How to play Archipelago

Start with two settlements and two roads

Choose a legal corner between terrain tiles for your first settlement, then place a road beside it. Each player does the same. The second placement round runs in reverse order, so the player who placed first finishes last.

Your second settlement gives you a starting resource from each adjacent producing tile. Plan the two settlements together: strong numbers help, but a hand full of one resource can leave you waiting for a trade.

• Forests produce wood; hills produce brick; pastures produce wool; fields produce grain; mountains produce ore.
• Settlements cannot sit directly next to another settlement or city. Leave at least one empty corner between them.

Collect, trade, build

When the dice total matches a tile’s number, every adjacent settlement receives one of that tile’s resources. A city receives two. You can collect on someone else’s turn too. A robber-blocked tile produces nothing.

After the roll and any required choices, trade for missing cards and spend resources on roads, settlements, cities or development cards. You may make more than one legal build on your turn. End your turn when you are finished. The bank has a finite supply, so a payout is not guaranteed if it cannot meet the demand.

Seven changes the plan

A seven produces no resources. Players holding more than seven resource cards discard half, rounded down. The active player moves the robber and, where there is an eligible opponent beside its new tile, steals one random resource.

Spend toward a useful build when you can. Stockpiling for a perfect turn exposes more cards to a discard. The game handles the required choices; the tutorial lets you learn them without a turn timer.

Turn resources into ten points

A settlement is worth one point; a city is worth two in total, replacing its settlement. Development cards can add hidden victory points. Longest Road and Largest Army are each worth two points while you hold the award.

A long road by itself is not a winning economy. Before spending, ask which next move earns points or improves your ability to earn them. Try the interactive lesson, then play a practice table to put the loop together.