Lunar Rush Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Major Conglomerates of Earth
  • CasCore — Cybernetic Security
  • MinerÍnca — Mining Technology
  • NEURO — Neuroscience & AI
  • Shui Guo — Consumer Electronics
• Game Setup
• Player Setup
• Gameplay Overview
  • Routes in Lunar Rush
  • Route Types
• Earth Phase
  • Close Routes (Turns 6 & 7)
  • Bid for Initiative
  • Deduct Bid GigaCredits
  • Choose Routes
  • Load Moonbound Ships
  • Move Moonbound Ships
• Moon Phase
  • Build Gold Modules
  • Build & Produce
  • Load Earthbound (Down) Ships
• Market Phase
  • Move Earthbound Ships
  • Sell All Moon Items for GC
  • Market Price Refresh
  • Advance Turn Marker
• Game End
  • Final Scoring
  • Determine Winner
• Optional Rule - Secrecy
• Solo & AI Supplemented Play
  • AI Setup
  • AI Play
• Mini Expansions
  • Role Cards
  • Moon Wonders
• Cooperative Play
  • 2P vs 2P Rules
  • 2P vs 2 AI Rules
• Gold Module Clarifications
  • Andromeda's Edge Salvage
  • Earthbound Teleporter
  • Moonbound Teleporter
  • Shared Modules
  • Tourist Market
• Lunar Rush Icons
• The "Best" Route to the Moon
  • Direct Transfer
  • Low-Thrust Transfer
  • Low-Energy Transfer

Components

• 40 Player Cards (Modules & Multipliers)
• 4 Reference Cards
• 25 Gold Module Cards
• 20 Player Bid Cards
• 60 Earth Resource Bits
  • 20 Habitation Parts Cubes
  • 25 Tech Cubes
  • 15 Advanced Machinery (AdvM) Cubes
• 85 Moon Resource Bits
  • 15 Lunethyst Gems
  • 20 Lunarium Bars
  • 25 Lunarium Ore
  • 25 Lunethyst Shards
• 8 Route Closed Cards
• 1 "Temp Astronaut" Meeple for Route Closed card
• 24 Cardboard Ships
• 8 Life Support and Energy Tracker Cubes
• 40 Astronaut Meeples
• 1 Turn Counter Disc
• 10 Double-Sided Multiplier Tokens (2x/3x)
• 6 100/200-GigaCredit Tokens/Poker Chips
• 4 Score Tracker Discs
• 1 Game Board
• 4 Player Boards
• 3 Double-Sided Earth Market Boards
• 1 Initiative Order/Earth Spaceport Board

Deluxe Edition Items

• 1 Rulebook
• 68 AI Cards (Bid, Up/Down/Ship) (co-op mode) — mini-expansions
• 25 Role Cards (Beginner, Faction & Challenge)
• 24 Moon Wonder Cards

Major Conglomerates of Earth

CasCore — Cybernetic Security

This American corporation was founded in 1995 in San Lazaro in the United States. It began as an internet security firm and quickly exploited its specialist knowledge of cybernetics security during the cybernetic revolution of the 2030s.

As space exploration expanded and the first Moon base was established in the 2040s, CasCore won contracts to maintain the cybersecurity of off-world facilities and equipment.

In the mid-2000s, CasCore experienced a major setback when its cybersecurity software failed to prevent the computer virus that infected most of Shui Guo's users.

The corporation took decades to recover, but eventually became a leading cybersecurity provider for all space-related missions: from security to operations control and research.

CasCore now assists governments and private companies involved with space exploration and base-building through the use of powerful and secure software and firmware.

— Kyan Jones, CEO

MinerÍnca — Mining Technology

This Latin American mining company was formed in 1977 in Lima, Peru. Throughout the 2000s, it focused on producing hyperefficient mining equipment and became the largest provider of such products by the late 2000s.

During the 2100s, MinerÍnca expanded into space-based mining, creating vehicles and machinery for planetary, lunar, and asteroid environments. These products are used in prospecting, extraction, collection, and the transport of minerals to Earth.

MinerÍnca's focus on efficiency continues to this day, creating products with integrated control systems, exceptional operational durability and unmatched output.

— Ximena Reyes, CEO

NEURO — Neuroscience & AI

This corporation was originally established as Northern Europe Research (NEUR) in 1999 in Berlin, Germany, with a dual focus on neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence (AI). During the 2030s, NEUR worked with eminent scientist and head of research Dr. Bakkal, using AI tech to develop state-of-the-art robots.

The corporation was one of the key players in solving the worldwide computer virus pandemic of the mid-2000s. After this, the name was changed from NEUR to NEURO (Northern European Research Omicron).

By the 2100s, the corporation had consolidated its position as the main provider of robotic support for space missions and lunar base research. The continuing focus of NEURO is to push the boundaries of AI while also unlocking the hidden potential of the human brain.

— Hanna König, CEO

Shui Guo — Consumer Electronics

The Shui Guo Corporation was established in 2005 in Taipei, Taiwan, as a cutting-edge consumer electronics company. It grew rapidly during the 2010s and 2020s into a vast conglomerate, creating profitable products in every field of electronics. During the 2030s, Shui Guo pioneered the consumerization of cybernetics, which had previously been the preserve of research and military entities.

However, the cybernetics division suffered a major setback in the mid-2000s when a computer virus caused most of its users to be infected and transform into violent automatons. Shui Guo's reputation suffered for decades after the worldwide crisis and didn't recover until the 2100s.

By the end of the century, Shui Guo had branched out into robotics and the space industry, becoming one of the world's largest manufacturers of off-world vehicles and modules. Many of the most extravagant lunar structures ("Moon Wonders") were constructed by Shui Guo.

The corporation has always focused on production efficiency, cutting-edge features, competitive consumer pricing, and a distinctive brand image.

— Wu Que-De, CEO

Game Setup

1. Place the Game Board and Initiative Order/Earth Spaceport Board ("Initiative Board") in a central area between the players.

