Embark

About this board game

Embark is a light-to-medium weight game for 2–5 players that takes about 60 minutes, or roughly 15 minutes per player. As new islands appear from the mist, players load boats with voyagers and send them out to explore, colonize, and mine their riches.

Each round, players simultaneously assign their voyagers to boats. They then take turns placing those voyagers into specific berths, assigning them jobs. A boat launches only when it is fully loaded, so careful placement is essential. Once it reaches an island, each voyager begins performing the job assigned to them.

• Explorers explore islands, scoring 1 point per round while increasing an island’s exploration bonus.
• Miners collect ore, which contributes to an end-game bonus.
• Colonists build farms worth a chunk of points and compete for the island’s exploration bonus through majority control.
• Captains can perform any of the three jobs above.
• Warriors displace another voyager, take over that voyager’s job, and send the displaced voyager back to its owner’s pub for reassignment.

Warriors create an extra layer of uncertainty as opponents can replace voyagers and take over valuable roles. Meanwhile, players must balance immediate scoring, ore collection, farm building, and control of exploration bonuses across the islands in play.

After six rounds of assigning voyagers and launching boats, the game ends. Players tally their bonuses, and the player with the most points wins. With simultaneous assignment followed by turn-based placement, Embark combines brisk decisions with competition for every island’s opportunities.