Eternal Decks · Board game rules
how does the 4th lap camp work
Quick answer
When the top Field row is cleared for the 4th time, the CAMP Bonus Card is immediately played into one of the other two rows, changing that row's placement rules to CAMP for its remaining cards.
Details
The 4th Lap Bonus only triggers on the row's 4th clear — Eternals are Revived on laps 1-3, but on lap 4 you get a special bonus instead [p.14 — Update the Field card within the row]. For the top row, the bonus is the CAMP Bonus Card: as soon as the top row is cleared a 4th time, you must immediately play this card into either the middle or bottom row [p.14 — 4th Lap Bonus]. From that point on, the placement rules for the rest of that row change to CAMP rules (meaning only the Common Placement Rules apply — no ascending/descending/color-order restrictions) [p.14 — 4th Lap Bonus].
In the rulebook's example, the Yellow player plays a yellow 9 to the top row, clearing it for the 4th time. This triggers the bonus, and the Yellow player immediately plays the CAMP Bonus Card into the middle row (which was CAVE). From that point forward, for the three remaining spaces in that row, the placement rule becomes CAMP instead of CAVE [p.14 — 4th Lap Bonus].
Once the row that received the CAMP Bonus Card is later cleared, the CAMP Bonus Card itself is moved to the Discard Area along with the other played cards in that row [p.14 — 4th Lap Bonus].
Watch out: If a Field row reaches its own 4th clear before you've placed the CAMP Bonus Card there, that row closes instead — cards stop being playable there, and the row's Field Card is set aside (face down in the Bonus Area, or to the Discard Area for the middle row) [p.14 — Closing Rows]. Plan where you play the CAMP Bonus Card before rows close!