Moons
Moons Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 56 Moon Cards (14 of each suit)
- 4 Asteroid Cards
- 6 Player Aids
- 71 Tokens: 17 Jupiter, 17 Saturn, 17 Neptune, 17 Uranus, 1 Earth's Moon (First Player Marker), 1 Earth, 1 Block
- 38 Mini-Asteroid Cards: 12 Score Modifiers (3 of each suit), 10 Trade Card, 10 Trade Token, 6 Block
Set-Up
- Separate the planet tokens (Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus) and place them within reach of all players.
- Give a Score Reference Card to each player. Put any extra back in the box.
- Shuffle the mini-Asteroid cards, then deal two to each player. Place the remaining mini-Asteroid cards face-down within reach of the players.
- Shuffle all of the full-size Moon and Asteroid cards together and deal out the entire deck.
- Place the Block token off to the side.
Quick Play
- Complete Set-Up above.
- Each player creates a face-down three-card tableau using any three Moon cards in hand.
- All players reveal tableaus simultaneously.
- The player with the highest numbered card amongst all tableaus gets the Earth token and the Earth's Moon token (the first player marker).
- First player leads the trick by playing a Moon card.
- In clockwise order, each player may play a full-size Asteroid card and/or a Moon card (with Moon cards following suit if able). The player with the highest numbered on-suit card wins the trick and gains a planet token that matches any suit in their tableau.
- The lowest off-suit card wins a token matching its type.
- The winner of the trick leads the next trick.
- After all cards have been played, the winner of the most tricks gains 1 additional planet token of any kind (regardless of tableau). In the case of a tie, all tied players receive 1 additional token of any kind (regardless of tableau).
- Players who earned zero tricks during the round may then take one token that matches any card in their tableau.
- Pass the Earth's Moon (the first player marker) token to the left. The Earth token should never be moved.
- The new first player shuffles and deals out all Moon cards for the next round and leads the first trick.
- Repeat until all Moon tokens are distributed or until all players have dealt once.
Game Sequence Details
Once all cards are dealt, each player will choose 3 cards in their hand and place them face-down on the table in front of them. Once all players have placed their three cards, they should all be revealed simultaneously. These will be the player's tableaus.
The player with the highest numbered card in the tableau becomes the first player and receives the Earth and Earth's Moon tokens. In the case of a tie, go to the next highest card between the tied players. If still tied, go to the third highest.
About the Tableau
Tableau cards will not be played and are not considered part of the player's hand. These simply dictate which planet tokens a player may take on winning a trick, and serve as a way for each player to "short suit" their hand.
Starting with the first player, and moving in clockwise order, each player may play one mini-Asteroid card if they wish, and then must play a Moon card. The card played by the first player is the card that "led."
There are 4 suits in Moons: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Moon Card Suits and Following Suit
Each suit has 14 cards that range from 1 to 14.
If a player holds a card that matches the suit that led, he/she must follow suit. For example, if the trick was led by the Saturn 6 Moon card ("Titan"), and you have any Saturn Moon cards in your hand, you must play one of them even if it will lose the trick.
If a player does not have a card that matches the leading suit, they may play any card instead.
The player with the lowest off-suit in the trick may take one planet token of the suit they played. For example, if Jupiter led and the cards in the trick are Jupiter 14 ("Io"), Jupiter 12 ("Europa"), Neptune 4 ("Despina"), and Saturn 2 ("Enceladus"), the player who played the Jupiter 14 ("Io") wins the trick and can pick any planet token that matches a planet in their tableau, while the player who played the Saturn 2 ("Enceladus") may take a Saturn token for being the lowest off-suit.
Tip: It may benefit you to short suit your hand in order to increase your chances for off-suit tokens.
Low-Suit Ties
In the case of a tie for the lower off-suit card, no player gets a token for playing off-suit.
Note: A tie happens only if the cards played are both the same number and both off-suit.
