How to play

Hexlands is a race to a target score (10 points on the classic island). You score by building settlements and cities, and by holding special cards. Everything you build is paid for with resources that the island produces: lumber, brick, wool, grain and ore.

New here? Start the guided lesson below: you play a real game against two bots while a coach walks you through every move, from placing your first settlement to building a city. The rules follow underneath if you'd rather read.

The island

The board is made of hexagonal tiles. Each land tile produces one resource and carries a number token from 2 to 12.

Tile	Produces
Forest	Lumber
Hills	Brick
Pasture	Wool
Fields	Grain
Mountains	Ore
Desert	Nothing (the robber starts here)

The dots under a number show how likely it is to be rolled: 6 and 8 (in red) come up most often, 2 and 12 least. A tile with five dots pays out about five times in every 36 rolls.

Setting up

Every player places two settlements, each with a road next to it. Placement goes around the table and then back again in reverse, so the last player places twice in a row. Your second settlement gives you one of each resource from the tiles around it.

Settlements sit on the corners where tiles meet. Two buildings can never be on neighbouring corners: there must always be at least one empty corner between them.

Your turn

Step by step: a turn

1. Tap Roll. Watch the board: tiles with the rolled number light up and cards fly to whoever has a building on them.
2. Look at your hand. Can you afford something from the table below? The build buttons light up when you can.
3. Short of one card? Tap Trade and swap 4 of a card you have plenty of for the one you need.
4. Build: pick Build road, Build settlement or Build city, then tap a glowing spot on the board.
5. Tap End turn. The bots (or your friends) take theirs, and you collect on their rolls too.

1. Roll the dice. Every settlement next to a tile with the rolled number takes one of its resource; a city takes two. This happens for every player, not only you.
2. Trade. Offer trades to other players, or trade with the bank: 4 of one resource for 1 of any other. A settlement on a harbor improves that rate: a 3:1 harbor works for any resource, a 2:1 harbor for one resource.
3. Build. Spend your resources (see below), as many times as you can afford.
4. End your turn.

Building costs

Build	Cost	Worth
Road		Connects your buildings; counts toward the longest route
Settlement		1 point; must touch one of your roads
City		2 points; upgrades one of your settlements
Development card		A secret card (see below)

You have 15 roads, 5 settlements and 4 cities. A city returns its settlement to your supply, so you can build it again.

Rolling a 7 and the robber

Step by step: you rolled a 7

1. If you hold more than 7 cards, pick half of them to give back.
2. Tap a tile to move the robber there. Choose a tile where an opponent has a building, ideally one with a 6 or an 8.
3. If more than one player is next to it, pick who to steal from. You get one random card from them.

Nobody produces on a 7. Instead:

• Everyone holding more than 7 cards discards half of them (rounded down).
• The player who rolled moves the robber to another tile and steals one random card from a player with a building next to it.

The robber blocks its tile: it produces nothing until the robber moves away.

Development cards

Card	Copies	Effect
Knight	14	Move the robber and steal a card
Road building	2	Place two roads for free
Year of plenty	2	Take any two resources from the bank
Monopoly	2	Every player gives you all their cards of one resource
Victory point	5	Worth 1 point, kept hidden

You can play one development card per turn, but not one you bought this turn. Knights can be played before you roll.

Special cards

• Longest route (2 points): the first player with a continuous road of 5 or more. Another player takes it by building a longer one.
• Largest army (2 points): the first player to play 3 knights. Another player takes it by playing more.

Winning

The game ends as soon as a player reaches the target score on their own turn. Victory point cards count, even though nobody else can see them.