Space Opera
Space Opera Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Note: the component list in the printed rulebook shows each card type with an annotated diagram. The annotations are transcribed below.
12 Species cards. This is the card that indicates the species you represent. It gives you the basic characteristics you have at the beginning of the game.
A: Class. B: Name. C: Initiative. D: Skills. E: Base Attack. F: Base Defense.
100 Resources cards. Resources are the cards you'll play to achieve the galactic supremacy for your species.
A: Price. B: Name. C: Type. D: Effect. E: Attack. F: Defense. G: Slots. H: Setting.
46 Stellar system cards. Stellar systems show the location of each species in the galaxy. The galaxy is divided in 5 sectors indicated by frames of different colors on the cards and the icons. You cannot interact with other species unless they are on the same sector as you.
A: Sector icons. B: Sector color. C: Name. D: Effect.
4 Tactical Tracking Screen (TTS). Screen used to show the player's total attack and defense value. 8 attack tokens, 8 defense tokens.
28 Population tokens. They represent population units, both Military and Civil units, one on each side. 16 tokens with a value of 1, 8 tokens with a value of 4, 4 tokens with a value of 8.
A: Civil Unit. B: Military Unit. C: Given Credits in the reorganization. D: Attack and Defense.
42 Credit tokens. They represent the currency used on the universe of Space Opera. 24 tokens with a value of 1, 12 tokens with a value of 4, 6 tokens with a value of 8.
How to Play
Preparing the Game
- Shuffle the resources deck and place it face-down in the center of the game zone.
- Shuffle the stellar system deck and place it face-down in the center of the game zone.
- Place all population units and credits (tokens) in the center of the game zone.
- Deal at random two species per player. Each player must choose one and discard the other without showing the chosen species to the other players. When every player has chosen their species, show them and place them face-up in front of each player.
- Determine the order of the game. Each player's turn will be designated by the initiative value of the species each player controls, in order from lowest to highest.
If two or more species have the same initiative value, players using them must reveal and show a random card from the resources deck. The player who reveals the cheapest resource, will be the first to play and the rest is arranged in order from lowest to highest.
- Each player will take the corresponding TTS, depending on the order they play in (number 1 for the first player, number 2 for the second, and so on) and place on it as many attack and defense tokens as their species initially grants.
In the TTS you must show the total amount of attack and defense points your species has, your military units and every resources but ships or equipment.
- Each player gets 4 civil population units and 4 credits and place them next to their species card.
- By initiative order, every player draws 5 resources and keeps them on their storage.
The keyword storage is used to refer to the player's hand. Resources from the storage must be kept hidden from other players.
- Finally, each player chooses and keeps a resource from their storage and gives the rest to the player on their left. The new player must choose one resource between these four cards and gives the rest to the next player on their left. Repeat this operation until the last player receives only one resource.
In the competitive game mode (see Competitive mode later) this election of resources (point 9) won't be made.
If any of the cards contradicts the rules, apply the card text, not the rule.
Example: Beginning the game. (The printed rulebook illustrates this with a diagram.)
The Turn
When the last player (the one with the highest initiative) ends their turn, it's the first player's turn again.
While it's not the player's turn, they cannot play, unless they use an synchronic effect or synchronic consumable (see consumable and synchronic later).
At the end of the turn, the player cannot have more than 6 resources in their storage. If this happens, resources must be discarded until there are only 6 left.
Resources can only be discarded without using them for this reason, or by some effect.
The turn is made up of two phases: reorganization and activation.
Due to isolation, on the initial turn of each player, you must not perform reorganization. Also, during this initial turn, it's forbidden to jump (see jump later) as well as sacrificing population units. From the second turn on, you may play normally.
Example: First turn. (The printed rulebook illustrates this with a diagram.)
Reorganization
At the beginning of their turn, the player must perform these actions in this order:
- Flip technologies under construction and give back any credits they had on them to the central pile (see technologies later).
- Obtain a civil unit and as much credits as civil units they have. This will change when species decline (see decline later).
- Discard previous' turn stellar systems.
- Jump to a new stellar system and extract a resource.
Reorganization cannot be interrupted by any player, not even using synchronic effects.
Example: Reorganization. (The printed rulebook illustrates this with a diagram.)
The Decline: Event that happens every time the resources deck is empty. Shuffle the cards from the discard pile and create a new resources deck, but the decline happens. The decline affects all players and its irreversible. From this moment on, step 2 of reorganization is permanently changed. Instead of getting one civil unit, the player must sacrifice one population unit, no matter what kind. With each new decline (empty resources deck) a new unit must be sacrificed.
From the first decline on, a population unit must be sacrificed on every reorganization, from the second decline, you must sacrifice two units, and so on.
