Take The Galaxy Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Components
• Setup
  • 1. The Space Deck
    • Prepare the Space Deck
  • 2. Explored Space
  • 3. Player Deck
  • 4. Hand & Starting System
  • 5. Starting the Game
• Example of Play
• A Player's Turn
  • 1. Exploration Phase
  • 2. Draw Phase
  • 3. Reset Phase
  • 4. Action Phase
  • 5. End Turn
• Taking a card from Explored Space
  • 1. Anomaly
  • 2. Systems
    • Hazards
  • 3. Bounty Systems
  • 4A. Events
  • 4B. Events (opportunity)
• Building Colonies
• Building Ships
• Using ships and colonies
• The Resources
  • Resource pool
• Upgrading Colonies
• Relinquishing a system
• End the game
• Alternative game modes
  • 1. Team play
  • 2. Random Play
• Events explained
• Cheat Sheet
  • 1. Turn Order
  • 2. Action Phase
  • 3. Resource exchange
  • 4. Colonies & Slots
  • 5. Upgrade colonies
  • 6. Relinquish systems

Game Overview

Take The Galaxy is a galaxy exploration and colonization game. Each player begins the game with a deck of all the ship and colony types that they can build.

In the centre of the table is the space deck, this reveals all the discovered systems, anomalies and events in the galaxy. Players can claim systems by building colonies on them. In this way they can expand their economy and gain renown. As a pioneer you can only ever hold on to 4 systems. Players will have to decide when it is best to relinquish a system for a better one without breaking their economy. But don't focus solely on Systems! Events and Anomalies are also great ways to earn renown.

The space deck is divided into 3 distinct sectors. Each of these sectors provide ever more lucrative systems to colonize and anomalies to study, but also increasingly difficult events to deal with. The game ends in the turn the last card from the last sector is revealed.

The player with the most renown points wins the game.

Components

• 4 Player Decks, 42 cards each
• 1 Space Deck, 48 cards
• 16 Manpower Tokens
• 16 Science Tokens
• 16 Production Tokens
• 20 (1 RP) Tokens
• 16 (5 RP) Tokens
• 12 (-1 RP) / Hazard Tokens

Setup

A game of Take The Galaxy is set up in 4 Steps:

1. The Space Deck

The Space Deck consists of 3 sets of cards: The Core, the Expanse and the The Fringe sets. You can see to which set a card belongs to by looking at the back of the card or the lower right corner in the front.

Prepare the Space Deck as described here. This gives the most balanced experience. If you are looking for a more random game, look under the alternative modes of play on page 13 how to set that up.

Place the Space Deck in the middle of the table.

Prepare the Space Deck

Space deck cards are numbered in the top right and bottom left corner with wormhole icons. Select the cards depending on the number of players as shown here (the number of wormhole icons on a card is 1, 2, 3 or 4):

• Solo: cards with 1 wormhole icon
• 2 player: cards with 1 and 2 wormhole icons
• 3 player: cards with 1, 2 and 3 wormhole icons
• 4 player: cards with 1, 2, 3 and 4 wormhole icons

Then divide the cards according to the sector they belong to, and shuffle them separately. After shuffling, place them on top of each other as shown here: Core cards on top, then Expanse cards, then Fringe cards at the bottom.

2. Explored Space

Now set up the Explored Space. To do this, turn over an equal number of cards as there are players. Easy! (Solo: 1 card, 2 players: 2 cards, 3 players: 3 cards, 4 players: 4 cards, laid out next to the Space Deck.)

3. Player Deck

Each player takes a player deck. Now each player has to search his deck for the 9 cards with the player-deck symbol in the top right and bottom left corner. Keep these cards separate, we'll need them for the next step. Shuffle the rest of the cards and lay them face down within reach. This will be your player deck for the rest of the game. You draw all your cards from this deck. If the deck is empty at any time, shuffle your discard pile to make a new player deck.

4. Hand & Starting System

Now on to those cards with the player-deck symbol. One of those is your starting system. The first world colonized by your faction in this galaxy. Lay it face up in front of you. Pick one of the frontier colonies from the 8 cards remaining and place it face up beside your starting system.

