Alien Artifacts
Alien Artifacts Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 40 Technology cards
- 40 Ship cards
- 40 Planet cards
- 16 Alien Artifact cards
- 83 Resource cards
- 5 Player Aid tiles
- 10 Defense Plan cards
- 1 Basic Defense Plan tile
- 6 Faction boards
- 5 Alien System cards
- 1 Starting Player token
- 1 Round marker
- 6 Faction cards
- 1 Scoring board
- 38 Blockade tokens
Each Technology, Ship, and Planet card has a "front" (logistics) side and a "back" (operational) side. Each Resource card has a front and back as well, and each Defense Plan and Faction Board also has a front and back.
REPLACEMENT SERVICE: This game is a quality product. It has been assembled with great care. However, if your copy should lack anything, please accept our apologies and contact us for replacement: [email protected]. We wish you many happy hours with this game.
Your Portal Games Team
Setup
- Sort all 7 decks into separate piles: Planets, Technologies, Ships, Resources, Alien Systems, Defense Plans, and Alien Artifacts. Shuffle each deck separately.
- Place the Resource deck face down in the middle of the play area. Leave some space for a discard pile next to it.
- Place the Ship (a), Technology (b), and Planet (c) decks (Logistics side face up) in easy reach of all players.
- Place the Alien Systems deck face down where it can easily be seen by all players, then draw the top card and place it face up next to the Alien Systems deck – this is called the Available Alien System.
- Place the Basic Defense Plan tile next to the Available Alien Target.
- Place the Alien Artifacts deck (a) and Defense Plans deck (b) next to the Alien Systems deck. Leave some space next to this deck for an Alien Artifacts discard pile. Place the Blockade tokens on a side so they are easy to reach of all players (c).
- Shuffle the Faction Boards and deal 1 to each player (or have each player decide on the faction they want to play.) After Factions are selected, give each player the Faction Card that matches their Faction Board.
- Place the victory point track in the middle of the play area and place the Round marker on the appropriate space according to the number of players.
- Choose a player color and take those tokens. Place one on the 8 space of your Faction board (a) and the other on the 0 space of the Victory Point track (b).
- Deal 3 cards from the Resource deck to each player. These cards form your starting hand.
- Randomly choose the starting player and give them the First Player token.
- Beginning with the starting player and continuing in clockwise order, perform the Setup instructions on your Faction card. Then you are ready to start the game.
Faction Setup example: You are playing as the Star Union. When it is your turn to complete your Setup, draw two Technology cards, and choose one to place in your Under Construction area, discarding the other (12a). Draw 1 Planet and place it in your Under Construction area (12b). Draw 1 Ship and place it operational side up in your Empire (12c).
General Overview
The Faction Board
The faction board helps you order and maintain your empire. The left side of the board is your Under Construction area and the right side is your Empire. Ships in construction, undiscovered Planets, and newly funded Technologies, are placed on the left side of your faction board in the appropriate colored row. You will transfer them to right side of the board when you Build the Ships, Discover the Planets, and Develop new Technologies.
The Bank track at the bottom is used to mark the wealth of your faction. You may never have more than 15 or less than 0 Credits at any time.
On the right are the 3 Operational actions available to your Empire.
The Resource Cards
Each Resource card is split into 2 sections, with a number in the middle. On each section you can find 1-3 Resource symbols in 1 of 4 colors: Blue Research symbols, Green Discovery Symbols, Red Military Symbols, and Gold Assets Symbols.
Each Resource section also has a gray icon indicating the Resource's matching card Type.
When you use a Resource card for any reason you will have to choose which section to use for each card – you can never use both!
The number in the middle of the card is important only for combat. Each card can show a number from 1 to 4.
The Technology Cards
The Technologies are the driving force behind your Empire. They grant various effects and bonuses that greatly influence your abilities and actions during, as well as at the end of, the game. There are 4 different Technology Types: Explore, Expand, Exterminate and Exploit. Each corresponds to a different flavor of Technology.
The Logistics side of each Technology card has an in-game effect:
- ONGOING - these effects are always active and modify your other actions as explained on the card.
- ADDITIONALLY - you can activate the effect of this card before or after your regular Action.
