Stellar Ventures Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Overview
• Key Concepts
  • Investors vs. Corporations
  • Shares, Corporation Status & Dividends
  • Corporation Status
  • Game Map
  • Alien Technology
  • Mining Capacity
  • Ships and CARGO
  • Scrapping Event
  • The Agreement
• Game Structure
• Initial Auction
  • Order
  • Process
• Corporation Round
  • 1. Issue Share (Optional)
  • 2. Expand Network or Create Wormhole (Optional)
  • Outpost Restrictions (Applies to All Builds)
  • 3. Pay Dividend (Mandatory)
  • 4. Order Ships (Conditionally Mandatory)
• Investor Round
  • 1. Release Dividends
  • 2. Boardroom Battle
  • 3. Investor Shenanigans
• Administration Round
• Liquidation (Final Scoring)
• The Agreement
  • Timing
  • Requirements
  • Process
• Amethyst Agency FAQ
• Clarifications
  • Shipyard
  • Loans
  • Miscellaneous
• New Investor Setup
• Corporation Power Glossary
• Game Flow & Index

Components

• 1 x Double-sided Game Board
• 6 x Corporate Charters
• 5 x Investor Boards
• 5 x Reference Cards
• 6 x Starting Corporation Powers
• 18 x Neutral Corporate Power Tiles
• 1 x Director Marker
• 1 x Round Marker
• 1 x Era Marker
• 1 x Alien Corporation Token
• 28 x Corporation Shares (5 each for five Corporations, 3 for Amethyst Agency; Alien Shares on reverse)
• 35 x Spaceships
• 120 x Outposts (25, 23, 21, 19, 17 and 15 across the six Corporations)
• 12 x Corporation Tokens (2 per Corporation)
• 30 x Boardroom Votes (6 per player color)
• 10 x Action Tokens (2 per player)
• 87 x Credit Chits (39 x 1, 27 x 5, 15 x 10, 6 x 50)
• 10 x Alien Agreement Tiles
• 5 x Alien Shipyard Tiles
• 24 x Alien Technology Cubes
• 5 x Corporation Agreement Tokens
• 6 x Corporate Status Markers
• 7 x 40+ Mining Capacity Markers

Setup

1. Amethyst Agency Place the Charter to the side (it will be used starting in Era 3). Place Shares, Corporation Tokens, Corporation Status Marker, 40+ Marker, its "Secret Agents" Corporate Power and Outposts on/near the Charter. Place an Alien Technology Cube on "Wormhole". Ignore Amethyst components during remaining setup.
2. Game Board Lay out with the Alpha map side facing up, indicated by the (A).
3. Shipyard Place all ships into their respective sections of the Shipyard.
4. Era Marker Place the Era Marker on the "1" space of the Era Track.
5. Round Marker Place the Round Marker on the Corporation Round Space.
6. Alien Agreement Tiles Shuffle all tiles face-down. Place 1 face-down on each of the Alien Planets (7 on Alpha). Return the remaining tiles to the box without looking at them. First Play: Tile with 4 chevrons should not be used.
7. Alien Shipyard Tiles Shuffle all tiles face-down. Place 1 face-down on each of the hexes in the Shipyard (3 on Alpha). Return remaining tiles to the box without looking at them.
8. Alien Corporation Token Place on Mining Capacity for desired difficulty. Friendly 4 | Adverse 7 | Hostile 10. First Play: Select Friendly Difficulty.
9. Home Planet Outposts Take one Outpost from each Corporation and place it on its matching Home Planet (tab color and primary color of the planet match the Corporation Outposts).
10. CARGO Track Place one of each Corporation Token on CARGO value 0.

Game Overview

In Stellar Ventures, players act as investors controlling interstellar Corporations to amass the most Credits through strategic investments, network expansion, and leveraging Alien Technology. The player with the most Credits at the end wins.

Key Concepts

Investors vs. Corporations

Players are investors, not Corporations. Players can invest in multiple Corporations along with other players using Credits, the game's currency.

Players have Liquid Funds (available Credits) and Frozen Funds (unavailable Credits). Keep your personal Credits (Liquid or Frozen Funds) separate from Corporation Credits (Corporate Treasuries). Corporations have Treasuries (Credits on charter).

