Overview

Goa is a strategy game where players take on the role of Portuguese spice merchants in 16th-century India. Each player expands their business by building ships, harvesting spices, collecting taxes, mounting expeditions, and founding colonies. The game is divided into two phases (A and B), each containing 4 rounds. Each round features an auction for tiles followed by individual player actions. The player with the most victory points at the end wins.

Components

• 58 game tiles (29 with back A, 29 with back B)
• 1 flag tile
• 18 Colony tiles (5 Quilon, 4 Cochin, 5 Madras, 4 Calicut)
• 18 Colonist cards (12x1, 6x3)
• 17 Ship cards (12x1, 5x3)
• 10 Extra action cards
• 45 Ducat cards (15x1, 12x2, 10x5, 8x10)
• 30 Expedition cards
• 4 personal boards and 4 development boards (in 4 player colors)
• 20 Auction tokens (numbered 1-5 per color)
• 20 Progress markers (gray)
• 50 spice sacks (5 types: ginger, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove)
• 8 green Bonanza tiles
• 4 Round and 4 Action indicators
• 1 game board

Setup

1. Place the board centrally. Shuffle 29 A-tiles, remove 4 (max 2 Plantations), and arrange remaining 25 face-up in a 5x5 grid.
2. Place spice sacks, ducats, ships, colonists, extra action cards, and colony tiles on their board spaces.
3. Shuffle expedition cards face-down on the board.
4. Each player takes personal board, development board, and auction tokens in their color.
5. Players use tokens equal to player count + 1 (5 with 4 players, 4 with 3, 3 with 2).
6. Each player places 1 progress marker in the first box of each development column (5 total).
7. Each player starts with 4 ships and 2 colonists.
8. Determine first player by revealing expedition cards (first elephant revealed). First player gets flag and 5 ducats; others get 10 ducats.

Turn Structure

Each round follows two stages:

Stage 1: Auction

1. Flag placement: First player places flag on the board and their #1 auction token on it.
2. Token chain: Players take turns placing tokens on tiles adjacent (orthogonally or diagonally) to the previously placed token, forming a chain.
3. Bidding: Starting from the highest-numbered token, the tile owner (token placer) auctions their tile. Other players bid with ducats (ascending). If no one bids, the owner gets the tile for free.
4. Flag tile: The first player auctions their flag tile. The winner becomes first player next round and gets the flag.

Stage 2: Actions

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player takes exactly 3 actions per round.

Actions

Players choose 3 actions from the following (each action taken once, plus possible extra action cards):

1. Harvest Spices

Collect spices based on your Harvest development level. Higher levels = more/better spices.

2. Build Ships

Gain ship cards based on your Ship-building development level.

3. Collect Taxes

Gain ducats based on your Tax development level.

4. Mount Expedition

Draw expedition cards based on your Expedition development level. Spend expedition cards to found colonies.

5. Found Colony

Pay required ships and colonists to claim a colony tile, which provides VP and ongoing benefits.

6. Develop

Advance one space on any track of your development board by paying the required cost (ducats, spices, ships, or colonists depending on the track and level).

Extra Actions

Extra action cards (gained from tiles) grant additional actions beyond the standard 3.

Development Board Tracks

Five tracks with 5 levels each:

• Harvest: Determines spice production
• Expedition: Determines expedition card draw
• Ships: Determines ship building capacity
• Taxes: Determines tax revenue
• Colonies: Affects colony founding capabilities

Each advancement costs resources that increase with level.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Game ends after Phase B, Round 4.

Victory Points from:

• Colony tiles (VP printed on tile)
• Development board progress (VP for reaching certain levels)
• Completed sets of different colony types
• Remaining expedition cards (1 VP per card)
• Tiles with VP values
• Certain tile bonuses

The player with the most VP wins. Ties broken by remaining ducats.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Phase transition: After Phase A (4 rounds), remove all tiles. Place 25 B-tiles in the same 5x5 configuration (again removing 4, max 2 Plantations). Continue with Phase B.
• Auction chain: Tokens must always be placed adjacent to the last-placed token. The first player always places last token in the chain (their highest-numbered token).
• Winning a tile: If no one bids, the tile owner gets it free. Otherwise, the highest bidder pays the tile owner (not the bank).
• Flag auction: Works the same as tile auctions but determines next round’s first player.
• Ducats, spices, ships, and colonists are not limited. Use substitutes if supply runs out.
• Making change: Players can exchange ship and colonist cards for appropriate denominations at any time.
• Quick Starter variant: Recommended for experienced players; provides a faster early game.
• Bonanza variant: Place face-down Bonanza tiles under the 4 corner tiles of the grid for additional rewards.

Player Reference

Round structure: Auction (flag + tiles) > Actions (3 per player)

5 Development tracks: Harvest, Expedition, Ships, Taxes, Colonies

Starting resources: 4 ships, 2 colonists, 5 ducats (first player) or 10 ducats (others)

Game length: 8 rounds total (4 Phase A + 4 Phase B)

Auction tokens per player: Players + 1