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You’ve heard it said that the Sunken Crown holds more treasure than any civilized nation in the known world. The violent stretch of ocean has been the end of every royal expedition and merchant vessel to risk the passage, and the ring of rocky islands were once a favorite hideout for pirate fleets.
You imagine all that loot, scattered across the islands over centuries, just waiting to be discovered. When the seasons shift and the harsh conditions around the islands are at their calmest for just 3 days, treasure hunters flock in to compete for a quick score.
It’s a time and place where fortunes can be found. Or taken.
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Collect as much loot as possible by exploring uncharted islands and stealing from rival platoons. Use the loot you collect to strengthen your crew, or move cards to your boat to count them towards your final score.
The contest lasts for three ‘days’ of varying length, marked by sunset cards shuffled randomly into the deck. When the third sunset card is drawn, the game ends immediately and the player who collected the most loot points is the winner!
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2-6 Players
First, remove all Captain cards from the deck and give one to each player. Set aside any unused Captain cards.
Shuffle all other cards together, divide the shuffled deck into 6 roughly-equal face-down stacks, and arrange them in a circle in the center of the table. Get all players involved in shuffling/dividing the deck into stacks. These stacks represent the 6 large islands of the Sunken Crown.
All players then roll one 8-sided die. The player who rolls the highest number goes first, and turn rotates counterclockwise (left to right) for the rest of the game.
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Time to start looking for loot!
Here are the types of cards you’ll find in the uncharted islands of the Sunken Crown…
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NOTE: Loot Points The value (or cost) of any card is shown in the top right corner.
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A brave treasure hunter, and the first member of your platoon.
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Your captain has two important attributes, seen in the bottom left corner of the card:
Draw (in the rectangle) → the number of cards they can flip over per explore action.
Skill (in the circle) → their skill when stealing or defending.
Scoring: When the game ends, your captain card is not counted towards your score in any way.
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Valuable loot that can be given to your crew to improve their Draw and/or Skill abilities. When you discover a carry card, add it to your hand.
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When this card is carried by your crew, it enhances that crew card’s Draw and/or Skill value(s) as shown in the bottom right corner.
Each crew card in your platoon (including your captain) can only hold 1 carry card at a time. Carry cards only affect the crew card carrying them.
Scoring: When the game ends, each carry card is only counted towards your total score if it is in your boat, or if it is currently being carried by a crew member in your platoon.
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Smaller treasures with special effects. When you discover one, add it to your hand.
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Unlike carry cards, players play boon cards directly from their hand. Boon cards can be played freely at any time, even on another player’s turn. Seriously.
Each boon card is a one-time use, and must be discarded when played.
Scoring: When the game ends, a boon card is only counted towards your total score if it is in your boat.
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Treasure hunters with various specialties. When you discover one, you have the option to hire them to your platoon.
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Crew have Draw and Skill values just like your captain, and let you take an extra action each turn.
To hire a new crew card, discard any number of cards from your hand that have a combined value equal to or greater than the cost of the crew card. (No change is given if you discard more than the cost of the crew card.) Then add your new crew card to your platoon.
Each player’s platoon can have up to 2 crew cards at a time, including your captain.
If you decide to hire a new crew card when you already have 2 in your platoon, you must choose one of your current crew cards and move them (and the carry card they are holding, if applicable) to your boat ******to free up a spot in your platoon.
If you decide NOT to hire the crew card, or you don’t have enough loot to hire them, place the crew card face-up in the center of the table. On future turns, any player can use an action to hire any crew card of their choice from the center of the table.
Scoring: When the game ends, crew cards are not counted towards your total score in any way.
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Dangerous encounters that will try to steal your loot! When you discover one, a challenge begins between the yikes! card and the crew card who discovered it.
Regardless of the outcome, this concludes your Explore Action.
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Follow the instructions for stealing challenges below.
Scoring: When the game ends, each defeated yikes! card in your boat is counted towards your total score. The loot value of each yikes! card is equal to its Skill value.
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These cards serve as the game timer. When you discover one, place it face-up in the center of the table.
This concludes your Explore Action.
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When a third sunset card is drawn, the game is over right then and there!
Players then add up all the loot points they have in their boat, ******plus the loot points of the carry cards their crew member(s) are currently holding and any bonus points they may have earned from having the most defeated yikes! cards.
The player with the most loot points is the winner!
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