Excavation Earth: It Belongs in a Museum Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Common Rule Elements
  • Security Guards Rule Change
  • Researchers
  • Brokers
  • Pretty Boxes: Rule Change
• Module 5: Seekers and Commanders
  • Components
  • Commanders
  • Seekers
• Module 6: Mysterious Artefacts
  • Components
  • Setup
  • Changes to the Preparation Phase
  • Changes to Actions
  • End of the Game
• Module 7: Galactic Museum
  • Components
  • Setup
  • New Action: Exhibit
  • Change in Preparation Phase
  • End of the Game
• Solo Rules Changes
  • Common Rule Elements
    • Zu Setup Change
    • Zu Core Rule Change
    • Zu Command Action Rule Change
  • Module 5: Seekers & Commanders
  • Module 6: Mysterious Artefacts
    • Changes to Actions
  • Module 7: Galactic Museum
    • Extra Components
    • Setup Changes
    • Conserve/Command Card

Common Rule Elements

As long as you are using any of this expansion's three modules, the following rules will always apply.

Security Guards Rule Change

When playing with any modules of this expansion, you may never move, remove, or reassign a security guard from a completed column in your gallery. This overrides any rule stating otherwise.

Researchers

When an effect allows you to gain a researcher, take one of the wood-coloured cubes, and place them on your player board.

At the end of the game (before scoring for samples in your gallery), assign researchers to your gallery, as if they were security guards. During scoring, they count towards end game column and row scoring.

Unlike crew cubes in your colour, researchers can never become traders, envoys, custodians, or tour guides.

Brokers

When an effect allows you to gain a broker, select a buyer from the supply and place it on your player board. You may only have one broker of each colour. If you would gain a wild broker, take a broker of any colour instead.

On your turn, you may send a broker to the mothership (do not displace other buyers from there), to either:

• Make a played action card of a different colour match the colour of the broker
• Make a played action card of the same colour as the broker match every market icon.

Unused brokers are worth their colour's popularity bonus in credits at the end of the game.

Pretty Boxes: Rule Change

If you sample a pretty box artefact, gain a researcher instead. Pretty boxes may not be offloaded at the black market.

Remember:

• The Psychics may not take Pretty Boxes for free.
• Pretty boxes match every exhibition requirement on the museum board.
• If the Seekers send a pretty box straight to the museum board without sampling it, they do not gain a researcher.

Module 5: Seekers and Commanders

Components

For each of the two new factions:

• 3 Explorer Pawns
• 22 Crew Cubes
• 1 Turn order marke (printed as "marke" in the source)

Commanders

When you take the Command action you may also immediately resolve an Excavate action with the same card. You may only excavate one artifact this way.

The Commanders have no wildcard. When using module 1 from the Second Wave expansion, they start the game with a random Reverse Engineering card instead.

Seekers

The Seekers require Module 7 to be in play.

When you choose to acquire artefacts using the Smuggle action, you may choose to not sample one of the artefacts acquired, and immediately send it to the museum instead.

Restrictions and benefits of the Exhibit action apply to this placement.

If you acquire an artefact you have sampled before, you may also choose to send it, since technically you did not sample it this time.

The Seekers have no wildcard. When using Module 1 from the Second Wave expansion, they start with two different brokers of their choice (chosen immediately before their first action, when placing the third explorer).

Module 6: Mysterious Artefacts

Components

• 5x Map overlay cards
• 10x new Mysterious Artefacts (5 unique art)
• 10x Researcher Cubes
• 15 Reverse Engineering Cards

Setup

• Add the five overlay tiles to the matching position on the main board in step 1 of the base game setup.
• Mix the 10 new tiles in their respective piles in step 12 of the base game setup.
• In step 18, shuffle the new command card not showing a museum icon into the deck.
• After step 18 of the base game setup, shuffle the Reverse Engineering cards, and place them next to the command centre in a face-down deck. (If you are playing without Module 6, remove the cards showing a museum icon first.)
• If a mysterious artefact is drawn during setup:
  • When placing on the map (step 13): Place it as normal on the matching dig site.
  • When creating the black market (step 14): Place it on the map instead (on the matching dig site). Do not draw a replacement.

Changes to the Preparation Phase

If a mysterious artefact is drawn when resolving a Surveyor Forecast (step 3): Always place it on the map, even if drawn third. Do not draw a replacement.

Changes to Actions

Excavate - you cannot sample mysterious artefacts. You may not assign a security guard to your gallery for getting them. However, you have to assign a crew cube to the tile itself to act as a custodian, to protect everyone from the artefact's potential dangers. If you have no crew cubes available, you may reassign security guards from your gallery, but you cannot reassign your traders from the market or your envoys from the command centre.

If you cannot assign a crew cube to be the artefact's custodian, you may not excavate it. You cannot ever choose to reassign custodian anywhere else.

