Space Missions Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Component List
• Reading Notice
• Game Setup
  • Event Cards
  • Scoring Tiles
  • Mission Cards
  • Year Marker
  • Bonus Tiles
  • Player Markers
  • Mission Control
  • Spacecraft
  • Mission Control Cards
  • Specialist Cards
  • Tokens
  • Enhancement Tokens
• Playing the Game (Overview)
• Spacecraft (General)
  • Special Capsule Features
  • Special Rocket Features
• Missions
  • Mission Categories
  • Prerequisites
  • Target Orbits
• Technologies
  • Technologies (General)
  • Technologies (Problems)
  • Consequences of a Problem
• Round Sequence in Detail
  • Phase 1: Perform Actions
  • Phase 2: Reorder Sequence Markers
  • Phase 3: Announce Missions and Prepare Rockets
  • Phase 3 (continued): Check Mission Requirements
  • Phase 4: Shuffle Mission Control Cards
  • Phase 5: Trigger Event
  • Phase 6: Perform Missions
  • Phase 7: Complete Missions
  • Phase 8: End of Round
• End of Game (Who Is the Winner)
• Media Missions
  • Media Missions (Table)
• Solo Mode
  • Changes to Game Setup
  • Changes in "Phase 1: Perform Actions"
  • Changes in "Phase 2: Move Sequence Markers"
  • Changes in "Phase 3: Announce Missions"
  • Automa Card
  • Change in "Phase 7: Complete Missions"
• Appendix
  • Appendix: Dates and Facts about Spaceflight
  • Appendix: Spacecraft
  • Appendix: Missions and Spacecraft

Component List

• 1 Rulebook
• 1 Game board
• 4 Mission Control Boards (1 per player color)
• 28 Spacecraft (7 per player color: 2 rockets, 2 satellites, 2 capsules, 1 lunar module)
• 28 Player Markers (7 per player color)
• 1 Year Marker (black)
• 12 Training Tokens
• 12 Astronaut Tokens
• 4 Inspection Tokens
• 16 Mission Cards
• 136 Mission Control Cards (34 per player color)
• 12 Event Cards
• 24 Specialist Cards (6 per player color)
• 16 Fuel Tokens
• 50 Enhancement Tokens (5 x 10)
• 4 Scoring Tiles
• 10 Bonus Tiles (5 x 2)
• 12 Automa Cards (for solo mode)
• 4 Player Aids

All resources are limited. For example, if a rule says that you can take two fuel tokens, but there is only one left, you will only get the remaining one.

Reading Notice

Text written in blue contains background information or comments on the game rules. Both are irrelevant for the actual game.

Game Setup

Place the game board in the centre of the table and distribute the game material on it as follows:

Event Cards

Randomly select 3 of the 6 Event Cards marked with an asterisk (*) and put them back in the box without looking at them. Take the 3 remaining cards and the 6 Event Cards without an asterisk, shuffle them and place them as a face-down draw deck on the designated space on the game board.

Scoring Tiles

In your first games you should use the scoring as printed on the game board, i.e. you do not need these tiles. In later games, you can choose a different distribution (see p. 18, chapter "Media missions"). The Scoring Tiles have a scoring side (front) and a no-scoring side (back).

Mission Cards

There are 8 different missions numbered 1 to 8. Each mission card is available twice, one in blue with a media symbol and one in green without. The card backs are grey and show no media symbol in either case.

For the first games you should use the missions #3, #5, #6 and #8 of the cards with the blue front (media missions). For missions #1, #2, #4 and #7, use the cards with the green front. Place the cards on the board so that the front side is visible. Put the remaining mission cards back into the box. In later games, you can play with a different selection of media missions. See the "Media missions" chapter (p. 18) for an overview of useful combinations of media missions and scoring tiles.

Year Marker

Place the black Year Marker on the year 1962 of the timeline.

Bonus Tiles

In the first games you should use the bonuses printed on the game board, i.e. you do not need the extra Bonus Tiles. In later games, you can place the Bonus Tiles randomly, or select them according to your preferences. Put the remaining Bonus Tiles back into the box.

Player Markers

Each player gets 7 Player Markers in the color of his choice.

