Spreading out to as many islands as possible! - AEG
The Islanders of the Pacific Ocean are famous for their exploration of island chains, and this faction will do just that. Not only landing on unexplored bases, but discovering all-new bases that weren’t even in play yet! Not only that, but these voyagers channel the power of their tattoos to gain even greater power. You’re welcome!
- - World Tour: Culture Shock rulebook
The Polynesian Voyagers are one of the 5 factions from the World Tour: Culture Shock set.
They focus on moving around and spreading over several bases, even playing additional bases in order to increase their coverage, and on play-on-minion actions that allow them to move around and/or gaining power if they are alone on their base.
Other factions from the same set: Anansi Tales, Ancient Incas, Grimms’ Fairy Tales, Russian Fairy Tales.
Name[]
This faction is called "Polynesian Voyagers" in the rulebook and on the divider included in this set. However, AEG's product page for this set calls this faction "Polynesians".
Cards[]
The Polynesian Voyagers have the usual 10 minions and 10 actions. The total minion base power (not counting any abilities) is unusually high at 34 or an average of 3.4 per minion compared to the usual 30 and 3. There are several minions and actions that can boost the power of minions beyond their base value.
Among their actions, there are:
- 5 play-on-minion actions: Ocean Tattoo, Shark Tattoo (2x), Sun Tattoo (2x),
- 0 play-on-base actions,
- 5 standard actions (2 that affect one or more minions, in bold): Growth of the Tribes, Knowledge of the Tribes, Tattoo Artist, Unity of the Tribes, Volcanic Uprising,
- 4 actions that directly increase a minion's power: Shark Tattoo (2x), Sun Tattoo (2x).
Minions[]
1x Maui - power 5 - Play up to two bases from the top of the base deck. Talent: Move one of your minions to a base where you have no minions. FAQ
2x Wayfinder - power 4 - Talent: Move this minion to a base where you have no minions to place a +1 power counter on it. FAQ
3x Tiki - power 3 - Ongoing: If this minion has an action on it, it has +2 power. FAQ
4x Mo’ai - power 3 - Ongoing: Other players cannot move their minions to this base or move this minion to another base. FAQ
Actions[]
1x Growth of the Tribes - Choose a base where you have no minions. Play an extra minion there immediately or move one of your minions to there. FAQ
1x Knowledge of the Tribes - Draw a card for each base where you have a minion. FAQ
1x Ocean Tattoo - Play on one of your minions at a base with no other player’s minions. Talent: Move this minion to another base to place a +1 power counter on it. FAQ
2x Shark Tattoo - Play on one of your minions. Place a +1 power counter on it. Ongoing: At the start of your turn, if this is your only minion here, place a +1 power counter on this minion. FAQ
2x Sun Tattoo - Play on one of your minions. Ongoing: This minion has +2 power. Special: After a base scores you may play this card on one of your minions there with no actions on it to move it to another base instead of the discard pile. FAQ
1x Tattoo Artist - Search your deck and/or discard pile for an action that can be played on a minion and place it into your hand or play it as an extra action. FAQ
1x Unity of the Tribes - Choose a base where you have a minion. Gain +2 power there for each base where you have at least one minion until the end of the turn. FAQ
1x Volcanic Uprising - Play the top card of the base deck and you may move one of your minions to it, OR destroy a base with no player’s minions on it and replace it with two bases. FAQ
Bases[]
Clarifications[]
Here are the official clarifications as they appear in the World Tour: Culture Shock rulebook:
Tattoo Artist: Cards that specify how to choose the extra card require you to play it immediately.
Volcanic Uprising, Maui: Each of these cards can increase the number of bases in the game.
Mechanics[]
The Polynesian Voyagers' main focus is spreading over as many bases as possible. As such, most of their abilities have to do with moving your minions, especially to bases where you don't already have a minion, sometimes gaining +1 power counters at the same time. Since the number of bases limit that aspect, they are also able to put new bases into play, forever increasing the number of bases in play for the rest of the game.
As a secondary focus, they get benefits out of "tattoos", i.e. play-on-minion actions, each of them giving them extra power in some ways. In particular, Ocean Tattoo complement their abilities to move, while Shark Tattoos incite you to leave the minions alone on their bases.
External Strategy Guides[]
FAQ[]
Questions on Maui[]
Q: If I use Maui's ability and bring new bases into play, do I replace the next base that scores as usual or do I ignore replacing it like what Weird New Worlds does?
A: It is replaced normally, so using Maui's ability increases the number of bases for the rest of the game.
Q: If I keep playing and replaying Maui, that means I can add lots of bases, right? That's so broken.
A: Remember that when you use Maui's on-play ability, you can absolutely choose to put zero bases into play since it says "up to two bases". Though, if you don't, that would be exactly what would happen.
Q: It tells me to move "one of my minions". Can I move a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: I can move my minion to a base where I have no minions. Do bases where there are only minions I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?
