Overview

Himalaya is an action-programming game where players take on the roles of chiefs of high plateau tribes in the Himalayas. Players lead yak caravans from village to village, collecting goods and delivering them to increase their tribe’s influence across three domains: religious, political, and economic. The game uses a unique elimination-based scoring system to determine the winner over 12 rounds.

Components

• 1 Game Board (map of Himalayan plateau with villages and paths)
• 4 Player Screens
• 4 Caravan pawns
• Programming tokens (6 per player for planning moves)
• Goods cubes (salt, barley, tea, jade, gold)
• Stupa tokens (religious influence)
• Delegation tokens (political influence)
• Yak tokens (economic influence)
• Contract cards
• Round marker

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center.
2. Each player selects a tribe (Dolpo-pa, Bhotia, Sherpa, or Tamang) and takes their caravan pawn, screen, and programming tokens.
3. Distribute goods cubes to the villages as indicated.
4. Place contract cards at designated villages.
5. Set the round marker to round 1.

Turn Structure

The game lasts 12 rounds. Each round consists of two phases:

Phase 1: Programming

All players simultaneously and secretly program 6 actions behind their screens by arranging their programming tokens in order. Actions include movement directions and trading actions.

Phase 2: Execution

Players reveal and execute their programmed actions one at a time, in sequence. Each of the 6 programmed steps is resolved for all players before moving to the next step.

On each step, a player may:

• Move their caravan along a path to an adjacent village
• Collect goods — Take the cheapest available goods cube from the current village
• Fulfill a contract — Deliver the required goods to the village showing the contract

Actions

Movement

• Move the caravan from one village to an adjacent connected village.
• Paths vary in difficulty; some routes are longer or more dangerous.

Collecting Goods

• When stopping at a village, take one goods cube of the cheapest type available.
• If another player has already taken the goods you planned for, you may get nothing.

Fulfilling Contracts

• Deliver the specific goods shown on a contract card at the matching village.
• Upon fulfilling a contract, choose two of the following three rewards:
  • Build a Stupa — Increase religious influence
  • Send a Delegation — Increase political influence in a region
  • Increase Livestock — Gain yaks for economic influence

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Scoring uses a unique elimination system:

1. First, compare Religious Influence: The player with the least religious influence (fewest stupas) is eliminated from contention.
2. Next, compare Political Influence: Among remaining players, the one with the least political influence (fewest delegations) is eliminated.
3. Finally, compare Economic Influence: Of the remaining players, the one with the greatest economic influence (most yaks) wins the game.

This means a player must be strong enough in religion and politics to survive elimination, then excel in economics to win.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Simultaneous programming: All movement and action decisions are made secretly and simultaneously, so players must anticipate opponents’ moves.
• Conflict at villages: If multiple players arrive at the same village, goods may run out before everyone can collect.
• Contract competition: Contracts are first-come, first-served — if another player fulfills a contract before you arrive, it is gone.
• Two of three rewards: When fulfilling a contract, you must choose exactly two of the three influence types, meaning you cannot advance all three simultaneously.
• Elimination scoring: A player can have enormous economic influence but still lose if they are eliminated in the religious or political rounds.

Player Reference

Influence Type	How to Gain	Scoring Role
Religious (Stupas)	Fulfill contracts, choose stupa reward	Least is eliminated first
Political (Delegations)	Fulfill contracts, choose delegation reward	Least is eliminated second
Economic (Yaks)	Fulfill contracts, choose livestock reward	Most wins among survivors

Phase	What Happens
Programming	Secretly plan 6 actions behind screen
Execution	Reveal and resolve actions step by step