Junk Orbit Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Anatomy • The Junk Tiles
• Anatomy • The Location Boards
• Anatomy • The Ship Cards
• Game Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Launch Junk
  • 2. Move Ship
  • 3. Pick Up Junk
• Switching Orbits
• End of the Game
• Ship Powers
  • Ship Power A-Sides
• Advanced Game
  • Ship Power B-Sides
  • Location Board Night Sides
• FAQ
• Credits

Components

• 5 Location Boards (each with a Day side for the basic game and a Night side for the advanced game)
• 128 Junk Tiles (15 Starter, 37 Source: Earth, 29 Source: Moon, 47 Source: Mars). The back of a junk tile shows its source: Blue for Earth, Gray for Moon, Red for Mars.
• 5 Ship Cards (each with an A side for the basic game and a B side for the advanced game)
• 5 Ship Tokens

Anatomy • The Junk Tiles

Value: The number indicates the junk's relative mass — and therefore its value in victory points (VP) at the end of the game if the junk has been delivered.

Source: The source of a junk tile is indicated by a color-coding system:

• SOURCE: EARTH junk tiles have a blue back
• SOURCE: MOON junk tiles have a gray back
• SOURCE: MARS junk tiles have a red back
• The STARTER junk tiles have a black back

Destination: The name along the top of the junk tile indicates to which city the junk tile must be delivered. The city name's background is color-coded to help you find its location: Earth destinations are on blue, Moon destinations are on gray, and Mars (including Phobos and Deimos) destinations are on red. The starter junk tiles have no destination.

Player Count: This indicates at which player counts this tile will be included in the game.

Anatomy • The Location Boards

Art: Each board depicts a celestial body: Earth, the Moon, Mars, Phobos, or Deimos.

Cities: Each named section around the outer edge of a board represents a city. Earth and Mars have 9 cities each, the Moon has 5 cities, Phobos has 3 cities, and Deimos has 2 cities. The Moon, Phobos, and Deimos boards have edges with specific icons that match up with icons on the Earth and/or Mars boards, indicating how to properly align them.

Day or Night side: Each board has a Day side (basic game) and a Night side (advanced game).

Anatomy • The Ship Cards

Color and Icon: Each ship card corresponds to 1 of the 5 ship tokens.

Name: The name of your ship and a brief description.

Reference: A summary of the steps you will perform on your turn.

Cargo: This area is where you keep junk tiles that you are currently hauling on your ship.

Deliveries: This area is where you keep junk tiles that you have successfully delivered.

Special Power: Your ship has a special power. Each ship card has an "A" side (basic game) and a "B" side (advanced game) with different powers.

Game Setup

1. Align the location boards. For the basic game, place these with their Day sides up.
   • 2+ Players: Use the Earth, Moon, and Mars boards. Arrange them so that Earth and the Moon align at Kilimanjaro (marked by stars) and Mars and the Moon align at Olympus (marked by asterisks).
   • 4+ Players: Add the square Phobos board, aligning it with the Mars board at Bradbury (marked by a square) as shown.
   • 5 Players: Add the triangular Deimos board, aligning it with the Mars board at Hellas (marked by a triangle) as shown.
2. Prepare the junk tiles. Shuffle separate stacks of Earth junk tiles, Moon junk tiles, and Mars junk tiles, using the steps below to build each stack. After shuffling, place each stack near its corresponding board.
   • 2 or 3 Players: Use only the junk tiles marked as 2+.
   • 4 Players: Use only the junk tiles marked as 2+ and 4+.
   • 5 Players: Use all of the junk tiles, including those marked as 5+.
3. Seed the cities. Place 1 random Earth junk tile at each Earth city, 1 random Moon junk tile at each Moon city, and 1 random Mars junk tile at each Mars city (including the cities of Phobos and Deimos, if they're in play). Do NOT double up on the spaces that are between 2 orbits (e.g., Kilimanjaro gets an Earth junk tile, but not a Moon junk tile).
4. Give each player a ship. Each player should receive a random ship card and place it "A" side up in front of them. Each player should also take the matching ship token and place it on Kepler (on the Moon).
5. Set up each player's starting cargo. Place two "1" starter junk tiles and one "2" starter junk tile face up in each player's CARGO area, then return any unused starter junk tiles to the box. Each player also takes 1 random junk tile from the top of each stack. In total, each player begins the game with 6 junk tiles in their cargo: 3 starters, 1 from Earth, 1 from the Moon, 1 from Mars.

How to Play

Players take turns in clockwise order, beginning with the player who most recently took out the garbage. (If no one has, race to the nearest bin and do that.) Turns will continue, 1 at a time, until the end of the game has been triggered.

On your turn, you will follow these 3 steps:

1. Launch Junk
2. Move Ship
3. Pick Up Junk

1. Launch Junk

Choose a junk tile in your CARGO area. Move it away from your ship token clockwise or counterclockwise (your choice) around your current location board. It must travel a number of cities equal to the junk tile's value. It will then stop, and either come to rest or make a remote delivery. In addition, the junk tile could also hit an opponent's ship where it stops.

