Galaxy Postman
Galaxy Postman Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Components
- Goal
- Playing Time
- S.A.M. - Synthetic Android Messenger
- Setup
- Gameplay
- One Turn
- Shuttleboard
- Cockpit Tiles
- Actions
- System Errors
- Damage Markers
- Galaxy Tile
- Sectors
- Sector Properties
- Scoring Cards
- Scoring Cards in Detail
- Officer Tiles in Detail
- Checkpoint Tiles in Detail
- Final Scoring
- Game Victory
- Solo Game
- Sector Overview
- Display of Bonuses & Costs
- Publisher & Contributors
Components
- 1x Mainboard
- 4x Shuttleboard
- 1x First Player Token
- 24x Galaxy Tiles
- 1x Galaxy-Starting Tile
- 1x Round Marker
- 16x Damage Markers
- 8x Wormhole Tokens
- 10x Aliens
- 4x Energy Markers
- 4x System Error Markers
- 4x Credit Markers
- 10x Officer Tiles
- 30x Checkpoint Scoring Tokens
- 18x Galaxy Waste Tokens
- 4x Player Aids
- 30x Package Cards
- 25x Alien Cards
- 14x Scoring Cards
- 17x S.A.M.-Cards
- 4x Postshuttles (1x per player)
- 80x Player Markers (20x per player)
- 24x Cockpit Tiles (6x per player)
- 24x Action Dice (6x per player)
- 4x 50/100-VP Tokens (1x per player)
Goal
The goal of the game is to have collected the most victory points (VP) at the end of the game. The game is played over 5 or 7 rounds, depending on which game duration you choose.
You earn victory points primarily by delivering packages, transporting aliens home, upgrading your post shuttle and scoring checkpoints.
Playing Time
Galaxy Postman can be played in two game lengths:
| Short Game | Long Game | |
|---|---|---|
| Rounds | 5 Rounds | 7 Rounds |
| Time | ca. 60 Min. | ca. 90 Min. |
Agree on the desired game duration and use the appropriate side of the mainboard.
For a first game, a short game is recommended.
S.A.M. - Synthetic Android Messenger
A specially created S.A.M. unit will accompany you on your first day, always cheering you up with messages and keeping you happy. We know how hard the everyday life of Galaxy Postmen and -women looks like in real life.
S.A.M. is programmed as a friendly android and will support you wherever it can. Among our customers, S.A.M. has already become famous as a kind of Galaxy Post mascot. Treat him well and be happy to show him around to customers. Most of the time he can put a little smile on their faces. Let's not even talk about the fan mail.
Enjoy his presence. Have fun and success.
Setup
Galaxy-Starting Tile
- Place the Galaxy-Starting Tile in the middle of the play area.
- Shuffle the remaining Galaxy tiles into a face-down pile and place them in the play area so that everyone can easily reach them.
Mainboard
- Place the Mainboard clearly visible to all players at the edge of the table - with the side of the selected number of rounds (5 or 7) facing up.
- Place the purple round marker on the first space of the round track.
- Shuffle the officer tokens and create a face-down stack. Place it next to the mainboard. Reveal the top 3 tokens and place them on the corresponding spaces of the mainboard.
- Place the damage markers on the designated space of the mainboard.
- Shuffle the checkpoint scoring tokens into 2 separate, face-up piles sorted by their backs. Place the first checkpoint scoring token with a 1-3 on its back on the corresponding space on the mainboard.
- Shuffle the space waste tokens into a face-down pile and place it next to the mainboard.
- Place one colored player marker on each colored starting space of the victory board.
- Depending on the amount of players, place aliens on the mainboard.
| Players | Aliens |
|---|---|
| 2 Players | 6 Aliens |
| 3 Players | 8 Aliens |
| 4 Players | 10 Aliens |
Prepare the shuttleboard
- Choose a shuttle color: green, red, yellow or blue.
- Take the appropriate shuttle board and all other player materials and place them in front of you.
- Place the cockpit tiles in the recesses as printed, with the non-upgraded side (white border) facing up.
- Place 1 green marker on the energy bar at position 7.
- Place 1 yellow marker on the credit bar at position 0.
- Place 1 red marker on the system error track at position 1.
- Collect the remaining player markers on the package area.
- Place one cube in each of the three locked cube spaces.
- Place your checkpoint token on the first space of the checkpoint track at position 0.
- Place one wormhole on each of the two wormhole spaces.
- Roll the remaining three dice and place them next to your shuttle board. They create your active dice pool for the first game round.
- Place your post shuttle on the Galaxy-Starting Tile. All postmen and postwomen start at the Galaxy Post headquarters.
- Place your 50/100 victory point token next to the mainboard.
