Galilean Moons Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components (1 to 4 Players)
• Overview
• Setup
• Key Information
  • Base & Neutral Base
  • Sector Adjacency
  • Command cards
  • Galilean-draft & Galilean Sector
  • Gems
  • Units
  • Sector Control
• Auxiliary Actions
  • Base Building
  • Technology cards
• Main Actions
  • Invade (Command a Unit to take Control of a Sector.)
  • Rally (Command a Unit to enter or leave a Sector you Control.)
  • Mine (Command a Unit to gather Gems at their location.)
  • Draw (Refresh your Command options.)
• Command Card Layout Guide
• Technology Card Layout Guide
• End of Turn
• Endgame Phase
• Scoring Phase
  • Moons
  • Gems
  • Additional Victory Points
  • Final score
• Dr. Icarus — A.I. Opponent
  • 1. Focus
  • 2. Draw
  • 3. Action
  • 4. Discard
  • 5. Difficulty
  • Endgame Scoring
• Detailed Technology Index

Components (1 to 4 Players)

Game Board Contains: Moons / Sectors. Galilean-draft. Age-track. Score-track. Includes: 1 Age-counter. 4 Score-counters.

Technology Cards 8 of each power level. (one gem / two gems / three gems) Technology cards give Players special abilities to use once per turn.

Gem Tokens 48 tokens total. There are 6 different Gem types in the game. A Player may spend Gems to acquire new Technology cards from the Market during their turn ant any point.

Base/Ruin Tokens 28 tokens total. These are all double-sided with a Base on one side and Ruin on the other. Bases make Sectors hard to Invade.

A.I. Components 20 Target-markers. 1 Four sided die [D4]. These are used when playing with the A.I. opponent, Dr. Icarus.

Sector-Markers x1 Galilean. x1 Gravity. x2 Seismic. x3 Intellect. x4 Thermal. x5 Kronos. x6 Ecology.

Reference Cards There is 1 card for each Action type. These may be placed near the Game Board for Players to view at their leisure.

Command Cards 56 cards total. There are 7 different types of Command cards including Wildcards. Players use these cards to perform various Actions.

Mining Robots 40 Units total. These are the Player's Units, each Player has 10 Units of their color. Units are used to show which Sectors a Player Controls on each Moon

Action Counter 1 Action-counter. Use this to track Player Actions as they may become complex when using Technology.

Overview

Throughout the game, Players will take turns to play Command cards from their hand, performing their choice of Actions. Play starts with the First Player and proceeds clockwise around the table. The game continues until the deck of Command cards has been re-shuffled for the 3rd time. All Players will then take 1 final turn before calculating their total Victory Point scores.

The Player's goals are to Control as many Sectors of each Moon as they can and to Mine as many Gems as possible. Collecting sets of different Gem types will award exponential Victory Points however, Gems may also be spent to gain Technology cards which give Players powerful abilities to use on their turns. Players also gain Victory Points by holding a majority Control on any Moon at the end of the game.

Players must prove they have what it takes to lead the human race into the future. Only the Player who manages to accumulate the greatest score will return home victorious and be considered the master of Galilean Moons.

Setup

1. Each Player chooses a color to play as, then collects 1 Score-counter and 10 Units of that color, placing them into their Personal Supply.

2. Separate Technology cards into their Power Levels (one gem, two gems, three gems) then randomly deal 1 card of each Power Level to each Player.

   Players select 1 Technology to keep, placing it face up in front of them. The Player with the highest numbered Technology will be the First Player. Rejected cards are shuffled together with the remaining Technology cards to create the Tech-Stack which is then placed face down next to the Game Board.

3. Setup the Market by revealing 3 cards from the top of the Tech-Stack, placing them face up next to the Game Board.

   (Tip: It is helpful to read out the text on each Technology card as it is revealed.)

4. The Game Board contains 4 Moons, each one is divided into a number of Sectors.

   Randomly place 1 face down Sector-marker into each Sector, then reveal all Sector-markers face-up.

5. The icons shown below are found in various Sectors. They indicate the Player count required for setting up Neutral Bases: 1-4p, 1-3p, 1-2p.

   Place a Base token into each Sector that contains the appropriate icon for the current Player count.

6. Place all remaining Base/Ruin tokens in a pile next to the Game board to create a Base Supply.

7. Create the Gem Supply by placing a pile of tokens of each Gem type, next to the Game board.

   The Gem Supply is limited depending on the Player count: 4 Players = 8 of each Gem 3 Players = 7 of each Gem 1-2 Players = 6 of each Gem

8. Assemble the Draw-deck using 2 Command cards of each type per Player. Remove the remaining Command cards from the game.

