v3.0 / 2026-03-27

Overview

The Caves Of Casadh is a game where players take on the role of spelunkers searching a cave system for hidden treasure and getting back out as safely as they can.

The game begins with all the spelunkers' pawns on the Base Camp Hex. From there, they Explore the caves, drawing new Hex tiles and expanding the game map. With each new Hex drawn, the explorer draws a Card, and the combination of the Hex's features and the Card's effects provide Treasures and Items to be collected, and potentially expose the spelunkers to Hazards and Misfortunes.

Hazards are cave-wide challenges for the spelunkers to avoid or confont (and mitigated by the use of various Items); they become more intense and more likely to affect more of the caves (and thus more of the spelunkers) as the game goes on. Misfortunes tend to be specific events which affect individual spelunkers (and can also be mitigated by use of various Items); they are described on their Cards.

Spelunkers collect these Treasures (and Items to help them) throughout the game, until they decide it's time to leave the caves with their haul. Spelunkers who stay too long in the caves run the risk of being killed by its various Hazards, which will greatly hamper the spelunker's final score. The spelunker with the greatest total value of Treasures by the end of the game is the winner.

• Components | Player Mat | Hexes | Effect Tokens | Special Hexes | Hex And Movement Examples | Cards | Items
• Setup
• Player Turns | Inside The Caves | Outside The Caves | Dying
• Hazards | Intensifying and Activating Hazards | Triggering Hazards
• Game End

	Player Mat	A place for each player to place the various Tokens their spelunker collects during the game. Also lists helpful turn summary and icon glossary.
	Pawns	Pawns represent the spelunkers' locations as they move through the map as the game progresses. One special pawn is used for the effects of hazards, as needed, as explained in the Hazards section.
	HP Tokens	HP Tokens represent the spelunkers' Health Points (HP); if a spelunker is ever reduced to 0HP, they die, as explained in the Player Turn section.
	Bag Of Fate	This is the bag that holds the treasure tokens. It may say "Crown Royal" on the side, but don't be fooled.
	Treasures	Treasures are gold discs numbered from 0-9, and these represent Victory Points in the game. There are 10 of each in the game, numbered 0-9. They are kept in, and drawn from, the Bag Of Fate.
	Hexes	These make up the board as the game progresses. They are divided into Levels; Level 0 Hexes are special, while Level 1 and Level 2 Hexes are drawn from piles during the game. Hexes contain many features, and these are detailed below. The Base Camp Hex also contains a directional indicator, which is used to determine randomly-rolled directions as needed throughout the game.
	Cards	Cards are drawn whenever a spelunker explores a new Hex; Level 1 Cards are drawn for Level 1 Hexes, and Level 2 Cards are drawn for Level 2 Hexes. Cards have many components, and these are explained later.
	Item Tokens	Square tokens with blue images. These represent the various Items which spelunkers may discover in the caves.
	Effect Tokens	Round tokens with red images. These represent active Hazards and other effects in the caves.
	Hazard Track	This tracks the intensity of various hazards in the caves. Each hazard has a Rating which tracks the likelihood of that hazard becoming Active as the game progresses.
	Die	This is rolled for various things as explained in the apropriate sections. When rolled for a random direction, the direction will be indicated by the corresponding arrow on the Base Camp Hex.

Each player uses a Player Mat during play to keep track of various aspects of their spelunker.

