Centauri Saga Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Overview
• Components
• Game Setup
  • Commanders
  • Armada Deck
  • Player Board
  • Tokens
• Action Cards
  • Scenario Setup
• Gameplay
  • Phase 1: Events
  • Phase 2: Upkeep
  • Phase 3: Movement
  • Phase 4: Encounter
  • Phase 5: Expand
  • Collaboration Between Players
• Playing Solo
• F.A.Q.

Game Overview

Each player assumes the role of a space armada's commander. They start with a player board, a commander and an armada ship. Depending on the chosen scenario they will have to explore new space sectors, fight alien raiders, build starbases, repair the Jumpgate, defend themselves against powerful bosses and upgrade their armadas with new technologies, units and power ups.

Centauri Saga is a co-op game, which means that the players will need to co-ordinate their efforts to beat each individual scenario and its challenges.

Components

10 dice, 100 mini cards, 4 player boards, 24 common units, 16 special units, 20 acrylic gems, 24 common power ups, 16 special power ups, 30 black wooden cubes, 20 events, 31 hexagon tiles (8 open space, 8 planetary gravity belt, 8 asteroid fields, 4 thick nebula, 1 starbase, 1 planet Dawn, 1 black hole), 47 miniatures (10 level 1 raiders, 10 level 2 raiders, 10 level 3 raiders, 4 bosses, 4 armada ships, 4 starbases, 5 XPM), 115 Euro standard cards, 4 player aids, 6 commanders, 4 bosses, 1 colony ship, 1 doom counter, 12 scanning report cards, 16 exploration cards, 26 common actions, 10 special actions, 10 intelligence reports, 10 fixing the Jumpgate events, 7 Ravager retaliation events, 8 scenario cards, 1 colony ship, 68 punch board tokens, 40 blue activation tokens, 5 yellow activation tokens, 1 Ravager, 10 exploration tokens, 10 combat tokens, 1 first player token.

Game Setup

Separate the cards to their decks and set the table as shown in the picture below. This is a typical setup for 4 players.

Hint: When you discard any card, it returns to the bottom of the relevant deck. No need to waste table space on a discard pile.

Each player places a Player Board in front of them, chooses a Commander card, 3 Astartium, 1 Activation Token, 7 black wooden cubes, an Armada Ship and an Armada deck (20 mini cards) of the same color as the Armada Ship. One player is chosen to be the First Player and takes the First Player Token.

Unless otherwise stated by the Scenario, place the Jumpgate and Dawn sectors on the board adjacent to each other (as shown in the setup picture). Players start on the Jumpgate.

Commanders

Each commander has a different set of setup bonuses and a special ability. Choose the one that fits your game style best.

Place your Commander's card on the respective position of your Player Board.

Your Armada Stats (Combat, Shield, Speed) start at level 2 and your Hull at 8, use a black wooden token to mark them. Your Command Center, Starport and Research Lab start at 0, so keep 3 wooden cubes close by to mark them as soon as you level them up.

Apply your Commander's Setup bonus, by increasing the relevant Armada Stats by the value on the card. If your Commander also has a bonus for Starport or Research Lab, you should increase them too, selecting and equipping the relevant Power Up or Unit.

Special Ability

At any time during the game, to activate this special ability you need to use an Activation Token. To do this, simply place an Activation Token on top of this card.

Armada Deck

Whenever you level up your Starport or your Research Lab, you can select a specific type (Unit or Power Up) and quality (Common or Rare) card to add to your Armada. For example, if you upgrade your Starport to Level 2, you should equip one of the common (blue) units.

You do this by placing the selected card on your Player Board on a free spot of the same type (Unit or Power Up).

At the same time, apply the card's Stat Bonus to your Armada Stats by increasing the level of the relevant stat(s). If at any time you remove such a card from your Player Board, you must reduce your Armada Stats accordingly. The removed card returns to your hand.

Each of these Units and Power Ups have a special ability. This can be activated at any time during play, by placing an Activation Token on top of the card. You can not place a Token on a card, if there is already one on it.

Player Board

1. Place your commander card here.
2. The Command Center shows your progress in the game. It starts at Level 0 and upgrades each time you reach a level in either Starport or Research Lab that is marked by the "cc+" symbol. 3 & 4. Starport and Research Lab reflect your Armada's technology level. They start at 0 and it costs 2 Astartium to upgrade them. If you reach a level marked with the "cc+" symbol, you also gain a level to your Command Center.

