Res Publica: 2230AD
Res Publica: 2230AD Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 66 Race cards: 12 each of Terrans, Ornopeans, Galaesh, Damakros, Skythris and 6 of Aturians
- 66 Technology cards: 12 each of Asteroid Mining, Bionic Implants, Mechanized Warfare, Teleport, Warp Speed and 6 of Cloning Facility
- 6 Pilot cards
- 6 Trooper cards
- 2 New Colony cards
- 2 University cards
- 5 Two-sided Reference Boards
- 5 Narkh Aduul Planets made up of four sections each
- 10 Cities of values 4 - 9
- 10 Space Stations all of value 3
- 2 Resorts of value 7
- 15 Trade Tokens
Game Preparation
Separate the Score cards into three scoring piles.
- The first pile contains all ten City cards, in descending order - the 9 on top, then both 8s and so on, down to the 4 as the last card.
- The second pile contains all ten Space Station cards (value 3).
- The third scoring pile contains both Resort cards (value 7).
All scoring piles are placed face-up in the middle of the table.
Place New Colony and University cards separated, next to the scoring piles.
Take all the Technology cards and add to them the 6 Trooper cards. Thoroughly shuffle these cards and place them as a face-down deck beside the scoring piles.
Take all the Race cards and add to them the 6 Pilot cards. Thoroughly shuffle these cards and place them as a face-down deck beside the Technology deck.
Deal four Race cards to each player as their starting hands.
Each player receives four face-down pieces of the Narkh Aduul Planet, the reference board and 3 Trade tokens.
The oldest player begins. Play proceeds clockwise.
Game Objective
In Res Publica 2230 AD players attempt to score victory points by building Space Stations, Cities and Resorts and fulfilling missions. Players will display matching sets of identical cards into their play areas and claim the various scoring buildings and special locations.
Each turn players will have the opportunity to trade and display Races and Technologies and through cunning trade and some fortunate card draws will gain the most points and be victorious.
Game Overview
On your turn, you may:
- Trade and swap cards with one of your opponents.
- Use card effects by playing Troopers and Pilots and use the effects of special locations if you have them (see Card Functions on pages 20-21).
- Display cards and gain a Score card, Location or fulfil a Mission.
- For five identical Race cards (except Aturians), receive a Space Station card (3 points)
- For five identical Technology cards (except Cloning Facilities), receive a City card (9-4 points)
- For three identical Aturian cards, receive a Resort card (7 points)
- For three identical Cloning Facility cards, receive a University.
- For three identical Race cards and three identical Technology cards, receive a New Colony.
- For five different Technology cards (except Cloning Facilities), fulfil a Mission (see Narkh Aduul Planet below)
At the end of your turn, draw one Race card from the deck. For each of your Space Stations displayed in front of you, draw one Technology card. You may not draw more than three cards in total.
It is your choice whether to Trade and/or Display, or to do neither. However, if you choose to do both, you must do them in the order shown above (first Trade, then Display). You must always draw card/s at the end of your turn.
The Game in Detail
Trade
When you decide to trade, you must select one of the two following options:
- Request one or more cards, or offer one or more cards. On your turn, you may only conduct one of the above trade options. You may only perform one trade per turn.
- Request one or more cards. Name the cards you are requesting. Do not indicate which cards you are willing to give up as part of the trade.
Example: "I request one Skythris." / "I request three Teleport or three Warp Speed." In clockwise order, each of your opponents who is able and willing to trade names the cards he demands in return for meeting your request. Example response: "For one Galaesh." / "For two Pilots or two Aturians." As the requesting player, you decide which response to accept.
- Offer one or more cards. Name the cards you are offering. Do not indicate which cards you wish to receive.
Example: "I offer two Skythirs." / "I offer one Aturian and one Trooper." In clockwise order, each of your opponents interested in your offer names the cards he is willing to tender in exchange. As the offering player, you decide which response to accept. Of course, you may choose to decline all responses when trading. If you accept a response, then you swap the named cards face-down with your chosen trading partner.
Watch out! When you make an offer using "or" ("I offer one Damarkos or one Terrans.") you leave your opponents in the dark as to what they will receive. Consequently their responses are likely to be very unattractive. You are not allowed to negotiate which card your opponent will get.
Trading rules: When requesting, offering or responding, you may never name more than two types, combining them with "and/or."
Not permitted:
- One Galaesh, one Skythris and one Damakros
- One Technology card, but no Teleport
You may never combine the two trading options ("I request one Terrans and offer one Teleport."). A player who reveals more information than allowed is disqualified from the current trade. You may find that your individual playing groups will develop "house-rules" on the general disclosure of information.
You have only one attempt - if you request a specific card, but do not receive any response (as your opponents cannot or will not trade with you), you may not attempt a second trade.
Your word is your bond: A) you must swap the cards you named. B) You may only offer cards which you possess.
There is no obligation to trade the same number of cards. However, each partner in a trade must swap at least one card. You can trade as many cards as you want. Scoring cards may never be traded. NOTE: There is no hand limit regarding the cards in your hand.
Display Cards (Optional)
If you hold a group of identical cards in your hand, you may display them. You may display several groups in one turn. For each group you display, you immediately receive a Score card or Location:
- For five identical Race cards (except Aturians), you receive one Space Station card from the appropriate pile. All of these cards score 3 points.
- For five identical Technology cards (except Cloning Facilities), you receive the top card from the Cities pile. According to the sorting of the Cities pile, you will always receive the highest available card.
- For three Aturian cards, you receive 1 Resort card and score 7 points.
- For three Cloning Facility cards, you receive 1 University card. From now on you may display 4 Technology cards instead 5 in order to collect a City card.
