Master of Orion: Ad Astra
Master of Orion: Ad Astra Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 1x Rulebook
- 1x First Game book
- 1x Automa book
- 6x Player Aids
- 18x Star tiles
- 34x Planet tiles
- 28x Discovery tiles
- 31x Diplomat cards
- 108x Tech cards
- 30x Starting cards
- 12x Objective cards
- 28x Decision cards
- 15x Mission cards
- 27x Anomaly cards
- 1x Order tracker
- 6x Empire boards
- 4x Resource boards
- 20x Test dice (d6)
- 42x Population dice (d4)
- 49x Acrylic cubes
- 36x Influence tokens
- 36x Empire tokens
- 48x Diplomacy tokens
- 120x Resource tokens
- 16x Anomaly tokens
- 32x State tokens
- 1x Assembly Instruction
- 283x Miniatures (124x Units, 117x Buildings, 6x Unrest models, 36x Empire flags, 132x Bases, 180x Plastic sticks, 64x Colored rings)
Miniatures
Each of the six races has: 3x Titan, 9x Frigate unit, 1x Doom Star, 6x Cruiser unit, 4x Battle Station, 3x Outpost, 1x Unrest model, 6x Empire Flag.
Buildings and neutral miniatures: 10x Hydroponic Farm, 6x Soil Enrichment Facility, 10x Research Laboratory, 6x Astro University, 10x Automated Factory, 6x Robo-Mining Plant, 6x Spy Center, 10x Trade Port, 4x HTTP, 4x TCP, 2x UDP, 1x The Guardian, 2x Space Eel, 7x Pirate Raiders, 1x Pirate Base.
Basic Concepts
This section describes the basic concepts used in Master of Orion: Ad Astra, providing context for players learning to play the game.
Victory Points
During the game, players gather victory points (VP). The player with the most VP at the end of the game is the winner. For more information on victory points, see page 20.
The Galaxy
Each game of Master of Orion: Ad Astra is played on a game board pieced together from tiles. These tiles (either alone or in a group) represent star systems, and together make up the galaxy.
Star Systems
A star system is part of the galaxy. It consists of a single star tile, an optional planet tile, and an optional discovery tile.
A star system can contain: a star tile, an influence token, population dice, buildings, a planet tile, a discovery tile, units, and an empire flag.
Star Tiles
Tiles representing single stars. The following types exist:
- white stars (empty systems)
- yellow stars
- orange stars
- green stars
- blue stars
- wormholes
A star's type can be identified by the symbol in the middle of the tile. For more information on star tiles, see page 48.
Planet Tiles
Tiles representing the most hospitable planet in a star system. Planet tiles can only be placed in the middle of star tiles with a symbol matching the symbol on the back of the planet tile. For more information on planet tiles, see page 48.
Discovery Tiles
Tiles representing unusual properties of a star system or its planet.
Discovery tiles can only be placed on star tiles that have the discovery icon. They can only be placed on this icon. For more information on discovery tiles, see page 49.
Empire
"Empire" is a common name for all assets belonging to a single player. Each empire consists of an empire board, tech cards, and pieces.
Empire Board
The empire board contains all the basic information about the player's empire and its technological progress. This component is double sided: one side is to be used by human players, and the other side by Automa that are in the game. For more information on empire boards, see page 45.
Pieces
Pieces represent both the assets of players' empires and neutral assets. They are placed in a star system and include:
- units,
- buildings,
- population dice,
- empire flags,
- empire, influence, and diplomacy tokens.
Units
Units are pieces that can move between star systems. Units belonging to different empires can be recognized by their color and shape. Black units are neutral and do not belong to any empire. Units are represented by the unit icon. For more information on units, see page 42.
Fleet
All collective units of an empire located in a single star system are called a fleet.
Empire Flag
Empire flags represent ownership of a system and cannot move between star systems. Empire flags belonging to different empires can be recognized by their color.
Buildings
Buildings are pieces that cannot be moved between star systems. Buildings are divided into two groups:
- orbital buildings,
- planetary buildings.
Orbital buildings belonging to different empires can be recognized by their colors. All planetary buildings are gray. Black orbital buildings are neutral and do not belong to any empire. For more information on buildings, see page 41.
Many planetary buildings generate resources. To make these easier to identify, place rings on them that match the resource produced:
- Green ring: Food
- Blue ring: Research Point
- Orange ring: Production
- Yellow ring: Credit
Population Dice
The values shown on four-sided dice represent the populations of the players' empires. Dice of different colors represent different professions:
- Green dice: farmers
- Orange dice: workers
- Blue dice: scientists
Resources
There are four basic resources:
- Food
- Research Points
- Production
- Credits
Additionally, a separate icon represents any resource of the player's choice.
IMPORTANT: Whenever a player must take or spend two or more of "any resource", they can choose multiple different types of resources.
Each player keeps track of their resources by using resource tokens.
The income of different resources is represented by the following icons:
- Food Income
- Research Point Income
- Production Income
- Credit Income
Each player keeps track of their resource income by marking it with acrylic cubes on the income trackers on the resource board.
Influence Tokens
Influence tokens represent a political influence over a system. Influence tokens belonging to different empires can be recognized by their color and icons. For more information on influence, see pages 36 & 37.
Mission Cards
Mission cards provide ways to earn VP. A mission card can be on the table, where its public mission provides all players with goals to strive for every round, or kept secret in a player's hand, to score its secret mission at the end of the game. For more information on mission cards, see page 51.
Anomaly Cards
Anomaly cards provide players with powerful single-use bonuses. For more information on anomaly cards, see page 50.
Unrest
Unrest represents the attitude of an empire's citizens towards their leader. Unrest is also tracked on the resource board by moving the unrest model down or up on the track as unrest is lost or gained. The number under the unrest model indicates the empire's current unrest level. For more information, see page 20.
Tech Cards
A tech card, while in hand, allows a player to perform an action during their turn. Once resolved, a tech card can be developed into a developed technology if certain requirements are met. For more information on tech cards, see page 50.
Diplomat Cards
Diplomat cards provide players with unique ways of interacting with other players. For more information on diplomat cards, see page 51.
Decision Cards
Decision cards help decide how an Automa performs its turn.
Objective Cards
Objective cards give players the opportunity to improve their relations with an Automa by performing simple tasks for it.
Preparing the Game
First Game Setup
If this is your first game of Master of Orion: Ad Astra, we strongly recommend that you start with the introductory scenario in the First Game book.
Before beginning the setup, players must choose the length of the game. This choice will determine the round limit.
Game Length
- Standard game: 6 rounds (recommended),
- Epic game: 8 rounds.
The setup may vary slightly, depending on the chosen length of the game. With experienced players, a game is expected to last about 10 minutes per round for every person playing. So, a standard 6-round game will last about an hour per player.
Standard Setup
This section describes how to set up a standard game of Master of Orion: Ad Astra. The standard game is designed for 2-4 players. Up to 2 human players can be replaced by Automa if desired. More information about Automa and how to use them can be found in the Automa book.
To prepare the game, follow these instructions:
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Prepare the Shared Decks: Shuffle the following decks separately and place them within reach of all players:
- a) tech cards,
- b) mission cards,
- c) anomaly cards,
- d) diplomat cards (put all basic diplomat cards aside, shuffle the rest).
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Create the Supply: Separate the following components by type and place them within reach of all players:
- a) Resource tokens,
- b) Anomaly tokens,
- c) State tokens,
- d) Population dice,
- e) Models of buildings,
- f) Models of neutral pieces,
- g) Star tiles (see step 4),
- h) Planet tiles (divide them into piles based on the symbols on their back sides and shuffle each pile),
- i) Discovery tiles (shuffle the tiles together),
- j) Set of D6 dice,
- k) Set of acrylic cubes.
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Choose the First Player: All players roll two 6-sided dice, rerolling any ties until one rolls higher than the rest. The player who rolls the highest becomes the first player.
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Build the Galaxy: Place the (face up) in the middle of the table. Depending on the number of players, place the starting tiles according to one of the layouts shown (one layout for 2 Players and 3 Players, one for 4 Players). Place a pirate base on the wormhole star tile.
