We ran into an end-game issue that seemed to spoil the gameplay a bit. This was a two player game but it seems like it could happen with any number of players.
The situation was that one player had no more explorers to move while another still had some explorers to try to recover. This meant the one player could use all three movements every turn to move the empty boats away without any risk or cost to them since they had already retrieved or lost all their explorers. There was then no possibility for the second player to try to move an empty boat to pick up their remaining explorers since the boat would be moved back away again before they could use it. Their only option would be to swim for it.
We decided this was spoiling gameplay and played by a rule where you can no longer control empty boats once you’ve rescued all your remaining explorers. You can of course continue to manipulate the monsters and choose tiles to remove. You can also keep a survivor right on the edge of an island and still move the empty boats to interfere with the other player(s) because you’re risking that the volcano will erupt before you can save your last explorer.
Thoughts? Is there a rule clarification that addresses this situation?
The situation was that one player had no more explorers to move while another still had some explorers to try to recover. This meant the one player could use all three movements every turn to move the empty boats away without any risk or cost to them since they had already retrieved or lost all their explorers. There was then no possibility for the second player to try to move an empty boat to pick up their remaining explorers since the boat would be moved back away again before they could use it. Their only option would be to swim for it.
We decided this was spoiling gameplay and played by a rule where you can no longer control empty boats once you’ve rescued all your remaining explorers. You can of course continue to manipulate the monsters and choose tiles to remove. You can also keep a survivor right on the edge of an island and still move the empty boats to interfere with the other player(s) because you’re risking that the volcano will erupt before you can save your last explorer.
Thoughts? Is there a rule clarification that addresses this situation?