From the introduction: The year is 1773. A royally chartered French ship named the Fleur-de-lis is sailing the Indian Ocean heading south and is just about to cross the 45th Parallel. Captain Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec, a Breton adventurer and former privateer, commands the ship and is the appointed leader of this expedition. His second in command is Pierre Armand Baudin, First Mate of the Fleur-de-lis. A naturalist also joined them in the dangerous voyage: a young Picard scholar named Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck (also known as "Lamarck"). At the onset of the game, the players themselves know next to nothing about the expedition’s goals, destination, planned route or just about anything else. As the game progresses, things will get even murkier in this regard, but sudden glimpses of understanding will reveal part of what’s happening behind the scenes – at least, until those "truths" are in turn discovered to be an intricate web of lies. User summary: The game is for exactly three players. Cards simulate random events. A die roll simulates individual fortune. Coins are used to track individual health and wellness.