2. Choose an Earth Market Board ("Market Board") for the game. We recommend that you use "Earth Market 2151" for your first game.

   Make sure you use the correct Market Board for the number of players. See the icon at the upper right of the board. "AI" means that you should count each AI player used in the player count. E.g., 1 human player with 2 AI players = 3 total players.

3. Place 1 of each Lunarium Ore, Lunarium Bar, Lunethyst Shard, and Lunethyst Gem tokens on the Market Board, in the space below the starting price.

4. Place the Turn Tracker on the Turn 1 spot on the Initiative Board.

5. Place Earth Items (Advanced Machinery [AdvM], Habitation Parts [HabP], and Tech) on the Earthside Waystation illustration, and the Moon Items (Lunarium Ore, Lunarium Bar, Lunethyst Shards, and Lunethyst Gems) on the Moonside Waystation illustration in the center of the board. Or you may place it somewhere else convenient for all players to reach. This is referred to as the "supply."

6. Take the Route Closed Card Deck, the 100/200 GigaCredit Tokens, and the x2/x3 Tokens out of the box and put them aside. Note that the clear Astronaut meeple is for one of the Closed Route cards that give an temporary Astronaut.

7. Randomly select 8 Gold Modules and set them out near the board where all players can look at them. Return the rest to the box; they will not be used in this game.

   Note that there are 9 "advanced" Gold Modules (shown with the "ADV" symbol on the card) that you may include in your random draw, or remove before drawing. These Modules feature abilities that rely on more complex strategies that will provide exciting opportunities for experienced players.

Player Setup

8. Each player chooses a corporation color and gathers a Moon Base player board for that corporation/color, a green Life Support tracker, a yellow Energy tracker, and the following items matching the corporation's color: Astronauts (10 meeples), Module Deck (7 double-sided Module Cards, 1 single-sided Module Card, 1 double-sided Reference Card and 2 Item Storage Cards), Bid Cards (5), GigaCredit (GC) tracker (1 round token), and Ships (6 rectangular tokens).
9. On the player board, place the Life Support tracker (green 8mm cube) on the "6" of the Life Support track and the Energy tracker (yellow 8mm cube) on "0" of the Energy track.
10. Distribute 1 Habitation Part (white 12mm cube) to each player and place it on the "x1 Item Storage" card.
11. Place 3 Astronauts in your Basic Habitation Module, and put the remaining Astronauts in their respective areas on the Earth illustration (7).
12. Place a Score Tracker token for each player on the "25" spot on the GC score track around the outer edge of the main board.
13. (Optional) If this is your first game, we recommend you each randomly choose a Beginner Card.

Beginner Cards. Beginner cards are optional cards that help guide brand new players to Lunar Rush. They provide bonuses to the new player for completing certain tasks by certain turns of the game, as well as reduce the amount of things a new player has to think about when they are learning the game. They are highly recommended for first-time players of Lunar Rush.

Look at these new loser companies trying to climb the ladder! They clearly don't realize it's not about what you know - it's about who you know! — Wu Que-De, CEO of Shui-Guo

Gameplay Overview

1. Earth Phase
   1. Close routes (Turns 6 & 7)
   2. Bid for initiative
   3. Deduct bid GigaCredits (GC)
   4. Choose up/down routes (2 per player)
   5. Load Moonbound Ships
   6. Move Moonbound Ships
2. Moon Phase
   1. Build Gold Modules (reverse initiative)
   2. Build & Produce (simultaneous)
   3. Load Earthbound Ships
3. Market Phase
   1. Move Earthbound Ships
   2. Sell Moon Items for GC
   3. Market Price Refresh
   4. Advance Turn Marker OR Game End (Turn 7)

In this manual or on game cards, "Up" = "Moonbound" and "Down" = "Earthbound." The terms can be used interchangeably.

Routes in Lunar Rush

A route is a lane that is used to transport items and Astronauts from Earth up to the Moon, and from the Moon back down to Earth to sell at the market. Each route has a starting space (labeled "LAUNCH") on the board where players can place a Ship. The route also features spaces to represent the length of the Ship's journey to its destination. Ships will progress along that route one space per turn.

Route Types

Moonbound Routes

On all Moonbound Routes, up to 2 Astronauts may be transported per Ship.

• Fast Route
  • Ships will arrive to the Moon at the end of this Earth Phase
  • Can transport up to 2 items
• Medium Route
  • Ships will arrive to the Moon at the end of the Earth Phase on the next turn
  • Can transport up to 5 items
• Long Route
  • Ships will arrive to the Moon at the end of the Earth Phase in 2 turns
  • Can transport up to 9 items

Earthbound Routes

On all Earthbound Routes, up to 1 Astronaut may be transported per Ship.

• Fast Route
  • Ships will arrive to Earth at the end of the next Market Phase
  • Can transport 1 item
  • Items will be sold on the Market Board first
  • Fast Route 1 will sell before Fast Route 2 in 4-player games
• Medium Route
  • Ships will arrive to Earth at the end of the Market Phase on the next turn
  • Can transport up to 3 items
  • Items will be sold on the Market Board second
• Long Route
  • Ships will arrive to Earth at the end of the Market Phase in 2 turns
  • Can transport up to 7 items
  • Items will be sold on the Market Board last

Earth Phase

Close Routes (Turns 6 & 7)

On Turn 6, no player can use the Moonbound Slow Route for the rest of the game (because the Ships won't reach the Moon before the end of the game!).

Instead, draw one card from the Route Closed deck, flip it over, and place it on the Slow Route at the start of the Earth Phase.

The player who chooses this route will immediately gain the items listed on the card for use during the Moon Phase.

Dammit. These shipments will be too late for the quarterly report. If I can't claim credit in front of the shareholders, what's the point? In fact, rescind those offers to the new hires ASAP. We can use the savings to hire temps on the Moon. Zero gravity and zero-hour contracts! — Hanna König, CEO of NEURO

On Turn 7, no player can use the Moonbound Medium and Slow Route for the rest of the game.

Instead, draw two more cards from the Route Closed deck, flip them over and place one on the Slow Route and one on the Medium Route at the start of the Earth Phase.

