-Extended Rules, FAQ, Examples, and Lore

Setup

To set up the game, deal each player a hand of three cards. Any event cards dealt this way should be shuffled back into the deck and replaced. Deal each player two Ship cards to pick from. Each player should choose a Ship and reveal their choice only once other players have set aside their choice as well. The ship that is not chosen can be flipped for a player assist card.

Ships

Each player chooses from one of two Ship cards before the game starts. Each Ship has some combination of bonus “Speed” and “Durability” as well as a “Crew Capacity.” Durability is noted as a shield, Speed by an arrow, and Crew Capacity by an ant figure. While base Durability and Speed are important for quests, base Crew Capacity is not. The actual Crew Size i.e., how many cards are crewed to your Ship, is important. Each Ship also has a Logbook on the bottom to store won quests and a space on the right to store cards in your Stash. Crew members are stored On Deck (above the ship.)

Card Value
Each card has a gold value in the top left corner. Stashing a card is always an option of play for any Crew or Supply/Quest. When a card is stashed, tuck it into your Stash with the gold value visible. At the end of the game, each coin in your stash is worth one point. Your Stash is worth points but is also the tie breaker for quests so get hoarding early! But be careful, whoever has the biggest Stash when the cursed hoard event is revealed will lose three points! Points in your logbook do not contribute to tiebreakers.

Whenever a card asks about something’s Value, count the number of coins.  Most cards are worth 1, 2, or 3 coins. Events are worth none and the Cursed Trophy/Boss Fight card is worth negative 2. Same copies of a card are always worth the same, for example, all Spider cards are two coins. 

Taking A Turn

On a player’s turn they draw two cards.  If a card drawn is an Event, resolve it then draw another to replace it.

They may then either play or stash two cards.

A turn looks like this:

1)-draw 2.

2) resolve and replace if either card drawn is an Event.

3)-play or stash 2 cards.

Crew/Maneuver

Crew cards can be played onto your Deck during your turn or as a Maneuver in response to a quest on anyone’s turn. On Deck, they add a bonus to your Ship. Maneuvers offer a one time boost to performance on a Quest.

Crew Capacity limits how many Crew cards can be on deck at once. If your Deck is full, you can still play a Crew card, but you must return one already On Deck to your hand. Some Quests and Supplies are affected by Crew Size. This is not necessarily the same as your Crew Capacity. A bigger crew is always better!

In the full deck there are six copies of seven different Crew cards: Ants, Pill Bugs, Grasshoppers, Moths, Spiders, Dragonflies, and Mosquitos. Each type of bug has a unique Crewed effect and Maneuver ability but all copies of a bug are the exact same.

Quest/Supply

Quest/Supplies can be played as either a Supply (the top half of the card) or a Quest (the bottom half.) When you play this card, declare which half you are activating.

Supplies offer a value boost to your turn and the card is discarded to enact some effect. (Some Supplies say “Stash this card to…” in which case the Supply card is stashed, not discarded!)

Quests are the main way points are obtained throughout the game. Each has a point value listed on the bottom right of the card. When you play a Quest there is an objective to complete such as having the most Movement or Durability. 

Playing a Quest has three steps. First, the player plays the Quest face up on the table and reads its requirements. Second, all players may play a Crew card from hand next to the Quest to gain its Maneuver bonus or state that they abstain from maneuvering. Third, the player with the best performance, counting their Ship’s and Crew’s ability as well as their Maneuver bonus, wins and tucks the Quest into their Logbook. Ties go to the player with the most coins in their Stash. If the tied winners also have a tied coin Stash, the quest is discarded. All Crew cards that were used as Maneuvers are discarded. See the Example section of Learn To Fly for example quests.

Events

Events resolve as soon as they are drawn. There are two types: Hazard Events and Quest Events. There are ten in total and no two events in the deck are the same.

Hazard Events have an effect that affects all players. Once this effect is resolved, the player who drew this card draws another and resumes play.

Quest Events are played immediately but otherwise resolve like a normal quest with the player who drew this card maneuvering first. Once the quest is resolved, the player who drew the event draws again and resumes play.

