How to Play

Tobago

2-4 players 60-60 min 7.1 Board Game Geek Rating

Players collaboratively build treasure maps by adding location clues that gradually narrow down where treasures are hidden on a modular island board. Once a treasure's exact location is determined, adventurers race to reach it first. Your share of the discovered loot depends on how many clues you contributed to finding it.

Published 2009

Tobago

Get Ready

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

1
Assemble the game board
Use the 3 variable board sections, each with 2 sides, to create the island
2
Place landmarks on the island
Put huts, palm trees, and statues on any open spaces, only 1 per space
3
Prepare the treasure deck
Shuffle the treasure cards, then insert 2 curse cards into the bottom 27 cards of the 39-card deck, place face down on board
4
Set up the treasure map area
Put the 4 colored site marker cubes into 4 separate piles in a row, leaving room for treasure maps
5
Place amulets
Put all amulets in a stack on the board
6
Prepare the clue deck
Shuffle clue cards and place face down on the board
7
Initialize treasure maps
Draw 4 clue cards and place one face-up on each empty treasure map space
8
Distribute player components
Each player receives 1 ATV, 15 compass rose tokens, and 4 clue cards face down
9
Determine starting player
Pick a player to go first
10
Place ATVs in player order
Each player places their ATV on any space on the island (multiple ATVs may share a space)
11
Claim initial clues in player order
Each player places one compass rose on one of the 4 initial clue cards

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Take one action
Choose to play a clue card, move your ATV, or exchange all your clue cards
2
Add clue to a treasure map
Place one clue card from your hand at the bottom of any treasure map
3
Mark your contribution
Place one of your compass roses on the played clue card
4
Draw a replacement
Take a new clue card to maintain 4 cards in hand
5
Follow clue restrictions
The clue must reduce possible treasure sites, cannot eliminate all sites, cannot contradict existing clues, and "Within" cannot combine with "Adjacent To" or "In Sight Of"
6
Place marker cubes when applicable
When possible sites reach 17 or fewer, place colored marker cubes on each valid location
7
Remove eliminated markers
When new clues are added, remove cubes from sites that no longer qualify
8
Identify treasure location
When only 1 cube remains for a map, that marks the exact treasure location
9
Move up to 3 legs
Each leg allows unlimited movement within one terrain type OR movement to an adjacent space of a different terrain type
10
Pass through obstacles freely
Spaces are never blocked by huts, statues, palm trees, or other ATVs
11
Respect ocean boundaries
Cannot drive through ocean surrounding the island, but can drive through lake terrain
12
Stop for amulets
Collecting an amulet ends the current leg of your move
13
Forfeit unused movement when raising treasure
Any remaining legs expire when you raise a treasure
14
Raise treasure at any time during your turn
This can occur after playing a clue or during movement
15
Meet both conditions
The treasure location must be known (1 cube) and your ATV must occupy that site
16
Raise before acting if already present
If your ATV starts on a treasure location, you may raise it first then take your action
17
Mark your participation
Place one compass rose below the last clue card on the treasure map
18
Remove the site marker
Take the last cube off the island
19
Deal treasure cards
Give 1 face-down treasure card to each player with a compass rose on the map (multiple roses = multiple cards)
20
Contribute cards secretly
Each player views their card(s), then passes them face down to the distribution manager
21
Add bonus card and shuffle
Add 1 more treasure card to the pile, then shuffle all cards together
22
Distribute from bottom to top
Reveal the top treasure card; the player with the lowest compass rose chooses to take it or pass
23
Repeat until map is cleared
Continue revealing and distributing until no compass roses remain
24
Start a new treasure map
The player who claimed the last treasure plays a clue card, places their compass rose on it, and draws a replacement
25
Place 3 amulets
Put one amulet on the coastal terrain space each statue faces (maximum 1 amulet per space)
26
Rotate statues
Turn each statue 60 degrees clockwise
27
Stop distribution immediately
Remaining treasure cards are not distributed
28
Pay the curse penalty
Each player with compass roses still on the map must discard an amulet OR discard their most valuable treasure card
29
Remove curse from game
The curse card is permanently removed
30
Discard remaining treasure
Other unclaimed cards go to discard pile unless they are curse cards, which are removed from game
31
Collect at turn start
If your ATV begins on an amulet, pick it up before your action
32
Collect during movement
Stop your current move leg to pick up an amulet on that space
33
Use amulet powers freely
Play any number of amulets during your turn without using your action
34
Available powers
Protect against curse, remove a site marker, play a clue card, move your ATV (cannot collect amulets), or exchange all clue cards

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Trigger game end
The game ends when the treasure deck is empty
2
Complete final distribution
If the deck empties during treasure distribution, shuffle the discard pile to draw needed cards, finish distributing, then end the game
3
Count your gold
Add up gold coin values on all collected treasure cards (values: 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6)
4
Determine the winner
The player with the most total gold coins wins

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

⭕ TOBAGO ? Reseña y Cómo se juega / Tutorial ? Juego de mesa - Devir

⭕ TOBAGO ? Reseña y Cómo se juega / Tutorial ? Juego de mesa - Devir

Instructional

Hoe speel je Tobago? (#617): ?️ Ontcijfer de kaarten. Vind de schat. Ontwijk de vloek.

Hoe speel je Tobago? (#617): ?️ Ontcijfer de kaarten. Vind de schat. Ontwijk de vloek.

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

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