1	Item Locations	These represent the various Item Locations where the Items that the spelunker finds will be stored. These locations are the Head, Pack, Hands, Canteen, and Feet. Spelunkers begin the game with one Pack location, but may unlock another if they find the Heavy Pack; they then place the Heavy Pack token in the provided dashed space, where it becomes available as an additional Pack location. Items with Location specifiers on them must be placed into the indicated Location in order to be Active, meaning that the spelunker may use the item during their turn. Any Item, regardless of Location specifier, may be carried in the Pack or Hands; those without Location specifiers will be Active. For example, Boots must be worn on the Feet in order to be useful, but a spelunker could store their Boots in their Pack for later if they wished.
2	Health / Action Points	The spelunker's HP Tokens are placed here. These are slid up at the beginning of a player's turn, exposing the AP symbols, indicating that these AP are available during the turn. As the player spends AP on Actions, these are slid down to indicate that the AP has been spent. The dashed Rations Item slot is used in the event that a player uses the Rations Item during their turn. This Item token functions as an extra HP, though without the corresponding AP.
3	Treasure Tokens	The player's collected Treasure Tokens are kept here, face down.
4	Status Tokens	This is the area for any temporary Status Tokens affecting the player. If the player uses a Dynamite Item, it is moved here to indicate that the Dynamite will explode on the player's next turn (at which point is removed). If the player uses the Grue Repellent, it is moved here to represent that the spelunker is Grue-proof until the player's next turn. These are explained in more detail in the Actions section.
5	Turn Summary	This is a quick summary of the player's turn.
6	Icon Glossary	This is a glossary of the icons in the game. The Map section lists the icons found on Hexes, the Effects section shows Effect Tokens (round with red images), and the Items section lists the Item Tokens (square with blue images). The descriptions are terse, making references to the varoious Hazards and Misfortunes affected by the Item.

Hexes are hex tiles which make up the board as the game progresses. Each hex has passageways and areas which determine the topology of how spelunkers navigate their way through the caves. Each Hex has passageways on all six sides (which connect to adjacent Hexes once they're placed), and many contain other features. Many hexes have multiple passageways, and a spelunker can only be located in one of these. Some passageways are dead-ends, while others go over, under, or intersect with other passageways on the Hex.

Hexes may also display any of the following Icons, whose meanings are explained below.

	Level	This is the depth of the Hex. Most of the hexes are Level 1 and Level 2. Special Hexes, such as the Base Camp Hex, are Level 0. Levels are indicated by a pink circled number. The Level of the Hex determines which deck of Cards is drawn from when the Hex is revealed.
	Slope	Represented by green arrows. A spelunker may move from one passageway to another in the same Hex in the direction of the green arrow, but not against it. Spelunkers in possession of an active Rope Item are immune from this restriction.
	Hazard	These are represented by brown Hazard Icons. Whenever a spelunker enters a Hex with any Hazard Icons, those Hazards are intensified as explained in the Hazards section.
	Pool	Represented by blue concentric blobs. Any spelunker in the correct passageway on a Hex with with a Pool Icon immediately removes any Thirst! Misfortunes they may have, and may take a Water Item Token for free.
	Entrance	Represented by orange stars on one or more of their six sides. These restrict the orientation of newly placed Hexes; one of the starred edges must be aligned to the Hex which the Exploring spelunker came from (Exploring is explained in the Player Turn rules). If a Hex has more than one star, the player choses which of them to align. Spelunkers with an active Map Item are immune from this restriction.
	Location Marker	The location on the Hex where any Treasures or Items are located.
	Cave Painting	When this Hex is revealed, the Level 2 Hexes are shuffled into the Hex draw deck.

Hexes may contain Tokens which indicate effects taking place in the Hex. These are temporary effects, separate from the inherent qualities of the Hex. An Effect Token affects the entire Hex irrespective of topography.

Each Hazard has a corresponding Effect Token which, if present, represents that that Hazard is Active in that Hex, and that spelunkers entering the Hex will suffer its effects as described in the Hazard rules.

Other than Hazard Effect Tokens, some other Effect Tokens are listed below.

	Bats	A spelunker entering a Hex with this Effect Token takes -1HP. A spelunker with an active Helmet Item Token is immune from this effect.
	Methane	A spelunker entering a Hex with this Effect Token takes -1HP. A spelunker with an active Gas Mask Item Token is immune from this effect.
	Tremors	A spelunker entering a Hex with this Effect Token takes -1HP. A spelunker with an active Boots Item Token is immune from this effect.
	Grues	Moving into Hexes with Grues in them is more thoroughly detailed in the Actions section.
	Lit Dynamite	Another spelunker has dropped a stick of Dynamite in the affected Hex. A spelunker may attempt to defuse the dynamite by rolling the die; if the die roll is less than or equal to their current HP, then the Effect Token is removed back to the supply, and the defusing spelunker gains a Dynamite Item Token (unless they already have one). If the die roll is greater than the spelunker's current HP, then the dynamite goes off immediately as explained in the Upkeep Turn Rules.
	Lit Flare	Entry into the containing Hex costs 0MP, and Grues may not enter it.