The player who chooses either route will immediately gain the items listed on the card on that route for use during the Moon Phase.

Earthbound routes will never be closed during the game; all Ships on those routes will make it to the Earth market at the end of the game. See "Game End" for more details.

2-Player Game Blocked Routes

In a 2-player game (or 1 player with AI), one Up and one Down route must be randomly blocked. To do this, take the "AI Up" and "AI Down" decks out of the box and flip 1 card up from each deck per turn. At the bottom of the card, you will see which route Up and Down should be blocked for that turn.

If you are playing 1 player with AI, then also use that Up and Down card to choose the AI preferred route. For 2-player games, the "AI Up" and "AI Down" decks are only used to block the routes.

If you run out of cards from either deck, just reshuffle all the cards and draw from the top again.

A "blocked" route is different from the "closed" routes that happen in Turn 6 and 7, where you gain resources. You may not choose a "blocked" route and there are no resources to be gained. A "closed" route can still be "blocked" during Turn 6 and 7.

• The "Turn 6 and 7 Closed Routes" rule applies unless the route is blocked. You do not draw a Closed Route card for the blocked route.
• In a 2-player game, you may use the AI rules to add a third player, which will remove the need to block any Up routes. We highly recommend this method of play.

Bid for Initiative

Each player will place a bid using their Bid Cards (1-5) to determine who chooses routes first.

In case of a tie on the first turn, the players who tied may either roll a die or randomly draw from the remaining Bid Cards to determine who has the higher initiative.

After the first turn, all players must choose a Bid Card from their remaining 4 cards in hand (leaving the Bid Card from the previous turn on the Initiative Board). After placing the new Bid Card down, retrieve the previous turn's Bid Card to your hand.

Once all players have placed a Bid Card (face down), all bids will be revealed. Bid Cards will be organized on the Initiative Board in order of highest to lowest bid. In case of a tie, the winner will be the player who had lower Initiative in the previous turn.

Deduct Bid GigaCredits

Each player deducts the value of their chosen Bid Card from their GC. Starting on Turn 5, there is a bid multiplier listed next to the turn number on the Initiative Board. The cost in GC for each bid is the value of the Bid Card times the bid multiplier for that turn. For example, on Turn 6, the bid multiplier is 3x. That means if you bid a "4," you will deduct 4x3=12 GC from your total score.

If a player does not have enough GC to pay for their bid (e.g. they have 3 GC and bid a "5"), they must pay the GC amount they have, but no more than that (i.e. there is no "negative GC" in the game). If a player is at 0 GC, they can bid any amount without paying GC.

Got to speculate to accumulate! If we can make sure the agencies give us the best lunar routes, the competition will be eating our moondust! — Ximena Reyes, CEO of MinerInca

Choose Routes

In Initiative order, players choose a Route. They can choose any available Route, Moonbound or Earthbound. A Route is claimed by placing a Ship on a Moonbound Route space closest to Earth or an Earthbound Route space closest to the Moon. Once each player has chosen a Route, repeat the Route selection process until each player has chosen 2 routes.

Hint. It is possible for a player to choose 2 Moonbound Routes and no Earthbound Routes, and vice versa, but it is common to have one of each during the first several turns.

Load Moonbound Ships

All players simultaneously load any Ships they have on Moonbound launch pads (closest ship space to Earth on each route) with resources up to that route's capacity. Astronauts, Habitation Parts, Tech, and Adv Machinery from the supply are all resources that can be shipped from the Earth.

Earth Items/Resources. Earth resources are trivial in cost for the major corporations of Earth, and there is no cost to ship these items beyond the sheer capacity of the vessel. There is no limit to how many items are available in a game, except Astronauts, which are limited to 10 maximum per player.

If you run out of components, please use the "x2 Item Storage" card (Moon base), "Multiplier Tokens" (for Ships), or any other substitute tokens to represent your items.

Items that can be placed on Moonbound Ships:

• Adv Machinery — 1 ship space, required to build some Modules and Module upgrades
• Astronauts — 1 ship space, 2 max per Ship
• Habitation Parts — 2 ship spaces, required to build most Modules and Module upgrades
• Tech — 1 ship space, required to build some Modules, Module upgrades, and Gems

Move Moonbound Ships

All Moonbound Ships move 1 space along their route toward the Moon.

Unload Ships. Each Ship at the final space of a route will be unloaded following the rules below for each controlling player:

1. Take all Astronauts from the Ship and add it to your Habitation Module. Astronauts may be immediately used in the following Build & Produce step.
2. Place all items from the Ship onto the Item Storage Cards (x1 or x2).
3. Return the empty Ship to their collection.

Moon Phase

Build Gold Modules

Don't those morons realize it's pointless fighting each other for the best routes? We've already got the construction companies working on our advanced modules. We'll be first to market — and the Moon! — Kyan Jones, CEO of CasCore

What is a Gold Module? Gold Modules are powerful structures and technologies that can be added to your Moon Base. Each one has unique build requirements and effects that will change the way you play.

In order from lowest to highest initiative, each player may choose to purchase a Gold Module or pass.

To buy a Gold Module, you must pay the "cost to build" (before the Moon Phase Build & Produce step), and then immediately add the Module to your Moon Base.

After every player has either purchased a Module or passed, or if there are no Gold Modules left, proceed to the next step.

Each player may build a maximum of 3 Gold Modules.

Build & Produce

During this step, players may build or upgrade Modules, and place Astronauts to produce goods or perform other actions on available Modules. These actions can be performed in any order to achieve the best outcome. All players perform this step simultaneously.

Moon Base. At the beginning of the game, each player's Moon Base consists of 6 Modules: a basic Habitation Module and 5 basic production Modules. As you deliver items and Astronauts up from Earth and begin producing goods on the Moon, you will be able to add and upgrade Modules to further improve your production.

For the Life Support and Energy resources, use Life Support (green) and Energy (yellow) tokens on the player board to track the remaining amount. For all other resources, place the tokens on one of the "Item Storage Cards" (x1 & x2) to track.