Prepare card stacks
- Shuffle the Alien, Package and S.A.M cards into 3 separate face-down piles and place them within easy reach of everyone.
Reveal scoring cards
- Shuffle the final scoring and instant scoring cards into 2 separate face-down piles. Reveal one (blue) final scoring card and two (yellow) instant scoring cards. Place them underneath the mainboard for all to see.
Each scoring category (letter at the bottom left of the card) may be used only once. If a scoring card with an existing scoring category is drawn, place it under the pile and draw a new scoring card. Repeat this until each scoring card shows a different scoring category.
Determine starting player
- The player who last received a (Kickstarter) package will be named the starting player. This player gains the first player token and will start the game round with the first turn.
Optional Setup
Galaxy Postman offers a lot of variety. As a result, the course of the game is not always predictable. If you want a more predictable game, choose your preferred combination of checkpoint scoring tokens and scoring cards. Each player should know the selection made.
Presentation of bonuses & costs
If you receive a resource or victory points, it will be displayed like this: Credits, Energy, Victory Points.
If you have to lose a resource or victory points, it will be displayed like this: Credits, Energy, Victory Points.
Gameplay
Galaxy Postman is played over 5 or 7 rounds. Each round consists of the following phases:
- Preparation Phase (skip in round 1)
- Action Phase
- Systemcheck
At the end of the game, there is a final scoring phase in which players score additional victory points. You can find the detailed scoring on page 23.
The player who was able to collect the most victory points after the final scoring wins the game.
1. Preparation Phase
(Skip this phase in round 1.)
- Move the round marker forward one space.
- Pass the first player token to the next player in a clockwise direction.
- Discard the current checkpoint scoring token. Place the top face-up checkpoint scoring token matching the current round number (1-3 or 4-7) on the corresponding space of the mainboard. This also reveals the checkpoint scoring token for the next round.
- Remove the right officer token from the mainboard, move the officer tokens up to the right and place a new officer token on the left space.
2. Action Phase
This phase is handled in a clockwise direction.
Starting with the starting player, each player performs exactly one action. An action consists of placing an action die from your own active dice pool on one of the cockpit tiles of your own shuttle board and performing one of the possible linked actions. On the next page you will find out exactly how a turn works.
Then the next player in clockwise order performs an action.
The action phase ends when all the dice of each player have been used in this way.
It may happen that some players can no longer perform an action, while others can. If a player has no more dice to use, they are skipped.
Rerolling is not an action, even when placing a die on top of the shuttle board to do so. This is a passive action, see the "One turn" section below.
3. Systemcheck
This phase is performed by all players simultaneously.
- Lose 1 energy per damage marker on your cockpit tiles.
- Gain 1 system error if your energy marker is in the red area of the energy track.
- Gain 1 system error for each action die on your cockpit tiles that shows a value of 6.
- Gain 1 Credit for each action die that you could not use during the action phase.
- Take back all action dice used on your Shuttleboard and roll them to create your new active dice pool.
If you gain another damage marker during the system check, place it instantly on one of your cockpit tiles.
One Turn
1. Select action die
On your turn, choose an available action die from your active dice pool and place it on a free action space on one of your cockpit tiles without changing the value of the die. The action spaces of the cockpit tiles determine the minimum and maximum value of the die.
The action die must show at least a value of 4 (4-6), or the action die may show a maximum value of 3 (1-3), depending on the action space.
Some cockpit tiles provide two separate action spaces, allowing a cockpit tile to be used twice separately to activate an action. However, it is specified whether there must be two different dice or two identical dice.
2. Pay energy costs (mandatory)
Each action costs 0-1 energy. Pay the indicated energy cost of the selected action. To do so, move your energy marker to the left on the energy track.
3. Perform action (mandatory)
Each cockpit tile can activate only certain actions. The red arrow starting from the cockpit tile defines which actions are available.
Now perform the selected action.
The selected action must be executable and performed. (For example, the action "Transport Alien" cannot be performed without an alien to be transported in order to gain the credit as a bonus).
4. Gain Cockpit Tile Bonus (optional)
Some cockpit tiles grant a bonus. This bonus is optional and does not have to be taken or performed completely. Example bonuses include: gain 1 energy, gain 1 credit, gain 2 credits, manipulation of another action die by +/-1, manipulation of another action die by +2 or manipulation of two other action dice by +1 each, manipulation of another action die by -2 or manipulation of two other action dice by -1 each, return an already placed action die to the dice pool and reroll it, or during movement, spend 2 more energy to create a wormhole.
Dice manipulation includes action dice that have already been used as well as action dice in the active dice pool.
Reroll (passive, no action, any time)
If the values of your action dice that have not yet been used are not optimal for your planned actions or even unusable, you can perform a reroll. You have two options to choose from.
The action space offers room for any number of action dice.