There are a number of special Hexes (defined to be Level 0).

	Here is a typical Level 1 Hex. Orange can collect items and treasures, as well as take advantage of the water to remove the Thirst! Misfortunes, while Blue cannot. Legal exits are shown for the spelunkers as well.
	Were the Hex to contain a slope, Orange would be able to move as shown, though Blue's exits are still limited (unless they had a Rope).
	Some passages go over and under other passages on the same Hex which do not intersect one another. Exits for Orange and Blue are shown.

Whenever a new Hex is revealed during an Explore action, the revealing player draws a Card from the deck matching the Level of the revealed Hex (Level 1 Hexes get Level 1 cards, Level 2 Hexes get Level 2 cards). Each Card reveals the Move Cost, a number of Items and Treasures to be placed on the Hex, and may contain a Misfortune. Each of these things is described later in the rules.

	Move	The number of these icons is the AP cost applied to the spelunker for having explored the new Hex.
	Items	For each of these icons, randomly draw an Item and place it face-up in the new Hex.
	Treasure	The revealing player rolls the die, draws the indicated number of Treasure Tokens from the Bag Of Fate. They look at them all, keep one, and place the rest face-down in the new Hex.
!	Misfortune	These are listed in red text on cards with exclamation points. The current spelunker suffers the effects listed by the text on the Card. Misfortunes list conditions that allow the spelunker to Ignore the Misfortune. If the Misfortune lists Discard conditions, then the spelunker keeps the card, and continues to suffer its effects, until the Discard conditions are met. Spelunkers may be affected by any number of Misfortunes at the same time.

Items are gear which the spelunkers acquire while exploring the caves. Some immunize the spelunker from specific Hazards, some immunize the spelunker from specific Misfortunes, and others have other effects. They are revealed by Cards during the Explore action. They are represented by square tokens, and once acquired, must be assigned to one of the spelunker's Item Locations (Head, Hands, Feet, Canteen, or Pack). Only one item can be placed in each Item Location; if a spelunker obtains a Heavy Pack, it acts as a second Pack slot.

Items are either Active or Inactive; Active items may be used by the spelunker as listed, while Inactive items may be carried but not used. Items with gray Location icons must be assigned to the corresponding Item Location in order to be Active; item tokens with no Location icon can be placed in a Pack or Hands slot to be active.

Items with a boxed X are discarded when used, their effects being a one-time bonus.

Spelunkers in possession of a Brass Lantern or who have used Grue Repellent are considered to be Grue-Proof. This describes how spelunkers interact (or, specifically not interact) with any Grues in the caves, and is referenced in many sections of the rules.

	Bandages	Restores 1MP (and the associated AP) to the spelunker; the spelunker cannot exceed 4MP total.
	Battery	Immunizes the spelunker from the Flashlight Out! Misfortune. May also be discarded in place of the spelunker losing a random item (as per the Trip! Misfortune), or instead of discarding the Brass Lantern.
	Boots	The spelunker is immune from the Slip! Misfortune, and from Tremors effects.
	Brass Lantern	The spelunker is immune from the Flashlight Out! Misfortune, and is Grue-proof as long as the Brass Lantern is active.
	Coffee	The player gets one extra non-move AP per turn.
	Compass	Explore actions made by the spelunker always cost 1AP.
	Dynamite	When used, the spelunker places a Lit Dynamite Hazard Token to their hex. This is explained later.
	Flare	Once deployed to a hex, any move into that hex is free.
	Gas Mask	The spelunker is immune from Methane effects.
	Grue Repellent	When used, makes the spelunker Grue-proof until the Upkeep phase of their next turn. The Item Token is placed on the player's Player Mat to indicate this.
	Heavy Pack	The spelunker may carry a second item in their pack.
	Helmet	The spelunker is immune from the Bats effects.
	Knife	The spelunker is immune from the Stealing action.
	Map	The spelunker is immune from the Twisty Passages! misfortune, and ignores the orange star Hex placement restrictions during the Explore phase.
	Matches	Can only be used in a hex with a Methane Token. Ignites Methane, which is explained in the Player Turn section.
	Medkit	Restores the spelunker to full health (4HP), and removes all Poison effects.
	Pick	During the Explore phase, the spelunker may replace one of the drawn treasures with a random re-draw from the bag.
	Rations	Acts as a 5th HP for the spelunker, except without the associated AP. When used, the player places the Rations Token in the space provided on the Player Mat to indicate this.
	Rope	The spelunker may ignore slopes on hexes.
	Silver Ingot	This is a Treasure worth 8VP at the end of the game.
	Sports Drink	When used, gives the spelunker +2AP which must be used before the end of the player's turn.
	Trainers	The spelunker is immune from the Trip! Misfortune, and has one extra AP per turn which can only be used for Move actions.
	Water	The spelunker is immune from the Thirst! Misfortune. Any spelunker in a hex with a Pool may acquire one for free.