The 7 cards remaining form your starting hand.

"Ok it isn't much but it's home for now, take good care of it!" The starting system card has a marking indicating that it starts with a Frontier Colony.

That was the entire set up. Now you are ready to Take The Galaxy!

5. Starting the Game

Decide for yourself who begins the game, it's not up to us to decide that for you!

Example of Play

The example shows the layout on the table. Each player has: colonies, systems, ships, a player deck, a discard pile and a renown pile. In the centre are the Space Deck, the Space Deck discard pile and the Explored Space.

A Player's Turn

A player's turn consists of 5 phases. These are: Exploration Phase, Draw Phase, Reset Phase, Action Phase and End phase.

1. Exploration Phase

Take a card from the Space Deck and place it face up on the table next to the Space Deck. All cards in the Explored Space get moved aside to make room for the new card. The maximum number of cards allowed in the Explored Space is equal to the number of players +1. If there are more cards than allowed, a card at the other end will drop off and be discarded. Place that card in the Space Deck discard pile.

Example 1: A card gets drawn for a 2 player game, the Explored Space isn't full (2 out of 3 card maximum). A card is drawn, the other cards get moved aside to make room for the new card.

Example 2: A card gets drawn for a 2 player game, the Explored Space is full (3 out of 3 cards). A card is drawn, the other cards get moved aside to make room for the new card. The card at the far end gets discarded.

Next, resolve any Event effects in this phase, such as losing a card due to Space Pirates.

2. Draw Phase

Draw 1 card from your Player Deck and take it into your hand. If your Player Deck is empty at any time, shuffle your discard pile and place it face down to create a new Player Deck.

3. Reset Phase

Turn all cards that were used back to their inactive stance.

4. Action Phase

In this phase you can perform any of the following actions in any order you wish. Unless indicated, you can perform these actions multiple times.

• Claim a card from the Explored Space (max 1 per turn)
• Make use of Event Opportunities
• Build Colonies and Ships
• Use Colonies and Ships
• Upgrade Colonies
• Relinquish a system (max 1 per turn)

5. End Turn

When you are finished with all your actions declare that it is the end of your turn. It's only polite! Use the time during your opponents turn to think ahead, look through your discard pile. Maybe take a drink.

Taking a card from Explored Space

There are 4 different types of cards in the space deck. These are Anomalies, Systems, Bounty Systems and Events. No matter what happens or how much you want it, you can only ever take 1 card from the Explored space per turn.

1. Anomaly

Not all discoveries represent monetary gain, some represent a wealth of knowledge....

An Anomaly represents one of the marvels you encounter in this new galaxy. Anomalies are worth a lot of Renown Points if studied. If you produce enough Science, you can claim an Anomaly. Anomalies claimed this way are put in your Renown pool so you can count its Renown Point Value at the end of the game.

Anatomy of an anomaly card (example: Space Whales): name of anomaly; cost to study an anomaly (Science icons); Renown Point value of the anomaly (3 RP); sector to which the anomaly belongs.

2. Systems

"Remember, it's all about location, location, location"

If you want to take a System from the Explored Space, you have to first have room to colonize it. You can only have 4 systems under your control at the same time. In order to control a new system if you already have 4, you'll need to relinquish a system (more on that later).

To take a system, you have to build a colony on it. The type of colony you can build is determined by the slots on the system. Only 1 colony can be built per slot.

Anatomy of a system card: name & description of system; Renown Point value of the system; sector to which the system belongs; system slots.

• Biosphere Slot: Civilization and Utility type colonies can be build here (e.g. Hive Colony 5, Logistics Hub 4).
• Deposits Slot: Mining and Utility type colonies can be build here (e.g. Automated Mines 7, Logistics Hub 4).
• Utility Slot: Only Utility type colonies can be build here (e.g. Logistics Hub 4).

Hazards

If you see one or more of the hazard icon on a system, the system is Hazardous. Find and place as many hazard tokens as indicated on the system and place them on the system card.

