Paleo (2008)

Overview

A strategic game of adventure and dexterity

The fabulous city of Paleo was swallowed up by the oceans 5,000 years ago and fell into oblivion. A parchment manuscript has just been discovered, revealing the location of its gates. The city’s immense riches described in the manuscript have inspired much desire and greed.

As the head of a team of explorers and mercenaries, you have set up camp in the Paleo Archipelago. But other teams have also arrived at the scene. Protected by your mercenaries, your explorers are ready to launch a search for the keys that will give access to the city. It is up to you to take advantage of the archipelago’s many reefs in order to stay ahead of your competitors. --- In the basic two-player version of Paleo, players set up the 65 x 65 cm board with four central reefs, two sanctuaries for each player in the corners of the board, and five supplemental reefs placed according to various rules. Each player controls a team of five explorers and three mercenaries; you move these pieces by flicking them with your finger as in Crokinole. If your mercenary hits an opponent’s piece, that piece is removed from the board; remove all of the opponent’s pieces, and you win the round and score one point.

The explorers are used to enter the opponent’s sanctuaries and recover two keys that then allow the player to enter the gate of Paleo in the center of the board. (Any of your pieces that enters a sanctuary can be exchanged for another piece already captured by the opponent.) This victory is worth two points, and a complete game requires a player to earn four points to win.

Rules are included to accommodate three or four players, in addition to rules for ten other games for 2-4 players such as hockey, a kayak race, and Capture the King.