Gameplay Example: The Maiden Voyage of The Brass Kestrel
To help you get started, here is a look at the first three turns of a typical expedition.
The Setup
Our cartographer names their vessel The Brass Kestrel and draws an [X] in the center of an A4 sheet. They place a small copper coin on the [X] and draw four circles (O) in the corners of the page to represent the Beacons. They start with 5 Steam Tokens.
Turn 1: Setting Sail
- The Roll: 2, 4, 6.
- Navigation (2): North (Up).
- Throttle (4): Move 4cm.
- Aether-Scan (6): Anomaly!.
- Result: The player draws a 4cm line straight up from the Capital. At the tip, they draw a Jagged Bolt [ϟ]. Because of the Anomaly, they lose 1 Steam Token (4 remaining).
Turn 2: Evasive Maneuvers
- The Roll: 1, 1, 3.
- Navigation (1): North.
- Venting Steam: The player doesn't want to go further North into the edge of the paper. They spend 1 Steam Token (3 remaining) to change the Navigation die from a 1 to a 3 (East).
- Throttle (1): Move 1cm.
- Aether-Scan (3): Floating Island.
- Result: The player draws a 1cm line to the right and sketches a small Cloud/Island shape. This is now a Safe Harbor for future refueling.
Turn 3: Reaching the First Beacon
- The Roll: 4, 6, 2.
- Navigation (4): East.
- Throttle (6): Move 6cm.
- Aether-Scan (2): Clear Skies.
- Result: The 6cm line is long enough to touch the top-right Beacon (O).
- Step A (Event): They roll a 1d6 and get a 1 (Steam Vent), gaining +2 Steam (back up to 5!).
- Step B (Upgrade): They choose the Reinforced Hull, increasing their maximum Steam capacity to 7 for the rest of the game.
Current Map Progress
- Beacons Lit: 1 / 4
- Steam Reserves: 5 / 7
- Hazards Plotted: 1 Anomaly
- Total Path Length: 11cm (-11 points so far).
The Brass Kestrel is fueled up and upgraded, but with three Beacons left and a growing web of flight lines to avoid, the descent has only just begun.