Apogee
Apogee Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Box Contents
- Object of the Game
- Components
- Multiplayer Mode (2 to 5 players)
- A. Planning Phase
- B. Administration Phase
- End of a Game
- Missions
- Solo Mode (1 player)
- Mission Directors
- Engineer Specialties
- Nation Interventions
- Investor Objectives
- Event Characteristics
- Solo Event Characteristics
- Technology Characteristics
Box Contents
- 66 Credit cards
- 30 Engineer cards
- 110 Technology cards: 28 First Stage, 26 Upper Stage, 28 Payload, 28 R&D
- 20 Investor cards
- 20 Event cards
- 12 Mission cards
- 12 Space Mission Director cards
- 5 Player boards
- 5 Launch Pad boards
- 1 Space Operations Center board
- 5 Help cards
- 11 twelve-sided dice
- Solo mode: 6 Mission cards
- Solo mode: 14 Event cards
- 1 rulebook
Object of the Game
As a Mission Director, you must successfully carry out the space program entrusted to you. Recruit your Engineers, research Technologies, and build the rocket that will let you win lucrative Investor contracts. Become the first to reach the objective that will make you a space pioneer forever engraved in history.
Components
Mission Director Card
- Director's Authority points
- Mission Director's name
- Director's Nation
- Credit gain per turn (quarter)
- Credit gain per successful launch
ACTIONS (2 actions per turn):
- A. The Mission Director's unique Specialty, available 1 time per game
- B. Credit gain per Technology sale
- C. Recruit 1 Engineer
- D. Dismiss 1 Engineer
- E. Perform 1 static fire
- F. Perform 1 launch
- G. Intervention of the Nation, available 1 time per game
Engineer Card
- Engineer's name
- Engineer's Authority points
- Engineer's Specialty
- Engineer's profile (Junior or Senior)
Limit of 5 Engineers in hand. Engineer cards can be discarded from your hand only during the Administration phase, using the "Dismiss an Engineer" action.
Player Board
- Mission Director slot
- Reserve of Technology cards (limit of 9 Technology cards)
- Additional dice acquired (limit of 3 additional dice)
- Engineer actions during the Planning phase
- Player's identification number
Launch Pad Board
- Built First Stage Technologies (limit of 3 cards)
- Built Upper Stage Technologies (limit of 3 cards)
- Built Payload Technologies (limit of 3 cards)
- Built R&D Technologies (limit of 3 cards)
- Player's identification number
Investor Card
- Investor's name
- Brand values
- Credit gain for achieving the objective
- Condition for achieving the objective
COLLECTING INVESTOR CREDITS: When a player fulfills an Investor's objective, they immediately take the indicated Credits and keep the Investor card next to their player board. A new card is revealed so that there are always 2 Investor cards available.
An Investor's objective can be fulfilled only once. If the Investor card pile is empty, no Investor is added.
An Investor's objective is validated only when a player fulfills the indicated objective after the card has been revealed.
Technology Card
- Technology type
- Technology name
- Construction cost
- Thrust
- Mass
- Construction characteristic
The four types are: First Stage Technology, Upper Stage Technology, Payload Technology, R&D Technology.
Space Operations Center Board
- Slot for the Payload and R&D Technology cards after a successful launch
- Destination and Authority points required to validate a launch
- Slot for Engineer cards
- Player's identification number
Event Card
- Event title
- Event action
- Event type
Multiplayer Mode (2 to 5 players)
Setup
PLAYER PLACEMENT: Take your seats around the play area and place a player board and the Launch Pad board with the same identification number in front of each player. Players also receive a Help card.
PLACING THE TECHNOLOGY CARDS: Prepare the Technology cards of the 4 available types: First Stage (a.), Upper Stage (b.), Payload (c.) and R&D (d.). To do so, shuffle each type of Technology and form 4 face-down piles.
PLACING THE ENGINEER AND INVESTOR CARDS: Prepare the Engineer cards of the 2 available types: Junior and Senior. Shuffle each type separately and form 2 face-down piles (e.). Shuffle the Investor cards and form 1 face-down pile (f.).
PLACING AND DISTRIBUTING THE CREDIT CARDS: Form piles with the 4 available types of Credit cards, which serve as the Bank (g.). Each player receives 80,000 Credits at the start of the game.
PLACING THE EVENT CARDS: Shuffle the Event cards and place them face down at the side of the play area (h.).
PLACING THE SPACE OPERATIONS CENTER BOARD: Place the Space Operations Center board at the side of the play area (i.).
PLACING THE DICE: Make a reserve with the 10 blue dice at the side of the play area; players can acquire them during the game. Place the main die (white) in the center of the play area, accessible to all players.
Game Preparation
SELECTING THE MISSION: The players agree on the Mission to fulfill; it cannot be changed during the game. In case of disagreement, the player with the least experience in the game chooses the Mission. Keep the chosen Mission card in the play area, and put the other Mission cards back in the box. See the Missions chapter for the duration and difficulty of each Mission (p.22).
SELECTING THE MISSION DIRECTOR: Deal 2 Mission Director cards face down to each player, starting with the youngest player, then continuing clockwise. Players choose and keep one Mission Director from the 2 cards received and place it on their player board. The unselected Mission Director cards are put back in the box.
RECRUITING THE STARTING TEAM OF ENGINEERS: Taking turns, in descending order of the Mission Directors' Authority (from highest to lowest), players recruit Engineers and add them to their hand. The player has 2 options: recruit 1 Senior Engineer (from the Senior Engineer pile), OR recruit 2 Junior Engineers (from the Junior Engineer pile). Players add the card(s) to their hand without revealing them to their opponents. Recruiting Engineers does not require Credits.
TECHNOLOGY RIVERS: Form the 3 Technology rivers by revealing the first 3 cards of the First Stage, Upper Stage and Payload Technologies. R&D Technology cards have no river.
INVESTOR RIVER: Form the Investor river by revealing the top 2 cards of the Investor pile and placing them at the side of the play area.