1. Find the Base Camp Hex, and place it more or less in the middle of the play area. Place the Collapsed Hexes to the side. Shuffle the Level 1 Hexes together, and place them face-down to create the Hex Draw Pile. Place the Level 2 Hexes nearby.
2. Place the Hazard Track and Surface Hex to the side of the main play area, out of the way but visible to all.
3. Place all Treasure Tokens in the Bag Of Fate, and give them a good shake. Draw and place a number of Treasure Tokens equal to twice the number of players, and place these face-up on the Surface Hex.
4. Each player takes a Pawn in their chosen color, and places it on the Base Camp Hex. Each player also takes a Player Mat, and places their 4 HP tokens on it.
5. Shuffle all the Cards together, and place them face-down to create the Card Draw Pile.
6. Randomize the Item Tokens and arrange them into face-down stacks to be drawn from.
7. Put a Hazard Token on each "0" spot on the Hazard Track.
8. Randomly determine the first player.

Play continues in turn until all spelunkers have either exited the cave or died, as explained below. Once the caves contain no living spelunkers, the game ends.

The procedure followed for each player's turn depends on whether they are still in the caves, or whether they have exited.

This is how all the players start out, naturally. The player's turn follows the phases below.

• Upkeep
  1. Any non-Grue-proof spelunker in a Hex with one or more Grues present must Flee. They must immediately move to a nearby Hex with no Grues, following normal Hex movement rules, suffering the effects of all Hazard Tokens in each Hex they enter and/or pass through in the process.
  2. The spelunker may freely shuffle all the Items they possess, assigning them to Item Locations as needed. The spelunker may also drop any and all Items they wish; these Items remain in their current Hex, possibly to be picked up later by any spelunker.
  3. If the spelunker did not have to flee, and their starting hex contains a Hazard Token, roll the die; if the die roll is greater than the spelunker's HP, they take the effects of the Hazard. Items protect as normal.
  4. The player slides all their current HP tokens on their Player Mat up to the AP position. This is how many AP they will have to spend during the turn.
  5. If the spelunker is Poisoned as the result of a Poisoned! Misfortune, roll the die. If the value is less than the spelunker's current HP, they suffer -1HP; if this roll is a 6, then the Poisoned! Misfortune Card is discarded.
  6. If the spelunker has a Grue Repellent Token on their Player Mat, it is removed.
  7. If the player had taken any Light Dynamite Actions on the previous turn, then the associated Lit Dynamite Tokens are removed from their Hexes, and those Hexes are replaced with Collapsed Hexes. All spelunkers in these hexes immediately die, all carried Items are returned to the supply, and all Treasure Tokens are returned to the Bag Of Fate.
• Actions - spelunkers can take any or all of the following Actions, so long as they have AP available to take them. In the AP costs below, a ⋆ indicates that the Action requires that the spelunker have at least 1AP in order to take, but the actual cost of the action may be different. A player may end their turn at any point, even if they have AP left. Any action labeled with ⊠ ends the player's turn after the action finishes.