The starting player is the one who has last seen the movie "The Right Stuff". He places 1 Player Marker on the space far left ("1.") on the bottom row of the sequence bar. All other players follow clockwise and place their marker on the next free available space.

Each player places 1 Player Marker on field "10" of the victory point bar, and one on field "0" on each success bar. Place the remaining marker in your personal area. You will need it later to mark the mission you want to perform.

Mission Control

Each player takes the Mission Control Board in his color and places it in front of him in his personal area.

To the left of the Mission Control Tableau is the assembly area. It contains your personal supply of markers and spacecraft. To the right of the tableau is the launch pad.

Spacecraft

Each player takes the spacecraft of his color and places the satellite (level 1), the capsule (level 1) and the lunar module in his assembly area. The backs of satellite and capsule of level 1 show a simple rocket tip. Place the rocket (level 1) onto the launch pad.

Place the remaining spacecraft (rocket, satellite, capsule) face up (level 2) next to the game board as a supply. Level 3 is on the back side.

Mission Control Cards

Each player takes the 34 Mission Control Cards in his player color, consisting of 6 major problems, 18 minor problems and 10 no problem cards.

Place the following cards face down on each of the 6 technology spaces of the Mission Control Board: 1x major problem, 2x minor problem, 1x no problem.

Place 4 minor problem cards face down below the Mission Control Board. They form your personal draw deck.

Now each player shuffles the remaining 6 Mission Control Cards (4x no problem, 2x minor problem) and places 1 card face down on each of the 6 technology spaces.

Now shuffle each individual technology deck.

Specialist Cards

You perform actions with the help of specialists. There are 6 different professions. Each player takes the 6 Specialist Cards in his color: Mechanic, Tester, Scientist, Engineer, Astronaut and Spy.

Tokens

Place the remaining game material in the required number as a general supply next to the game board. Put any exceeding material back into the box:

• Astronaut Tokens (3 per player): front side healthy, back side injured.
• Inspection Token (1 per player): Inspections protect against some events.
• Fuel Tokens (4 per player): Fuel is needed for each mission.
• Training Tokens (3 per player): Training is a prerequisite for astronauts to solve problems during a mission.

Enhancement Tokens

Enhancements make your spacecraft more reliable and powerful. There are five kinds: control backup, thrust backup, sensor backup, life support backup and additional payload.

The number of each Enhancement Token in the general supply depends on the number of players:

• 2 players: each token 5x
• 3 players: each token 8x
• 4 players: each token 10x

Additional setup by seat order:

• The 2nd player takes 1 Enhancement Token of his choice from the general supply.
• The 3rd player takes 1 Fuel Token from the general supply.
• The 4th player takes 1 Fuel Token as well as 1 Enhancement Token of his choice from the general supply.

With the help of inspections, assembly errors can possibly be detected and still eliminated in time.

Simulator training enables the astronauts to react to problems and unforeseen situations in order to bring the mission to a successful end.

Playing the Game (Overview)

One round corresponds to the duration of one year, and consists of the following phases:

1. Perform actions (see page 11)
2. Reorder Sequence Markers (see page 12)
3. Announce missions and prepare rockets (see page 12)
4. Shuffle Mission Control Cards (see page 13)
5. Trigger event (see page 14)
6. Perform missions (see page 15)
7. Complete missions (see page 16)
8. End of round (see page 18)

The phases are always executed in the listed order. Only once all players have completed a phase will you move on to the next phase.

The game ends with the completion of the round in which the first player has successfully completed mission #8 "Lunar Landing". The game also ends after 8 rounds at the end of the year 1969.

Spacecraft (General)

Each spacecraft is available to you in the basic version (level 1) from the beginning of the game. Except for the lunar module, all spacecraft have two more powerful levels that you can develop. You can develop level 3 of a spacecraft only after you have developed level 2.

The four spacecraft types are: rocket, satellite, capsule and lunar module.

Each spacecraft offers space for enhancements, e.g. for backup systems. You need backup systems to fix problems that may occur during a mission.

With the help of a payload enhancement you can increase the payload of a rocket by one ton for the duration of a mission. Depending on the level of development of the rocket, you can transport up to three additional tons.

An overview of the mission requirements concerning type of spacecraft and its level needed can be found in the chapter "Appendix - Missions and spacecraft" (p. 24). Corresponding information can also be found on each mission card. Mission cards are described in more detail in the next chapter (p. 8).

