not count toward final scoring.
Butcher / Cannibal / Sergeant At Arms
These leaders can use their special abilities without the need for playing a refugee.
Excavator / Fanatic / Gangster / Mentor / Organizer / Peacemaker / Ranger
Requires the use of a refugee to utilize the leader's special ability.
Butcher / Cannibal / Fanatic / Mentor / Organizer / Peacemaker
These leaders grant abilities that can only be utilized once per round.
Excavator / Gangster / Ranger / Sergeant Of Arms
These leaders grant abilities that are always in effect and could impact multiple cards in a given round.
Module #4 - Dirty Deeds
- Set up the game just as you did for Module 3.
- Add two new rules.
New Saboteur Ability:
A saboteur may attack a building that is completed and disable it, rendering it unusable (flip the building's card over to reveal its back, indicating that the building is disabled).
If a building is disabled, its abilities cannot be used and cards cannot be added or removed from the building. To repair the building, a person card must be played from the player's hand to work on the building and then immediately discarded.
Saboteur, Sniper Team |
New Sniper Team Ability:
A sniper team may attack a tribe leader, wounding him (turn the leader's card over to indicate he or she is injured). This removes the leader's advantage until a med is applied against the leader to heal him.
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