Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
In 1845, Sir John Franklin led an expedition on behalf of the British Royal Navy to find and explore the last portion of the Northwest Passage, regardless of the cost.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Action Points
Spend a limited allowance of points across several possible actions each turn.
Map Addition
Expand the playable map by adding new tiles, regions, or spaces.
Set Collection
Gather related items that become more valuable when scored together.
Tile Placement
Place tiles to build a shared or personal spatial arrangement.
Read the full game description
In 1845, Sir John Franklin led an expedition on behalf of the British Royal Navy to find and explore the last portion of the Northwest Passage, regardless of the cost. The Royal Navy gave Franklin two heavy Ships (HMS Terror and HMS Erebus) filled with scientific equipment, 1000 books, a crew of 128 men, and enough food to last for three years. They left England in May and encountered whalers along the west coast of Greenland in August. There, they waited for more favorable weather conditions for the crossing of the Lancaster Sound. Once the weather improved, they sailed into unknown waters, and no one ever heard from them again... Their disappearance provoked a great deal of turmoil in public opinion, and numerous British and American expeditions attempted to find their trail. As leaders of these expeditions in Expedition: Northwest Passage, players must venture into these hazardous Arctic waters in order to discover Franklin's fate and succeed where he failed – by finding the Northwest Passage. Players allocate their crewmen in their ship or in their sled to perform various actions such as exploring, moving, or gathering clues on the whereabouts of the Franklin expedition. As the game progresses, the seasons will pass and parts of the sea will be frozen, blocking the way for the ships. Players acquire victory points by gathering clues, mapping the area, and – of course – discovering the Northwest Passage. However, in order to claim victory, one has to come back home to the Greenland on time!