With each level of the Command Center, Starport and Research Lab you gain one of these rewards: an Activation Token, a Common Action Card, a Special Action Card, a Common Unit, a Special Unit, a Common Power Up, a Special Power Up, an Exploration Token, a Combat Token, or +1 to all Armada Stats.

5. Your Armada Stats are Combat (5a), Shield (5b) and Speed (5c), which indicate how many dice you roll when you are required to make a corresponding check. Unless otherwise stated, a success is a roll of 4, 5 or 6. Speed also defines the number of Movement Points you get at the beginning of each round. They start at Level 2.

6. Hull tracks your Armada's health. You can repair your Hull (to a maximum of 10) at any time in any phase, by spending 1 Astartium per Hull Point.

If at any time your Hull reaches zero, then:

• Move your Armada to the Jumpgate sector.
• Set your Hull Points to 8.
• Discard all Astartium and Combat Tokens.
• If you are carrying an XPM, it drops in the sector in which your Armada perished.

7. Cargo: Place all tokens you gain throughout the game here (Activation Tokens, Astartium, XPM, Combat/Exploration Tokens, VPs). These tokens are also considered to be "in your hand".

8. Whenever you need to equip a Unit or Power Up, either place it on a free spot on the Player Board or replace a Unit or Power Up already there. You can equip a maximum of 3 Units and 3 Power Ups.

Tokens

Activation Tokens: Use these tokens to mark Special Abilities of your Units, Power Ups or your Commander that you have activated. To mark these abilities, simply put the Activation Token on top of the relevant card. You can not have more than one Activation Token on top of the same card. During Upkeep, remove all Activation Tokens from your cards and put them back into your Cargo ready to be used again when needed.

Astartium: A special mineral used as currency in the game. Astartium is presented as its molecular structure symbol in all of the game cards.

Combat Tokens: You gain these when you kill raiders or bosses. You can use them to activate certain abilities, remove events from play, or build a Starbase.

Exploration Tokens: You gain these when you explore new sectors in Alpha Centauri. You can use them to activate certain abilities, or build a Starbase.

First Player Token: Each round, one of the players holds this token, which indicates who is the First Player for this round. At the end of the round, the First Player passes this to the player on the left.

Ravager: This is the alien mastermind. The mothership that controls all other alien Raiders.

Colony Ship: This is a transportation spaceship that can carry both equipment and colonists. Use the special "Colony Ship" card as a placeholder for its cargo.

XPM: These tokens represent the alien power source (Xalandar Power Module) that can be found hidden in sectors of Alpha Centauri.

Action Cards

You keep these cards in your hand. Whenever you choose to play such a card, you may choose its effect to apply to another player. For example, if the card says "Block 2 Damage from any source" you may play it so that some other player mitigates the damage.

You can not exchange these cards (or any other card or token) with other players.

There is no cost for playing these cards, and you can play more than one (if applicable) at the same time. For example you can play as many Upkeep cards you want during the Upkeep phase. After you resolve the effect, the card is discarded.

Note that effects that specifically affect Raiders do not affect Bosses. Effects that affect Enemies also affect Bosses.

You gain these cards throughout the game by performing certain actions or reaching certain milestones (for example by upgrading your Command Center, or completing an Exploration Encounter, killing a Boss etc).

There are two different decks: Common (blue) and Special (orange). Each card has a title, a type and an effect. The type of the card dictates when you can play it:

• Instant: can be played at any time, during any phase
• Movement: can be played only during the Movement Phase
• Upkeep: can be played only during the Upkeep Phase

All cards can be played either during your turn or during another player's turn, just as long as their type and the current phase match.

Scenario Setup

At this point, open the "Scenario" rulebook, choose a scenario you want to play, and perform any additional setup actions described in the "Additional Game Setup" section of that scenario.

Gameplay

The game is played in rounds. Each round consists of 5 Phases resolved in the following order:

Phase 1: Events

The First Player performs the following actions:

1.1 Ravager Retaliation: Complete enemy actions according to the scenario's instructions.

1.2 Resolve Events: Resolve the effects of all events in play. If Bosses are in play, they also apply their effects at this point.

To remove an event, two Combat Tokens have to be placed on the event card. This can be done by any player at any time except during the Events phase. More than one player can contribute Combat Tokens. When the second Combat Token is placed on the card, it is discarded together with the Tokens.

1.3 Scanning Report: Draw and resolve a Scanning Report card. This card consists of two actions: Placing an XPM and Raider Reinforcements.

