Space Bowl Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Overview & Goal of the Game
• Playing the Game
• Playing a Round
  • 1. The Ship Computer Defines the Area to Explore
  • 2. Search the Galaxy
    • A. Someone announces that they have found a valid Constellation card
    • The Wild Token
    • B. Someone announces that there is no valid Constellation card
  • 3. Award Victory Points
  • 4. End of the Round
• End of the Game
• Variants
  • The Black Hole
  • Adjusting the Difficulty

Components

• 1 Ship Computer box
• 1 cardboard grid
• 6 Planet marbles
• 1 Destination disc (purple)
• 1 Black Hole disc (black), used in a variant
• 1 Wild token
• 1 Captain token
• 24 Crew tokens (3 per player: 1 large with a red button on the back, and 2 small)
• 56 Constellation cards
• 1 scoretrack
• 1 rulebook

Setup

1. Each player takes a set of three Crew tokens of the same color. Keep your large one (Ship side up) and a small one in front of you.
2. Put the other small one on space 4 of the scoretrack.
3. Shuffle the Constellation cards and place 25 of them face up in a 5×5 grid of cards to form the area we will call the "galaxy".
4. Place a face-up stack of 10 Constellation cards (the Infinity & Beyond deck) beside the galaxy. Return the rest of the Constellation cards to the box: You will not be using them.
5. Place the Ship Computer box beside the galaxy, so that everyone can see it clearly, and place the cardboard grid in it.
6. Place the Wild token beside the galaxy where everyone can easily grab it.
7. Keep the 6 Planet marbles and the Destination token handy.
8. Randomly select someone to be the captain; this person takes the Captain token.

Overview & Goal of the Game

Space Bowl is a competitive game, which you play simultaneously, without taking turns.

As quickly as possible, you each must identify a habitable constellation somewhere in the galaxy using a diagram that is based on the positions of nearby planets, transmitted to you by the ship computer. If you succeed, you earn victory points. If you have the most victory points at the end of the game, you win!

Playing the Game

The game is divided into successive rounds.

IMPORTANT: In the following explanations, do not confuse a space with a card: The spaces are bounded by the grid in the Ship Computer box, while the cards are what compose the galaxy.

This game relies on the relative positions of planets. Any given planet will be represented two different ways: as a marble in the Ship Computer box, and as a drawing on the Constellation cards. The planet will be depicted on several different Constellation cards.

In addition to planets, the cards also depict comets, stars, and black holes. The only purpose the comets and stars serve is to distract your eyes; black holes are used in a variant (see The Black Hole, page 15).

Playing a Round

Each round comprises 4 phases:

1. The Ship Computer Defines the Area to Explore
2. Search the Galaxy
3. Award Victory Points
4. End of the Round

Everyone takes their small Crew token into their hand, and leaves their large one in front of them.

1. The Ship Computer Defines the Area to Explore

The captain takes the Destination disc, as well as the marbles corresponding to the planets depicted on the top card of the Infinity & Beyond deck. Then the Captain tosses the disc and marbles into the Ship Computer box.

TIP: For learning games, or games with children, place the Destination disc in the middle space, and toss only the marbles.

NOTE: After the toss, the disc must rest inside one space of the grid in the Ship Computer box, as must each marble; it's completely fine if there are several things in the same space. If anything is not completely within a space, just shake the box a little to get them to settle.

The grid divides the Ship Computer into 9 spaces, and each space represents a Constellation card. These 9 spaces could correspond to any 3×3 square of Constellation cards in the galaxy.

The Destination disc represents the prospective valid destination for the ship.

This is the Constellation card on which you will place a Crew token later. The arrangement of marbles in the grid, relative to the Destination disc, define which Constellation cards are considered a valid destinations.

NOTE: No component in the game represents the ship; your Crews are merely scoping out potential destinations for the ship.

