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Previously asked questions about the rules of VOC and Naar de Oost!
(with corrections and supplements to the rules)Corrected rules to print yourself
To our regret, there are some unfortunate errors and obscurities in the printed rules of VOC and Naar de Oost! Above that, for the typical gamer who plays the advanced game only, it can be somewhat inconvenient that the advanced game is described only by listing the differences with the the basic game. To help you play the game as we intended it, we provide the following files here (each being about 560 Kb):- a PDF-file with the full corrected rules of the basic game (in English or in German);
- a PDF-file with the full corrected rules of the advanced game (in English or in German);
Game material
Question: What is the meaning of the numbers above the goods on the contract cards?Answer: These indicate how many goods are needed to fulfill the contract.
Question: There is a contract with on one side two cinnamon, two nutmeg and two cloves, and on the other side just one pepper. Is this card correct?
Answer: Yes and no. The game can be played with this card as it is, but the task on the left side of the card will be much to difficult then, so that one will always do the right side. It is, in fact, a printing error. We intended this card to be for one cinnamon, one nutmeg and one clove, or two pepper.
The basic game
Preparation (for the basic game)
There is an error in the printed rules: of course, the game does not start in 1590, but in 1585; to be precise, the game starts in the third phase (investments) of 1585. Phase 1 (new orders) is not played in the first year. Thus, when the first investment phase starts, three contracts are available.Phase 1: new orders (in the basic game)
There is an error in the printed rules: the oldest card is given to Amsterdam when there are six cards present (not five). Above that, no card will be taken from the pile in the first year (1585).Question: When the VOC card is turned open, does the game end immediately, or only after the current year has ended?
Answer: The game ends immediately. No contract is given to Amsterdam.
Phase 4: to the East and back (in the basic game)
Question: What happens if you run aground after reaching a harbour?Answer: The harbors themselves (the encircled areas on the navigation sheets) are safe: as long as you stay inside the circle, you do not run aground, not even if you draw across the coast line (this is not explained in the printed rules). The other players may not say "Land Ho!" yet. Only if you draw on the land outside the circle, you run aground. In that case, the merchants can take in goods first; after that, a sailor falls overboard.
Question: Do you need to stop drawing exactly on the blue line, in order to sail home?
Answer: No. The printed rules are not correct. As soon as the skipper hits the blue line, the ships sails home automatically, whether he wants it or not. The other players are allowed to tell him. Any drawing after hitting the blue line is ignored.
The advanced game
Preparation (in the advanced game)
There is an error in the printed rules: of course, the game does not start in 1590, but in 1585; to be precise, the game starts in the third phase (investments) of 1585. Phase 1 (new orders) is not played in the first year. Thus, when the first investment phase starts, three contracts are available.It is convenient to put the year markers in a row on top of the board.
Phase 1: new orders (in the advanced game)
There is an error in the Dutch rules of Naar de Oost!: Phase 1 is not played in the first year, so there will be three cards open, not six. (The English and German rules do not have this error.)Question: When the VOC card is turned open, does the game end immediately, or only after the current year has ended?
Answer: The game ends immediately. Note that Amsterdam does get the contracts which did not have a cube on them at the beginning of the phase, but not the contracts which were just turned open this year.
Phase 3: investments (in the advanced game)
Question: Is there an investment round in every year, or only in the years with a ships' convoy?Answer: Every year. Some people got this explained wrong at the fair in Essen.
Question: Is it possible to invest in ships already in the East?
Answer: No. You may only invest in ships which are currently home in Middelburg, not in ships that are in the East. (This rule is missing in the printed rules.)
Question: Is it allowed to place less than four men?
Answer: This is allowed only if you have not got four dice left anymore, or if the ship on which you want to place them does not have enough free slots. In these cases, you have to place as many dice as possible. Note that you are never allowed to place more sailors than merchants (this rule is missing in the printed edition).
Question: Can one choose freely how to place the dice, as long as it is consistent with the numbers of the slots?
Answer: No. In most cases, there is no choice at all, since all slots with lower numbers must be occupied, before the slots with higher numbers can be used, and because it is never allowed to place more sailors than merchants. Above that, when there are two slots with the same number available for placing a sailor, the rightmost slot must be taken. The same rule applies to merchants. (This rule is missing in the printed edition.)
Question: When a player removes his men from a ship, what happens to the other players' men?
Answer: The other players' dice shift right, so that the placement of the dice corresponds to the numbers of the slots again. Dice in the left half of the ship are moved towards the middle of the ship as far as possible; dice in the right half of the ship are moved right as far as possible (this rule is missing in the printed edition).
Question: What happens to the year marker on a contract, if the contract is taken over or secured with an earlier year marker?
Answer: The year marker which was on the contract before, is placed back on top of the board, so that it can be reused later for other contracts.
Phase 4: to the East and back (in the advanced game)
Question: What happens if you run aground after reaching a harbour?Answer: The harbors themselves (the encircled areas on the navigation sheets) are safe: as long as you stay inside the circle, you do not run aground, not even if you draw across the coast line (this is not explained in the printed rules). The other players may not say "Land Ho!" yet. Only if you draw on the land outside the circle, you run aground. In that case, the merchants can take in goods first; after that, a sailor falls overboard.
Question: Do you need to stop drawing exactly on the blue line, in order to sail home?
Answer: No. The printed rules are not correct. As soon as the skipper hits the blue line, the ships sails home automatically, whether he wants it or not. The other players are allowed to tell him. Any drawing after hitting the blue line is ignored.
Phase 5: sales (in the advanced game)
Question: Can contracts be fulfilled only in the exact year for which they were taken, or can they be fulfilled earlier?Answer: It is allowed to fulfill them earlier.
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