How to Play

Forgotten Waters

3-7 players 120-240 min 7.8 Board Game Geek Rating

Players become pirates aboard a shared vessel in this whimsical, magical adventure game. Through exploring locations and making story-driven decisions, crew members pursue individual character arcs while working toward collective objectives. Every choice permanently affects the unfolding narrative. Victory comes from successfully completing personal storylines and achieving the crew's common mission across five different scenarios.

Published 2020

Forgotten Waters

Get Ready

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

1
Launch the app
Go to fwcrossroads.com and select a scenario; for first game, choose "Beyond the Edge of the Ocean"
2
Apply special rules cards
If playing with 4 or fewer players, place "Hungry Pirates" card; with 3 players, also add "Masked Pirate" card
3
Position the location book
Place in center of table within reach of all players, leaving room for it to lie open
4
Set up the map
Place map near location book, position ship figurine and special location tiles as indicated in scenario setup
5
Prepare treasure deck
Shuffle treasure cards and place face-down as a draw pile
6
Prepare navigation tiles
Place navigation tiles in a face-down stack
7
Create token supplies
Place reroll tokens, misfortune tokens, lock tokens, constellation tokens, and adventure cards in separate piles
8
Select pirate figurines
Each player chooses a pirate figurine and takes matching 12-sided die, treasury card, and infamy marker
9
Receive pirate sheets
Each player gets a pencil and pirate sheet with unique title; create a pirate nickname and record it
10
Fill in story gaps
Each player completes the "Story Gaps" section on their pirate sheet
11
Assign roles
Distribute roles among players; with fewer than 7 players, some take multiple roles:
12
Follow scenario instructions
Complete any additional setup steps specified
13
Begin play
Press "Continue" button in the app after setup completion

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Complete three phases
Each round consists of Planning Phase, Action Phase, and End of Round Phase
2
Start the timer
Quartermaster immediately presses "Start Timer" button in the app
3
Select actions by infamy order
Players choose one available action each, placing figurines on chosen actions from highest to lowest infamy
4
Handle timer expiration
If timer stops before all players select, increase discontent by 1, then continue selections
5
Standard action
Any number of players may select this action (shown by standard symbol)
6
Personal action
Only one player may select; becomes unavailable to others once chosen
7
Blocked action
Cannot be selected; place lock token on blocked actions
8
Mandatory action
One player must select this action; last players must choose remaining mandatory actions
9
Execute actions in numerical order
Actions are performed in sequence (1, 2, 3, etc.)
10
Resolve same action by infamy
When multiple players chose the same action, execute in descending infamy order
11
Follow action descriptions
Complete all instructions in the detailed action text
12
Remove figurines
After completing an action, player removes their figurine from the page
13
Roll the 12-sided die
Start by rolling your die
14
Add skill bonuses
Add 1 for each filled box of that skill on your pirate sheet
15
Add card bonuses
Add numbers from matching skill symbols on your treasure and adventure cards
16
Apply misfortune tokens
If you have misfortune tokens, roll an extra die and use the lower result, then discard one token
17
Use reroll tokens
After rolling, discard a reroll token to reroll one die; repeat as desired
18
Check result table
Find your total in the action's result ranges and apply the corresponding effect
19
Fill skill boxes
When gaining a skill (e.g., hunting +1), fill the leftmost empty box of that skill
20
Mark constellation stars
If filled box shows a star symbol, also fill in a connected star in your constellation
21
Earn constellation tokens
When filling a star with exclamation mark, receive a constellation event token
22
Play constellation events
When instructed, discard all constellation tokens and read/complete that many events from your sheet
23
Adjust markers
When effects change hull, supplies, or crew values, move corresponding markers left or right
24
Respect limits
No stat can exceed its maximum or drop below 0
25
Shift markers
Quartermaster moves player's infamy marker left (decrease) or right (increase) on the track
26
Maintain spacing
Shift other markers to make room; only one marker per space, no gaps between markers
27
Move to adjacent hexes
When instructed to move, place ship on neighboring hex
28
Place navigation tiles
When moving to empty hex, draw navigation tile and place face-up on destination
29
Stop on stop symbols
If tile shows stop symbol, movement ends for the round
30
Avoid rocks
Ship cannot move onto rock special location tiles
31
Place new tiles
Draw navigation tiles equal to scouting amount
32
Position tiles
Place face-down on empty hexes adjacent to ship or previously placed tiles
33
Reveal tiles
Flip all newly placed tiles face-up
34
Draw when gaining treasure
For each treasure gained, draw and play one treasure card face-up
35
Maintain hand limit
Maximum 4 treasure cards; if receiving 5th, first discard a played card or the new card
36
Gain supplies from discards
Each card discarded to maintain limit adds +1 supplies
37
Apply ongoing effects
Card skill bonuses apply to your checks while in play
38
Cannot be traded
Adventure cards cannot be buried, discarded, stolen, or used as payment
39
No hand limit
Players may have any number of adventure cards
40
Upgrade cannons
Discard a cannon token and replace with one level higher from supply
41
Maintain state
New cannon keeps same charged/uncharged state as replaced cannon
42
Maximum four cannons
Ship holds at most 4 cannons; discard any to make room
43
Add/remove tokens
When danger changes, lookout adds or removes danger tokens from track
44
Check danger level
When instructed to check, if tokens equal or exceed objective card's danger limit, mark next danger event in journal and read that entry
45
Read the entry
Check "End of Round" section on current page and read the indicated app entry
46
Remove tokens first
Before turning to new page, remove all tokens from current page
47
Read warnings
If new page has a warning, read it aloud before starting timer
48
Start immediately
After reading warning, begin new round's planning phase without reading detailed actions

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Ship destruction
If hull marker reaches 0, all players lose immediately; read text on boatswain's board
2
Mutiny
If discontent marker reaches or passes crew marker position, all players lose; read text on first mate's board
3
Final danger event
If the last danger event occurs, all players lose
4
Complete scenario objective
When app entry indicates scenario completion, proceed to endings
5
Individual victory requirement
Players who completed at least 4 constellation events win
6
Legendary victory
Players who completed all 5 constellation events achieve legendary victory
7
Determine reading order
Starting with highest infamy player, proceed clockwise
8
Read appropriate ending
Each player reads the ending matching their result (Bad, Good, or Legendary) from their pirate sheet
9
Fill in story details
Use words from "Story Gaps" section when reading endings aloud
10
Save at part two
When reaching second part of scenario, players may save and return later
11
Record progress
Write "Part One Complete" in journal and follow instructions to record game state on journal back
12
Resume saved game
Access scenario in app, press "View Setup" button, and follow instructions

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