Section 3: Setup
- Place the starting tile face up near the center of the playing area. Leave ample room for the landscape to expand in every direction.
- Shuffle the remaining landscape tiles face down. Arrange them in several convenient stacks where all players can reach them.
- Each player chooses a color and takes all eight followers of that color.
- Each player places one follower on space 0 of the scoring track. The other seven followers form that player's personal supply.
- Choose a starting player by mutual agreement or a simple random method. Play proceeds clockwise.
Playing Area
Use a flat surface large enough to keep every tile aligned in a square grid. Tiles must touch edge to edge; they may not overlap, sit diagonally as their only connection, or be placed at an angle. Moving the entire landscape slightly to create room is acceptable if no connections are changed.
Information and Supplies
Followers in each player's supply should remain visible so everyone can tell how many are available. The face-down tile supply should not be inspected or sorted by artwork. Only the currently drawn tile is public information.
Starting Player Options
For a quick casual choice, let the youngest player begin, roll a die if one is available, or have each player draw a tile and compare an agreed feature. Return any drawn tiles and reshuffle before starting. The method used to select the first player has no effect on later rules.