   Place the Draw-deck next to the Game Board with enough room for a Discard-pile.

9. Fill the 3 Galilean-draft slots by revealing Command cards from the top of the Draw-deck and placing 1 card, face-up on each space.

10. Place the Age-counter on the matching space of the Age-track on the Game Board.

11. Deal 4 random Command cards to each Player.

12. Beginning with the First Player then continuing clockwise, each Player places 1 Unit into any Open Sector on any Moon.

    (Note: A Sector is considered Open if it does not contain any Base or Unit).

13. Setup is now complete and the game of Galilean Moons is ready to be played.

Key Information

Base & Neutral Base

A Neutral Base is not controlled by any Player and they make Sectors harder to Invade (see Invade Action, next page). Whenever a Base or Neutral Base is Invaded it is removed from the Sector, then flipped to its Ruin side and added to the Invading Player's Personal Supply. Each Sector may only contain 1 Base or 1 Neutral Base at any given time. The Base/Ruin tokens are considered unlimited, if the Base Supply runs out, Use the Score-track on the Game Board to keep track of Ruins. Players may return 1 or more Ruins to the Base supply, then score 4VP for each Ruin they return.

Sector Adjacency

There are 4 separate Moons on the Game Board, each Moon is divided into a number of Sectors. Any Sectors that share a border on the same Moon are considered Adjacent to each other. Each Sector has only 2 Sectors Adjacent to it. The Victory Point table in the center of each Moon is not considered a Sector, therefore it does not create Adjacent Sectors. It is important to know which Sectors are Adjacent for Base Building (see Base Building, below) and Activating various Technology cards.

Command cards

Each Command card matches one of the Sector types on the Game Board. You can quickly check how rare a Sector is by studying the bottom section of a matching Command card. Wildcards are very useful because they can be played in the place of any other Command card, whether being used on its own or as part of a set. There is no limit to the number of Command cards you can hold but you are usually limited to 8 unless you are using a Technology to Draw extra cards.

Galilean-draft & Galilean Sector

The Galilean-draft gives Players a selection of Command cards to choose from during a Draw Action (See Draw Action, Next page). If the Galilean-draft is ever emptied from the use of a Technology it is refilled immediately.

The Galilean Sector is different from other sectors because it changes depending on the Galilean-draft. To perform an Action on the Galilean-Sector, Players must play Command cards from their hand that match 1 of the 3 cards in the Galilean-draft. If a Wildcard is in the Galilean-draft, any Command cards can be played but must all be of the same type.

Galilean Sector Example: This Player may Mine either Kronos, Ecology, or Seismic Gems because the Galilean-draft holds those 3 Command cards. If another Player wanted to Invade the Sector they would need to play either 2 Kronos, 2 Ecology, or 2 Seismic Command cards to do so.

Gems

You can only gain Gems that are still in the Gem Supply. The only way to gain Gems that have run out is if a Player returns Gems of that type to the Gem Supply, this usually happens when Players purchase Technology cards.

Units

Whenever a Unit is removed from a Sector it is returned to its owners Personal Supply and may be used again on their turn. Each Sector can only contain Units of 1 Player at a time and may hold 2 Units maximum.

Sector Control

Only 1 Player may Control a Sector at any given time. To Control a Sector the Player must have at least 1 Unit in the Sector. If all Units of a Player are removed from a Sector without being Invaded (see Invade Action, next page), that Player loses Control of the Sector along with any Base that it may contain, the Base immediately becomes a Neutral Base.

Auxiliary Actions

These may be performed freely at any point on a Players turn and do not count towards the number of Main Actions they may take.

Base Building

When a Player Controls 3 Adjacent Sectors on a Moon, they immediately place a Base token from the Base Supply into the central Sector of the set. This will make it harder for opponents to Invade the Sector and reward the Controlling Player with 2VP during the Endgame Scoring Phase.

(Tip: You can potentially gain 3 Bases in 1 Action if you take Control of every Sector on a Moon. This makes the small Moons more attractive.)

Base Building: The Ecology Sector gains a Base because this Player Controls both Adjacent Sectors.

Technology cards

Technology cards give Players powerful abilities and are worth Victory Points at the end of the game. Each Technology can only be Activated once per turn, Players should flip the Technology card face-down once it has been Activated.