Shares, Corporation Status & Dividends

Shares influence control over Corporation actions and are a Corporation's primary source of Credits! Issuing Shares modifies the Corporation Status. Corporation Status primarily impacts Dividends, which are paid to Shareholders' Frozen Funds. Dividends are calculated using the Dividend Table on the game board and are based on the lower of Mining Capacity or CARGO and Corporate Status.

Corporation President The player with the most Shares in a Corporation is its President, controlling most decisions (page 25).

Corporation Status

• Private: 1 Share issued
• Minor: 2-3 Shares issued
• Major: 4+ Shares issued

Game Map

The Game Map consists of hexes of different types, where Outposts are built. Hexes sharing edges are adjacent.

• Home Planets Each Corporation's starting point. The color matches the Corporation. No other Corporations may build Outpost on these.
• Neutral Planets Building Outposts on these planets increases Mining Capacity based upon value of the planet's tab.
• Alien Planets Building Outposts on these grants Alien Technology and access to The Agreement. Corporate Powers may allow building on these.
• Mega-Earth Mining Capacity modifies when more Corporations build Outposts on this planet (page 14).
• Deep Space Hexes Empty hexes with no value.
• Anomalies Red-bordered hexes where Outposts cannot be built. Red-bordered hexes without a Sun are known as Nebular Anomalies. Corporate Powers may allow building on these.

Alien Technology

Cubes are earned by the building player (not Corporation) when Outposts are built on Alien Planets, whether via Corporate actions or Investor actions. They are spent in the Investor Round for powerful effects.

Mining Capacity

A Corporation's Mining Capacity is the sum value associated with the planets it has Outposts on at any time. If the value of a planet is modified, Mining Capacity is immediately modified for all Corporations (including any Outposts built in future turns).

Ships and CARGO

Delivered Ships increase a Corporation's CARGO. Ships are Ordered from the lowest level available. Ordered Ships are not Delivered immediately. Higher-level Ships may trigger Scrapping Events. CARGO may never exceed the highest amount on the CARGO Track (e.g., 13).

Scrapping Event

Scrapping Events are associated with certain sections of the Shipyard on the game board. When the first Ship of that section is either Ordered or removed during Administration, all Ships of the specified lower level are removed from the game, reducing CARGO immediately for all Corporations.

The Agreement

The Agreement is a crucial element in the game, providing big incentives but potential downsides. Deciding to sign (or not sign) can be the difference between winning and losing. Signing grants a bonus dividend, a new Corporate Power, and a potential end-game bonus during Liquidation (page 22). However, if the Corporation signs and their Mining Capacity doesn't exceed the Alien Corporation's at game end, its Shares are worth only 1.

Game Structure

Initial Auction Players bid for starting Shares to become Corporation Presidents.

Eras 1-4, each consisting of:

• Corporation Round Corporations Issue Shares to raise funds, build Outposts, pay Dividends and Order Ships.
• Investor Round Players vote to force a Corporation to issue a Share and then take personal actions.
• Administration Round Clean up and setup for the next Era.

Immediately at the start of Era 3, the Amethyst Agency is formed via Auction (Director initiates):

• Place all its pieces on board/supply/charter in appropriate locations (see Setup 10-15). Place "Secret Agents" Corporate Power face up.
• Amethyst Agency starts at position 6 in Corporation Turn Order.
• Its President chooses a Home Planet from available options, placing an Outpost (no cost).
• Adjust Mining Capacity to value of Home Planet.

Reminder! Amethyst Agency begins with Wormhole Technology Active (see setup).

Era 5 Final era consisting of a Corporation Round, followed by Liquidation (Final Scoring) to determine a winner.

Initial Auction

Establish Corporation Presidents by auctioning one Share per starting Corporation (exclude Amethyst Agency).

New to investing games? Consider the New Investor Setup (Page 26-27) instead of the Initial Auction.

Order

Auction Corporations in reverse Corporation Turn Order (5th to 1st). Note: Corporations have a different numbers of Outposts. Corporation Status on the game board is ordered most to fewest.

Process

• Place one Share from a Corporation's Charter on the table.
• The player most recently in Outer space Initiates the Auction and bids first (or choose randomly); bidding proceeds clockwise (0 bid is acceptable).
• Bid higher or pass (passing players may not re-enter bidding).
• The highest bidder (including 0) becomes the Corporation President.

