Exoplanets Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Goal of the Game
• Inside the Box
• Game Setup
• Detailed List of Game Components
  • Star Tile
  • Planet Tiles
  • Space Tiles
  • Effect Tokens
  • Life-giving Resource Markers
  • Life and Species Markers
  • Space Bag (representing cosmos)
  • Special Effects Tiles
  • Charts of Cosmic Laws
• Detailed Description of Gameplay
  • Birth of a Planet in the System
  • Evolution of Life and Using Immediate Effects
  • Special Effects Tiles
  • End of Turn
• Ending the Game

Goal of the Game

You and other players join to become the ultimate creative forces that will shape the very core of a planetary system. Your role is to expand the system by adding new planets, create and evolve life, and fulfill various tasks assigned to you. To fulfill these goals, you will manipulate the planetary system in any way necessary, potentially altering the relations between planets and possibly even the life-giving star.

The player who has the most Creation Points (CP) at the end of the game is the winner. You will gain Creation Points via Space Tiles fulfilled during the game and at the end of the game for life created on planets.

Inside the Box

1. Planet Tiles — number: 30
2. Space Tiles — number: 38
3. Special Effects Tiles — number: 3
4. Star Tile — number: 1
5. Fusion Markers — number: 4
6. Solar Flare Markers — number: 4
7. Stimulation Markers — number: 8
8. Energy Markers — number: 37
9. Water Markers — number: 17
10. Gas Markers — number: 17
11. Life Markers — number: 24 (6 per color)
12. Species Markers — number: 16 (4 per color)
13. Effects Tokens — number: 70
14. Reference Cards — number: 12
15. Space Bag — number: 1

Game Setup

A. Star Tile: Place the Star Tile in the center of the table so that it is easily accessible by all players. On the Star Tile place 10 Energy Markers for a 2-player game, 15 Energy Markers for a 3-player game and 20 Energy Markers for a 4-player game.

B. Planet Tiles: Place all Planet Tiles into the Space Bag and then draw 4 tiles one by one and place one in each of the four spaces around the first orbit of the Star Tile. Place them next to the placement icon on the Star Tile as indicated below. Draw 2 additional Planet Tiles from the Space Bag. These tiles form the 2 Planet Reserve Piles. Place the Space Bag on the table so that it is easily accessible by all players.

C. Space Tiles: Shuffle all of the Space Tiles face-down. In a 2/3/4-player game, place 3/4/5 Space Tiles face-down on each side of the Star Tile extending out from the original Planet Tiles that were placed. See graphic below. Next, each player draws 3 Space Tiles and chooses 2 to keep. These Tiles are secret and should not be revealed to other players. Discard all of the unwanted Space Tiles into the box; they will not be used this game.

D. Life and Species Markers: Each player chooses a color and takes all of the Life Markers and Species Markers of that color (6 Life Cubes and 4 Species Cylinders).

E. Special Effects Tiles: Place all of the Special Effects Tiles in the play area. Place an appropriate number of markers, according to the number of players, on each tile.

• Fusion Markers: 3/4/4 black markers in a 2/3/4-player game.
• Solar Flare Markers: 3/4/4 red markers in a 2/3/4-player game.
• Stimulation Markers: 4/6/8 wooden markers in a 2/3/4-player game.

F. Life-giving Resource Markers: Use all available Resource Markers (Energy, Water, Gas) to form the Cosmic Dust Cloud. This is a pool of available resources from which all players will take Resource Markers during the game. Each player begins the game with 1 Energy, 1 Water, and 1 Gas Marker.

G. Chart of Cosmic Laws: Give each player 1 Reference Card.

Below is a sample setup for 4 players. If you find it inconvenient, place all game components so that you make the best use of available space on the table. The comfort of all players is most important in this case. Oh, and watch out for black holes - they always cause chaos on the table!

Detailed List of Game Components

Star Tile

This is the central element of the planetary system. It is also where the Energy Markers, that are used to count down the game, are kept. Orbit direction icons indicate the directions in which Planet Tiles will be placed, as well as the proper orientation for each side.