Course of the Game
A game is played in turns. A turn consists of 2 phases, played one after the other in this order:
- A. Planning phase: players reveal 1 Event card per turn, then assign actions to the Engineers in their hand.
- B. Administration phase: players collect their Credits and perform up to 2 actions with their Mission Director.
The Planning phase is played simultaneously by all players. The Administration phase follows the order of the Mission Directors' Authority. A turn corresponds to a quarter in the game's chronology.
A. Planning Phase
The Planning phase is divided into 2 steps: the first reveals an Event at the start of each turn. In the second, players assign actions to their Engineers.
1. Events
At the start of each game turn, an Event card is revealed, visible to all players. If an action is to be performed, it must be resolved immediately by the players concerned. If the Event card gives no specification, the Event applies to all players and is valid for the whole turn.
Keep the Event card visible throughout the turn; previous cards are covered to form a pile. The influence of an Event is limited to a single game turn.
Event cards are used only once per game; if all 20 Event cards have been revealed, the game continues without new Events.
Note: Event cards make it easy to count turns; players can count the revealed cards to know the number of turns played.
2. Engineer Actions
All players assign actions to their Engineers to develop their company's activity. Players simultaneously place their Engineers face down on the 5 actions available on their player board and on the Space Operations Center board.
- Specialty: activate the Engineer's Specialty
- Construction: build a Technology card from your reserve by paying the indicated Credits
- R&D: draw an R&D card and add it to your reserve
- Design: draw a Technology card from the river of your choice and add it to your reserve
- Space Operations Center: assign an Engineer to the Space Operations Center, required for any launch
Assigning an action to Engineers does not require Credits.
Note: you may place as many Engineers as you wish on the actions. It is not mandatory to assign an action to all your Engineers; an unused Engineer card has no effect.
Once all players have placed their Engineer cards, the Planning phase resolves in the following order:
- a. Resolution of Specialties
- b. Resolution of Constructions
- c. Resolution of R&D
- d. Resolution of Design
Note: the Space Operations Center is resolved during the Administration phase.
a. Resolution of Specialties
All Engineer cards placed on the Specialty action are revealed. The Specialties of each Engineer are carried out in descending order of the Engineers' Authority (from highest to lowest).
An Engineer's Specialty can be immediate or valid for the whole game turn (information shown on the card). For more details see the Engineer Specialties section (p.29).
Specialties requiring a die roll: If an Engineer's Specialty requires a die roll, the player rolls immediately, using the main die common to all players. If the roll succeeds, the Specialty is resolved. If the roll fails, the player may use one or more additional dice from their reserve to succeed at the Engineer's Specialty. When a die from the reserve is used, it is discarded whatever the result obtained and returns to the side of the play area.
Example: Suzanne placed 2 Engineers on the Specialty action, and Pedro none. Suzanne reveals her 2 Engineer cards Qian Tao (2.0) and Géza Szebehely (8.4). She starts by activating the Specialty of Géza Szebehely, who has the higher Authority, and immediately replaces the Payload Technology line. The 3 cards of the river are discarded under the pile and 3 new Payload cards are revealed. Then Suzanne activates Qian Tao's Specialty and rolls the main die; she rolls a 7 and succeeds at her Specialty, which lets her draw 2 additional R&D cards and immediately add them to her reserve on her player board.
Note: Technologies acquired with a Specialty can be built during the same turn.
If no Engineer is on the Specialty action, go directly to the resolution of Constructions.
b. Resolution of Constructions
The Engineers placed on the Construction action are revealed. They allow the player to build as many Technologies as there are Engineers on the Construction action. The player must build a Technology from their reserve by paying the Credit cost indicated on the Technology card to the Bank. They then place the Technology card in the corresponding slot on their Launch Pad board.
If a player cannot pay for the Construction of a Technology card, the Engineer's action is lost and the Technology card stays in the player's reserve. All players build simultaneously; Engineer Authority is not used for Constructions.
Example: Suzanne placed 1 Engineer on the Construction action. Pedro placed 2 Engineers on Construction. All players build at the same time. Suzanne has 100,000 Credits and 1 Technology in reserve; she pays 40,000 to the Bank to build the "Small Shuttle" Technology from her reserve and places it on her Launch Pad board. Pedro has 80,000 Credits and 2 Technologies in reserve; he pays 80,000 to the Bank to build the "Pulsed Nuclear Propulsion" Technology. Having no more Credits, he cannot build his second Technology "Solar Sail" (40,000); the second Engineer's action is lost.
Note: a built Technology cannot be removed from a Launch Pad board. Only the Specialty of Mission Director Anatoliy Feoktistov allows it.
WARNING: some Technologies have specific characteristics that you must take into account during Construction. These are specified in the Technology Characteristics section (p.37).
If no Engineer is on the Construction action, go directly to the resolution of R&D.
c. Resolution of R&D
Reveal the Engineers placed on the R&D action. The player with the highest-Authority Engineer draws first; they draw as many R&D cards as they have Engineers placed on the R&D action. Then move on to the player with the highest-Authority Engineer among the remaining players. Continue until all players who placed Engineers on the R&D action have drawn.
Once the R&D cards are drawn, players choose a single card to keep in their reserve. The other R&D cards are discarded face down beneath the R&D Technology pile.
Example: Suzanne has 3 Engineers on the R&D action: Chandresh Gokhale (4.4), Katalina Tsiolkovsky (3.6) and Qian Tao (2.0). Pedro has 2 Engineers on R&D: Rafał Góra (7.2) and Kathy Johnson (0.8). Pedro starts because Rafał Góra is the Engineer with the most Authority; he draws 2 R&D cards. Then it is Suzanne's turn; she draws 3 R&D cards. Both players keep a single card, which they add face up to their reserve. The other cards are discarded.
Note: acquiring R&D Technology cards requires no Credits.
If no Engineer is on the R&D action, go directly to the resolution of Design.
d. Resolution of Design
Reveal the Engineers placed on the Design action and add up the Authority of the Engineer cards to determine the player who will begin Design.