Example (The Republic of Sol): the player assigns their starting population as 2 farmers and 1 worker, setting their Food Income to 2, Research Point Income to 0, and Production Income to 1. Their home system has a population of 3, setting their Credit Income to 1. The starting resource amounts are displayed on the empire board. Players place their empire tokens on the order tracker to indicate turn order, and mark their initial technology level and their initial resource income and unrest level on the boards.
Playing the Game
Round Structure
Depending on the chosen length, a game of Master of Orion: Ad Astra is played over 6 or 8 rounds. Each round consists of two phases that are resolved in the following order:
- Draft Phase: During this phase, players draft new tech cards that they will use to perform actions in the action phase.
- Action Phase: Most of the game takes place during this phase. Following the order dictated by their position on the order tracker, the players take turns performing single actions to construct new pieces, explore the galaxy, and engage enemies in combat.
After the last player ends their action phase, a new round begins. The players repeat this process until someone triggers an end of the game scenario or the game reaches its round limit. After that, the players count their victory points. The player with the most victory points is the winner.
Draft Phase
At the beginning of this phase, players set aside:
- All tech cards from their hand
- Their 4 basic action cards
- Their empire action card
Then they draw 5 new tech cards and:
- Set aside 1 tech card from their hand.
- If they have 3 or more cards remaining, give them to the player on their left (during odd rounds) or to the player on the right (during even rounds). If only 2 cards remain, discard them.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the cards they were given.
After all the cards have been discarded, the players add all the cards previously set aside to their hands, and the draft phase ends.
Player's Hand
A player's hand can consist of the following card types:
- basic action
- empire action
- tech
The players will use those cards during the action phase to perform standard actions.
Player's Hand Limit
A player can never have more than 10 cards in their hand. If a player exceeds this limit at any point of the game, they must immediately discard tech cards until they have 10 cards. Empire action and basic action cards cannot be discarded for this.
Action Phase
The action phase is the most important part of the game. During this phase, players will develop their empires, explore the galaxy, and interact with other players. Starting from the first player and taking turns according to the players' positions on the order tracker, each player performs:
- Any number of different free actions.
- One standard action or pass.
The player currently resolving their turn is known as the active player. After the active player performs a standard action or passes, their turn ends, and the player who is next on the order tracker becomes the active player. This process is repeated until all players have chosen to pass. Once a player has passed, they are skipped in the turn order for that phase.
Free Action
During their turn, a player can perform as many different free actions as they wish. All free actions must be performed before the standard action, and each free action can only be performed once per turn. At the beginning of the game, the players have access to 2 types of free actions:
- Forced Labor
- Trade Deal
These are described in the Free Actions chapter (page 20).
Standard Action
During their turn, a player can perform a single standard action, by playing a card from their hand or otherwise. The standard actions are:
- Flight (page 23)
- Attack (page 25)
- Invasion (page 30)
- Exploration (page 32)
- Growth (page 32)
- Construction (page 34)
- Research (page 35)
- Diplomacy (page 36)
Draft Example
- A player starts the draft with four basic action cards, one empire action card, and one tech card from the previous round and sets these aside.
- The player draws five tech cards, chooses a card to keep and adds this to the cards set aside, then passes the remaining four cards to the player on their left.
- The player receives four tech cards from the player on their right and chooses one of them to keep and set aside as well, before passing the remaining three to the next player.
- The player receives three tech cards from the player on their right, keeps one of them, and discards the remaining two. They then take all the cards previously set aside in their hand, which now consists of:
- Four basic action cards
- One empire action card
- Four tech cards (one from the previous round and three chosen during this draft)
Drawing and Discarding Components
When a player discards a card or tile, they place it face up next to the deck that it was drawn from. Discarded components of the same type form a single discard pile.
If a player needs to draw a card or tile but cannot due to an empty deck or pile, they reshuffle it to create a new one.
Passing and Management Stage
When a player passes, they immediately start their management stage and will no longer get turns this round. During the management stage, they produce and lose resources, refresh their components, and complete missions, as described on page 39. The management stage needs to be fully resolved before the next player starts their turn.
End of the Round
After all players have passed and finished their management stages, the round ends, players move the cube on the round tracker down 1 round, and the draft phase of the new round begins.
End of the Game
The game ends when one of the following events occurs:
- One of the players owns Orion. The game ends at the end of the next round.
- One of the players owns a system with a UDP. The game ends at the end of the next round.
- One of the players controls or owns another player's home system. The game ends at the end of the next round.
- The last round of the game ends.
When the game ends, the players count their VP, and the player with the most VP wins the game.
Scoring
At the end of the game, the players earn VP in the following ways:
- Various VP for every system owned, as shown on the planet tile.
- 1 VP for every 3 population in systems they own.
- Various VP for every technology branch they have upgraded to tier 3 or 5.
- 1 VP for every empire token they have on their empire board at the end of the game.
- 1 VP for every system under their influence, but owned by a different player.
- Various VP for completing their secret missions, owning specific planetary buildings, having destroyed some neutral pieces and other sources.
Each player then loses the number of VP equal to their empire's unrest level.
Free Actions
This section provides information on performing all basic free actions. During every turn, before the active player performs a standard action, they can perform any number of different free actions. At the beginning of the game, every player has access to two types of free actions:
- Forced Labor
- Trade Deal
Developed technologies can make additional types of free actions available.
Almost every free action can be performed once per turn. However, free actions with the "once per round" icon can be performed only once per round.
Forced Labor (Free Action)
Forced Labor allows the active player to work their population harder to produce more resources. They raise their unrest by any number that does not raise their unrest level past 9. For each 2 unrest raised, they take 1 resource of their choice (any resource).
IMPORTANT: Empires that cannot gain unrest cannot perform the Forced Labor action.
Basic Terms - Unrest: During the game, an empire's unrest level will rise and fall. Players keep track of their empire's current unrest by moving the unrest model along the unrest tracker on their resource board. When instructed to gain or lose unrest by a certain amount, move the unrest model that many steps up or down on the unrest tracker, respectively.
The number underneath the unrest model is the current unrest level. During the management stage, the player must discard a number of resources indicated by their current unrest level.
The unrest level cannot be raised past 9.
Basic Terms - Diplomat: Diplomats are represented by cards that can be exchanged during a "trade deal" to gain various benefits for you or your trade partner. More about diplomats and how to trade them can be found on page 43 of this book.
Forced Labor - Example: A player performs a Forced Labor action to gain 2 Food. As a result, they increase their empire's unrest by 4, raising their unrest level from 0 to 1.
Trade Deal (Free Action)
The trade deal action allows the active player to exchange resources with one other player. Both players can offer each other:
- Any amount of Food, Research Points, Production, and Credits.
- Any of their developed technologies.
- 1 of the diplomats from their diplomat pool, if they have a spare Diplomacy token.
Unless stated otherwise, players cannot trade any other cards or pieces.
Players offering their diplomats can say anything about diplomats they are offering, including lying about it, but cannot show the card.
Once they reach an agreement, players exchange the promised components. They put received diplomats into play.
Players who traded away a diplomat (their initiators) mark the card with one of their diplomacy tokens. The player who has a diplomat in play is its target. Diplomats indicate when they take effect. At that point, resolve the strongest eligible ability on the card.
After a diplomat is removed from play, return the diplomacy token from that diplomat to its owner.
IMPORTANT: A diplomat's ability is eligible if its target or its initiator meet its technology requirement. The strongest ability has the highest requirement.
(Illustrated: a diplomat card's abilities, e.g. "The target gains 1 / 2 / 3 any resource", which require tier 0, tier 2 and tier 4 in the government technology branch to be used.)
Forcing a Deal
The active player can force another player to accept a trade deal by flipping one of their ready influence tokens (page 37). In such a trade deal, the active player may only give the other player a diplomat (following the normal procedure). The other player cannot offer anything for this intruder.
Trading Developed Technologies
When a player trades away a developed technology, they take its card and hand it to their trade partner. This card is no longer considered a developed technology of the seller. If the partner meets this card's research requirement, it is eligible to be kept as their developed technology. Otherwise, they discard the card.
Trade Deal - Example: The first player wants to make a trade deal with the second player. They offer Food and a diplomat card in exchange for 2 Credits. The first player cannot show the diplomat they are offering, but the second player decides to trust them and accepts the deal. The players exchange resources, and the diplomat is revealed and put in play by the second player. The first player puts their diplomacy token on it.
