Orbital Conflict Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Free for all
• Tournaments
• Components
• Rules
• Game setup
  • Draw pile
  • Investor pile
  • Determine the starting player
• Turn order summary
• Draw phase
  • Drawing cards
  • Resources
  • Card layout
• Main phase
  • Stations
  • Modules
  • Extensions
  • Requirements and production
• Activate/deactivate modules
• Discard rules
• Special rules
• Claiming investors
• Combat phase
  • Attackers & Targets
  • Declaring attacks
  • Dealing damage
• Winning the game
  • Victory points
  • End phase

Free for all

There are 96 station cards altogether. For 2 players use 48 station random cards, for 3 players use 72 random cards and for 4 players use all 96 cards. Use all investor cards independent of the number of players.

• 2 players (1v1): 48 random cards
• 3 players: 72 random cards
• 4 players: All 96 cards

Tournaments

For two 1v1 games, either draw 48 random station cards for each game, or divide them into two identical decks.

Split the investor cards into two decks without duplicates, one for each game.

• 4 players (2 x 1v1)

Components

• 96 station cards:
  • 6 Armor
  • 4 Asteroid
  • 2 Colony
  • 4 Communication
  • 4 Dock
  • 4 Drones
  • 2 Elevator
  • 4 Fighter
  • 8 Habitat
  • 4 Hotel
  • 4 Impact
  • 4 Miner
  • 4 Failure
  • 4 Missile
  • 2 Reactor
  • 4 Sabotage
  • 2 Satellite
  • 2 Service arm
  • 2 Shield
  • 4 Shuttle
  • 14 Solar panel
  • 2 Telescope
  • 2 Thrusters
  • 4 Turret
• 36 investor cards:
  • 2 Beyond Spaceline
  • 2 Blue Shield
  • 2 Dark Star
  • 2 Earth View
  • 2 First Line Defense

Rules

Rules on the cards apply first and can override the general rules in this book. Visit steelcavestudio.com/orbitalconflict for updates, FAQ and tutorials.

Game setup

Draw pile

Shuffle all station cards and place them face down into one pile within reach for all players. This is the draw pile. Deal 5 cards from this pile to each player. These cards are referred to as the player's hand, and their face side information are kept hidden from other players.

Investor pile

Shuffle all investor cards and place them face down into one pile next to the draw pile.

Determine the starting player

The starting player receives the initiative card.

The initiative card keeps track of which player starts every phase during a turn.

Turn order summary

The game will be played during several turns, each of which consists of 3 phases (draw, main, combat). Starting with the player holding the initiative card, each phase is played by all players in clockwise order before a new phase begins. When the last phase is completed, a new turn begins and the initiative card is passed clockwise to the next player. This will result in the following pattern for 3 players: "draw, draw, draw, main, main, main, combat, combat, combat, new turn, repeat".

a) Draw phase:

1. Draw 2 station cards to your hand.
2. Turn up 2 investor cards, place them in front of you, face up, as available investors.

b) Main phase, in any order:

• Play up to all cards from the hand as modules or extensions to the station.
• Claim or push 1 investor card, then discard your unused available investors.

(The end phase begins if the draw pile was emptied. The player with the most victory points wins.)

c) Combat phase:

1. Declare all attacks.
2. Deal damage.

End of turn, pass on initiative card to the next player in clockwise order.

Draw phase

Drawing cards

1. Draw 2 station cards from the draw pile to your hand.
2. Reveal 2 investor cards from the investor pile by placing them face up in front of you so that all players can see them. They are referred to as your available investors. All players have their own available investors.

Special- or discard rules may be used at any time during the phase.

When the investor pile runs out of cards, reshuffle all discarded investor cards into a new investor pile.

Resources

Production: Any production, Explore, Crew, Energy, Ship.

Requirement: Explore, Crew, Energy, Ship.

Other: Victory point, Attack value, Defense value.

Card layout

There are 2 types of cards; Station- and Investor cards. Each contains several symbols and rules.

Station card: Production, Victory points, Requirements, Attack value, Extension bar, Special rule ("This is a special rule; it only applies when the card is played to the station as a module."), Discard rule ("This is a discard rule; it only applies when the card is discarded from the hand."), Defense value.

Investor card: Demands (top), Victory points (bottom).

Main phase

Stations

All station cards that are placed in front of a player are referred to as that player's station. Placing a station card from the hand to a station is referred to as playing that card. Players can only play station cards to their own station.