Note: It is possible for a player to leave the Initial Auction without controlling a Corporation.

The Corporation President:

1. Takes the Share and places it below their Investor Board.
2. Takes the Corporation Charter and places it in front of them.
3. Pays Credits from their Liquid Funds to the Corporation's Treasury (anywhere on Charter players prefer) equal to the winning bid.
4. Chooses a second Corporate Power from the row of available powers (those not in the pile). Do not refill powers after choosing.

• Next Auction: The winner starts bidding for the next Corporation. Repeat for each Corporation.
• End of Initial Auction:
  • The President of the Corporation 5th in Turn Order takes the Director Marker.
  • Reveal remaining Corporate Powers from the pile and begin the first Corporation Round.

Corporation Round

In Corporation Turn Order, each President performs these actions fully before moving to the next Corporation:

1. Issue Share (Optional)

• Auction 1 Share (President Initiates and bids first). Winner pays the bid to the Treasury (Charter) from their Liquid Funds and takes the Share.
• Update Corporate Status if necessary (Minor at 2 Shares, Major at 4 Shares).
• If any player now has more of this Corporation's Shares than the President, they immediately become the new President and will continue the turn on behalf of the Corporation (page 25).

Issuing Shares is the primary way a Corporation will gain access to Credits. If a Corporation has no Credits in its Treasury, it will be unable to build Outposts or Order Ships in the Corporation Round. A Corporation may only issue a Share if it has one available on its Charter. The Share auction follows the same general rules as the Initial Auction (i.e., bid higher or pass, no re-entering, highest bid wins the Share, including 0).

2. Expand Network or Create Wormhole (Optional)

In a single Corporation Round, a Corporation may either Expand Network or Create Wormhole, not both! Restrictions apply to all Outpost building (page 15). Corporation pays all costs from Corporate Treasury!

Expand Network Build 1-5 Outposts. Each new Outpost must be placed adjacent to an Outpost of the Corporation. Pay total cost based on number of Outposts built during action.

• Outpost Costs (listed on Charter): 1 = 1 | 2 = 2 | 3 = 4 | 4 = 7 | 5 = 10
• Placement Penalty (listed on Charter): 1 per other Corporation Outpost(s) in the hex(es).
• Increase Mining Capacity based on each planet where the Corporation built an Outpost this turn during Expand Network.
• When building an Outpost on an Alien Planet it may be possible for the Corporation to sign The Agreement (page 22) if a tile is present.

Example: The President of Gamboge Guild chooses to Expand Network and begins building Outposts adjacent to its existing network. They build the first Outpost on a value 2 Neutral Planet (A). They place the next Outpost on the adjacent value 3 Neutral Planet (B). They expand from another section of their network to another value 3 Neutral Planet (C); this has another Corporation present so it incurs a Placement Penalty. They continue placing another Outpost on the Deep Space hex (D), incurring another Placement Penalty. They consider building a 5th Outpost. Due to Outpost Restrictions (page 15), it cannot be built on the Sun (E1), the value 2 Neutral Planet (2 Outposts limit) (E2) or another Corporation's Home Planet (E3). It can be built on the Alien Planet as Gamboge Group's "Alien Explorers" Corporate Power is active. However, it will incur another Placement Penalty for other Corporation Outposts already there (E4). They decide to not build a 5th Outpost just yet. The cost of this Expand Network is 9: base cost of 7 for 4 total Outposts (F) + 2 in placement penalties (G). This is paid from the Corporate Charter to the Bank. Gamboge Guild increases its Mining Capacity a total of 8, adjusting their marker accordingly on the Mining Capacity Track.

Create Wormhole Requires active Wormhole Technology. Build 1 Outpost anywhere (all Outpost Restrictions apply).

• Outpost Costs (listed on Charter): 1 per hex skipped from nearest Outpost + 4 for Building the Outpost.
• Placement Penalty (listed on Charter): 1 per other Corporation Outpost(s) in destination hex.
• Increase Mining Capacity based on the Planet where the Corporation built an Outpost through Create Wormhole.