This diplomat (whose abilities are: the target reduces their unrest by 2, by 4, or by 6) takes effect immediately. Because one of those players has a tier 4 of the government technology branch, the strongest effect is resolved, and the second player loses 6 unrest.
Standard Actions
This section provides information on how to perform all standard actions.
REMINDER: During an action phase, the players take turns performing actions. During their turn, the active player can perform as many different free actions as they want; on top of that, they can either perform one single standard action or pass. After the active player performs a standard action or passes, their turn ends. When a player passes, they also immediately start their management stage and will no longer get turns this round.
To perform a standard action, the active player must play a card from their hand. Some developed technologies have an ability that may substitute playing the card with a different cost.
Basic action, empire action and tech cards all show several standard action icons. The card played must have an icon matching the standard action the player wishes to perform. Empire action cards also describe an empire action that may be taken instead of taking a standard action.
Once played, basic action and empire action cards stay on the table until the player passes, at which point they are returned to the player's hand.
Played tech cards may be kept as developed technologies.
REMINDER: A player can never have more than ten cards in their hand. If a player exceeds the limit at any point in the game, they must immediately discard one or more tech cards down to this limit.
Developing Tech Cards
After the active player resolves a standard action from a tech card, that card may be kept as a developed technology if its research requirement is met.
If the player cannot or does not want to develop a tech card, it must be discarded. Before developing a new technology, any of the player's already developed technologies (including basic ones) may be discarded first.
(Example: to develop Biotechnology, the active player must have Biology & Chemistry upgraded to at least tier 2.)
Developed Technologies
Every player starts with 2 basic technologies:
- Laser Cannon
- Class I Shield
These cards are treated as developed technologies. Those and all their later-developed technologies are kept next to the empire board. Each of a player's developed technologies must be unique. A player may have up to 6 developed technologies (this limit can be increased through research).
A player may use any abilities from all of their developed technologies.
Some abilities include the "once per round" icon. When any player uses one of these, they flip the card. This card cannot be used again by any player until the card is refreshed.
Example: the ability of Biotechnology ("Before a growth action, spend 1 Credit to gain 2 Food") allows the active player to spend 1 Credit before a growth action to gain 2 Food. After the player uses that ability, the card is flipped.
Basic Terms - Flipping a Card: When a card is flipped, it is turned face down. It cannot be used until it is refreshed during the management stage.
Flight (Standard Action)
The active player chooses one system. They can choose to spend additional Credits to choose one additional system per Credit spent. The player can move any number of their units individually within or from all chosen systems.
A moving unit may move to a different unit slot within the system it is in.
Alternatively, a unit may perform a number of jumps equal to its speed characteristic. The speed value of every ship can be found on their owner's empire board.
IMPORTANT RULES:
- Units beginning in one system can move to multiple different systems.
- Every unit moves individually, one jump at a time.
- A moving unit cannot enter a system if there is no unit slot group with enough unoccupied unit slots to place the unit there.
- A moving unit cannot enter a system containing an enemy unit, or an enemy orbital building.
- An exhausted unit cannot move.
- Before it moves, a unit can be overcharged to increase its speed.
- Regardless of a unit's speed, its move stops whenever the unit enters an undiscovered system.
Jumps, Jump Drive Milestones and Wormholes: A jump is every instance of a unit moving from one linked system to another.
As a reminder, 2 adjacent systems that both have a jump point on their shared border are considered linked by every player. Further illustrated cases:
- All players consider these systems linked.
- Only players with "Jump Drive" or "Advanced Jump Drive" unlocked consider these systems linked.
- Only players with "Advanced Jump Drive" unlocked consider these systems linked.
There is always one system with a wormhole, while several other systems can have micro wormholes.
The system with a wormhole is always considered linked to all systems with a micro wormhole and vice versa. Systems with a micro wormhole are not inherently linked to one another.
Basic Terms - Unit States: Every unit can be in one of three states:
- Ready: The default state of every unit.
- Exhausted: Any unit that has just attacked another system is exhausted. Exhausted units cannot move or attack but can still explore or invade. Exhausted units are marked by corresponding state tokens placed next to them.
- Overcharged: When performing an attack or flight, the active player can put any of their ready units in an overcharge state. An overcharged unit has its speed increased by 1, but when it performs an attack, its firepower is reduced to 0. Overcharged units are marked by corresponding state tokens placed next to them.
During the player's management stage, the states of all their units are reset to ready.
The state of a unit is marked by a corresponding state token (exhausted state token, overcharged state token).
Discovering a New System
A unit that enters an undiscovered system must end its movement there and then. When all other units complete their movement, discover all undiscovered systems with units, in an order chosen by the active player. Discovering a system requires performing the following steps:
- The player draws two planet tiles of the same type as the discovered star tile, chooses one of them, places it in the planet slot, and discards the remaining planet. (The symbol in the planet slot shows the type of planet that can be placed here.)
Basic Terms - Undiscovered System: Star tiles with a planet slot but without a planet tile are known as undiscovered systems. Systems without planet slots are not undiscovered.
Flight Action - Example: A player has one frigate unit in the orange system as well as one frigate unit and one cruiser unit in the yellow system. The player performs a flight action choosing the orange system, and pays 1 Credit to also choose the yellow system, allowing them to move their units in those systems. Both their frigate units (with a speed of 2) move to the green system. The cruiser (with a speed of 1) cannot keep up and ends its movement in the orange system.
- The player draws two discovery tiles, chooses one, places it in the discovery slot, and discards the remaining discovery tile.
- If the chosen discovery tile has any anomaly icons, the player places a number of anomaly tokens equal to the number next to the icon.
From now on, this star system is no longer undiscovered.
(The type of a planet can be found on the back of its tile.)
Finding Orion
If there is now just 1 undiscovered system in the galaxy, the active player immediately places the Orion planet tile and the model of the Guardian in that system. That system is no longer undiscovered.
Ambush
If the unit discovering a system encounters a neutral unit, it can either perform a free retreat move or stay in the system and fight. More information about the retreat move can be found on page 27.
Attack (Standard Action)
The active player chooses one system. They can choose to spend additional Credits to choose one additional system per Credit spent. The player may initiate attacks with any of their units in all chosen systems. These attacks may target any number of systems with enemy units or orbital buildings.
Attacking Systems
A unit can attack any system that it can reach with a standard flight action. When at least one unit attacks a system, combat ensues. To resolve it, follow the Combat phases described on page 27.
IMPORTANT RULES:
- Multiple units from one system can attack multiple different systems.
- If multiple units attack the same system, they attack together.
- If two or more combats occur at the same time, the active player resolves them in any order they wish.
- Exhausted units cannot attack.
- After the combat, all attacking pieces that took part in it become exhausted. Defending units do not become exhausted.
Basic Terms - Enemy: "Enemy" means any other player, pieces belonging to them, neutral pieces, and systems holding any of these.
Combat
Combat occurs when units of one empire or neutral units attack an enemy system or when units of one empire or neutral units are somehow placed into a system with another player's piece.
Winners and Losers
If one side loses all of its pieces participating in a combat, its opponent wins that combat. If one side decides to disengage, its opponent wins that combat. In any other case, the combat ends in a draw.
Attackers and Defenders
All pieces that initiated the combat are called the attackers, while the remaining participating pieces are the defenders.
Combat Effects
During combat, players use combat effects to damage enemy units or orbital buildings or gain various advantages. Most of those effects are supplied by developed technologies and empire boards.
Passive and Active Effects: Effects can affect interactions during tests. There are 2 types of effects:
- Passive: These are in effect whenever the conditions listed in their description are met. If no such condition is described, they are always in effect.
- Active: These effects can be activated in a test. To do so, a player must choose to spend dice with a total value equal to or greater than their requirement.
If an ability of any kind starts with a keyword that indicates a type of test (Combat, Invasion, or Diplomacy), its effects can only be used during those types of tests.
Basic Combat Effects: All players have access to an active basic combat effect. This effect is shown on their empire board (5+, with the infinity symbol, then 1 damage) and can be used multiple times in every combat.
Tests: Throughout the game, the players will participate in tests. During tests, players roll several 6-sided dice to determine the outcome of various interactions.