Players may purchase any number of Technology cards from the Market, on their turn, at any point. They must spend Gems equal to the number of Technology cards they currently own. Players all start with 1 Technology so it will cost 1 Gem to buy their 2nd.

Once a Player purchases a Technology they place it face-up in front of themself, then they reveal a new card from the top of Tech-stack and place it face up into the Market.

(Tip: Don't be scared to spend your Gems, Technology cards may not be worth as many Victory Points but the earlier you buy them, the more they will pay off in the long run.)

Buy Technology: Because this Player already has 3 Technology cards, they must pay 3 Gems of any type to buy a 4th Technology.

Main Actions

Players must perform 2 Actions each turn by playing Command cards from their hand to the Discard-pile. There are 4 different types of Actions and the same Action may be performed twice. The Action-counter is used to keep track of a Player's Actions during their turn. They begin with it on the A1 side then flip it to the A2 side after they have finished their first Action.

Invade (Command a Unit to take Control of a Sector.)

In order to perform this Action you must have at least 1 Unit in Your Personal Supply. Choose a Sector you don't Control and play a number of Command cards from your hand to the Discard-pile, matching that Sector.

Each Sector costs a minimum of 1 matching Command card to be Invaded, plus 1 additional matching Command card for each Unit of an Opponent in the Sector and 2 additional matching Command cards if the Sector contains a Base.

Sector Contains	No Unit	1 Unit	2 Units
No Base	1 Card	2 Cards	3 Cards
1 Base	3 Cards	4 Cards	5 Cards

After playing the correct number of Command cards, perform the following:

If the Sector Contains Units of an Opponent, return those Units the Opponents Personal Supply.

If the Sector contains any Base, remove it and add it to your Personal Supply as a Ruin, worth 4VP at the end of the game.

Place one of your Units into the Sector to show that you now Control this Sector.

Check to see if you Control 3 Adjacent Sectors, which allows you to Build a Base (see Base Building, previous page).

(Tip: The more Adjacent Sectors you Control, the easier it will be to Build Bases.)

Invade Example: Red must play a total of 5 Ecology cards to Invade this Ecology Sector — 1 for the Sector, 2 for the Base, 1 for each Black Unit in the Sector. (Tip: Any of the cards can be substituted with Wildcards if you have them).

Rally (Command a Unit to enter or leave a Sector you Control.)

In order to perform this Action you must, choose a Sector that you Control and play 1 matching Command card from your hand to the Discard-pile then, select 1 of the following options:

a. Add 1 of your Units to the Sector (so that you can Mine Gems twice as fast and make it harder for your Opponents to Invade you).

b. Return 1 or 2 of your Units from the Sector to your Personal Supply (so that you can use them again for other Actions).

(Tip: Be careful not to remove all of your Units from a Sector with a Base or it will become a Neutral Base and will need to be Invaded again.)

Rally Example: Yellow may choose to... a. Playing 1 Kronos card to return 1 or 2 Units from their Kronos Sector to their Personal Supply. b. Playing 1 Thermal card to add a 2nd Unit to their Thermal Sector.

Mine (Command a Unit to gather Gems at their location.)

In order to perform this Action you must, choose a Sector that you Control and play 1 matching Command card from your hand to the Discard-pile.

If the Sector Contains 1 Unit Gain 1 Gem matching the Sector.

If the Sector Contains 2 Units Gain 2 Gems matching the Sector.

Bases do not affect the number of Gems you gain. You can only gain Gems from 1 Sector per Action, regardless of how many matching Sectors you Control.

(Tip: It's good to Mine early on to avoid missing out on favored Technology cards.)

(Note: When Mining the Galilean Sector using a Wildcard — If you gain 2 Gems by having 2 Units in the Sector, both Gems must still be of the same type.)

Mine Example: Blue plays 1 Seismic card to Mine their Seismic Sector. They gain 2 Seismic Gems because they have 2 Units in the Sector.

Draw (Refresh your Command options.)

In order to perform this Action you must have no more than 4 Command cards in hand. If you do have more than 4, you must first choose which Command cards to place from your hand into the Discard-pile. You may then Draw 4 new Command cards into your hand, selecting cards from either the top of the Draw-deck or the Galilean-draft, in any combination and order you see fit.

Do not refill any spaces in the Galilean-draft until the end of the Action. Whenever the Draw-deck runs out of cards, shuffle the Discard-pile to form a new Draw-deck, then move the Age-Counter up to the next space on the Age-Track.