During the main phase, a player can play any station card, either face side or backside, to the station (as long as that card has one or more defense value). There is no general limit to the number of station cards that can be played during a main phase, though there is one limiting factor specified on page 10 under "Victory points".

Only cards with one or more defense value can be played to the station.

The two cards to the left can be played to the station. The two cards to the right cannot be played to the station. However, the backside can always be played to the station (the card in the middle).

Modules

When you play a station card to your station, it becomes a module that you control. Multiple modules can be placed next to each other.

A module's special rule(s) and resources are ready to be used as soon as it is played. Modules remain in the station until they are destroyed or by other means removed. Modules may not be returned to the hand.

These three cards are modules in a station. Each player have their own station.

Extensions

When a station card is played as an extension, it is placed at the bottom of a module (showing only its extension bar) or on top of a module (hiding all but the extension bar of the card below). This may hide some rules and resources which therefore no longer apply. An extended module still counts as a single module. Extensions cannot be placed in-between existing extensions. Extensions cannot be moved between modules or be rearranged within a module once played.

Modules played in earlier turns cannot extend each other, but can be extended by new station cards.

Module in station. Card from hand. Two different ways to extend the same module.

Requirements and production

Station cards with production (green arrow icon) allow station cards with requirements (red icon) to be played and kept active. Requirements must be met by production in both type (e.g. explore, crew etc.) and amount.

Production is shared by all modules in the station. Requirements are specific to each module and if not met, the module becomes deactivated, see next page.

This module produces 2 energy, 1 explore, 1 ship and 3 crew. It requires 3 energy.

This module produces 6 energy but has no requirements.

This module produces 1 energy and 2 ship and requires 1 crew and 4 energy.

Together, the modules produce enough energy and crew to meet each module's individual requirements. It does not matter in which module a resource is produced or where it is required, as long as the station as a whole produces enough for its requirements.

Activate/deactivate modules

If a module's requirements are met, it is active. If a module's requirements are no longer met, it becomes deactivated.

If there is a decrease in production and some (but not all) modules must be deactivated, the player in control of that station chooses which one(s) to deactivate. Note that deactivation may cause multiple other modules to deactivate.

If there is an increase in production and there are multiple deactivated modules that can be activated, the player in control of that station chooses which one(s) to activate.

A player may deactivate modules in order to meet the requirements of new modules.

(Turn module to deactivate icon.) In order to play this module... / ...this module must be deactivated (turned) / ...as the production can only meet the requirements of one of them.

Before a player's main phase has ended, all deactivated modules that can be activated must be activated. Modules and extensions played during the main phase must be active at the end of that main phase. Modules that are deactivated cannot be extended unless the new extension(s) activates it.

Players may only activate modules during their own main phase. Whole modules, including all their extensions, are activated/deactivated. Individual extensions cannot be deactivated.

Modules (together with their extensions) are turned 90° to indicate that they are deactivated. Deactivated modules cannot use their special rule or resources except their defense value, as they can be the target for attacks and special/discard rules.

Take the example from page 5 again. If the module in the middle is destroyed, the production is no longer enough and the two remaining modules must be deactivated.

If the module to the left is destroyed, the module to the right needs to be deactivated as its requirement of 1 crew is no longer met by the station's total production.

If the module to the right is destroyed, none of the other two modules needs to be deactivated as their requirements are still met.

Discard rules

Discard rules are written in white text against a black background. Discard rules may be restricted to a specific phase and cannot be used during other players' phases. Cards may have more than one discard rule but only one can be used. When a discard rule is used, that card is immediately discarded. A card's requirements do not need to be met in order to use that card's discard rule.

This card has two discard rules. One can be played during any phase, the other only during the draw phase.

This card has two discard rules. One can only be played during the combat phase, the other only during the draw phase.

This card has one discard rule that can only be played during the combat phase.

This card has one discard rule that can only be played during the draw phase.

Special rules

Special rules are written in black text against a white background. These rules only apply when the station card is in play as an active module. A special rule may be used immediately as the card is played. Only special rules on the top card in a module with extensions are visible and can be used.

Special rules can be used once per phase, every turn, though they may be restricted to a specific phase. These rules cannot be used during other players' phases unless stated otherwise.

Here are four different examples of station cards with special rules. They can only be used when played to the station as a module.