When you want to colonise a system with one or more hazard tokens, you must first pay 1 Science per hazard token to remove it. When all hazard tokens have been removed, you can claim the system by building a colony on it. Removing a hazard indicates the needed adjustments are made e.g. a biodome is built or the space bugs are killed with fire.

3. Bounty Systems

Some places come with extras.

These work the same as normal systems, but come with an extra bonus. They begin with readily available resources on them! Once a bounty system appears in the Explored Space, pick the indicated resource tokens and place them on the card. These resources stay on the Bounty system card when you colonize it. You can use as many as you like in your turn, whenever you want. However, once used, the resources are gone as they don't replenish.

Example: Artefact World starts with a Science token on it (use the Science token and place it on the card to indicate this).

4A. Events

Sometimes stuff just happens!

Events pop up in the Explored Space from time to time. Events take effect at the end of the exploration phase. All players suffer or gain from the effect as long as the event stays in Explored Space, but players are only affected by them in their turn. Like anomalies, events can be solved by paying the indicated resources. This too can earn the player valuable Renown Points.

Anatomy of an event card (example: Space Pirates, effect -1 card): name of event; cost to solve the event (Production icons); Renown Point value of the event (3 RP); effect of the event; sector to which the event belongs.

4B. Events (opportunity)

But it's not all bad....

Like we said it's not all bad, some Events give you some extra options. These Events are called Opportunities. As long as the Event is in the Explored Space you can use the effect of the Opportunity once per turn. Turn the card sideways to indicate that it has been used the same way you do with colonies and ships that you have used. Opportunity cards are reset in the reset phase of the next players turn.

A "+" icon on the event name indicates it's an opportunity event. Example: Nomad Guildship + (cost 4 Manpower, 4 RP) gives the opportunity to exchange 2 Production for 2 Renown Points.

Building Colonies

Since you can only claim systems by building Colonies on them, lets teach you how to build Colonies!

To build a Colony you will first have to pay the cost indicated in the top left corner. This is done by discarding that many cards from your hand to your discard pile. Once you've done that, place the Colony to the right side of the system you wish to build on, next to any other Colonies that might have already been build.

In case of colonizing a new system, first take the system card from the Explored Space, and place it above the last system you've colonized, then place the Colony to the right of that system.

NOTE: Remember to first buy off any Hazards a system might have. Also check if the slot you want to build on is the correct type for the colony.

Once built, your Colony is fixed to the system. You cannot remove or discard it. The only way a Colony is removed from a system and placed back into your discard pile is when you Relinquish control of that system. In that case, all the Colonies of the system are placed into your discard pile, and you earn any Renown Points indicated by those colonies (if any), or in some cases lose Renown Points when you have colonies with negative renown.

Anatomy of a colony card (example: Research Institute, cost 3): cost to build the colony; name & type of colony; Renown Point value of the colony (1 RP); effect when used.

• Civilization Colonies: These can only be built on biosphere slots.
• Utility Colonies: These can be built on any slot.
• Mining Colonies: These can only be built on deposit slots.
• Ships: These don't need a system to be built on.

Building Ships

Ships are built in much the same manner as colonies, by discarding the number of cards indicated in the top left corner of the ship you wish to build. However, Ships don't require a system to be built on. They float in space! So they don't need to take account of slots and slot types. Ships are placed to the left of your systems when built.

Ships have the advantage that they don't get discarded when a system is relinquished since they aren't tied to a system. Keep in mind though that ships cannot be upgraded, and confer no Renown Points.

Using ships and colonies

You can use the abilities of colonies and ships immediately after you build them. They are in the inactive stance when built. Every colony and ship can only be used once per turn. To indicate when you've used a colony or ship, turn the card on its side. During the Reset Phase, you can set the card back to its inactive stance (straight up). When a card is used you use the effect shown on it. There are 2 types of effects: generating effects and transforming effects.

Generating effects generate one or more resources as indicated on the card. Cards with generating effects show the resources they generate on them. Example: activate a Hightech colony to generate 1 Manpower and 1 Science resource.