There are three types of tests:
- Diplomacy rolls
- Combat rolls
- Invasion rolls
(Illustrated: the active effect of the Laser Cannon, "Combat: 4+ -> 1 damage", can be used in a combat roll.)
During a test, the participating players can use certain active effects. An active effect can be recognized by the activation icon next to it. The number within the activation icon is the activation cost. (Example: an activation icon "4+" means the associated effect has an activation cost of 4.)
All active effects can be used by spending dice rolled during the test. To activate an active effect, the player spends one or more dice with a total value equal to or greater than the activation cost of the effect. A single dice can only be used for a single effect, and any value over the activation cost is wasted. After a player assigns the dice to the effects they wish to activate, they resolve those effects one by one in an order determined by the player.
Most active effects can only be used once per test, but those with an infinity symbol can be used multiple times per test. The active player must spend dice for every instance of this type of active effect they want to use. (Example: an activation icon "2+" with the infinity symbol means the associated active effect can be used multiple times per test.)
Spend Action
If any effect requires the player to spend a specific action, that player must either:
- discard a card that allows them to perform the action (tech cards cannot be developed when discarded)
or
- use the action from any other source, like a developed technology.
Phases of Combat
Combat between players is resolved in combat rounds consisting of the following steps, in order:
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Beginning of combat: Starting with the active player, both sides take turns to either:
- Declare one "beginning of combat" ability or effect they want to use, then resolve it.
- Pass for the entirety of this phase of the combat.
NO ACTIVE PLAYER: If the active player does not participate in the combat, the role of the active player is assumed by the player who did not have control over the system before the combat.
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Before the combat roll: Starting with the active player, both sides take turns to either:
- Declare one "before the combat roll" ability or effect they want to use, then resolve it.
- Pass for this entire phase of the combat.
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Combat roll: The players roll a number of dice equal to the combined firepower of all their pieces still taking part in this combat. Abilities and effects used in previous phases that gain or lose dice adjust this number.
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After the combat roll: Starting with the active player, both sides take turns to either:
- Declare one "after the combat roll" ability or effect they want to use, then resolve it.
- Pass for the entirety of this phase of the combat.
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Damage phase: The players spend rolled dice to activate "combat" abilities and effects. They can resolve this step simultaneously.
Retreat Move
Some situations allow a retreat move. This follows the same rules as the standard flight action, but the moving unit cannot enter undiscovered systems, and the player cannot pay Credits to move units from additional systems. An exhausted unit cannot perform a retreat move. All pieces that should perform a retreat move but cannot do so are destroyed.
Re-rolls: When an effect requires players to re-roll any number of dice, they re-roll all of them simultaneously. They cannot re-roll the same dice twice with the use of one effect.
Destroyed Pieces: A destroyed orbital building returns to the supply. A destroyed unit is scrapped. Scrapped units are placed on their owner's empire board until they are exchanged for Production during the management stage.
Destroyed units and orbital buildings no longer take part in combat.
Attack - Example
The red player performs an attack action against a swamp planet owned by the blue player. They spend 1 Credit to attack from multiple systems: with a titan and cruiser units from the ice planet and two frigate units from the cavernous planet. The swamp planet is protected by an outpost and a cruiser unit.
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Beginning of combat: Neither player has any effects to play at this stage.
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Before the combat roll: The red player uses their "Class I Shield" to reduce the damage they will receive and remembers to roll 1 fewer dice in phase 3. The blue player spends a construction action by discarding a tech card with the construction icon for "Fighter Bays" to roll 2 extra dice in phase 3.
-
Combat roll: The red player rolls 6 dice (4 for a titan, 1 for a cruiser unit, and 1 for each frigate unit, minus 1 for using the shield) and gets the following results: 6, 6, 5, 4, 4, 2.
At the same time, the blue player rolls 5 dice (1 for a cruiser unit, 2 for their outpost, and an additional 2 for using the fighter bays) and gets the following results: 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.
-
After the combat roll: Both players have no effects to play at this stage.
-
Damage phase (red): The red player uses the active effects of the following weapons and the basic combat effect.
- Laser Cannon (Combat: 4+ -> 1 damage)
- Plasma Cannon (Combat: 10+ -> 4 damage; this card can only be used in the first combat round)
- Basic combat effect (5+, infinity -> 1 damage)
The Laser Cannon's effect has an activation cost of 4, so it is activated by a dice with a value of 4.
The Plasma Cannon's effect has an activation cost of 10, so it is activated with 2 dice with the values of 6 and 4.
The red player's basic combat effect is activated twice: once by a dice with a value of 6, and once by a dice with a value of 5.
Combat Against Neutral Pieces
To resolve combat between a player and neutral pieces, follow the phases of combat with few noticeable differences:
- Combat roll: During this step, a player who does not participate in the combat rolls the number of dice equal to the combined firepower of all neutral pieces in this combat.
- Damage phase: During this step, a player who does not participate in the combat uses the neutral pieces' dice to activate any combat effects available to neutral pieces participating in this combat to inflict as much damage as possible. Combat effects available to neutral pieces are listed in their descriptions in this book.
- Casualties phase: Neutral pieces always try to assign damage to the enemy piece with the lowest hull points first. In case of a tie, damage is assigned to the piece with the higher firepower first.
After the combat, the player receives appropriate rewards for every neutral piece they destroyed. If a neutral piece grants VP, the player should place it near their empire board as a reminder. Its VP reward is awarded at the end of the game. More information about neutral pieces and rewards earned by destroying them can be found on page 53.
Invasion (Standard Action)
The active player chooses one system controlled by them, but owned (see page 41) by another player. They can choose to spend additional Credits to choose one additional system per Credit spent. Within all systems chosen, the active player may use their units to invade planets with population that do not belong to them.
Invading Planets
To resolve an invasion, the active player rolls a number of dice equal to the combined firepower of all units in a chosen system and may use invasion effects to conquer the planet or reduce its population.
IMPORTANT RULES:
- If two or more units invade the same system, they invade together.
- If multiple systems were chosen for invasion, the active player resolves them in any order they wish.
- Exhausted units can invade.
- Overcharged units can invade using their standard firepower.
Resolving an Invasion
To resolve an invasion, the following phases of invasion are performed:
- Beginning of the invasion: The active player chooses to either:
- a) Declare one "beginning of invasion" ability or effect they want to use, then resolve it.
- b) Pass for the entirety of this phase of the invasion.
- Invasion roll: The invading player rolls a number of dice equal to the combined firepower of all their pieces taking part in the invasion. Abilities and effects used in previous phases that gain or lose dice adjust this number.
- After the invasion roll: The active player chooses to either:
- a) Declare one "after the invasion roll" ability or effect they want to use, then resolve it.
- b) Pass for the entirety of this phase of the invasion.
- Effect phase: The invading player spends rolled dice to activate "invasion" abilities and effects.
- Result phase: The invading player adds up the total invasion successes generated by all abilities and effects.
- a) If the number of invasion successes gathered by the invading player is higher than or equal to the number of population in the invaded system, the invading player wins the invasion. If there are still any population in the system, they now belong to the invading player. The empire flag of the previous owner is removed and replaced by the flag of the invading player. All planetary buildings stay in the system, and the invading player treats them as their own. Adjust resource income accordingly for the players gaining and losing population or planetary buildings like this. Additionally, if the previous owner of the system has any captured empire tokens, the invading player takes 1 of them.
- b) If the number of invasion successes gathered by the invading player is less than the number of population in the invaded system, the invading player loses the invasion. Nothing happens.
Invasion Effects
During the invasion, the invading player uses invasion effects to generate invasion successes or harm the system's owner in other ways.
Basic Invasion Effects: All players have access to a basic active invasion effect on their empire board, which can be used multiple times during every invasion (5+, infinity: 1 invasion success OR Remove 1 population).
The active player can use this effect to reduce the population of the invaded system or to generate invasion successes required to take ownership of the system.
Invasion - Example
The active (blue) player starts an invasion with a frigate and a titan that occupy the red player's system with 3 population.
- Beginning of the invasion: The active player has no effects to play at this stage.
- Invasion roll: The active player rolls 5 dice (4 for the titan and 1 for the frigate unit) and gets the following results: 5, 4, 4, 2, 1.