Ending The Game

When the deck runs out, whoever is taking their turn finishes and then players count the points in their logbook and the coins in their stash. Crewed cards on deck do not contribute to points. Neither do cards in hand. Make sure to count the cursed trophy gold and cursed hoard quest points as negative.

FAQ

Can I only play supply cards on my turn?

Yes, with the exception of two: Chitincurse armor and broken stopwatch can both be played in reaction to something on another player’s turn. Chitincurse armor can be played into your stash in reaction to any card that would remove crew from your deck. Broken stopwatch can be played in reaction to any event. Events that do not resolve this way are still replaced with a newly drawn card by the player that originally drew them.

When can I play a crew card as a maneuver?

During a quest on any player’s turn. Players may play one maneuver per quest, or choose to pass, and do so in turn order.

Can I play a crew if my ship is at full capacity? 

Yes! But you must return any one crew card to your hand. This counts as one of your two card plays that turn. Bonus hint: if you have 4 capacity, an ant and any other bug, you have four crew size but not full capacity! Ants only count 1 towards your cap (so you have space for 2 more cards.)

What happens if you reveal an event but do not yet draw it?

(such as with the captain’s maneuver or skyward scrying) you do not resolve the event. Events are only resolved when they are drawn. If you would draw an event from the discard, resolve it and then remove it from the game without drawing an additional card. (only applicable to avoid endlessly looping if you play dredge net after an event hazard.)

How does dragonfly’s maneuver effect work with an empty ship?

If you have no crew on deck, crew size will always be your lowest trait and therefore the trait that dragonfly’s maneuver temporarily increases. If two traits are tied for the lowest, you may choose which is increased.

How does dragonfly’s crew effect work?

If you are tied for a quest, add 6 to your stash value. If counting stash values for any other reason, do not add six. During the cursed hoard quest, if you have a tied stash value with another player but also a dragonfly you “win” but keep the -3 points.

How do you decide a tie for last place? (for event quests where doing worst is bad)

If players tied for last have equal stash values (including dragonflies) all tied players resolve the negative effect. If any player has a lower stash value than the others they are tied for last with, the player with the low stash value is the only one to resolve the negative effect.

What cards can I stash?

Any cards but events. Keep an eye out for supplies that say “stash to…” as these you can stash and get an effect as a single play. While moths are very valuable to stash, it can be worth it to save this for their maneuver which not only stashes them without spending a turn, but draws you a replacement card.

The low reeds and rushing water of the land called Ripiria was full of danger so the bugs took to the skies.

A small group of spiders, the Gossamer Clan, had long piloted air balloons of floating webs on the wind but it was their partnership with the bees that heralded in a new age for Ripiria’s skyfarers. The Carpenter Guild built upon the floating latticework of the Gossamer Clan’s webs and built the first airships. Whether hunting treasure or escaping the hunt of someone stronger, Spiders used these airships to captain Ripiria’s skies. But they could not do it alone.

As the Sanguine Pirate Gang grew in notoriety across Waterslope, free ants gained a reputation for sneaking aboard airships, stowing away to escape capture or extortion. The clever among the spider captains found these ants and put them to work, happy to have a crew that took up so little space in cramped quarters. Spider captains too proud to enlist other bugs quickly faded into obscurity as more bugs took to increasingly complex airships. Pillbugs gained a reputation with shells that repelled the largest beasts and grasshoppers were said to be able to outrun entire storms. The narrowest brushes with ruin would always contain tales of bold dragonflies rallying crews back from the brink

With the newfound breadth of skill added to their ships, the skyfaring journeys attracted the interest of forces beyond the rough and tumble adventurers. The University of Luna, a consortium of skygazing moths, was full of ambitious students eager to be closer to the cosmos, though they found themselves hiding below deck when adventure got too fast. The Sanguine pirate’s constant pillage of Stillstream left countless mosquitos with a taste of violence and without a home. Eager to hunt for riches and avenge their pride, they sold their service to the airships that often clashed with pirates.

Ripiria’s skies now buzz with danger and adventure. Ruin and riches will all be found soon enough by bugs that fly.