Example: Cerulean Council has previously activated Wormhole Technology. It builds an Outpost on Mega-Earth (A). This is 3 hexes away from one of its existing Outposts (B). Mega-Earth has two other Corporation Outposts already present (C). This costs 9. 1 for each of the 3 hexes "skipped", + 4 for the Outpost + 2 placement penalty. Cerulean Council Mining Capacity increases +12. The two other Corporations both increase Mining Capacity +3 each due to the increasing value of Mega-Earth (i.e., 9 to 12).

Mega-Earth

• Mega-Earth is a Planet, but is not considered a Neutral planet.
• Outposts must be built in the bottom-most empty box.
• Spans 3 hexes, but it is treated as a single hex for all game purposes.
• Mining Capacity value is the lowest visible number.
• The Mining Capacity increases for all Corporations with an Outpost on Mega-Earth as new Corporation Outposts are built.

Outpost Restrictions (Applies to All Builds)

• Max. 1 Outpost per Corporation per hex of any type.
• Max. 2 Outposts per Deep Space/Neutral Planet.
• No Outposts from other Corporations on Home Planets.
• No Outposts on red-bordered Anomalies.
• No Outposts if space is unavailable on Mega-Earth.
• Certain Corporate Powers required to build on Alien Planets.

3. Pay Dividend (Mandatory)

Dividends paid from bank to players only!

• Compare the rows of the Mining Capacity and CARGO tokens. The lower token sets the payout row.
• Check Corporate Status for the payout column.
• Find the payout amount (intersecting row and column). Each player receives this amount to Frozen Funds for each Share held.

Example: Frost Federated, a Minor Corporation with 3 shares issued, has a Mining Capacity of 35 and CARGO of 10. The CARGO token sets the payout row (lowest token). As a Minor Corporation, it pays 10 per share. Lydia has 1 share and receives 10 in Frozen Funds. Jordan has 1 share and receives the same. A share was issued to the Aliens previously, when the Corporation signed the Agreement (Page 22). No player is paid for the share in the Alien Shareholdings, nor is Frost Federated paid for any shares on its Charter.

4. Order Ships (Conditionally Mandatory)

Corporation pays all costs from Corporate Treasury! Cost of each Ship is equal to its level.

Standard Purchase A Corporation may Order one Ship for each empty Ship column on their Charter. Order Ships one at a time. Corporations may only discard Ships from their Charter when instructed to Scrap.

Forced Purchase A Corporation must Order at least 1 Ship, if all Ship columns on their Charter are empty. If unable to afford, see "No Credits?" below.

Ship Buying Restrictions

• Max 3 Ships: 1 Ship per column (Ordered or Delivered).
• Lowest Level First: Only ships present in the lowest available level can be Ordered. When a section is empty, the next level is immediately available.

Ship Placement Place Ordered Ships in an empty column on the Charter in the Ordered Ships row.

First Ship in New Level Ordered? Flip Alien Ship tile (if applicable). Increase Alien Corporation Token one row (i.e. +3) for each chevron on the revealed tile. Check for Scrapping Event.

Scrapping Event When the first Ship of a section with a Scrapping Event is either Ordered or removed during Administration, all Ships of the specified lower level are immediately lost by Corporations (reducing CARGO) and removed from the game.

IMPORTANT! CARGO is not increased until Ships are Delivered during the Administration Round.

No Credits? If Corporation is forced to purchase a Ship, but does not have sufficient Credits, it must take Loans until it has enough funds for a single Ship (page 25). To take a Loan, a Corporation places one Outpost into the Loans box on the Game Board and receives 3 to its Treasury. Outposts in the Loans box remain until the game ends and reduce final Share value by 3 each.

Example: Gamboge Guild has one Level-1 and one Level-2 Ship on its Charter. Charlie orders the first Level-3 ship from the Shipyard and places it in the only (currently) empty column on the Charter (A). The first Level-3 ship is removed from the Shipyard and she flips over the Alien Shipyard tile revealing 2 Chevrons. She increases the Alien Marker up 2 rows +6 to 31 (B). The Shipyard also indicates a Scrapping Event that immediately scraps all Level-1 ships (C). Gamboge Guild removes its Level-1 ship from its Delivered Ships (D) and loses 1 CARGO (from 3 to 2) (E). Gamboge Guild now has an empty column on its Charter and orders another Level-3 ship (F). This costs 6 (two Level-3 ships at 3 each). All Corporations Scrap Ships and reduce CARGO immediately.