In descending order of cumulative Authority, the players who placed Engineers on the Design action choose a Technology card from the river of their choice (First Stage, Upper Stage or Payload). It is placed face up in the reserve on your player board; only one card can be selected per turn.
In case of a tie, the player who has the Engineer with the highest Authority associated with Design begins the selection of a Technology card.
Note: acquiring cards during Design requires no Credits.
When a card is chosen by a player, a new Technology card from the corresponding pile is immediately turned over and placed on the river. A river may be partially complete if the Technology pile is empty.
Example: Suzanne has 2 Engineers on the Design action: Sebastian Von Braun (8.0) and Katalina Tsiolkovsky (3.6). Pedro has 1 Engineer on Design: Carlotta Pelterie (9.2). Suzanne begins, because her Engineers have the highest cumulative Authority (8.0+3.6 = 11.6). She selects the "Ion Engine" Technology available in the Upper Stage river and adds it to her reserve. A new Upper Stage card is revealed to complete the river, the "Thermal Nuclear Propulsion" card. It is then Pedro's turn; he chooses the "Thermal Nuclear Propulsion" card that was just placed. An Upper Stage card is again revealed to complete the river.
The maximum number of Technology cards in reserve is 9. If the limit is exceeded after adding a Technology card to their reserve, the player discards Technology cards of their choice to respect this limit.
End of the Planning Phase
Once all actions are resolved, players move on to the Administration phase.
B. Administration Phase
During the Administration phase, players collect the turn's Credits and perform up to two actions with their Mission Director.
Collecting the Quarter's Earnings
Credits are awarded to each player according to their number of Engineers in hand, as follows:
| Engineers in hand | Credits |
|---|---|
| 0 Engineers | 60,000 |
| 1 Engineer | 40,000 |
| 2 Engineers | 20,000 |
| 3 Engineers | 0 |
| 4 Engineers | -20,000 |
| 5 Engineers | -40,000 |
The Credits collected by the player are added next to their player board, visible to all. If the collection is negative, the player must pay the Credits to the Bank. If a player cannot pay all the Credits they owe, they skip their Administration turn and must Dismiss 1 Engineer for each 20,000 they could not pay.
Note: all Engineers in hand are counted in the Credit award, even if they did not perform actions this turn.
Performing the Director's Actions
In descending order of the Mission Directors' Authority, players perform up to two actions among the following:
- Activate the Director's Specialty: activate a unique ability, available 1 time per game.
- Sell 1 Technology card: sell a Technology from your reserve for 40,000.
- Recruit an Engineer: draw a Junior or Senior Engineer card.
- Dismiss an Engineer: discard a Junior or Senior Engineer card from your hand.
- Perform a static fire: for a rocket with its first 2 stages, roll a die; if the result is 4 or higher, acquire an additional die.
- Perform a launch: attempt the liftoff of a complete rocket toward its destination.
- Activate your Nation's Intervention: activate an ability common to all Directors of the same Nation, available 1 time per Director and per game.
Note: except for the static fire and the launch, it is possible to perform the same action twice in one turn.
A player is not obliged to use both of their actions during their Administration turn.
Example: Suzanne has Mission Director Harper Tompkins (Authority 8) and Pedro has Yelena Tereshkova (Authority 6). Suzanne plays first because she has the Mission Director with the highest Authority; she chooses to sell 2 Technology cards from her reserve on the Public Market and receives 80,000 from the Bank. Pedro decides to use only his Mission Director's Specialty, which lets him acquire a Technology from the river and add it to his reserve. Pedro can no longer use his Director's Specialty for the rest of the game.
Activate the Director's Specialty
The player may use their Specialty, which is resolved immediately and is available only once per game. Each Director has a unique Specialty shown on their card. See the Director Specialties section for details (p.27).
Sell 1 Technology Card
The player sells to the Public Market an unbuilt Technology card from their reserve, for the price of 40,000. The Credits are immediately added to the player's hand and the Technology card returns beneath the corresponding pile. It is possible to sell several Technologies per turn, but each sale consumes one Director action.
Every Technology card sold earns the player 40,000, whatever the type of Technology (First Stage, Upper Stage, Payload or R&D). It is possible to sell a Technology acquired during the same game turn.
Recruit an Engineer
The player draws an Engineer card from the pile of their choice, Junior or Senior. This action requires no Credits. The player immediately adds the Engineer card to their hand.
Dismiss an Engineer
The player discards face down an Engineer card from their hand, Junior or Senior. This action requires no Credits. The player chooses the card to discard and places it face down beneath the corresponding pile, Junior or Senior. Engineer cards placed on the Space Operations Center during the turn's Planning phase cannot be discarded.
Perform a Static Fire
If a player has built on their Launch Pad board a rocket with at least 1 First Stage Technology and 1 Upper Stage Technology, they can perform a static fire.
The player rolls the common die; if the result is 4 or higher, they acquire an additional die (blue die) which they add to their reserve on their player board. The player may keep at most 3 launch dice in reserve. However, if the die roll fails, the player cannot use their reserve dice to succeed.
Several static fires can be performed with the same rocket.
WARNING: the static fire action is available only once per turn.
Perform a Launch
Players with a complete rocket can perform a launch. For a rocket to be considered complete, it must be built on the player's Launch Pad with at least 1 Technology of each of the following types: First Stage, Upper Stage and Payload. The player must also have one or more Engineers on the Space Operations Center board with sufficient Authority to reach the desired destination.
A player must validate both conditions to perform a launch; otherwise the launch is impossible.
Note: a player's Engineers located on the Space Operations Center board cannot be used for another player's launch.
Calculating the Rocket's Yield
To determine whether a built rocket is efficient enough to perform a launch, its yield must be calculated. To do so, add up the thrust of each built Technology, as well as the mass of each built Technology. Refer to the table below (or the Help card) to find the yield.
Note: if a rocket's thrust or mass does not appear in the table, the rocket cannot be launched.