The rulebook describes the spacecraft as follows:

• A rocket transports payload into space. This can be a satellite, a capsule or a lunar module.
• Satellites are unmanned vehicles. They can orbit the earth, pass the moon or even land on the moon. They provide important insights for manned space flight.
• The capsule makes it possible for astronauts to fly into space and return to earth safely.
• With help of the lunar module, astronauts can land on the surface of the moon. For this purpose the astronauts move from the capsule to the lunar module.

Special Capsule Features

The capsule board shows these features:

• Type of spacecraft.
• Development level.
• Technology, and the possible enhancement, shown on the capsule board. A technology without enhancement is not marked with a green hexagon.
• Space for 1 enhancement token.
• Weight in tons.
• Space (seat) for 1 astronaut.
• Space for 1 Training Token.
• Development consequences: when upgrading your capsule, you must take 1 Mission Control Card from your personal draw deck and shuffle the card into the life support deck.

Special Rocket Features

The rocket board shows these features:

• Type of spacecraft.
• Development level.
• Technology, and the possible enhancement, shown on the rocket board. A technology without enhancement is not marked with a green hexagon.
• Space for 1 enhancement token.
• Fuel required for launch.
• Possible target orbits and corresponding maximum payload.
• Space for an Inspection Token.
• Development consequences: when upgrading your rocket, you must take 1 Mission Control Card from your personal draw deck and shuffle the card into the thrust deck.

Missions

You get victory points by performing missions.

In total there are 8 different missions. Mission #1 is the easiest, mission #8 is the most difficult one.

To perform a mission, certain prerequisites must be achieved. The mission sequence is described in the process table. More details can be found in the chapter "Performing missions" (p. 15).

For a successfully completed mission you get certain rewards. If you are the first to successfully complete a mission, you will receive more victory points than the following players.

Each mission belongs to one or more categories. For a successfully completed mission, you may move your player markers one space on the success bars in the appropriate categories.

At the end of the game, additional victory points will be awarded to the most successful players within each category. The second-placed players also get additional victory points.

Mission Categories

• Media mission: These are special because you can only score this category if you are the first to successfully complete the mission.
• Lunar mission
• Manned mission
• Unmanned mission

Prerequisites

Required spacecraft

• You need a level 2 capsule or higher. (Mission cards indicate the capsule level needed.)
• You need a level 2 rocket, or higher. When using level 2, additional payload enhancements are required because the rocket is too weak. Only a level 3 rocket can do without payload extensions.
• Hints: If you use a capsule of a higher level than indicated on the mission card, you should check if you need payload upgrades. The same applies to satellites.

Category requirements

Categories in which you must have already successfully completed at least one mission.

• You must have successfully completed at least 1 unmanned or 1 manned mission, i.e. in one of the two categories your marker must be at least on field 1 on the success bar.
• You must have successfully completed at least 1 manned mission.
• You must have successfully completed at least 1 unmanned and 1 manned mission.

Target orbit: Orbit into which the payload must be carried by the rocket.

Target Orbits

• A suborbital flight is just about to reach outer space. The boundary between aviation and space flight, the so-called Kármán line, is located at an altitude of 62 miles.
• The earth orbit is an elliptical orbit around the earth. A heat shield is required to protect against frictional heat during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
• The lunar transit describes a flight path that leaves the earth's gravitation and leads towards the moon.

Technologies

Technologies (General)

The success of a mission depends largely on the reliability of the technologies used. These are determined by the process table on the Mission Card. A card deck exists for each technology on the Mission Control Tableau.

Each of these decks consists of 5 Mission Control Cards at the start of the game.

The number of minor problems per technology is random and varies from game to game. 4 decks contain 2 minor problems, the other two contain 3 minor problems. Each deck contains exactly 1 major problem.

The six technologies are: thrust, control, life support, landing, sensor and re-entry.

For each technology deck the layout of the Mission Control Board shows:

• Technology.
• Location for the card deck.
• Location for drawn Mission Control Cards.
• Consequences of a minor problem.
• Consequences of a major problem.
• How to turn a major problem into a minor one.

The test action allows you to detect and permanently eliminate problems. Details are described in chapter "Phase 1: Perform actions" (p. 11).

