Dark Matter

Dark Matter Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

1 First Player Marker
4 Diplomacy Cards
16 Resource Gems (value 1)
8 Resource Gems (value 5)
40 Soldier Miniatures
20 Planet Cards
12 Matter Cards
4 Civilization Cards

First Player Marker

This marker indicates who is the first player in any given round.

Diplomacy Cards

Each player has a Diplomacy Card (two Diplomacy Cards each in a two player game). They are used to negotiate with and gain resources from other players. The card indicates that a player has used the Matter Cards belonging to another player.

Resource Gems

Resource Gems represent each player's power and are used to pay for Actions.

Soldier Miniatures

These are used to represent attacks on other players' Planets.

Planet Cards

During the game, Planet Cards generate resources or skills. At the end of the game, they are used to calculate Victory Points and determine who wins the game.

Matter Cards

Matter Cards are used by players throughout the game. They are divided in three groups determined by the color of the card's edge: Cavorite (green edge), Antimatter (red edge) and Dark Matter (purple edge). Each player is dealt one of each kind at the start of play.

Civilization Cards

Before the game starts, players should choose whether to play with the Civilization Cards or not - see "Variants" section at the end of this rule book. Civilization Cards give extra Victory Points if the requirements shown are met during the game.

Planet Cards in Detail

Each card has different characteristics, as shown on the face and back. They are:

Terraforming cost
Special skill
Victory Points Value
Reverse Victory Points Value
Improvement cost
Defense value

Note: The face side of a Planet Card also shows the back side's Defense and Victory Points Values, but these numbers should not be used until the Planet is Improved. They are for reference only.

Matter Cards in Detail

Each Matter Card is divided in 4 zones: Upper Face, Lower Face, Upper Back and Lower Back.

The Face side is visible to the card's owner.

The Back side is visible to all other players.

In the game, Matter Cards change positions in players' hands, meaning different zones will be visible at different times. If a Matter Card changes position, the zones remain in place.

The Matter Cards show Initiative Value and Skills, as shown in the image below.

At the start of the game, Matter Cards must be set up so the initiative value 3 is in the Upper Back zone and the initiative value of 1 is in the Lower Back zone.

Playing the Matter Cards

Matter Cards change their positions in the players' hands depending on how they are played. The Matter Cards only change their positions when affected by a game action. Cards can either be Flipped or Spun.

Spin: Rotate the card 180 degrees, shifting the Upper zone to the Lower zone and vice versa.
Flip: Turn a card to its opposite side, so the Back is now the Face and vice versa.

Civilization Cards in Detail

The card diagram labels the Face with: Improvement cost, Reduction values, Victory Points. The Back is labelled with: Victory Points, Improvement cost. (See "Variants" for how the cards are used.)

Objective of the Game

A game of Dark Matter takes place over four complete rounds. During a round, each player takes one turn. At the end of the fourth round, the game ends and players count up their victory points. The player with the total highest score is the winner.

Setting Up the Game

Each player takes the following:

4 Resource Gems
1 Diplomacy Card (or two Diplomacy Cards if only two people are playing)
3 Matter Cards (one of each kind: Cavorite - Green edge / Antimatter - Red edge / Dark Matter - Purple edge).
If players choose to play with the Civilization Cards variant, they choose one each at random. At the beginning of the game, the players place the cards in their hands in a way that the Upper Reverse zone has the initiative value of 3.

Planet Cards are shuffled with the Face side up. Four Planet Cards are set in the middle of the table where all players can reach. The remaining Planet Cards are placed to the side to form a deck. When the next Planet Card is required, it must be taken from the bottom of that deck so players cannot see what the next card will be. Only the final card from the deck will be common knowledge amongst the players.

Game Rounds

Each game round sees every player take one turn. Once all players have completed their turns, the round ends and a new one starts. Each turn takes place over three phases:

Resource phase
Action phase
Final phase

Players cannot play any action outside of their turn.

Initiative

The first player in the first round is chosen at random, and they are given the First Player Marker. Play then continues in clockwise order.

For the following rounds, the first player is whoever has the highest total initiative value in the Upper Rear zone of their Matter Cards at the beginning of the round. Play then continues clockwise around the table. Continue until all players have played their turns.

Example: Player A's cards at the start of round two show initiative values of 3, 1 and 2 in the Upper Rear zones of their Matter Cards. Player B shows initiative values of 2, 2 and 1. Player C has 1, 2 and 1. Player D has 3, 3 and 2. The first player in this round is Player D.

Note: If there is a tie in the result of the initiative values between several players, the first player is the one closest to whoever was the first player in the previous round (in clockwise order). If one of the players in the tie was the first player in the previous round, they remain the first player for this new round.

