Bora Bora

2013

Immerse in Bora Bora, a strategic board game of island exploration, hut building, and divine intervention. Use dice and tactics to outsmart your rivals!

120
minutes

2 - 4
player(s)

12+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Bora Bora is a captivating board game, designed by the renowned game designer, Stefan Feld. It’s set in the breathtaking paradise of the South Pacific, where players are transported to the mystical world of the Polynesian islands. The vivid, colourful artwork and intricate mechanics of this game truly bring the exotic environment to life, making you feel as if you are truly a chieftain trying to build your society on these beautiful islands.

The main objective of Bora Bora is to build and expand your presence across the islands, through constructing settlements, gathering resources, and accomplishing tasks set by the gods. The game’s core mechanics revolve around dice rolling and worker placement, where the dice determine the nature and success of your actions. This unique combination of luck and strategy adds an exciting dimension to the gameplay, and ensures no two games are the same.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

The board game ‘Bora Bora’ comes with a variety of components that each play a unique role in the gameplay. Here they are:

1. Game Board:

The game board is the central piece of ‘Bora Bora’. It represents the archipelago where the game takes place and is divided into twelve regions, each containing different islands. Players will place their priests, men, and women on this board to perform various actions and gain rewards.

2. Player Boards:

Each player receives a personal board. This board is where individual players will manage their resources, including their men, women, and offerings. The player boards also contain spaces for building huts and storing collected shells.

3. Dice:

Every player receives three dice in their chosen color. These dice are rolled at the beginning of each round to determine what actions players can take. The dice rolls also influence player order in each round.

4. Men and Women Tiles:

These tiles represent the inhabitants of the players’ huts. They are used to perform tasks and generate resources. Men are more effective at generating resources, while women have more versatility in the tasks they can perform.

5. Priest Tokens:

Priest tokens are used to earn favor with the gods. These tokens can be placed on the game board to earn additional resources and can also be used to perform special actions.

6. Task Tiles:

Task tiles represent various objectives that players can complete for points. These tasks can range from building huts to collecting specific resources.

7. God Cards:

God cards provide players with powerful, one-time-use abilities that can drastically affect the course of the game. These cards can be earned through various means, including pleasing the gods with priest tokens.

8. Building Materials:

These pieces represent the resources needed to build huts. They come in different types, such as wood, stone, and sand, and are necessary for completing certain tasks.

9. Shell Tokens:

Shell tokens are a form of currency in ‘Bora Bora’. They can be traded for other types of resources or used to purchase items and services.

10. Jewelry Tokens:

Jewelry tokens represent valuable treasures that players can collect. They are worth a lot of points at the end of the game and can also be used to complete certain tasks.

11. Fish Tokens:

Fish tokens represent the food resources that players can gather. They are necessary for feeding your inhabitants and for certain tasks.

12. Offering Tiles:

Offering tiles represent the gifts players can give to the gods in exchange for their favor. The more offerings a player makes, the more favor they will earn and the more powerful abilities they can unlock.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Bora Bora is a strategic board game that involves careful planning and decision-making. Setting up the game properly is crucial for an enjoyable gaming experience. Below is a step-by-step guide to setting up ‘Bora Bora’.

Step 1: Player Roles

Every player in ‘Bora Bora’ represents a chieftain of one of the four Polynesian tribes. Each player will seek to expand their tribe through exploration, building, and trade. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.

Step 2: Board Placement

Place the game board in the center of the table. The board represents the islands of Bora Bora. Each player should sit facing an empty side of the board.

Step 3: Initial Resources

Each player receives three dice in their color, a player board, 12 men and 12 women tiles, 12 offering tiles, and 2 action tokens. Also, players should take a god card of their choice to start with.

Step 4: Setting Up Tasks

Depending on the number of players, remove a certain number of task tiles from the game. Shuffle the remaining task tiles and place them face down on the corresponding spaces on the game board. At the beginning of each round, reveal a new task.

Step 5: Random Elements

Man/Woman Tiles: Shuffle the man and woman tiles separately and form two face-down draw piles. Draw the top three tiles from each pile and place them face up next to the game board.
Jewelry: Sort the jewelry tiles by their backs, shuffle each pile separately, and place them face down on the corresponding spaces on the game board.
God Cards: Shuffle the god cards and form a face-down draw pile. Draw the top six cards and place them face up next to the game board.

Step 6: Starting Player

Randomly determine the starting player. The starting player receives the start player token and places one of their action tokens on the “1” space of the turn order track.

Once all these steps are completed, you are ready to start playing ‘Bora Bora’. Remember, the objective of the game is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the sixth round.