Activation
During this phase, any of these actions may be performed:
- Use a consumable: After paying its price, its effect is applied and is discarded. Some consumables apply their effect immediately and some others apply it when the card specifies so. The consumable won't be discarded until its effect is applied or cancelled.
To use a consumable against another player, you both must be in the same sector.
- Build a technology: It must be placed face down and on top of it as much credits as it costs. While it's faced down, the technology is considered under construction and its effects cannot be applied until it's flipped. Once faced up (flipped), the technology will be considered built and will remain on the game zone until it is destroyed.
The player cannot discard their own built technologies unless they are removed by some effect.
You can have a maximum of 8 built technologies.
You must pay the whole price of each technology at once, you cannot pay for them in installments.
Keep in mind that all under construction technologies will be flipped on the next reorganization, giving back all credits to the central pile. The attack and defense value of technologies are added to the TTS, unless they are ships (see ships later).
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Installing equipment: they are added to the game directly faced up paying its corresponding price, placing it under an already built and with available slots ship. Each equipment takes up one slot. A ship with all her equipment is considered a sole technology. Once installed on a technology, the equipment cannot be uninstalled.
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Negotiate: As long as they are on the same sector, players can negotiate with other species. Negotiating means trading resources from the storage or credits. Negotiating may be used for giving gifts or blackmailing.
Opening a negotiation doesn't necessarily mean that players must come to an agreement.
Players cannot negotiate with population units or built technologies.
You can only negotiate on your turn or during the turn of the player you're negotiating with. You cannot negotiate during a war (see solving a war later).
- Extra Jump: To make an extra jump the player must pay 2 credits and perform the jump (see jump later). Just one extra jump may be performed per turn.
When jumping, you get one card from the top of the stellar system deck and you must place it on top of the stellar system you came from. On this jump you must apply the same rules as on the others, extract a resource.
- Training military units: Pay 4 credits and flip a civil unit.
Each military unit adds +2 to the attack and +2 to the defense, and damage 1 in the planetary assault (see damage and planetary assault later). Military units cannot be untrained unless trough an effect.
Remember that the attack and defense of military units must be added to the TTS.
Military units don't grant any credit during reorganization.
- Declaring a war: War may only be declared once per turn. It's enough to say "I attack." to declare war to another player on the same sector. Once started, no one can retreat.
Each of these actions can initiate one or more phases, as their descriptions say.
If an action is initiated, it must be concluded before initiating another. That is, you cannot interrupt an action with another action. For example, you cannot train military units or to open a negotiation once a war has started.
Resolving a War
A war begins when, during their turn, a player attacks another one. The player declaring the war is the attacker and the player receiving the declaration, is the defender.
During a war, there's two different phases that can happen: the fleet battle and the planetary assault. In the case that both phases take place simultaneously, the fleet battle will always be the first phase to resolve.
For the war to happen, the attacking player must be sure that at least one of the two phases can happen and they must be in the same sector as the defender.
During a war, you cannot use effects or norms that are not synchronic unless the description of the effect states the contrary.
During a war, both fighters are considered to be in the defender's stellar system. Any player who is in the defender's stellar system may use synchronics to interfere.
E.g. If the Attacker is in a red stellar system and the Defender is in a double red and green stellar system, species at both red and green sectors may interfere with this war.
E.g. If the Attacker is in a double yellow and blue system, but the Defender is in a yellow system, only species in a yellow sector may interfere with this war.
Fleet Battles
This phase happens if the defender has built ships. The attacker must choose which ships they want to attack with. The defender decides how to block them and the order in which the fights will be resolved.
If both attacker and defender have ships, the attacker must send at least one to participate in the fleet battle. The defender is forced to block all ships they can.
Each ship can only block or be blocked once. For blocking an attacker's ship, the defender must place one of their own ships in front of the attacking ship. If any of the opposing ships have a higher attack value than the other ship's defense, the other ship is destroyed.
If after a confrontation none of the ships are destroyed, both are considered blocked.
After resolving all confrontations, ships that took part of the Fleet Battle and that are not blocked or destroyed apply their damage to the opponent's population units (see damage later). By applying this damage, all defender's ships are considered participants in the fleet battle.
The damage you inflict to your enemy is the addition of all damages of all your unblocked ships that participated in the fleet battle.
The attacker is who decides which units each fighter must eliminate, civil or military units.
Synchronics played during this phase will only apply their effects while the phase lasts.
Planetary Assaults
This phase may only happen if the attacker has military units and wants to do it.
Both fighters compare their total attack and defense values, as their TTS states. If any fighter's value is higher than the defense of their opponent, they damage the opponent (see damage later).
