ExoShip
ExoShip Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Shuffle the event cards, flipping some at random while you shuffle. Next, shuffle the founder cards, then deal the cards to match the layout shown. Set the remaining cards aside, or hold the stack in your hand.
The Cards
The three columns of the founder grid represent the elder, mid-life, and young generations of founders on the ship. The top row represents the highest rank.
Each side of the founder cards shows their Directorate or Rift affiliation. Each founder has a unique ability, which is only active when the founder is Rift. Each founder also has an influence arrow.
Terminology
CAPTAIN: The highest rank elder founder is the captain of La Oruga. If there are no founders in the elder generation, then the highest rank mid-life founder is the captain.
DISCARD: Move a founder card in play to the bottom of the stack, Directorate side up. If there are lower rank founder cards below the discarded card, shift them up to fill the gap.
MOVE: Move a founder card to the lowest rank position of the indicated generation. If there are lower rank founder cards below the moved card, shift them up to fill the gap.
REPLACE: Move the indicated card to the bottom of the stack, Directorate side up, then replace it with a card from the top of the stack, maintaining the original card's affiliation.
SWAY: Flip a founder card from the Directorate affiliation side to Rift.
Each Round
Each round has four phases:
- Move Phase
- Event Phase
- Action Phase
- Suspicion Phase
1. Move Phase
The move phase is skipped on the first turn.
As the ship continues on its journey, all passengers age.
- Slide La Oruga to the next timeline card.
- Previous elder founders die and a new generation is born. Place a new founder in the young column, matching affiliation, for each dead founder.
- Discard dead founders.
- If necessary, add young Directorate founders until there are a total of six founders in play.
2. Event Phase
- Follow the event text on the timeline or planet card at La Oruga's current position.
- If the highest-rank founder of the generation indicated by the event diagram is Rift, discard them.
3. Action Phase
First, if there are no Rift founders, sway the lowest-rank founder in a generation of your choice.
Perform up to two actions (you may repeat the same action):
- Sway a founder. If a Rift founder's influence arrow is pointing at an adjacent Directorate founder, flip the Directorate card.
- Use a Rift founder's ability.
- Replace a Rift founder. Move the founder to the bottom of the stack, Directorate side up, then replace them with a card from the top of the stack, Rift side up.
- Change course. If the captain is Rift, discard them to flip the destination planet.
4. Suspicion Phase
If any Directorate influence arrows are pointing at a Rift founder, discard those Rift founders.
Game End
Points are assigned to Rift founder cards in play based on their rank, as shown.
If, at the end of any turn, Rift has 6 or more points worth of founders and the destination planet is Axios, you win!
If you win before arriving at Axios, gain 1 additional point for each timeline step before arrival.
If La Oruga arrives at Mariposa OR when the ship arrives at Axios, if you have fewer than 6 points worth of Rift founders at the end of the turn, you lose.
Note: the rank point values are printed as a diagram on the founder grid in the source rulebook and are not reproduced in this text.
The Scale of Success
| Points | Result |
|---|---|
| 9+ points | Rift utopia |
| 7-8 points | We are as the tide |
| 6 points | That was too close |
| 5 points | Betrayed at the last moment |
| 0-4 points | Directorate erases Rift from history |
Alternate Play Modes
Hard Mode. The Directorate has ordered the ship into long term cruise mode. Begin the game with the ship card flipped to the side with the yellow stripes. The Change Course action cannot be taken while this side is face up. You may deploy La Oruga's inner ring and flip the ship card any time there are at least three Rift founders in any single row or column. Flipping the ship card does not take an action.
Origin: Mars. The construction of La Oruga shifted to Mars orbit when funding from Earth governments fell through. Different security protocols allowed you to slip a Rift sleeper agent into the ranks of the founders before launch. Begin the game with the origin planet card Mars side up. This play mode offers variety in how the first Rift founder is selected and can be combined with hard mode.