Game flow Round and round we go

Bora Bora is a complex, strategy-driven board game designed by Stefan Feld. The game is set in the South Pacific archipelago and features mechanics of dice rolling, tile placement, and point-to-point movement on a modular board. In this game, players strive to increase their tribes’ presence on the island, build huts, explore the surrounding islands, and make offerings to their Gods. The game spans over six rounds, with each round divided into three phases.

Phase 1: Dice Rolling and Action Selection

Each player rolls three dice at the beginning of the round. The rolled numbers represent potential actions a player can take.
The player with the highest rolled number begins first, placing one of their dice on an action space on the game board. The numbered action spaces correlate to different actions, such as expanding a player’s influence on the island, fishing, building, etc.
Importantly, players can place their dice on already occupied action spaces, but the dice number must be lower than the one already placed there.

Phase 2: Main Actions

After all players have placed their dice, they perform actions based on the numbers on their dice and the corresponding action space.
These actions include building huts, expanding influence, offering to the Gods, or completing tasks.
These actions allow players to gain resources, score points, and achieve different strategic objectives.

Phase 3: Man and Woman Actions

During this phase, players can perform one action each from the Man and Woman tiles they have collected.
The Man tiles generally provide resources or allow the player to manipulate their dice, while the Woman tiles often provide long-term benefits or additional scoring opportunities.
Using these actions strategically can significantly influence the outcome of the game.

After the completion of the third phase, the round ends. Players then prepare for the next round by retrieving their dice and resetting the board where necessary. After six rounds, the game ends. The player with the highest score, calculated from the successful completion of tasks, building huts, offerings to the Gods, and other achievements, is declared the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

Bora Bora is a strategy board game that involves taking turns to perform actions that help you score points. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of what happens during a player’s turn:

Phase 1: Roll Dice

Every player rolls three dice at the start of their turn. The dice are the primary tools for executing actions, and the number rolled determines the strength of the action.

Phase 2: Actions

Players in turn order place one of their dice on the action circle. The number on the die determines the strength of the action. There are six possible actions:

Man/Woman: The player may choose a man or a woman tile from the display. The chosen tile provides a special ability or bonus points. The die number must be equal to or lower than the number on the tile.
Construction: The player may build a building on one of their islands. The die number must be equal to or lower than the number of the building.
Expansion: The player may expand their territory by placing one of their men or women on an unoccupied island space. The die number must be equal to or lower than the number on the space.
God Cards: The player may purchase god cards for future use. Each god card has a unique power that can be used in subsequent turns. The die number must be equal to or lower than the number on the card.
Tasks: The player may complete a task by meeting its requirements. The die number must be equal to or lower than the number on the task.
Offering: The player may make an offering to the gods. The die number must be equal to or lower than the number on the offering.

Phase 3: God Cards

Players may use their god cards to execute additional actions, change dice numbers, or influence the order of play. Using god cards strategically can give players a significant advantage.

Phase 4: Scoring

At the end of the round (after all players have used all their dice), scoring occurs. Players earn points based on completed tasks, buildings constructed, territory expanded, and offerings made. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

Bora Bora is a game of strategy and planning. The decisions made during each player’s turn have a significant impact on the outcome of the game. Players must balance their immediate needs with long-term goals, constantly adapting their plans based on the actions of their opponents and the roll of the dice.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Bora Bora’ ends after the completion of 6 rounds. Each round consists of three phases: dice phase, action phase, and man/woman phase. The player with the highest total points at the end of these rounds is declared the winner.

Before we can proceed to the final scoring, players must complete certain actions:

Dice Phase: Each player rolls three dice at the beginning of every round. The results of these dice will determine the actions that players can take during the action phase.
Action Phase: In a clockwise direction, each player places one of their dice on an action tile and performs the action. The dice value dictates the power of the action, with a lower value denoting a weaker action. Players continue this process until all dice have been placed.
Man/Woman Phase: In this phase, players can use their god cards to perform additional actions or to augment the power of their earlier actions. They can also choose to acquire a man or woman tile, which will provide them with bonuses and special abilities.

Once the 6 rounds have been completed, the final scoring takes place. Here are the various victory conditions to consider:

Task Tiles: Players earn points for each of their completed task tiles. The number of points depends on the specific task.
Man/Woman Tiles: Players earn points for each pair of man and woman tiles they have. The number of points depends on the specific man/woman pair.
God Cards: Players earn points for unused god cards. Each unused god card is worth 1 point.
Building Tiles: Players earn points for each building tile they have placed on their player board. The number of points depends on the specific building tile.
Jewelry: Players earn points for their collected jewelry. Each piece of jewelry is worth 1 point.
Area Majority: Players earn points based on who has the most and second most presence in each area on the main game board. The player with the most presence scores the higher value, while the player with the second most presence scores the lower value.

