by jerryjkd
Here are the rules as per Antoine Bauza's blog (see www.antoinebauza.fr/?p=3239). With respect to M. Bauza I have made minor grammatical emendations to his words.Rules:
At the beginning of the game, before playing his first move, Eriku can draw the first Meal card and buy it to add it to his collection. He scores 6 points like for other Meal cards. This action is not mandatory.
At the other Inns, Eriku can also look at the first card of the pile and choose to buy it instead of one of the regular Meal cards.
Backstory:
Eriku is a friendly wink to Eric Burgess (host of the podcast Boardgame Babylon). When I came to the Strategicon convention in Los Angeles, in 2012, I taught Eric Tokaido. The game pleased him, so he decided to explain the rules to other players during the event. I caught him at one of his explanations, committing a small rule mistake: he indicated that travelers took a meal at the beginning of the game, the relay station of departure. I then politely interrupted him, saying, "No, Eric, travelers do not eat before starting their journey, this first meal must be earned!" To which he replied, "Of course we eat before starting the trip, we are Americans ain’t we!" The character Eriku was born shortly after. :)