How to Play Cartographers | Rules & Setup Guide

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Choose map side

All players decide to play with either the "Wild Lands" side (A) or the "Abandoned Lands" side (B) of the map sheet

Distribute materials

Give each player one map sheet and one pencil; provide extra pencils for games with more than 4 players

Select player name

Each player chooses a name and writes it at the top of their map sheet

Choose family crest

Optionally select a title and family emblem for your cartographer

Arrange decree cards

Place the four decree cards face-up in a row in the center of the play area, arranged alphabetically (A, B, C, D)

Prepare scoring cards

Separate scoring cards by their back design into four stacks, shuffle each stack separately, then draw one random card from each stack

Assign scoring to decrees

Place one random scoring card face-up on each decree card, returning unused cards to the box

Arrange season cards

Stack the four season cards in order (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) with Spring on top and visible

Prepare ambush cards

Shuffle the four ambush cards face-down and place them outside the play area

Build explore deck

Shuffle all explore cards face-down into one deck, take the top ambush card and shuffle it into the explore deck without looking, then place the deck next to the season cards

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Reveal explore card

Flip the top card of the explore deck face-up and place it in the center where all players can see

Stack time values

Place newly revealed cards in a column so all time values remain visible

Handle ruins cards

If a ruins card is revealed, immediately draw another explore card and place it on top of the ruins card

Select terrain and shape

All players simultaneously choose one terrain type and one shape from the revealed explore card

Draw on map

Draw the selected shape on your map sheet, filling it with the chosen terrain type

Respect boundaries

The shape cannot overlap previously filled spaces, mountain spaces, abandoned region spaces, or extend beyond map edges

Rotate or mirror freely

The selected shape may be rotated or mirrored before drawing

Fill interior spaces

After drawing the shape, fill all spaces inside with the selected terrain type

Use 1x1 fallback

If no legal placement exists, draw a single 1x1 square anywhere on the map with any terrain shown on the card

Earn mountain coins

When filling all four spaces adjacent to a mountain, mark the next coin on your coin track

Claim shape coins

Some shapes include coin symbols; selecting these shapes lets you mark the next coin on your track

Rift lands

When revealed, each player draws a 1x1 square anywhere on their map, then fills it with any terrain shown on the card; all normal rules apply

Ruins cards

Draw the next explore card and place it on the ruins; players must place shapes so the ruins symbol on their map is covered if possible

Ambush cards

Check arrow directions on the card, pass your map to the adjacent player in that direction, draw the monster shape on their map, fill it with monster terrain, then return all maps; if placement is illegal, draw 1x1 monster anywhere

Calculate time total

Add all time values shown on revealed explore cards in the column

Compare to threshold

Check the time threshold on the current season card (Spring = 8)

End season

If total time equals or exceeds the threshold, proceed to end-of-season scoring

Continue exploring

If total time is below threshold, return to the exploration phase

Identify active decrees

Check the current season card to see which two scoring cards are evaluated (Spring evaluates A and B)

Calculate fame stars

Each player evaluates their map against both active scoring cards and records earned stars in the appropriate boxes