Moonrakers: Binding Ties Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Components
• Game Setup
  • Armory Board
  • Dispatch Board
  • Reputation Terminals
• Gameplay
  • Binding Ties
  • Earning Reputation
  • Recording Reputation
  • Spending Reputation
  • Possible Rewards
  • Trading Reputation
  • Losing Reputation
• Extras
• Glossary
  • General Terms

Game Overview

In Binding Ties, the first major expansion to Moonrakers, players will gain additional rewards from allying with each other as they gain Faction Reputation with the great houses that each player represents.

Reputation can mean the difference between completing a Contract or failing. It can be spent for various rewards like gaining cards or actions, but if carefully saved throughout the game it can even mean gaining additional Prestige.

Components

The Binding Ties expansion contains:

• Rulebook x1
• Reputation Terminals x5
• Faction Tokens x20
• Objective Cards x10
• Contract Cards x10
• Ship Parts x10
• Crew Cards x10

Game Setup

Begin by setting up the base game of Moonrakers as laid out in its rulebook, with the following exceptions:

Armory Board

1. Add the Binding Ties Ship Parts to the main deck of Ship Parts from the Base game before shuffling and placing onto the Armory Board.

2. Add the Binding Ties Crew cards to the main deck of Crew from the Base game before shuffling and placing onto the Armory Board.

Dispatch Board

1. Add the Binding Ties Contracts to the main deck of Contracts from the Base game before shuffling and placing onto the Dispatch Board.

2. Add the Binding Ties Objectives to the main deck of Objectives from the Base game before shuffling, placing onto the Dispatch Board, and dealing 3 to each player. Players will secretly choose 2 and discard the 3rd to the bottom of the Objective Deck as outlined in the base game rules.

NOTE: The Binding Ties Expansion can only be played with 3-5 players.

NOTE: All expansions have their own marker in the bottom left hand side of the card. If you wish to play just the base game of Moonrakers or without certain expansions, it's helpful to separate out the expansion cards. You can do so by looking for the expansion marker in the bottom left of the card.

Reputation Terminals

Each player should take the Reputation Terminal in the same color as their Command Terminal and place it on the table above their Command Terminal in view of the other players.

Next, each player takes a Faction Token matching the color of all other players (but not their own color) and places them on the 0 space of their Reputation Terminals, returning any unused colors to the game's box.

Once the Binding Ties cards have been combined into the base game's respective decks and all players have their Reputation Terminal and Faction Tokens, you are ready to begin the game!

Gameplay

Binding Ties

The Binding Ties expansion plays very similarly to the base game of Moonrakers, but adds extra incentive to ally with others, providing interesting choices of how to best use those rewards.

Faction Reputation is tracked on your Reputation Terminal and can be spent to help you accomplish Contracts, upgrade your Ship, gain new Objectives, or even gain Prestige.

Earning Reputation

Earning Faction Reputation

Players can gain Faction Reputation in a few ways:

1. Allying with other players

• Players who complete a Contract together as Allies all gain 1 Faction Reputation with each other's Faction color

2. Contract Rewards

• Some Contracts will have Faction Reputation as a reward. These become a part of negotiation just like Prestige and Credits during the Negotiation phase of a Contract.
• This reward will be associated with one of the Factions based on its color. If you gain the Faction reputation reward, you gain one Faction Reputation with that color Faction.
• If you represent that Faction or if no player represents that Faction in the current game, then you may choose which Faction to gain Reputation with.

3. Crew and Ship Part Abilities

• Some Crew and Ship parts will allow you to gain Faction Reputation with a specific Faction or one of your choice.

Recording Reputation

Recording Faction Reputation

When you gain Faction Reputation, move the appropriate color Faction token one space to the right on the Reputation Terminal. Players cannot have less than 0 or more than 5 Faction Reputation with any Faction.

Example: The player completes a Contract with the Sorellia and Komek players, which moves the blue and purple token 1 space to the right.

Spending Reputation

Spending Faction Reputation:

Players may spend their Faction Reputation for rewards and assistance with completing Contracts during the game.

To spend Faction Reputation, a player simply moves a Faction token one space to the left on the track on their Reputation Terminal board for each Faction Reputation spent.

Rewards with a white box in the "SAME" titled row must be acquired using only one color of Faction Reputation, while rewards with a gradient box in the "ANY" titled row can be acquired by spending several different Faction's Reputation.

Additionally, some of the Rewards can be gained at any time while others can only be gained at particular times. This will be outlined in the following pages.