- After the invasion roll: The active player has no effects to play at this stage.
- Effect phase: The blue player activates their basic invasion effect three times: once with 1 dice with a value of 5, the second time with 2 dice with values of 4 and 2, and the last time with dice with values of 4 and 1. They use these effects to generate 3 invasion successes.
- Result phase: The invading player has 3 invasion successes, which is equal to or higher than the number of population in the system, so the invading player wins the invasion. The previous owner's flag is replaced with a new one. The invading player steals a captured empire token from the previous owner.
Basic Term - Captured Empire Token: If a player has empire tokens with an icon that does not match the icon of their empire, those tokens are captured. Captured empire tokens can be stolen during invasions. At the end of the game, every empire token is worth 1 VP for whoever holds it.
Exploration (Standard Action)
The active player chooses one system. They can choose to spend additional Credits to choose one additional system per Credit spent. The active player may use every unit in the chosen systems to explore anomalies.
Exploring Anomalies
Every unit from the chosen systems can remove one anomaly token from the system that the unit is occupying. For every token removed, the active player draws 2 anomaly cards, keeps one of them, and discards the other. The active player does not show the kept card to other players.
IMPORTANT RULE: Exhausted and overcharged units can explore.
Basic Terms - Anomaly Cards: Anomaly cards represent wonders that could be found while exploring the galaxy. Unless stated otherwise, a player can play any anomaly card at the moment described on the card. After the anomaly card is played, it is discarded.
Growth (Standard Action)
The active player chooses one system. They can choose to spend additional Credits to choose one additional system per Credit spent. Within every system chosen, the active player may create 1 new population.
The active player may only choose systems they have under control or own (page 41). The systems may not have an enemy unit, orbital building or population.
Creating New Population
After choosing systems, the active player pays Food for every population they wish to create. Every population created costs 1 Food, plus 1 Food for every population of that profession already in the system. For example, when there are already 2 farmers in the system, creating the third costs 3 Food.
If the active player does not have enough Food, the new population cannot be created.
REMEMBER: During a single growth action, the active player can only create 1 new population per system. Population may never increase past population limits (see page 42).
Colonizing
When the active player creates a population in a system without any population, they colonize it. Place their empire flag on the planet to mark their ownership. Then, increase the unrest in the player's empire by the amount printed on the planet tile.
Some empires have adaptations that adjust the amount by which unrest is increased to a minimum of zero.
(Example: colonizing a Desert planet, which has unrest 3 printed on its tile, increases the unrest by 3.)
Adaptation: (Silicoid example) Low Temperature: +2 unrest. High Temperature: -2 unrest. Silicoids have an adaptation that reduces the unrest from colonizing planets with high temperatures by 2. When they colonize a desert planet, they will receive 1 unrest.
Environment: The text under a planet's name shows a planet's environmental trait.
Growth - Example
- The active player performs a growth action. Before the action, they spend 1 Credit to create population in two systems.
- The system with a swamp planet has no population. Creating any type of population in this system will cost 1 Food.
- The system with Earth has 0 farmers, 1 worker, and 2 scientists. Creating a new farmer there will cost 1 Food, a new worker costs 2 Food, and creating a new scientist is impossible due to the planet's population limit. The active player decides to create a new worker there for 2 Food.
- The player spends a total of 3 Food and 1 Credit.
- Because the player colonized a system with a swamp planet, they increase the unrest of their empire by 3.
Construction (Standard Action)
The active player chooses one system. They can choose to spend additional Credits to choose one additional system per Credit spent. They may only choose systems they own or systems owned by other players who allow choosing their systems. The chosen systems may not have an enemy unit or orbital building.
Within each chosen system owned by the active player, they may construct a single new orbital building, planetary building, or unit. In each system owned by other players, they may only construct a single unit.
Constructing a New Building or Unit
After choosing systems to construct in, the active player must pay the cost of the specific pieces they wish to construct. Some buildings cannot be constructed before the active player develops specific technologies. Costs, technology and other requirements for buildings can be found on pages 52 & 53 and on the player aid. For units, the costs are shown on the empire board.
After paying their construction costs, the active player places models of newly created pieces in the systems where they were constructed. In the first place, unused models must be used. If there are no more unused models, the player can use scrapped models from their empire board.
REMEMBER: During a single construction action, the active player can only create 1 new piece per system.
(Example: Frigate units cost 1 Production.)
The active player may choose to remove (not scrap) any of their pieces of the same type (unit / planetary building / orbital building) as the piece to be placed, until the system has enough available slots to fit it. In that case, we say that a new piece replaces the old one. The removed piece isn't treated as destroyed.
Construction - Example
- A player performs a construction action and spends 1 Credit to choose 2 systems to construct pieces in.
- The first of the chosen systems constructs a Hydroponic Farm. This costs 2 Production. The second system constructs a frigate unit. This costs 1 Production.
- The player has now spent a total of 3 Production and 1 Credit. They gain 1 Food (as a reward from the Hydroponic Farm), then places the models of the constructed pieces.
Research (Standard Action)
The active player chooses one branch of their tech tree. They can choose to spend additional Credits to choose one additional branch per Credit spent. Every branch chosen may be upgraded once.
Upgrading Technology Tree
To upgrade a chosen branch to the next tier, the active player needs to pay its upgrade cost in Research Points. The upgrade cost of a branch depends on the tier the branch is to be upgraded to, and is shown on the empire board. After paying this, move the cube on a chosen branch 1 tier higher.
REMEMBER: During a single research action, the active player can upgrade every branch only once.
Basic Terms - Milestones: Milestones are bonuses that players unlock by reaching certain tiers on their tech trees.
The tech trees of every empire contain 15 common milestones and 4 empire-specific ones. Empire-specific milestones are marked by an empire icon.
Basic Terms - Technology Tree and Branches: An empire board contains a tech tree made of four branches:
- Biology & Chemistry
- Physics
- Engineering
- Government
Most branches start at zero. They can be upgraded by performing research actions.
Upgrading a technology branch unlocks milestones and allows players to develop new technologies.
(Example: The Biology & Chemistry and Government technology branches are at tier 0. Upgrading them to tier 1 would cost 2 Research Points. The Physics technology branch is at tier 1, unlocking the 'Research Laboratory' and the 'HTTP' milestones. The Engineering branch is on tier 2, unlocking the 'Automated Factory', the 'HTTP', and the 'Jump Drive' milestones. Upgrading this branch to tier 3 would cost 4 Research Points.)
Research Action - Example
- A player performs a research action. They spend 1 Credit to upgrade two branches.
- Biology & Chemistry is on tier zero. Upgrading it to tier one will cost 2 Research Points. Engineering is on tier two. Upgrading it to tier three will cost 4 Research Points.
- The player spends 6 Research Points and 1 Credit in total.
Diplomacy (Standard Action)
The diplomacy action allows the active player to use their influence tokens to perform a diplomacy roll to activate diplomacy effects. Every influence token used provides 1 dice for this roll. Before the roll, a single Credit may be spent to gain 1 additional dice. Furthermore, before the roll, any number of diplomats from the active player's diplomat pool can be discarded to gain 1 additional dice for each.
Diplomacy Roll
Performing a diplomacy roll requires the active player to:
- Use influence: The active player uses any number of their ready influence tokens. Used influence tokens are flipped. Exactly 1 Credit may also be spent, and diplomats may be discarded.
- Roll dice: The player rolls one d6 for every influence token they used in the previous step (and one additional dice if they spent 1 Credit, and one more for each diplomat discarded).
- Activate Effects: The player activates diplomacy effects in any order they choose.
Basic Diplomacy Effects
From the beginning of the game, all players have access to these seven active diplomacy effects.
| Activation | Effect |
|---|---|
| 2+ (infinity) | Spread influence |
| 2+ (infinity) | Reassign population |
| 2+ (infinity) | Reduce unrest |
| 2+ | Increase unrest |
| 4+ | Hire a new diplomat |
| 6+ | Replace influence |
| 8+ | Capture a diplomat |
Spread Influence
The active player chooses a system that meets the following requirements:
- The system is not under another player's influence.
- The active player considers the system linked to at least one system under their influence.
REMEMBER: "Jump Drive" and "Advanced Jump Drive" change what systems you consider linked.
