- 60 spaceships
- 26 planets
- 6x Dwarf planets (value of 4)
- 6x Ring Planets (value of 5)
- 4x Habitable Planet (value of 6)
- 4x Gaseous Planets (value of 7)
- 4x Lunar Planets (value of 8)
- 2x Stars (value of 9)
- 12 supply stations
- 6 reminder cards
This game is about war, and the only way to win is by claiming stars and planets for your empire. In order to do so, you deploy your armada in the galaxy - destroy enemy ships, expand your empire, and claim the spoils of war for yourself.
##Objectives The game ends when all star(s) have been claimed, at which time players will count the number of planets they have conquered - each conquered planet is worth 1 point, each conquered star is worth 2 points. Some combinations may yield bonuses (see scoring section of this rule booklet)
- Pick a map (see appendix section of this booklet - advanced players may choose to create their own map).
- Place planets on the playing field in accordance with the selected map configuration (from now on we will refer to this setting as, the "galaxy"). Any unused planet can be removed from the game.
- Shuffle the spaceship cards and place them face down next to the galaxy.
- Players determine the order in which they will play. The player who most recently went in space starts... otherwise we assume you are smart enough to figure out a way to select who goes first... if not the player on your left is the first player.
- The first player draws 1 spaceship card. The second player draws 2 spaceship cards. The third player draws 3 spaceship cards. And so on and so forth, up to 6 spaceship cards.
- Each player is randomly assigned a total of 2 quest cards. Each card allows player to score additional points. Quest cards are placed faced down in front of each player and can only be looked at by their owner.
Planets and spaceships have a set number of resistance points attributed to them (that is, how much damage they can sustain before being conquered). The number of resistance points is clearly identified in the #$^#% symbol on each card.
Spaceships deal damage in one or more directions. The strength and direction of the damage dealt is displayed on the cards in the #%^$%&^ symbols.
Most planets are equipped with forcefields to protect them from invaders. Forcefields block all damage dealt in their direction, and can be identified on the border of planet cards with the following symbol %^$%^
A planet or spaceship is conquered when it receives damage greater or equal to its resistance points.
Once played, players do not own spaceships. They deal their damage as indicated, regardless of who's turn it is. Planets, stars, and spaceships are conquered by whomever is currently the active player.
Throughout the game, players will accumulate cards. They can either be;
- Spaceships drawn from the draw pile, placed in player's hand,
- Claimed planets and stars, placed next to the player in the scoring pile,
- Claimed spaceships, placed next to the player in the salvage yard.
If at any time during his turn the player has no remaining cards in his hand, he draws 5 spaceship cards from the spaceship draw pile.
For those of you who do better with visual support - you may refer to the illustrative examples in the right margin of this page.
A player's turn is played in 6 steps. Once a turn is completed, the player to his left begins his.
- Deployment
- Special powers
- Damage
- Conquer
- Play Again
- Discard
During this step, the player must deploy a spaceship from his hand into the galaxy. Spaceships may only be played next to another card. Additionally, they may not be placed in a position where they would sustain damage greater or equal to their resistance points.
Some spaceships have special powers, and they activate immediately after being deployed.
- %$^#$ : Destroy a spaceship of your choice
-
$%^$ %^: Damage dealt by this spaceship ignores forcefields - %^%$^$: Rotate a planet into desired position.
-
$%^$ % : Rotate a spaceship into desired position. -
$%^$ #^: Place a spaceship card from your hand into your salvage yard
All spaceships deal their damage simultaneously.
The player may choose to remove spaceships from his salvage yard - for every two spaceships removed, he may deal 1 additional damage to a target of his choice. Spaceships removed in this way are placed into the spaceship discard pile.
Planets and stars are claimed when;
- They sustain damage greater or equal to their resistance points.
Spaceships are claimed when;
- They sustain damage greater or equal to their resistance points,
- They are part of a group of spaceships that are not connected to any planet or star.
When they are claimed;
- Planets are placed in the player's scoring pile,
- Spaceships are placed in the player's salvage yard,
A player must play steps 1 through 4 ("action phase") twice during his turn.
The player removes all spaceships from his salvage yard in excess of 2. Spaceships removed in this way are placed into the spaceship discard pile.
In the unlikely event that (and yes you are probably one of those players that actively trying to test how infallible the game is) there are no longer spaceships in the draw or discard pile, all spaceships left in the galaxy and each players' salvage yard are placed back into the spaceship discard pile. Shuffle it and use it as the new spaceship draw pile.
The game ends end when all stars in the galaxy have been claimed. For those of you expecting something more complex, we apologize.
- Each conquered planet is worth 1 point.
- Each conquered star is worth 2 points.
Each player gains additional points based on the specifics of their quest cards.
- Gain.1 point per Dwarf planet.
- Gain 1 point per Ring planet.
- Gain 1 point per Habitable planet.
- Gain 1 point per Gaseous planet.
- Gain 1 point per Lunar planet.
- Gain 2 points per Star.
- Gain 1/2/3/4 points if you own 3/4/5/6 different kinds of planet/star.
- For every set of 2 identical planets, gain 1 point.
- Gain 2 points if you have 0 Dwarf planets. Gain 1 point if you have 0 Gaseous planets.
- Gain 2 points if you have 0 Ring planets. Gain 1 point if you have 0 Lunar planets.
- This quest card is a planet of the type of your choice.
- This quest card mimics the effect of a quest card of a player adjacent to you.
- Players are split in 2 teams, each with the same number of players in each. Each team will be assigned a colour (blue and orange)
- Randomly build the galaxy using all the planets and stars available. For a shorter game, you may use less but make sure that each colour uses the exact same planets and stars
- Players are placed around the table so that no two player from the same team will play one just after the other
- A player may never claim a planet or star of the opposing team's colour. Planets or stars that would normally be claimed in this way remain in the galaxy until such time as they are claimed by a player of their own colour.