After adding up all the points from these sources, the player with the highest total score wins the game. In case of a tie, the tied player with the most remaining shells (the game’s currency) is the winner.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In the game of ‘Bora Bora’, players accumulate points over the course of the game. The scoring system is complex but comprehensive. Points are awarded for various achievements and actions during the game, with the player having the highest score at the end of the game being declared the winner.

Points are awarded as follows:

God Cards: Players earn 6 points for each set of 4 different God Cards held at the end of the game.
Tasks: Players earn points for each Task completed. The points are based on the number value indicated on the Task tile.
Man/Woman Tiles: At the end of the game, players earn points for their Man and Woman tiles. The points are equal to the lowest value depicted on the Man/Woman tile pairs.
Building: For each fully built region (all building spaces covered), a player earns 12 points.
Jewelry: Players earn points for each Jewelry they possess at the end of the game. The points are equal to the number of Jewelry.
Offspring: Players earn points equal to the number of Offspring they have at the end of the game.
Fire Ceremony: Players earn points equal to the value shown on the last reached or passed Fire Ceremony space on the scoring track.
Tattoos: Players earn points equal to the number of their Tattoos at the end of the game.
Expansion: Players earn 6 points for each area on the island where they have all three of their huts.

Tie-breaking rules are as follows:

If there is a tie at the end of the game, the player with the most unused God Cards wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most completed Tasks wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the highest total value of Man/Woman Tiles wins.
If there is still a tie, the player who is furthest ahead in the turn order wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Bora Bora is a complex strategy game with a variety of rules and exceptions. Here are some rare rules, special exceptions, and important rule clarifications:

1. Task Tiles:

Each player can only fulfill a maximum of one task per round, regardless of the number of task tiles they hold.
Task tiles cannot be traded or given to other players.

2. Jewellery:

Jewellery can only be purchased during the status phase, not during the actions phase.
Players are not allowed to trade or give away their jewellery to other players.

3. Woman and Man Tiles:

Woman and Man tiles must be placed on the player’s respective Woman and Man spaces. They cannot be placed on a neutral space.
When using a Woman or Man’s action, the tile is not removed from the board. It remains in place for the entirety of the game.

4. Building Huts:

Players can only build one hut per island per round, even if they have multiple building actions.
If all spaces on an island are filled, players cannot place additional huts there, even if they have a building action available.

5. God Cards:

God cards can only be played during a player’s action, not during the status phase or at the end of a round.
Each God card can only be used once and is then removed from the game.

6. Scoring:

At the end of the game, players score points for their task tiles, jewellery, Woman and Man tiles, huts on the game board, and remaining resources.
Points are not awarded for unused actions, unused God cards, or unused building materials.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

The strategy board game ‘Bora Bora’ is a complex and challenging game that requires a deep understanding of the rules and mechanics. Here are some advanced strategies, beginner tips, common mistakes to avoid, and ways to optimize gameplay.

Advanced Strategies:

Use the god cards wisely: Holding onto your god cards until the perfect moment can give you a huge advantage. Use them to take actions even when you have low-value dice.
Plan your expansion carefully: Try to control areas that give you access to a variety of resources. This will help you in completing tasks and building temples.
Focus on tasks: Completing tasks not only gives you points but also additional benefits which can be useful in various ways.

Beginner Tips:

Understand the importance of dice values: Higher dice values allow you to perform powerful actions, but lower values can be beneficial too as they can block other players from taking actions.
Balance your strategy: Don’t focus too much on one aspect of the game. Try to balance expansion, resource gathering, and completing tasks.
Use your helpers: Helpers can provide useful bonuses. Make sure to use them effectively.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring tasks: Tasks are a major source of points in Bora Bora. Ignoring them can put you at a significant disadvantage.
Not using god cards effectively: God cards are a powerful tool. Not using them, or using them at the wrong time, can be a costly mistake.
Not diversifying your strategy: Focusing too much on one strategy often leads to failure. Try to keep your options open and adapt your strategy based on the game situation.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Keep track of your opponents’ actions: Knowing what your opponents are planning can help you make better decisions and block their actions.
Plan your actions in advance: Try to plan your actions a few turns in advance. This will help you make the most of your dice and god cards.
Master the art of timing: Knowing when to make a move is just as important as knowing what move to make. Try to time your actions to maximize their impact.