Sell - When resolving a Sell action, you cannot sell mysterious artefacts. The possibilities of a mystery on the open market are too dangerous to even imagine.

Command - When you place an envoy, you may move a mysterious artefact from your cargo hold or hidden hold to the mothership to be analysed. Immediately draw the top 2 Reverse Engineering cards. Choose one, and place it face-up next to your player board. Its ability is now active for you. Place the other one on the bottom of the Reverse Engineering deck. When you send the mysterious artefact to the mothership, return the custodian to your crew pool. You may use the returned custodian as the envoy for the Command action.

Smuggle - If you offload a mysterious artefact:

1. Gain 6 credits for each analysed mysterious artefact currently on the mothership (regardless of who sent it up, since ownership of them is not tracked).
2. Remove the offloaded mysterious artefact from the game (do not place it in the Black Market) along with its custodian. The weapon smuggler offered them a better salary, so now you have one crew cube fewer.

You can never acquire a mysterious artefact from the black market.

Survey - mysterious artefacts must be immediately placed (on the map on the matching dig site). Draw a replacement. You may not choose to shuffle it back, nor purchase it.

End of the Game

Gain credits equal to the values shown on all your in-play Reverse Engineering cards.

Module 7: Galactic Museum

This requires module 6 to be in play.

Components

• Museum board (dual layered)
• 18x Exhibition tiles (4 for each icon, 1 with 5+ minimum price, 1 with 7+ minimum price)

Setup

• In step 18, shuffle the new command card showing a museum icon into the deck.
• After step 19 of the base game setup, perform the following:
  • Place the museum board next to the mothership board.
  • Place exhibition tiles to each space of the museum board, except any space with a higher player count listed.

Players	Each Symbol	+5/+7	Total
2P	3	-	12
3P	4 (-1 random tile)	-	15
4P	4	2	18

• Take a buyer pawn from supply matching the top visible card in the buyer card discard pile, and place it on the topmost space of the museum board. Then flip the top card from the buyer card deck, and place a matching buyer pawn from supply on the middle space below the other buyer. Buyers on the museum board are known as curators.

New Action: Exhibit

In order to Exhibit, you must discard an action card from your hand. Then do one or both of these options:

• Send an artefact from your cargo hold or hidden hold to the museum board. This artefact's colour must match the colour of the card played.
• Send an artefact from your cargo hold or hidden hold to the museum board. This artefact's colour must be different from the colour of the card played.

Then perform the following mandatory step:

• Flip the top card of the buyer deck, and place a curator from supply on the back of the museum queue. Move the rest of the curators one space forward.
  • If the card reveals a wild buyer, place a curator of your choice, but not a wild one. Wild buyers never enter the museum as curators.
  • If the buyer deck empties, reshuffle the discard pile.
  • Whenever a curator is ejected from the museum queue, they are returned to the supply. Curators on the museum board affect popularity levels as usual.

Each exhibition tile either shows an artefact icon, or an artefact value (5+ or 7+) as a restriction. For each artefact sent to the museum, select an empty exhibition tile where it matches the icon restriction, and place it there. An artefact meets the icon restriction if it shows the same icon as the exhibition tile, and meets the value restriction if its value is equal or higher than the value shown on the exhibition tile. Pretty Boxes meet every restriction. Mysterious artefacts cannot be sent to the museum.

You also have to assign one of your crew cubes as a tour guide onto it. If you have no crew cubes available, you may reassign security guards from your gallery, but you cannot reassign your traders from the market, your envoys from the command centre, or tour guides from elsewhere in the museum. If you cannot assign a crew cube to be a tour guide, you may not take this action.

If a tile sent to the museum also matches the colour of the curator currently present in its row (if any), you receive an immediate bonus shown on the top of its column:

• The outermost columns give you 2 credits.
• The middle columns give you a broker of any colour.
• The innermost columns allow you to draw the top 2 cards of the Reverse Engineering deck, pick one to put into play, and place the other one on the bottom of the deck.

Matching the curator's colour is only relevant at the time of sending the artefact.

If you placed an artefact on the last empty exhibition tile of a column, each player with a tour guide in that column immediately receives the benefit shown on the bottom of the column.

• If a player has more than one tour guide in the completed column, they receive the reward for each of their tour guides.
• The columns closest to the centre allow you to optionally retrieve one of your envoys from any command centre, or one of your traders from any market (or one of your observers from the observation barge if playing with M4 of the Second Wave expansion).
• The columns in the middle allow you to optionally move one of your envoys (from a command centre), or one of your traders (from a market), or one of your observers (from the observation barge if playing with M4 of the Second Wave expansion) to any market or command centre (or the observation barge). Note that you may move a trader to become an envoy or vice versa this way.

Change in Preparation Phase

No change in the Preparation Phase. The museum queue is not reset or modified at this time.

End of the Game

At the end of the game, players earn credits for their tour guides, each player scores 1/4/9/16/25/36/49/64/... credits for having 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8... tour guides on the museum board.