Once all players have played their cards, the card with the highest number of the suit that led wins all the played cards. This is called a "trick."
The winner of the trick may take one planet token that matches a suit in their tableau.
Tip: Consider what tokens you need for maximum points when building your tableau.
Trick winners should separate and keep all tricks won, since a bonus token will be awarded for the most tricks won in a round.
The winner of the current trick will lead the next trick.
End of the Round (All Cards Have Been Played)
The player who won the most tricks gets a planet token of any type (regardless of tableau) as a bonus reward.
Any player who hasn't won any tricks may take one planet token matching a suit in that player's tableau. For example, if Bobby took no tricks and his tableau has 2 Jupiter cards and 1 Uranus card, Bobby may take 1 Jupiter token or 1 Uranus token.
Tip: Planet tokens are a limited resource. If a player wins a token that is no longer available, he/she receives nothing in place of it.
Pass the Earth's Moon token to the player on the left. This player will deal out all the cards for the new round and lead the first trick.
Asteroid Cards
There are 4 asteroids in the Moons deck ("433 Eros," "1 Ceres," "951 Gaspra," and "4 Vesta"). An Asteroid can be played by a player on their turn in lieu of a Moon card, regardless of other matching suit cards in hand.
A player may also play both a mini-Asteroid card and a Moon card, if they choose, but the mini-Asteroid card is always played first.
A full-size Asteroid card may not lead. If a player is leading and only has full-size Asteroid cards, he/she must pass the lead to the next player in clockwise order.
When a full-size Asteroid card is played, the player who played it may immediately draw one mini-Asteroid card from the mini-Asteroid deck.
Mini-Asteroid Card Types
There are 4 different types of mini-Asteroid.
Score Modifiers. These provide improved scoring options at the end of the game for token sets that match those printed on the card. These cards can modify any number of sets that match what is shown on the card.
Block Token. Take the block token regardless of where it resides and place it by your tableau, visible to all players. You are now immune from any type of forced trade (tokens or cards). You will keep it until another Block token mini-Asteroid card is played to take it.
Trade Token. Trade one planet token you have with another player's planet token.
Trade Card. Trade one Moon card in your hand with one Moon card from any player's tableau, including your own.
Tip: Use this ability to grab a card that may help you win a future trick or planet token!
The End of the Game
Play continues until either all planet tokens are gone or every player has dealt one time, as indicated by the Earth's Moon token.
When one of these ending conditions is met, the game ends and each player totals their scores as follows:
- 10 Victory Points: Complete Set of Planets. A complete set consists of 1 Jupiter token, 1 Saturn token, 1 Neptune token and 1 Uranus token.
- 2 Victory Points: Each Planet in a Set of 3 or More. A complete set consists of 1 Jupiter token, 1 Saturn token, 1 Neptune token and 1 Uranus token.
Note: the explanatory line printed under the 2 Victory Points heading in the source repeats the complete-set wording of the 10 Victory Points entry, as printed. The heading is the scoring rule; the sentence is transcribed as printed and not corrected.
Final Scoring: Other Planet Tokens
1 Victory Point: Each Other Planet Token. Earn 1 Victory Point for all other planet tokens you control, regardless of type.
NOTE: Each planet token earned can only be counted once during final scoring.
Apply Mini-Asteroid Card Modifiers and Bonuses
The Score Modifier mini-Asteroid cards shown in the source are: a Saturn card worth 2 VP; a Jupiter pair worth 4 VP; a Uranus triple worth 8 VP; and a Neptune pair worth 4 VP.
Update your scores with any mini-Asteroid card modifiers if they apply, and add any additional Victory Points bonuses.
Ties
If tied, the player with the most Jupiter planet tokens is the winner. If still tied, the player with the most Saturn planet tokens is the winner. If it is still tied, the player with the most Neptune tokens is the winner, and if still tied, the player with the most Uranus tokens wins.