(Tip: It is usually best to perform the Draw Action at the beginning of your turn so you have a better selection of cards for your second Action.)

Draw Example: The Player wants to Draw the Wildcard from the Galilean-draft but they already have 6 cards in hand. First, they must discard down to 4 cards. They then Draw the Wildcard and 3 more cards, choosing the from the remaining Galilean-draft cards and/or Draw-deck.

Command Card Layout Guide

Each Command card shows: Sector Icon, Name, Gem Icon, Sector Rarity, and Card Color.

Technology Card Layout Guide

Each Technology card shows: Name, Power Level, Action Type, Index Number, Founder, Victory Points, Iconography, and Description.

End of Turn

After performing 2 Actions and resolving their effects, the current Player flips all Technology cards they have Activated back to face-up side then ends their turn, passing the Action-counter to the next Player clockwise, this Player now begins their turn.

(Tip: Take note of how many turns you might have remaining and plan your next turn accordingly).

Endgame Phase

The Age-Counter moves up the Age-Track each time the Draw-deck runs out of cards. Once the Age-Marker reaches the final space on the Age-Track and the Draw-deck has been re-shuffled for the 3rd and final time, The current Player finishes their turn then the Endgame Phase begins.

All Players take 1 final turn however, the Player who triggered the Endgame Phase may only perform 1 Action on their final turn rather than 2. Once all Players have taken their final turn, proceed to the Scoring Phase.

(Tip: Gems are only worth Victory Points if you have 2 or more different colors in a set. You may gain more Victory Points by spending them on Technology cards during your final turn.)

Scoring Phase

Use the Score-track along the bottom of the Game Board to keep track of each Player's Victory Points [VP] by moving their Score-counter along it. If a score goes above the 50VP mark, take note and continue counting from the 1VP mark. All Victory Point scoring information is placed in a handy table at the top of the Game Board.

Moons

Each Moon rewards Victory Points to the players controlling the majority of Sectors on it, 1st and 2nd place. A Player must Control at least 1 Sector on the Moon to be eligible.

If Players are Tied for a majority, the Player with the greater number of Units on that Moon wins the Tie. If there is still a Tie then all Players who are involved in the Tie receive the full amount of Victory Points for that placing.

Majority	Ganymede	Callisto	Io	Europa
1st place	10VP	8VP	6VP	4VP
2nd place	5VP	4VP	3VP	2VP

Gems

Each different set of Gems in your Personal Supply will score Victory Points based on the number of unique Gems in the set, so it is worthwhile to Mine from as many different Sectors as possible.

Set of Gems	1 type	2 types	3 types	4 types	5 types	6 types
Each Set	0VP	1VP	3VP	6VP	10VP	15VP

Gem Scoring: This Player scores 10VP for their set of 5 Gems and 3VP for their set of 3 Gems. The remaining 2 Kronos Gems are worth 0VP because a set must contain Gems of different types to be worth Victory Points.

Additional Victory Points

Players score 1VP for every 2 Units remaining in their Personal Supply.

Players score 2VP for each Base in a Sector they Control.

Players score 4VP for each Ruin they have in their Personal Supply.

Players score 1–4VP as printed on each Technology card they own.

Moon Scoring: The Black Player scores 10VP for Controlling the most Sectors on Ganymede. Yellow and Red are Tied for 2nd place but because Yellow has more total Units on Ganymede, they win the tie and score 4VP.

Final score

The Player with the most Victory Points wins the game. In the case of a Tie, the Player with the most Command cards in still in hand is the winner. If there is still a Tie, then whoever played earlier in the final round wins the game.

Dr. Icarus — A.I. Opponent

Dr. Icarus is a challenging Opponent used for Solo play. Dr. Icarus plays by a modified set of rules but acts in a similar way to a regular Player. Dr. Icarus may also be used to spice up 2 and 3 Player games.

Setup the game as you normally would for the number of Players present (Dr. Icarus counts as a Player, therefore a Solo game setup is for 2 Players).

Dr. Icarus should have 1 set of 10 Units, 1 Score-counter, 20 Target-Markers, 1 random Technology card and the 4 sided die [D4].

(Note: Dr. Icarus is not dealt any Command cards and has no starting Sector).

After the Player/s have chosen their starting Sector, Dr. Icarus takes the first turn. Each step must be resolved in the following order for his turn.

