Lost Cities
At the table · 30 min
Score the most across three expedition rounds.
Play an investment or a higher-numbered card to an expedition, or discard, then draw.
When the deck empties, score routes after their entry cost and investment multipliers.
The expedition deck
60 cards · five routes · three rounds
The base expedition
Lost Cities is a two-player card game played over three rounds. This table uses the five-expedition base game: Desert, Rainforest, Ocean, Volcano, and Mountains. Each expedition has numbered cards 2–10 and three wager cards. Both players start each round with eight private cards.
On your turn
First play one card to your own matching expedition, or place it face up on that expedition’s discard pile. Then draw one card from the face-down deck or the top of any discard pile. You cannot draw back the card you just discarded. Playing a card to your expedition starts that route or adds to it; numbered cards must increase. Wagers can only be placed before that route’s first number.
Risk and scoring
An expedition you started scores its numbered values minus 20. One, two, or three wagers multiply that result by ×2, ×3, or ×4; a negative score grows too. A route with at least eight cards gains a separate 20-point bonus after multiplying. Unstarted routes score zero, even if you kept cards of that colour in hand.
Three rounds
A round ends the moment the last card is drawn from the deck. Add every expedition’s score, then shuffle a fresh deck and deal eight new cards each. The higher scorer starts the next round. After three rounds, add the round scores; the higher total wins, or share a tie.
Based on the five-expedition base rules of Reiner Knizia’s Lost Cities. Official Thames & Kosmos rulebook. Card artwork credits are recorded with the game assets.