Resource Phase

In this phase, each player takes as many resource gems as the number of the round. In other words, in the first round they take one gem; in the second round they take two gems, and so on. These resource gems can be played in the same round as they are taken.

Action Phase

In the action phase a player can:

Play the skills shown on the Matter Cards that they are holding, and/or that belong to the other players
Use the Planet Cards skills that belong to them, and/or that belong to the other players
Perform a Special Maneuver

The actions that can be performed are:

Terraform a planet
Improve a controlled planet
Recruit soldiers
Spin matter cards
Flip matter cards

Note: To perform these actions it is more than likely that using several different skills will be necessary.

Using the Skills Shown on Matter Cards

All the actions performed with Matter Cards must be paid for with Resource Gems, no matter who owns the cards.

For Matter Cards belonging to the player

A player can play whatever skill they wish, as long as it is shown on the Upper Face zone of one of their Matter Cards. The Matter Cards zones show either one or two skills. Every time a Matter Card's skill is played, the player must pay one resource gem.

Even if you are performing two skills, the maximum you will pay is one resource gem. When the player needs to perform more than one skill to play an action, such as terraforming a planet, they must pay one resource gem per each matter card's zone they are using. If a player cannot pay resource gems, they cannot perform any actions.

Every time a player uses one of their Matter Cards, when the action is complete, they must Flip the Matter Cards they used (so the Upper Face zone becomes the Upper Back zone and vice versa).

Example: Player A wants to terraform a planet at a cost of 1 Cavorite point and 1 Dark Matter point. She plays two of her cards, the first to get 1 Cavorite point and the second to get 1 Dark Matter point. She then pays 1 gem per each zone that she played - a total of 2 Resource Gems. Although she played two different zone's cards, this means only 1 action: terraform the planet.

Players cannot use the same Matter Card more than once during an action. When the action is finished, a Matter Card can be used again, even if you wish to use the same skill - as long as the card is in the right position to do so, this is allowed in play. Any unused skills are lost at the end of an action. A card cannot be played (and/or Flipped) until at least one of its skills is used. If a zone has two skills, the player can use only one - the other is lost.

For Matter Cards belonging to other players

A player can play the skills from the Upper Back zone (the side that all players can see) of the Matter Cards of any player. They must pay one resource gem as usual, but in this case the card is not Flipped but Spun once the action is done. The Upper zone becomes the Lower zone and vice versa.

The owner of the card then turns their Diplomacy Card over to indicate that the current active player has used once their cards. A player can play only one Matter Card per each opponent each turn. The Diplomacy Card serves solely as a reminder. If only two people are playing, they each have two Diplomacy Cards. They may use two of their opponent's cards, each time turning one Diplomacy Card over to indicate it has been used.

Matter Card Icons

The Matter Cards have the following skill icons:

Resource: The player gets one Resource Gem. They must put it aside as Resource Gems cannot be used in the same turn they are earned. At the end of their turn, the player then takes any Resource Gems they have earned.
Improvement: The player gets 1 improvement point, used to improve one planet under their control.
Cavorite: The player gets 1 point of Cavorite.
Antimatter: The player gets 1 point of Antimatter.
Dark Matter: The player gets 1 point of Dark Matter.
Sophia Matter: The player gets 1 point of their choice of either Cavorite, Antimatter or Dark Matter.
Soldier: The player gets one Soldier Miniature per each Soldier icon in the chosen card zone. Unlike the Resource Gems rule, the Soldier Miniatures can be used in the same turn as they are earned. Earning Soldier Miniatures can be only performed once per turn, either with Matter Cards and/or Planet Cards.
- Example: Player A plays 2 zones of Matter Cards from their hand and earns one Soldier Miniature for each zone. They also play an opponent's card, receiving another Soldier Miniature. The total cost is 3 resource gems, 1 per each zone played, for a total of 3 Soldier Miniatures. This means that Player A cannot play more actions to get Soldier Miniatures in this turn.
Politics: The player Flips any Matter Card they choose, belonging either to themselves or any another player. When this skill is used and the player Flips another player's card, this does not count as if they had played a Matter Card zone of another player, so their Diplomacy Card is not used. Nevertheless, playing this action costs 1 resource gem as usual, regardless of who owns the card.

Using the Skills Shown on Planet Cards

Planets belonging to the player

A player can use the skills of any planet under their control at any time during their turn. Using these skills do not cost any resource gems. The card must be turned 90º to indicate when a Planet Card's skill is used that turn. If the planet is an improved planet, at the end of the turn the Planet Card returns to the original position and can be used again on the next turn. If the planet has not been improved, it remains turned sideways until either the end of the game or when it is improved.