Modules.

Module Deck Cards — Int Module Upgrades:

• Int Habitation Module (single-sided)
• Int Life Support Module
• Int Lunarium Refinery
• Int Lunethyst Manufactory
• Int Ore Mine
• Int R&D Lab
• Int Shard Mine
• Int Solar Array

Adv Module Upgrades (opposite side of Int):

• Adv Life Support Module
• Adv Lunarium Refinery
• Adv Lunethyst Manufactory
• Adv Ore Mine
• Adv R&D Lab
• Adv Shard Mine
• Adv Solar Array

The Module Deck and Moon Base include 2 types of Modules, habitation and production. The Basic/Intermediate (Int) Habitation Modules are the only habitation-type modules, and have either 5 or 10 spaces for Astronauts to rest at the end of the Moon Phase.

The production-type Modules have spaces for Astronauts to be placed and produce resources. To use a production-type Module, take an Astronaut from a Habitation Module and place it on an open Astronaut space, then acquire the resource on the right.

Example: Bert wants to produce one Lunarium Ore; he takes one Astronaut from his Basic/Int Habitation Module and places it on the first open space (with the Astronaut icon) on the Basic Ore Mine. He may now take 1 Lunarium Ore and put it on his Item Storage Card.

Some Modules require some resources to produce, in addition to placing Astronaut(s). To use these Modules, you must also pay the resources specified in addition to placing your Astronaut(s).

Building & Upgrading Modules. The Module Deck includes all the Modules and Module upgrades that can be built during this step. Each of the "Basic" production Modules on the Moon Base can be upgraded twice. To build a Module or upgrade, pay the "Cost to Upgrade" by taking the items pictured from your Item Storage Card and returning them to the supply, then take the upgrade and place it in the appropriate spot on your Moon Base. Basic Modules can be upgraded to Int Modules, and Int Modules can be upgraded to Advanced (Adv) Modules. Adv Modules cannot be upgraded.

The Lunarium Refinery and Lunethyst Manufactory do not have a "Basic" version. Each starts as "Int" and the "cost to build" can be found on the right side of the player board/Moon Base.

Example: Alice wants to upgrade her Basic Ore Mine to Int Ore Mine. She has 1 Habitation Part and 1 Adv Machinery on her Item Storage Card, which she returns to the supply. She now takes the Int Ore Mine card from her Module Deck and places it over the Basic Ore Mine on her Moon Base.

Example: Alice now wants to upgrade her Int Ore Mine to Adv Ore Mine. She has 1 Habitation Part, 1 Tech, and 1 Adv Machinery on her Item Storage Card, which she returns to the supply. She now takes the Int Ore Mine card and flips it over to the Adv Ore Mine side.

If an Astronaut is already on a Module that you will be upgrading, temporarily pick up the Astronaut(s), place the upgrade Module over the original Module, and place the Astronaut(s) on an Astronaut spot(s) on the newly upgraded Module. You must try to put the Astronaut(s) on an Astronaut spot that produces the SAME item as the original Module, if possible. If it isn't possible, then you may place the Astronaut(s) on any Astronaut spot on the upgraded Module.

Specifically, for the Int to Adv Lunarium Refinery and Lunethyst Manufactory upgrades, if one of the two Astronaut spaces on the Int Module has been used, and then the player upgrades to Adv Module, then the player may still spend the resources to create the Lunarium/Lunethyst one more time. If both of the two Astronaut spaces on the Int Module have been used, then the Adv Module cannot be used again in the same turn.

At the end of the Build & Produce step, each player moves all of their Astronauts back into their Habitation Module(s), and then deducts 1 Life Support for each Astronaut they have in the Habitation Module(s).

Astronaut Death. If, at the end of the Moon Phase, you do not have enough Life Support or space in the Habitation Module for your Astronauts, they will die. For each Astronaut that dies due to lack of Life Support or Habitation Module space, remove that Astronaut token from the game, and the player loses 25 GC immediately.

One Astronaut may be shipped back down to Earth on each Ship, and doesn't need to be "fed" or "housed."

0 GC is the lowest score a player may have. There is no "negative GC" scores in the game.

Gotta feed those workers man. Those unions got us by the short hairs, and the board will be on you if you have to pay out a settlement. — Wu Que De - CEO of Shui Guo

Load Earthbound (Down) Ships

All players simultaneously load Moon resources onto the Earthbound Ships that they control in the "LAUNCH" ship space near the Moon.

Each unused space on any Earthbound Ship will score 1 GC for the controlling player when the Ship arrives in the Earth Spaceport. For this reason, leave empty Ships on the route and move them normally.

When all players finish loading all Earthbound Ships, the Moon Phase is over and the game proceeds to the Market Phase.

Shipping Astronauts to Earth. If a player wants to ship an Astronaut back to Earth (maybe to keep them from dying), they may place up to one Astronaut in each Earthbound Ship. The Astronaut will be available to ship back up to the Moon once the Ship arrives at the Earth Spaceport.

Only Lunethyst Ore/Gem and Lunarium Ore/Bar items can be shipped back to Earth to sell for GC, and each Moon resource occupies 1 space on the Ship. The only exception is for Astronauts, which is discussed in the section above.

More habitation spaces for temps? Investing in employee health and wellbeing? No. We'll just ship them back home once their work is done. And it won't be in first class! — Kyan Jones, CEO of CasCore

Market Phase

Move Earthbound Ships

Move all Earthbound Ships 1 space toward Earth on their respective routes. For the Fast Route, all Ships immediately arrive at the "Earth Spaceport." The Ships in the nearest space to Earth on the Medium and Slow Routes also arrive at the "Earth Spaceport" during this phase. Place the Ships in the "Earth Spaceport" according to the names on the board.

Sell All Moon Items for GC

Starting with the Ship in the "FAST 1" slot on the Earth Spaceport board, all items on each Ship are sold in the "Market Sale Order." When an item is sold, the player gains the GC equal to the current market price (indicated by the marker). If the player is selling multiple items of the same type on the same Ship, ALL items of that type sell for the current market price!

