In Taluva, players attempt to successfully
settle a South Sea island slowly emerging from the ocean waters as
volcano after volcano erupts.
Each turn, players decide to either have a new volcano erupt along
the shore, increasing the size of the island, or to have an existing
volcano erupt again, increasing the height of the land around it (and
possibly destroying parts of existing settlements). They do this by
placing a new tile, consisting of one volcano and two other types of
landscape. A tile must always touch at least one other tile, when placed
at sea level, or be placed on top of at least two other tiles (without
any gaps under the land being created), with the volcano being placed on
top of an existing volcano.
Next, the player will place one or more wooden buildings; huts, temples
or towers. Settlements must always start at the lowest level, by placing
a single hut. From there on, existing settlements may expand by placing
huts on all hexes of a single type of terrain around the settlement,
with temples once the settlement takes up at least three hexes, or with
towers, placed at level three or above.
The game ends when all tiles have been placed. At that point, the
player who's placed most temples wins. Ties are broken by towers, then
huts. Ultimate victory - and an immediate end to the game - waits for
the player who manages to place all their buildings of two types.
Immediate defeat is also possible, when no buildings can legally be
played during a player's turn.
A lot of strategy results from the various placement rules. Volcanoes
may never fully destroy a settlement, so single huts can block volcano
placement, protecting other settlements. Alternatively, a well placed
volcano can split a large settlement in two, creating the opportunity
for both to expand more rapidly than a new settlement would. Limiting
your opponent's growth potential is at least as important as preparing
the terrain for you to expand upon...