2021 · Exploration
Boonlake
Players take on the roles of pioneers settling a long-forgotten lakeshore region, working together to build a functioning community. They explore the map, construct houses and settlements, raise cattle, harvest and process raw materials, and develop infrastructure to support growth. Gameplay centers on a novel shared-action mechanism: selecting actions benefits both the active player and others, so choices require careful planning. Actions also govern ship movement, which affects exploration and resource reach. The game emphasizes long-term automation of production chains and flexible strategic development as the settlement expands.
- Players
- 1–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 80–160 min
- Age
- 14+
- Complexity
- 3.8 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Publisher
Expansions
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Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 319
- Plays logged
- 302
- Players
- 2h 30m
- Average play
- 136
- In collections
- 16
- On wishlists
- 1
- Pre-ordered
6.4/10
from 55 Ludoya reviews
Garfield2.0 Not sure about this. A 3 player game took 3 hours and 15min!!! Like every game it's rinse and repeat, but if you do that over 3 hours it's gonna get a pain! And there are too many things which you have to care about, so I guess you will never play this game 100% correctly because it has too many little rules. It can heavily suffers from AP if you have too many cards in your hand. [c] Theme: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Very little --> Gameplay: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Too repetitive for my taste --> Interaction: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]A little bit on the board --> Artwork: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Not my taste --> Luck: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Random cards --> Strategy: :star::star::star::star::nostar: <!-- size 7]Multiple strategies possible --> Components: :star::star::star::star::nostar: <!-- size 7]Good --> Play duration: :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Far too long --> Easy to teach: :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Too much to teach --> Rules quality: <!-- size 7]not read --> Setup time: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Ok --> No downtime: :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Can suffer from AP --> Replay value: :star::star::star::nostar::nostar: <!-- size 7]Different strategies possible --> [/c]
Mestremuten8.0 Rating: 4/5 Production value: 3/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 1/1
- Base -
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Do I have to play or discard the card shown on an action strip when I take it, or can I skip it?
You may either play 1 card of the kind shown (paying its cost), discard a card of that kind for 2 coins, or forgo both options if you don't have or don't want to play/discard—exceptions like the Builder action give different coin amounts (see rulebook). (pp. 4, 6)
How far can I move my ship and when does crossing a lock trigger an interim scoring?
The action-strip space you took indicates the maximum steps you may move (you must move at least 1 and may waste steps), and if you're the first in the round to cross a lock you immediately trigger an interim scoring for all players; crossing a lock that was already passed that round does not trigger scoring. (pp. 5, 13)
When I Explore and place a building tile, do I get its reward right away and where may I place the tile?
You reveal a gray building tile and place it on any unoccupied board space adjacent to an existing building tile (bridges and fords count), and you immediately receive the reward printed for that space (coins, cards, an inhabitant, or a production-site placement); some tiles also have other immediate effects listed on the tiles. (pp. 8, 24)
What are the requirements and costs to upgrade a house to a settlement?
To upgrade a house to a settlement it must be adjacent to at least 3 presences (inhabitants, houses, settlements or cattle), you give up 2 inhabitants from your ranch, and additional costs apply for your 3rd/4th settlements (extra inhabitants or 4 VP substitutions); also building another settlement in the same region costs 5 VP. (pp. 9–10)
How does the Cattle‑breeding action work — placing pastures, adding cattle, and the income effect?
The action lets you place a cattle pasture on an unoccupied space (taking that space's reward like Explore), then players in turn may place cattle or play/discard a card; placing cattle requires giving up inhabitants according to how many cattle are already there and may incur extra costs for your 4th/5th cattle, and you receive 2 coins per adjacent house when placing cattle while removed cattle increase your interim-scoring income. (p. 11)
When can I use lever effects and are there restrictions on some levers?
You may use lever effects at any suitable moment (including during other actions and interim scorings) by moving the lever down and then back up at the next interim scoring, but the top-row modernization levers can only be used if you forgo the shared/right-side part of an action and, if you have multiple of those three levers, you may use only one when you forgo that part. (pp. 21–22)
Free, on web, Android and iOS
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.