- Option: You place an action die on the reroll space to reroll any number of your action dice from your dice pool. You gain 1 system error.
- Option: Reroll any number of your unused action dice without using a die to do so. You gain 2 system errors.
You can do this any number of times on your turn or on another player's turn. However, each reroll will cause system errors that will keep damaging your shuttle.
Shuttleboard
Your shuttleboard is the heart of your post shuttle. Take command by placing action dice, upgrade your cockpit tiles and track various stats such as credits, energy or system errors.
The shuttleboard shows: Wormhole Tokens, Reroll, Cockpit Tiles, System Error Track, the actions Move/Place Wormhole and Recharge energy/Repair on one side, the actions Transport Alien and Upgrade Shuttle on the other side, a space for 1 Officer Tile, the Checkpoint Track, storage for Player Markers, the Credit Track, the Energy Track, and the Locked Action Dice.
Cockpit Tiles
Action: Move Dice value: 1-3 Special feature: 2 action spaces with different dice values.
After upgrading: Dice value 1-5. Bonus: During movement, 2 additional energy can be spent to create a wormhole.
Action: Move or Transport Alien Dice Value: 1-6 Bonus: Manipulate another action die by +1.
After upgrading: 2 action spaces with different die values. Bonus: Manipulation of another action die by +2 or manipulation of two other action dice by +1 each.
Action: Recharge energy / Repair Dice value: 1-3 Bonus: +1 energy
After upgrading: Dice value 1-6. Bonus: Manipulation of another action die by +/- 1.
Action: Transport Alien Dice value: 4-6 Bonus: +1 Credit
After upgrading: Dice value 1-6. Bonus: +2 Credit.
Action: Activate any one action Dice value: 1-6 Bonus: Manipulation of another action die by -1.
After upgrading: 2 action spaces with the same die values. Bonus: Manipulation of another action die by -2 or manipulation of two other action dice by -1 each.
Action: Upgrade shuttle Dice value: 4-6 Special feature: the dice value has no direct influence on the action.
After upgrading: Dice value: 1-6. 2 action spaces with equal dice values.
Actions
Move / Place Wormhole
This action costs 1 energy.
If you activate this action, you can move your post shuttle through the Galaxy. You gain movement points according to the value of the action die used.
Move your post shuttle a minimum of 1 sector and a maximum of as many sectors as you have movement points available.
Example: There are 3 cockpit tiles available for this action. A placed 3 provides you with 3 movement points, allowing you to move your post shuttle 1-3 sectors. Pay 1 energy for the movement.
You can also move your post shuttle from known sectors to the unknown Galaxy, revealing new Galaxy tiles. See "Placing a new Galaxy tile" below.
Upgraded feature: once the cockpit tile (top left) has been flipped over and thus upgraded, it is possible to place your own wormhole for 2 additional energy. This can be placed in any free sector during the movement. A free sector does not contain an icon or another post shuttle. Once placed, the new wormhole must be travelled through instantly.
Once a custom wormhole is placed, it can be used by any player. You can place a maximum of 2 personal wormholes.
Transport Alien
This action costs 1 energy.
If you activate this action, you transport an alien that is located in the same sector as your post shuttle back to its mothership. To transport the alien, the action die used must be at least equal to the die value shown near the alien.
Example: 3 cockpit tiles are available for this action. If the alien shows a die value of 5, it requires an action die with a value of 5 or higher. Pay 1 energy for this action and also gain 1 credit as a bonus from the chosen cockpit tile.
If you transport the alien home, return the alien to the general supply on the mainboard and draw the top alien card from the draw pile. Read the rating aloud and gain the bonus at the top right. If you used an action die with a value of 6, also choose one of the two bonuses shown on the left. At the top left you can see how many stars (0-3) the alien rates the transportation. These stars are only important for the final scoring.
Afterwards, place the alien card face up in your own supply.
Recharge Energy / Repair
This action costs no energy.
If you activate this action, choose 1 of 2 options.
Option 1 - Recharge Energy: Gain energy equal to the value of the action die used. Move your energy marker accordingly to the right. You can store a maximum of 12 energy. If you gain more energy than you can store, all unstored energy is lost.
Option 2 - Repair: Remove one damage marker from any of your cockpit tiles and return it to the general supply on the mainboard. The dice value is irrelevant, you gain the bonus of the action space afterwards. Only one damage marker can be removed per repair action.
Example "Recharge energy": 2 cockpit tiles are available for this action. The action die with the value 3 generates 3 energy. With the bonus of the selected cockpit tile, you gain a total of 4 energy.
Example "Repair": The value of the action die has no effect. Remove 1 damage marker. With the bonus of the action space you gain 1 energy.
Upgrade Shuttle
This action costs 1 energy.