IMPORTANT: For a Constellation card to be considered a valid destination, that card and the neighboring cards must have at least the planets depicted by the Ship Computer. They may have other planets and features, as well, but they must have the ones depicted.

Empty spaces in the Ship Computer box can represent cards that are outside the galaxy.

You cannot rotate the Ship Computer box. Its orientation relative to the galaxy must always be the same.

2. Search the Galaxy

As soon as the Ship Computer box has established a potential destination, everyone immediately starts searching for a valid destination among the Constellation cards, which is to say a Constellation card that meets the criteria defined by the Ship Computer (see 1. The Ship Computer Defines the Area to Explore, page 5).

NOTE: Once the disc and marbles have been tossed into the Ship Computer box, it's quite possible that the configuration they depict can be found in several locations; however, each player only needs to identify one to fulfill the mission.

After the toss, one of two things could happen:

• A. Someone announces that they have found a valid Constellation card.
• B. Someone announces that there is no valid Constellation card.

A. Someone announces that they have found a valid Constellation card

When you think you have found a valid Constellation card, shout, "Go!" and raise your finger (to point to the heavens!) then start a ten-second countdown ("10, 9, 8…"), during which the other players can announce, "I concur!" if they think they have also found a valid Constellation card.

When you reach "0", the searching phase is done.

Now you, who shouted, "Go!" and the players who announced, "I concur!" must then simultaneously and without hesitation each place your Crew token on whichever Constellation card you think is valid. It's OK if several players designate the same card.

The players who haven't announced anything cannot place their Crew token, and will not score any victory points (see 3. Award Victory Points, page 11).

The Wild Token

At any moment during a ten-second countdown, anyone (including someone who has announced, "Go!") can place the Wild token on any Constellation card in the galaxy, being careful not to obscure anything meaningful on the card. Everyone can use this Wild token in the destination that they suggest; it can stand in for any required planet missing from the card on which it sits. However, using it comes with a penalty (see 3. Award Victory Points, page 11)!

• Once it is placed, the Wild token cannot be moved during the round in progress.
• If you place the Wild token, you must use it in the destination you propose as valid (to stand for any planet tossed into the Ship Computer box). If after placing it you still cannot find a valid destination, you are considered as having proposed an invalid destination (see 3. Award Victory Points, page 11).
• If someone announces, "We are all going to die!" they cannot use the Wild token, nor can the people who concur with them.

B. Someone announces that there is no valid Constellation card

If you think there are no valid destinations matching the configuration the Ship Computer requires — not even by using the Wild token — announce, "We are all going to die!" and flip your large Crew token Red Button side up, and start a ten-second countdown ("10, 9, 8…"). By doing this, you renounce the following options:

• designating a valid destination for this round.
• using the Wild token.

During your countdown each other player has two options:

• Show agreement by flipping their large Crew token Red Button side up in front of them, announcing, "I concur!" similarly renouncing designating a valid destination and use of the Wild token.
• Continue to search for a valid Constellation card that you didn't notice. At the end of your countdown, they can place their Crew token on the Constellation card of their choice, simultaneously with anyone else who is still searching.

3. Award Victory Points

Each player scores as follows, and moves their Crew token on the scoretrack accordingly.

Points	If valid destinations were found	If none were found
+1 point for any player who designated… (and)	…a valid Constellation card.	…the red button.
+1 point for the player who announced…	…"Go!"	…"We are all going to die!"
+1 point for any player who designated…	…a valid Constellation card that no one else designated.	–
−1 point for any player who used the Wild token…	…to replace a planet in the required pattern.	–
−1 point for any player who designated… (and)	…a wrong Constellation card.	…a wrong Constellation card.
−1 point for the player who announced…	…"Go!" and did not designate a valid Constellation card.	–
−1 point for the player who announced…	…"We are all going to die!"	–

If your total score for the round would take you below 0, simply stop at 0.

EXAMPLE 1: Scoring example when someone says, "Go!"