1. Focus

Roll the D4 to select which Moon Dr. Icarus will Focus on. [1 = Ganymede] [2 = Callisto] [3 = Io] [4 = Europa]

2. Draw

If there is a Wildcard in the Galilean-draft, Dr. Icarus Draws it. If not he Draws 1 Command card from the top of the Draw-Deck. If the Command card does not match any Sector on the Moon in Focus, place it on the Discard-pile it and Draw again. Continue this process until Dr. Icarus has a Command card matching one of the Sectors on the Moon in Focus.

(Tip: Wildcards match every Sector, so if Dr. Icarus Draws one it is bad news)

3. Action

Dr. Icarus must perform 1 of 3 possible Actions for each Sector that matches his Command card (or every Sector if he has a Wildcard), on the Moon in Focus.

Mine

If Dr. Icarus already Controls the Sector, he Mines it to gain 1 matching Gem.

Invade

If Dr. Icarus does not Control the Sector, he attempts to Invade it. Any Target-markers in the Sector act like extra Command cards during his Invade attempt (see Invade, Main Actions). A Sector must contain the correct number of Target-markers for Dr. Icarus to Invade it.

1 Target-Marker for each Player's Unit 2 Target-Markers for a Base / Neutral Base

For an Open Sector, Dr. Icarus does not need any additional Target Markers. After Dr. Icarus Successfully Invades a Sector, all Target-Markers are removed from that Sector. (Note: This is the only way Target-Markers are ever removed).

Target

If the Sector contains a Base or Player's Units but not enough Target-Markers to Invade it, Dr. Icarus adds 1 Target-Marker to the Sector.

(Note: Target-Markers have two different sides. The front shows 1 Target, the back shows 2 Targets. Make sure the correct side is showing.)

4. Discard

Place Dr. Icarus' Command card on the Discard-pile, it will no longer be needed.

5. Difficulty

Easy — End the turn. Regular — Perform steps 1–4 for a 2nd time, then end the turn. Hard — Perform steps 1–4 a total of 3 times over, then end the turn.

Endgame Scoring

If Dr. Icarus triggers the Endgame Phase, he will Focus on 1 less Moon for his final turn. When scoring, Dr. Icarus is awarded double the regular amount of Victory Points for everything. To win the game you must beat Dr. Icarus' final score. If Players are Tied with Dr. Icarus, he wins the Tie.

Detailed Technology Index

1. Military — 1VP (power level three gems). After you perform an Invade Action: Immediately perform 1 extra Invade Action, playing the required cards.

2. Mining — 1VP (power level three gems). After you perform a Mine Action: Immediately Perform 1 Extra Mine Action, playing the required cards.

3. Invaders — 1VP (power level three gems). Before an Invade Action: Draw 1 Command Card (If you cannot Invade after you Draw, the Action is wasted).

4. Spoils — 1VP (power level three gems). Gain 1 Gem matching the Sector for each Unit removed when you Invade (Galilean Gems must be of same type).

5. Prepare — 2VP (power level three gems). During the Draw Action: Draw 2 additional Command cards.

6. Teleport — 2VP (power level three gems). Move any Unit from 1 Sector to another Sector, the new Sector must contain exactly 1 matching Unit.

7. Replica — 2VP (power level three gems). Place 1 Unit on this card or Return 1 of these Units to use a Technology in the Market or in front of any Player.

8. Boost — 2VP (power level three gems). Return any 3 Gems to the Gem Supply then take 1 Bonus turn. (Boost doesn't flip face up till after your Bonus turn.)

9. Worker — 2VP (power level two gems). After you perform a Mine Action: Draw 1 Command card for each Gem you just gained.

10. Market — 2VP (power level two gems). Return 1 Gem to the Gem Supply: Gain 1 Gem matching any of the cards in the Galilean-draft.

11. Saboteur — 2VP (power level two gems). Remove all of your Units from 1 Sector and 1 Unit from each adjacent Sector (Units are returned to owners Supply).

12. Hoarder — 2VP (power level two gems). If the Gem Supply has run out of the Gems you are Mining: Gain Gems of 1 other type instead.

13. Trader — 3VP (power level two gems). Discard 1 Wildcard from your hand: Gain all 3 cards from the Galilean-draft, then refill the Galilean-draft.

14. Colony — 3VP (power level two gems). When you perform an Invade Action, you may place a second Unit into the Sector.

15. Looting — 3VP (power level two gems). Return 1 Ruin to the Base Supply: Gain 1 Technology card at random from the top of the Tech-stack.

16. Rewind — 3VP (power level two gems). After any Action: If you have no Command cards in hand, gain any 1 Command card from the Discard-pile.