If you activate this action, choose 1 of 3 options.
Option 1 - Upgrade Cockpit Tile: Pay 3 credits and flip one of your cockpit tiles to the upgraded side. Any placed action dice or damage markers remain on the cockpit tile.
Option 2 - Buy Officer Tile: Choose one of the three available officer tiles from the mainboard. Pay the credits indicated on the bottom of the tile. Place the officer tile on your shuttle board in the appropriate space. If you already have an officer tile, discard the old officer and put it into the general discard pile. Then discard the two remaining officer tiles from the mainboard and reveal three new officer tiles.
Option 3 - Unlock Action Die: Unlock any locked action die from your shuttle board and pay the cost below. Instantly roll the action die and add it to your active dice pool. You can already use it during the current game round as normal.
The first action die costs 1 energy and 1 credit. The second action die costs 2 credits. The third action die costs 2 energy and 2 credits.
System Errors
The Galaxy Post has been working on making the post shuttle more resilient for quite some time. Unfortunately, we are not there yet and certain actions and maneuvers still push the physical limits of the post shuttle too far. Our post shuttles can withstand a few minor errors in the system, but every now and then it becomes critical and the post shuttle takes damage. Repairs are always necessary and we trust you to take exemplary care of your post shuttle.
Your post shuttle will experience system errors in various situations. If your post shuttle gains too many system errors, these errors will result in damage markers that will affect your post shuttle's performance.
If you gain a system error, move your system error marker one space to the right on the system error track. If you receive a system error and thus exit the track, place the system error marker back on the 1st space of the system error track and gain one damage marker. This can happen as often as necessary.
You will gain system errors primarily by:
- moving through asteroid sectors
- a low energy supply during the system check
- for placed action dice with the value 6, which overheat your system during the system check
Losing system errors in the game via, for example, a scoring token, a checkpoint, or an S.A.M. card can cause you to jump backwards on the system error track and lose one damage marker. This always happens if it causes you to jump back from position 1 to position 5. If you don't have a damage marker, you don't have to make this jump (a bonus is always optional).
Damage Markers
Those who join the Galaxy Post must also take care of their post shuttle in addition to their work. This includes minor repairs to any damage that has occurred. If these are neglected, our cockpit modules will not be able to operate at full capacity. Please do not expect full performance of the equipment if you are not willing to contribute to the maintenance.
If you gain a damage marker, place it in the appropriate hole of any cockpit tile. That cockpit tile is now considered damaged.
Damage markers on a cockpit tile reduce the value of the action die placed by -1 and therefore also affect the strength of the action. The die value is not physically changed.
Damage markers can be removed via the "Repair" action.
Example: The cockpit tile shown above activates the "Transport Alien" action. The player places an action die with a value of 6 here. The value of the die counts as 5 during the action, so the player does not gain the additional bonus for placing a value 6 die from the alien rating card. However, during the system check, he gains 1 system error for the die value of 6.
An action die with a value of 1 cannot be placed on a damaged cockpit tile, since no action with a value of 0 can be performed.
If you gain a damage marker while all cockpit tiles already have damage markers on them, you instantly lose 5 victory points. Don't let it come to that!
The actions spaces also affect the allowed dice values in this case. For example, a die value of 4 cannot be placed on a damaged cockpit tile requiring a minimum of 4 if the damage reduces it to a value of 3, which does not meet the action space requirement!
Galaxy Tile
General information
Each galaxy tile consists of 14 sectors.
Each sector can have its own properties or provide actions, which are described in the "Sectors" section.
The galaxy tiles that are placed next to each other create the galaxy and have no boundaries to each other. All galaxy tiles follow the orientation of the Galaxy-Starting tile so that all symbols point in the same direction.
If there are no more galaxy tiles in the supply, the galaxy cannot be explored further. The range of your post shuttles and the jurisdiction of the Galaxy Post have been reached.
Galaxy-Starting Tile
This Galaxy tile has only one large sector and is therefore special. This sector offers enough space for all post shuttles. If there are already other post shuttles in this sector, no credit has to be paid when entering.
The starting tile offers two sides, which can be chosen as desired during setup. One side shows only the starting sector. The other side shows the starting sector and an effect:
If your post shuttle is located on the starting sector at the beginning of a new game round (1-7), you may increase your energy supply to 7 energy. This has no effect if you already have 7 or more energy.
Placing New Galaxy Tiles
§342.331-22: The specified routes of the Galaxy Post must be strictly obeyed. Leaving the routes is only permitted in absolute emergencies. An emergency is, for example, a call for help from a stranded individual.
Aliens available on the mainboard symbolize dispatched radio messages in which they ask for transport. This means that you can move your shuttle from the Galaxy tiles already on the board out into the vastness of the unknown Galaxy. This is how new Galaxy tiles are discovered and placed. If no other aliens are available on the mainboard, leaving the known sectors is not allowed.