A: Yes. "Where you have no minions" means "where you don't control any minions (whether or not you own them)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Q: Can you move a minion from stasis to a base?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.
Questions on Wayfinder[]
Q: I can move my minion to a base where I have no minions. Do bases where there are only minions I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?
A: No. "Where you have no minions" means "where you don't control any minions (whether or not you own them)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Q: If Wayfinder's ability is cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed on it by its own ability removed?
A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled). Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Wayfinder's ability and which ones were not (e.g. placed by Ocean Tattoo or Shark Tattoo)? That would be very cumbersome.
Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: What happens if Wayfinder can't be moved (e.g. because of Entangled or Little Bo Peep?
A: Then you can't move Wayfinder, and because you can't move Wayfinder, you don't place a +1 power counter on it either because Wayfinder is a "Do X to do Y" ability, which means you have to move the minion to have it gain a +1 power counter. If the minion can't be moved, no +1 power counter.
Questions on Tiki[]
Q: Does Tiki's ability turn off if it has two or more actions attached to it? Or does it get +2 power per action attached to it?
A: As long as there's at least one action attached to it, it gets +2 power. If there are more than one action on it, it will neither turn off the ability, nor give additional power boosts.
Questions on Mo’ai[]
Q: It prevents other players from moving "their minions". Does it also prevent them from moving minions they own but don't control?
A: No. "Their minions" are minions they control, whether or not they own them. A minion they own but don't control isn't theirs.
Questions on Growth of the Tribes[]
Q: It tells me to move "one of my minions". Can I move a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: I can play or move my minion to a base where I have no minions. Do bases where there are only minions I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?
A: No. "Where you have no minions" means "where you don't control any minions (whether or not you own them)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Q: Can you move a minion from stasis to a base?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action and if it moves one of your minions away from Funky Town, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action.
Questions on Knowledge of the Tribes[]
Q: I need to count the bases where I have at least one minion. Do bases where there are only minions I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?
A: No. "Where you have at least one minion" means "where you control at least one minion (whether or not you own it)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Q: After playing this card, I have more than 10 cards in hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Ocean Tattoo[]
Q: It says to play it on "one of my minions". Can I play it on a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: If Ocean Tattoo is removed from play (e.g. destroyed, returned, etc.) or has its ability cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed by its ability removed?
A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled). Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Ocean Tattoo's ability and which ones were not (e.g. placed by Shark Tattoo or Wayfinder)? That would be very cumbersome.
Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: What happens if the minion with Ocean Tattoo can't be moved (e.g. because of Entangled or Little Bo Peep?
A: Then you can't move the minion, and because you can't move it, you don't place a +1 power counter on it either because Ocean Tattoo is a "Do X to do Y" ability, which means you have to move the minion to have it gain a +1 power counter. If the minion can't be moved, no +1 power counter.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Play on one of your minions", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Shark Tattoo[]
Q: It says to play it on "one of my minions". Can I play it on a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: It needs to be "my only minion". If there is a minion there that I own but don't control, does it prevent Shark Tattoo's ability? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: If Shark Tattoo is removed from play (e.g. destroyed, returned, etc.) or has its ability cancelled, are the +1 power counters placed by its ability removed?
A: No. When you place a +1 power counter, it's a definitive effect, so the +1 power counters remain even if the card that placed them has its ability cancelled (like drawing cards, if you play Enchantress, you're not going to discard the card you drew if Enchantress's ability is cancelled). Besides, how are you going to keep track of which +1 power counters were added by Shark Tattoo's ability and which ones were not (e.g. placed by the other Shark Tattoo or Ocean Tattoo)? That would be very cumbersome.
Rule: Cancelling (or losing) an effect does not necessarily undo what it did.
Rule: Removing a card from play does not necessarily undo what it did.
Q: Can you play it on a minion in stasis?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Play on one of your minions", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Sun Tattoo[]
Q: It says to play it on "one of my minions". Can I play it on a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: I don't get its Special ability. Why doesn't moving the minion Sun Tattoo's on-play ability?
A: That's right, moving the minion only happens when you play Sun Tattoo as a Special after-scoring card, not when you play Sun Tattoo normally.
Q: Is the restriction about the minion not having actions on it only for when Sun Tattoo is played as a Special and not when it is played normally?
A: That's correct, when played normally, you can play Sun Tattoo on any of your minions, but when played as a Special, the minion must be on the scoring base and not have actions on it alread.
Q: Can you play it on a minion in stasis?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.
Q: Can I play it from stasis after a base scores?
A: No, while in stasis, the only abilities that can do anything are the ones that explicitly state that they do something there.
Rule: Abilities of cards in stasis do not work unless they refer to stasis.
Q: My Cyberback has no actions played on it. After its base scores, can I play Sun Tattoo on Cyberback from my discard pile and move it to another base?