The active player places one of their ready influence tokens in the chosen system or moves any of their influence tokens already on the board into it. A moved influence token keeps its state unchanged.
Influence Tokens: Influence tokens are used to mark a system that is under a player's influence. Every system may contain an influence token, whether discovered or undiscovered, owned by yourself or a different player. A system may only ever have 1 influence token. Because every player only has 6 influence tokens, they may only have 6 systems under their influence at once. Influence tokens are either ready or flipped. (Illustrated: the system is owned by the Psilon player, but it is under the influence of the Klackon player.)
Reassign Population
The active player chooses a population from one system they own and changes its profession, assuming that the system's population limit allows for that change.
This effect cannot be used to move population between systems.
Reduce Unrest
The active player reduces the unrest in any empire by 1. The unrest level cannot be reduced below 0.
Increase Unrest
The active player increases the unrest in another player's empire by 1. The unrest level cannot be increased above 9.
Hire a New Diplomat
The active player draws 3 diplomat cards, adds 1 to their diplomat pool, and discards the rest. After resolving this effect, the diplomacy action immediately ends. Diplomats can be exchanged during the free "trade deal" action.
IMPORTANT: The player cannot have more than 5 diplomats in their diplomat pool.
Replace Influence
The active player chooses a system that meets the following requirements:
- The system is under another player's influence.
- The active player considers the system linked to at least one system under their influence.
The active player removes the influence token from the chosen system, and either places their own ready influence token in this system or moves one of their influence tokens that is already on the board into it. A moved influence token keeps its state unchanged.
REMOVING THE LAST INFLUENCE TOKEN: If the player only has 1 influence token left in the galaxy, that token cannot be removed in any way.
Capture a Diplomat
The active player chooses any diplomat in play, removes it from the table, and adds it to their diplomat pool. This diplomat is removed from play. They do not resolve the removed diplomat's abilities. This effect can affect a diplomat that targets any player. Return the diplomacy token from that diplomat to its owner.
Diplomacy Action - Example
The active player performs a diplomacy action. Before the action, the player has two ready influence tokens.
- They use the two influence tokens and spend 1 Credit, so they roll 3 dice and get the following results: 2, 4, 5.
- Based on the activation costs, the player decides to:
- spend a dice with a value of 2 to spread their influence to the system with no influence tokens,
- spend a dice with a value of 4 to reduce their empire's unrest by 1,
- spend a dice with a value of 5 to hire a new diplomat.
After resolving those effects, the player has one ready influence token and two flipped influence tokens on the board.
Management Stage
A player who passes immediately starts their management stage and performs the following steps in order:
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Gain the first passing bonus: The first player who passes during the round gains the following bonuses:
- 1 Food, 1 Research Point, 1 Production or 1 Credit (choose one).
- The opportunity to control pirates (see below).
-
Determine the order: The active player moves their empire token from its current column on the order tracker to the first empty slot in the opposite column. This will determine the player order for the next round of the game.
-
Refresh: The active player performs the following:
- a) Ready all their flipped influence tokens.
- b) Ready all their flipped cards.
- c) Ready all their units (remove their state tokens).
- d) Takes their empire action card and basic action cards back into their hand.
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Generate resources: The active player receives resources as indicated by the income trackers on their resource board.
Any abilities or traits that need to be resolved during the management stage are resolved at this step.
Additionally, during this step, all pieces that are on the active player's empire board are recycled into Production. For every scrapped piece, receive Production equal to its recycle value (page 46), then remove the piece from the empire board. (Example: when a cruiser unit is recycled, the active player gains 1 Production.)
After these steps are finished, the player's activation ends.
Controlling Pirates
The first player who passes during the round controls the pirates.
During the management stage, this player performs the following actions:
- If the pirate base is still in the game, place a new pirate raider unit in the system with the pirate base.
- After that, the player may skip this step or choose 1 system with pirate raider units to either:
- move all pirate raider units here to a system with a jump point on both sides of the shared border.
- use all pirate raider units here to attack a system with a jump point on both sides of the shared border. IMPORTANT! Pirate raider units cannot attack systems controlled by the active player.
Completing Missions
During the management stage, the active player checks to see if they have met the completion conditions of any available public missions. If they do, they take their empire token from the completed mission card and place it on their empire board. In addition to taking their empire token back, the first player to complete a card's public mission takes another player's empire token from that mission card as a captured token. A player whose empire token has been captured from a mission card can no longer complete that mission.
Choosing or Discarding Missions
The last player to pass in a given round performs the following action:
- If fewer than half of the game rounds have been completed (the order tracker's round track shows a plus mission-card icon for those rounds), the active player draws two mission cards, chooses one to place on the table, and discards the other one. After that, every player puts one of the empire tokens from their supply (not their empire board) on the new card. Starting with the next round, players will be able to complete this card's public missions during their management stage. The secret mission part of this card should be ignored.
- If at least half of the game rounds have been completed (the round track shows a minus mission-card icon for those rounds), the active player removes one of the mission cards in play. All empire tokens that are still on that card are also removed from the game.
Other Rules
Pieces in Star Systems
During the game, players will conquer many star systems. Those star systems can be improved by placing the following pieces in them:
- Planetary buildings
- Orbital buildings
- Units
- Populations
Planetary Buildings
Planetary buildings portray various buildings constructed on the surface of the planet and are represented by the planetary building icons and plastic models.
Whenever a planetary building is created in or removed from a system, a player must place or remove an associated model in or from one of the system's planetary slots.
Planetary Limits
Unless stated otherwise, every system can contain up to 2 planetary buildings. A system cannot have two identical planetary buildings. If the model of a planetary building is unavailable, it cannot be constructed.
IMPORTANT: 2 planetary buildings unlocked in the same tech branch are treated as 2 different planetary buildings. For example, a system can have both an "Automated Factory" and a "Robo Mining Plant."
Orbital Buildings
Orbital buildings portray various buildings constructed in the orbit of the local star. They are represented by the orbital building icons and plastic models.
Whenever an orbital building is created or removed from a system, a player must place or remove an associated model in one of the system's orbital slots.
Orbital Limits
Most systems can contain 1 orbital building. If the model of an orbital building is unavailable, it cannot be constructed.
Basic Terms - System Under Control: A system is under a player's control when that player has at least one unit or orbital building in that system.
Basic Terms - Owning the System: A player owns a system when that player has at least one population in it.
A player who owns a system marks it by placing their empire flag on it. A player can only own 6 systems: the number of empire flags they have. When a player wants to obtain a new system but has no empire flags left, they can always remove the flag from one of their current possessions (effectively disowning it) and place it on the new system. In this case, remove all population from the system from which the flag was removed.
Units
Units portray various spaceships located in the system and are represented by the unit icons and plastic models.
Whenever a unit is created, moved, or removed from a system, a player must mark it by placing or removing an associated model on one of the system's unit slots.
Units Limits
Star tiles have 9 unit slots, divided into 3 groups. Every unit occupies the number of unit slots depending on its type:
- Frigate unit: 1 unit slot
- Cruiser unit: 2 unit slots
- Titan: 3 unit slots
- Doom star: 3 unit slots
A unit can only be placed (through any means) in a unit slot group with enough unoccupied unit slots to accommodate it. Units in the system may be moved into different unit slots within the system to create enough space to fit a newly placed unit.
If a unit model is unavailable or cannot be made to fit into a unit slot group, it cannot be constructed.
Populations
Populations portray citizens of an empire. They are represented by the population icons, and by the numeric values on 4-sided dice placed on the star tiles.
To indicate a population being created, moved to, or removed from a system, a player must change the value of the associated population dice (or remove it entirely).
Populations are divided into three professions: farmers, scientists, and workers. These are represented as such, and increase income like this:
- Farmers are represented by green dice placed on the green slots. Every farmer increases Food Income by 1.
- Scientists are represented by blue dice placed on the blue slots. Every scientist increases Research Point Income by 1.
- Workers are represented by orange dice placed on the orange slots. Every worker increases Production Income by 1.
Population Limits
When the number of farmers, scientists or workers in a system is increased, it cannot be increased above its planet's respective population limit.
Numerous effects can alter the population limits, but they can never exceed 4 or be reduced below 0. If, for whatever reason, population limits are changed, population already present in the system is not affected.