- ACTION - you can activate the effect of this card instead of your 1 Action for the turn.
The Operational side of each Technology card has a scoring effect. These provide you with a goal-oriented way to score victory points at the end of the game (see End of the Game), or during the game if you take the Gain Revenue action (see Operational Actions).
The Planet Cards
Planets represent new worlds your Empire has explored and conquered. They provide you with Resources and help you grow the strength of your faction. There are 4 different Planet Types which grant you an ongoing bonus when played on the Logistics side:
- EXPLORE - decreases the cost of Discover a Planet by 2 Resources
- EXPAND - decreases the cost of Develop a Technology by 2 Resources
- EXTERMINATE - decreases the cost of Build a Ship by 2 Resources
- EXPLOIT - decreases the cost of the Buy action by 2 Resources
The Operational side of each Planet produces 3 cards (see Discover a Planet) and may produce additional Resource cards when you take the Mine the Planets action (see Operational Actions).
The Ship Cards
Ships represent your fleet. You build them to expand the power of your Empire or to conduct wars by attacking alien systems and other empires. There are 4 different Ship Types which grant you an ongoing bonus when played on the Logistics side:
- EXPLORE - increases your Assembly limit for the Discover a Planet action.
- EXPAND - increases your Assembly limit for the Develop a Technology action.
- EXTERMINATE – increases your Assembly limit for the Build a Ship action.
- EXPLOIT - increases your Assembly limit for the Trade action. Additionally, you gain a Defense Plan card when you build this Ship.
The Operations side of each Ship has an ability that is used when attacking.
The Alien Systems and Alien Artifacts
The Alien Systems are prime targets for your conquering fleets! There is always 1 face up Alien System card. Each Alien System has a table on it with various effects. You will consult these tables when attacking the Alien System.
The Alien Artifacts deck contains powerful bonuses that can be gained by attacking the Alien Systems and through powerful game abilities.
Defense Plans
The Defense Plans represent your ability to defend against the other player's attacks. The Basic Defense Plan tile is always available for you to use at any time. The Defense Plan cards are an alternative for you when you need to defend! You may choose to use any of your Defense Plan cards instead of the Basic Defense Plan tile.
You gain a Defense Plan card each time you build a logistic exploitation Ship.
Flow of the Game
Goal of the Game
During the course of a game, you will try to gain the most victory points (VP). There are many possible ways to gain victory points: producing Resources, using certain Technologies, and attacking alien systems with your Ships. Technologies can also be used to gain powerful end-game bonuses. At the end of the game you will total the victory points you gained during the game, your end game scoring bonuses, and the number of Ships, Technologies, and Planets in your Empire. The player with the most Victory Points is the Winner!
Flow of the Game
Beginning with the starting player, and continuing in a clockwise order, each player takes a turn. During your turn, you perform these two steps in order:
1. ACTION STEP
During your Action Step you will perform exactly 1 Action.
2. DRAW STEP
During your Draw Step you may discard from your hand as many cards as you wish and then draw new Resource cards from the Resource deck until you have 3 cards in hand.
IMPORTANT: Hand limit is only for Resource cards. You can have as many other cards as you need (Alien Artifact cards for instance).
Then your turn ends and the player to your left takes their turn.
IMPORTANT: Every time the Resource deck is emptied and reshuffled, move the Round marker one space to the right.
Action Step
During your Action Step you must perform exactly 1 Action. There are 7 Basic Actions, 3 Operational Actions, and your Faction Action that are always available. Additionally, some cards have the keyword ACTION. You can activate these cards as your 1 Action as well.
BASIC ACTIONS:
- Buy a Card
- Build a Ship
- Develop a Technology
- Discover a Planet
- Trade Resource
- Remove Blockade tokens
- Prepare Resources
OPERATIONAL ACTIONS:
- Start an Offensive
- Gain Revenue
- Mine the Planets
FACTION ACTIONS
ACTIONS ON CARDS
ASSEMBLY LIMIT: When paying for any action, you may play a maximum of 2 Resource cards.
Most Actions require the use of your Resource cards. Each Resource card has 2 sections, with each section showing 1-3 Resource symbols of 1 color: Blue, Green, Red and Gold. When you spend Resources on an Action, you may only use Resources of 1 color, unless the Action tells you otherwise.