Claiming investors

Resources on the white background of the investor cards are called demands. Investors can be claimed if the type and amount of resources in a player's station meets or exceeds the investor's demands. A player does not need to meet the demands of investors that have already been claimed (e.g. the modules used to claim an investor may be destroyed but the claimed investor still remains).

During the main phase, a player may claim one of its available investors or force another player to claim one of them (if so, only that player has to meet the investor's demands). Discard the remaining available investors.

To meet this demand, any production type can be used, only the amount is important.

This investor demands that the station produce at least 3 crew. It is worth 3 victory points when the game ends.

This investor demands that the station has at least 5 defense value. It is worth 2 victory points when the game ends.

A player's available investors this turn.

This station contains four modules (one of which is extended to produce more energy). Both of the available investors' demands are met by the station but only one can be claimed. One of the modules has a requirement of one crew; this does not affect the ability to claim investors.

Claimed investors form the player's investor stack. They are added to the investor stack from the left or right of already claimed investors. If a player already has 3 investors and a new one is added, the opposite investor is pushed away and is discarded. If forcing another player to claim the investor, it is the forcing player who decides from which direction the investor is pushed.

The recently claimed "New" investor is placed to the left of the already existing three. The right most must be discarded.

The recently claimed "New" investor is placed to the right of the already existing three. The left most must be discarded.

Combat phase

Attackers & Targets

Attacks can only be performed during a player's own combat phase. Modules and/or discard rules used to attack are called attackers. Modules that are attacked are called targets. Modules must be active to attack (though not to be the target of an attack).

Declaring attacks

To declare an attack, the player chooses at least one attacker and at least one target. Modules must attack and be targeted as a whole (individual extensions cannot attack or be targeted by themselves). A module can declare an attack only once per combat phase.

An attack value cannot be split to multiple targets. Multiple attackers can attack the same target and, if so, their attack values are combined into one single attack value (they still count as multiple attackers).

The attacking player must declare all attacks before damage is dealt (e.g. if any countermeasures are used, you cannot declare new attackers).

If played as modules in a station, both have an attack value of 1 each. Alternatively, in the hand, both cards have discard rules that can be used to attack.

Dealing damage

If an attack value is equal to or greater than a target's defense value, the targeted module is dealt damage equal to the attack value, and is possibly destroyed.

If a module is damaged, the player who controls it must, starting from the bottom, discard an amount of station cards from that module that is equal to the attack value.

• A module's total defense value is a threshold value.
• An attack value must be equal to or greater than the target's defense value to deal damage.
• If an attack is dealt, do not subtract the defense value from the damage.
• If X damage is dealt, X cards are removed from that module.

This module has a defense value of 3. An attack value of 3 or higher is required to damage it (lesser attack values will not harm it). If targeted by an attack value of 3, the damage of three cards are discarded and only one card remains. An attack value of 4 or greater would have destroyed it completely.

Module with attack value of 1.

Extended module. Counts as 1 attack on one target with an attack value of 2.

Combined, these two modules have an attack value of 3 distributed over 2 attackers. They can either attack the same target or choose two different targets.

Winning the game

Victory points

You may not play station cards with a combined value of more than two victory points per turn. This restriction does not apply if a played card's victory point becomes hidden by other cards in a module the same turn as it was played. This may limit the amount of station cards a player can play during a main phase.

End phase

The end phase begins after the last player's main phase, the same turn as the last card is drawn from the draw pile. If all players couldn't draw their cards, create a new draw pile from the cards in the discard pile and allow remaining players to draw their cards (the game still ends this turn).

Each player counts the amount of visible victory points on claimed investors and on active modules/extensions in the player's station. The player with the most victory points wins the game. Effects of discard- and special rules do not apply during the end phase.

If there is a tie for the win, continue the game with those players one turn at a time. After the end phase, if the game continues, effects of discard- and special rules now apply again. Recount victory points each turn after all remaining players have completed the main phase. Apply only to determine the winning player, in space there is no second place!

If a four player game ends with a tie between three players, only those three players continue the turn, starting with the combat phase. After the main phase next turn, victory points are recounted. Now there is a tie between two of the players. The final two players continue the turn, starting with the combat phase. After the main phase next turn, victory points are recounted. There is now a winner of the game.

This station has four modules, two with extensions. It's worth a total of 4 victory points.

These three investor cards are worth a total of 7 victory points. Combined with the station above, the player has 4 + 7 = 11 victory points.