The base population limits can be found on planet tiles.
(Example: According to the population limits on planet Cryslon, it can accommodate 0 farmers, 1 scientist, and up to 3 workers.)
Moving Population
If any effect allows a player to move a population between systems, that player may freely change the profession of the moving population during the transition. The player must respect the population limits of the system moved to.
Terraforming
Unlocking terraforming milestones increases the population limits of some planets. Icons below the planet's population limits indicate an increase in the population limit provided by each terraforming technology.
- Terraforming: The limit of the specific population profession is increased by 1 per icon when the owner of this system unlocks the "terraforming" milestone.
- Advanced Terraforming: The limit of the specific population profession is increased by 1 per icon when the owner of this system unlocks the "advanced terraforming" milestone.
(Example: This planet can accommodate only 2 farmers and 2 scientists. For players who unlocked "terraforming," it can accommodate 2 additional scientists. For players who unlocked "advanced terraforming", it can accommodate 1 worker as well.)
Diplomats
Diplomats allow players' empires to interact with each other in a civilized manner. Each player starts the game with one basic diplomat. Other diplomats can be acquired during the game by performing the "Hire a New Diplomat" or "Capture a Diplomat" diplomacy effects.
Initiator and Target: The player who traded away a diplomat as part of a trade deal is called the initiator of that diplomat. The player who has a diplomat in play is called the target of that diplomat.
Diplomats' Abilities
Every diplomat has special abilities that could be activated when it is in play.
Diplomats are divided into two groups:
- Standard Diplomats: Their abilities benefit the target.
- Spies: Their abilities benefit the initiator at the cost of the target.
A diplomat card indicates when it takes effect. Diplomat abilities each have a different government technology requirement that must be met by either the target or the initiator for it to be eligible. When a diplomat takes effect, resolve its eligible ability with the highest requirement.
(Example: The basic diplomat has 3 abilities. The first (tier 0) ability does not require anything and is eligible from the beginning of the game. The second ability is eligible after the initiator or the target of that diplomat reaches tier 2 of the government technology branch. The last one is eligible after the initiator or the target of that diplomat reaches tier 4 of the government technology branch.)
Diplomat Pool
Whenever a player acquires a diplomat, that diplomat is added to their diplomat pool. This diplomat pool should be placed next to their empire board face down. A player should not be able to see cards in the diplomat pools of other players but is always allowed to look at their own. Every player can have up to 5 cards in their diplomat pool. If a player is at this limit and receives a new diplomat, they must immediately discard one card from their diplomat pool.
Diplomats in Play
After diplomats are exchanged in a trade deal, their cards are placed on the table in front of their targets. Those diplomats are now in play. They stay in play until the point mentioned on the card is reached or until removed from the table. Diplomats in play are not in anyone's diplomat pool. To keep track of the diplomat's initiator, one of their diplomacy tokens is placed on the diplomat card as part of a trade deal. If the player has no more diplomacy tokens left, they cannot offer diplomats in trade.
Some diplomats' abilities are not resolved immediately, but they are under some other circumstances specified by the card. In that case, the diplomat is removed from play when their ability is resolved. (Example: a spy that "takes effect when the target passes" will be resolved after the target passes.)
Some abilities are in effect as long as the diplomat remains in play. Refer to the diplomat's card to see how long it should remain in play. (Example: a diplomat that "takes effect immediately and lasts as long as it remains in play" remains in play until it is captured.)
Component Details
Empire Board (Player Side)
Empire boards contain the following pieces of information about the empire:
- Image
- Name
- Home planet (page 14 - setup)
- Starting resources and tech branch (page 15 - setup)
- Empire Icon
- Special abilities
- Basic invasion effect (page 30)
- Basic combat effect (page 26)
- Income ability
- Adaptations (page 32)
- Units (page 23 - flight, page 26 - combat, page 34 - construction)
- Technology tree (page 35)
Special Abilities
Every empire has a few special abilities that can be used during the game to gain an advantage over the competition. The effects of these abilities may vary greatly, depending on the chosen empire.
(Example: The Republic of Sol has two special abilities: Liberation ("When you attack a system under your influence, gain 1 extra die in every combat roll.") and Federation Builder ("Your influence tokens may be used by the owner of the system they are in, as well as by yourself. At the end of a turn in which another player uses your influence token, it is immediately refreshed.").)
Income Ability
Every empire has an income ability that increases its resource income. The effects of this ability may vary greatly, depending on the chosen empire.
(Example: The Republic of Sol's income ability: +1 Credit Income for each system you own with at least 3 population.)
Adaptations
Some empires have adaptations that increase or decrease the amount of unrest received when colonizing specific types of planets. Those effects may vary greatly, depending on the chosen empire.
(Example: The Psilons Qunta's adaptations: Low Gravity: -2 unrest. High Gravity: +2 unrest.)
Unit Specifics
Units in the game are described with the following statistics:
- Cost: The amount of Production a player must pay to construct this unit.
- Recycle Value: The amount of Production a player reclaims after the unit is recycled during the management stage.
- Firepower: The number of dice this unit adds to a combat or invasion roll.
- Hull Points: The number of damage points required to destroy this unit.
- Speed: The maximum number of jumps between linked systems this unit can make during a single action.
- Special: Any special abilities of that unit. If two or more units with the same special ability participate in combat, and the ability does not state it can only be used once per combat, it can be used once per unit with that ability.
(Example: A titan's price is 5 Production, and when it is recycled, it provides 2 Production.)
All units under the players' command belong to one of four classes:
- Frigates: The models of these units consist of many small ships and are placed on small bases.
- Cruisers: The models of these units consist of two ships and are placed on medium bases.
- Titan: The models of these units consist of one large ship and are placed on large bases.
- Doom Star: The models of these units consist of one massive ship and are placed on large bases.
Technology Tree
The technology tree consists of four trackers, each representing one of the available technology branches. When players upgrade one of their technology branches, they move an acrylic cube along that branch to indicate its current tier. The technology tree is divided into four branches: Biology & Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Government.
To the left of each row of the tree is the cost in Research Points the player must pay to advance a technology branch to this tier, and the number of VP the player receives after advancing. Each cell of the tree contains information about the milestone the player unlocks by reaching this tier.
(Example: Upgrading a technology branch to tier 3 costs 4 Research Points and provides 1 VP.)
Milestones with the planetary building icon allow players to construct the new buildings specified. Milestones with an empire icon are unique to each empire. Their detailed description can be found on their empire's player aid.
Common Milestones:
- Biology tier 1 - Hydroponic Farm: The player can construct hydroponic farms in their systems.
- Biology tier 2 - Terraforming: Every terraforming icon on a planet tile increases the corresponding population limit by 1.
- Biology tier 3 - Soil Enrichment Facility: The player can construct soil enrichment facilities in their systems.
- Biology tier 4 - Advanced Terraforming: Every advanced terraforming icon on a planet tile increases the corresponding population limit by 1.
- Physics tier 1 - Research Laboratory: The player can construct research laboratories in their systems.
- Physics tier 2 - Database: The player increases the limit of their developed technologies by 2 (the base limit is 6).
- Physics tier 3 - Astro University: The player can construct astro universities in their systems.
- Physics tier 4 - Advanced Database: The player increases the limit of their developed technologies by a further 2 (the base limit is 6).
- Engineering tier 1 - Automated Factory: The player can construct automated factories in their systems.
- Engineering tier 2 - Jump Drive: The player considers two adjacent systems linked if there is at least one jump point on their shared border.
- Engineering tier 3 - Robo-Mining Plant: The player can construct robo-mining plants in their systems.
Resource Board
An additional board that keeps track of players' Credit Income, Food Income, Research Point Income, and Production Income. Every change in those incomes must be marked on the income trackers using acrylic cubes.
Unrest Tracker
Part of the resource board that keeps track of the unrest in a player's empire. The unrest model moves up when unrest is raised and down when it is lowered.
The numbers on the tracker represent the unrest level. During the management stage, the player must discard a number of resources indicated by their current unrest level.
Order Tracker
This board helps players track the turn order and round number. All players have one of their empire tokens on one of the tracks in the slots marked with Roman numerals. During the round, players will resolve their turn in the order indicated by the tracker.
