# Game rules

## 1. Foreword

This game is a computer adaptation of the Finnish board game "Afrikan tähti" originally created by Kari Mannerla. The rules that came with the original game were brief and simple - so simple as to being ambiguous in certain situations. E.g. they took no stance as to the question whether a player is allowed to continue "on the fly" from a sea route to a land route. The game has therefore been played with countless small varaitions in Finnish homes throughout the decades, the players simply deciding beforehand on the minutiae of the rules. Such disambiguation is naturally not acceptable when making a computer game, and therefore the player is encouraged to read through these rules, even should he already be aquainted with the game.

It should also be noted that in 2005 the original rules were officially amended with a rule stating that a pennyless player may still use sea routes, moving 2 steps per turn without rolling the die. The original rules of the game do not allow this. The first releases of the game only supported the original rules, but as of version 1.1.0 the new rules are supported as well. The old ones are still the default, as they (in the programmer's humble opinion) make the game more interesting.

## 2. The general setting

The star of Africa is a board game for 2-5 players, out of which at least one must be human. The rest can either be human or computer AI players. The game is regarded suitable for players of age 4 and up. The board consists of a map of Africa, with routes connecting the various places by land, sea and air. There are 30 places (cities) on the map that contain tokens, which may be collected by the players. The tokens are shuffled and placed face down - one on each city - before the game begins. (The computer does this automatically.)

Before the game starts all players must choose whether to start at Tangier or Cairo (marked with big red circles on the board). The objective of the game is to find the token that holds the Star of Africa, and return with it to either one of the starting points. In the original game, the players determined the starting order by diceroll. In the computer version the order is automatically randomized by the computer.

## 3. Moving

### 3.1. Moving by land

A player may move by land by rolling the die, and moving the number of steps indicated by it. Should the player on his path, come upon a city he may, should he so choose, stop in the city even if the number of steps taken were fewer than indicated by the die.

### 3.2. Moving by sea

A player may move by sea by paying the £100 boarding fee, which is the same regardless of the distance traveled, and then rolling the die, and moving on the blue sea tiles, the number of steps indicated by it. After boarding a ship he is then shipbound for the destination he chose, and may not change the destination, even if the sea route in question diverges in a manner that would make a destination change possible, was it a land route. (After all he is just a passenger on a ship, and the ship won't change course just because a passenger changed his mind.)

Both boarding and disembarking take some time, and a player may therefore not board or disembark "on the fly". I.e. to use die points exceeding either the source or the destination of the sea route, to move on land.

If playing according to the new rules, it is possible to travel by sea even when completely broke. In this case the player will be able to move 2 steps each turn without rolling the die. Using this option to travel is not allowed if the player has money, though. (E.g. traveling for free in order to afford buying a token.)

### 3.3. Moving by air

A player may move along the air routes (red lines connecting two cities) by paying the £300 boarding fee, and moving his gamepiece to the destination without rolling the die. Just like with the fee for boarding a ship, the fee is the same regardless of the distance traveled.

## 4. The tokens

### 4.1. Opening a token

A player may open a token he is standing on by either paying £100 or - if he is out of money, or for some reason does not want to spend the money he has - by rolling the die and getting a 4 or higher. A roll spent on turning a token may not be used for moving regardless of whether the roll was a success or not. For this reason the intent to roll for the token must always be signalled prior to rolling.

The player may buy the token immediately upon arriving, provided he has the necessary funds to do so. Should he desire to open the token by rolling the die, he must however await the next turn. If the player starts his turn, with money in his pocket, on a token that he for whatever reason decided not to buy the previous turn, he may buy it immediately if he so chooses, but he may no longer move that turn. He may also not buy the token on the same turn as making a failed attempt at opening it by rolling.

### 4.2. Token types

There are 7 different kinds of tokens, each having its own significance:

Token | Number of tokens | Effect
Blank | 12 | Nothing happens.
Horseshoe | 5 | Prior to the discovery of the Star, nothing happens. After the discovery it serves as a substitute for the Star.
Robber | 3 | Player loses all his money.
Topaz (Yellow gemstone) | 4 | Player receives £300.
Emerald (Green gemstone) | 3 | Player receives £500.
Ruby (Red gemstone) | 2 | Player receives £1000.
The Star of Africa (Very big diamond) | 1 | Player may now race to one of the starting points in order to win.

## 5. Special places

The following places carry special significance:

- Gold Coast - Gemstones found here are worth twice their oridinary value.
- Slave Coast - A player who draws a blank token here will be enslaved and unable to move for 3 turns.
- Capetown - The first player to arrive here will receive a £500 bonus.
- St. Helena - The tiles on both sides of the island (marked with dark circles) are pirate infested waters. Any player who lands upon these will be captured until he manages to roll a 1 or 2.
- Sahara desert - The tile 2 steps east of Sahara (marked with a dark circle) is the home of hostile beduins. A player who lands here will be captured until he rolls a 1 or 2.

## 6. Players unable to win

A player who doesn't have even a theoretical chance of winning the game is removed from the game. His gamepiece will be left where it was, his status will be set to "STRANDED", and he will no longer be given a turn to do anything. This happens if any of the following scenarios occur:

- The player becomes stranded on an island without any means to get off. (The classical way to get stranded is picking up a robber on St. Helena.)
- The player becomes "stranded" on the mainland without money, while all the remaining tokens are on islands. The player in question has neither the Star nor an effective substitute.
- The Star of Africa has been found, as have all the 5 horseshoes. The player in question has neither the Star nor an effective substitute. (When playing with the new rules, this is the only way to get stranded.)

Should all players become unable to win, the game is declared over without a winner being declared.

## 7. Winning

The first player to transport either the Star of Africa, or a horseshoe found after the discovery of the Star, to either one of the starting points (Tangier or Cairo) is the winner.

- A player does not have to return to the same place he started from. Either starting point will do.
- Just like with the cities, it is not required that the player roll the exact number of steps that will take him to the finish line. Rolling that number or greater is sufficient.
- There can be only one winner. Finishing "on the same turn" as the winner does not count as a draw.
- If all the horseshoes have been discovered by the time the Star is found and the discoverer himself isn't stranded, he will instantly be declared the winner.
- Robbers only steal the player's money. They do not take the Star or the horseshoe substitutes.