Hint: Be very careful when removing events from play. It might make things easier in the short term, but prove fatal in the long term...

Events affect the game in various ways. Some apply a constant effect (e.g. You cannot upgrade your Starport) and others apply an instant effect during the Events phase (e.g. Deal 1 Damage to all Players). Some events may require a Check Roll from you in order to avoid their effect, for example the "Gun Overload" event says:

(3) or -2, this means that you must make a Combat Check and score at least 3 successes or you take 2 points of damage to your Hull.

Note that effects that specifically affect Raiders do not affect Bosses. Effects that affect Enemies also affect Bosses.

If an event moves Raiders, then check the Scenario Rules on instructions on what rules they follow.

Also the following rules apply:

• You cannot place an XPM token on a sector occupied by enemy forces present or another XPM.
• You cannot place an XPM if there are no XPM tokens left.
• If there are more than one valid sectors, the First Player decides where the XPM is placed.

If you cannot place an XPM (for any reason) the First Player draws two Sectors from the pile (if any exist) and places them anywhere on the table making sure that each one is adjacent to at least two other sectors.

a) Placing an XPM

This card indicates two possible locations in which an XPM may appear. You need to place an XPM token on any sector of the first location or, if not possible, on the second location. For each location you get a sector type (Asteroid Belt or Planet Gravity Belt) and a color (Blue, Red, Green or Yellow). You need to find a sector that matches both type and color.

b) Raider Reinforcements

Place a Raider on every sector of the color indicated on the card. Always place a Level 1 Raider, unless an effect indicates otherwise.

If there are no more tokens available of the required level, you should spawn a Raider of the next level. If there is no valid sector to spawn Raiders on, skip this step.

1.4 Raider Surge

If at this time two or more enemies occupy the same sector then a Raider Surge occurs. You resolve each sector separately, and the First Player decides the exact order. The effects for each Raider Surge are as follows:

• Raider Upgrade: If there is no Boss in the sector, keep only one of the highest level Raiders, upgrade it by one level (to a maximum of 3) and discard the other Raiders in this sector. If there is a Boss, simply discard all other Raiders in this sector.
• Event: Draw an Event Card and put it into play. You only draw one event in this manner per round, even if more than one Raider Surge occurs.

Phase 2: Upkeep

At the beginning of this phase, all players retrieve any used Activation Tokens. Players may also spend Astartium to increase the level of their Starport and/or Research Lab, at a cost of 2 Astartium per level. As a result of each increase, players then may:

• Equip a Unit or Power Up (as described under Player Board, section 8).
• Gain an Exploration or Combat Token.
• Increase the level of your Command Center. When this occurs, also gain the reward from the new Command Center's level.
• Increase all Armada Stats by 1. This occurs only at the maximum Starport or Research Lab level.

Phase 3: Movement

At the beginning of this phase, all players get an amount of Movement Points equal to their Speed. They complete their movement one at a time, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise.

Each player may navigate through various types of sectors. There are 3 special sector types: Jumpgate, Planet Dawn and Black Hole, and 4 different common types: Asteroid Belt, Planetary Gravity Belt, Thick Nebula and Open Space.

Each common sector has a color/shape combination and a number signifying the Movement Point cost required to pass through it: Green Triangle, Blue Square, Yellow Circle, Red Hexagon.

Current Sector: The sector in which your armada is presently located.

Adjacent Sectors: Those sectors which share an edge with your Current Sector. Abilities, events or actions that affect Adjacent Sectors also affect your Current Sector.

Face down Sectors: These sectors are considered Inactive. No Enemy may move in them. Enemies on these sectors are not affected by Events, Actions cards or Boss Effects.

The following rules apply during movement:

Move: If there is no enemy in your Current Sector, you can move your Armada to any Adjacent Sector by spending the Movement Points indicated on that Sector. If there are enemies in your Current Sector, you need to evade them all, by spending additional Movement Points equal to their Level (4 for Bosses).

Explore: To explore a new Sector adjacent to your current one, place a new Sector on the board and move your Armada there. The new Sector cannot be placed at a distance greater than 3 from the Jumpgate and must be adjacent to at least two existing Sectors. The cost of this action is always 1 Movement Point. After placing your Armada in the new Sector your movement ends, regardless of any remaining Movement Points.

A new Sector placement is illegal if it is adjacent to only 1 sector, or if it is not adjacent to your current sector, or if it is more than 3 sectors distance from the Jumpgate. It is legal if it is adjacent to at least 2 sectors, within the distance limit, and adjacent to your current sector.