Investor Round

In Eras 1-4, after each Corporation has performed all steps of the Corporation Round, the Investor Round begins. In Era 5, the Investor Round is skipped. Proceed to Liquidation (Final Scoring, page 21).

1. Release Dividends

All players move Credits from Frozen Funds to Liquid Funds.

2. Boardroom Battle

• Each player has one chance to optionally place any number of their remaining Boardroom Votes on a single Corporation's Status marker. Start with Director and proceed clockwise.
• The Corporation with the most Votes must Issue a Share (Director chooses in case of a tie, including 0 Votes).
• The Director initiates the auction. Highest bidder receives the Share and pays the bid to the Corporate Treasury from their Liquid Funds.
• Remove Votes on successful Battles from game; return Votes of failed Battles back to players to be used in the future.

Example: Lindsey (Director) opts to not place Votes. Courtney places 2 Votes on the Gamboge Guild. Leo places 2 Votes on Pink Inc. Since there is a tie, the Director decides which Corporation will issue a Share. Lindsey chooses Pink Inc., initiating the auction and bidding first. Leo removes their 2 Votes from the game. Courtney reclaims their 2 Votes to use in a future round.

3. Investor Shenanigans

Starting with the Director, each player takes an Investor Action followed by an Alien Tech Action. Finish both before proceeding clockwise to the next player. Actions are tracked on the Investor Board with their respective Action Discs.

Investor Action: Must move Action Disc to a new action or pass, removing the Action Disc from the board.

• Private Contractor (1-5 Outposts): If a Shareholder, build 1-5 Outposts for a Corporation paying normal costs (follow Expand Network rules). Investor pays all costs from Liquid Funds. The Investor taking this action gains any Alien Technology cubes.
• Jerry-Rig (1 Outpost): If a Shareholder, place 1 free Outpost for a Corporation (follow Expand Network rules). There are no Placement Penalties. The Investor taking this action gains any Alien Technology cubes.
• Insurance Fraud: If President, Scrap a Corporation's Delivered Ship for its cost, reimbursed into Corporate Treasury. Limit 1 Ship.
• Black Market: Discard 1 Voting Disc to gain 1 Alien Technology cube. Limit 1 exchange.

Alien Tech Action: Must move Action Disc to a new action or pass, removing the Action Disc from the board.

• Cargo Boost (+1 / +2): If a Shareholder, add 1 or 2 cubes to a Corporation's Charter to increase CARGO by 1 or 2 immediately. Limit 1 Corporation.
• Research Wormhole: If a Shareholder, add 1 cube to a Corporation's Charter to unlock Wormhole Technology. Required to use Create Wormhole. Limit 1 Corporation.
• Develop Planet(s) (x2): Place cubes on any number of Neutral Planets without a cube. This permanently doubles the planet's Value. Adjust Mining Capacity for all Corporations. Max. 1 cube per planet.
• Launder: Discard 1 or 2 cubes for 2 or 5 directly into Liquid Funds. Limit 1 exchange.

Administration Round

1. Scrap Lowest-Level Ship Scrap a single Ship from the game. Remove the Ship from the lowest available level that has any. This may trigger a Scrapping Event and/or flipping an Alien Ship Tile.
2. Deliver Ordered Ships Move all Ordered Ships to Delivered Ships, increasing CARGO by the total amount of Ship Level delivered for each Corporation. Reminder! CARGO never exceeds 13, additional CARGO is lost.
3. Assign Turn Order Reorder Corporations by Mining Capacity highest (1st) to lowest (last). Ties maintain order.
4. Pass Director Marker Pass clockwise to next player.
5. Advance Era Move the Era Marker. Reminder! At beginning of Era 3, launch Amethyst Agency (Director places first bid). Reminder! Era 5 proceeds to Liquidation after the Corporation Round.

Liquidation (Final Scoring)

1. Deliver Ordered Ships As in Administration Round.
2. Hostile Takeover Corporations that signed The Agreement that have Mining Capacity less than or equal to Alien Mining Capacity flip all Shares to Alien Shares, and remove all Tokens (not Outposts) from the game.
3. Share Liquidation All players trade in Shares for Credits.
   • For each Corporation remaining after Hostile Takeover each Share is worth: (Mining Capacity + CARGO) / Shares Issued, rounded up, + Agreement Bonus (3-15), - 3 per Loan = Corporate Share Value.
   • Alien Shares = 1 each.
4. Determine Winner The player with the most Credits (incl. Liquid + Frozen Funds) wins. Ties are broken by the player that holds the Presidency of the Corporation with highest Mining Capacity. If still tied, whoever gets to Outer space next wins.