Planet Tiles

One Planet Tile will be added to the system each turn by the active player. Each Planet Tile features:

A. Planet Type:

• Rocky Planet
• Super-Earth Planet
• Gaseous Planet
• Ocean Planet

B. Life Creation Requirement Costs

Each Planet Tile has a Life Creation Cost ranging from 1 to 3. This cost is the total amount of resources required, in some combination of Gas, Water and Energy, to create one unit of Life. Some Planets have a variable cost as one of the requirements; that is represented as such.

C. Obtainable Resources

Planet Tiles also indicate life-giving resources that can be obtained when you place a new Planet adjacently (see "Detailed Description of Gameplay" on page 4).

Space Tiles

Space Tiles are placed in orbits around the Star Tile and indicate where you are able to place Planet Tiles. Space Tiles in your hand can be played on your turn in one of two different ways - as a Goal to gain CP, or as an Immediate Effect.

A. Goal – A secret goal that, once fulfilled, will give you Creation Points at the end of the game (ex.). You can reveal a Goal at any time during your turn as long as the requirements have been met. Set the Space Tile aside; you will score the CP at the end of the game. Keep in mind that when you play a Space Tile as a Goal you will be unable to play it as an Immediate Effect, and vice versa.

All Goals are described in the Chart of Cosmic Laws.

B. Consequences of triggering an immediate effect of a Space Tile – Whenever you use a Space Tile for its Immediate Effect, you will take 1 Fusion Marker or 1 Solar Flare Marker as indicated on the Tile. Each marker taken brings all players closer to triggering a phenomenon in the system (a black hole or a solar storm - see page 7).

C. Immediate Effect – If you expect that you will be unable, or simply won't want, to fulfill the Goal on a Space Tile you can instead use it as an Immediate Effect. This will give you immediate benefits, but of course it will also use up the Tile so that you will be unable to use it as a Goal. Immediate Effects include:

• Adding life-giving resources to your available pool.
• Lowering the Life creation and development cost on a Planet.
• Modification of standard/described conditions on Planets connected with a functioning planetary system.

D. The number of a given goal's description on the Chart of Cosmic Laws.

Effect Tokens

Effect Tokens are used to easily identify Planets that are being affected by Space Tiles.

Life-giving Resource Markers

These markers represent the resources required for the creation and development of life on Planets.

There are 3 main resources in the game: Energy, Water and Gas.

Energy is obtained from the Star Tile each time a new Planet is added to the system, but can also be obtained from the Cosmic Dust Cloud via various effects. Water and Gas are primarily obtained as a result of adding Planets to the system.

Additionally, Life-giving Resource Markers can be obtained by playing Space Tiles as Immediate Effects.

Life and Species Markers

Life and Species Markers are used to track the level of life development on Planets. Life Markers come in four colors, one for each player: Orange, Purple, Green, and White.

Within each color there are two shapes of Markers:

• 6 cubes representing Life Markers
• 4 cylinders representing Species Markers (used to mark the 4th level of life development on a planet)

Space Bag (representing cosmos)

This bag holds all the Planet Tiles that players will draw during the game.

Special Effects Tiles

These tiles represent events triggered by players using Space Tiles as Immediate Effects and by the creation of life.

There are 3 Special Effects in the game:

A. Fusion Tile - Causes the appearance of a black hole. 4 black markers are assigned to this tile.

B. Solar Flare Tile – Causes the appearance of a solar storm. 4 red markers are assigned to this tile.

C. Creation Tile – Accelerates elementary particles (hadrons), which lead to their collision. 8 Wooden markers are assigned to this tile.

Charts of Cosmic Laws

Reference cards for players. One side describes all icons and Immediate Effects. The other side explains all Goals. The card are multilingual in Polish, English, and German.

Detailed Description of Gameplay

To begin, the player who can name the most of Jupiter's moon takes the first turn. Players begin by declaring the number of moons they are able to name and then name them in any order. Alternatively, you can decide the start player in any random method you prefer.

Each turn is divided into the two phases described below. During your turn you will resolve the two phases in order and then pass the turn to your left. Play continues this way until the game ends.

The game ends when the last Energy Marker is taken from the Star Tile. When this happens, the active player finishes their entire turn and then the end-of-game scoring begins.

