a_way
a_way Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
Be the first player to reach your home base.
Components
- 4 Base cards
- 4 Player ships matching the colors of the bases
- 9 Solar cards
- 20 Exploration cards
- 28 Action cards
- 4 Player aids
Card Anatomy
Solar cards: An arrow indicates the direction you must move in. A station is the space you stop on.
Exploration cards: Each card shows a faction icon. Some Exploration cards have no station. Some have a Vortex.
Action cards: Each card shows a faction icon, a card name, and a card effect.
Setup
- Shuffle the Solar cards:
- In a 2-player game, place 5 Solar cards face up in a row.
- In a 3- or 4-player game, place 9 Solar cards face up in a cross.
- Return any unused Solar cards to the box.
- Each player chooses a color and takes their home base and ship. Place a Base card at each of the ends of the Solar card line(s).
- Place your ship on the base opposite your home base.
- Shuffle the Action cards and Exploration cards together to form a face-down draw pile. Flip over the top card from the draw pile and place it aside to create the discard pile.
- Each player receives 5 cards from the draw pile and 1 Player aid.
The player who last watched a sci-fi movie starts the game.
How to Play
Each turn in the game consists of 3 phases, which must be carried out in the following order:
Phase 1 — Mandatory Action
The active player chooses 1 of the following 3 actions to carry out:
1/A. Move your ship
The Exploration cards and Solar cards show 0 to 4 stations, which represent mandatory stops if they are on your chosen path.
Each ship movement action allows you to move your ship by 1 station. This also applies if moving in Phase 2 or using an action card.
Important:
- You're not allowed to move against the direction of the arrows.
- If you would ever end your movement in the same station as an opponent, you "jump" over them and land on the next available station instead. This applies when moving your opponents, too.
1/B. Play 1 or more cards
You may play 1 or more cards of the same faction, in the order of your choice.
If you play an:
Exploration card: You must place the card orthogonally adjacent to the Solar cards or Exploration cards that are already on the table. However, you're not obligated to create connecting paths.
Action card: Play the card face up onto the discard pile and carry out its effect.
Important: Action cards don't affect bases, or ships that are on bases.
1/C. Discard 1 to 3 cards
Place 1 to 3 cards from your hand face up onto the discard pile.
Phase 2 — Movement (Optional)
You may move your ship by 1 station.
Phase 3 — Drawing Cards
Draw as many cards as necessary to refill your hand to 5 cards.
If the draw pile is empty, leave the top card in the discard pile, then shuffle all other discarded cards to create a new draw pile.
Once your turn is over, the player to your left takes their turn.
Action Cards
- Hyperdrive! — Move your ship by 2 stations.
- Black Hole — Remove 1 row or column of empty cards.
- Pirate Attack! — Move an opponent's ship by 1 station. You may ignore the direction of the arrows.
- Solar Tornado — Move an empty Exploration card, rotating it in the direction of your choice.
- Unknown Fate — Draw a card and play it immediately.
- Unstable Magnetic Field! — Rotate an empty Solar card or Exploration card in the direction of your choice.
- Solar Winds — Move your ship by 1 station. You may ignore the direction of the arrows.
- Scrap Yard — Take the top face-up card from the discard pile and play it immediately.
End of the Game
When a player's ship reaches its home base, finish the round so that all players have carried out an equal number of turns.
If at the end of this round that player is the only one to have reached their home base, they win the game.
In case of a tie, the last player to have reached their home base wins.
A Few Notes
Vortex (2 copies)
Vortex cards allow you to teleport quickly from one Vortex to another, using just 1 movement.
Black Hole
Choose a line (row or column) without any ships or bases on it. Remove all of the cards from that row/column, moving the remaining cards closer together to fill the gaps.
Place any Exploration cards on the discard pile and return the Solar card to the box.
Switching Factions
When you play a "Scrap Yard" or "Unknown Fate" card, the faction of the newly drawn card applies for the remainder of your turn.
In other words, you may continue your turn by playing cards of the same faction as the card you've just drawn.