Share Liquidation Example:

• Frost Federated signed The Agreement.
• Hostile Takeover: Their Mining Capacity was 40 and the Alien Corporation's was 39, avoiding a takeover.
• Ships: 3 ships on Charter (5, 5, 8)

Frost Federated Share Values:

• Cargo: 13 (Maximum Value)
• • Mining Capacity: 40
• / Shares Outstanding: 4 (3 to players, 1 in Alien Shareholdings)
• = Base Share Value: 53 / 4 = 14 per share
• • Agreement Bonus: 3 Planets (6 per share)
• • Loans: 1 Outpost (-3 per share)
• = Corporate Share Value: 17 per share

The Agreement

Timing

Immediately after building on an Alien Planet with a face-down Alien Agreement Tile, the Corporation President may choose to sign the Agreement there. This may occur during the Corporation Round or on any player's turn during the Investor Round.

Requirements

• Corporation has Outposts on 2+ Alien Planets
• Corporation has 1+ Share(s) available on Charter
• 'Alien Explorers' Corporate Power is Active
• All build costs are paid before signing

Process

Flip Power Flip "Alien Explorers" to its "Sign the Agreement" side.

Flip the Alien Agreement Tile Increase Alien Mining Capacity up 1 row per Chevron on revealed tile. Discard the tile.

Issue Share to Aliens Place 1 Share from Charter in the Alien Shareholdings, receive no funds. Adjust Corporation Status if necessary.

Place Token Place Agreement Token on The Agreement, based on the number of Alien Planets with this Corporation's Outposts (including this one).

Bonus Dividend Pay 6-12 to each Shareholder's Frozen Funds for each Share they hold, based on where the Agreement Token was placed.

Draft Power Discard "Sign the Agreement" and select a new Corporate Power. Corporation will no longer be able to build Outposts on Alien Planets!

End Expansion: Outposts can no longer be built during the action that initiated the Signing process.

Example: Pink Inc. builds an Outpost on its 3rd Alien Planet and pays costs for all Outposts built this turn. There is a facedown Alien Agreement Tile, so Angelika (President) chooses to sign The Agreement (flipping "Alien Explorers" to "Sign the Agreement"). She flips the Alien Agreement Tile, reveals 2 chevrons and increases the Alien Corporation Mining Capacity up 2 rows from 31 to 37. They discard the tile from the game (1). A Share is issued to the Aliens (receiving no funds) (2). She places its Agreement token on the section of "The Agreement" matching the number of Alien Planets Pink Inc. has Outposts on (3). A bonus dividend is paid to all Shareholders of Pink Inc. of 9 for each Share (4). Pink Inc. President discards its Starting Power and selects a new Power from the available Powers (5).

Amethyst Agency FAQ

Immediately at the start of Era 3, the Amethyst Agency Corporation is formed via Auction (page 9). This section provides additional clarifications.

Formation Power Each map's setup will specify a Power to use during Formation. It does not select a second power when the Corporation launches. Amethyst Agency begins with the "Secret Agents" Power when playing on the Alpha map.

Home Planets Amethyst Agency has multiple options to choose from for its Home Planet. These remain Home Planets for the entire game, regardless whether Amethyst Agency chooses them or not. This means no other Corporation may ever build on these planets. Amethyst home planets match the image on the page, though values may differ.

Clarifications

Shipyard

• The Shipyard tiles are revealed when the first Ships are removed from their respective sections (e.g., Level-2). This may occur during Order Ships or Scrapping Events.
• The final section of the Shipyard is unlimited. Use Scrapped ships as a proxy if Ships run out.

Loans

• Loans can only be taken if a Corporation is forced to pay a cost for something and does not have enough funds (e.g., Forced Ship Order).
• The number of loans taken must be the minimum necessary to cover the cost of the forced action.
• Outposts used for loans can be removed from the Supply or any hex type on the Game Board. Reduce Mining Capacity accordingly.
• Outposts placed in the Loan box remain there permanently.