GOLD SYMBOLS - These are universal Resources. When paying for a BASIC ACTION (only basic actions!) you may spend Gold symbols as if they were any other Resource.
Example: You may spend 1 Green and 1 Gold Resource card to pay for a BASIC action.
When paying for an action, you must always obey your ASSEMBLY LIMIT: Unless a card effect allows otherwise, you may spend a maximum of 2 Resource cards. These cards may come from your hand, or from Planets in your Empire (see Produce, below).
REMEMBER: When you spend Resources on an Action you can choose which side to use.
AUTOMATIC CONSTRUCTION - by adding new cards to your Empire, their effects may fulfil the cost to Build, Develop, or Discover cards in your Under Construction area. If this occurs, immediately move these cards to your Empire and resolve their effects. If multiple cards are completed simultaneously due to Automatic Construction, resolve them one at a time in any order you choose.
Discard any Resources attached to them (see the example below.)
Automatic Construction example: you Discover the Calcine Planet which reduces the cost of the Build a Ship action (1). The Black Plague Ship in your Under Construction area is Automatically Constructed because it has 3 Resources under it and Calcine reduces its cost by 2 (2). You immediately move the Black Plague Ship to your Empire and discard the attached Resource card (3).
ADDITIONALLY - Cards with this keyword trigger during the Action step. These cards grant you a special bonus in addition to your 1 Action. You may choose to use these bonuses before or after you perform your 1 Action.
Basic Actions
1. Buy
The Buy action allows you to use Credits from your Bank to gain cards from the center decks and placing them in your Under Construction area.
To perform the Buy action, spend 5 Credits and choose 1 deck: Ship, Planet, or Technology. Draw the top card of the chosen deck and place it to the left of your Faction board in your Under Construction area. There is no limit to the number of cards you can have in your Under Construction area.
Card effects on the left of the faction board are not yet available to you. We will explain how to use these cards in the following action explanations.
When you perform the Buy action, you may spend any number of additional Credits. For each additional 1 Credit you spend, you may draw 1 extra card from the chosen deck. From the cards drawn, choose 1 to keep and discard the remaining cards to the bottom of their deck.
By spending more Credits and seeing more cards at once, you can better craft your Empire's strategy by choosing those Planets, Technologies, and Ships that benefit your current strategy the most.
Example: Paying 7 Credits, you draw 3 Technology cards and choose one to keep.
IMPORTANT! Don't forget that unless an effect says otherwise, your Assembly Limit is 2. So, you may only spend up to 2 Resource cards from your hand and Planets in your Empire.
2. Discover a Planet
The Discover a Planet action allows you to use Green Resource Symbols to discover a Planet in your Under Construction area. A completed discovery allows you to add the Planet to the Empire side of your Faction board.
To Discover a Planet, you must spend 5 Resources. Each Planet in your Empire (on the right side of your faction board) increases this cost by 1. Later in the game it may take multiple turns to discover a Planet because of this increased cost! (see: Prepare Resources, below)
Example: You already have 1 Planet in your Empire – it is on the right side of your faction board. The next Planet you wish to discover requires you to spend 6 Resources.
WHEN YOU DISCOVER A PLANET YOU NOW HAVE A CHOICE:
- SETTLE THE PLANET: Place the Planet in your Empire, on the right side of your Faction board, with the logistics side face-up. This gains you a permanent bonus from the now discovered Planet.
- EXPLOIT THE PLANET: Place the Planet in your Empire, to the right side of your faction board with the operational side face-up. Immediately PRODUCE 3 on this Planet: Draw 3 cards from the Resource deck and tuck them under this Planet, showing only 1 section of each card. At any time, you may use these cards as if they were in your hand but only using the section showing (the Assembly Limit still applies to using these cards.)
Produce
When a game effect instructs you to produce on a Planet, draw the indicated number of cards and tuck them under the Planet with 1 section showing. When choosing which section to show you must adhere to the following rules for each card:
If one section matches the Planet Type, you may always choose this section. Additionally, if you choose this section, gain 1 victory point.
If no sections match the Planet Type, you must choose the section with the least amount of Resource Symbols. If both sides have the same amount, you may choose either side.