Example: If Jane is selling 4 Lunethyst Shards at 5 GC each on her Ship, then she would score 4x5=20 GC.

After ALL the items on a Ship are sold, move the price marker for all the item types that are sold to the right, by the number of items of that type sold.

Example: In the same example above with Jane, after selling 4 Lunethyst Shards, and after all other items on that Ship are sold, Jane would move the Lunethyst Shard price marker 4 spots to the right, resulting in the next Ship selling Lunethyst Shards this turn for 4 GC each.

Market Price Refresh

The market refresh rules, seen in the example image, only apply if the current market price of the item is EQUAL to or LOWER than the threshold price for that item, indicated by the unfilled circle.

For example, if and when the Lunarium Ore price is at 6 or lower, then the players will enact the market refresh rules after all items on Ships for that turn have been sold.

To do this, count the total number of items sold per item type (including the ones that the AI Ship sold). If the number of items sold per type is within the range of the market refresh rules noted in the "Refresh" box, then move the price marker to the left by the number specified.

Example: Assuming the market refresh price condition is met for each Moon Item, and a total of 0 Gems, 3 Bars, 8 Ore, and 4 Shards were sold this turn, the prices for each item would change as follows, after all items are sold:

• Gem: Price moves 2 to the left
• Bar: Price moves 1 to the left
• Ore: Price does not move
• Shard: Price moves 4 to the left

If the current market price reaches the final value for a particular Moon Item during the selling of items for a Ship, leave the marker at that value; the price cannot drop any more and additional items sold this turn will not result in further market value reduction.

The market refresh could still move the price to the left of the final price, after all items are sold for the turn.

What are those astronauts doing? Production isn't meeting demand on Earth and profits are down. What they need is a nice, positive incentive — threaten to lay off the lowest 10 percent of performers! — Ximena Reyes, CEO of MinerInca

Advance Turn Marker

Move the Turn Marker to the next number and start a new turn. If concluding Turn 7, proceed to Game End instead.

Game End

After resolving the Market Phase on Turn 7, follow the steps below to complete final scoring for all players.

Final Scoring

Earthbound En Route Ships. Any Earthbound Ships en route after Turn 7's Market Phase will be able to complete their journey to Earth and sell their Moon products. Resolve additional Market Phases for the remaining waves of Ships (Medium Route and the accompanying Slow Route Ships arrive first, followed by the final Slow Route Ship). Do not resolve any Market Refresh steps during Final Scoring for these additional Market Phases.

The additional Market Phases in Final Scoring are part of Game End, and not part of Turn 7. Therefore, the "Earthbound Teleporter" Gold Module cannot be used during these Market Phases.

Remaining Items on the Moon. If playing with the Moon Wonders optional Module, apply your total multipliers from the Wonder to any applicable items remaining on the Moon and add that total GC to your final score.

For every 3 units (rounded down) of all non-Moon items that remain in your Moon base (Tech, Adv Machinery, Habitation Parts, Life Support, and Energy), score 1 GC.

For each unit of Moon items (Ore, Bar, Shard, and Gem) that remain in your Moon base, you will earn GC equal to the value for that item in the "Game End GC" box of the Market Board.

"Net Worth" of Moon Base Modules. Every Module that has been built/upgraded on the Moon is worth the amount of GC shown on the bottom right of the Module card. Only the GC of the most advanced version counts toward a player's final score (e.g., only score the GCs from the Adv Life Support Module and not the Int version).

Add up all the GCs on each Module (including Gold Modules), and, if applicable, apply any multipliers from the optional Moon Wonders to the affected Modules. Add the final GC total to your score.

Determine Winner

The player with the highest GC is the winner.

If there is a tie, the player with the lowest initiative in the final turn wins the tie.

Optional Rule - Secrecy

This game was designed specifically with simultaneous play in mind to decrease down time for players and facilitate a smooth playing experience. However, if all players prefer, the following sections can be performed in secret to avoid "meta-gaming:"

• Earth Phase - Load Moonbound Ships,
• Moon Phase - Build & Produce, and
• Moon Phase - Load Earthbound ships.

You may need to use self-made or -provided player screens to maintain secrecy. This is not a recommended style of play, though we recognize there is no wrong way to have fun!

Solo & AI Supplemented Play

The game includes cards that will enable one or two AIs to play as extra players against other (human) players. This allows for solo play, as well as adding an exciting "unpredictable" element in 2- and 3-player games.

• AI Ship cards (12) — These cards show what the AI will ship from the Moon and sell in Earth's markets. They are divided into "beginner (BEG)," "intermediate (INT)," and "advanced (ADV)" level cards of 4 each.
• Up cards (6) — These cards determine the route preference of the AI going to the Moon, as well as which Gold Modules, if any, get removed from the game.
• Down cards (6) — These cards determine the route preference of the AI going to the Earth.
• AI Bid Cards (10) — These are the Bid Cards that the AI will use each turn. There are 10 cards with 2 of each card, numbered from 1-5.

AI Setup

For each AI player (1 or 2), use the Ships and the GC markers/counters of one of the corporations not in use by a player. Put the remaining items for that corporation back in the box. AI does not require Astronaut tokens, Moon Modules, or those players' Bid Cards to play.

Take out the four AI decks (gray colored backs) from the box. There are two sets of all the cards listed below, with a small "AI 1" and "AI 2" icon on the cards to differentiate between the two AIs. Keep these two sets separate.

You may adjust the difficulty of the AI by using the "AI Ship" card deck. If you want an easier game, remove up to 4 of the "AI Ship" cards with the "Adv" label on the upper left. If you want a harder game, remove up to 4 of the "AI Ship" cards with the "Beg" label on the upper left. Just make sure you have at least 8 cards in the deck! If you ever run out of "AI Ship" cards (due to the AI taking multiple down routes each turn), shuffle the discarded "AI Ship" cards and draw from the newly-formed deck.