Yield table (rows: cumulative thrust; columns: cumulative mass. A dash means the combination does not appear in the table.)
| Thrust \ Mass | 5-8 | 9-12 | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33+ | 4.5 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 1.4 |
| 29-32 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| 25-28 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| 21-24 | 2.9 | 2.3 |
On the vertical axis the cumulative thrust, on the horizontal axis the cumulative mass (Example: if your thrust is 27 and your mass is 15, your rocket's yield will be 1.9).
Calculating the Launch Probability
Once the yield is known, refer to the second table to find the launch probability; it indicates the minimum number to roll on the die to succeed at the launch.
Launch probability table (rows: yield; columns: destination. A dash means that destination cannot be reached with that yield.)
| Yield \ Destination | GEO | Moon | Venus | Mars | Europa | Titan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0+ | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| 2.5-2.9 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 2.0-2.4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | - |
| 1.7-1.9 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
On the vertical axis the yield, on the horizontal axis the targeted destination (Example: if your rocket's yield is 1.9 and you launch toward Venus, the minimum you must roll on the die for a successful launch is 7).
Launching the Rocket
Once the launch probability is known, and if the rocket is efficient enough to reach the desired destination, the player rolls the main die to find the result of their launch.
Successful Launch
If the die result is equal to or greater than the launch probability number, the launch is successful! The player immediately wins 80,000 Credits for the successful launch.
In this case, all of the rocket's First Stage, Upper Stage and R&D Technologies are placed in the player's reserve; the Payload Technologies are placed on the Space Operations Center board in the slot reserved for the player. In case of failure, the launch is aborted and the rocket remains whole on the Launch Pad board.
WARNING: the rocket launch action is available only once per turn.
Example: Pedro has a complete rocket and wants to launch to the Moon. He starts by adding up the thrust, then the mass of each Technology built on his rocket:
- First Stage: 2x Liquid Hydrogen Propulsion 5/4
- Upper Stage: Ion Engine 2/1
- Payload: Interplanetary Vessel 8/5
- R&D: Booster x4 4/2
Thrust: 24, Mass: 16. Final yield: 1.6.
To reach the Moon, Pedro must roll a die result equal to or greater than 5.
Pedro placed his Engineer Patricia Jackson (10.2) on the Space Operations Center board, so he can perform a launch. He rolls the main die for a result of 7; his launch is a success. The First Stage, Upper Stage and R&D Technology cards return to Pedro's reserve; the "Interplanetary Vessel" card is placed on the Space Operations Center board until the end of the game.
Using Additional Dice
A player may decide to use one or more additional dice from their reserve to make a new launch attempt. Additional attempts are made right after a failure; they do not count as an additional action. Any additional die used is discarded to the side of the play area and can be acquired again by a player.
Note: it is possible to build new Technologies on a rocket whose launch was aborted.
If the number of Technology cards in reserve exceeds the limit of 9 after a successful launch, the player must discard Technology cards of their choice face down beneath the corresponding Technology pile, without winning Credits. The player may discard Technology cards already in their reserve, or cards from their rocket.
Activate the Nation's Intervention
The player may use the Nation's Intervention; it is available only once per player and per game. The Nation Intervention action is resolved as soon as a player activates it. However, if the die roll fails, the player cannot use their reserve dice to succeed and cannot play this action for the rest of the game.
Each Nation has a unique ability shown on the Mission Director cards. See the Nation Interventions section for details (p.31).
End of the Administration Phase
Once all players have completed their Administration phase, they move on to the next turn. Engineer cards return to their players' hands.
End of a Game
The game ends when a player fulfills the objective of the Mission card. Players finish the current turn. The player(s) who fulfill the Mission objective during this last game turn are declared winners.
Determining a Winner in Case of a Tie
For experienced players, it is possible to determine a single winner in case of a tie. To break the tie, the players who fulfilled the objective during the last game turn calculate the total Authority of their team of Engineers as well as that of their Mission Director. The player with the lowest cumulative Authority is declared the winner. If a tie persists, the player with the Mission Director with the lowest Authority wins the game. For this rule to apply, players must agree before starting the game.
Missions
Each Mission lists its level, duration and objective.
1. Level: Discovery. Duration: 15 min. Training: successfully launch to geostationary orbit (GEO) with at least 1 R&D Technology built on your rocket.
2. Level: Easy. Duration: 20 min. Successfully launch to geostationary orbit (GEO) a rocket with the "Crewed flight" characteristic of at least 2 astronauts.
3. Level: Easy. Duration: 30 min. Complete 3 Investor objectives. The first player to complete 3 Investor objectives is immediately declared the winner. This is the only Mission that does not allow ties.
4. Level: Medium. Duration: 40 min. Deposit the Payload Technologies "Satellite" and "Cargo" on the Moon with a rocket without a built R&D Technology. It is forbidden to build R&D Technologies. Players may nevertheless acquire them and sell them on the Public Market.
5. Level: Medium. Duration: 50 min. Successfully perform 2 crewed flights to the Moon, without using the Mission Directors' Nation Intervention during the game. Players must deposit one or more Technology cards with the "Crewed flight" characteristic on the Moon at each launch.
6. Level: Medium. Duration: 50 min. Deposit 1 R&D Technology "CubeSat" and 1 Payload Technology "Satellite" on Venus with a rocket costing less than 160,000. Calculate a rocket's cost by adding up the price of the built Technology cards. The mission may require several launches; in that case, each launched rocket must cost less than 160,000.
7. Level: Medium. Duration: 50 min. Reach the farthest destination at the end of the 8th turn. When the 8th Event card is revealed, the player(s) who have reached the destination farthest from Earth at the end of the turn win the game.
8. Level: Medium. Duration: 60 min. Successfully launch a crewed flight to Mars with a rocket with a thrust of 29 or more. Players must deposit at least one Technology card with the "Crewed flight" characteristic on Mars. The calculation of the rocket's thrust takes into account the Specialties of Engineers and Mission Directors.
9. Level: Difficult. Duration: 90 min. Deposit 1 Payload Technology "Cargo" and 5 astronauts on Mars, without using Technologies with the "Nuclear" characteristic. It is forbidden to build First Stage and Upper Stage Technologies with the "Nuclear" characteristic. Players may nevertheless acquire them and sell them on the Public Market. The mission may require several launches.