The attacker decides which units each fighter must eliminate, civil or military. Also, the attacker can steal from the defender as much credits as units they managed to eliminate.
The total damage inflicted during this phase is the addition of all damages on military units plus the damage of all cards that are not ships.
Damage
Damage is inflicted upon an opponent on different phases of a war. Total received damage is the number of units the damaged species must eliminate.
War Example
During their turn, after training military units, a species in your same sector decides to attack you.
The attacker's configuration: (The printed rulebook illustrates this with a diagram.)
Your configuration: (The printed rulebook illustrates this with a diagram.)
You are the defender and you have ships so the Fleet Battle happens first.
The attacker decides that only their "Space Cruiser" and "Destruction Satellite" will participate, leaving behind their "Civil Ship".
You decide to block the "Space Cruiser" with your "Civil Ship" and the "Destruction Satellite" with yours. Because all attackers' ships have already been blocked once, your "Mecadestroyer" cannot block or be blocked.
You decide to resolve first the encounter between your "Civil Ship" and your opponent's "Space Cruiser". You use "Combat Droids" to enhance your "Civil ship"'s attack.
Both ships are destroyed.
Then the encounter between both "Destruction Satellites" is resolved. The attacker uses "Interplanetary missile" paying 1 credit on their "Destruction Satellite". In this case, the attacker wins and destroys your "Destruction Satellite". But another player, who is in the red sector, uses "Thermal Decoy" on your favor. None of the "Destruction Satellites" are destroyed and they are both blocked.
As the two participant ships belonging to the attacker are destroyed or blocked, they achieve to inflict no damage at all.
However, though both of your ships are destroyed or blocked, you still have a "Mecadestroyer" participating on the fleet battle that's not blocked. As the "Mecadestroyer" inflicts 1 damage, you can eliminate 1 attacker's unit. The attacker decides to eliminate 1 civil unit.
The Fleet Battle ends and the attacker decides to initiate a Planetary Assault.
The attacker inflicts 3 damages, one per military unit. You heal 1 with the effect of your "Tissue Regenerator", so they eliminate just 2 population units. The attacker decides to eliminate one civil and one military unit. Then, the attacker steals 2 credits from you.
After war: (The printed rulebook illustrates this with a diagram.)
How to Win
Extermination
Being the only player with population units left.
If you end up with no more population units, your species is considered extinct and you lose the game.
Civilization Level
- For each 4 population units the player has, no matter civil or military, their species gets one level.
- For each 4 built technologies the player has, their species gets one level.
If any species reaches civilization level 3 or more, they win the game after their next turn, as long as all the other species are on lowest levels. That means they must hold on to that level until all other species play their turns and it's the player's turn again at least once. In case of a tie, the game goes on until the tie is broken.
Examples:
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You just reached level 3 at the beginning of your turn, during reorganization. Then you must wait until your next turn and when that ends, you'll win the game, unless during the other players' turn someone lowers your level or ties with you.
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You just reached level 4 to break a level 3 tie. In this case, the rule is applied just as the example above. The same happens if you reach level 5 to break a level 4 tie, etc.
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Two species are tied at level 3 and you've been level 3 for more than one turn already. If you manage to lower the other species' level, you'll win at the end of your turn.
Glossary
- Storage: Keyword referring to the player's hand. Resources inside one species' storage cannot be shown to the others.
- Setting: Text written in italics on some cards. This text never adds any effect to the card. Its only purpose is to explain details about the universe of Space Opera.
- Effect: Effects are described on the cards' text. Effects make actions or improve other cards. There are passive and active effects. Passive effects are permanently applied.
Important effects:
- Damage: Damage is inflicted upon a rival in different phases of a war. Total damage received is the number of population units destroyed from the damaged species.
Ship's damage is inflicted in fleet battles. Any other kind of card's damage is only applied on the planetary assault. Each military unit deals 1 damage.
- Active effect: in some technologies as well as in the majority of species cards, there're effects that have a name written in bold, next to a hyphen and followed by a colon. These are active effects. The majority of them have an additional price and their use is voluntary. That is, the effect is not applied passively, you must use them voluntarily paying their due price.
- Jump: This keyword shows that you must do the following: get a new stellar system card and place it on top of the one you had before; and then, extract a resource.
After a jump you are considered to be in the last stellar system you arrived. Every time you perform a jump a resource must be extracted.
- Extra jump: is the action available just once per turn by paying 2 credits and performing an additional jump.
- Healing: The total healing you have is the amount of total damage you can reduce on each phase. Each card with this effect may apply its healing in fleet battles as well as planetary assaults.
- Synchronic: Apply it on an effect or consumable to turn it into synchronic. A synchronic effect or consumable can be used even if it's not the player's turn and on every phase but reorganization. Using a synchronic stops the phase until it's resolved.
