Robinson Crusoe

Frequently Asked Questions

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Why are the character sheets two-sided? What difference does gender make?
None
It's just a cosmetic difference. Choose whichever you prefer.
If I fight and lose some Wounds because my Weapon level is too low, and then I also have to reduce the Weapon level further, do I take more Wounds?
Yes
Yes, sorry! For instance, if you have Weapon level 1 and fight a Beast with strength 5, you take 4 Wounds in the fight. Then if the Beast also tells you to reduce the Weapon level by 2, you take a further 1 Wound because of unfulfilled demand.
What happens if the Soldier uses their ability to look at a card from the Hunting deck and then that deck is later shuffled?
Nothing
That's just what happens, so hard luck. The Soldier's ability is less useful than it would otherwise be. (Note that the Hunting deck is shuffled each time a new Beast card is added to it!)
If I'm told to discard something during an Action and I just gained that thing in the same Action, what happens?
Don't know
This is unclear. According to a strict reading of the rules, resources gained during an Action go to the Future Resources space and are unavailable until the end of the Action Phase, but this only happens at the _end_ of the Action. So there is no official decision on whether those resources can be used to pay a cost that arises _during_ the Action. This unclarity is acknowledged, but not resolved, in an online FAQ document.
Is there a specified order for resolving the three Action dice?
Yes
Wound first, then Success, then Adventure. (This can make a difference, because you might be killed by a Wound that you could otherwise have avoided through Determination tokens that you gain from the Success die!)
What if an Invention raises the Palisade or Roof but we have no Shelter?
It does nothing
The instruction to raise the Palisade or Roof is just ignored. As it is a one-off immediate effect, you can't save it up until later.
What happens to unused resources after an Action is resolved?
Get them back
Unused resources (from failed Build Actions, for instance) are moved back to the Available Resources space on the board. The rules are unclear about whether this should happen immediately after the Action in question has been resolved, or not until the end of the Action Phase. The game designer has admitted that this is a "grey area" and we know of no resolution yet!
Do Island tiles whose terrain types are covered still produce?
Are losses retroactive? If I lose something, do I reverse its benefits?
Sometimes
For Items that are flipped back to Inventions: yes, lose/reverse as many benefits as you can, but don't worry if there are some you can't. (This isn't unfulfilled demand.) For terrain types that become unexplored, there is no retroactive effect -- you can still keep the Items you built based on those terrain types, but you won't be able to build more.
Related Rule(s)
What do the weird little numbers on some board spaces mean (~4~ next to Threat space, etc)?
Phases
The numbers and their corresponding icons refer to phases of the game when those spaces are used.
Isn't there a way to score?
Nope
Some editions of this game have scoring mechanisms you can compare game to game. The current (second) edition doesn't have that.
Related Rule(s)
What does it mean when a card says "Resolve the effect again"?
This phrase is printed for the Threat Effect of some Event cards. It is just shorthand for "Go back to the top of the card and do the Event effect again". It isn't intended to create an infinite loop where you do the whole card again and again, (putting it in the Threat space for a second time, etc etc). In the rules on this app, this phrase is spelled out more precisely in descriptions of individual cards.
Related Rule(s)
How does the ownership of Items work?
It's complicated!
Once built, Items and Treasures are available to everyone. Many such cards can only be used by one character per round; if this is the case, it is specified in the rules in this app, and sometimes on the cards themselves. A few cards (Sack, Basket) must be assigned to Actions during the planning step of the Action Phase. Finally, some cards have no ownership, and can be used by multiple characters without limit (Bed, Hammock).
If I have to do something, but I can't do all of it, do I do any of it?
Yes
Yes, you always have to do as much as you can. For instance, if you have to lower your Weapon level by 3, and you only have Weapon level 2, just lower it by 2. You may then take a Wound as the result of the rule of unfulfilled demand, unless the card specifies otherwise. The exception is if there are othe consequences specified: for instance, if a card tells you to "discard 2 wood or take 1 Wound if you can't", and you only have 1 wood, keep the wood and take the Wound.
Related Rule(s)
What happens if I have to cover a source and there isn't one?
This is unfulfilled demand, so everyone suffers a Wound. (This applies if you're looking at an island tile that has no uncovered matching sources, or if you're looking at a card, which isn't the kind of thing that can have a source at all.)
If something can be used "at any time", what does that actually mean?
Abilities and effects that say they can be used at any time can be used at any time! You can invoke an ability, for instance, after rolling dice or drawing a card, but before resolving the results of that roll or draw. The only limitation is that you can't rewind time: you can't change your mind about something you've already done in order to squeeze in the use of an ability that you didn't want to use until just now!
When I move the camp, do tokens go with it?
Mostly
Yes, except the Shortcut. But if there is already an identical token on the destination space, then discard the token that you would be moving.
Can I pay for the Shelter, Roof or Palisade in a combination of wood and fur?
No
No, you must use either wood or fur in a single Action, but not a mixture of both.
What happens if more than one game effect reduces me to one Action pawn in the same round?
You get one
You just get one Action pawn. You can never have fewer than that.