10. Level: Difficult. Duration: 120 min. Deposit 2 R&D Technologies "CubeSat", as well as the Payload Technologies "Satellite" and "Cargo", on Europa. The mission may require several launches. With 5 players, not all players will be able to draw the R&D Technologies "CubeSat"; it is played at your own expense!
11. Level: Difficult. Duration: 120 min. Deposit 6 astronauts on Titan. Players must deposit one or more Technology cards with the "Crewed flight" characteristic on Titan. The mission may require several launches.
12. Level: Difficult. Duration: 120+ min. Deposit 1 Payload Technology "Cargo" on Mars, 3 astronauts on Titan and 4 astronauts on Europa. The yield of each rocket must be equal to or greater than 2.6. It is forbidden to launch a rocket with a yield below 2.6.
When the Mission is fulfilled by one of the players, the game continues until the end of the game turn. At the end of the turn, if several players have reached the objective, all players who achieved it are declared winners.
Some Missions may require several launches. When a launch is successful, the Payload Technologies and some R&D Technologies are permanently stored on the Space Operations Center board, in the player's slot.
Solo Mode (1 player)
Setup and course of a Solo game are similar to Multiplayer mode. Here are the rule points specific to this mode:
- The Mission cards are replaced by the Solo Mission cards.
- The player's Mission Director cannot use their Nation's Intervention.
- The Event cards are replaced by a mix of Event cards and Solo Event cards (see details below).
In Solo mode, you are the only company and must manage the objectives assigned to you. You have a limited number of turns to accomplish the objective indicated on the Solo Mission card.
Solo Setup
Setup of the Technology rivers, Investor cards, Credit cards, dice and game boards is similar to Multiplayer mode.
Selecting the Mission: Choose a card among the 6 available Solo Mission cards. Difficulty and playing time vary depending on the chosen objective.
Composition of the Event card pile: Each Mission has a list of specific Solo Event cards. Build a pile with the Solo mode cards and base Event cards.
- Take the Solo Event cards whose numbers are indicated on the Mission card, and form a face-down pile in the indicated order. The first card on the list is at the top of the pile.
- Shuffle the base Event cards and draw, without revealing them, as many base Event cards as there are Solo Event cards.
- Insert the base Event cards between the Solo Event cards. The card at the top of the pile is a Solo Event card, and the one at the very bottom is a base Event card.
Note: the total number of Event cards must match the number of turns of the Mission.
Selection of the Mission Director and starting team of Engineers, starting Credits and the discovery of the Technology card rivers are identical to Multiplayer mode.
Solo Mission Card
- Mission number
- Mission objective
- Number of turns to complete the Mission
- Numbers of the Solo Event cards to use for this Mission
Solo Event Card
- Event number
- Event title
- Event condition
Solo Course of the Game
The course of the game is identical to Multiplayer mode. Each turn, perform the game phases:
- Planning phase: reveal 1 Event card at the start of each turn, then assign actions to the Engineers in your hand.
- Administration phase: collect your Credits and perform up to 2 actions with your Mission Director.
Solo End of Game
Victory is achieved if the Mission objective is fulfilled before the end of the number of turns indicated on the Mission card. If the objective is not reached during the last game turn, the Mission is a failure.
Solo Missions
1. Level: Easy. Duration: 6 turns. Successfully perform 1 launch to geostationary orbit (GEO), and end the game with at least 420,000 in reserve. Solo Event sequence: 01 - 08 - 05
2. Level: Easy. Duration: 6 turns. Complete the objectives of 4 Investors and end the game with at least 320,000 in reserve. Solo Event sequence: 02 - 08 - 09
3. Level: Medium. Duration: 8 turns. Deposit 6 astronauts and 1 Payload Technology "Cargo" on the Moon. Solo Event sequence: 03 - 09 - 11 - 12
4. Level: Medium. Duration: 8 turns. Successfully perform 2 launches to Venus, and end the game with a team of Engineers with a cumulative Authority of 42 or more. Solo Event sequence: 04 - 10 - 09 - 07
5. Level: Difficult. Duration: 10 turns. Deposit 4 R&D Technologies "CubeSat" and 1 Payload Technology "Rover" on Mars. Solo Event sequence: 04 - 06 - 13 - 05 - 07
6. Level: Extreme. Duration: 10 turns. Deposit 3 astronauts on Europa and 4 astronauts on Titan. Solo Event sequence: 03 - 08 - 11 - 14 - 10
Mission Directors
United States
Andrew Wingfield (Raw Universe), Authority 5. Immediately receive an additional 60,000.
- The player immediately receives the Credits.
Harper Tompkins (Space8), Authority 8. Keep all your First Stage Technologies after a successful launch.
- This Specialty must be used before a launch during the same Administration phase.
Liam Van Horn (Blaze Influence), Authority 12. Sell the number of Technologies of your choice on the Public Market.
- The player immediately receives the Credits, 40,000 per Technology sold.
- Only Technologies from your reserve can be sold.
Laura Grey Walter (Orbiter Systems), Authority 15. Immediately build for free a Payload Technology from your reserve.
- The Payload Technology is immediately added to the player's Launch Pad board.
Russian Federation
Ekaterina Vostochny (Sloy Energiya), Authority 2. Immediately build for free a Technology with the "Nuclear" characteristic from your reserve.
- Ekaterina can build a Nuclear First Stage or Upper Stage Technology.
Yelena Tereshkova (Meteor Group), Authority 6. Immediately acquire a Technology from the river of your choice.
- Yelena chooses a card among the First Stage, Upper Stage or Payload Technologies. Reveal a new card in the river as done during the resolution of Design in the Planning phase.
- Yelena cannot acquire an R&D Technology card with her Specialty.
Mikhail Korolev (Red Stars), Authority 10. Immediately draw 2 R&D cards and place them in your reserve.
- If only one R&D card remains when this Specialty is used, only 1 card is added to your hand. This Specialty is not available if the R&D Technology pile is empty.