  Move 1AP	The spelunker moves to an adjacent Hex, obeying any passage restrictons. If there are any Hazards are present (which the spelunker isn't immune from) in the hex being entered, the spelunker suffers the effects. If there are any Hazard Icons printed on the Hex, then those Hazards are Intensified as explained in the Hazard rules. If the spelunker is Grue-proof and enters a hex with a Grue in it, they move the Grue to another unoccupied Hex with a Grue Hazard Icon on it. If no such Hex exists, the Grue is removed from the map, and the Grue Hazard rating is increased by 1. If the spelunker ends their turn on the Base Camp Hex, they remove all Misfortunes they may have.
  Explore ⋆AP	The spelunker is exploring a new area of the caves, and follows this procedure. Move the spelunker to an adjacent empty space where a new Hex can be placed, obeying the same movement rules as per the Move Action above. Draw a Hex. The player places the Hex in the empty space where their spelunker is. Normally, the player may orient the hex however they choose, but if the Hex contains a starred entrance marker, this marker must face the Hex the spelunker came from; if the spelunker has an active Map, they are immune from this restriction. The spelunker's pawn is placed on the new Hex, obeying the movement rules. Draw a Card from the deck matching the Level of the new Hex. The Card will indicate the AP cost of moving into the Hex; if this leaves the spelunker with a negative amount of AP, then the spelunker simply ends up with 0AP. For spelunkers with an active Compass, this cost is always 1AP regardless of the AP cost listed on the card. If the Card contains a Misfortune, then it befalls the spelunker as explained. For each Item icon on the Card, an item is chosen at random from the supply and placed on the Hex. If the card has a Treasure listing, then the player rolls the die, and randomly draws the corresponding number of Treasure Tokens from the Bag Of Fate. The player looks at all of them, keeps one, and then places the rest face-down on the Hex. If the new Hex contains any Hazard icons, then those Hazards are intensified as explained in the Hazards section. If the newly-drawn Hex displays the Cave Painting icon, shuffle the Level 2 Hexes into the Hex Draw Pile.
  Collect Treasure 1AP	If there are any Treasure Tokens on the spelunker's Hex, and the spelunker is in a passageway with the location marker, the player picks them up, examines them, keeps one, and returns the rest face-down to the Hex.
  Collect Items ⋆AP ⊠	If the spelunker is in a passageway with the location marker, they may collect any and all items on their Hex (but may never have more than one of the same type).
  Steal 2AP	If a spelunker is in the same Hex as another spelunker, they may steal one Treasure Token at random from that spelunker and then immediately move to an adjacent hex (following normal movement rules and restrictions). Spelunkers with an active Knife Item are immune from being stolen from. Stealing is only available as an action after the first Level 2 Hex has been revealed.
  Drop Items 0AP	The spelunker may drop any or all items in their current Hex. These Items remain in this Hex, available for later pick-up by any spelunker.
  Use Item 1AP	Any Item with an X on it may be discarded back to the supply for its effect as listed in the Item descriptions. If Grue Repellent is used, the Item Token is moved to the Status Token area of the player's Player Mat. The spelunker is Grue-proof until their next Upkeep phase. If the Dynamite is used, the Item Token is moved to the Status Token area of the player's Player Mat, and and a Lit Dynamite Hazard Token is placed in their current Hex. If a Flare is used, the Item Token is discarded to the supply, and a Lit Flare Hazard Token is placed on the Hex. If the Matches are used in a Hex with a Methane Hazard Token, the Matches Item Token is discarded, and the methane is ignited. All Methane Hazard Tokens in this Hex and contiguous to it are affected; all spelunkers in the affected Hexes take -1HP, and all Grues in the affected area are removed. All the involved Methane Hazard Tokens are then removed from the map and returned to the supply.
  Exit Caves ⋆AP ⊠	If the spelunker is on the Base Camp Hex, they may leave the caves. Their pawn is moved to the Surface Hex for the remainder of the game, and they collect the highest two remaining treasures there. From this point on, the player follows the turn procedure for being Outside The Caves.

If a spelunker is out of the caves (ie, their pawn is on the Surface Hex), or the player's spelunker has died, the player follows this procedure.

