Settlers of the Stone Age: Rules (Abenteuer Menschheit)

GAME OUTLINE

The game is played based on the Settlers system – throw dice, get resources, trade and also evolve the tribe through developments. Each newly placed tribe brings us a victory point. You also receive victory points as your tribe becomes more progressive or if you advance your nomads into new zones.  The person wins who first reaches 10 victory points.

Game map

The map shows a picture of the world. Each hex map shows different types of terrain.

In the same way as the Settlers game, two dice are thrown each turn and each landscape produces a certain type of good: (see page 3 of German rules) 

• Highlands produce Meat
• Steppes product Bones
• Mountains produce Flints
• Woods produce Skins

Game Set up

Each player receives a Games summary card which shows the various uses for each of the goods. Each player receives survey board, where you can see which raw materials must be paid for the development and progress of humanity.  The advantages of the single progress strip are described.

Each player also receives a set of markers in one colour. These are:

• 2 Nomads
• 5 Tribes
• 4 marker stones

Note that you can only use the markers of one colour. The start of the game is the seeding of the game world. Each player takes 3 tribes and places them on the black crossing stones in Africa. One nomad is placed next to one of the tribes. (See picture on page 4, left hand column).

Players throw the dice to decide the first turn order. The highest dice goes first. This is carried out in clockwise order for the first tribe, then the player who was last to go in the first round places his second tribe.  Then the other players in anti-clockwise order follow and place their second tribe on a black intersection.  The last player to place his second tribe will then place his third tribe and the other players follow in clockwise order.

The players should possess at the beginning of the game no information about the face down event chits.  

Each player takes one of each player’s markers and places them on the 0 square on the progress strips at the edge of the game board.

The game summary card shows:

• Cost of various actions
• Cost of developments
• Development area, where your markers are placed.

The raw material cards are placed in separate piles and each player receives one skins and one bones card.

The 32 people chips (round markers) are placed face-up on their coloured places on the game board. The 18 event chips (square markers) are mixed and then placed on the places matching their roman symbols.

The roman symbols should be face up and you should not know what is on the other side of these markers.

The Neanderthal and carnivore markers are placed in their plastic holders and placed on the board as shown in the picture near the bottom of page 4 (Right hand side).

The art cards (Kunst) are placed on the 5^th space of each game summary card.

The double victory point cards and the 4 single point victory cards are placed near the game board.

Game sequence

• Rolls the dice for all players
• Trades
• Development and move nomads

Then it is the next player’s turn in clockwise order.

1. Roll dice
Normal Settlers rules – take the resources from the hexes that match the dice roll if you have a tribe adjacent. 2. Trade
Normal Settlers rules - trade with other players for whatever exchanges you wish or with the “bank” on a 3 for 1 basis.

3. Development and move nomads
Each player tries to spread his tribes over the world. 
a) Create nomads 
b) Move nomads
c) Nomads in tribes transform into tribes
d) Develop settlements

a) Create nomads 
You can create a new nomad by handing in one skins and one meat to the storage area and place the new nomad next to a tribe marker on an empty intersection.

Important: For nomads, there are no raw materials gained when the number of an adjoining landscape was thrown – only tribe markers earn raw materials. 

b) Move nomads
To move a nomad costs 1 meat (handed in to the game stock). This allows you to move a nomad piece along 2 crossings. For each improvement of nourishment that a player has, you can move a further intersection.

If a player hands in 2 or more meats, then you can move a nomad two more crossing for each meat, or move another nomad.  Movement is governed by the following rules:

• A nomad may move over one or more nomads or tribe markers, but must then move onto a free crossing.
• A nomad may change directions as often as it wishes.

c) Nomads transform into tribes
If a player has a nomad on a crossing where there is a people chip, then the nomad can convert into a tribe marker. This costs one skin, a bones and a flint. The player:

• Takes the nomad back into his stock
• Places the people chip in front of him (as this is a victory point)
• Places a tribe marker on the crossing.

The player will receive more raw materials from this new tribe (just like a new town in Settlers).