Example: in the Exploit the Planet example, you would gain 2 VPs as two of the Resource cards match the Planet Type (Exploration).
Example: The cost to Discover the planet Gutenberg is 3 Resources: 5 (base cost) +2 (there are 2 planets already in your empire) -4 (reduced cost from Vitruvious and Mika 1).
3. Develop a Technology
The Develop a Technology action allows you to use Blue Resource Symbols to develop Technology cards in your Under Construction area. A completed development allows you to transfer the card to the Empire side of your Faction board.
To Develop a Technology, you must spend 5 Resources. Each Technology in your Empire (on the right side of your faction board) increases this cost by 1.
Example: You already have 2 Technology in your Empire – on the right side of your faction board. The next Technology you wish to discover requires you to spend 7 Resources.
WHEN YOU DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGY YOU HAVE A CHOICE:
- DEPLOY THE TECHNOLOGY: Place the Technology in your Empire with the logistics side face-up. This allows you the use of the ability of the developed Technology. If the Technology has the Additionally keyword, you may use this bonus immediately.
- SELL TO THE CORPORATION: Place the Technology in your Empire with the operational side face-up. Draw the top card of the Resource deck. If either section of the card matches the Type of Technology you just developed, score the card. When you score an operations Technology for any reason, you only score the highest value that you can complete. At the end of the game, this Technology will score you additional Victory Points.
Example: You Developed a Technology and placed it in your Empire, with the operational side face up. The revealed Resource card has a matching Type symbol. You check the scoring requirements and see that you can fulfill the first, you have 4 Planets in your Empire. You score 1 VP as shown in the "during the game" column.
4. Build a Ship
The Build a Ship action allows you to use Red Resource Symbols to build a Ship in your Under Construction area. A completed build allows you to transfer the card to the Empire side of your Faction board.
To Build a Ship, you must spend 5 Resources. Each Ship in your Empire (on the right side of your faction board) increases this cost by 1.
Example: You already have 2 Ships in your Empire – on the right side of your faction board. The next Ship you wish to build requires you to spend 7 Resources.
WHEN YOU BUILD A SHIP YOU NOW HAVE A CHOICE:
- JOIN THE FLEET: Place the Ship in your Empire, with the logistics side face-up. This gains you a permanent bonus from the newly built Ship.
- GO ON A MISSION: Place the Ship in your Empire with the operational side face-up. You may immediately attack an Alien System or another player's Empire with this Ship.
IMPORTANT! Remember to draw a Defense Plan card when you build an Exploit type Ship. There is no limit to the number of Defense Plan cards you may have and they do not count towards your hand limit.
Attack
When you Attack, you first choose if you want to attack the Available Alien System or another player's Empire.
If you choose to attack another player, they now choose which Defense Plan to use: either the Basic Defense Plan tile, or a Defense Plan card from their hand.
Now you need to determine your Attack Value by performing the following:
- Draw and reveal the top card of the Resource deck. The number in the middle is your base attack.
- Add any attack bonus provided by the Ship you are attacking with.
- Add any additional bonuses provided by Technology in your Empire.
- Compare your Attack Value with the effects table of the ALIEN SYSTEM or DEFENSE PLAN you attacked. Each number corresponds to 1 effect on this table.
- Resolve the effect which corresponds to your Attack Value. Discard the revealed Resource card to the Resource discard pile.
Attack Value: 3 total
IMPORTANT: If you attacked the ALIEN SYSTEM, discard the Alien System card to the bottom of Alien System deck, then draw the top card of the Alien System deck and place it face-up next to the deck.
IMPORTANT: If you attacked ANOTHER PLAYER, no Defense Plan card or tile is discarded.
IMPORTANT: Each Ship grants a bonus during an attack. These bonuses do not add up! Each Ship resolves an attack with only its own bonus.
IMPORTANT: Even if you attack with many Ships, it is still considered as one Attack action for all game effect purposes (for example, if you attack with 3 Ships and you have Technology that awards you with 1 Credit each time you attack, you gain 1 Credit, not 3.)
IMPORTANT: Even if you attack with many Ships, you can choose only one target, for example one Alien System.
5. Prepare Resources
Prepare Resources allows you to plan future actions by attaching Resources to cards in your Under Construction area. These Resources can be used to pay for the card they are attached to on a future action.