If you move your post shuttle over the edge of a Galaxy tile, indicate the target sector on which your movement should continue. Always count the first sector from which the movement is to be continued. It is not possible to change the destination sector after the new Galaxy tile has been revealed.
Now draw a new face-down Galaxy tile and place it appropriately using the markings. The markings must touch in the corner.
Then you can continue with your shuttle's movement if you still have movement points available.
There must be no gaps in the Galaxy. All Galaxy tiles must align equally with the Galaxy starting tile.
After placement: Place aliens and face-down space waste tokens in the appropriate sectors of the new Galaxy tile. To find out exactly how to do this and how the sectors work, see the "Sectors" section.
Sectors
General
A hexagonal field is called a sector and has a capacity for exactly one post shuttle. Each sector has different action options and properties, which are explained below.
A sector without an icon or post shuttle is considered a "free sector".
Package Sector (neutral/color-coded)
Ever since an unfortunate accident in which a careless Postman left for a remote package sector without energy reserves and never reappeared, it has been a legal requirement that packages may only be delivered with sufficient energy reserves. The rumor that this was the nephew of the Galaxy Postman president was never confirmed.
If your movement ends in a package sector, with neutral or in your shuttle color, you automatically deliver a package. This delivery does not cost any energy. Place a player marker of your color on the action space of the sector and draw a package card.
Read the evaluation on it aloud and gain the bonus in the upper right corner. At the top left you see the rating of your delivery (0-3 stars). Then place the parcel card face up in your own supply.
Package sector action spaces are color-coded: neutral package (all players), green package (green player only), yellow & blue package (yellow or blue player only).
If a parcel has already been delivered in this parcel sector because another player marker is already there, no further parcel can be delivered. The recipient has already been successfully served.
If your energy marker is in the red zone, you cannot deliver a package. As soon as your energy is in the green area again, you can deliver instantly, without any further action. This is possible as long as your post shuttle is in this sector.
Checkpoint Sector
The Galaxy Post understood long ago that small motivations and our checkpoint bonus program are very important and positive factors in the satisfaction of our Postmen and -women in the vastness of the Galaxy.
When your movement ends in a checkpoint sector, you can instantly activate it and score the current checkpoint scoring token on the mainboard. To do this, place a player marker of your color on the matching action space of the sector.
Then move your checkpoint marker one space to the right to display the amount of checkpoints you have already scored.
If you have already activated a checkpoint sector, i.e. there is already a player marker there, you cannot activate it again. Each checkpoint sector offers exactly 1 action space for each player.
S.A.M.-Sector
In its efforts to work efficiently, the Galaxy Post places great emphasis on the autonomy of our Postmen and -women. The feeling of self-determination promotes the motivation to give their all each and every day. Because it's not "just a package" that gets delivered - it's so much more than that....
If your movement ends in a S.A.M.-Sector, you instantly gain a message from S.A.M. Place a player marker of your color on the sector's action space. Then draw a S.A.M. card. Read it aloud and choose one of the two options (Option A / Option B). Then collect the card in your own supply.
If a S.A.M. message has already been recalled in that S.A.M.-Sector because there is already a player marker there, no further message can be recalled.
Space Waste Sector
After the demise of our beautiful earth, we have learned that we must keep our habitat clean. It does not matter how huge it may be. The galaxy has now become our habitat. Therefore, we are overjoyed to offer a bonus for every bit of junk removed from the galaxy.
If your movement ends in a space waste sector that contains a space waste token, reveal that token and gain the bonus. Then place it face up in your own supply.
If there is no space waste token in a space waste sector, no further token can be gained in that sector.
Alien Sector
As all of us in the customer relations business know, some passengers are more demanding than others. The Galaxy Post categorizes the demand of an alien who wants to be transported with a digit. At the same time, this also represents the behind-the-scenes nerves that our Postmen and -women have to muster for this particular passenger.
If you are standing in an alien sector with an alien in it at the beginning of your turn, you can transport the alien home using the corresponding "Transport Alien" action (see the "Transport Alien" action above).
If an alien has already been transported home and therefore there is no more alien in this alien sector, no more aliens can be transported from it. The sector is deactivated.
Wormhole Sector
Since mankind had to escape to the galaxy as a habitat, it has always developed further. An important step in this development was when the officer L.R. Jenckins, now celebrated as a hero, flew through a wormhole without much planning. When he reappeared unharmed in another sector light years away, transportation throughout the galaxy was revolutionized.
Wormhole sectors are considered adjacent to each other and can be flown through. Moving from one wormhole sector to any other wormhole sector requires 1 movement point. You can fly through them as you wish during your movement. The movement can be continued afterwards.
