Flicky Spaceships
Flicky Spaceships Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Summary
Players compete for the most Victory Points by skilfully flicking their ships, collecting resources and buying Ship Upgrades.
Every Upgrade improves the abilities of your spaceship. Smash upgrades give you benefits whenever you crash into another spaceship. Search upgrades help you collect extra resources. Score upgrades give you more ways to claim Victory Points.
Each Upgrade is worth a certain number of Victory Points (from 0-4), and in addition some allow you to take a gold Victory Point Token when certain things happen during play. At the end of the game, the player with the highest number of Victory Points (both from Ship Upgrades and Victory Point Tokens) is the winner.
Components
The game contains the following:
- 4x Spaceships
- 4x Captain cards
- 4x Reference Cards (Turn Order)
- 21x Upgrade cards
- 12x Control Panel cards
- 6x Board edges
- 6x Double-sided Galaxy boards
- 1 Central Wormhole
- 20x Energy Canisters
- 12x Star Crystals
- 12x Rare Metals
- 24x Victory Point tokens
- 12x Dark Matter
- 12x Alien Samples
Setup
- Clip together the six board edges. Then place the galaxy boards inside the frame, with the central Wormhole in the middle. Place the boards with the 'A' side up for your first game (each board can be rotated any way you like to vary the game).
- Arrange the Ship Upgrade cards: nine of the upgrades are duplicated – put each identical pair in a pile of 2. The remaining three unique cards are placed separately in 'piles' of 1.
- Place the resource and victory point tokens in piles around the edge of the board.
- Each player takes a spaceship and the matching Captain card.
- Each player takes 3 Control Panel cards – these show all of the available Ship Upgrades.
- Each player takes Turn Order card.
- Each player starts with 3 red Energy Canister resource tokens.
Launch
The person who last went through a trans-dimensional wormhole is the first player (or you can just pick randomly).
Beginning with the player to the right of the starting player and proceeding anti-clockwise, each player puts their spaceship on the central Wormhole and flicks it off onto the board.
Board Terrain and Resources
Each hex of the galaxy board is a terrain type. Collect the resource that matches the terrain type beneath your spaceship:
| Terrain | Resource |
|---|---|
| Black Hole | Dark Matter |
| Metal Asteroids | Rare Metal |
| Alien World | Alien Samples |
| Energy Field | Energy Canister |
| Crystal Planet | Star Crystal |
If you land on an Empty Space hex, you don't collect a resource.
If your spaceship is over 2 or 3 different hexes, the front point of your spaceship determines which hex you are 'in'.
If you've landed exactly between two hexes or it's too close to call, the other players can decide for you.
If you ever have more than 12 resources, you must immediately discard back down to 12.
3 Energy Canisters (Red) or 2 Alien Samples (Green) can count as any other single resource token.
How to Play
Each player's turn has three phases: Collect, Flick, Upgrade.
1. Collect
Take a resource that matches the terrain type beneath your spaceship.
2. Flick
Using a finger, flick your spaceship across the board.
You must move out of the hex you started on. If you flick your spaceship but do not move out of your starting hex, you may take one more attempt.
After two attempts, the player on your left can then flick your ship on your behalf. This is not usually a good situation as the other player will rarely have your best interests in mind...
If your spaceship leaves the board, place it back on the central Wormhole (do not flick it again this turn).
If your spaceship lands on its side, turn it the right way up where it is.
Bumping into or bouncing off the edge, the central Wormhole, or other player's spaceships is encouraged! Space is a violent place.
If you ever land on the central Wormhole in the middle of the board, you may flick again and continue normal play after high-fives have been awarded.
Some upgrades will create special effects if you contact an opponent's spaceship. If this happens, you decide the order in which these effects occur.
3. Upgrade
Buy one or more Ship Upgrade cards from the supply.
If you have enough resources, you may buy one (or more) Ship Upgrade cards from those that remain available. Return the required resource tokens to their piles, and place the appropriate upgrade card(s) in front of you.
You may only buy one of each upgrade for your spaceship.
Once there are no cards left of a certain type, then that upgrade is no longer available.
The Sonar Scan upgrade costs 1 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal and 2 Star Crystals.
Any effects of an upgrade are immediate unless otherwise stated. Upgrades that affect the purchase of upgrades do not include their own purchase.
Then, play passes to the player on the left and continues until one of the Game End conditions is met.
Game End
The game ends at the end of a turn when:
- The last victory point token is claimed, or;
- A certain number of Ship Upgrade card piles have been used up:
- in a 2 Player game - 4 piles gone
- in a 3 player game - 5 piles gone
- in a 4 player game - 6 piles gone
Scoring
Each player adds together their Victory Points from Spaceship Upgrades (the face value on the cards and any bonus points they get), and any Victory Point Tokens collected. The player with the highest total wins. In the event of a tie, the game ends in a draw.
