Fanshop
Lost Cities - Online Guide
Starting The Game
With /join 2 players can join the game. With /start the game begins. Alternatively, you can use the Game Tool!
Object of the Game
The goal is it play as many expedition routes as you can which will bring in victory points. It costs 20 points to start each expedition and if you overstretch yourself you may find out that you are in trouble! The expeditions are made by creating a pile of cards starting from a low number and increasing the size. Your score will be the sum of those cards minus the 20 points for starting each expedition. You can choose to up the stakes at the beginning of each expedition by first playing a 2x, 3x or 4x modifier card. (This will also include modifying the -20 start cost!) There are 5 colours in all and cards of one colour MUST be played onto of each other. Your score so far is shown during the game for each expedition.
Flow of the game
Each player has eight cards in their hand. Players alternate turns. The players names are displayed at the top. The current player has a * next to their name. Players place a card first and then replenish either from the deck or from the doscarded cards in the middle of the board.
The player has two options when playing a card:
- Players can start a new colour (stack) or play on one of their existing stacks. Drag and drop a card from your hand to one of your stacks (empty or started). Each card placed on a stack, must have a higher value than the previous card on that stack. The special multiplier card can only be placed before numbered cards are placed on that stack. You may place up to 3 multiplier cards on each stack (prior to placing numbered cards). No more multiplier cards for that colour can be placed once a numbered card has been played.
- Instead of adding a card to one of his stacks, a player can discard a card to the center area (the row between the two players). Drag and drop a card into one of the smaller black squares in the center. Each player can make up to 5 different coloured stacks/expeditions.
If you discard a card then you can still take another card either from the deck or from those in the central discard piles. Just click in the draw pile or one of the discard piles to take a card.
Playing and Scoring
The game ends as soon as a player takes the last card from the draw pile.
All the cards in each players rows are then scored. The value of each pile is added and 20 points subtracted for each colour/expedition started. Rows with no cards score zero. If you played a multipler card (1, 2 or 3 of them) you multiply the value by 2, 3 or 4 (even if the value is negative!). Each row, which has at least eight cards, also gets a bonus of 20 points.
If the players want to continue the game from the current score (therefore adding to the current score in the next game), they both must click the “cont” button.
Scoring Example
The example on the left shows an example of how the scoring is calculated.
Blue: Values played 2+6+7+8 = 23, then -20 costs results in 3. Doubled because of one multiplier card => 6 points.
White: ((4+6+8+10) - 20)* 2 = 16
Game Material
There are 60 cards in the deck.
- 45 Expedition Cards (ranging from 2-10 in each colour)
- 15 multipler cards (3 in each colour).