Once the matching cockpit tile (top left) has been upgraded, it is possible to place your own wormhole for 2 additional energy points. It must be placed in a free sector during movement and flown through instantly.
Once a custom wormhole has been placed, it can be used by any player.
Example of movement: The green player has 3 movement points and wants to move from his starting sector to the S.A.M.-Sector on the right Galaxy tile. He flies to the left wormhole sector for 1 movement point. For another movement point he flies to the next wormhole sector and can continue the movement afterwards. This way he gets to the desired S.A.M.-Sector with 3 movement points.
Sector Properties
Asteroid Field
If you move your post shuttle through or into a sector with an asteroid field, you gain a system error for each asteroid field you fly through. If you stop on an asteroid field, this is also considered as passed through.
Energy Field
If you move your post shuttle through or into a sector with an energy field, you instantly lose 1 energy. Move your energy marker one space to the left accordingly.
Energy fields can also occur in sectors with other properties combined. For example, in an asteroid sector: Here, all properties always apply together, so you lose 1 energy and gain 1 system error.
Magnetic Field
If you move your post shuttle through or into a sector with a magnetic field, you instantly gain one damage marker. Place this damage marker on one of your cockpit tiles.
Magnetic fields can also occur in sectors with other properties. For example, in a package sector: Here, all properties always apply together, so you gain 1 damage marker and then - if possible - deliver a package.
Galactic Storms
Galactic storms can affect multiple sectors. If you move your post shuttle into a sector that is affected by a Galactic Storm, it will be caught by the storm and pushed into the final sector of the storm. This final sector is marked by the arrow.
No movement points are required for this "movement". The actual movement can be continued afterwards. However, all sectors "flown through" in this way will affect your post shuttle.
Example: The green player wants to fly to the neutral package sector. He has only 1 movement point available. He flies directly into the Galactic Storm, which pushes his post shuttle into the package sector. The post shuttle suffers 2 system errors as it is pushed through 2 asteroid sectors.
Black Hole
It is not possible to fly into a sector with a black hole.
If you plan your further movement when placing a new galaxy tile and would thereby move your post shuttle into a sector with a black hole, you lose this movement point and have to choose another route.
Scoring Cards
Instant Scoring Cards
There are always 2 instant scoring cards in the game. These scoring cards are scored during the game, instantly after a player reaches the goal.
Example: The instant scoring card shown is scored each time a player upgrades the third cockpit tile.
The first player to reach the depicted goal gains 5 victory points and places a player marker of his color on the first space.
The second player to reach the depicted goal gains 3 victory points and places a player marker of his color on the second space.
The third player to reach the depicted goal gains 1 victory point and places a player marker of his color on the third space.
The scoring card category is shown at the bottom left, in this case "A". The scoring cards on the table may never be from the same scoring category.
Final Scoring Cards
There is always 1 final scoring card in the game. This scoring card is scored at the end of the game in the scoring phase.
Example: The final scoring card shown requires the most checkpoints approached during the game.
The player who best fulfilled the required goal gains 5 victory points and places a player marker of his color on the first space.
The player who fulfilled the required goal second best gains 3 victory points and places a player marker of his color on the second space.
The player who fulfilled the required goal third best gains 1 victory point and places a player marker of his color on the third space.
No further scoring of this scoring card is possible.
The scoring card category is shown at the bottom left, in this case "D". The scoring cards on display may never be from the same scoring category.
Scoring Cards in Detail
Instant Scoring Cards:
- Transport 4 aliens.
- Activate 3 checkpoint sectors.
- Activate 3 S.A.M. sectors.
- Upgrade 3 cockpit tiles.
- Unlock all 3 locked action dice.
- Place 2 wormholes of your own.
Final Scoring Cards:
- Deliver the most packages.
- Own most pairs of alien and package cards.
- Collect the most stars on rating cards.
- Own the most pairs of resources.
- Upgrade the most cockpit tiles.
- Activate the most checkpoint sectors.
- Transport the most aliens.
- Activate the most S.A.M. sectors.
Officer Tiles in Detail
The officers laid out on the mainboard can be recruited for the respective printed cost in credits. Each officer brings a unique skill on board. Some of these are passive, while others are active and must be activated with an action die.
Passive: Officer abilities are always active and do not need to be activated by an action die.
- Ignore the effect of two asteroid sectors you fly through. Track this with one player marker each and remove them during the system check. Cost: 4 credits.
- Ignore all action dice with a value of 6 during the system check. Cost: 4 credits.
- During the system check: If your energy track is in the red area, you do not gain a system error, but instead gain 2 energy. Cost: 4 credits.
- Always gain +1 movement point during movement. Cost: 5 credits.