Birth of a Planet in the System

A. Choosing a Planet Tile

At the start of your turn you will create a new Planet in the burgeoning system. You have two options when creating a Planet:

• Draw 2 Planet Tiles from the Space Bag

OR

• Choose 1 Planet Tile from the top of either planet reserve pile

If you draw from the bag, select two tiles at random and choose one to place in the system. Place the unwanted tile on the top of either of the Planet Reserve Piles.

If you take from the top of a Planetary Reserve Pile, take only 1 tile to add to the system. You can only create one planet each turn.

If during this phase, one planet's reserves pile is depleted by a player (all Planet Tiles from this pile are taken and added to the system), the player who is currently resolving this phase (the Birth of a Planet in the System) draws a planet tile from the space bag and places it in an empty place - therefore starting a new pile.

B. Adding a Planet Tile to the System

When you play a Planet Tile, choose a place currently occupied by a Space Tile. Take that Space Tile into your hand and put the Planet Tile in its place.

A Planet Tile can be added to any side of the Star Tile, but must be played adjacent to an existing Planet Tile (A) and must match the neighboring Planet in alignment. When you take the Space Tile do not reveal it to the other players.

C. Obtaining Resources

You can gain resources in multiple ways. The primary way is through creating Planets.

• Whenever you create a Planet, you take 1 Energy Marker from the Star Tile.
• When you create a Planet, you will gain resources according to the alignment of the new Planet with its neighbor. The two icons that end up adjacent to each other after you place the new planet will indicate which resources you receive.

Example

John creates an Super-Earth Planet adjacent to a Rocky Planet in the second orbit of the Star. By doing so, he gains 1 Energy Marker from the Star Tile for having created a Planet. Additionally, he gains 1 Energy Marker from the Super-Earth Planet and 1 Gas Marker from the Rocky Planet.

Evolution of Life and Using Immediate Effects

The second phase of your turn is when you are able to create and develop Life. You can also achieve the Goals and play the Immediate Effects of your Space Tiles. You can carry out these actions in any order you wish and as many times as you are able to, limited only by your available resources and Space Tiles.

A. Creation and Development of Life

You can create and develop Life on any existing Planet, as many times as you wish, on as many Planets as you wish, limited only by your available resources and the number of Life Markers in your pool.

Rules of Creation and Development of Life on Planets

During your turn, you can create Life on any number of Planets. Life is developed in levels from 1 to 4. The current level of life is indicated by the number of Life Markers in your color on any given Planet (2 Markers = 2 levels of Life).

You can develop Life on a Planet up to level 4, at which point a new Species is created - the highest possible level of development. When you develop Life from level 3 to 4, do not add a 4th Life Marker, instead take back all 3 Life Markers from the Planet and add a Species Marker from your pool to the Planet.

You can only develop Life into a Species if you began your turn with at least 1 Life Marker of your color on the Planet on which you intend to create a Species. On a Planet on which you have no existing Life Markers, you are able to only develop Life up to level 3. You will have to wait until your next turn to develop that Life into a Species.

When creating a Species, you do not need to have enough Life Markers in your pool for each level of Life you would need to develop to create a Species. If you began your turn with at least 1 Life Marker on the Planet and you have enough resources to pay for each level of development to create a Species, but you do not have the required Life Markers in your pool, you can spend the resources and 'jump' straight to the creation of the Species.

Any number of players can have and develop Life on a Planet. But when a Species is created, that Species dominates the Planet. All other players return all Life Markers they had on that Planet. For the rest of the game, no more Life Markers can be added to the Planet by any player. All players who had Life Markers returned to their pool in this way takes any 1 resource marker (Energy, Gas, Water) from the Cosmic Dust Cloud for each Life Marker they had removed.

Example

Kate begins the phase with 3 Energy, 1 Gas, and 1 Water. In the system below, one way she could create and develop life is:

• On the Rocky Planet with 1 Life-Creation Cost (to the right of the Star, 1 Energy), she could create up to 3 levels of life (1 Energy for each level).
• On the Rocky Planet with 2 Life-Creation Cost (to the left of the Star, 1 Gas and 1 Water), she could create 1 level of life.