Anatoliy Feoktistov (Plamya Aerospace), Authority 14. Sell one of your already built Technologies on the Public Market for 80,000.
- The Technology is placed back beneath the corresponding Technology pile. This Specialty can apply to all types of Technologies.
People's Republic of China
Yang Jinmei (Opal System), Authority 1. Increase the total thrust of your rocket by 2 for this turn.
- This Specialty must be used during the same Administration phase as the launch.
Shuguang Jun (Chih Sung-Tzu 3), Authority 5. Reduce by 4 the Authority required to validate a launch of your rocket at the Space Operations Center.
- This Specialty must be used during the same Administration phase as a successful launch.
Zhang Kang (Dragon Flight), Authority 7. Dismiss the number of Engineers of your choice and immediately receive 20,000 per dismissed Engineer.
- The Engineers are placed back beneath the corresponding Engineer pile. The player immediately receives 20,000 per dismissed Engineer.
Fei Lihua (Astral Energy), Authority 16. Immediately recruit 2 additional Senior Engineers.
- If only one Senior Engineer card is available when this Specialty is used, only 1 card is added to the hand. This Specialty is not available if the Senior Engineer pile is empty.
Engineer Specialties
Junior
Irina Kemurdzhian (Authority 0.4) and Natalie Resnik (Authority 4.0): Immediately replace a Technology river line.
- The player discards the cards of the Technology river of their choice (First Stage, Upper Stage or Payload) beneath the corresponding pile; 3 new cards are immediately revealed to rebuild the river.
Kathy Johnson (Authority 0.8): Increase by 2 the thrust of each First Stage Technology card "Solid Propulsion" of your rocket, for this turn.
- The additional thrust is taken into account for calculating the rocket's yield.
Malvina Glushko (Authority 1.2): Associate the Engineer with the Space Operations Center with an Authority of 8.2.
Diane Dyson (Authority 1.6): Roll a die. If the result is 6 or higher, immediately acquire a Technology from the river of your choice (First Stage, Upper Stage or Payload).
- On failure, the player may use one or more additional dice from their reserve to succeed at the roll. Any additional die used is discarded to the side of the play area.
Qian Tao (Authority 2.0): Roll a die. If the result is 4 or higher, immediately draw 2 R&D Technology cards.
- The player keeps both cards and places them in their reserve.
- On failure, the player may use one or more additional dice from their reserve to succeed at the roll. Any additional die used is discarded to the side of the play area.
Florentina Coandă (Authority 2.4): Roll a die. If the result is 4 or higher, build for free a Technology from your reserve whose cost is 20,000.
- Florentina can only build Technologies whose construction cost indicated on the card is 20,000.
- On failure, the player may use one or more additional dice from their reserve to succeed at the roll. Any additional die used is discarded to the side of the play area.
Oliver Hooker (Authority 2.8): Roll a die. If the result is 4 or higher, immediately gain 60,000.
- On failure, the player may use one or more additional dice from their reserve to succeed at the roll. Any additional die used is discarded to the side of the play area.
Matviy Lyulka (Authority 3.2): Immediately sell a Technology card from your reserve for 40,000 on the Public Market.
- This Specialty is available for all types of Technology. The discarded Technology card is placed back beneath the corresponding Technology pile.
- The player immediately receives the Credits from the sale.
Katalina Tsiolkovsky (Authority 3.6): Pay 20,000 to acquire 1 additional launch die.
- If the player does not have the necessary Credits, the Specialty is lost.
Chandresh Gokhale (Authority 4.4): Reduce by 1 the total mass of your rocket, for this turn.
- The reduced mass is taken into account for calculating the rocket's yield.
Airi Horikoshi (Authority 4.8): Increase by 1 the thrust of each Upper Stage Technology card "Ion Engine" of your rocket, for this turn.
- The additional thrust is taken into account for calculating the rocket's yield.
Ethan N. Maughmer (Authority 5.2): Reduce by 20,000 the total price of Technology Construction of each player, for this turn.
- Players will pay 20,000 less regardless of their number of Technology cards to build. The 20,000 is deducted directly from the Construction price. It is possible for a player to build a Technology for free when this Specialty is active. If a player builds no Technologies this turn, they do not benefit from the reduction.
Kosuke Omi (Authority 5.6): Increase by 1 the number of astronauts of each Payload Technology card "Conical Capsule" of your rocket, for this turn.
Mark Faget (Authority 6.0): Immediately replace the Investor river.
- The player permanently discards from the game the cards of the Investor river; 2 new cards are immediately revealed to rebuild the river.
Senior
Felipe de la Cierva (Authority 6.4): Associate the Engineer with the Space Operations Center with an Authority of 11.0.
Marie-Ève de Havilland (Authority 6.8) and Géza Szebehely (Authority 8.4): Immediately replace a Technology river line.
- The player discards the cards of the Technology river of their choice (First Stage, Upper Stage or Payload) beneath the corresponding pile; 3 new cards are immediately revealed to rebuild the river.
Patrick Dahm (Authority 7.6): Increase by 1 the thrust of each First Stage Technology card "Liquid Propulsion" of your rocket, for this turn.
- The additional thrust is taken into account for calculating the rocket's yield.
Hitesh Kalam (Authority 9.6): Increase by 1 the thrust of each Upper Stage Technology card with the "Nuclear" characteristic of your rocket, for this turn.
- The additional thrust is taken into account for calculating the rocket's yield.
Utto Küchemann (Authority 10.8): Reduce by 2 the total mass of your rocket, for this turn.
- The reduced mass is taken into account for calculating the rocket's yield.
Pahal Chawla (Authority 12.0): Immediately replace the Investor river.
- The player permanently discards from the game the cards of the Investor river; 2 new cards are immediately revealed to rebuild the river.
Nation Interventions
United States: Roll a die. If the result is 6 or higher, discard an R&D Technology from the reserve of the Mission Director of your choice.
Russian Federation: Roll a die. If the result is 6 or higher, discard up to 2 dice from the reserve of the Mission Director of your choice.
