Overview

Darwin’s Journey is a worker placement game for 1-4 players in which players retrace Charles Darwin’s expedition through the Galapagos Islands. The game features an innovative worker progression system: each worker gains Wax Seals that unlock access to increasingly powerful action locations. Over five rounds, players explore islands, navigate the ocean, collect specimens, deliver them to museums, complete objectives, and correspond with the scientific community. The player with the most victory points at the end wins.

Components

• 1 Main Board (double-sided: 1-3 players / 4 players)
• 16 Crew Cards
• 56 Regular Wax Seals (14 per color: yellow, red, blue, green)
• 12 Special Wax Seals (purple)
• 16 Museum Tiles
• 16 Specimen Tokens
• 16 Temporary Knowledge Tokens
• 30 Research Tokens
• 12 Special Action Tiles
• 8 Starting Objective Tiles (4 silver, 4 golden)
• 20 Objective Tiles (10 silver, 10 golden)
• 2 Neutral Lens Tokens
• 40 Coins (28 value 1, 12 value 5)
• 12 Beagle Goal Tiles
• 8 Correspondence Tiles
• 1 HMS Beagle Token
• 1 Player Aid
• Per player: 1 Personal Board, 3 Explorers, 5 Workers, 5 Tents, 4 Cubes, 1 Ship, 6 Personal Lens Tokens, 12 Stamps
• Solo mode components: 4 Alfred Boards, 8 Alfred Bonus Track Cards, 8 Alfred Action Cards

Setup

1. Place the main board (1-3 player side or 4-player side).
2. Place 6 random Special Action tiles on the Diary. Place 2 neutral Lens tokens on the top two.
3. Place 3 random Correspondence tiles on the envelope locations.
4. Remove Regular Wax Seals based on player count (2P: remove 2 per color; 3P: remove 1 per color). Shuffle remaining face-down. Place one face-up on each of the 12 Scroll spots.
5. Place Special Wax Seals (purple) on the silver plate.
6. Shuffle silver and golden Objective tiles separately; place stacks and draw 2 of each face-up.
7. Set up Museum display with 16 Museum tiles matching the board layout. Place 1 Coin beside each row.
8. Place cubes on victory point track and Theory of Evolution track. Randomly place cubes on Turn Order track.
9. Place 5 random Beagle Goal tiles at the bottom of the map.
10. Shuffle and place 16 Specimen tokens on flag locations (remove extras based on player count and place matching Museum tiles on the display).
11. Place 1 Explorer per player on the leftmost island starting location. Place Ships on the leftmost Ocean track position. Place HMS Beagle on its starting location.
12. Each player takes a Personal Board, 2 Explorers, 5 Workers, 5 Tents, 6 Personal Lens Tokens, 1 Cube, 12 Stamps, 4 Coins, and 1 Temporary Knowledge token.
13. Draft or assign 3 Crew cards and 2 Starting Objectives per player.

Turn Structure

The game lasts 5 rounds, each with 4 phases:

1. Action Phase

Players take turns in turn order, each placing 1 worker on the main board and performing the location’s actions. Repeat until all workers are placed. Players with no remaining workers must pass.

2. Turn Order Phase

If workers were placed on the Turn Order location, adjust turn order accordingly.

3. Reward Phase

Resolve Correspondence majorities (most/second-most Stamps on each Envelope gain rewards) and score the current Beagle Goal tile. Lagging penalties reduce points if a player’s Ship is behind the HMS Beagle.

4. Cleanup Phase

Move HMS Beagle to next goal position. Return all workers to personal boards. Refresh Objectives and Wax Seals on Scrolls. After Round 5, skip Cleanup and proceed to final scoring.

Actions

Worker Placement Rules

• Diary Sections: The board has 4 Diaries divided into sections by red bookmarks. The first worker in a section is free; subsequent workers cost a placement penalty (3 Coins for 2P, 2 Coins for 3-4P).
• Wax Seal Requirements: Each location may require specific colored Wax Seals on the worker being placed. Purple Wax Seals count as any color. Temporary Knowledge tokens can substitute for any color.
• Lens Locations: Only 1 worker per unlocked Lens. Placing on an opponent’s Lens gives them 1 Coin.