- For three identical Race cards and three identical Technology cards, receive a New Colony.
- For five different Technology cards (except Cloning Facilities), fulfil a Mission (see Narkh Aduul Planet below)
When you display cards, you place them in their respective discard piles. You create one discard pile for the Race cards and one for the Technology cards.
End of a Turn
At the end of your turn, draw one Race card as long as these cards are still available. Once the deck is used up, no more Race cards may be picked up. In addition, for each of your displayed Space Station, you receive one Technology card from the respective deck.
You receive these cards irrespective of whether you displayed the Space Stations on this round or in previous rounds. You may not draw more than three cards in total at the end of your turn.
For example, if you have three Space Stations displayed in front of you, you must decide whether to take one Race and two Technology cards, or just take three Technology cards.
Planet Narkh Aduul
Narkh Aduul Planet provides a player with bonus points for achieving various Missions - also serves as an end game trigger. Points provided by completing Missions are shown in red. Each section of the Planet starts face-down and is flipped when the player meets the mission qualifier, as follows:
- Top left side: Build 2 Space Stations to receive 7 points.
- Top right side: Display 5 different Technology cards (except Cloning Facility) to receive 5 Points. These 5 technology cards make a unique display in a player's playing area as normal.
- Bottom left side: Make 3 trades during the game and collect 3 Points. In order to remember when you trade with another player, place 1 of the Trade tokens on that mission. These trades must occur on your turn.
- Bottom right side: Build 2 Cities to receive 5 Points.
Game End and Scoring
The game ends when the last Technology card is drawn from the respective deck or when a player completes all 4 missions of their Planet.
All players reveal their hands. If any player can display cards to build a Station or a City they may do so, starting with the finishing player and progressing clockwise.
Final scoring is as follows:
- Total the values of your Score cards (Space Stations and Cities).
- Total the values of your Resort cards.
- Add the points from each completed mission of your Planet.
- Each pair of identical cards remaining in your hand scores 1 point. Also each Trooper or Pilot in your hand counts for 1 point.
The player with the most points wins the game.
Card Functions
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Cities and Resorts (4-9 and 7): Cities and Resorts provide points and have no other function.
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Space Station (3): Space Stations allow you to draw Technology cards at the end of a turn and also allow you to score points (3 VP per Station). You may never draw more than three cards regardless of how many Space Stations you build.
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New Colony: Display 3 identical Race cards and 3 identical Technology cards and collect 1 New Colony card. You can use the New Colony once during each of your turns. Choose one of the cards in your hand and give it to a player of your choice. Then choose another card from your hand and discard it to the equivalent discard pile. Now draw 1 card of your choice from either discard pile. You cannot take any grey cards (Troopers or Pilots).
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Pilot: Pilots work as a wild card for any Race card (except the Aturians). You may use multiple Pilots in a single Display action. The Pilots stay in the discard pile after being used.
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Trooper: Troopers block the card abilities of your opponents. On your turn play a Trooper from your hand and select a Location or Space Station of another player. This card is blocked for a round and your opponent must leave your trooper on this card to indicate that it is deactivated. On that player's turn they may not use the ability of the deactivated Location or Space Station. They may discard the Trooper card to the discard pile at the end of their turn.
Example: You have built 2 Space Stations. That means you can draw at the end of your turn 1 Race and 2 Technology cards. If a player blocks one of your Space Stations, then during that turn you cannot draw 3 cards. You can draw only 1 Race card and 1 Technology card because you have 1 active Space Station.
- University: A University reduces the requirement to build a City from 5 identical Technology cards to 4 identical Technology cards.
Races
The race and faction descriptions in the Explorer's Guide are background text only.
- Aturians: The reclusive Aturians are one of the most intelligent and advanced races in the galaxy. They were the first to master warp technology and instrumental in advancing cloning techniques. Aturians seek peace between the other races, whom they view as obsessed with wealth and conquest. They have also established wondrous resorts across the galaxy.
- Damakros: Eternal nomads, the Damakros are known throughout the galaxy as traders and merchants. They specialise in finding the most unique and precious of commodities and selling them to the highest bidder. The Damakros lack a central government, but deference is given to the wealthiest and most successful trading houses.
- Galaesh: The noble Galaesh roam the galaxy in search of the fabled "seed world", the mythical planet of their origin. They have an intense love of nature, especially the exotic flora found on a hundred worlds, and have established protectorates in many systems. They are deeply spiritual and highly intelligent, using their organic technology to propel themselves between the stars.
- Ornopeans: The imperious Ornopean Empire has ruled much of the Scutum arm of the galaxy for millennia. Led by a hereditary empress, the Ornopeans believe themselves the natural rulers of known space. Their mastery over teleportation technology has allowed Ornopean forces to launch devastatingly effective attacks against their opponents.
- Skythris: Masters of bionics and cybernetics, the Skythris are considered deranged pirates by most other races. They travel in vast armadas, searching for new technologies to study and resources to utilise in their experiments. Outside of their own people, the Skythris consider most other species and their resources as fair game for conquest and consumption.
- Terrans: Hailing from the Sol system, Terrans are an aggressive, expansionist species that have been able to adapt to almost any type of environment or situation. Warlords and greedy corporations took to the stars in search of new worlds to conquer and opportunities to exploit.
- Pilots' League: The Pilots' League is a neutral faction originally created by disenchanted Terrans. Now made up of members of all races, the League offers transportation and haulage services to all species, governments and organisations. They maintain a strict policy of neutrality and will only become involved in battles where their own equipment or members are threatened.
Publisher Note
The publisher notes that Pilot cards, Trooper cards, New Colonies and the Planet Narkh Aduul were added to this game by the publisher.