Technologies (Problems)

Depending on the technology, problems that occur have different effects on the ongoing mission.

• You can reduce major problems to minor problems by using suitable backup systems (enhancements).
• Minor problems can be solved by using suitable backup systems (enhancements). Certain problems can additionally be solved by astronauts if they have been prepared for the mission (training).
• The no problem card has no effect on the mission.

Consequences of a Problem

• Consume an appropriate Enhancement Token (one of the four backup types: control, thrust, sensor, life support).
• Consume a Training Token. At least one astronaut must still be healthy.
• An astronaut is injured. Turn a healthy astronaut to the injured side. If an injured astronaut is injured again, you lose him.
• Your crew suffers as many injuries as there are astronauts on board. You can distribute the injuries arbitrarily among the crew, this means that you can also injure a healthy astronaut twice.
• You lose an astronaut, healthy or injured.
• You lose 2 astronauts, healthy or injured.
• You lose all astronauts in the capsule.
• Abort the mission. If there is still at least one astronaut on board (whether healthy or injured), you continue with the last sequence of the mission. Check how many astronauts survived the mission, since you can still get victory points for them. Otherwise, the mission ends immediately. In any case, the mission is a failure.
• The mission is immediately over and unfortunately a failure.

Example: A major problem occurs in the control technology. You lose all the astronauts in the capsule. The mission ends immediately. But you can turn a major problem into a minor one by consuming a Control Backup Token. You can then solve the minor problem either by consuming an additional Control Backup Token or a Training Token, and then continue the mission. Otherwise, you must abort the mission. To use a Training Token, there must be at least one healthy astronaut on board.

Round Sequence in Detail

Phase 1: Perform Actions

Take your 6 specialist cards in your hand. Everyone can play and use up to 5 of these cards in this phase. The starting player begins, all other players follow according to the order on the sequence bar.

As active player you have 2 options, of which you must execute exactly one:

• Play 1 card from your hand (specialist card) and perform actions.
• Pass.

Then it is the next player's turn. The phase ends as soon as all players have passed.

Play 1 card from your hand (specialist card) and perform action(s)

Lay the card you played face up in front of you. Put the card on top of any specialist card you have already played. Only the card you played last is visible.

All cards have several action blocks. You must choose one of these blocks. Some action blocks contain several actions. In this case, you have to perform all the actions listed in the action block in the order they appear from top to bottom. If an action cannot be executed, the action is still considered to have been performed.

Pass

If you pass, move your sequence marker in the upper row of the sequence bar to the first free space from the left. If you are the first player to pass, you are the new starting player for the next phase.

Put any cards you still have in your hand under the other cards in front of you. This ends your phase 1. If you have only 1 card left in your hand, you must pass.

Overview of the base actions

• Take an Enhancement Token of your choice from the general supply and place it in your assembly area.
• Take a Fuel Token from the general supply and place it in your assembly area.
• Train your astronauts in the simulator. Take a Training Token from the general supply and place it in your assembly area.
• Perform an inspection. Take an Inspection Token from the general supply and place it in your assembly area. You can perform this action only if you do not have an inspection marker yet.
• Develop a spacecraft of your choice (see below).
• Test a technology of your choice and draw a maximum of 3 cards. From the drawn cards you may remove 1 major or 1 minor problem from the game. Return the remaining drawn cards to any position in the deck from which you drew the cards.
• Test a technology of your choice and draw 2 cards. From the drawn cards you may remove up to 2 minor problems from the game. Return any remaining drawn cards to any position in the deck from which you drew the cards.
• You may use a card played by another player as if you had played it yourself. You may only choose from the visible cards.
• Take one of your already played specialist cards back to your hand. You can use this card one more time in one of your next turns.
• Pass. This action works as if you had passed instead of playing a card. Since the action always occurs in conjunction with another action, you can perform an action AND pass, which may give you a better ranking in the player order.

Develop a spacecraft

Develop a spacecraft of your choice. When you develop level 2 of a spacecraft, take the level 2 spacecraft from the general supply. If you are going to develop level 3, simply turn the spacecraft to the side marked level 3. You can only develop level 3 of a spacecraft after you have developed level 2. The level includes all lower levels, which means that you can still use all lower levels of the spacecraft.