People's Republic of China: Roll a die. If the result is 6 or higher, randomly discard 1 Engineer from the hand of the Mission Director of your choice.
However, if the die roll for the Nation's Intervention fails, the player cannot use their reserve dice to succeed. They can no longer use this action for the rest of the game.
Investor Objectives
Investors offer 4 types of objectives to complete: acquire a Technology, build a Technology, succeed at a static fire, and succeed at a launch.
Acquire a Technology: The first player to acquire in their reserve the Technology indicated on the Investor card, whatever the method (R&D action, Design action, Specialty, ...), immediately obtains the Investor's Credits.
Build a Technology: The first player to build on their Launch Pad the Technology indicated on the Investor card, whatever the method (Construction action, Specialty, ...), immediately obtains the Investor's Credits.
Succeed at a static fire: The first player to succeed at a static fire under the conditions indicated on the Investor card during their Administration phase immediately obtains the Investor's Credits.
Succeed at a launch: The first player to succeed at a launch under the conditions indicated on the Investor card during their Administration phase immediately obtains the Investor's Credits.
Note: Investor Credits can be acquired only once during the game.
Event Characteristics
ANTI-NUCLEAR DEMONSTRATION. Rockets with a First Stage or Upper Stage Technology with the "Nuclear" characteristic are not allowed to perform a launch during this turn.
- Static fires remain allowed.
ECONOMIC CRISIS. All players must immediately pay 40,000 to the Bank.
- This Event does not apply if a player has no Credits. If a player has only 20,000, they must pay it to the Bank.
TIMID INSURERS. Players must pay 60,000 during the Administration phase to perform a launch during this turn.
- The player must pay the 60,000 to the Bank before performing the launch, during their Administration phase.
ENGINE FAILURE. All rockets with a built "Propulsion Liquide" (Liquid Propulsion) First Stage must succeed at a die roll higher than 4 to repair each engine. If the Technology is not repaired, it is destroyed and placed in the player's reserve.
- If a rocket is made up of several "Liquid Propulsion" Technologies, the player makes a single roll for all the Technologies. If the roll fails, all the "Liquid Propulsion" Technologies are destroyed and placed in the player's reserve.
- On failure, the player may use one or more additional dice from their reserve to succeed at the roll. Any additional die used is discarded to the side of the play area.
NEW SPACE PRICES SOAR. The sale price of each Technology on the Public Market increases by 20,000 for this turn.
- During this turn, each Technology sold earns the player 60,000.
PERFECT WEATHER CONDITIONS. The launch success probabilities increase by 1 for this turn.
- During a launch, increase the result obtained on the die by 1. This applies to all launch attempts of the turn.
BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS. The launch success probabilities are reduced by 2 for this turn.
- During a launch, reduce the result obtained on the die by 2. This applies to all launch attempts of the turn.
EXCEPTIONAL AID. Mission Directors who have not used their Specialty immediately receive 40,000.
- The players concerned immediately add the 40,000 to their hand.
RESOURCE RESTRICTION. The Design action is limited to 1 Engineer per player during this turn.
NEW PATENTS. All Mission Directors immediately draw an R&D Technology card.
- All players draw an R&D card in descending order of Mission Director Authority, then add the Technology to their reserve.
- If a player already has 9 Technology cards in their reserve, they do not draw a new R&D card.
- If the R&D card pile empties during the Event, players no longer draw new cards.
TIMID INVESTORS. No Investor will award any earnings during this turn.
- Investors continue to be won by players if the objective is fulfilled. However, no Credits are acquired.
ENGINEER TRAINING. The Authority required to validate the Space Operations Center is reduced by 2 for this turn.
- During a launch, reduce by 2 the Authority needed to reach the destination of your choice. This applies to all launch attempts of the turn.
SUPPLY PROBLEM. No static fire is allowed during this turn.
- Launches remain allowed.
CRUCIAL PERFORMANCE TEST. The difficulty of static fires is increased. The die roll must be equal to or greater than 6 for the static fire to succeed.
- This Event applies only to static fires performed during the Administration phase.
MISSED CALL FOR TENDERS. No Credits are acquired for the Construction of "CubeSat" R&D Technologies during this turn.
- "CubeSat" Technologies can be built by players. However, no Credits can be acquired this turn.
SPACE DEBRIS ALERT. Rockets with a "Solar Sail" R&D Technology or a "Conical Capsule" Payload Technology are not allowed to perform a launch during this turn.
- Static fires remain allowed.
BURN OUT. The number of Mission Director actions is reduced to 1 during the Administration phase of this turn.
POOR SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT. The Construction action is limited to 1 Engineer per player during this turn.
SALARY EXEMPTION. The quarter's Credit award to Mission Directors is frozen. All players receive 60,000 during the Administration phase of this turn.
INACCESSIBLE PREMISES. The Engineers' Specialty action is forbidden during this turn.
- It is forbidden to place an Engineer on the Specialty action.
Solo Event Characteristics
01. START-UP. Recruiting Senior Engineers is forbidden until the end of the game.
- It is possible to recruit a Senior Engineer at the start of the game, before this Event is revealed.
02. INCOMPETENCE. The Mission Director's Specialty action is forbidden until the end of the game.
03. INTERNAL ETHICS POLICY. The Construction of Technology cards with the "Nuclear" characteristic is forbidden until the end of the game.
- It is forbidden to build First Stage and Upper Stage Technologies with the "Nuclear" characteristic. You may nevertheless acquire them and sell them on the Public Market.
04. TECHNOLOGICAL DELAY. The Construction of First Stage Technology cards "Single-Stage Orbital Launcher" is forbidden until the end of the game.
- It is forbidden to build the First Stage Technology "Single-Stage Orbital Launcher". You may nevertheless acquire it and sell it on the Public Market.
05. POWER EVALUATION. If the total thrust of the Technologies built on the Launch Pad is equal to or greater than 20, the player immediately acquires 60,000. Otherwise, the player discards 1 launch die from their reserve.
- If the player has no additional die in their reserve in the second case, the Event has no effect.