Rest: If your launched junk tile stops at a city that is not its destination city, then the junk tile will stay there. Any number of junk tiles can be at a city.

Remote Delivery: If your launched junk tile stops at its destination city, then you have just made a remote delivery! Place the junk tile face down in your DELIVERIES area. (Note: Starter junk tiles have no destination, so they cannot be delivered.)

Hit: If your junk tile stops at a city occupied by an opponent's ship, their ship is hit. That opponent must choose a junk tile from their CARGO or DELIVERIES area and place it at their ship's current city. If there are multiple opponents' ships at the city, then each is hit.

2. Move Ship

Note the value on the junk tile you just launched. You must now move your ship that exact number of cities, but in the opposite direction of your launched junk tile. While moving, you may pass through or occupy the same city as opponents' ships. After your move is complete, you may make a direct delivery, if possible.

Direct Delivery: If your ship stops at the destination city of any junk tiles in your CARGO, then you can deliver that junk! You may deliver as many of those junk tiles as you wish. Place any delivered junk tiles face down in your DELIVERIES area.

3. Pick Up Junk

After moving your ship, take all of the junk tiles present at your ship's current city and add them to your ship's CARGO. (There is no maximum cargo limit.) Then refill your current city.

Refill: Add 1 junk tile to the now empty city, from the top of the corresponding junk stack. An Earth city is always refilled with an Earth junk tile, a Moon city with a Moon junk tile, and a Mars city is always refilled with a Mars junk tile. (Note: Kilimanjaro is an Earth city and Olympus is a Mars city.)

Switching Orbits

Certain cities are transfer points where your launched junk or moving ship may switch orbits between location boards.

• Kilimanjaro is a transfer point between Earth and the Moon.
• Olympus is a transfer point between the Moon and Mars.
• Bradbury is a transfer point between Mars and Phobos.
• Hellas is a transfer point between Mars and Deimos.

Switching orbits is always optional. When switching orbits, your junk or ship must maintain the same direction of travel — this means if it was traveling clockwise, it'll travel counter-clockwise after switching orbits, and vice versa. (Imagine the slingshot effect caused by gravity.)

Example Launch: You control the yellow ship at Kepler. You launch a "4." Here are the possible launch outcomes.

• a. It may switch orbits to land on Tharsis. Because Tharsis is the junk's destination, you remotely deliver this junk! Place this junk tile in your DELIVERIES.
• b. It may rest on Copernicus. It hits the purple ship. The purple player must then discard a junk tile of their choice from their CARGO or DELIVERIES onto Copernicus.
• c. It may rest on Hamilton.
• d. It may switch orbits at Kilimanjaro and rest on NYC.

Example Move: You chose the first option in the previous example, delivering that tile to Tharsis. Your ship must move 4 cities in the opposite direction. Here are the possible outcomes.

• a. Your ship may land on NYC. You then pick up all the tiles from NYC and place them in your CARGO. Then refill NYC with an Earth tile.
• b. You may land on Hamilton. You have 2 junk tiles in your CARGO with that destination. You directly deliver them! Place them in your DELIVERIES. You then pick up all the tiles from Hamilton and place them in your CARGO. Then refill Hamilton with a Moon tile.

End of the Game

The end of the game is triggered when a city must be refilled but its stack is empty. When this happens, each other player takes 1 final turn, then the game ends.

Final Score: Add together the point values of all junk tiles in your DELIVERIES area; this is your final score. The player with the highest score wins! If tied, the tied player who delivered more junk tiles wins! If still tied, race to the nearest bin and take out the garbage again.

Ship Powers

Ship Power A-Sides

Space Cowboy: Famous ship welcome at every port. You may make a direct delivery from a city adjacent to the junk's destination. You may do this multiple times to different cities in a single turn, if able. Transfer points are considered adjacent to 4 cities.

Interplanet Express: Speedy rocket ship sponsored by Earth. If you launch SOURCE: EARTH junk, you may adjust the distance by +1 or -1. Your junk and ship must still travel an equal distance. If you launch a "1" junk tile, you may reduce that to "0" and stay in place for that turn, picking up junk from your current city.

Time Booth: Whoa. It's smaller on the inside. Your ship may change direction of travel when switching to a new orbit. Think of it as doing a U-turn. In other words, if you would normally be traveling clockwise after the switch, you may choose to travel counter-clockwise instead, and vice versa.

Century Fly: The garbage will do. You may pick up junk from 1 adjacent city instead of your current city. Transfer points are considered adjacent to 4 cities.

Puddle Jumper: Slow and steady. Well, slow anyway. When your ship moves, you may move it a distance of exactly 1, regardless of what you launched. You must still launch junk to move, sending it away its normal distance. If using this power, other distance modifiers do not affect your ship's distance.

Advanced Game

You can play with any or all of the Night sides of the location boards and "B" sides of ship cards. The Night sides add a little more crunch for an advanced experience. The ship power "B" sides are more directly interactive — approach with caution!