• Developing a rocket, you must also take 1 Mission Control Card from your personal draw deck. Shuffle the card into the deck of your thrust technology.
• Developing a capsule, you must also take 1 Mission Control Card from your personal draw deck. Shuffle the card into the deck of your life support technology.

Phase 2: Reorder Sequence Markers

Move the sequence markers from the top row to the bottom row of the sequence bar. This is also the player order for the next phase.

Phase 3: Announce Missions and Prepare Rockets

According to the new player order, each of you may announce a mission you want to perform in this round. It's up to you to decide which mission to launch and when. However, it is recommended that you launch the missions in ascending order. You can perform each mission as often as you like.

• Place your Player Marker on the intended mission.
• Place the payload needed for the mission (satellite, capsule, possibly with lunar module) on the rocket.
• Place the required Fuel Tokens on the rocket.
• If you have an Inspection Token, you must place it on the corresponding field of the rocket. You cannot save it for a later mission.
• Take all the enhancements you want to use out of your assembly area and place them at the corresponding notches of the rocket or payload.
• If you are launching a manned mission, place an astronaut on each corresponding space of the capsule, healthy side up. Take the astronauts from the general supply. Also, place all the Training Tokens you want to use from your assembly area onto the capsule.

Phase 3 (continued): Check Mission Requirements

Check if you meet all requirements to perform the mission:

• All fuel spaces of the rocket must be covered with a corresponding token.
• You must fulfill the prerequisites of the mission:
  • Is the development level of the spacecraft sufficient?
  • Have you already successfully completed missions in the required categories?
  • Is the rocket strong enough to deliver the payload to the desired orbit? If the payload consists of a capsule and a lunar module, you must add their weights.

If you don't meet each of the requirements, you can't perform that mission this turn. Return all astronauts to the general supply. Remove the payload and all remaining tokens from the launch pad and return them to your assembly area. The rocket remains on the launch pad. Maybe you can announce and perform another mission.

Example: You want to perform mission #6 "Lunar probe". This is why you place your Player Marker on this card. To be allowed to perform the mission, you must have already performed either an unmanned or a manned mission successfully, i.e. your marker must be at least on field 1 on the success bar of one of the two categories.

For this mission you need a rocket of at least level 2 and a satellite of level 3.

The level 2 rocket can only carry 3 tons to the moon, but the satellite weighs 4 tons. With the help of 1 payload enhancement you increase the possible payload of the rocket to 4 tons.

You place the required Fuel Tokens on the rocket, and any other enhancements from your assembly area that you want to use.

Phase 4: Shuffle Mission Control Cards

All players who have announced a mission shuffle the decks of all technologies that will be used in their mission, and only those. Each deck is shuffled separately.

Phase 5: Trigger Event

Take the top card from the event deck and place it face up next to the deck on the game board. The revealed event applies to all players performing a mission in this round.

You can still cancel your mission. To do so, remove your Player Marker from the mission and return the Inspection Token back into the general supply, if you have one. You may keep any enhancements, Training Tokens and fuel.

If you wish to continue your mission, you must now execute the event.

Event types

• Technical problem. If one of the technologies shown is used in your mission, one of your spacecraft loses one of the tokens shown, if available. You can also consume your Inspection Token if available. If you cannot consume any of these tokens, you must abort the mission (see p. 15, chapter "Performing missions").
• Failure of a backup system. The mission goes on. If one of the technologies shown is used in your mission, one of your spacecraft loses one of the tokens shown, if available. You can also consume your Inspection Token, if available. In any case, the mission continues.
  • Sometimes, even the Inspection Token cannot protect you from some events. You must remove the pictured token from one of your spacecraft, if any.
• Astronaut gets space sickness. Flip one astronaut to the injured side. Protection by the Inspection Token is not possible. Space sickness occurs in addition to the backup system failure and affects all manned missions performed this turn.
• The mission goes on without any event.

Mistakes happen during every assembly that can lead to problems during the mission. In addition, unpredictable events can always occur during the countdown and during a mission.

Phase 6: Perform Missions

You can perform the missions simultaneously. As long as you are not familiar with the game, you should perform this phase one after the other, at least in the first rounds.