Important: You can only place the new tribe where the people chit was found. You do not pick up the people chit just by moving your nomad onto the crossing point. You only get the point when you convert the nomad into the tribe.

If all 5 tribe markers have already been used up, then you must take one from Africa (from the original placement of tribe markers). If there are no more in Africa, you can choose which one to take from the rest of the tribe markers on the board.

d) Developments
There are 4 developments “Nourishment”, “Hunting and battles”, “Construction” and “Clothing”.

If a player wants to develop in one of these areas, he pays the raw materials indicated on the game summary chart and you moves the marker stone a step forward on the relevant development strip.  The advantage described on the summary chart for this step accrues.

Important: The 5th step of each progress strip is unique!  The player, who reaches the 5th step of a progress strip first, receives the victory point card.  None of other players may now advance their marker to this 5th step. 

Clothing and Construction
The development of these areas is necessary so that nomads may be moved over the routes with the condition boxes.  (See later section in the rules.) Crossing of condition boxes is allowed (Left - white number) (right, black number) and you need both conditions in order to move to the intersection beyond the condition box. Other than getting to the 5^th level, (when a victory point is earned), clothing and construction only serve to allow you passage along the routes where there are condition boxes.

Nourishment
Each development in this area allows a nomad to travel one further intersection for each meat handed in. There is a base movement point allowance of 2 hex sides (crossings) for each nomad. Each advance in nourishment allows one further hex side to be moved along for each nomad.

Hunting and battles
A development in this area brings no special benefit. For each progression along this track, the player moves the Neanderthal in Africa or Eurasia or the Carnivore in America or Australia. See more under special rules.

Special rules

Neanderthal and Carnivore
The Neanderthal and the Carnivore are disturbance figures. They block access to the land routes where they are placed. A blocked land square produces no raw materials when its number is thrown on the dice. In addition, they prevent movement along the hex sides of the tile that they occupy.

Blocking figures are transferred in the course of the game between any landscapes.  There is a restriction: the Neanderthal may only be moved in Africa and Eurasia; the Carnivore may only be moved in America and Australia.

Throwing a “7”

When a 7 is thrown, no raw materials are produced. Instead, the following actions take place:

1. Each player with more than 7 raw materials in their hand must discard half to the stock (round down).
   
   
2. The Neanderthal (only – not the Carnivore) is moved to another landscape in Africa or Eurasia. One raw material is taken from one of the players whose tribe marker borders the landscape.

The player can then trade and make developments as normal.

The Condition Boxes

When you travel along the route you will get an event chip. In order to travel down the route you must be sufficiently developed, having made progress along the clothing strip (white) and the construction strip (black). In the picture on page 7, the light left number stands for the progress "clothing"; the black, right number for the progress "construction". 

A player may move a nomad only then over a condition box if he has developed the required progress steps.  The first player that fulfils the condition of a box and takes a nomad over the intersection behind the box receives the event chip located there. 

The Event chips

When a player receives an event chip, this is immediately turned over. There are three types of event chip: Blocking figure, Desolation and Adaptation.

1. Blocking figure
   When this chip is played, move the Neanderthal (in Africa/Eurasia) or the Carnivore (Australia/America) to a new landscape. You take a resource from a player who has a tribe located next to this landscape.
   
   
2. Desolation
   The player takes a desert and plays it on the matching landscape in Africa. Important: You can only play this in Africa (next to the black crossing points). These landscapes no longer produce resources.
   
   
3. Adaptation
   When a chip of a colour is drawn, you receive the card “Anpassung” in this colour. Place this before you. This card is worth one victory point.

Double victory point cards

1. Reconnaissance
   When a player receives event chips, these are placed in front of you so everyone can see how many you have got. If you have at least 2 of these, then you receive the card “Erkundung”(reconnaissance). If another player gets more event chips than you, then this card is passed to them.
   
   
2. Distribution
   This card is given to the player who first owns at least one people’s chip from each type of people. The player retains this card to the end of the game. 

Game end

The first player to reach 10 victory points wins. Total points are 1 point per people chit (earned from creating new tribes) and the value of cards.

translation by Alan How November 2002