Shuffle each of the 4 decks (for each AI you use in the game) and place the Score Tracker (taken from the unused player's tokens) representing the AI on the 25-GC spot, and you are ready to start!

AI Play

The AI follows the rules below in each of the phases.

Bidding Phase. When players are bidding for initiative, draw the top card from the AI Bid Card deck after all other players' Bid Cards are revealed. Determine the initiative of the AI and the players based on all the Bid Cards, and deduct GC from the AI per normal rules.

When it is the AI's turn to choose routes (based on its initiative), follow the rules below:

Turns 1-5. Flip one card over from each of the "Up" and "Down" decks.

For the first route the AI chooses, start with the "Up" card, and choose the first route on the card (from top to bottom) that is available on the board. If none is available on the "Up" card, then choose the first route on the "Down" card that is available on the board. Remember which route on which card the AI chose by placing an AdvM cube (as a marker) on the route # on that card.

When it is the AI's turn to choose a second route, start from the next route on the card with the marker, or, if the marker was on the last route on the card, then start from the first route of the other card. Go down the list until a route is available on the board.

Turns 6-7. The AI will choose routes in the opposite order of cards as the previous turns.

Flip one card over from each of the "Down" and "Up" decks.

For the first route the AI chooses, start with the "Down" card, and choose the first route on the card (from top to bottom) that is available on the board. If none is available on the "Down" card, then choose the first route on the "Up" card that is available on the board. Remember which route on each card the AI chose by placing the AdvM cube (as a marker) on the route # on that card.

When it is the AI's turn to choose a second route, start from the next route on the card with the marker, or, if the marker was on the last route on the card, then start from the first route of the other card. Go down the list until a route is available on the board.

After the routes have been selected for the AI, it does not participate in shipping items to the Moon. Just remove the AI Ships from the up routes when the Ships move towards the Moon.

Moon Phase. At the beginning of the Moon Phase, look at the "Up" card that was flipped over for this turn. The AI will participate in the Gold Module step only if there is text related to the Gold Modules at the bottom of the "Up" card.

If there is a "-1 Gold Module" at the bottom of the card, remove a random Gold Module from the available Gold Modules when it is the AI's time to choose a Gold Module. If the AI has the highest initiative/won the bid in this turn, then randomly remove a second Gold Module from the supply during the AI's time to choose a Gold Module.

The AI does not do anything during the Moon Wonders or Module Building/Upgrade steps.

At the end of the Moon Phase, when Earthbound Ships are loaded, draw a card from the "AI Ship" deck and place the card covering the corresponding Ship token. Do not replace the card with actual Moon Item tokens.

If the AI has no down route chosen, then ignore this step. If the AI has two down route Ships, then flip a second "AI Ship" card and load that card onto the Ship.

Market Phase. When it is the AI's turn to sell its items on its Ship, it will sell all the Moon Items based on the route that Ship took. For example, if the AI Ship was on the Medium Route, it would sell 1 Lunarium Bar and 2 Lunarium Ore based on the card example. These Moon Items are sold in the same fashion as human players, impacting current market price accordingly.

Game End Scoring. The AI receives no GC for items left on the Moon or any built/upgraded Modules built (as it has none and built none). However, it will receive a bonus based on the three remaining Bid Cards. Flip over the three remaining Bid Cards, add them up, and multiply the total by 5. Add the total number to the AI's total GigaCredits.

If Moon Wonders cards were used in the game, multiply the sum of the AI's remaining Bid Cards by 10 instead of 5.

The AI research is ahead of schedule — we'll be able to start replacing the human workforce in just a few years. No habitation costs, no insurance, no education, no health care and, best of all, no complaints! — Hanna König, CEO of NEURO

Mini Expansions

Want even more variety in your game? We've included three mini-expansions you can add to your game to spice up your experience! Each of these expansions can be played individually or in any combination.

Role Cards

After the first game with the Beginner Cards, players may play with Role Cards such as "Faction Cards" and "Challenge Cards" included with the game. Note that each player may only play with one of the Beginner, Faction, or Challenge Cards.

Faction Cards. Faction Cards allow players to explore alternative styles of play. They are not intended to be easier or harder than playing the game without them, but offer variety to experienced players.

Challenge Cards. Challenging Cards are intended to handicap a more experienced player when they are playing with newer players of Lunar Rush, or for players who are looking for a challenge (thus the name). They always make the start of the game and/or the full game harder for the player. These cards also have a 3-star rating system, where 1 star is easiest, and 3 stars is the hardest.

The cards have "Start of Game," "All Game," and "Game End" rules that affect the players' games. For "Start of Game" rules, they only apply once, at the beginning of the game, and don't have any effect for the rest of the game. For "Game End" rules, they only apply during Game End scoring. "All Game" rules are in effect for the entirety of the game.

Moon Wonders

Too many resources and nowhere to use them? This mini-expansion will help you solve that problem! Moon Wonder cards are drafted during the game, and built during the "Build & Produce" step of the Moon Phase before the end of the game. It gives players another way to use their hard-earned resources to gain GC via multiplying the net worth of their Moon Base Modules.

Game Setup Changes. Randomly draw a number of Moon Wonder cards equal to (# of players+1) times 3. E.g., for a 2 player game, this would be (2+1)x3=9 cards. Set those cards aside and place the rest of the cards back in the box.

When the game begins, take the deck of Moon Wonders cards you set aside during Game Setup, shuffle the deck, and lay out one row of cards, where the number of cards in each row is the number of players plus one (e.g., for a 2 player game, 3 cards per row). It does not matter whether the noun or adjective side of the card is on top. When the game begins, flip 1 of the cards in each row to the Noun side (leaving that card with the Noun side to the top). Flip the remaining 2 cards to the Adjectives side.

Moon Phase Changes — Draft Moon Wonders Step. At the beginning of each Moon Phase for Turns 4, 5, and 6, after the Buy Gold Modules step, place another row of cards equal to the number of players plus one. Keep this second row of cards separate from the first row you placed at the beginning of the game. This is a "preview" of what is available to draft in the next turn.