Miscellaneous

• Investor Shenanigans All players' Action Discs begin the game off the Investor board, making all actions available.
• Corporate Powers Powers generally apply only to the Corporation that gained it. These supersede game rules. Powers are only gained through Set-up, Initial Auction and Signing the Agreement. Powers are considered 'Active' when a Corporation acquires them, until discarding them. A Corporation will never have more than two Active Powers at any time. The Glossary provides additional detail and clarifications (page 28).
• Alien Mining Capacity Alien Mining Capacity increases +3 for each chevron revealed. If the Alien Token would move off the track, place the 40+ Marker and the Alien Token on the bottom row of the chart (representing 40 exactly). Continue moving the Alien Token up for each chevron so the total is correct (e.g., 37>40>43).
• Change in Corporation President When any player acquires more Shares than the current President, that player immediately takes the Corporation Charter in front of themselves and makes all decisions for the Corporation.

New Investor Setup

Auctions in a new game often present daunting decisions. The New Investor Setup is intended to simulate an outcome of the Initial Auction and get players into the game faster. Perform the following:

• Follow the Initial Setup (skipping step 17).
• Assign Players. The owner of the game is Player A. Players B through E are assigned based on seating order (clockwise from Player A).
• Skip the Initial Auction and use the following images to finish setting up based on player count.
• Players take any Corporation(s) Charters that match the Shares they hold. They will begin the game as that Corporation's President.
• Corporation Presidents perform any immediate Corporate Powers gained during this setup.
• Place 6 random Corporate Powers from the remaining supply above the game board and begin the first Corporation Round. Good Luck Investors!

Note: the manual then gives 3 Player, 4 Player and 5 Player Setup diagrams (pages 26-27) showing, for each of Players A to E, the Shares held, Liquid Funds and Corporate Power(s) assigned. These are pictorial only and are not reproduced here; refer to the printed manual.

Corporation Power Glossary

Powers marked * are First Play Recommendations.

Accounting Gimmick (One-Time, Timing: Liquidation) During Hostile Takeover, this Corporation appears to have +5 Mining Capacity. Do not move its Mining Capacity Token. This does not actually increase the Mining Capacity for calculation of Share Values during Liquidation.

Alien Alchemist * (Ongoing, Timing: Corporation Round) Once during each Corporation Round, the President of this Corporation may remove 2 unbuilt Outposts of this Corporation and return them to the box. The President gains 1 Alien Technology Cube.

Alien Engineering (Ongoing, Timing: Investor Round) The President of this Corporation may reclaim any number of Technology cubes from the Corporate Charter as a free action. The Corporation immediately loses any Cargo Boost and/or access to Wormhole Technology.

Backroom Deal (One-Time, Timing: Liquidation) Before Hostile Takeover, move the Alien Mining Capacity up or down by one row.

Cloaking Devices (Ongoing, Timing: Any Build Action) May build Outposts on Deep Space hexes ignoring Outpost Restrictions and Placement Penalties.

Deep Space Pirates (One-Time, Timing: Pay Dividends) Copy another Corporation's Mining Capacity when determining Dividends (i.e., use the row of that Corporation's token instead of this Corporation). Discard this power after using once.

Deep Space Smuggling (One-Time, Timing: Pay Dividends) Copy another Corporation's CARGO when determining Dividends (i.e., use the row of that Corporation's CARGO token instead of this Corporation). Discard this Power after using once.

Dismantling Outposts (Ongoing, Timing: Corporation Round) Once during each Corporate Round, this Corporation may return 1 Outpost from a Deep Space hex to the supply each Round, paying 1 from the Treasury. The removed Outpost may immediately be placed as part of any action allows a building an Outpost.

Fine Print (One-Time, Timing: Investor Round) Before the Boardroom Battle begins, discard this Power to prevent any Votes from being placed on this Corporation. It cannot be forced to Issue a Share during this specific Boardroom Battle.

Hyperdrive * (Ongoing, Timing: Permanent) Permanently increase CARGO +1. Keep this as a reminder to confirm total CARGO.

Icarus Experiment * (Ongoing, Timing: Any Build Action) May build Outposts on Sun Anomaly hexes during any action that allows building or placing an Outpost.

Leaked Research * (One-Time, Timing: Anytime) The President may perform Research Wormhole as a free action, spending Alien Technology as normal. Discard this power after using once. This can only be used to activate Wormhole for this Corporation.