Emma has announced, "Go!" At the end of her countdown, three players (Emma, Marie, and Lucas) have placed a Crew token on cards in the galaxy, while the other two have abstained. Emma and Marie designated different cards, but both are valid; however, Lucas was mistaken.

• Emma gains 3 points:
  • Announcing "Go!"
  • Valid destination
  • Only one to choose her destination
• Marie gains 2 points:
  • Valid destination
  • Only one to choose her destination
• Lucas loses 1 point:
  • Invalid destination
• The other two players' scores are unaffected.

EXAMPLE 2: Scoring example when someone says, "We are all going to die!"

Emma has announced, "We are all going to die!" and flipped her Crew token Red Button side up. Marie has concurred, also showing her red button. At the end of the countdown, Lucas placed his Crew token on a card in the galaxy, while the other two players abstained. The destination Lucas proposed turns out to be valid, so Emma and Marie were mistaken.

• Emma loses 2 points:
  • Erroneously announcing "We are all going to die!"
  • Erroneously showing the red button
• Marie loses 1 point:
  • Erroneously showing the red button
• Lucas gains 2 points:
  • Valid destination
  • Only one to choose his destination
• The other two players' scores are unaffected.

4. End of the Round

Establish a new captain as follows:

• If valid destinations were found: the Captain token goes to the person who announced "Go!". The captain takes the Constellation card the captain designated. Then replace this card with the top card of the Infinity & Beyond deck.
• If none were found: the Captain token goes to the person who announced "We are all going to die!". The captain takes the top card of the Infinity & Beyond deck.

If the Infinity & Beyond deck is exhausted, or someone has at least 18 points, the game is over (see End of the Game).

Otherwise, prepare for a new round:

• If the Wild token was placed in the galaxy, remove it from the galaxy and set it where everyone can reach it.
• If you placed your small Crew token on a Constellation card, retrieve it.
• If your large token is Red Button side up, flip it back to its Ship side.
• Remove the Destination disc and marbles from the Ship Computer box.
• Start a new round with 1. The Ship Computer Defines the Area to Explore.

End of the Game

Two situations can end the game:

• Someone has reached the last space of the scoretrack (finish the round).
• The Infinity & Beyond deck is exhausted (at the end of 10 rounds).

The player with the most points wins.

Although the scoretrack is limited to 18 points, your score is not limited to 18 points. Your actual final score is what matters; so, for example, if you exceeded 18, you would beat someone who scored "only" 18.

In a tie, the tied player who has taken the most Constellation cards wins. There are no further tiebreakers.

Variants

The Black Hole

If the top Constellation card of the Infinity & Beyond deck shows a black hole, include the Black Hole disc when you toss the marbles and Destination disc into the Ship Computer box.

If any marbles end up in the same space as the Black Hole disc, the corresponding Constellation card in the pattern must not contain the planets matching those marbles.

The Black Hole disc has no effect on the Destination disc or an empty space.

Adjusting the Difficulty

We offer several methods you can use to adjust the difficulty of Space Bowl to your tastes.

• No Wild token = fewer solutions: Simply play without the Wild token!
• The void of space = fewer solutions: Before shuffling the Constellation cards to lay out the galaxy, flip 3 random cards face down. When they come onto the table, leave them face down, so they show no planets. If a face-down card comes to the top of the Infinity & Beyond deck during the game, simply flip it face up, and carry on. Warning: These cards cannot be valid destinations!
• A bigger galaxy = more solutions: Set up a 6×6 galaxy.
• Virtual rotation allowed = more solutions: Now you can also designate a valid Constellation card if it matches the Ship Computer's pattern rotated to 90°, 180°, or 270°; however, do not rotate the Ship Computer box itself.
• Toroidal galaxy = more solutions: Cards on opposite edges of the galaxy are considered to be adjacent. This means that the pattern that designates a valid Constellation card can "wrap" to cards on the far side of the galaxy layout.