"Relative" Space Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Set Up
• How to Play
  • Choose an Escape Pod
  • Play a Card
  • Jamming an Escape Pod
  • LAUNCH!
• Winning the Game
• Credits

Contents

• 120 cards
• 6 escape pods
• This rulebook

Set Up

1. Shuffle all of the cards together.

2. Deal each player their 12-card stash, according to the diagram below, leaving only the top two rows face-up. Important: Players may not look at their bottom row of face-down cards.

3. Place one of the escape pods face-up in the center of the play area, within reach of all players. Keep the other escape pods off to the side of the table.

4. The player who most recently packed a bag will be the first player.

How to Play

In clockwise turn order, starting with the first player, each player will do the following on their turn:

• Choose an escape pod
• Play a card

Choose an Escape Pod

At the start of your turn, choose an open escape pod to play one of your available cards onto. An open pod is face-up and in play in the center of the play space.

Opening Additional Escape Pods

Players can open an additional escape pod at the start of their turn by playing a keycard from their stash, if they have one. To play a keycard, grab one of the unused pods and place it face-up alongside one of the open pods, then discard the keycard from the game. Finally, play a card onto the new pod and end your turn.

Important: There must always be at least one available escape pod. If a card forces the players to LAUNCH! or remove the only open pod in play, the current player must place one of the unused escape pods into play, face-up.

Play a Card

After choosing a pod, the current player selects an available card from their stash and plays it face-up on that pod.

Types of Cards

There are two different types of cards:

• Item cards, which have a number value at the top.
• Special item cards, which have a symbol along with instructions at the bottom, which must be completed immediately upon playing the card onto a pod.

Available Cards

An available card is completely uncovered in a player's stash—meaning that no other card covers any part of it.

Example: Nico needs to select a card from their stash to play onto a pod. Nico's stash has three cards in view: a "2" item card and a "9" item card, neither of which is covered by any other card, so Nico can select either of them to play onto a pod. A third card, a "1" item card, is covered by the "9" card above it, so Nico cannot play this card onto a pod until the "9" card has been placed.

Successfully Loading an Escape Pod

To successfully play an item card onto an escape pod, the value of the item card must be equal to or higher than the value of the top card of that pod. If a player plays a card with a lower value than the top card on the chosen pod, they jam the pod (see Jamming an Escape Pod).

Example: Luca has selected the "2" card from the top of their stash. If Luca plays it onto a pod whose top card is currently "1", the play succeeds, because "2" is higher than "1". If Luca instead plays the "2" onto a pod whose top card is currently "5", this will cause a jam, because "2" is lower than "5".

Special item cards do not have number values and can be played on top of any card. Unless otherwise specified, any card can be played on top of a special item card, since it has no number.

Playing Face-down Cards

Face-down cards are not revealed when they are uncovered—they must be played blindly from a player's stash. To play a face-down card, select a pod, and flip the card over. This may cause a jam!

Important: Players may only play one card per turn, unless otherwise specified by a special item card.

Jamming an Escape Pod

Exceeding the maximum capacity of a pod will cause it to jam, rupture, and immediately eject all the packed loot, and now that mess is YOUR problem.

If a player jams a pod by playing a card with a lower value than the pod's top card, they must do the following:

• If there is only one available escape pod: Remove the cards from the chosen pod, including the card that jammed the pod, leaving the pod open and in play. The active player then shuffles these cards and uses them to refill all of the empty spaces in the rows of their stash that contained cards at the start of their turn. These new cards get added to their stash face-up. Complete the bottom row first, then the second and top rows as needed. Discard any leftover cards collected from the pod.
• If there is more than one available escape pod: Follow the same procedure, except: when finished, remove the empty pod from the play area.

Example: Ellie tried to play a card onto a pod, and it didn't fit. They have jammed a pod and now need to refill their stash. Before the jam, Ellie has emptied the top row of their stash, with 2 cards remaining in row two and 3 cards in row three. Ellie received 5 cards from the pod that they jammed. After shuffling those cards, they place 2 cards in row three and 2 cards in row two, all face-up. Row one was completely empty at the start of Ellie's turn, so Ellie does not need to play any cards in row one. The remaining card from the pod is discarded.

LAUNCH!

Multiple special item cards include the LAUNCH! action. When playing a card with this ability, follow all the instructions on the card first, then LAUNCH!

In order to LAUNCH!, discard the escape pod the LAUNCH! card was played onto along with all cards there, removing them from play. For extra effect, make a spaceship noise as you discard it all to the box!

Important: After launching, if there are no available escape pods, remember to place an unused one into the play area.

Winning the Game

Once you've gotten all of your loot into the pods and off the station, it's time for you to make your escape! The Gal Luxee Super Orbital Space Station is about to blow, and the ride out of here only has room for one. (Don't feel bad about your relatives. They would definitely do the same to you.)

The first player who empties their stash by successfully playing their last card is immediately declared the winner of the game!

Credits

Game Designers: Eric Bettinger & Nick Leedy

Art: Chris Grine

Rulebook & Graphic Design: Michael DeVito & Jason Harris

Game Development: Michael Guigliano

Rulebook Editor: Phil Gross

Art Direction: Brian Robertson

Playtesters: Alisha Bettinger, Melissa Leedy, Mike & Mary Pacini, Ethan & Sam Landenberger, Andrew & Alexandra Polizzi, Dylan & Chelsea Broome, Joe & Alyssa Iaconis, Brandon & Nikki Young, Laura Guigliano, Bobby West, Keith Ward, Jason Engle, Phil Gross, Lachlan Kadick, John Bankert, That Epic Night At Origins (Dave and Di Rossi, Tim Aberli, Andrew Stiles, Evan Halbert, West "The Flamingo" Todd), Chad Smith, Jessica Hernandez, Kenny Welker, David Rodriguez, Will Esgro, Jon Malbrough, Donnie Coleman, Corey Andalora, Ari, and the CuseCon Game Designer Guild

Publisher: Michael DeVito | Business Director: Kenny Welker

Writer: David A. Rodriguez | www.th3rdworld.com