Overview

10 Days in Europe is a route-building tile game where players chart a journey across Europe using country and transportation tiles. Each player fills a 10-slot tile holder (Days 1-10) and tries to be the first to create a connected chain where each day links to the next. The game combines geography knowledge with tactical tile management.

Components

• 48 Country Tiles in five colors (blue, green, orange, pink, yellow) — one tile per country except Denmark, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, and Sweden which have two tiles each (marked with *)
• 19 Transportation Tiles:
  • 10 Airplane Tiles (2 per color: blue, green, orange, pink, yellow)
  • 9 Ship Tiles (4 Atlantic, 3 Mediterranean, 2 Baltic)
• 4 sets of Wooden Tile Holders (2 holders per set: Days 1-5 and Days 6-10)
• Game Board (map of Europe)
• Rules

Setup

1. Open and place the game board in the center of the table.
2. Place one set of tile holders in front of each player so that Days 1-10 are displayed in order, facing that player.
3. Place all country and transportation tiles face down next to the board and mix thoroughly.
4. Getting Started: Players fill their tile holders simultaneously (no turns). Each player draws one tile at a time, looks at it, and places it into any open Day 1-10 location. Continue until all players have placed 10 tiles. Once placed, a tile may not be moved (but may be replaced or swapped during later turns).
5. Stack the remaining tiles face down to form a draw pile. Place the top 3 tiles face up next to the draw pile to form 3 discard piles.
6. Select a starting player. Turns continue clockwise.

Turn Structure

On a turn, a player performs exactly one of two actions:

1. Draw a Tile — Select the top tile from one of the 3 discard piles OR the top tile from the face-down draw pile.
   • Place the Tile — Either replace any one of the 10 tiles in the tile holder with the drawn tile (discarding the replaced tile face up onto one of the 3 discard piles), OR discard the drawn tile face up onto one of the 3 discard piles.
2. Swap Two Tiles — Switch the position of any two tiles in the tile holder. No tiles are drawn or discarded.

Actions

Making Connections

There are three ways to connect consecutive days:

Connection Type	How It Works
By Foot	Two bordering country tiles placed side-by-side are connected. Bridges (solid black lines) and ferries (broken black lines) count as borders.
By Ship	A ship tile placed between two country tiles connects them if both countries border the sea/ocean shown on the ship tile.
By Airplane	An airplane tile placed between two country tiles of the same color connects all three tiles. The airplane must match the color of both country tiles.

Sea/Ocean Connections

• Atlantic Ocean: Extends from the Sweden-Denmark bridge south to the Strait of Gibraltar. Connects countries on the water from Spain/Portugal around Norway to Russia.
• Mediterranean Sea: Connects countries on the water from Spain to Turkey and north to Slovenia.
• Baltic Sea: Connects countries on that sea.
• Black Sea: NOT part of the game — cannot be used as a connection.

Special Country Notes

• Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia are on both the Baltic and Atlantic.
• Spain and France are on both the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina is considered on the Mediterranean Sea.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

A player wins by being the first to complete a 10-day journey where, starting with Day 1, each day connects to the next day. The completed journey must meet these criteria:

• Must start with a country tile (Day 1) and end with a country tile (Day 10).
• Two tiles from the same dual-tile country (marked *) may be included but must NOT be placed next to each other.
• Transportation tiles placed next to each other do NOT form a connection.
• It is not necessary to include any airplane or ship tile.

The winner shows their completed journey, demonstrating that each day connects to the next.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Draw Pile Depletion: If the draw pile runs out, all tiles in the 3 discard piles EXCEPT the top tile on each pile are shuffled to form a new draw pile.
• Discard Pile Depletion: If a player takes the last tile from a discard pile, they must replace it with the tile they discard that turn. Players must always have 3 discard piles available.
• Tile Holder Privacy: Tile holders should be positioned so other players cannot see placed tiles.
• Omitted Countries: Andorra, Gibraltar, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City have no tiles and are not identified on the board.

Variants

Variant	Description
Open Hands (younger players)	Tiles are placed face up so everyone can see and discuss decisions.
5 Days in Europe (younger players)	Use only one tile holder (Days 1-5) per player for a shorter game.
Advanced (no swap rule)	Players may only draw tiles on their turn; swapping is not allowed.
20 Days Around the World	Combine with other 10 Days games for a longer journey.

Player Reference

Tile Counts:

• 48 Country Tiles (6 countries have 2 tiles each)
• 10 Airplane Tiles (2 per color)
• 4 Atlantic Ship Tiles
• 3 Mediterranean Ship Tiles
• 2 Baltic Ship Tiles

Turn Options:

1. Draw 1 tile → place in holder (replacing one) or discard
2. Swap 2 tiles in holder (no draw/discard)

Connection Checklist:

• Foot: adjacent countries that share a border, bridge, or ferry
• Ship: ship tile between two countries on that body of water
• Airplane: same-color airplane between two same-color countries