How to Play

Roads & Boats

1-4 players 240-240 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

Players begin with basic materials and transportation units, developing their civilization through logistical transport networks. You move goods between production facilities to create increasingly valuable items like gold, coins, and stock certificates. Victory comes from accumulating wealth and monument blocks, but you only own what your transporters carry—anyone can use unguarded facilities or goods.

Published 1999

Roads & Boats

Get Ready

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

1
Arrange the map
Set up the player map based on player count using the Scenario booklet, or create your own map using at least 10 land hexes per player and as many sea hexes as desired
2
Position the Wonder board
Place the Wonder board next to the player map
3
Cover with plexiglass
Place plexiglass over the map and Wonder board if possible for drawing roads
4
Create the supply
Organize all goods, resources, transportation units, buildings, and research markers in a central supply
5
Distribute player pieces
Give each player all pieces in their chosen color
6
Determine turn order
Randomly drop each player's turn order marker, placing the first one closest to the Wonder and subsequent ones further away
7
Place home tokens
Either decide as a group where everyone starts, or randomly determine placement order with each player selecting a hex at least 1 hex away from other players
8
Receive starting resources
Each player receives donkeys, geese, boards, and stones as shown on the player aid
9
Skip first Produce phase
The first Produce phase is skipped because no buildings exist yet

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Follow four phases each turn
Complete Produce, Move, Build, and Wonder phases in order, tracked on the Wonder board with an amber glass gem
2
Play simultaneously
All players take actions at the same time unless someone invokes turn order due to a conflict
3
Invoke turn order
Call for sequential play at the beginning of any phase when you want priority over resources, buildings, or goods
4
Use praying figures
Each player's colored disk above the Wonder board determines selection order for new turn positions
5
Cash in piety
Move your disk toward the back of the temple (left) to gain earlier turn position
6
Select playing position
The player closest to the temple chooses first whether to move to the back, then each subsequent player chooses in order
7
Update sequence tokens
Rearrange turn sequence disks at the bottom of the Wonder board to reflect new order
8
Reproduce livestock
Two donkeys or two geese alone on an empty Pasture hex produce one offspring
9
Produce from Primary Producers
Buildings with a circle highlight (Woodcutter, Clay Pit, Quarry, Oil Rig) automatically produce one good each phase regardless of player presence
10
Produce from Secondary Producers
Buildings without a circle (Sawmill, Papermill, Mint, etc.) automatically consume available inputs to produce outputs up to maximum capacity
11
Operate mines
Reveal the top resource from any mine and place it on the hex
12
Produce transports
Pay required goods at a Transport Factory with your transport present to receive a new transport
13
Destroy transports
Place a transport on any Transport Factory during Produce phase to remove it and make room for new ones
14
Conduct research
Consume 2 geese and 1 paper on a hex with your transport present to unlock one technology
15
Upgrade factories
With appropriate research and your transport present, upgrade an existing factory (e.g., Raft Factory to Steam Ship Factory)
16
Chain production actions
Perform all production steps in any order within the same phase
17
Move each transport once
Each transport may move once per phase according to its movement allowance
18
Follow terrain restrictions
Donkeys move 1 hex without roads or 2 hexes on roads; Wagons move 3 hexes on roads only; Trucks move 4 hexes on roads only
19
Carry goods
Load goods up to transport capacity (Donkey: 2, Wagon: 3, Truck: 6)
20
Pick up and drop off freely
Along a movement route, pick up and drop off goods unlimited times without exceeding capacity
21
Move goods only once
Goods may not be transferred to another transport and moved again in the same phase
22
Cross rivers
Land transports require a bridge or sea transport acting as a ferry to cross rivers
23
Handle geese
Geese may follow a player's transport when it leaves a hex, or be loaded onto a transport for protection
24
Dock sea transports
Spend one movement point to dock from sea to land hex; movement ends upon docking
25
Interact with oil rigs
Sea transports exchange goods with oil rigs freely without docking and may continue moving
26
Transport other transports
Carry one transport using full carrying capacity; neither transport may carry goods while doing this
27
Build one building per hex
Each hex may contain only one building; home tokens don't count as buildings
28
Require transport presence
Have a land transport on the hex, a docked sea transport, or a sea transport on a river/sea hex where building
29
Pay building costs
Spend goods listed on player aid; some buildings require prior research
30
Build on correct terrain
Primary producers require specific terrain types (Woodcutter on Woods, Quarry on Rock, Clay Pit on Shore, Mine on Mountain, Oil Rig on Sea)
31
Build roads
Pay 1 stone to draw a road connecting the center of your hex to any adjacent land hex
32
Build bridges
Pay 1 stone to build a bridge across a river within your hex
33
Build walls
Pay 1 stone from land or docked position to block movement between two hexes
34
Strengthen walls
Pay increasing stone costs (2 for level 2, 3 for level 3, etc.) to fortify walls
35
Demolish walls
Pay required goods to destroy an opponent's wall, which becomes a neutral wall
36
Refill mines
Use New Shaft technology to add resources to existing mines, mixing with any remaining fill
37
Pay goods for bricks
Spend goods from your home hex (with a transport present) to place bricks on the Wonder
38
Place bricks in turn order
Players add bricks sequentially based on current turn order
39
Add neutral brick
After all players finish, add one white neutral brick to the Wonder

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Trigger game end
The game ends when a brick is placed on the Wonder in the space matching the current player count
2
Score Wonder rows
Each row of the Wonder is worth 10 points, divided equally among players based on brick contribution
3
Score transported goods
Count wealth points only for goods carried on transports; goods left on hexes score nothing
4
Determine the winner
The player with the most total wealth points wins
5
Break ties
In case of a tie, the player whose praying figure is closest to the temple wins

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