Space Pioneers
Space Pioneers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 64 Planet Cards (8 different planets)
- 32 Spaceship Cards (8 different ships)
- 5 Top Secret Cards
- 5 Mission Cards
- 1 Solo Mission Card
Setup
Before the game starts, the planet and spaceship cards are shuffled together. Every player receives 3 cards in their hand. 2 more cards are placed face up next to the deck of shuffled cards.
Every player gets one of the top secret cards and one of the mission cards. The mission cards are placed openly. They are the same for all players but the top secret cards are all different.
Then the player who has last visited a planetarium begins.
The Active Player's Turn
- First of all, the player draws a card.
- Then he places a card and maybe gets a planet (representing a victory point) or fulfills a mission.
- Alternatively, a player may skip the rest of his turn after drawing a card.
- Optionally, the player may remove a spaceship from his hand or his supply network.
Draw a Card
First, the active player draws a card. He decides if he wants one of the open cards or draws one from the deck. If the player takes an open card, the next card from the deck becomes the open card.
Place a Card
The player places one card. First of all, the players have to place a spaceship in front of them. In future turns, connections to this card can be made by placing a compatible card below, above or beside the previous card(s). This way everybody builds their own supply network.
When placing cards there can never be two spaceships or two planets adjacent to each other. Planets and spaceships always have to alternate. The cards may not be turned to fit. That means each player has to place all cards in the same direction and never crosswise or upside down.
In the player's own network, a placed card has to match their neighboring card(s) in one of three criteria:
- the color of the card,
- the two outer symbols of the connecting edges or
- the middle symbol (if a card is placed above or below another card).
If the active player wants to place a card in the network of another player, the rules are harder. It is only possible to put planets in other networks and not ships. In this case two out of the three criteria have to match. Either
- all three symbols of the edges have to match or
- the color of the card and the inner symbol or
- the color of the card and the two outer symbols.
If a new card is laid out and connects to more than one already laying cards, it's always possible to fulfill different criteria for each adjacent card. It's only important to fulfill one criterion (or in another player's network 2 criteria) for each card and side.
If a planet card is placed in the active player's network or in one of another player's, then the active player has to check whether this planet already exists in that network. If the planet is already in the network, then this old card (or maybe more than one) must be removed from the network and the active player gets the card(s) as victory point(s).
Exception: a planet can only be removed if the supply network does not fall apart afterwards. That means all cards have to stay connected horizontally or vertically to the whole network. If this is not the case, the planet may not be removed. This way it is possible to have more than one card of the same planet in the network and maybe later to get more than one card in one turn.
Missions
After placing a card, the active player checks if he has solved one (or more) of the open missions. If this is the case, he covers that mission with either his top secret card or an already "earned" planet card to mark that mission as fulfilled. Later changes to a player's supply network have no effect on already solved missions.
Now it is the next player's turn.
No Spaceship Around?
If the active player has no spaceship before drawing and none of the two open cards is a spaceship, the player may show his cards and then draw until he gets a spaceship. All other drawn cards are removed from the game.
Optionally: Removing Spaceships
A player may remove one of their spaceships at the end of their turn and place it face up on the discard pile. It may be one from their hand or one from their network (if the network is still connected everywhere afterwards).
The discard pile is always accessible to and can be viewed by everybody.
End of the Game
If the last card from the deck is drawn (either to the hand or to replace one of the two open cards) or a player fulfills his last open mission, the game continues until the starting player would have their turn. Then the game is over.
Everybody counts their points (earned planet cards, missions, tasks). The player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, the player with the most cards in their network wins.
Solo Player Rules
Build your own supply network, just like the rules say. Play until the last card from the deck is drawn or replaces an open card. Then make one last turn.
Use only the solo mission card and fulfill both missions on side A in any order. After that, turn the card and fulfill the two missions on side B in any order. If all missions are fulfilled, start again with side A. Every time the whole card is fulfilled take a redundant mission or top secret task card just to indicate how often you fulfilled the solo mission card.
After the last turn, count your points (missions and planets) and try to beat the result in a second game. Write down your results and share your highscore on BGG, Facebook, Twitter etc.