Eminent Domain: Microcosm
Eminent Domain: Microcosm Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
- Shuffle the 18 Domain cards and deal 3 face up to the center of the table to create the supply.
- Mix the Planet cards face down, separated by cost. To save space, use piles, but note that all cards in each pile are accessible at all times.
- Place the 5 Technology cards in the center of the play area, face up (with symbols showing).
- Randomly determine a start player.
Game Play
Beginning with the start player, take turns adding cards to your hand and playing actions to colonize and attack planets and research technologies to increase your Influence. On your turn, you do the following:
- Draw a card from the supply. Then, if cards remain in the deck, re-fill the supply from the deck. If you don't like what's in the supply, you may draw the top card from the deck instead.
2a) Play a card from your hand and resolve the action printed on it (read each card for a description of its action), then place it into your discard pile. Some actions require you to reveal icons (from your hand, Colonies, or Tech cards) in order to get a better effect. Once revealed, Colonies remain face-up, cards in hand return to your hand. You may "reveal" the icon on the card you are resolving, as well as Colonies (face up or face down), but never cards in your Spoils.
OR
2b) Return any number of cards from your discard pile to your hand.
Domain Cards
"Colonies" are planets that have been taken with a Colonize action and placed in front of a player.
- When colonizing, you may choose any planet in a pile (not just the top one).
- 0-cost planets require no colonize icons to colonize.
- Face up planets (due to unsuccessful Warfare attempts) may be colonized as normal.
"Spoils" are planets or colonies that have been taken with a Warfare action and placed in front of a player — face up and sideways.
- If you don't have enough defense icons, leave the planet or colony where it is, face up.
- When attacking a planet, you may choose any planet in a pile (not just the top one).
- Spoils may not be "revealed" to use their icons during the game, but Influence and Capitol icons do count for scoring at game end.
Card anatomy
Each Domain card shows: its card color (used for game-end scoring of certain cards); an icon in the top-left corner that may be "revealed" when resolving an action; a scoring condition in the top-right corner, indicating the card's Influence value at the end of the game; an action title; an illustration; and game text describing how to resolve the card's action.
Colonize
Icon: lightbulb. Scoring: 1 Star per Tech card owned.
ACTION: Reveal colonize (globe) icons to take a planet with that cost as a colony.
You may look at your colonies, but keep them face down in front of you. You may reveal a colony at any time to gain its benefit (leave it face up).
Warfare
Icon: crosshair. Scoring: 1 Star per Spoils owned.
ACTION: Choose a planet or colony and reveal it. Reveal defense icons equal to the Defense value to put it into your spoils.
Spoils are placed face up and sideways. They may not be revealed.
Research
Icon: globe. Scoring: 1 Star per Colony owned.
ACTION: Take 1 tech card from the center OR opponent discards 1 tech card of your choice to the center. Reveal 3 lightbulb icons to repeat this process.
The Research action can be repeated only once, no matter how many lightbulb icons you reveal.
Political Power
Icon: capitol (building). Scoring: 1 Star per green card owned.
ACTION: Move any number of cards from the supply to the bottom of the deck and replace them. You may play this before drawing. Play another action this turn (after drawing).
While this card is in your discard pile: all your colonies have 1 higher Defense value.
Political Party
Icon: globe. Scoring: 1 Star per Colony owned.
The globe icon on Political Party may not be used if you choose a Colonize action to pick up and play.
ACTION: Pick up and immediately play 1 card from your discard pile.
While this card is in your discard pile, opponent may not draw off the top of the deck.
Political Science
Icon: crosshair. Scoring: 1 Star per Spoils owned.
ACTION: If there is a tech card in the center, take one. Return 1 card from your discard pile to your hand.
While this card is in your discard pile, opponent may not peek at your colonies with Survey cards.
Political Intrigue
Icon: lightbulb. Scoring: 1 Star per Tech card owned.
ACTION: Look at opponent's hand and choose a card. They discard that card.
While this card is in your discard pile, you may peek at the top card of the deck before drawing.
Survey Sweep
Icon: spiral. Scoring: 1 Star per Capitol icon owned.
This card is still in play as it resolves, so if you use the additional action to pick up discards, do not pick up Survey Sweep.
ACTION: Peek at a facedown planet or colony. Play another action.
Survey Mission
Icon: spiral. Scoring: 1 Star per Capitol icon owned.
You do not have to show your opponent cards you peek at.
ACTION: Peek at a facedown planet or colony. You may place this card into an opponent's discard pile. If you do, take a card from that discard pile into your hand.
Planet Cards
The defense shield icon indicates a planet's defense value; the number next to it, labeled "When Colonized," is the Influence value the planet is worth once colonized. Planets are grouped by cost — the "Cost" bar on each card shows how many colonize icons must be revealed to take it.
Representative planets, by color group and cost:
- Green (Earth-like) planets — Cost 0: Defense 1, When Colonized 3; Defense 1, When Colonized 2.
- Red (dwarf) planets — Cost 0: Defense 1, When Colonized 3; Cost 2: Defense 3, When Colonized 4.
- Purple (ringed) planets — Cost 0: Defense 0, When Colonized 2; Cost 2: Defense 2, When Colonized 3.
- Blue/magenta planets — Cost 0: Defense 2, When Colonized 4; Cost 2: Defense 2, When Colonized 3; Cost 3: Defense 3, When Colonized 4.
- Grey/neutral planets (two-Star scoring value) — Cost 3: Defense 4, When Colonized 5, appearing in more than one color group.
Tech Cards
The +1 shield icon indicates that ALL your colonies have 1 higher Defense value.
The five Technology cards are: Improved Colonize, Improved Warfare, Capital, Improved Research, and Mobilization.
Game End
When the deck is exhausted, continue play without refilling the supply when cards are drawn. After the last card is drawn from the supply, the active player finishes their turn and the game ends. Players collect all cards from their hands and discard piles and determine their Influence (score) as follows:
Each card has a scoring condition at the top, indicating its Influence value:
- 1 Star per Colony
- 1 Star per Spoils
- 1 Star per Capitol icon on Domain cards, Tech, Colonies and Spoils owned
- 1 Star per Tech owned
- 1 Star for each Domain card, Colony and Spoils of a particular color
The player with the most Stars wins! In case of a tie, the player who played second wins.
Example
A player's hand contains Political Party, Colonize, Research, Colonize, Political Science, Political Power, and Survey Sweep. They own 2 Colonies (including one worth 3 when colonized) and 1 Spoils.
| Scoring condition | Count | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Stars per Colony | 2 Colonies | 6 |
| 2 Stars per Spoils | 1 Spoils | 2 |
| 1 Star per Capitol icon | 5 Capitol icons | 5 |
| 1 Star per purple card | 2 purple cards | 2 |
| 1 Star per green card | 4 green cards | 4 |
| 1 Star per yellow card | 4 yellow cards | 4 |
| 4 Stars on the Colonies and Spoils | 4 | |
| Total | 27 |