Solo Rules Changes

Common Rule Elements

These rules changes can be used when playing just the base game too.

Zu Setup Change

Instead of giving Zu two full sets of player cubes, give it all of one set's cubes + 2 cubes from a second colour (for a total of 24 cubes). It may gain more cubes of the second colour in Module 6, so keep them nearby.

Zu Core Rule Change

Zu can now potentially run out of cubes to place. If Zu ever runs out of cubes and needs to place one:

• Excavate: It still excavates, but doesn't place a security guard;
• Command - Exhibit (module 6): It recalls an Envoy (see below), if it can, else takes a Failed Action;

Market / Survey / Snipe (if placing a Trader): It takes a Failed Action instead.

Zu Command Action Rule Change

In rounds 2 and 3, when taking a Command action, if Zu already has majority control of the area it wants to put an Envoy into, it instead withdraws an Envoy from that area, then gains $5 (instead of taking the command region's ability).

In round 3, when taking a Command action, Zu will not place a Trader into a Market with no Buyers left in its queue (it will only place or recall an Envoy).

Module 5: Seekers & Commanders

No changes required for playing these characters against Zu.

Module 6: Mysterious Artefacts

Changes to Actions

Excavate - Zu prioritises excavating Mysterious Artefacts before regular artefacts.

Sell - Zu cannot sell Mysterious Artefacts, as per the core rules.

Command - When Zu places an Envoy (rather than recalls one), and has at least one Mysterious Artefact in its hold, then after it places the Envoy:

• If there are already 4 Mysterious Artefacts (from any player) in the Mothership, Zu offloads its mysterious artefact instead (as if it took a Smuggle offload action - see below).
• Otherwise, Zu sends its artefact to the mothership to be analysed, discards the top card from the Reverse Engineering deck, and gains $20.

If Zu has multiple Mysterious Artefacts in its hold, it picks a random one to send/offload.

Smuggle - When offloading to the Black Market, if Zu has at least one Mysterious Artefact in its hold, and there is at least one Mysterious Artefact in the Mothership, it offloads it (instead of offloading a regular artefact), following the usual rules for offloading a Mysterious Artefact (including earning 6 credits per Mysterious Artefact currently in the Mothership).

Module 7: Galactic Museum

(Printed as "Galatic Museum" in the source.)

Extra Components

• 3x Exhibit / Command Zu action cards

Setup Changes

• Before setting up Zu's round decks, remove 3 of its Command action cards at random, and replace them with the new Exhibit/Command cards.
• When setting up each of Zu's round decks, treat the Exhibit/Command cards as Command cards (shuffle the Command and Exhibit/Command cards together and deal out into the round decks as required).

Conserve/Command Card

If Zu plays a Conserve / Command card:

• If it has at least one artefact it could legally send to the Museum board, it takes a Conserve action (see below).
• Else it takes a Command action, placing if it can, into the Command area that: it is losing most in > where it has fewest Envoys already > left-most. If it can't place, it recalls from the area if it can, otherwise it takes a Failed action.

Exhibit Action

• If Zu chooses to send artefacts to the Museum board, it will try sending 2 if possible, else one, with this priority:
• It picks an artefact to legally colour match a curator if able. Amongst multiple options...
  • ... it picks a Mysterious Artefact
  • ... it picks the artefact of the lowest-popularity
  • ... it picks an artefact of the colour it has fewer of
  • ... it picks the cheapest artefact.
  • If still tied, pick randomly.
  • Its second artefact must be a different colour from the first using the same priorities.
• Placement location for each (matching the symbol of the artefact as usual): A row with a Curator matching the colour of the artefact > a column it has tour guides in already > a column with any tour guides in it > outermost column > choose randomly.

Zu places a tour guide on the artefact(s) placed in the Museum.

If Zu matched the colour of the Curator in the row it placed the artefact in, it gains the following bonus:

• Inner Columns: Discards top card of the Reverse Engineering deck, and Zu gains 20 credits
• Middle Columns: Gains an extra cube from the 2nd cube colour it's using (not a Broker)
• Outer Columns: Zu gains 2 credits

If a Museum column completes Zu gains the following bonus for each of its tour guides in that column:

• Inner columns: If it is winning in any Command areas, it recalls an Envoy from whichever area it is winning the most in (choose randomly if winning equally in multiple ones).
• Middle columns: If it is losing in any Command areas, it places an Envoy in the Command centre it is losing by the most in (choose randomly if losing equally in multiple ones).
• Outer columns: Gains an extra cube from the 2nd cube colour it's using (not a researcher)

It then inserts a Curator in the Museum queue, according to the usual rules.

End of Game

Before scoring its Gallery, Zu places any unused cubes into the Gallery as Security Guards (the same as a player would Researchers), in positions to optimise its score.

Zu scores the Museum board as per the rules.