1. First, the player rolls the die; if this roll is less than or equal to the number of players on the Surface Hex, then the player chooses one Brass Lantern currently owned by another player; that Brass Lantern is removed from that player and from the game.
2. Next, the player rolls the die a second time; if this roll is less than or equal to the number of players on the Surface Hex, then this affects the cave's Grues. If there are no Grues in the caves, the player chooses a Hex with a Grue icon, if one exists, and places a Grue Token there. If there are Grues in the caves, the player chooses one of them and moves it to any adjacent Hex (irrespective of any movement restrictons) or to any Hex with a Grue icon on it. This destination hex may not be the Base Camp Hex or a Hex with a Grue-proof spelunker in it. All spelunkers in the moved-to hex take 1HP damage. Any spelunkers reduced to 0HP die.

Any spelunker reduced to 0HP dies. Any Items they were carrying are deposited in their Hex, all their Treasure Tokens are returned to the Bag Of Fate. Their pawn is then moved to the Surface Hex, and they take the highest two Treasure Tokens there. They are now considered Out Of The Caves.

The Hazard Track represents the severity of the various hazards of exploring the caves. The severity of each is tracked separately on the Hazard Track; these begin at zero at the start of the game, and increase throughout the game. A Hazard is Active in a Hex if that hex contains an Effect Token of that Hazard.

	Bats	Any spelunker without wearing a Helmet entering a Hex with a Bats Token takes -1HP.
	Methane	Any spelunker without wearing a Gas Mask entering a Hex with a Methane Token takes -1HP.
	Tremors	Any spelunker without wearing Boots entering a Hex with a Tremors Token takes -1HP.
	Grues	Grues are affected by Grue-proof spelunkers. No non-Grue-proof spelunker can enter a Hex with a Grue Token; if a grue-proof spelunker enters a hex with a Grue Token, the player moves the Grue to an adjacent hex (which must not itself have any Grue-proof spelunkers in it). Each spelunker in a hex that a Grue moves to takes -1HP. If a Grue cannot move in this way, it is removed, and the Hazard Track Grues rating is increased by 1.

Whenever a hex is revealed during an Explore action which has a hazard icon on it, that hazard is Intensified; if there are multiple Hazard Tokens, the indicated Hazards are intensified as indicated. Intensifying a hazard involves raising the rating of that Hazard, and then rolling a die; if the die roll is less than the current rating of the Hazard, the Hazard is Activated, which means that all Hexes with icons of that Hazard get a corresponding Hazard Token placed on them.

For example, if a spelunker takes an Explore action, and the revealed hex shows a Bats Icon, then the Bats Hazard rating is increased by 1, say from 3 to 4. Then the die is rolled, and if the die is less than 4, then all revealed Hexes with Bats Icons on them recieve a Bats Effects Token. There are now bats in these hexes. If, later, another Hex with a Bats Icon appears, the Hazard is again intensified, but if the die roll isn't less than the new rating, then no new bats appear, though any existing Bats Effect Tokens remain.

The regular effect of active Hazards (that is, Hexes with Hazard Effect Tokens in them) is that a spelunker without the correct protection entering such a Hex recieves -1HP. A spelunker wearing a Helmet is immune from Bats, a spelunker wearing a Gas Mask is immune from Methane, and a spelunker wearing Boots is immune from Tremors. Grue-proof Spelunkers are protected from Grues.

In addition to these map exploration and movement effects, Cards may occasionally cause Hazards to be Triggered, representing more a more aggressive effect of the Hazard. While the normal Hazard intensification and activation affects the map as a whole, a triggered hazard represents a specific instance of a hazard in a specific hex.

When a hazard is triggered, the Hazard Pawn is placed on the affected hex. Any spelunker currently on that hex suffers the effects of the hazard as normal, even if they had already suffered the effects when they entered the Hex. The further effects depend on the type of hazard.

For Bats and Tremors, roll the die, and move the Hazard Pawn in the direction indicated by the arrows on the Base Camp Hex; any spelunkers in this new hex are affected by the hazard as normal. Repeat this procedure as many times as the hazard's severity on the Severity Track. If the Hazard Pawn is moved off of the map (ie, in a direction in which there is no hex), the effect ends.

For Methane, roll the die and determine the adjacent hex by refering to the directional arrows on the Base Camp Hex. This hex gains a Methane Token.

Once all spelunkers have either died or left the caves, the game ends. The player with the largest total value of Treasure Tokens (and Silver Ingot Items) is the winner. If there is a tie, the player with the higher HP wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the least amount of Item Tokens wins.