Nebular Explorers (One-Time, Timing: Any Build Action) May build an Outpost on a Nebular Anomaly. When building this Outpost, randomly take one of the unused Alien Planet tiles from the game box and place it onto the hex underneath the Outpost. Treat this as building on Alien Planet. If the President chooses to sign the Agreement, follow the normal signing process. If the President does not sign The Agreement, this tile will remain on the Game Board and any other Corporation may treat it as an Alien Planet for all game purposes. If this Power is gained by a Corporation after it has already signed The Agreement, it does not increase its Agreement Bonus. A Corporation can never sign the Agreement more than once.

Ore Refinement * (Ongoing, Timing: Permanent) Permanently increase Mining Capacity +3.

Quantum Propulsion (Ongoing, Timing: Corporation Round) Apply a 2 discount when taking the Create Wormhole action during the Corporation Round. This power requires Active Wormhole Technology.

Spare Parts (One-Time, Timing: Anytime) When a Ship(s) would be Scrapped from this Corporation, the President may move 1 of the those Ships to this tile. This ship will remain for 1 more dividend payment without adjusting the CARGO associated with this single ship. After the next dividend payment discard this power, scrap the ship and reduce the CARGO accordingly.

Stalled IPO (Ongoing, Timing: Anytime) This Corporation does not change from a Minor Corporation to a Major Corporation on 4th Share issued, but on the 5th Share instead.

Windfall * (One-Time, Timing: Immediately) Immediately receive 5 to the Corporate Treasury. Discard this power after using once.

Alien Explorers (Ongoing, Timing: Any Build Action) Allows the Corporation to build Outposts on Alien Planets. The player that builds the Outpost gains an Alien Technology from the Supply. If the Corporation meets the requirements of signing The Agreement (page 22), the President may choose to Sign the Agreement by flipping this power tile over.

Sign the Agreement (One-Time, Timing: During Signing) Corporation President follows the process to sign The Agreement (page 22). Once this power is used, Corporations are unable to build Outposts on Alien Planets (unless a new power confers the ability). This tile is intended to be a helpful reminder of the Signing process not replace any rules.

Secret Agents (Ongoing, Timing: Any Build Action) May build Outposts on Alien Planets, but the players do not gain Alien Technology. After building an Outpost on an Alien Planet with an Alien Agreement tile, but before examining it, the Corporation President may choose to either increase the Amethyst Agency Mining Capacity +3 or increase the Alien Mining Capacity (based on Chevrons revealed). With either choice the tile will be discarded from the game. If an Alien Planet has no tile, Amethyst may only choose to increase its own Mining Capacity +3.

Tax Agents (Ongoing, Timing: Any Build Action) May build Outposts on Alien Planets, but players do not gain Alien Technology. After building an Outpost on an Alien Planet, the Corporation President may choose to either force a Tax Payment to all other corporations present on this Alien Planet or steal 3 from the Tax Box. The 3 goes into the Corporate Treasury. Note: This Power is only used on Borders & Taxes Map.

Game Flow & Index

• Initial Auction (pages 10-11): Auctioning Corporations (p10); Assign Corporation President (p10); Select Corporate Power (p11)
• Corporation Round (pages 12-17): Issue Share (p12); Expand Network (p12); Create Wormhole (p14); Pay Dividends (p15); Order Ships (p16)
• Investor Round (pages 18-19): Release Dividends (p18); Boardroom Battle (p18); Investor Shenanigans (p19)
• Administration Round (page 20): Scrap Lowest-Level Ship; Deliver Ordered Ships; Assign Turn Order; Pass Director Marker; Advance Era. Era 3: launch Amethyst Agency (p9). Era 5: proceed to Liquidation after the Corporation Round (p21)
• Liquidation (Final Scoring) page 21
• The Agreement pages 22-23
• Amethyst Agency FAQ page 24
• New Investor Setup pages 27-28
• Corporation Powers pages 28-29

Quick Reference: Alien Mining Capacity (p25); Alien Tech Actions (p19, p25); Corporation President Change (p25); Investor Actions (p19, p25); Loans (p25); Mega-Earth (p14); Mining Capacity (p8); Outpost Restrictions (p15); Scrapping Events (p8); Shipyard Tiles (p25).