To perform the Prepare Resources action, choose 1 row of your Under Construction area: Ships, Technologies, or Planets. You may attach Resources to cards in the chosen row by tucking them under the card with the appropriate Resource symbol showing. Resources attached to a card in your Under Construction area are used to pay for that card and do not count towards your Assembly Limit when completing the card.
IMPORTANT: The Assembly Limit applies when taking the Prepare Resources option. However, cards that Modify your Assembly Limit for Build, Develop, and Discover also apply when you Prepare Resources on those cards.
EXAMPLE: You use the Prepare Resources action to attach 2 Resource cards totalling 4 Resources to a Planet in your Under Construction area. On a future action, you will only need to spend 1 more Resource to complete this Planet.
6. Trade Resources
The Trade Resources action allows you to use your Resource Symbols to gain credits in your Bank.
To perform the Trade Resources action, choose 1 color of Resource Symbol from the cards in your hand. You may discard Resource cards with the chosen color from your hand and gain 1 Credit for each of the chosen Symbol you discarded this way. You can use as any Resource for Trading purposes.
IMPORTANT: Remember the Assembly Limit!
GOLD RESOURCE SYMBOLS can be added to any other color as usual, and you may also use ONLY gold symbols without declaring a color for them.
Example: You play 2 Resource cards, spending 5 Resources (3 and 2). You gain 5 Credits and move your Bank marker to the appropriate space.
7. Remove Blockades
Blockade tokens may be placed on your cards as the result of being attacked by another player.
The Remove Blockades action allows you to remove Blockade tokens from your Empire.
Choose 1: Ships, Technologies, or Planets. Spend any number of Resources of the matching color accordingly. Remove 1 Blockade token from the chosen cards for every 2 Resources spent. You can use Gold as any Resource for Removing Blockades purposes.
IMPORTANT: Remember the Assembly Limit!
Example: To remove the 2 Blockade tokens on your Ships, you must spend 4 Resources. You play 2 Resource cards totalling 5 (3 and 2) and remove both Blockade tokens.
Alien Artifacts
The most powerful reward available from Attacking an Alien System is gaining an Alien Artifact.
When you gain an Alien Artifact, draw the top card of the Alien Artifact deck. You can keep this card as long as you like before using it. There is no limit to the number of Alien Artifacts you may have and they do not count against your hand limit. You can resolve Alien Artifacts at any point during your turn (even the turn you gain it!) and playing them does not count as your 1 Action for the turn. After playing and resolving the card, discard it to the Alien Artifact discard pile.
Blockade tokens
Cards with a Blockade token are treated as if they were blank for all game purposes. However, if you want to use a card's ability that has a Blockade token on it, you can spend 1 Credit for any Blockade token present in order to do so.
You can remove Blockade tokens from your cards as an Action (see Remove Blockades above.)
Operational Actions
In addition to the 7 Basic Actions, the following 3 Operational Actions are available to all players. For reference, these actions are printed on your Faction Board. Each of these actions provide you with a way to score victory points using operational cards in your Empire.
IMPORTANT: You may NOT spend Gold Resources when paying for Operational Actions.
IMPORTANT: Remember the Assembly Limit!
START AN OFFENSIVE
To Start an Offensive, spend 5 Resources. All operational Ships in your Empire may immediately Attack a single target: either the current Alien System or another player's Empire. One at a time, draw and reveal 1 Resource card from the top of the Resource deck and resolve an attack for each participating Ship. After you resolve one Ship attack, discard the revealed card and continue with the next.
IMPORTANT: Regardless of the number of Ships participating in the Offensive, treat this action as one attack for all game effects.
IMPORTANT: After you complete the Alien Offensive, remember to discard the Alien System card to the bottom of Alien System deck, and draw a replacement as normal.
IMPORTANT: Regardless of number of Ships, choose 1 target for this attack.
GAIN REVENUE
To Gain Revenue, spend 5 Resources. All operational Technology in your Empire may now score. One at a time, choose one Technology, then draw and reveal 1 Resource card from the top of the Resource deck. If either section of the discarded card matches the Type of the chosen Technology card, score that Technology as if it were just completed.
