May I ask why Exploration only got the lowest rating? I immediately thought of the interaction with Mission and maybe you don't count in-game associations but if so it make sense that something that rewards you for.. exploring.. the possibilities of the kingdom if you can't buy cards have that kind of name. I think it isworthy of a **-rating at least, more than that is a bit of a stretch for sure, but I still like the name of the card pretty much theme-wise.
I do count in-game associations, and that counted against Exploration for me. The card whose name is most closely related to Exploration is Explorer, a Silver gainer, which has nothing to do with the effect of Exploration. Meanwhile, the existing
effect that's most similar to Exploration, in my opinion, is Baths, which is highly thematic—take the day off, don't do anything, just sit around in the hot tub, you'll feel better. Thematically, Exploration is the opposite of Baths—heading out into the perilous unknown, versus sitting safe and sound in a comforting bath—so it seems odd to me that it should also be a "get tokens for not doing anything" effect.
I dunno, I guess Hermit is another potential comparison point—he goes mad if he doesn't buy anything, i.e., if he doesn't, like, engage in his daily routine and interact with other people? And so Exploration is, like, deliberately departing from your daily routine, and getting some resources out of it? I dunno, maybe it could be a *½, but it just doesn't really hang together for me.
