Corps of Discovery: Insecta Expansion:
Information:
Player Age: 8+
Game Designer: Jay Cormier, Sen-Foong Lim
The trail of Manifest Destiny is back, if you read the comics you know there is always an issue around the corner on this journey. For the original review click here.
Goal:
All the Corps of Discovery expansions add a new switch-up on how the challenge works. So to help people understand it's best to explain the goal of this scenario type.
The goal itself is simple to eliminate four insects, the monster of this scenario. When they are in play the percent any of the eight spaces around them from being explored unless the player spends a resource or a water. To defeat them players need to unlock insecticide and move them into an explored location. Exploring an entire row awards the players a chance to move one insect orthogonally.
How to Achieve This:
To unlock insecticide (for the rest of the game) players will need to shuttle one of each resource type and water to the boat. This is done by shuttling the resource/ water when it is gained from only an explore action. This has to be done instead of the resource/water entering the backpack. Remember each icon appears at least three times on the map so be careful to at least shuttle once for each resource and the water. If the Ranidae is watching it will block resource/water from being shuttled.
The mushroom is tricky it is gained when a shelter is built through exploring. To distract this monster players will need to spend water or a new token, meat (three are gained at the start of the game and do not renew), then announce the type of the explored location. If correctly guessed the Ranidae is distracted for the entire day (until the three challenges are resolved). If wrong the meat or water token is wasted. See another easy goal to complete, in theory that is.
Components:
There are plenty of components to this scenario.
- Challenge, threat and destiny cards used for specifically this scenario.
- Of course the insects meat and Ranidae tokens needed for the scenario and the boat.
Final Thoughts:
- Easy scenario to explain and teach once understood.
- Tough decisions about focusing on the insecticide or the challenges.
- Have to move items to the ship even if they are running low on the map.
The Insecta Expansion is an easy expansion to add to the collection as it is another easy to understand scenario for more variability. Added to the variability the gear and characters can be used in other scenarios. This is a scenario that creates a tension of needing to know what a location will be so the Ranidae can be distracted, by guessing the location correctly and paying water or a meat token. This opens the possibility to moving resources/water to the boat until the day ends. Then comes the decision of determining where a resource gained from exploring should go to the boat or to the backpack which often needs the resources players are discovered for the challenges that will soon be resolved. The concept of the scenario is easy to understand because after one of each resource/ water on the boat the insects simply need to be moved to explored spaces but the practicality of winning the scenario is not easy. This is an easy expansion to recommend to fans of the existing game.
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