
2026 · Expansion for Base-game
Darwin's Journey: Oceania
Players explore a newly designed Pacific island map populated with sixteen unique specimens inspired by Oceania. The game focuses on fieldwork: moving across the map, documenting discoveries, and managing encounters with varied locations such as a Post Office, University, village campsites, and special Silver and Golden Villages. A revamped player board system grants distinct bonuses, while a new Hazard Track introduces escalating exploration risks. Players accumulate hazards that can impose end-of-round penalties, but the current highest-hazard player receives a one-time strategic bonus, creating a trade-off between risk and reward.
- Players
- 1–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 60–120 min
- Age
- 14+
- Complexity
- 4.4 / 5
About the game
- Art
- Publisher
Expansion for
See them in LudoyaOn Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 10
- Plays logged
- 14
- Players
- 2h 8m
- Average play
- 53
- In collections
- 2
- On wishlists
- 6
- Pre-ordered
8.8/10
from 5 Ludoya reviews
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Do I place a Tent in a Village the same way I place one at a Campsite?
No. A Village is a separate location: you may place one Tent in each Village only when your Explorer stops there, and Village Tents can never be reactivated. Silver Villages resolve immediately; golden Villages score during final scoring (p. 4).
Does every player who researches a Specimen encounter a Hazard?
No. Only the first player to research each Specimen encounters a Hazard; flip the tile so later researchers do not encounter one. The first player to cross a ribbon with a Hazard token also encounters a Hazard, and an Antidote moves your Hazard marker back one space (p. 5).
Can I take more than one Wax Seal from the University’s top row in a turn?
No. Once your Professor is unlocked, you may choose exactly one Wax Seal from the top row per turn, even if you perform multiple Academy actions. Taking or placing a top-row Wax Seal has no Coin penalty (p. 3).
When I unlock the new Envelope, can I place Stamps on it and on a regular Envelope?
Yes. When performing a Correspondence action, a player with their Employee unlocked may place Stamps on the new Envelope and one regular Envelope. The new Envelope is unavailable until you unlock your Employee (p. 3).
How do the locked Lens locations on the map get unlocked?
A player must land a Ship or Explorer on the locked location and use its printed unlock action to unlock the adjacent location; these locations cannot be unlocked by other means. Afterward, players whose Ship or Explorer has reached or passed it can place a worker there without meeting Wax Seal requirements (p. 4).
What happens if I can’t pay everything a Consequence tile makes me forfeit?
For each required item you cannot forfeit, you lose 4 victory points; you must forfeit the items you have and cannot choose to lose points instead. Track negative points with your Spider marker, since your regular score marker never moves backward due to Consequence tiles (p. 5).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Darwin's Journey: Oceania with Ludoya
- Keep it in your collectionTrack your copy and its expansions, lend it to friends, or put it on your wishlist and get told when the price drops.Add it to your collection
- Log every playScores, winners, timers and photos, then your stats: win rate, favourite player count, best score.Log a play
- Settle rules questionsAsk anything about the rules and get an answer from the rulebook, with the page to check it on.Ask the rules assistant
- Find people to play it withClubs, game nights and events near you that bring this game to the table.See events
Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.