Then, each player, starting with the player with the lowest initiative, will draft 1 card from the first row of Moon Wonder cards (the original row set up at the beginning of the game).

After all players have drafted 1 card, discard the remaining card from that first row, and then the "second row" (new row that was placed at the beginning of Turn 4) becomes the "first row" for drafting next turn (Turn 5). Then move on to the next step, "Build & Produce."

Repeat this process for Turn 5, but not for Turn 6. There is no cost to draft a Moon Wonder card, and the players are under no obligation to build the Wonder even if they have the cards. Moon Wonders will be built during the Moon Phase — Build & Produce Step in Turn 6 or Turn 7.

Building & Produce Step Changes. In Turn 6 and after, once a player has three total Moon Wonder cards, they may build their Moon Wonder at any time during the Moon Phase — Building & Produce Step. In order to complete a Moon Wonder, a player must choose 1 of their 3 cards to be a Noun (flip the Noun side to the top). Players must pay all the listed resources across the top part of all three cards (1 Noun and 2 Adjectives) to complete the Moon Wonder. You may not build a partial Moon Wonder with just 1 or 2 cards.

There is no penalty if you do not complete a Moon Wonder.

Once the Moon Wonder is built, the multipliers and extra GC from the top part of the card will be applied to either your Game End remaining items (e.g. Life Support or Energy) and/or building Modules that you built. These will be scored during "Final Scoring" at Game End.

Game End — Final Scoring Changes. During Game End — Final Scoring, follow the steps below to calculate the GC value of the Moon Wonder you built and then add the final result to your total GC score.

The Noun part of the completed Moon Wonder will multiply certain Moon Base Module Game End GC values, and the Adjective parts add a flat bonus GCs to the value of the wonder. Pay special attention to the fact that some Adjectives give extra GC if matched with specific Nouns.

Example: If you built the "Shiny Luscious Biodome" seen in the pictures above (and paid all the resources required for each Adjective and Noun), you will be able to boost the GC you get from remaining Life Support GC and the Module GCs for your most advanced Life Support Module in the Moon Base, as well as get extra GC for the 2 Adjectives (40 GC total).

The base multipliers are:

• Game End Life Support GC x6
• Life Support Module GC x4

If you have 10 units of Life Support left and you upgraded to the Adv Life Support Module (worth 8 GC), then your total GC scored for those 2 items at Game End is:

• Life Support units: 3x3 (1GC per 3 units of LS, rounded down) = 30
• Life Support Module: 5x8=40
• 30+40=70 GC!

Then, you add the GC awarded by "Shiny":

• 70+10=80 GC

Finally, you add the GC awarded by "Luscious." Because your Noun is Biodome, Luscious adds an extra 10 GC to the 20 GC it already awards:

• 80+20+10=110 GC!

So, for building the "Shiny Luscious Biodome," you will score an extra 110 GC for this Moon Wonder!

The "Game End Life Support GC" and "Game End Energy GC" are the actual GC you score from those items. Meaning, you must divide the Game End unit counts by 3 and round down before applying the Moon Wonder multiplier!

The GC bonus from building the Moon Wonder is independent of the usual GC you score from remaining items or the worth of Modules you upgraded.

Multipliers from Moon Wonders do NOT apply to Gold Modules (even if the name is similar) unless the Wonder card explicitly specifies "Gold Modules."

Cooperative Play

Lunar Rush can be played in a special cooperative mode, where 4 players can play as 2 teams of 2 against each other, or 2 players can play together against 2 AIs, with the Kickstarter-unlocked second set of AI cards.

2P vs 2P Rules

A 2-player team plays the game with the following exceptions:

• Game End Scoring: The players add their individual scores at the end to create a team score. That team score is compared to the other team (human or AI) to determine the winner.
• Earthbound Shipping: Players on a team may place their Moon items on EITHER of the players' Earthbound Ships that are ready to load. The Moon items are sold in the Earth market per the normal rules.

2P vs 2 AI Rules

When playing against 2 AIs, play the game with the following exceptions:

• Game End Scoring: The AIs add their individual scores at the end to form a team score. That team score is compared to the human team to determine the winner.

• Bid for Initiative: When determining the initiative of the AI team for choosing the Moonbound/Earthbound routes, both AIs use the higher bid value of the two numbers (in the order of AI 1 then AI 2).

  Example: Doug bids 5, AI 1 bids 4, Steven bids 3, and AI 2 bids 1. Doug will pick a route first, then AI 1, then AI 2 (acting upon the same 4-value bid as AI 1), then Steven.

• Gold Module Removal: When checking to see if an extra Gold Module is removed due to an AI being in the top initiative spot, as long as either AI has the top initiative spot, an extra Gold Module is removed.

Gold Module Clarifications

Andromeda's Edge Salvage

"Remove" means downgrading an upgraded Module to the previous level, in this order: Advanced → Intermediate → Basic.

The player may not remove a Module that already has an Astronaut on it, nor remove a Gold Module.

After the removal, the player receives the materials cost originally used to upgrade that Module, and gains 15 GC. The player may not upgrade that Module again this turn.

Earthbound Teleporter

This card allows the player to sell 1 Moon item on the market before any other items from other Ships are sold. This will move the current market price tracker for that item one place to the right, as if that item was sold normally.

At the beginning of the Turn 7 Market Phase, the "Earthbound Teleporter" Gold Module may be used once as normal. It may not be used when resolving the additional Market Phases as described in Final Scoring.

Moonbound Teleporter

This Gold Module allows the owner to gain two Earth items as if it had a Fast Route Ship. The player may NOT gain any Astronauts using this card (have you not seen "Galaxy Quest"?). This card may only be used in the turns AFTER it was purchased.

Shared Modules

The following Gold Modules give the player who builds the Gold Module an immediate benefit during the Moon Phase that it was built, as well as every subsequent Moon Phase.

• Crescent Arboretum
• Lunar Experimentation Facility
• Lunarium Mining Collective
• Lunethyst Mining Collective

Other players may also use that Module during each Moon Phase — Build & Produce step (including the turn when it was built). Note that each other player may only use the Module once (i.e. place one Astronaut on it), and the owner of the Module may not (and does not have to) place an Astronaut on the Module.