XPM: You can pick up an XPM located in your Current Sector by spending 1 Movement Point. Due to the unstable electromagnetic fields of this power module, you can not have more than one in your Cargo at any time.

Phase 4: Encounter

Players complete this phase one at a time, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise.

If you have just opened a new sector then you must Explore.

If not then you may choose to either engage in Combat with enemy forces present in your sector or Regroup.

4.1 Explore

If you just entered a new sector, you must draw and resolve an Exploration Card.

Each card has two different encounters: Easy and Hard. Unless otherwise stated by the scenario, you choose which one you want to perform. To successfully resolve the encounter, you need to make a Check Roll of the specified attribute and score the number of successes indicated on the card.

For example, if the card states (1), you should roll as many dice as your attribute (Combat) and score at least 1 success. If you succeed you get the rewards on the card.

If you fail the Check Roll, your Armada takes 2 points of Hull damage, you get 1 Astartium and then if no other Event has spawned this round (for any reason, e.g. Because of a Boss or Raider Surge), you must draw and play a new Event.

4.2 Combat

Combat is always performed between one player and one enemy. If there is more than one enemy present in your Current Sector, you may choose to engage with only one of them.

During Combat you will be using various attributes. You get your Combat, Shield, Speed and Hull from your Armada attributes on your Player Board. If you are facing a Boss then its attributes are on its card. If you are facing a Raider then you need to consult the Player Aid card and use the attributes of the Raider with the same Level as the one you are facing.

The combatant with the highest Speed acts first. In case of a tie, the enemy acts first.

You attack by rolling a number of dice equal to your Combat attribute. The number of successes is the amount of Hull damage you inflict. If the enemy's Hull reaches zero, it is destroyed and you win.

An enemy always inflicts a set amount of damage equal to its Attack. You may reduce this by rolling a number of dice equal to your Shield attribute. Each success reduces any damage by 1. If your Hull is reduced to zero, you lose the battle and suffer penalties (as described under Player Board, section 6).

Combat continues, with each combatant taking turns, until one is destroyed.

If you defeat the enemy then you get the reward indicated on the card (Player Aid Card or Boss Card).

When facing a Boss, match its miniature with the relevant card to find its attributes. Every Boss has a special effect that applies to the game, Combat/Speed/Hull that it uses during Combat and a set of rewards that you gain if you defeat it. The reward icons are the same as in the Exploration cards.

When facing a Raider, match its miniature color with the corresponding section on the Player Aid card. This card details the Combat/Speed/Hull attributes that each Raider type uses during Combat, along with the rewards for defeating it.

CAUTION: You get these rewards ONLY if you defeat a Raider during a Combat Phase. You do NOT get rewards for defeating Raiders using Special Cards or any other means, outside of a Combat Round.

4.3 Regroup

You may choose to adjust your armada. If you do so then choose one (or more) of your equipped Units or Power Ups that does not have an Activation Token on it and take it back into your hand. When you do, remember to adjust your Armada stats accordingly by lowering the respected values.

Fill the empty spot(s) with another card(s) from your Armada Deck with the same type (Power Up or Unit) and quality (Common or Special) as those you removed. If you have an unused Activation Token in your Cargo, place it on the new card, without activating the special ability.

Alternatively, you may instead:

• Draw a Common Action card.
• Repair 4 Hull Points (to a maximum of 10).
• Gain 1 Exploration Token.
• Gain 1 Combat Token.

Hint: Choosing the right time to regroup might save the day!

Phase 5: Expand

Players complete this phase one at a time, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise.

5.1 Build Starbase

You may construct a Starbase in your Current Sector by paying 3 Exploration Tokens and 3 Combat Tokens. If other players are in your Current Sector, they may contribute Exploration and/or Combat Tokens.

A Starbase offers the following benefits:

• No Raiders can move or spawn in a sector occupied by a Starbase.
• A sector occupied by a Starbase, and all adjacent sectors, are considered protected. Players receive one extra die to all rolls in these sectors. This bonus does not stack in the presence of multiple Starbases.

The Starbases come in different colors. Unless otherwise stated, these colors do not affect gameplay in "Campaign" scenarios, they are used for "Arena" Scenarios only. There is no maximum number of Starbases you may build, as long as you have the necessary Tokens to place.

Boss Fight: If you construct a Starbase and there is a Boss in your Current Sector, you may attack it immediately using the combat mechanics (phase 4.2).