- You can ignore the effects of Galactic Storms. Cost: 5 credits.
Active: All officer abilities must be activated with an action die and 1 energy.
- Reroll any number of action dice from your dice pool once. (Any dice value.) Cost: 2 credits.
- Manipulate 1 other action die by +/- 3 or up to 3 other action dice by +/- 1 each (any die value). Cost: 2 credits.
- Lose system errors equal to the value of the action die placed. (Any die value.) Cost: 3 credits.
- Turn another action die with a value of 6 to 1 or 1 to 6. (Any die value.) Cost: 2 credits.
- Repair your post shuttle. Remove 1 damage marker. (Dice value 4 or higher.) Cost: 3 credits.
Checkpoint Tiles in Detail
The checkpoint scoring token currently on the mainboard is instantly scored when a player activates a checkpoint. Waiting for a valuable checkpoint token can be rewarding.
Game rounds 1-3:
- Gain 3 victory points.
- Gain 1 damage marker to upgrade one cockpit tile for free.
- Gain 1 damage marker to gain an officer tile from the mainboard for free.
- Gain 1 damage marker to unlock a locked action die for free.
- Gain 3 credits.
- Gain 5 energy.
- Remove 1 damage marker.
- Pay 1 energy to instantly move your post shuttle up to 3 sectors.
Game rounds 4-7:
- For each 2 alien cards you gain 1 credit.
- For each pair of alien and package cards you gain 1 credit.
- For each package card you gain 2 energy.
- For each alien card you lose 1 system error.
- Pay 2 credits to upgrade a cockpit tile.
- For each 2 package cards you gain 1 victory point.
- For each 2 alien cards you gain 1 victory point.
- For each pair of alien and package card you gain 1 victory point.
- For each pair of alien card and upgraded cockpit tile you gain 1 victory point.
- For each pair of upgraded cockpit tile and package card you gain 1 victory point.
- For each upgraded cockpit tile you gain 1 victory point.
- Reroll any number of action dice in your dice pool once.
Final Scoring
After the last game round has been completed, a final scoring takes place in which all players add up their successes based on victory points. The starting value here is the victory points already accumulated during the game.
Players gain the following victory points:
- 3 victory points for each wormhole placed, and for an enlisted officer tile.
- 2 victory points per upgraded cockpit tile, per unlocked action die, and per 3 stars each on rating cards (alien + package cards) (see scoring guide).
- 1 victory point per 2 energy, and per 2 credits.
- Victory points by the final scoring card (see "Final score card evaluation in detail" below).
- You will lose points according to the damage marker evaluation (see below).
Final score card evaluation in detail
The player who best completes the scoring gains 5 victory points. The second position gains 3 victory points. The third position still gains 1 victory point. (See the "Scoring Cards" section for more information.)
If two or more players have achieved the same progress, proceed as follows: Add up the victory points for the placement with the victory points of the next lowest placement and divide by the players participating in the tie (rounded up).
Example: The final scoring card for "most packages delivered" is evaluated. Lisa and Kai have both delivered 7 packages. Jana has delivered 5 packages and David 3 packages. Since Lisa and Kai share 1st position, they also share 1st and 2nd place points (5+3 / 2 = 4 victory points). They both gain 4 victory points. Jana gains the 1 victory point from the 3rd position and David goes empty handed. David should do better than delivering only 3 packages in the future. His first day as Galaxy Postman did not go as expected.
Damage marker evaluation in detail
The player with the most damage markers on his shuttle board loses 5 victory points. The player with the second most damage markers loses 3 victory points and the player with the third most damage markers loses 1 point. If players have the same amount of damage markers, compare the amount of system errors. If there is also a tie here, proceed as with the final scoring card and divide the loss of victory points.
If there are no damage markers on a post shuttle, that player loses no victory points. If no post shuttle has damage markers, no player loses victory points. You have done a very good job!
Scoring guide star calculation
Stars accumulate in steps of 3: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 - each additional group of 3 stars grants further victory points per the final scoring rule above.
Game Victory
The player who has now been able to collect the most victory points wins the game and may call himself "Employee of the Month".
Tie
If there is a tie, the winner is the one who has delivered the most packages. If there is another tie, the winner is the one who has transported the most aliens. If there is another tie, the winner will be the one who has collected the most stars through his ratings.
If there is still a tie, an old alien tradition will decide who the winner is: Play a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock!
Solo Game
In a solo game, you play against Bob, an alien who has borrowed one of our postshuttles without permission. Bob's actions are controlled by the Bob-Cards.
Setup
Perform the game setup as usual, but consider one change: place 3 instant scoring cards on the edge of the mainboard. In solo mode, no final scoring card is used for this purpose. For solo play, the instant scoring cards may be used in any combination.