Alternatively, she could:

• On the Oceanic Planet with 2 Life-Creation Cost (above the Star, 1 Energy and 1 Gas) she could create 1 level of life.
• On the Rocky Planet with 1 Life-Creation Cost (to the right of the Star, 1 Energy), she could create up to 2 levels of life (1 Energy for each level) with her remaining Energy. She will keep her Water for a later turn.

Example

John begins his turn with 1 Life Marker on the Planet on which he intends to create a Species. He has enough resources to pay for the next 3 levels of development, but only has 1 Life Marker in his pool. He decides to develop a Species and therefore doesn't need the Life Markers. He pays the requisite resources to develop the Life from level 1 to 4, takes back the Life Marker on that Planet, and adds his Species Marker. Any other Life Markers owned by other players on that Planet are returned to their owners' pools and those players gain a resource for each Marker returned.

Example

Looking back at the example, in the previous section, of Kate creating Life, we can see that even if she had had 1 more Energy Marker she would not have been able to create the 4th level of Life (Species) since she did not have any Life Markers on that Planet previously (Rocky Planet). She would have to wait until her next turn to add 1 more Life Marker and then create a Species.

Stimulation Markers

You gain Stimulation Markers when you create or develop Life during your turn. You gain 1 Stimulation Marker for each Planet on which you created or developed Life, regardless of the total levels developed.

Example

Kate gains 2 Stimulation Markers from the Creation Tile for creating Life on 2 Planets.

Important

A player may receive only one creation marker for developing life on a planet. Developing life further on a given planet in the same turn does not provide additional markers.

Activation of Special Effects Tile: Creation Tile

When the last Stimulation Marker is taken from the Creation Tile, you have caused a Collision of Particles. This phenomenon forces each player to exchange all of their Stimulation Markers for resources from the Cosmic Dust Cloud at a conversion of 2:1, rounded down. Return all Stimulation Markers to the Creation Tile.

Example

John has 5 Stimulation Markers when the Collision of Particles is triggered. He will gain 2 resources from the Cosmic Dust Cloud (5 Markers / 2, rounded down = 2 resources). He takes 1 Gas and 1 Energy and returns all 5 Stimulation Markers to the Creation Tile.

B. Space Tiles

Space Tiles, played as Immediate Effects or as Goals, can only be played during the second phase of your turn. You can play any number of tiles each turn.

As a Goal

If, during your turn, the Goal on a Space Tile in your hand is met, you may reveal that tile to all players and set it aside. It is no longer available to be played as an Immediate Effect, and you cannot fulfill this goal again this game. If, later in the game, you draw a Space Tile that has the same goal as the one you have already met, you can only play that tile for its Immediate Effect.

As an Immediate Effect

Immediate Effects come in two varieties - One-time effects and Permanents. A One-time effect is indicated by a grey background, it resolves and is then discarded into the game box. Permanent effects are indicated by a blue background and are placed underneath a Planet Tile when played. You cannot play a Space Tile onto a Planet that already has a Space Tile underneath it.

All icons from Space Tiles are explained on the Charts of Cosmic Laws.

Important

• A Space Tile cannot be played on a Planet Tile that already has one Space Tile played underneath.
• One player cannot fulfill two identical goals. If, during one game, a player obtains a Space Tile with a goal he has already fulfilled, that player can only use the immediate effect of the tile.

Creating life and using Space Tiles can be resolved in any order and any number of times (the only limitations are Space Tiles and resources at a given player's disposal).

Example of a one-time effect from a Space Tile

Kate decides to play a Space Tile as an Immediate Effect. It is a one-time effect that will give her two resources (see icons on the bottom of the tile) of her choice from the Cosmic Dust Cloud.

Kate takes 1 Water and 1 Gas and triggers a Solar Flare. She takes 1 Solar Flare Marker from the Solar Flare Tile, and discards the Space Tile to the game box.

Example of a permanent effect of a Space Tile

Kate decides to play a Space Tile as an Immediate Effect. It is a permanent effect that will be placed under an existing Planet Tile. This tile will cause the two neighboring Planets to be worth 3 fewer Creation Points at the end of the game. As a reminder of this effect, place the appropriate Effect Token on each affected Planet. Kate takes 1 Fusion Marker, as indicated by the icon, from the Fusion Tile.