Like Matter Cards, many Planet Cards have skills that can be used during a turn. Some are shared, as shown in the previous section, but some Planet Cards have unique special skills.

Planet Card icons

Diplomacy: This skill allows the player to use an already spent Diplomacy Card again, so the current player can use an opponent's Matter Card once more.

Planets belonging to the other players

A player can use the skill shown on another player's Planet Card at any time in their turn. To do so, the current player must place as many Soldier Miniatures on the target Planet Card as indicated by the current defense value. Whether the Planet Card is turned (because it has been used) is irrelevant. When the current player performs another player's Planet Card skill, this does not mean this planet has been used, so the planet remains in the same position as before. It must not be turned after being attacked with Soldier Miniatures.

If a Planet Card already has Soldier Miniatures in place, it is not possible to use that planet anymore during that turn. A player can only use a planet once per turn.

Example: Player A has 5 Soldier Miniatures. They want to use the special skill of a planet controlled by Player B that shows a Resource icon and has a defense value of 2. Player A takes 2 Soldier Miniatures and places them on Player B's Planet Card. Player A earns one Resource Gem which is set aside (as it cannot be used this turn). Player A cannot place more Soldier Miniatures on the Planet Card to get more resource gems as there are already Soldier Miniatures there.

Note: Diplomacy Cards are not turned when using skill on a planet card.

Special Maneuver

On their turn, a player can use a Resource Gem to Spin one of their own Matter Cards. They cannot Spin other players' Matter Cards, or Flip any Matter Cards regardless of who holds them.

Actions

During the action phase a player may perform as many actions as they wish. These are:

Terraform Planet

Pay the terraforming cost of one of the four planets in the middle of the playing area to terraform and gain control of it. If you perform this action, spend Matter points, then take the Planet Card and set it in front of you. A player cannot control more than five planets in a game. Once they terraform a fifth planet, they cannot terraform anymore in the game.

In a two-player game, each player can control up to seven planets.

Example: Player A wants to terraform the planet with a cost of one point of Cavorite and one point of Dark Matter. They pay one Resource Gem and use the Upper Face zone of one of their cards to earn one point of Cavorite, Flipping the card. They pay a second Resource Gem and use the Upper Back zone of an opponent's Matter Card, earning one point of Dark Matter, Spinning the card. Their opponent turns their Diplomacy Card to indicate that their cards have been used. Player A takes the now claimed Planet Card and sets it in their play zone.

When a Planet Card has Sophia Matter as a cost, the current player must choose from the other matter costs of that planet and copy it. If the Planet Card only has Sophia Matter as a cost, this must be paid for using a set Matter of the same kind - for instance, three Sophia Matter can be covered using three Cavorite.

Example: A planet has a terraforming cost of one point of Cavorite, one point of Dark Matter and one point of Sophia Matter. The player can pay two points of Cavorite and one point of Dark Matter, or one point of Cavorite and two points of Dark Matter to terraform the planet.

Example Two: A planet has a terraforming cost of 2 points of Sophia Matter. The player can pay two points of Cavorite, or two points of Dark Matter, or two points of Antimatter to terraform the planet.

Improve a Controlled Planet

To improve a planet already controlled by a player, they must pay as many improvement points as indicated on the Planet Card. On doing so, they then turn the Planet Card over. From now onwards, the player uses the new values indicated on the improved Planet Card.

Example: Player A controls a planet worth three Victory Points which has an improvement cost of 2. They play two cards from their hand, earning one improvement point from each card, for a total of two improvement points. They pay two Resource Gems, then Flip both cards used. The two improvement points improve their controlled planet, which is now worth six Victory Points.

If a player improves a Planet Card that previously been turned 90º when their turn began, this planet is improved and straightened, meaning its special skill could be used in this turn.

If the planet has already been used in the player's current turn and they choose to improve the planet, then the card is improved but not straightened until the start of the player's next turn.

Recruit Soldiers

See Soldier in "Matter card icons" section.

Flip Matter Cards

See Politics in "Matter card icons" section.

Spin Matter Cards

See Hero in "Matter card icons" section.

Final Phase

When a player cannot play or does not want to perform any more actions, their action phase ends and they move to that turn's final phase. The player reclaims their Soldier Miniatures from any opponents' Planet Cards, add any new Resource Gems earned during their turn to those held previously, and then straightens any improved planets they control. The planets used in this turn that are not improved remain turned. Any used Diplomacy Cards are returned to the unused position.

