Dead Reckoning

Objective: Explore and develop your seafaring operation while building wealth and earning achievements. The base rules represent final wealth with coins and treasure. Once any player has four achievement markers, the endgame procedure begins: the triggering player finishes the current turn, then each other player takes one final turn before wealth is compared. Watch both your own score and the timing of an opponent’s achievements so investments do not remain unfinished when the game ends.

Components and setup: Each player receives a ship, harbor, sailor cards, and other player pieces. The shared area includes a harbor board, ocean boards, coins, cargo, advancement cards, buildings, influence pieces, and battle components. Arrange the starting sea and initial supplies according to the base rulebook, then prepare each player’s crew deck. This overview covers the base box only; it does not mix in components or procedures from Letters of Marque, Port of Call, or other expansions.

Turn structure and limits: In Main, perform legal movement, card play, abilities, cargo handling and purchases/encounters. Set Sails before moving, only once per turn. Buying Advancements or resolving the current-space Encounter is allowed up to twice total per turn, and each ability on a played card is once per turn. Cleanup refills displays, selects Pirate or Mercantile mode, loses unspent Sails, sleeves Advancements, then discards and draws, in that order. Normally draw four with a hand limit of six; bonus draw does not itself raise the limit. Then level a crew card as instructed.

Sailing and exploration: Moving the ship takes it into connected ocean spaces and can reveal an unrevealed ocean board. New areas may expose islands, ship encounters, or other opportunities. Movement determines which locations you can reach and shapes your access to cargo, influence, and competition with other players. Consider the destination before sailing, then adapt to what the revealed board shows. Exploration can create a chance to trade, a reason to contest an island, or a dangerous encounter.

Cargo, trade, and wealth: Ships can load or unload cargo, which may be kept, sold, or used by other effects. When a merchant ship appears, the base rules allow a player to trade or attack. Trade offers a lower-conflict way to pursue value; attacking enters the battle procedure and risks an uncertain outcome. Coins and treasure contribute to final wealth, so cargo management and converting goods into income matter. Cargo is also a resource for future plans, not merely a score token, so consider what each load enables.

Crew and card crafting: Sailor cards provide actions or abilities. After buying an advancement, a player can use the rules to insert the upgrade into a transparent sleeve with a sailor card, creating an improved or altered card. As upgraded cards return to the deck, they shape later turns. Choosing which crew member to develop and when to play each card determines how efficiently the ship can explore, trade, or pursue another goal. Card crafting is the game’s central growth system, balancing immediate spending against long-term capability.

Island influence and buildings: Reaching an island can let a player establish influence and, when permitted, build structures or outposts. Control of islands can support income, achievement progress, or a broader expansion plan, and multiple players may compete for the same location. Sailing and investing there both consume time and resources, so weigh the opportunity against your current wealth and the endgame clock. An island strategy can work alongside trade and crew upgrades rather than replacing them.

Encounters and combat: Resolve encounters according to their own rules. In the base game, merchant ships can be approached through trade or attacked. Battles send the committed cubes through the battle tower, then use the result together with sailor abilities and battle-ship components to determine the outcome. Combat is not mandatory each turn and is not the only route to victory. It may produce treasure or pressure a rival, but a failed or expensive battle can weaken your next economic move. Check your cards and position before committing.

Achievements and final turns: At the end of your turn, check for at least four Achievement markers on the Harbor board. Each opponent gets one final turn; the trigger player does not get a further new turn. Final turns still draw cards and level up for possible later battles. A player who has finished their final turn gains extra battle cubes and their island Influence requires two placement actions to replace. Achievements control the ending but the most Achievements do not automatically mean the most wealth.

Coin scoring and ties: Add Achievement coin awards; coins in your chest, Ship and controlled islands; one per Building on controlled islands; one per two owned Advancements; one per Basic Ship Upgrade and two per Advanced Upgrade; and Advancement end-game effects. Islands also score by printed Influence ranks, with empty spaces acting as a non-scoring rival. Ties use the next lower award and tied third place receives nothing. Highest coins wins; tied players use all Ship/deck Cannons to drop battle cubes and compare strength, repeating if still tied.

Solo and cooperation: Deckhand uses the Wayward Covenant as an automated opponent. The human follows normal turns; Covenant cards use their turn-number sections and special income procedure. Normal/hard card sides vary difficulty. The revised manual also provides a cooperative game for two humans against two Covenant opponents, comparing combined team scores. That variant has its own exceptions and is not simply the single-Covenant procedure copied twice. Expansions and Sagas remain separate.