Ship Power B-Sides

Necktie Fighter: Don't get cocky! When an opponent hits you, their ship is also hit. When you hit an opponent's ship on your turn, they must discard 2 junk tiles instead of 1.

Planetary Defender: Stalwart protector of our home planet. Junk tiles of values "1" or "2" cannot hit your ship. Your ship may still be hit as a result of the Jolly Roger or Necktie Fighter ship powers.

Splendor #2331: Stars in my pocket... Pick up any junk that hits you. When you hit an opponent's ship, pick up the junk they discard. If junk that hits your ship would have been delivered, instead put it in your cargo.

Jolly Roger: Yarr! A most fearsome pirate ship. When your ship passes through or stops at a city with an opponent's ship, their ship is hit.

Stomp Rat: Not much larger than two meters. When your launched junk passes through a city with an opponent's ship, their ship is hit. Multiple ships may be hit as the junk passes through occupied cities.

Location Board Night Sides

Earth: Get off the rock! Start a new life on the outer colonies! SOURCE: EARTH junk tiles delivered to the Moon each add +1 to your final score. SOURCE: EARTH junk tiles delivered to Mars each add +2 to your final score.

Moon: Massive helium-3 deposits make lunar settlers filthy rich! Delivering a set of 3 SOURCE: MOON junk tiles adds +3 to your final score. You may score multiple separate sets.

Mars: The colonies request immediate relief aid! Anything will do! Delivering junk to a variety of Mars destinations adds a bonus to your final score: 3, 4, 5, 6 destinations add +2, +4, +8, +9 to your final score, respectively. Each destination after the sixth adds another +1 to your final score. (Cities on Phobos and Deimos are also considered Mars destinations.)

Phobos: Martian junk has unpredictable value. Wanna gamble? When you pick up junk from Mars, Phobos, or Deimos, you may choose to pick up a random junk tile from the Mars stack instead. (If you choose this, you only pick up 1 random junk tile, no matter how many junk tiles are on your current city.)

Deimos: MarsTech warp gates make travel more flexible! When you launch/move from cities on Mars, Phobos, or Deimos, you may adjust distances by +1 or -1. Your ship and junk must still travel an equal distance.

FAQ

1. Is there a limit to how much cargo I can hold? No, there's no limit. Load up all that junk in that trunk! Your crew can sleep on the crates.

2. What happens if I have no cargo to launch? You move 0, which means you will pick up the junk tiles from your current city. Also, your crew is very unhappy.

3. Do I have to move my ship? The lure of fresh contracts is always on the horizon! The life of a scavenger captain is without rest. Yes, you have to move, if able.

4. Can I deliver junk when it (or my ship) passes through the destination city? No. It's going too fast! To make a delivery, your junk or ship must stop at the destination city.

5. If my ship lands at the same city as an opponent's ship, is either ship considered hit? Hit another ship in shared space? And break the code of honor among scavenger captains? No way! Scavenger captains only hit each other from a distance like proper cowards (unless your ship power says otherwise).

6. Can I hit my own ship? That's an insult to your chief engineer, who's already waiting for an excuse to mutiny. No, your ship knows your junk's trajectory and is out of its path.

7. Can I choose not to hit an opponent's ship? Sure, just launch some other cargo that will land somewhere else! Otherwise, hits are mandatory.

8. If I start the game with a junk tile destined for Kepler, can I make a direct delivery on my first turn? Sometimes clerical errors happen! Direct deliveries are always made after your ship moves, and you must move, so you'll have to deliver that Kepler junk on a future turn.

9. What happens if I start my turn with a junk tile whose destination matches my current city? This shouldn't happen. Make sure you are refilling from the correct stack. The junk you pick up from a location board will always be destined for a different location board.

10. Can I use Phobos and Deimos with lower player counts? Can I use some of the advanced game stuff but not all? You're thinking like a real scavenger captain now! A few notes of advice: Adding the Phobos and Deimos boards means that ships will likely interact less often. Adding the extra junk tiles with small groups will lengthen the game. The ship b-sides are generally more aggressive abilities. With all that in mind, feel free to customize to suit your crew!

Credits

Game Designer: Daniel Solis Developer: Stephanie Straw Illustrator: Eric Hibbeler Graphic Designer: Jeanne Torres with logo by Cold Castle Studios Editor: Dustin Schwartz Production Artist: Michelle Garrett

Renegade Game Studios: President & Publisher: Scott Gaeta, Controller: Robyn Gaeta, Director of Operations: Leisha Cummins, Director of Sales & Marketing: Sara Erickson, Creative Director: Anita Osburn, Senior Producer: Dan Bojanowski, Marketing Coordinator: Steph Hodge, Customer Service: Jenni Kingma

The game designer would like to thank the Game Designers of North Carolina, Atomic Empire Board Game Night Regulars, Megan Raley, Jeremy Ramos, Demetri Ballas, Cynthia Hanahan, and Jess Fink. Renegade Game Studios would like to thank gravity (the source of all orbits); BGG.CON; Josiah, Jubilee, and Solomon Bojanowski; and Elon Musk.

© 2018 Renegade Game Studios. All Rights Reserved.