Example from the rulebook: This player has scored 8 Victory Points from Upgrade cards and 9 from Victory Point tokens for a total of 17.
Control Panels
The Control Panels replicate all the information on the Ship Upgrade cards, allowing you to see which resources you'll need and plan your strategy!
The Control Panel cards are split into three groups: Score, Smash and Search.
Ship Upgrades
Each Ship Upgrade card shows its Victory Point value, its effect, and its cost in resource tokens. The 12 upgrade types are grouped into Score, Smash and Search upgrades.
Cost key: Energy Canister, Dark Matter, Rare Metal, Star Crystal, Alien Samples.
Score Upgrades
- Scientists (0 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Energy Canister, 1 Dark Matter, 1 Star Crystal. At the start of your turn, if your spaceship is on an empty space, gain 1 Victory Point token.
- Live Broadcast (2 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Energy Canister, 1 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. Gain 1 Victory Point token, whenever you are rammed by another spaceship.
- Flagship (4 Victory Points). Cost: 2 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. At the end of the game raise the value of Flagship by 2 Victory Points for every full set of Smash - Search - Score upgrades you have.
- Guide to the Galaxy (4 Victory Points). Cost: 2 Alien Samples, 2 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. At the end of the game, for every different type of resource you have (up to 5) increase the value of this card by 2 Victory Points.
Note: the Control Panel card for Guide to the Galaxy reads "increase the value of Alien Markets by 2 Victory Points"; the Upgrade card itself reads "this card", which is what is transcribed above. There are no Alien Markets in the game.
Smash Upgrades
- Boosters (3 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Energy Canister, 1 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal. At the end of your turn, you can reposition your spaceship anywhere in the same hex.
- Tractor Beam (3 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Energy Canister, 1 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. If you are in the same hex as another ship when it collects a resource, you can collect a resource of the same type.
- TROX Rockets (0 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Dark Matter, 2 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. When you ram another spaceship, gain 1 Victory Point token.
- Ram-Raid Engines (2 Victory Points). Cost: 2 Alien Samples, 1 Dark Matter, 2 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. When you ram another spaceship, you may take one of their resources.
Search Upgrades
- Blueprints (2 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Energy Canister, 1 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. Take any 1 resource of your choice after you buy an upgrade.
- Energy Recycler (3 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Energy Canister, 1 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal, 1 Star Crystal. When you collect Energy Canisters take 2 tokens instead of 1.
- Sonar Scan (3 Victory Points). Cost: 1 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal, 2 Star Crystals. You can collect the resource from the hex directly in front of your spaceship instead of the one it's on.
- Double Claws (3 Victory Points). Cost: 2 Alien Samples, 1 Dark Matter, 1 Rare Metal, 2 Star Crystals. Take 2 tokens instead of 1 when you collect any resource.
Note: the Upgrade card for Double Claws in the Components section of the rulebook is printed with the same effect text as Ram-Raid Engines ("When you ram another spaceship, you may take one of their resources"). The Control Panel card and the FAQ both give the effect above (take 2 tokens instead of 1 when you collect any resource), which is transcribed here.
Reference Card (Turn Order)
The Turn Order reference card summarises a turn:
- Collect – Take the appropriate resource.
- Move – Flick/push your spaceship with one finger to a new location.
- Upgrade – Trade 3 Energy Canisters for any other resource; trade 2 Alien Samples for any other resource; buy upgrades.
Variants
For a more skilful game, turn some of the terrain boards to the "B" sides, and some to "A".
For a much more skilful game, turn all of the terrain boards to the "B" sides.
For a shorter game play with only 12 Victory point tokens.
For a shorter game remove one of each of the duplicated Ship Upgrades during setup, leaving just one of each type.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I buy the Blueprints upgrade, do I get to take a resource immediately?
Nope.
If I smash into more than one spaceship in a single flick, do my TROX Rockets/Ram-Raid Engines trigger multiple times?
Yes – it's a great tactic if you can pull it off!
If I have Energy Recycler and Double Claws, what happens if I land on a red hex?
You collect 2 Energy Cannisters (Double Claws makes Energy Recycler redundant).
If I have Scientists and Sonar Scan can I take a Victory Point from landing in empty space AND take a resource from the hex in front?
Yes – clever combo!
My opponent's flick was more of a push. Is that allowed?
We've deliberately not tried to specify what constitutes a 'legal flick' – it really doesn't matter. Just focus on pulling off that double-ricochet trick shot!