Saboteur: The Lost Mines

Overview

Saboteur: The Lost Mines is a board game version of the Saboteur card game, published by Amigo. Players take on the roles of dwarfs from one of two rival clans searching for lost mines on a game board. Within each clan there may be loyal dwarfs, selfish dwarfs (who keep gold for themselves), and saboteurs secretly working for the opposing clan. Players build tunnel paths, move their dwarfs across the board, and race to reach hidden mine locations to collect treasure. The game is played over 2 rounds, and the player with the most victory points wins.

Components

• 1 Game board with mine locations
• Path cards (tunnel segments)
• Action cards (peek, trap, troll, identity reveal, obstacle removal)
• Clan/identity cards (Loyal, Selfish, Saboteur for each clan)
• Mine cards (hidden treasures, including dragon)
• Dwarf meeples
• Forest tokens
• Victory point tokens
• Dragon tokens (-2 VP)
• Campfire tokens

Setup

Place the game board centrally. Shuffle mine cards and place them face-down on designated board locations. Create the path/action deck and deal starting hands. Based on player count, select the appropriate set of clan/identity cards, shuffle them, and deal one to each player secretly. Each player places their dwarf on the starting location. Set up forest, victory point, and dragon token supplies.

Turn Structure

On each turn, a player performs these steps in order:

1. Play or Discard: Either play a path card to extend tunnels, play an action card for its effect, OR discard 1-2 cards from hand.
2. Move Dwarf: After playing/discarding, move your dwarf up to 3 spaces along connected paths (up to 5 if starting from a campfire).

Actions

Path Building

• Place path cards on the board to create connected tunnels from the starting area toward mine locations.
• Path connections must be valid.
• Cannot build through unresolved obstacles.

Action Cards

• Peek: Look at a face-down mine card to see its treasure value.
• Identity Reveal: Force a player to show their identity card to you.
• Trap: Place a trap on a path space. Players who enter lose one card from hand.
• Troll: Place a troll to block a path. Dwarfs cannot pass by trolls.
• Remove Obstacle: Clear a trap or troll from the board.

Dwarf Movement

• Move up to 3 spaces along connected paths (5 from a campfire).
• Cannot cross unresolved obstacles or pass trolls.
• Landing on a trap costs one card from hand.

Reaching Mines

• When a dwarf reaches a mine location, reveal the mine card and collect the associated treasure tokens.
• If the mine contains the dragon, receive a -2 VP dragon token.
• Treasure is kept by the individual dwarf (relevant for selfish dwarfs and end-of-round scoring).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game plays over 2 rounds. At the end of each round (all cards played or all mines discovered):

1. Reveal all identities.
2. Loyal dwarfs: Pool their clan’s treasure and divide evenly.
3. Selfish dwarfs: Keep all their own treasure.
4. Saboteurs: Pool with the opposing clan’s loyal dwarfs and divide.
5. Subtract dragon tokens (-2 VP each).

After 2 rounds, the player with the most total victory points wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Campfire Bonus: Dwarfs starting their move from a campfire space can move up to 5 spaces instead of 3.
• Dragon Mine: Finding the dragon is a penalty (-2 VP). Strategic use of peek cards helps avoid it.
• Identity Secrecy: Clan affiliation is visible (card backs), but specific role (Loyal/Selfish/Saboteur) is secret until revealed or round end.
• Selfish Dwarfs: Unlike loyal dwarfs and saboteurs, selfish dwarfs keep their own treasure regardless of clan outcome.
• Round 2 Setup: Between rounds, reshuffle identity cards (players may switch roles), reset the board paths, and redistribute mine cards.
• Player Count Scaling: The mix of identity cards changes based on player count to ensure balanced team sizes.

Player Reference

Role	Scores For
Loyal Dwarf	Own clan (share treasure equally)
Selfish Dwarf	Self only (keeps own treasure)
Saboteur	Opposing clan (shares with their loyal dwarfs)

Movement	Spaces
Normal	Up to 3
From Campfire	Up to 5

Victory: Most VP after 2 rounds.