MINE THE PLANETS
To Mine the Planets, spend 5 Resources. Each operational Planet in your Empire produces 1 Resource. One at a time, produce 1 Resource on each Planet. (see: Produce, above)
There is no limit to the number of Resource cards produced on your Planets.
Draw Step
Once you have finished the ACTION STEP, you proceed to the DRAW STEP. You may discard any number of cards from your hand and then draw cards from the Resource deck until you have 3 cards in hand. If there are no cards remaining in the Resource deck, shuffle the discard pile to form a new Resource deck and continue drawing cards.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: Every time the Resource deck is empty and must be reshuffled, move the Round marker one step to the right.
Once you have concluded your Draw Step, your turn ends and the player to your left takes their turn. This continues until the End of the Game is triggered!
Credits
GAME DESIGN: Marcin Ropka & Viola Kijowska
DEVELOPEMENT: Ignacy Trzewiczek
ILLUSTRATIONS: Evan Lee (box cover), Igor Puškarić (Ships, https://www.artstation.com/igorpuskaric), Aleksandar Mihajlovic, Pablo Fernandes, Bogdan Tufecciu, Miroslav Petrov, Raypier P, Jack Griffin, Rafał Szyma (planets)
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Rafał Szyma
The design uses Z-DESIGN Tech Brush Sets (http://z-design.deviantart.com)
RULEBOOK: Chevee Dodd, Ignacy Trzewiczek
© 2017 PORTAL GAMES Sp. z o.o. ul. Św. Urbana 15, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland. All rights reserved. Reprinting and publishing of game rules, game components or illustrations without the permission of Portal Games is prohibited.
We'd like to thank the following friends for helping us making the game as it is today: Bartosz Adamski, Dawid Cichy, Wojciech Dębiak, Grzegorz Długaszek, Jędrzej Dyga, Daniel Fąfala, Wojciech Filarski, Małgorzata Gorzałczana, Monika Grzebyk, Antonina Guzik, Jan Guzik, Agnieszka Jurowicz, Grzegorz Kalarus, Piotr Kołodziejczyk, Michał Kościółko, Tomasz Koźlik, Hubert Kubit, Mateusz Kulisa, Dariusz Kułak, Grzegorz Laskowski, Grzegorz Majchrzak, Monika Majchrzak, Mateusz Marszalik, Sebastian Oliwa, Anna Owarzany, Przemysław Pencak, Kuba Piersiak, Karolina Piotrowska, Seweryn Piotrowski, Anna Polkowska, Kuba Polkowski, Aleksandra Pióro, Maciej Reputakowski-Madej, Przemysław Rodzoń, Krzysztof Rudel, Jakub Satlarski, Hubert Spala, Karol Suski, Anna Szaniawska, Michał Szewczyk, Marta Wileczko, as well as Merry, Marek, Greg, Asia, Kamil, Niedźwiedź, Rafał, Alan How, Ken Hill, Aga and all other players who play tested the game at Alan Moon Gathering of Friends and Bruno Faidutti Gathering of Friends. Special thanks for: Tony, Kirdy, Rindert, Peter, Günter, Nick, and Matt.
End of the Game
The End of the Game is triggered based on the amount of times you have fully played through the Resource deck. Whenever the Resource deck is empty, (because the last card was drawn) you must first check if the End of the Game has been triggered before continuing.
The End of the Game is triggered based on the number of players as indicated by the Round marker. Once the Round marker reaches the spot marked '1', the next time the Resource deck is empty, the End of the Game is triggered.
Then shuffle the discard pile to form a new Resource deck and continue drawing cards.
THE END OF THE GAME WAS TRIGGERED
After your turn has finished, the game continues until every player has had an equal number of turns. You should reshuffle the Resource deck for the players taking turns after the turn when end of the game was triggered.
After the last player has finished, proceed to Scoring.
Scoring
You have already tracked the victory points you gained during the game on the victory point track. Now gain the following additional victory points and add them to your total score:
- 1 VP for every card in your Empire (Planets, Technologies, and Ships). Resource cards do not yield any VP for this.
- Check each OPERATIONAL Technology in your Empire. Score for one scoring requirement on each Technology card that you can fulfill. Only score the highest value that you fulfill. The VP you score is listed in the END SCORING column.
