How to Play Goa | Rules & Setup Guide

Get Ready

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

Position the game board

Place the board in the center of the table

Shuffle A and B tiles

Mix A and B pieces face-down separately, return 4 A pieces to the box (but no more than 2 can be agriculture pieces), then place remaining A pieces freely on the field

Arrange medicine bags

Place medicine/drug bags beside the game board

Position colony pieces

Place colony pieces on their designated spots on the board according to their names

Set up the bank

Arrange coins in their proper place to form the bank

Place card decks

Position ship, colony, and reward action cards in their designated spots on the board; players may freely take money/cards from the bank and card piles during gameplay

Prepare expedition cards

Shuffle expedition cards face-down and place on the board

Select player colors

Each player chooses one color, then takes their player board and development board

Take numbered pieces

Each player takes numbered pieces equal to the number of players plus one (e.g., 3 players take 4 pieces) and places them in front

Set up development board

Place 5 gray cubes on the development board; as the game progresses, each player's development advances, sometimes earning reward actions or expedition opportunities

Receive ships and colonists

Each player receives 4 ships and 2 colonists

Determine starting player

Each player draws one expedition card; whoever draws the elephant becomes the starting player, then discard these cards

Distribute starting money

The starting player receives the flag and 5 coins; all other players receive 10 coins; keep all coins secret throughout the game

Position turn markers

Place the 4 turn pieces and 4 round pieces beside the board; the starting player tracks which round and turn the game is on

Place Bonanza cards

Shuffle 8 Bonanza cards, select 4 face-down, and place them on the 4 corners of the 25-space grid

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Understand the phases

Each game consists of 2 eras (A and B), each era has 4 rounds

Era transition

After era A ends, remove remaining field pieces and replace with 25 B-era pieces; game ends after era B concludes

Starting player places first

The starting player places the flag and their #1 numbered piece next to any row in the market area

Second player placement

The next player places their #2 numbered piece on one of the 25 pieces adjacent to the starting player's flag

Subsequent placements

Following players place their next numbered piece on a space touching the previous player's piece (one of the 8 surrounding spaces)

Complete the round

Continue until returning to the starting player, who places their next numbered piece following the same adjacency rules

No stacking numbers

Number pieces cannot be placed on spaces already containing number pieces

Flag placement options

The starting player's flag and #1 piece can be placed beside the market or on any empty market space, but must be directly adjacent to other pieces

Fallback placement

If a player cannot legally place their number piece, they may place it on any market piece

One bid per player per turn

Each player has one opportunity to bid

Auction order

Starting from the flag, pieces sell in numerical order; the owner of the number piece first declares a 0-coin starting price

Bidding begins

Starting from the left of the seller, bidding proceeds clockwise with minimum 1-coin bids or passing

Minimum raise

Each subsequent bid must increase by at least 1 coin

Outcome A - No bids

If no one bids (price remains 0), the number piece owner gets the tile for free; if it's the flag, add 1 reward action card

Outcome B - Seller passes

If the seller passes on their own piece, the highest bidder pays the seller and takes the piece

Outcome C - Seller buys

If the seller wants to buy, they pay 1 coin less than the highest bid to the bank

Continue auctions

After #1 piece sells, the #2 piece owner sells following the same rules until all pieces are sold

Medicine tiles

When acquiring a medicine piece, receive the medicines shown on it

Three actions per player

Each player performs 3 actions total

Action order

The flag holder (starting player) takes action #1 first, then clockwise each player takes their #1 action

Complete action rounds

After everyone completes action #1, the starting player takes action #2, then others follow; same for action #3

Track actions

After each action, the starting player places the action number marker on the board; at round end, return these markers

Development board advancement

Move your cube down on the development board by paying required ship cards and medicines; advance multiple steps per action if desired; medicines come from colony areas or plant pieces; earn 1 reward action card when reaching rows 2, 3, 4, or 5

Build navy

Take the indicated number of navy cards from the supply

Harvest

Receive the indicated number of any medicines, placing them on your fields or colony areas (excess returns to supply)

Collect taxes

Receive coins from the bank equal to the action's indicated value

Purchase reward cards

Pay 8 coins to buy 1 reward action card instead of other actions

Expedition

Draw cards from the expedition deck; each row shows two numbers—left is maximum cards to draw, right is maximum hand limit; if exceeding the limit, must play or discard one expedition card

Establish colony

Colonies cannot be gained directly through actions, only through certain pieces; when taking this action, establish one colony region requiring specific colonist amounts (Ceylon: 6, Cochin: 8, Madras: 10, Calicut: 12)

Colony establishment process

First check development board for colonist recruitment capacity, then draw 2 expedition cards (each shows colonist numbers at bottom), combine both totals, and if meeting the region's requirement, establish the colony; if short, use colonist cards from hand

Colony success

Take the region's piece, place on your board's designated spot, receive shown medicines, and place on the piece

Colony failure

If colonization fails, receive 1 colonist card from supply; discard both drawn expedition cards

Bonus actions available

After all players complete 3 actions, players may use bonus action cards for additional actions

Bonus action order

Starting with the starting player, take turns using cards if available

Bonus action options

Use one bonus action card to perform any of the 6 basic actions, or pass on bonus actions this round

Bonus card limit

Each player keeps only 1 bonus action card at round end; discard extras