Board Actions

| Action | Effect | |——–|——–| | Navigation | Move Ship along Ocean track up to the action’s value. Crossing silver banners requires placing an Explorer on a new island. | | Exploration | Move one Explorer along an Island track up to the action’s value. Skip occupied spots. Perform the action at the stopping location. | | Academy | Purchase 1 Wax Seal from a Scroll and add it to a worker’s row on your personal board. | | Deliver Specimen | Place a Museum tile for a researched Specimen onto the Museum display. Gain Coins and Evolution track advances based on row/column state. | | Research Museum Specimen | Place a Research token on a Specimen matching one already in the Museum display. | | Correspondence | Move Stamps from personal board to a single Envelope on the main board. | | Establish Campsite | Place a Tent from personal board onto an empty Campsite. Pay any Coin penalty and gain the location’s rewards. | | Unlock Lens Location | Pay Coins to place a personal Lens token on a locked location. Immediately perform that location’s actions for free. | | Reserve Turn Order | Place worker on Turn Order location; gain 2 Coins (3 in 2P). | | Gain Objective | Take an Objective tile from the display and place in reserve (max 2) or on personal board. | | Theory of Evolution | Advance Evolution marker on the track. | | Gain Victory Points | Gain the indicated number of victory points. |

Worker Distinctions

• Silver Distinction (4th Wax Seal): Grants a bonus when placed in a Diary section (e.g., extra Exploration, extra Navigation, extra Stamp, extra Wax Seal, or 2 Coins).
• Golden Distinction (6th Wax Seal): Grants both silver and golden bonuses.

Achieving Objectives & Crew Cards

• Objectives have specific requirements (e.g., number of Research tokens, Tents placed, Evolution track position). Meeting requirements does not cost anything; simply flip the tile and gain the reward.
• Crew cards require a worker to have specific Wax Seals. Achieving a Crew card grants a one-time reward action.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

After Round 5, final scoring includes:

• Personal Board: Victory points from achieved Objectives, Wax Seal columns (3 VP for 5 seals, 10 VP for 6 seals per worker), and 5 VP for placing all 5 Tents.
• Theory of Evolution Track: Multiply Book Multipliers reached on the track by the Museum modifier (2 + number of completed Museum rows).
• Beagle Objectives: End-game Beagle scoring per Crew cards.
• Leftover Resources: 1 VP per 5 Coins; 1 VP per Temporary Knowledge token.

The player with the most victory points wins. Tiebreaker: furthest on Evolution track, then most leftover Coins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Temporary Knowledge tokens can substitute for any Wax Seal color when placing a worker, but cannot fulfill Crew card or Objective requirements.
• 5th Worker: Unlocked only by achieving the leftmost golden Objective. This worker has no Wax Seal spots but can use Temporary Knowledge tokens.
• Museum Delivery: You may deliver up to 2 Specimens per visit (the second costs 3 Coins). Similarly, you may Research up to 2 Museum Specimens (the second costs 3 Coins).
• Exploration movement skips spots occupied by opponents’ Explorers (they don’t count toward movement).
• First-to-arrive bonuses: First to the final Ocean track or Island track location gains 3 extra VP. First Explorer to cross a golden ribbon gains the VP shown.
• Beagle Lagging Penalties: If your Ship is behind the HMS Beagle, each penalty marker between your Ship and the Beagle reduces Beagle Goal VP.
• Solo Mode: Player competes against Alfred, an AI opponent with variable difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard/Expert).

Player Reference

Round Structure: Action Phase → Turn Order Phase → Reward Phase → Cleanup Phase (5 rounds)

Worker Placement:

• Pay placement penalty if not first in Diary Section
• Worker must have required Wax Seals (purple = wild; Temp Knowledge = wild)
• Perform location actions in any order

Key Tracks:

• Theory of Evolution: multiplied by Museum modifier at game end
• Ocean: advance Ship, cross banners to place Explorers
• Islands: explore for specimens, campsites, and VP

Final Scoring: Objectives + Wax Seal columns + Tents + Evolution track + Beagle goals + leftover resources