Each mission is carried out in several process steps. Each line on the mission card corresponds to a process step. These steps are processed from top to bottom. The left part shows which spacecraft is active in a process step. The right part shows which technologies are used.

From left to right you have to draw 1 card for each technology symbol from the corresponding technology deck. What happens next depends on the card you draw and is described in detail in chapter "Technologies" (p. 9). If there is no card left in the technology deck, continue with the next technology symbol or process step.

If you lose one or more astronauts during the mission, reduce your victory points by 2 for each lost astronaut and return the astronauts to the general supply. If you lose the last astronaut, the mission ends immediately.

If you want to solve or mitigate a problem by consuming an Enhancement Token, this token must be taken from the spacecraft that is currently active.

If you solve a problem with the help of an astronaut, you must remove one Training Token from the capsule. At least one astronaut must still be healthy, otherwise you can't use a Training Token.

Enhancements and trainings are temporary, so they are only valid for one mission. You can only use each enhancement and Training Token once during a mission.

Abort the mission

If you are forced to abort the mission and there is at least 1 astronaut still on board (whether healthy or injured), you proceed directly to the process step marked with the abort symbol, regardless of the mission progress. If there is no (more) astronaut on board, the mission ends immediately.

Phase 7: Complete Missions

All problems that occur during a mission are logged, analyzed and prioritized after the mission. The most serious problems are fixed.

Complete your missions according to the player order.

A mission is a failure:

• if the mission must be aborted.
• if the mission must be finished immediately.
• if there are no more astronauts on board on manned missions.

In case of failure:

• You get victory points according to the process step you have reached, e.g. 3 VP if the mission failed while performing the 3rd process step.
• You may remove 1 card of your choice from the Mission Control Cards drawn during the mission.

In case of success:

• Move your Player Markers 1 space forward on the success bars of the specified categories.
• Take the victory points indicated on the mission.
• Flip the mission to the back side (grey), if not already done.

Final activities after each mission, regardless of success:

• Take 1 VP for each healthy astronaut.
• Take a mission bonus.
• Put the drawn Mission Control Cards back at any place in the corresponding decks.
• Remove all tokens from the launch pad and put them back into the general supply.
• Put your Player Marker and payload back into your assembly area.

Mission bonus

If you have performed a mission, you may take one of the two mission bonuses valid for the current year. The bonus options are:

• Place your Player Marker in the top row of the sequence bar on the first empty space from the left. This determines your player position for the entire next round, regardless of when you pass in phase 1.
• Look at the cards of one of your technologies. You may not change the order of the cards.
• Look at the top Event Card of the draw deck and put the card back face down on top of the deck. You know the event that will happen in the next round.
• Take an Inspection Token and place it in your assembly area. If there is already an Inspection Token, you cannot take this bonus.
• Take 2 Fuel Tokens from the general supply and place them in your assembly area.
• You may remove 1 card of your choice from the Mission Control Cards drawn during the mission.

Example: The example starts with the third process step of mission #5 "Earth orbit". You draw the top card from the Control Technology Deck. This is a major problem card. You give away a Control Backup Token to turn the major problem into a minor problem. Since one of the astronauts is still healthy, you can consume a Training Token to eliminate the minor problem as well.

If you didn't solve the minor problem, the mission would be a failure. You would have to abort the mission and continue with the last process step to check if the astronauts make it back to Earth. Should the remaining astronaut return to Earth in good health, you would get 1 VP for him.

Also, you would get 3 VP for the failed mission, because the mission failed in the 3rd process step.

But the mission continues. You draw another card from the control technology deck. It is a no problem card, which means that the mission continues. You have successfully completed this process step. Continue with the fourth process step.

You draw a card from the re-entry technology deck. It is a minor problem card. Since you do not have a Life Support Backup Token to solve the problem, you lose an astronaut and must immediately give up 2 VP.

You draw the second card from the re-entry technology deck. It is a no problem card. The mission is successfully completed.

Because you have successfully completed the mission, you may move your marker 1 space on the manned mission success bar and take 7 VP. Flip the Mission Card to the back side. For the astronaut who returns healthy, you get 1 VP. All in all, the mission has earned you 6 VP (7 VP + 1 VP - 2 VP).

You may take a mission bonus and decide to remove the major problem from your drawn Mission Control Cards and remove it from the game.