The player with the most victory points is the Winner of the Game!
TIES
In the event of a tie, the player with most Credits in their Bank wins. If there is still a tie, the player with the most cards in their Empire wins.
If there is still a tie, you have brought peace to the galaxy at last. Celebrate in your shared victory.
Scoring example: You have already scored 15 VP during the game. Add 10 VP for the cards in your Empire. Next you check your operational Technology and score an additional 4 VP for having 4 Ships of different Type. Your total score is 29 VP.
Summary
Key Terms
ASSEMBLY LIMIT - unless an effect says otherwise, your Assembly limit is 2. So, you may only spend up to 2 Resource cards from your hand and Planets in your Empire.
ATTACK EFFECTS
- Destroyed – discard your Ship to the bottom of the Ship deck.
- Damaged – put the Ship back in your Under Construction area.
- Place Blockade token – Attacker places a Blockade token(s) on any card(s) in the Defender's Empire.
BLOCKADE TOKENS - Cards with a Blockade token are treated as if they were blank for all game purposes. However, if you want to use a card's ability that has a Blockade token on it, you can spend 1 Credit for any Blockade token present in order to do so. You can remove Blockade tokens from your cards as an Action (see Remove Blockades)
PRODUCE - Draw one Resource card from the Resource deck and tuck it under your Planet with 1 section revealed. You must choose the section with the least amount of Resource Symbols unless the Resource matches the Planet Type. If the Resource matches the Planet type, gain 1 VP.
PRODUCED CARDS - When a card instructs you to produce on a Planet, draw the indicated number of Resource cards and tuck them under the Planet with a 1 section showing. The revealed section can be used for future actions as though they are in your hand.
SEARCHING THROUGH A DECK - If a card instructs you to search through a deck to find a specific card or type of card, discard cards from the top of the deck until you find the card you are searching for. Discarded cards are placed at the bottom of their deck.
Important to Know
SHUFFLE WHEN EMPTY: Resources, Alien Artifacts
TRACK VP during the game on the Score track
SPENDING RESOURCES: To spend Resources, discard cards from hands, Planets in your Empire, or cards that were planned. Total the value of the Resources on all discarded cards.
COMPLETING MORE THAN ONE CARD IN A SINGLE ACTION: There can be situations when you may complete more than 1 card in a single action (example: as the result of Discovering an operational Planet). You must build these cards one at a time and remember to pay the increased cost penalty for subsequent cards.
DEVELOP AND USE: When you Develop a Technology (either logistics or operational) the card counts itself for its ability.
Card Explanations
TECHNOLOGY
INTERSYSTEM INVESTMENT BANK - You may only spend 3 Credits and gain 1 Credit with each activation.
VORSCH SPECTRUM MK2 - Only check the Types of the same color cards. Example: When you add a new Ship, if this is the first Ship of that Type in your Empire, you gain 1 VP.
DEEP ANALYTICS AND RESEARCH PROGRAM - If you spend a 2 Blue, a 2 Green, and a 2 Red you gain 2 VP.
GENERAL CAPITAL DOMINANCE - You must spend the required credits for the Buy action.
Turn Overview
Beginning with the start player, and continuing clockwise, each player takes a turn.
During your turn, perform these two steps in order:
1. ACTION STEP
During your Action Step, perform exactly 1 Action using up to 2 of your available Resource cards.
2. DRAW STEP
During your Draw Step, discard any number of Resource cards and draw new Resource cards to fill your hand to 3 cards.
Then your turn ends and the player to your left takes their turn.
Actions
BASIC:
- Buy a Card
- Build a Ship
- Develop a Technology
- Discover a Planet
- Trade Resource
- Remove Blockade tokens
- Prepare Resources
OPERATIONAL:
- Start an Offensive
- Gain Revenue
- Mine the Planets
Icons
TYPES:
- Explore
- Expand
- Exterminate
- Exploit
RESOURCES:
- Blue Research symbol
- Green Discovery symbol
- Red Military symbol
- Gold Assets symbol
OTHER ICONS:
- Alien Artifact
- Credit
- Planet
- Ship
- Technology
- Victory Point
- Resource card
- A Resource