If more than one player use synchronics simultaneously, the pile will be resolved from the last played synchronic to the first. While resolving the pile, players may add more synchronics and the resolution will be reinitiated.
- Universal: Apply it on an effect or consumable to turn it into universal. A universal effect or consumable can be used against species in different sectors as you.
- Species: Species cards indicates the species each player controls. The word species can refer to the actual card or the player, depending on context.
- Resource: Resources cards are the cards you may use during your turn. There's different types of resources that you can find in the resources deck.
Types of resources:
- Consumable: Is a resource that is discarded after use. To use it, pay its price, apply the effect and then discard.
Generally, the effect of a consumable is only applied during the phase it has been used but it can be different. A consumable can be cancelled before its effect ends and it is discarded.
- Equipment: During the turn, players can install equipment to their built ships as long as they have available slots. Equipment improves the ship it's installed into, applying bonuses and effects on the ship.
For being able to install an equipment, the ship must have available slots. A ship with all her equipment is considered a sole technology in every aspect and every effect. The price of the equipment is never added to the technology's price when receiving some effects. Once installed into a technology, the equipment cannot be uninstalled.
- Slot: Spaces ships have where you can install an equipment. Each white circle on the bottom of the ship cards is a slot. Each equipment takes a slot space.
- Technologies: you must build a technology before playing it and, once built, they will stay on the table until destroyed, applying their effects and modifiers.
You can have a maximum of 8 built technologies on the table.
- Ships: this sub-type means that this technology is a ship from your fleet. Ships have slots, where you can install equipment. Also, during war there's a phase specifically for ships, the Fleet Battle.
- Unique: Resources with this symbol have a special rule applied on the competitive mode, explained later on that game mode.
- Stellar System: Card that shows the location of a species in the galaxy. Each stellar system can have one or more sectors, represented by the color of the card's frame and the sector icon.
- Sector: there're 5 sectors in the galaxy, sorted by their color and sector icon. The sector (or sectors) where a species is located is determined by the last stellar system they jumped in.
Competitive Mode
All described rules are thought to play with a single resources deck and a sole discard pile in the center of the table. This kind of game is called casual mode.
In the competitive mode, each player may choose the species they want and designs a competitive resources deck that works with it. During the game, each player extracts from their own deck and their resources are discarded on their own discard pile so each species have their own decline. Besides this, all other rules stay the same.
Each competitive deck must contain 1 species card, 40 resources cards, with a maximum of 3 per type. Just one copy of each card with the unique trait may be included in your deck.
In the competitive mode, two or more players can use the same species on their decks.
Preparing the Game for Competitive Mode
The preparation will be the same as casual mode up until point number 8, with the only exception that each player will have their chosen species and resources deck. Point 9 is substituted by this:
Each player extracts 5 resources and place the ones they do not want at the bottom of the resources deck. Then, they'll extract as much resources as they discarded. Shuffle again the resources deck.
Quick Guide
Reorganization: Phase at the beginning of the turn:
- Flip under construction technologies.
- Obtain a civil unit and as much credits as civil units you have.
- Discard stellar systems.
- Jump to a new stellar system.
Resources: Cards from the resources deck. These are the "playable" cards.
Consumable: Discard to apply their effect.
Technology: Build them and keep them on the table. For each 4 technologies you increase a level. You may have a maximum of 8 built technologies.
Ship: Technology that participates in Fleet Battles and have slots in which you may install equipment.
Equipment: Install them face up under a ship with available slots.
Units: population token and life points. For each 4 units you increase a level.
- Civil: Grants 1 credit during reorganization.
- Military: Grants +2 attack and, +2 defense and inflicts 1 damage.
It costs 4 credits to train a civil unit into a military unit.
Effects: Effects with a special name followed by a colon are considered active and their use is optional.
Synchronic: This effect may be used even if it's not the player's turn. It's applied one by one from the last one added to the pile to the first.
Universal: It may be applied on player who are not on the same sector.
Damage: Damage value equals the number of units eliminated.
Healing: Healing value equals the quantity of total damage cancelled on each phase of a war.
War: Event happening when a player attacks another player in the same sector. It can only be declared once per turn and it can only be declared if at least one of its phases can take place.
Fleet Battle: First phase of a war. It happens if the defender has ships.
Planetary Assault: Second phase of a war. It happens if the attacker has military units and wants to perform the attack.
Remember:
- You cannot interact with any species that are not in the same sector as you.
- During your turn, you can negotiate with other species in your same sector.
- You can only perform one extra jump per turn. The extra jump costs 2 credits.
- After every jump you must extract one resource.