Phase 8: End of Round

• Each player may take over into the next year as many different tokens as they wish, but no more than 3 identical tokens. Surplus tokens must be returned to the general supply.
• Advance the year marker on the timeline to the next year.

End of Game (Who Is the Winner)

The game ends with the completion of the round in which the first player has successfully completed mission #8 "Lunar Landing". The game also ends after 8 rounds at the end of the year 1969.

At the end of the game, special victory points are awarded for the scored mission categories.

• The player(s) with the most successful missions in a category gets 5 VP.
• The player(s) with the second most successful missions in a category will still receive 2 VP.
• All other players, and players who do not have successfully completed any missions in this category (the player marker is on field 0), do not receive special victory points.

The player with the most victory points wins.

Media Missions

At the beginning of the game, agree on which mission categories you want to score at the end of the game. You can also choose randomly. Only the media missions must be scored in each game.

Place the Scoring Tiles back side up on those categories that you do not want to score at the end of the game. You must still place your Player Markers on ALL categories.

Select a suitable combination of media missions for the categories to be scored at the end of the game. The table on p. 19 gives you an overview of all possibilities.

Example: Take missions #2, #4, and #6, and mission #5 or #7 as media mission (blue front). Take the remaining four missions as normal missions (green front). Since all categories are scored according to the table, do not use Scoring Tiles - the spaces on the game board remain empty.

Media Missions (Table)

The table on p. 19 lists, for each scoring tile configuration, the mission combinations that can be used as media missions. Within a cell, "OR" separates the alternative combinations, "/" means either mission may be chosen, and ";" separates the mission numbers. The first column shows which categories carry a Scoring Tile on its scoring (front) side: Unmanned, Manned, Lunar and Media.

Scoring tiles (front side)	4 media missions	6 media missions
Unmanned, Manned, Lunar, Media	4; 5; 6; 7 OR 1/3; 4/6; 5/7; 8 OR 2; 4; 6; 5/7	2; 3; 4; 6; 5/7; 8
Media only	4; 5; 6; 7 OR 1 mission from 1 to 3 and 3 missions from 4 to 8	2; 3; 4; 6; 5/7; 8 OR 1/2/3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8
Unmanned, Manned, Media	4; 5; 6; 7/8 OR 1/3; 4/6; 5/7; 8 OR 1/3; 4/6; 5; 7/8 OR 2; 4; 6; 5/7/8	2; 3; 4; 6; 5/7; 8
Unmanned, Media	1/3/4; 5; 6; 7/8 OR 2; 5; 7; 8	2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7/8 OR 1/3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8
Manned	1; 3; 4; 6 OR 1/3; 4; 6; 5/7/8	1; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7/8 OR 1/3; 2; 4; 5; 6; 7/8
Lunar, Media	4; 5; 6; 7 OR 1/2/3; 4/6; 5/7; 8	2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7/8 OR 2/3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8
Manned, Lunar, Media	4; 5; 6; 7 OR 1/3; 4/6; 5/7; 8 OR 2; 4; 6; 5/7	1/2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7

You can also play all 8 missions as media missions, regardless of the scoring tiles you choose!

Solo Mode

The solo mode is also about scoring as many victory points as possible. You play against a simulated 2nd player (Automa).

Changes to Game Setup

The game is prepared as a 2-person game, with the following changes:

• The Automa does not require the following material: Mission Control Tableau, Mission Control Cards, Spacecraft Tiles.
• Shuffle the specialist cards for the Automa and place them as a face-down deck next to the game board.
• Place a Player Marker for the Automa on space 10 of the victory point bar and another on space 0 of each mission category.
• Place the Automa's Player Marker on position 1 of the sequence bar, and yours on position 2.
• Take an enhancement of your choice from the general supply.
• Create an Automa deck. There are 4 different Automa Cards (type 1 to 4). Depending on the desired level of difficulty, the different card types appear in different numbers in the deck:
  • Normal: 3 x type 1, 3 x type 2, 2 x type 3.
  • Expert: 2 x type 1, 1 x type 2, 3 x type 3, 2 x type 4.
• Shuffle the cards and place them as a face-down draw deck next to the game board.

