Rifugio

About this board game

Rifugio is a 2–5 player tile-laying and exploration game set in the Italian Dolomite mountains, with an approximate playing time of 60 minutes. Players build a growing mountain landscape, guide their hikers across it, and compete to collect the most victory points.

Each turn, players place a hexagonal tile according to the landscape rules. Meadows may connect to forests, forests to rocky areas, and rocky areas to mountain tops. Meadows cannot touch rocks, while mountain tops cannot border forests or meadows. Special pass tiles must match their sides exactly, adding another layer of care to the expanding map.

After shaping the terrain, players move their hiker—a traveler carrying a backpack—across the placed tiles. Visiting notable locations earns victory point cards, while bears are best avoided because they cost points.

• Discover animals, flowers, waterfalls, passes, and mountain tops.
• Collect three items in a category to earn a five-point set bonus.
• Use two free actions each turn to move or place a Rifugio, the Italian word for mountain cabin.

Cabins create opportunities even when opponents are exploring. Whenever another player visits a tile containing your Rifugio, you receive a two-point victory card. The visiting player also gets to rest, gaining a card that provides an extra action to use whenever convenient.

The game ends when every tile has been placed. The player with the highest total from collected cards wins. The 2017 second edition includes material for a fifth player and the Rivers & Rafts expansion, while Helicopter is available as a separate extension.