5.2 First Player Order

The First Player Token is passed clockwise to the next player.

Collaboration Between Players

You may:

• Play at any appropriate time (based on the card) any Common or Special Action card from your hand and choose the effect to apply to another player. For example, you can not give another player Astartium but you can play the Special Action Card "Supply Packs" from your hand so that some other player takes the Astartium tokens. You do not need to be in the same sector to use Action Cards in this way.
• Spend together Combat or Exploration Tokens to build a Starbase. You need to be in the same sector to perform this action.
• Spend Combat Tokens to remove an Event. You do not need to be in the same sector to perform this action.

You may not:

• Exchange any kind of cards, tokens or Astartium.
• Attack a Raider or Boss together with other players. If there are multiple players in the same sector, they engage the enemy individually, on their own turn. Enemies are restored to full health before beginning combat with a player, even if they were damaged (but not destroyed) by the previous player.
• Use special abilities of your Commander, Units or Power Ups for another player.

Playing Solo

To play any of the scenarios with 1 Player you need to apply the following:

Game Setup

Use one Player Board, one Commander, one Armada Deck and two Armada Ships. Choose the blue and the yellow Armada Ships. You will also need one blue and one yellow Activation Token, and 5 Astartium Tokens.

Starport & Research Lab

The cost of upgrading your Starport and Research Lab is increased to 4 Astartium tokens per level.

Movement & Encounters

Each Armada has the same amount of movement points, equal to your Commander's Speed. You move each Armada on its own, and you perform Explorations and Combat separately. This means that you can perform 2 Explorations in the same round, or 2 Combats, or 1 Exploration and 1 Combat.

Activation Tokens

When you gain an Activation Token, take both a blue and a yellow token. When you want to use an Activation Token to affect a specific Armada, you should use the Activation Token that has the same color as the Armada.

For example, if your blue Armada is in combat with a Raider, the Raider attacks and deals 4 damage. You roll your Shield but score no successes. You decide to use two blue Activation Tokens to re-roll two dice. You score 2 successes. You also have the "Reduce damage taken by 1" ability, but you have no more blue Activation Tokens. You can not use a yellow token to activate this ability (since it is not the yellow Armada that is currently fighting).

Cargo

Since you have only one Cargo, you can use anything inside it at any time for any of your Armadas. This includes: XPM, Combat/Exploration Tokens and Astartium.

Events

Any kind of effect that affects Players (e.g. Each Player takes 1 damage), affects each Armada separately. If the effect requires a check then you roll for each Armada and apply effects accordingly.

Destruction (Hull = 0)

If at any point your Hull reaches zero, then only the Armada Ship that took the final blow, is transferred to the Jumpgate sector. You still discard all Astartium and Combat Tokens and you reset your Hull to 8. If you are carrying an XPM it drops on the Sector you perished in.

F.A.Q.

In this section we will provide you with special clarification on how specific cards work.

Black Carrier: When you activate this Boss' ability you do not have to move the Raiders you just spawned. If there are other Raiders on the board you may choose to move any two of them.

Antigrav: With this ability you can move one and only one Raider.

Star Destroyer + Asteroid Sweeper: You activate this ability once and as long as there is an Activation Token on it, its effect applies to ALL rolls you make. This means that you can activate it during the Encounter Phase, but still use it for rolls that are required during the Event Phase in the next round. You can not activate it after you have already rolled to affect that result.

X Trooper: By using this ability you are allowed to engage in Combat more than once in the same round. Moving to the adjacent sector is not part of your "Movement" and as such you do not need to spend any Movement Points. This means that using this ability you could kill a Raider that is adjacent to a Boss (Thick Nebula Sector), and then move to the Boss' sector even if you do not have the Speed to do this. Furthermore, you can use the Action card "Second Chances" to remove the Activation token from the card and re-activate it to attack again. You gain loot normally from all battles you win.

Tractor Beam + Decoys + Ground Decoys: Moving to the adjacent sector is not part of your "Movement" and as such you do not need to spend any Movement Points. For example, you can pull a Player inside a Thick Nebula even if they have a Speed of less than 4, or you can move yourself (using either the "Ground Decoys" power up's ability or the "Decoys" action card) inside a Thick Nebula without spending any Movement Points.

Emergency Repairs + Space Turbulence: The hard encounters require a "Hull Check". You roll as many dice as your current Hull and you need to score the number of successes indicated by the card.