Transforming effects have an input and an output. They need an input resource as shown on the card, and change these into an output resource or other effect. This is shown by the arrow in the middle. Example: activate a Mining center; 1 Manpower is consumed and converted to 1 Production resource.

The Resources

There are 4 types of resources that you can produce, and each resource has a different gameplay mechanic. Most resources you produce will be needed to power other colonies or ships in order to produce other resources, build new colonies or ships etc. But each resource can also be used on its own:

• Manpower: Spend 3 Manpower to draw 1 card from your Player Deck.
• Production: Trade 1 Production to draw 1 card from your Player Deck.
• Science: Pick a card of your choice from your discard pile into your hand per Science you want to spend this way.
• Credits: This represents cards in your hand. If you earn Credits, you draw a number of cards indicated by the amount of credits. Every Credit you have to pay must come from your hand.

Resource pool

Any resources you generate get put into this imaginary pool. You can use these resources until the end of your turn. Any resources still in your pool after your turn ends are lost.

Upgrading Colonies

Some colonies are just too expensive to be built from scratch, or you might want to change its function or improve it and get rid of a colony with negative Renown value. Whatever, your reasons are your own. Lets just explain how you can upgrade a colony.

• A) Place the new colony on top of the old colony; the old one stays on the table.
• B) Pay the difference in cost between the old and the new colony.
• C) The old colony becomes inactive and all of its properties, including any Renown Point value, cease to apply.

However, there are a few restrictions and rules that apply to upgrading:

1. The new colony must cost more than the old colony.
2. The new colony must be of the same type (civilization, mining or utility) as the old colony.

Examples: Encampment (0) upgraded to Thriving Colony (5): valid upgrade (gentrification in space...). Research Institute (3) upgraded to Hightech Colony (8): invalid, different types. Trade Hub (4) upgraded to Research Institute (3): invalid, cost of upgraded colony is lower.

Relinquishing a system

In order to colonize a system if you already have 4 systems under your control, you'll need to Relinquish control of a system. This is a good way to earn Renown Points fast. But you'll have to be careful not to break the economy you've setup.

In order to relinquish control of a system, that system must first meet the following requirements:

1. Cannot be the newest system you've colonized.
2. All the system slots must be filled with colonies.

Examples: a system that is your newest system cannot be relinquished. A system with all slots filled can be relinquished. A system that still has an unused slot cannot be relinquished. A system with all slots filled can be relinquished, but is it wise? You'll lose 2 Renown Points because of the Cheap Industry (a colony with negative renown).

When you relinquish a system, place the system in your Renown Points pile to add up to your total score at the end. Place any colonies that were on it in the discard pile, and add or subtract any Renown Points that were on them to your pool (use the Renown Point tokens for this). Any unused resources that were on a Bounty system that you relinquished are lost, so make sure to use them beforehand. After you've relinquished control of a system, orden your systems by closing any gaps that were made (don't change the order!). Congratulations, you can now add a new system under your control!

End the game

The game ends after the last card in the Space Deck has been revealed and placed in the Explored Space. The player who revealed the last card gets to finish the turn as normal. After that, the game ends and all players tally up their Renown Points.

Count the Renown Points from tokens, Relinquished systems, studied Anomalies and solved Events in your Renown pile, then add the Renown Point value of the systems currently under your control and of any Colonies currently built.

Like we said earlier, the player with the most Renown wins the game! In case of a tie; just accept it! And declare all players who tied as winners. If it is that important for you to win play again and try harder!

Alternative game modes

1. Team play

The Galaxy can be a lonely place so why not try to cooperate with someone? This works best with 4 players. Players on a team sit across from each other like one leg of an X. The turn order is as normal but this way players from both teams alternate turns (A, B, A, B around the table, with teammates opposite each other).

Players can use any inactive Colonies and Ships of their team mate in their turn. This includes resources from bounty worlds and even RP points for the intergalactic investors event. Consult your team mate however when you use his finite resources, this is supposed to be a team effort afterall.

At the end of the game the team with the highest combined RP score wins.