A: No, Cyberback doesn't make actions in your discard pile playable, it just makes it so when you get an action play, you can spend it to play an action from your discard pile instead of from your hand. Sun Tattoo, as is the case for the majority of the Special cards except when clearly stated in their abilities, only become playable when they are in your hand. If it's not in your hand, it cannot become playable by its own ability and if it can't become playable, Cyberback can't allow you to play it.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it says "Play on one of your minions", which means that it is not a standard action.
Questions on Tattoo Artist[]
Q: It's so broken! It doesn't tell me to prove that I picked an action that can be played on a minion, so I can cheat, put any action or even a strong minion in my hand and nobody can check if I did it, right?
A: Actually, when you search your deck for a card, it is now part of the rules that you have to reveal the searched card.
Rule: If you “search” a deck or discard pile for a card you must reveal the card chosen.
Q: It doesn't say to shuffle my deck, so I don't have to shuffle it at all, right?
A: No, you have to shuffle your deck because you searched through it. That's now an integral part of the rules.
Q: After playing this card, I (somehow) have more than 10 cards in hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own and choose to place it into my hand, what happens?
A: It goes to its owner's hand. That's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play, even though playing the action may indirectly affect a minion, and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Unity of the Tribes[]
Q: I need to count the bases where I have at least one minion. Do bases where there are only minions I own but don't control also count? I don't control them but I "own" them, so I "have" them, right?
A: No. "Where you have at least one minion" means "where you control at least one minion (whether or not you own it)". Minions you just own but don't control don't count.
Q: After I play this card, if the number of bases where I have minion changes, does it change the boost I got?
A: No, the power boost remains the same, it's not adjusted to match the new number of bases where you have minions.
Rule: On-play abilities are resolved only once and have no further effect.
Q: After I play this card, if I lose my minions that were on the base I chose for Unity of the Tribes, do I lose the power boost as well? If the base then scores as it is, do I still get any VPs?
A: No, the power boost was determined when you played the card and so will remain until the end of the turn. And yes, you are still eligible for VP since you have at least 1 power there.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: It doesn't interact with them at all, because it doesn't affect any minions in play and so its effect can't be copied.
Questions on Volcanic Uprising[]
Q: If I use Volcanic Uprising's ability and bring new bases into play, do I replace the next base that scores as usual or do I ignore replacing it like what Weird New Worlds does?
A: It is replaced normally, so using Volcanic Uprising's ability increases the number of bases for the rest of the game.
Q: If I keep playing and replaying Volcanic Uprising, that means I can add lots of bases, right? That's so broken.
A: Yes, that would be exactly what would happen.
Q: It tells me to move "one of my minions". Can I move a minion I own that I don't control? I don't control it but I "own" it, so it's "my" minion, right?
A: No. "Your minions" are minions you control, whether or not you own them. A minion you own but don't control isn't yours.
Q: What does Volcanic Uprising's second option do to actions on the base?
A: They are discarded.
Q: What does Volcanic Uprising's second option do to monsters?
A: Since the previous base left play, all attachments on it are discarded and that includes monsters as well.
Q: Can you move a minion from stasis to a base?
A: No, cards in stasis cannot be affected by cards that do not explicitly state they work on cards in stasis.
Q: How does this interact with the Disco Dancers' mechanic and Funky Town's ability?
A: - If Diva copies it, Diva is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that affecting an additional minion doesn't retroactively make you play an another new base; that part is already resolved.
- If Dancing King copies it onto a minion (it can be itself), that minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player. Also note that affecting an additional minion doesn't retroactively make you play an another new base; that part is already resolved.
- If We are Family copies it, the minion it is on is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that while the action is restricted to a minion controlled by the action player, the effect's copy still works if applied to a minion not controlled by that player. Also note that affecting an additional minion doesn't retroactively make you play an another new base; that part is already resolved.
- With Funky Town, you can only copy it if you're the one who played the action and if it moves one of your minions away from Funky Town, but if Funky Town does copy it, the minion is considered as indirectly affected by the action and is moved to the same base as the minion that was directly affected by the action. Note that affecting an additional minion doesn't retroactively make you play an another new base; that part is already resolved.
Trivia[]
- The artist is Francisco Rico Torres, who also designed the art of many other factions, including the Ancient Incas in this very set.
- Within the World Tour series, this faction represents Polynesia.
- Their divider features Maui.
- This is the first faction to have three bases associated with it, compared to the regular number of two bases.
- Wayfinder and Maui are references to Moana.
- A Penguin, most notably a Surfing Penguin can be seen in the sea in Growth of the Tribes.
- Sun Tattoo is the first action with an additional effect when played as a Special and not when played as normal.
In other languages[]
| Language | Name | Translation (if different) |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 波利尼西亞航海者 | |
| French | Voyageurs Polynésiens | |
| German | Polynesische Reisende | |
| Russian | Полинезийские мореплаватели | Polynesian Sailors |
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