Space Bastards Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Round Structure
• End of the Game

Setup

1. Each player chooses a colour and receives 1 set of action cards, 1 set of creature tokens, 1 ship board and 1 ship token in their colour. Each player receives 5 coins.
2. Lay out the game board. Place radioactivity tokens on the planets that are not used in the game: for 4–5 players, 2 planets; for 3 players, 3 planets; for 2 players, 5 planets. Place the round-number token on the board.
3. Each player takes 2 creatures of each race. The first player names a planet. Each player in turn may place one of their creatures on that planet, moving other creatures if needed. Then the next player names the next planet. Each race may have no more than 1 creature on a planet.
4. Next to the game board, lay out the action cards in a single column in the following order: Love, War, Food, Trade, Diplomacy, Migration, Mutation, Replacement. Randomly place the creature cards involved in these relations to the left and right of them. The remaining 6 cards are placed beside the Replacement card.

Round Structure

The game consists of 12 rounds. Each round proceeds as follows:

1. Moving the round token: If the token points to a spaceship, only the ships move this round (step 5). If the token points to a planet, everything listed in steps 2, 3 and 4 takes place in the round.

2. Choosing actions: Players secretly choose one or two actions (paying 2 coins for the second) that they intend to use this round, and reveal them simultaneously. Used action cards lie face up and are visible to all players.

3. Actions: The chosen actions are carried out in order. If several players chose the same action, the order is counted from the first player. While an action is being carried out, the player may enhance it.

   • Love: One pair of creatures on the indicated planet gives birth to 1 child. The acting player determines the race of the child. The second player receives an egg token. Two egg tokens may be exchanged for an additional child when a child is born. Enhancement (2 coins): birth of one more child (from the same or another pair on any planet).

   • War: Destroy all creatures of the indicated race of one colour on one planet. Killed creatures are turned over and remain lying on the planet. Enhancement (2 coins): repeat the action on this planet (for another colour) or on another planet.

   • Food: As War, except that eaten creatures are removed from the planet.

   • Trade: 1 coin for each pair on all planets is received by the acting player and another player.

   • Diplomacy: As Trade, except that victory points are received instead of coins.

End of the Game

The winner is the player with the most victory points at the end of the 12th round. 5 coins may be exchanged for 1 victory point.