Star Tiles
A tile representing a single star.
On the rim of the tile are symbols of jump points that determine whether the system is linked to the adjacent system on the other side of that shared border.
Additionally, on some of those tiles, there are spots where the following elements can be placed:
- Population dice
- A planet tile
- A discovery tile
- Unit models
- Building models
A system with the wormhole symbol has a wormhole. It is linked to all systems with a micro wormhole, even if they are not adjacent.
All star tiles have a system ID number. You can normally ignore this. It is used to decide how Automa acts.
Planet Tiles
A tile representing the most hospitable planet in the star system. On the planet tiles, the following pieces of information can be found:
- The planet's name
- The planet's environmental trait
- The planet's image
- The number of victory points the player who owns this planet receives at the end of the game.
- The amount of unrest the player who colonizes this planet receives.
- Farmer capacity. Indicates how many farmers can be placed in that system.
- Scientist capacity. Indicates how many scientists can be placed in that system.
- Worker capacity. Indicates how many workers can be placed in that system.
- Terraforming icons.
- Terraforming: The limit of the specific population profession is increased by 1 for every terraforming icon if the player controlling this system has unlocked the "terraforming" milestone.
- Advanced Terraforming: The limit of the specific population profession is increased by 1 for every advanced terraforming icon if the player controlling this system has unlocked the "advanced terraforming" milestone.
Planets' Traits
- Low Gravity: This planet has a low gravity.
- High Gravity: This planet has a high gravity.
- Low Temperature: This planet has a low temperature.
- High Temperature: This planet has a high temperature.
- Protected by a Space Eel: Place a space eel model in this system. The unit that discovered the system can either stay here and fight or immediately perform a retreat move.
- Protected by the Guardian: Place the guardian model in this system. The unit that discovered the system can either stay here and fight or immediately perform a retreat move.
Discovery Tiles
Discovery tiles represent the nonstandard properties of a star system. The icons on every tile provide information on its effects.
The List of Discovery Tile Icons:
- Pirates: Place a pirate raider unit in this system. The fleet that discovered the system can either stay here and fight or perform a retreat move.
- Space Eel: Place a space eel model in this system. The fleet that discovered the system can either stay here and fight or perform a retreat move.
- Micro Wormhole: This system has a micro wormhole. It and the system with the wormhole are linked, even if not adjacent. A system with Orion always has this property.
- Asteroid Field: This system has an asteroid field other effects may interact with.
- Working Conditions: This system has its base worker limit changed by the number in this icon.
- Electromagnetic Anomaly: Place anomaly tokens in this system. The number next to the icon indicates how many tokens must be placed.
- Seagrass: The player who owns this system gains one extra Food Income.
- Gold: The player who owns this system gains one extra Credit Income.
- Dark Quartz: The player who owns this system gains one extra Production Income.
- Artifacts: The player who owns this system gains one extra Research Point Income.
- Gravity Waves: Orbital buildings cannot be constructed in this system.
Tech Cards
Every tech card is divided into the following two sections:
- Action Section,
- Technology Section.
The action section is a group of icons located in the top right corner of the card. It gives information on what actions can be performed when the card is played during an action phase.
The technology section takes up the rest of the card. It provides information on the effects the card will have once the tech is developed, as well as on the technology branch tier required to develop it.
(Example: Biotechnology can be developed after the player upgrades their Biology & Chemistry technology branch to tier 2.)
Some cards include keywords:
- Shield: This card is a shield technology.
- Armor: This card is an armor technology.
- Invasion: This card can only be used during the invasion roll.
- Combat: This card can only be used during the combat roll.
- Diplomacy: This card can only be used during the diplomacy roll.
- Free Action: This card must be used as a free action.
Cards with the "once per round" icon can only be used once per round.
Developed Technologies Limit: The maximum number of developed technologies the player can have is equal to 6 (this limit can be increased through research). Basic technologies count towards this limit.
Before developing a new technology, any of the player's already developed technologies (including basic ones) may first be discarded.
Anomaly Cards
Anomaly cards represent wonders that can be found while exploring distant star systems.
The description of an anomaly card states when and how the card can be played. If the description of an anomaly card includes the 'Free Action' keyword, the active player can only play it as a free action during their turn. All these cards are treated as different free actions. An anomaly card must be discarded after it is used.
Mission Cards
Mission cards provide methods of acquiring VP. These cards are divided into two sections:
- Public mission: If the mission card is open on the table, only this part of the card matters. Players complete these missions during the management stage.
- Secret mission: If the mission card was chosen during the game setup and is in a player's hand, only this part of the card matters. Those missions are resolved at the end of the game.
(Example: Public mission: "Own at least 4 systems." Secret mission: "1 VP for every system you own.")
Diplomat Cards
Diplomat Cards represent diplomats that a player's empire can hire. They provide the following pieces of information:
- Image
- Name
- Traits
- Description. Details on when the diplomat's abilities take effect and when the diplomat is removed from play.
- Abilities. A list of abilities that can be used during a trade deal, together with their requirements - the minimum tiers of the government technology branch the initiator or the target must have to use them. A diplomacy token of a diplomat's initiator is placed on the card by the player to keep track of its effect.
Units & Buildings
Planetary Buildings
Cost is shown in Production unless stated otherwise.
- Hydroponic Farm (Biology tier 1): The player who constructed this building gains 1 Food at the end of the action. The player who owns the system with this building has their Food Income increased by 1. The income is lost if the building is destroyed or removed. Cost: 2 Production.
- Soil Enrichment Facility (Biology tier 3): The player who constructed this building gains 1 Food at the end of the action. The player who owns the system with this building has their Food Income increased by 2. It can only be constructed in a system with a Hydroponic Farm (even if it is created for free or by an effect that ignores milestone requirements). Replaces the Hydroponic Farm. The income is lost if the building is destroyed or removed. Cost: 2 Production.
- Research Laboratory (Physics tier 1): The player who constructed this building gains 1 Research Point at the end of the action. The player who owns the system with this building has their Research Point Income increased by 1. The income is lost if the building is destroyed or removed. Cost: 2 Production.
- Astro University (Physics tier 3): The player who constructed this building gains 1 Research Point at the end of the action. The player who owns the system with this building has their Research Point Income increased by 2. It can only be constructed in a system with a Research Laboratory (even if it is created for free or by an effect that ignores milestone requirements). Replaces the Research Laboratory. The income is lost if the building is destroyed or removed. Cost: 2 Production.
- Automated Factory (Engineering tier 1): The player who constructed this building gains 1 Production at the end of the action. The player who owns the system with this building has their Production Income increased by 1. The income is lost if the building is destroyed or removed. Cost: 2 Production.
- Robo Mining Plant (Engineering tier 3): The player who constructed this building gains 1 Production at the end of the action. The player who owns the system with this building has their Production Income increased by 2. It can only be constructed in a system with an Automated Factory (even if it is created for free or by an effect that ignores milestone requirements). Replaces the Automated Factory. The income is lost if the building is destroyed or removed. Cost: 2 Production.
Orbital Buildings
- Outpost: Participates in combat. Cost: 1 Production. Firepower 2, Hull Points 2, Speed -.
- Battle Station: Participates in combat. It can only be constructed in a system with an Outpost (even if it is created for free). Replaces the Outpost. Cost: 2 Production. Firepower 3, Hull Points 4, Speed -.
Neutral Pieces
- Pirate Raiders: Combat - Gains 1 firepower if their enemy has an unrest level of 2 or higher. Reward: 1 Credit. Firepower 1, Hull Points 1, Speed 1. Combat effect: 4+ (infinity) -> 1 damage.
- Space Eel: Reward: 3 any resource. Firepower 2, Hull Points 4, Speed 1. Combat effect: 5+ (infinity) -> 2 damage.
- Pirate Base (orbital building): Reward: 3 Credits, 3 any resource, 1 VP. Firepower 3, Hull Points 4, Speed -. Combat effect: 4+ (infinity) -> 1 damage.
- The Guardian: Combat - After a combat roll, the player must re-roll all their dice with a value of 5 or higher, once. Reward: 6 any resource, 3 VP. Firepower 3, Hull Points 6, Speed -. Combat effect: 3+ (infinity) -> 3 damage.