For the "Lunar Experimentation Facility", both the owner of the Module and other players who place an Astronaut on the Module may gain any combination of 4 Tech or AdvM.

Tourist Market

The player with the Tourist Market may sell a Moon item immediately, for the max price (the price furthest to the left) of that item in the market, regardless of the Current Market Value when they activate the Module with an Astronaut. This does not affect the market price for that item, so do not move the market price tracker.

Lunar Rush Icons

Phases

• Earth Phase
• Earth Phase: Bid for Initiative
• Earth Phase: Move Moonbound Ships
• Moon Phase: Build & Produce
• Market Phase

Icons on Item Cubes

• Adv Machinery — Red Cube
• Energy — Yellow Tracker Cube
• Hab Part — White Cube
• Life Support — Green Tracker Cube
• Tech — Blue Cube

Icons on Cards & Boards

• Positive Effect Arrow
• Negative Effect Arrow
• Astronaut - Either in a worker space or referring to the astronaut
• Cost to Build (usually for Gold Modules)
• Cost to Upgrade to Intermediate Level
• Cost to Upgrade to Advanced Level
• Dead Astronaut (removed from game)
• Habitation Module Max Occupancy
• Items (Earth or Moon)
• Moon Item
• Player's Moon Base
• No Habitation Module Space for Astronaut
• No Life Support for Astronaut
• No Ships Launching from Earth
• Player A/B/C - Each player may take the spot once per turn
• Ship
• Each Empty Space on a Ship
• Starting Point for Life Support and Energy on Player Boards
• Upgraded Module - Intermediate or Advanced. NOT Gold Modules!
• 2-Player Mode Closed Route

The "Best" Route to the Moon

I am often (OK … sometimes) asked, "What is the best way to get to the Moon?" My answer is almost always something like, "It depends on what 'best' means to you. Are you trying to get as much payload mass (i.e., useful stuff … cargo, supplies, humans) as possible to the Moon, or do you want to get it there as quickly as possible, or some combination of both?" In reality, these are some of the questions with which mission planners and spacecraft operators contend. In the end, it usually comes down to a tradeoff between payload mass (the useful "stuff") delivered to the Moon and the time of flight required to get it there. More payload mass usually takes more time, but the reason for this may not be obvious.

If you want to get to the Moon faster, you'll have to carry more fuel (propellant, actually) on your spacecraft. That fuel must be lifted into space from the starting point of your journey — the surface of the Earth. Your rocket (or "booster") has some maximum amount of mass it can lift off the launch pad and into space. Each kilogram of fuel loaded onto the rocket is one less kilogram of payload that can be carried into space and onward to the Moon. The same rule applies once you are in space. In general, you want to use as little fuel as possible. This allows the maximum payload mass, but it also factors into the time it takes to get to the Moon. You can usually save fuel and carry more payload by taking a slower, longer trajectory. However, other mission needs might constrain the amount of time you have. You might need to get critical supplies to the Moon relatively quickly, or you might not want your human astronauts floating around in space with nothing to do for months when you could get them to the Moon in a couple of days instead.

There are basically three different ways to get to the Moon: direct transfer, low-thrust transfer, and low-energy transfer. These roughly correspond to the three options in the game Lunar Rush.

Direct Transfer

Direct transfer is the traditional "Apollo style" way to get to the Moon. It usually takes about three or four days, but can be quicker if you are willing to give up payload mass for the additional fuel required. The direct transfer begins in Earth orbit or on the launch pad with a large, powerful fuel "burn" to increase velocity in order to break away, or "escape" the gravity of Earth — escape velocity. After a couple of days of coasting in the general direction of the Moon, the Moon's gravitational pull on the spacecraft becomes stronger. At some point, the spacecraft is "pulled in" by the Moon's gravity. However, another large burn is required near the vicinity of the Moon in order to go into lunar orbit.

Low-Thrust Transfer

The low-thrust transfer is essentially a slow, outward spiral from Earth that can take a couple of months to get to the Moon. The spacecraft thrusters are very efficient, but only produce a tiny amount of thrust. The tradeoff for the high efficiency of low thrust is the increased time it takes to get to the Moon. Think of it like this: a small motorcycle is very efficient (great gas mileage), but cannot carry as much weight or go as fast as a race car. The low-thrust transfer begins in Earth orbit — low-thrust engines are not capable of lifting a spacecraft off the launch pad on Earth. The thrusters are left on for long durations of time, or continuously in some cases. Because the thrust is applied in low levels at a nearly continuous rate, there is no need for a single, large burn upon arrival at the Moon. Instead, the spacecraft is gently nudged in the correct direction and with the correct velocity to eventually reach the Moon.

Low-Energy Transfer

A low-energy transfer can take several months to reach the Moon. It requires less fuel than the direct transfer or low-thrust transfer by taking advantage of the chaotic, counterintuitive nature of dynamics possible in the Earth-Moon system. Chaotic trajectories are very sensitive to initial velocity, and are much more difficult to predict compared to the direct transfer or the low-thrust transfer. It only takes a small amount of fuel (energy) to begin a low-energy transfer in the vicinity of Earth. The trajectories follow very unexpected and counterintuitive paths, sometimes flying by the Earth and Moon several times before finally arriving at the destination near the Moon. In some cases, the chaotic journey may even go well beyond the orbit of the Moon before turning back to its final lunar destination. The low-energy transfer generally requires less fuel, but the tradeoff is a relatively longer travel time — up to several months.

So, the next time you plan a trip to the Moon, be sure to ask yourself two basic questions: How much stuff (payload mass) do I need to get to the Moon, and how long do I have to get it there? Just as in Lunar Rush, there is a tradeoff between payload mass and travel time. Generally speaking, you can get more payload mass to the Moon if you are willing to wait longer to get it there.

— Blair F. Thompson, Ph.D., Professional Astrodynamicist