2. Random Play

For a more randomized experience you can set up the game as follows:

• Solo game
  • Core: randomly select 4 system cards, 1 Event, 1 Anomaly
  • Expanse: randomly select 2 system cards, 1 Event, 1 Anomaly
  • Fringe: randomly select 1 system card, 1 Event or Anomaly
• 2 Player game
  • Core: randomly select 8 system cards, 2 Events, 2 Anomalies
  • Expanse: randomly select 5 system cards, 2 Events, 1 Anomalies
  • Fringe: randomly select 2 system cards, 1 Event, 1 Anomaly
• 3 Player game
  • Core: randomly select 12 system cards, 3 Events, 3 Anomalies
  • Expanse: randomly select 7 system cards, 3 Events, 2 Anomalies
  • Fringe: randomly select 3 system card, 2 Events, 1 Anomaly
• 4 Player game
  • Core: randomly select 16 system cards, 4 Events, 4 Anomalies
  • Expanse: randomly select 10 system cards, 4 Events, 2 Anomalies
  • Fringe: randomly select 4 system cards, 3 Events, 1 Anomaly

Events explained

• Intergalactic Migration (opportunity): A massive influx of settlers from the old galaxy has provided lots of cheap labor. Use this opportunity to get 1 Manpower for free. "really they are just glad to have work"
• Space Race (opportunity): A spirit of competition has gripped the galaxy. It's a space race! If you relinquish a system you earn 2 RP extra. "and on to the next..."
• Galactic Investors (opportunity): Certain wealthy parties wish to invest in the development of this new galaxy. All they want is some collateral. Use this opportunity to exchange 1 RP token for 2 Credits. Note: you must have a RP token to do this. You can trade in any planets / events / anomalies you've in your Renown pool for these tokens to use this event.
• A.I. Strike: The A.I has become too self aware and has gone on a strike! You can't upgrade any colonies. This effect remains as long as the event is in Explored Space. "Oh great, first it took our jobs, and now it complains about it"
• Space Pirates: Space pirates want your cash and right quick mate! Discard 1 Credit at the end of the exploration phase. Note: If you can't discard a card, ignore this event. If there are more than 1 Space Pirate events in the explored space, you only have to discard 1 card.
• Stellar Crackdown: A stellar crackdown is in effect! Better lay low if you have anything shady going on. No colonies with a negative RP value can be used. This effect remains as long as the event is in Explored Space. "Must be an election year..."
• Nomad Guildship (opportunity): A Guildship has arrived to trade their mysterious trinkets for some of your production. Use this opportunity to trade 2 Production for 2 RP. "Seriously, where do they get this stuff? ... and how does it even work?"
• Mech Revolution: These new mechs are a technological marvel. They make mining and building so much cheaper. Mining and utility colonies cost 1 Credit less to build or upgrade.

Cheat Sheet

Lay this on the table for all to see, so they can all cheat with you.

1. Turn Order

• Exploration phase
• Draw phase
• Reset Phase
• Action phase
• End Turn

2. Action Phase

• Take a card from the Explored Space
• Make use of Event Opportunities
• Build Colonies and Ships
• Use Colonies and Ships
• Upgrade Colonies
• Relinquish a system

3. Resource exchange

You can exchange resources at any time.

• Credits = the cards in your hand
• Manpower: 3 Manpower = 1 Credit
• Production: 1 Production = 1 Credit
• Science: Pick a card of your choice from your discard pile per Science

Please be considerate and look through your discard pile between your turns. The other players will thank you!

4. Colonies & Slots

Biosphere slot: Hive Colony (5), Logistics Hub (4). Deposits slot: Automated Mines (7), Logistics Hub (4). Utility slot: Logistics Hub (4). Ships require no systems.

Hazards: 1 hazard = 1 Credit per hazard to colonize a system.

5. Upgrade colonies

• The new colony costs more than the old colony.
• The new colony is of the same type as the old colony.

A) Place the new colony on top of the old colony. B) Pay the difference in cost. C) The old colony becomes inactive.

6. Relinquish systems

• Cannot be the newest system you've colonized.
• All the system slots must be filled with colonies.

A) Place the system on top of your RP pile. B) Discard the colonies and count their RP value. C) Close the gaps between your systems.