Changes in "Phase 1: Perform Actions"

• Before you play one of your specialist cards, you always draw the top specialist card from the Automa's deck and turn it face up. You have the option to copy this card using the spy.
• At the end of this phase, if you used the spy to return a card back to your hand, move your Player Marker to position 2 on the sequence bar (and the Automa Marker to position 1).
• At the end of this phase, if you used the action pass, or if you played less than 5 specialists, move your Player Marker to position 1 on the sequence bar (and the Automa Marker to position 2).
• If both of the above conditions apply, or neither of them, the player order remains unchanged.
• At the end of this phase, take all the Automa specialist cards, shuffle them and place them in a face-down deck next to the game board.

Changes in "Phase 2: Move Sequence Markers"

This phase is omitted.

Changes in "Phase 3: Announce Missions"

After determining which mission you want to perform, draw the top card from the Automa deck. It determines which mission the Automa will perform. Place the Automa's Player Marker on that mission.

• The Automa performs one mission each turn.
• The Automa ignores all mission requirements.

Automa Card

• Type (1 to 4)
• Mission executed by the Automa

A card shows one or more possibilities for identifying the mission that will be executed by the Automa. Select the first suitable mission starting from the top of the card. The possibilities printed on the Automa card are:

• Same mission (=): The Automa will perform the SAME mission as you.
• Lowest (<): The Automa executes the LOWEST mission that has not yet been successfully completed.
• Next higher (>, with !): Starting from the highest mission already successfully executed, the Automa executes the NEXT HIGHER mission.
• Highest (>?): The Automa executes the HIGHEST mission that has already been successfully completed. If this does not belong to any category scored at the end of the game, the next lower successfully completed mission is checked accordingly, and so on.

Example: The Automa would perform the same mission as you. Since you do not perform a mission this turn, it performs the highest mission that has already been successfully performed. This is mission #2, a manned mission. If the category manned missions is not scored at the end of the game, you must check the next lower mission that has already been successfully performed. There is no such mission in this example. In this case, the Automa would perform the lowest mission that has not yet been successfully performed. This is mission #1.

Change in "Phase 7: Complete Missions"

The Automa is always successful executing a mission. For every manned mission he performs, 1 astronaut returns to Earth healthy. Therefore, the Automa always gets 1 extra VP for manned missions. As in the multi-player game, missions are scored according to player order.

Appendix

Appendix: Dates and Facts about Spaceflight

Date	Country	Description	Game Mission
1942	NS-Germany	A4: With a flight altitude of 114 miles, the rocket is the first human-made object reaching space.	#1
October 4, 1957		Sputnik 1: First artificial earth satellite.	#3
January 31, 1958		Explorer 1: First artificial earth satellite of the Americans.	#3
January 2, 1959		Luna 1: Actually, the probe was supposed to hit the lunar surface hard. Instead, the probe followed the moon at a distance of 3,728 miles and provided important data.	#4
March 4, 1959		Pioneer 4: Planned flyby of the probe at a distance of 37,282 miles from the moon.	#4
October 4, 1959

Appendix: Spacecraft

Spacecraft	Country	Weight	Description
Sputnik 1		176 lb	First artificial earth satellite.
Luna 3		611 lb	First probe to orbit the moon and provide first images of the moon's dark side.
Vostok		10,406 lb	The capsule has one seat for 1 astronaut.
Mercury		4,257 lb	The capsule has one seat for 1 astronaut.
Gemini		7,920 lb	The capsule has seats for 2 astronauts and can be controlled by them.
Apollo		66,730 lb	The Apollo spacecraft consists of a command module (12,780 lb), which provides seating for 3 astronauts, and a service module (53,950 lb).

Appendix: Missions and Spacecraft

The table gives the minimum spacecraft and level needed for each mission. Levels are shown as L1, L2 and L3. "or" means any of the listed levels is acceptable. "1x" / "2x" in the enhancement column is the number of payload enhancement tokens needed.

Mission	Rocket	Payload enhancement	Capsule	Satellite	Lunar module
#1 Advance into space	L1 or L2
#2 Man in space	L1		L1
#2 Man in space	L1	1x	L2
#2 Man in space	L1	2x	L3

Note on the table: it was transcribed from the printed icons on p. 24. Level icons are shown as L1, L2 and L3.