Choose a player color for Bob. Prepare all of his player markers and place the equivalent postshuttle on the Galaxy starting tile.
Place the 9 double-sided Bob-Cards ready. The side of the cards marked 1-3 will be used for game rounds 1-3. The other side, marked 4-7, is used for game rounds 4-7. Shuffle them up and place them in a pile, 1-3 side down, next to the mainboard.
Choose a difficulty level:
- Easy: 2 Bob-Cards per game round
- Normal: 3 Bob-Cards per game round
- Hard: 4 Bob-Cards per game round
Gameplay
Unlike in the normal game, in the solo game you perform all of your actions one after the other and perform your system check for the current game round. After your system check, you perform the card-controlled Bob actions.
To do this, draw the top card of the Bob card deck and perform the actions according to the current game round. The difficulty level you choose determines how many Bob cards (2-4) you draw in succession and how many actions (2-4) Bob performs as a result. If the pile of Bob-Cards is empty, shuffle the used cards again.
After you have performed all Bob-Actions, the next game round begins.
Structure of a Bob-Card
Example Bob-Card text:
If you are in round 1: Bob reveals a new Galaxy tile and gains 1 victory point.
If you are in round 2: Place Bob's post shuttle on the nearest free alien sector with an alien. Return the alien to the general supply. Bob gains 2 victory points for this. Bob then gains 1 victory point again.
If you are in round 3: Bob places a player marker on the 1st instant scoring card on the first empty space from the left. He gains the corresponding number of victory points. Then place Bob's post shuttle on the next free S.A.M.-Sector without a player marker, place one of his player markers and draw a S.A.M. card.
Bob does not collect any resources and does not perform any upgrades.
Bob gains 1 victory point per action that he cannot perform, for example, because there is no free package sector, but he is supposed to deliver a package.
Bob blocks sectors, just like normal players. You can pay 1 credit to fly through his sector, for which Bob gains 1 victory point.
Bob's Actions
Bob does not move across sectors, but is placed directly on the next target sector (Alien, Package, Checkpoint, S.A.M. & Space Waste) and performs the action instantly:
- Bob delivers a package: place Bob's post shuttle on the next free package sector equal to the neutral or his player color. Place one of his player markers there and Bob gains 3 victory points.
- Bob transports an alien: Place Bob's postshuttle on the next free alien sector containing an alien. Place the alien back into the general supply and Bob gains 2 victory points.
- Bob activates S.A.M.: Place Bob's postshuttle on the next free S.A.M.-Sector without a player marker. Place one of his player markers there and draw a SAM card. Bob always chooses option A, but gains no bonus himself.
- Bob scores a checkpoint: Place Bob's postshuttle on the next free checkpoint sector without player markers. Bob gains more victory points each time he flies to a checkpoint. The first checkpoint gives him 1 victory point, the second 2 victory points, the third 3 victory points, etc.
- Bob collects space waste: Place Bob's postshuttle on the nearest free Space Waste Sector with a space waste token. Bob removes the space waste token, but gains no bonus.
- Bob reveals a new Galaxy tile: Draw a new Galaxy tile and place it as close as possible to Bob's postshuttle, according to the rules in effect. Bob's postshuttle does not move.
- Bob scores an instant scoring card: Place one of Bob's player markers on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd instant scoring card on the first empty space from the left. Bob gains the corresponding victory points.
Final Scoring in a Solo Game
Complete your final scoring as you would in the normal game. Bob does not gain any more victory points during the final scoring.
If you score more victory points than Bob, you win the game. In case of a tie, Bob always wins.
In solo play, you do not lose victory points for damage markers on your cockpit tiles.
Sector Overview
- Asteroid Sector. Effect: Gain 1 system error.
- Energy Field. Effect: Lose 1 energy.
- Magnetic Field. Effect: Gain 1 damage marker.
- Black Hole. Effect: Not passable.
Display of Bonuses & Costs
If you receive a resource or victory points, it will be displayed as: Credits, Energy, Victory Points.
If you have to lose a resource or victory points, it will be displayed as: Credits, Energy, Victory Points.
Publisher & Contributors
Publisher:
Hodari Spiele David Rimbach Untere Bahnhofstr. 24 34376 Immenhausen Germany
E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.Hodari-Spiele.de
All rights reserved. Reprinting or publication of the instructions, game material or illustrations is only allowed with prior permission.
Authors: David Rimbach & Kai Starck
Graphics & Illustrations: David Rimbach with AI-Support
German Proofreading: Carina Brachter
3D Artist Postshuttle: Andy, MeepleForge.com
Many thanks to all the wonderful Kickstarter backers who made the realization of this project possible in the first place. You guys are absolutely amazing.
A big thank you goes to all the playtesters and supporters in the background.