The Planet Cards in the center of the table are refilled so four are showing. Remember, any new Planet Cards are to be taken from the bottom of the deck.

Play then passes to the next player clockwise around the table. If all players have completed their turns, the round ends. If the fourth round has been completed, the game ends.

Ending the Game

When all players have played in the fourth round, the game comes to an end and it is time to count up your Victory Points. Each player scores for:

Terraformed planets: The player gets as many Victory Points as indicated by the planets they control.
Resource gems: The player gets 1 Victory Point per each Resource Gem they hold at the end of the game.
Planets with soldiers: The players place their Soldier Miniatures on Planet Cards they control. For each planet that contains as many Soldier Miniatures as the indicated defense value on the card, the player gets 2 Victory Points per improved planet, and 1 Victory Point per unimproved planet. If the Planet Card doesn't have a defense value, the player must place 5 Soldier Miniatures to get 3 Victory Points if the planet has been improved, or 1 Victory Point if the planet is unimproved.

The player who gets the highest total score is the winner. If there is a tie, the tied players total the initiative value of the Upper Back zone of their cards (in the position the cards were at the end of the game) then add this value to their Victory Points. If the tie remains, all tied players are declared joint winners.

Variants

Civilization Cards

(an expansion to the basic game)

At the start of play, each player takes one Civilization Card at random and sets it in front of them, face side up. On their turn, a player can pay the improvement cost of their Civilization Card, then can turn the card over. The player must pay the total improvement cost in one go. At the end of the game if the Civilization Card has been improved, the player gains 10 Victory Points.

Civilization Cards have four reduction values:

Reduction by planets: If the player controls a number of planets equal to or higher than the indicated value, they do not have to pay the matter point cost above this value when improving their Civilization Card.
Reduction by resources: If the player controls a number of Resource Gems equal to or higher than the indicated value, they do not have to pay the matter point cost above this value when improving their Civilization Card.
Reduction by Soldier Miniatures: If the player controls a number of Soldier Miniatures equal to or higher than the indicated value, they do not have to pay the matter point cost above this value when improving their Civilization Card.
Reduction by planets defense: If the player controls planets with a total defense value equal to or higher than the indicated value, they do not have to pay the matter point cost above this value when improving their Civilization Card.

Example: Player A has a Civilization Card with an improvement cost of 3 Cavorite points, 2 Dark Matter points, 1 Antimatter point, and 2 Improvement points. This player controls 4 Planets, has 3 Resource Gems, and 3 Soldier Miniatures. Their planets total joint defense value is 5.

The final cost to improve this Civilization Card is: 2 Cavorite points, 1 Antimatter point and 2 Improvement points. If the player had 6 or more Resource Gems, they would have paid only 1 Cavorite point, 1 Antimatter point and 2 Improvement points to improve their Civilization Card. The Civilization Card is improved and the player gains an extra 10 points at the end of the game.

At the end of the game, all unimproved Civilization Cards score as many Victory Points as indicated in the requirements for reduction values that have been completed.

Example: The player from the previous example does not manage to improve their Civilization Card. Checking their reduction values, they control 5 planets, and since the requirement is 4 or more they gain 2 Victory Points. They have only 2 Soldier Miniatures, so score nothing from them. Their planets have a total defense value of 8, so they gain a further 2 Victory Points. In total, they have scored 4 extra Victory Points with their Civilization Card.

Quick Process

(recommended only for a game of 2 players)

In this variant, Resource Gems are available to be used in the same turn as they are earned.

Powerful Planets

In this variant, Resource Gems earned through skills shown on Planet Cards are available to be used immediately. Resource Gems earned through use of Matter Cards cannot be used on the same turn, as usual.

Exploring the Black Hole

In this variant, after every final phase, after getting back their Soldier Miniatures, players may take whatever number of Soldier Miniatures and put them in an opaque bag or box (not provided). Players cannot check the amount of Soldier Miniatures they have stored away. At the end of the game, all players reveal the amount of Soldier Miniatures that have been hidden over the course of play. The player or players with the most Soldier Miniatures receive 10 Victory Points. The player with the second highest amount gets 6 Victory Points. The next lowest amount scores 4 and the lowest one gains 2 Victory Points. If a player has no Soldier Miniatures stored, they do not get any Victory Points, no matter their position in the ranking.

Unlimited Controlled Planets

(recommended only for a game of 2 players)

In this variant, there is no maximum amount of planets that a player can terraform. Players can still only terraform a maximum of four planets per turn, since there are still only four planets in the table. In the final phase, the Planet Cards are redrawn back to four cards in the middle of the table.