Special Effects Tiles

Whenever the last marker is taken off of a Special Effects Tile (Creation, Fusion, or Solar Flare), an event is triggered - the collision of particles, a black hole, or a solar storm. Pause the turn and resolve these phenomena immediately.

Activation of Special Effects Tile: Fusion Tile and Black Holes

A Black Hole affects each player who has at least 1 Fusion Marker. When the last Fusion Marker is taken from the Fusion Tile, each player who has 1 or more Fusion Markers must discard 1 Space Tile from their hand. Additionally, the player, or players, with the most Fusion Markers must discard an additional Space Tile.

Important

The Black Hole can only force you to discard Space Tiles in your hand. Space Tiles previously played as Goals cannot be discarded. If you are forced to discard more Space Tiles than you have in your hand, discard as many as possible and ignore the remainder.

Activation of Special Effects Tile: Solar Flare Tile and Solar Storms

A Solar Storm affects each player who has at least 1 Solar Flare Marker. When the last Solar Flare Marker is taken from the Solar Flare Tile, each player who has 1 or more Solar Flare Marker loses 2 Gas Markers. Additionally, the player, or players, with the most Solar Flare Markers loses an additional Water Marker. Discarded resources are all returned to the Cosmic Dust Cloud.

Any player who loses Markers in this way takes 1 Energy Marker from the Cosmic Dust Cloud, regardless of the number of Markers lost.

After resolving the effects of the black hole, solar storm, or collision of particles, return all Markers to the appropriate Special Effects Tile.

After resolving a Special Effects Tile, the active player may continue their turn as normal.

Example

Kate gains 2 additional resource markers: 1 Gas and 1 Water. She uses these to further develop Life on a Planet where she already developed Life this turn.

Kate now has 2 levels of Life on this Planet. She does not gain a Stimulation Marker from this action, because she already gained one from this Planet earlier in the turn when she developed Life for the first time. If she develops Life again on this Planet next turn, she'll be entitled to a Stimulation Marker.

End of Turn

Your turn ends when you cannot or choose not to develop Life or play further Space Tiles. The turn passes to your left, and that player begins their Birth of a Planet phase.

Ending the Game

The game ends when the last Energy Marker is taken from the Star Tile. The active player finishes their turn as normal and then all players move into the Scoring Phase.

Scoring Rules:

A. Add up all Creation Points for Life/Species Markers. Each marker has a base value (Life Markers = 1, Species Markers = 5) which is then multiplied by the number of life-giving resources required to develop Life on that Planet. For instance, if you have 2 Life Markers on a Planet with a life-creation cost of 1 Gas and 1 Energy (2 resources), you would gain 4 CP (2 markers x cost of 2 = 4 CP).

• Each Life Marker is worth 1 CP (multiplied by the number of resources).
• Each Species Marker is worth 5 CP (multiplied by the number of resources).

B. Add up all CP gained from Goals achieved during the game.

C. Add up all positive and negative modifiers from Space Tiles played under Planet Tiles. The effects of reducing the points of the planet may lower scores to zero (you cannot get negative points from a planet in the final score).

Ties are broken as follows:

• 1st tie breaker: Most Goals fulfilled.
• 2nd tie breaker (if needed): Player who has created the most Species.

Example

Kate finishes the game with Life on 4 Planets and 2 Goals achieved:

Her score is as follows:

• 15 CP for the Rocky Planet with a Species Marker (5 CP for the Species x 3 resources requirement)
• 5 CP for the Super-earth Planet with a Species Marker (5 CP for the Species x 1 resource requirement)
• 6 CP for the Oceanic Planet with 2 Life Markers (2 Life Markers x 3 resource requirement)
• 6 CP for the Gaseous Planet with 3 Life Markers (3 Life Markers x 2 resource requirement)
• 2 CP from the Effect Token on the Gaseous Planet.
• 6 CP from the Goals she achieved (2 CP from Aggressive Parasites and 4 CP from Extreme Conditions).

Altogether, Kate scores 40 CP during the game.