Balboa - A solo exploration pocket mini-zine

September 1513. From Santa María la Antigua del Darién, Vasco Núñez de Balboa sets out with some 190 Spaniards and hundreds of Indigenous guides and porters. The caciques speak of another sea beyond the mountains: the South Sea. You lead the crossing. Balboa is a solo exploration game in an 8-page mini zine format. Explore a hex map of the isthmus, drawing jungles, rivers, highlands and settlements as you go, and reach three milestones: Ponca's Pass, the Summit, and the shore of the South Sea. What's inside A two-page map of Darién where you draw your own route "Higher or lower" challenges with a single die Health, Supplies and Prestige to manage Villages and chiefdoms where you share food, rest, and earn a guide or a canoe What you need The printed zine, a pencil, an eraser and one six-sided die. Format A single Letter-size sheet that folds and cuts into a mini zine. Historical note The 1513 crossing was only possible thanks to the guides, porters and caciques of the isthmus, such as Careta and Ponca, and it was also marked by violence against their peoples. This game focuses on the journey: the challenges are the jungle, the rivers and the mountains; the peoples are never enemies. Inspired by Jungle Terra (longgames) and 1572: The Lost Expedition (Mike Heiman)