Possible Rewards

1 Reputation

• Discard a Contract (SAME): As Mission Leader you may trade a Faction Reputation to discard a Contract and draw a new one during your planning phase. A player can do this as many times as they would like.
• Discard an Armory Card (ANY): As Mission Leader you may trade a Faction Reputation to discard a Ship Part or Crew from the Armory and draw a new one during your buy phase. A player may do this as many times as they would like.

2 Reputation

• +1 Credit (SAME): At any time, a player may trade 2 Faction Reputation of the same color to gain 1 Credit.
• +1 Action or Card (ANY): During a Contract in which they are participating, a player may trade 2 Faction Reputation of any color to gain 1 Action or Draw 1 Card.

3 Reputation

• Draw 1 Objective (SAME): At any time, a player may trade 3 Faction Reputation of the same color to Draw 1 Objective.
• Trash a Card (ANY): At any time, a player may trade 3 Faction Reputation of any color to trash a card from their hand. The player does not draw a card to replace this trashed card.

4 Reputation

• Subtract 2 from any 1 requirement (SAME): During a Contract in which they are participating, a player may trade 4 Faction Reputation of the same color to reduce a single Contract requirement by 2.
• Bonus Card (ANY): At any time other than another player's Buy phase, a player may trade 4 Faction Reputation of any color to Draw the top card of either the Crew or Ship Part Deck in the Armory. They may discard the card.

5 Reputation

• +1 Prestige (SAME): At any time, a player may trade 5 Faction Reputation of the same color to gain 1 Prestige.
• Block 1 Hazard Die (ANY): During a Contract in which they are participating, a player may trade 5 Faction Reputation of any color to block 1 Hazard Die targeting them.

Example (SAME): If a player trades in 5 Faction Reputation to gain a Prestige, they must first have a Faction Token on the 5th space of their Reputation Terminal track. They would then move it from that space to the 0 space and gain 1 Prestige.

Example (ANY): If a player trades in 5 Faction Reputation to block 1 Hazard Die, they must spend a total of 5 Faction Reputation of any combination by moving those Faction tokens a total of 5 spaces to the left on their Reputation Terminal Track. They may then block Hazards rolled on 1 Hazard Die that was targeting them during a Contract.

Trading Reputation

At any time, a player can trade any combination of 3 Faction Reputation to gain 1 Faction Reputation of another color.

Reputation may be traded at a 3:1 ratio.

Losing Reputation

Losing Faction Reputation

If a Contract is failed, all players on the Contract lose one Faction Reputation from each of their Allies' Faction colors. A player cannot have less than 0 Faction Reputation with any Faction. If a Mission Leader fails a Contract alone, there is no Faction Reputation penalty.

Example: If the Komek and Henko players attempt a Contract together but are unable to complete it, both players would move the Faction Token matching their Allies' color one space to the left on their Reputation Terminal's track.

Extras

Additional Rules

Faction Reputation is not part of the negotiation process during the planning phase. All players gain or lose Faction Reputation depending upon the outcome of the Contract, even if a player negotiates for no rewards on the Contract itself.

Once Faction Reputation is spent (i.e. the token moved on their boards), a player cannot change their mind and recover it.

Faction Reputation may not be traded among players. Faction Reputaion [sic, as printed] rewards from Contracts are negotiated like any other reward.

New Buy Phase Rules

Players may now freely discard 1 Crew or Ship Part from the Armory at the beginning of their buy phase. After their free discard, they may spend 1 Credit to discard a second card at any time during their buy phase, but not a third.

Advice

Once you have a Faction at space 5 it is generally a good idea to spend it so that other players are not tempted to betray you in order to force you to lose Faction Reputation with them.

Your Faction Terminal is helpful for soloing Contracts, but spending it early may cost you a Prestige in the late game!

Glossary

General Terms

Allies: Players attempting the current Contract, excluding the Mission Leader. This can also refer to anyone on a Contract who is not the owner of a used Ship Part or Crew. Allies are the only players with whom you gain or lose Faction Reputation.

Faction: Each player represents a Faction. Other players can gain Reputation with that Faction represented by Faction Tokens.

Reputation: A player gains Reputation by completing Contracts with other players, from some Crew and Ship Part specials, or from Contract rewards.

Trading Reputation: A player may trade 3 Reputation to gain 1 Reputation of any color at any time. Players may not trade reputation with each other.

Lowest Faction: The Faction Token that is the furthest to the left on the Reputation Terminal. In the event of a tie, the player chooses.

No reward: No reward is gained when a player participating in a Contract receives no Contract rewards. Receiving Faction Reputation through allying with others does not count as a Contract reward.

Ties During Gameplay (Not Endgame Tiebreakers): Ties are broken in player order following the Mission Leader.