06. CONSTRUCTION DELAY. If the player has not built at least 1 Technology per stage during the game, R&D included, they discard one of their Engineer cards.
- If the player has no Engineer in hand, the Event has no effect.
07. ALL-RISK ENGINEERS. If the cumulative Authority of the Engineers in the player's hand is equal to or greater than 30, they acquire 1 additional launch die.
08. BEHIND SCHEDULE. If the player has not completed at least 2 Investor objectives, they immediately pay 40,000 to the Bank.
- This Event does not apply if the player has no Credits. If the player has only 20,000, they must pay it to the Bank.
09. HIRING BONUS. If the player has fewer than 3 Engineer cards in hand, they immediately pay 40,000 to the Bank. If the player has more than 3 Engineer cards in hand, they immediately acquire 40,000.
10. HUMAN RESOURCES. If the player has less than 60,000 in reserve, they immediately draw an additional Senior Engineer card. If the player has more than 100,000 in reserve, they immediately discard one of their Engineer cards.
11. WHEN BOREDOM SETS IN... If the player has not succeeded at a launch during the game, they discard 2 of their Engineer cards.
- This Event does not apply if the player has no Engineers. If the player has only one Engineer, they discard that card.
12. LOSS OF YOUR INVESTED FUNDS. The player rolls the main die; if the result is equal to or lower than 4, they immediately pay 40,000 to the Bank.
- This Event does not apply if the player has no Credits. If the player has only 20,000, they must pay it to the Bank.
- On failure, the player may use one or more additional dice from their reserve to succeed at the roll. Any additional die used is discarded to the side of the play area.
13. ADAPTING TO LAUNCH. The player rolls the main die; if the result is equal to or lower than 6, the Mission changes and the player must deposit 1 additional Payload Technology card "Satellite" on Mars. If the result is higher than 6, they immediately pay 40,000 to the Bank.
- In the second case, this Event does not apply if the player has no Credits. If the player has only 20,000, they must pay it to the Bank.
14. NEW MISSION. The player rolls the main die; if the result is equal to or lower than 9, the Mission changes and the player must deposit 1 additional Payload Technology card "Cargo" on Titan. If the result is higher than 9, they immediately pay 60,000 to the Bank.
- In the second case, this Event does not apply if the player has no Credits. If the player has less than 60,000, they must pay it to the Bank.
Technology Characteristics
Some Technologies are compatible only with certain other Technologies. It is important to check their characteristic before building them.
First Stage
Pulsed Nuclear Propulsion: this Technology is compatible only with other First Stage Technologies "Pulsed Nuclear Propulsion". It is not possible to build other types of First Stage Technologies.
Pulsed Laser Propulsion: this Technology is compatible only with other First Stage Technologies "Pulsed Laser Propulsion". It is not possible to build other types of First Stage Technologies.
Single-Stage Orbital Launcher: this Technology is considered both a First Stage and an Upper Stage Technology. It is not possible to build other types of First Stage or Upper Stage Technologies. The "Single-Stage Orbital Launcher" is non-stackable; only 1 "Single-Stage Orbital Launcher" card can be built per rocket.
Upper Stage
Ion Engine: this Technology is compatible only with other Upper Stage Technologies "Ion Engine". It is not possible to build other types of Upper Stage Technologies.
Nuclear Propulsion: these Technologies are compatible only with other Upper Stage Technologies "Nuclear Propulsion". It is not possible to build other types of Upper Stage Technologies.
Payload
Crewed flight: adds a compatible module for the number of astronauts indicated on the icon. It is possible to stack several Technologies with the "Crewed flight" characteristic on the same rocket.
Note: after a successful launch, all Payload Technology cards of a rocket are deposited on the Space Operations Center board, in the player's slot.
R&D
Extra Seat: this Technology adds 1 astronaut to the places already available on your rocket. An "Extra Seat" Technology can be built even if no "Crewed flight" Technology has yet been built on the rocket. The characteristic of the "Extra Seat" applies only during a launch and only if at least one Payload Technology with the "Crewed flight" characteristic is also built on the rocket.
It is forbidden to stack several "Extra Seat" Technologies on the same Payload Technology with the "Crewed flight" characteristic.
Note: after a successful launch, the "Extra Seat" R&D Technologies of a rocket are deposited on the Space Operations Center board, in the player's slot.
Aerospike Nozzle: this Technology reduces the rocket's total mass by 1 or 2, only if it has at least one First Stage Technology "Liquid Propulsion". An "Aerospike Nozzle" Technology can be built even if no First Stage Technology "Liquid Propulsion" has yet been built on the rocket. The characteristic of the "Aerospike Nozzle" applies only during a launch and only if at least one First Stage Technology "Liquid Propulsion" is also built on the rocket.
It is forbidden to stack several "Aerospike Nozzle" Technologies on the same First Stage Technology "Liquid Propulsion".
"Heavy" Version: this Technology multiplies by 2 the total thrust of the First Stage Technologies. Only one "Heavy Version" can be built per rocket.
Reuse: if a player has built the R&D Technology "Reuse" on their rocket, their First Stage Technologies are not placed back in the reserve after a successful launch. The player keeps all their built First Stage Technologies on their Launch Pad board.
Pressurization: this Technology makes a Payload Technology "Cargo" habitable for 2 astronauts. A "Pressurization" Technology can be built even if no Payload Technology "Cargo" has yet been built on the rocket. The characteristic of the "Pressurization" applies only during a launch and only if at least one Payload Technology "Cargo" is also built on the rocket.
It is forbidden to stack several "Pressurization" Technologies on the same Payload Technology "Cargo".
Note: after a successful launch, the "Pressurization" R&D Technologies of a rocket are deposited on the Space Operations Center board, in the player's slot.
CubeSat: "CubeSats" are Technologies that cost no Credits during Construction but, on the contrary, earn Credits for the player. The Credits indicated in the characteristic box are immediately acquired by the player when the "CubeSat" is built.
Note: after a successful launch, the "CubeSat" R&D Technologies of a rocket are deposited on the Space Operations Center board, in the player's slot.