Nova Lux
Nova Lux Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Deal each player a player mat, 4 faction cards, and 1 resource counter cube of each color. Place resource counters at 3 for each resource type on the player mat.
The player mat has three faction slots along the top, a Colony space, and five resource tracks (numbered 1 to 14): Water, Artifacts, Life Forms, Botanical Oxygen and Hydrogen. The resource counter cubes are colored: water blue, artifacts purple, life forms red, botanical oxygen green, hydrogen yellow.
Place the Colony Marker on the Colony Space on the player mat.
Lay space cards face-down in a 4x4 grid leaving room between each tile. Randomly destroy (flip up) cards by rolling the dice (let one dice represent the row and one dice represent the column to be destroyed) according to the number of players:
- 6 players = 0 destroyed
- 5 players = 1 destroyed
- 4 players = 2 destroyed
- 3 players = 3 destroyed
- 2 players = 4 destroyed
On the remaining space cards, randomly place red giant cards on each space card that is still face-down. Then, randomly place yellow star cards on each red giant card. Place corresponding hydrogen markers on the highest number surrounding each star.
Draft species cards
Each player chooses one, and passes the other 3 clockwise, then chooses one and passes the other 2, last pick one and discard the other so that each player has 3 faction cards. Place face up in front of your player mat.
Place Ark of Salvation
Anywhere on the map (excluding a Neutron Star).
Game Play
The objective
FIRST: acquire the necessary resources to establish your colony (7 or above of life forms, plants, water, artifacts and hydrogen at the same time).
SECOND: satisfy the requirements of each of your faction cards. Must establish colony first. Once a faction card is satisfied, flip it over indicating that it is complete. It remains complete regardless of what changes in the game.
1st player to satisfy all of their factions, wins. If playing with 5 or 6 you need only satisfy 2 out of the 3 factions to win.
Turns
Players take turns starting with the owner of the game and going clockwise. On your turn, you can do all of the following 4 actions in any order and then you must take one hydrogen from any solar system (if you take the last hydrogen on a star, follow the same rules as when harvesting - see harvest):
- Harvest
- Move
- Activate biosphere engine
- Establish your Colony
Harvest
Pay the top row, to receive the bottom row. Pay harvest cost by moving corresponding counters down. Receive reward by moving corresponding counters up. You may take as many hydrogen as are available on that star paying the corresponding cost that many times and receiving the reward that many times. For instance on a tile that has a harvest cost of 1 life form and a harvest reward of 2 plants, if you harvested 2 hydrogen you would do the following: reduce the star by 2 and increase your hydrogen by 2, spend 2 life form by reducing your life form counter by 2, and receive 4 plants (harvest reward of 2, twice) by increasing your plant counter by 4.
If you take the last hydrogen, remove the star tile and place it by your Mat. This is the creation of your Biosphere Engine. You can only ever have 3 star tiles in your biosphere engine. If you receive a 4th either discard it or replace one. If you remove the last hydrogen from a red giant, take the star as above for your biosphere engine and flip the space tile up (note: do not flip it if there is a colony on it). If it is a Neutron star, move your piece to an adjacent solar System, otherwise stay where it is.
In the same action you may continue harvesting a red star from a yellow star and you may always look under a yellow star to see what the red star will be.
Move
Move your spaceship in cardinal directions as far as you would like paying the following to do so: 2 hydrogen cubes to move off of a solar system tile onto a space between the tiles, 1 hydrogen to move off of a space between tiles to a tile, 1 hydrogen to move off of tile with a wormhole or space dust (empty tile), and 5 hydrogen to move off of a black hole tile (as indicated on the tile).
On your turn, at any point when you occupy the same space as another player, card or in between cards, you may immediately trade or attack. Trading resources including hydrogen has no guidelines aside from no trading for zero.
Attacking is resolved as follows
- Each player rolls a dice.
- Add the lowest resource value to the dice roll and the higher number wins.
- Winner takes resources from the losing player equal to the difference in the dice (not the added value of resource and dice).
Establish your Star Colony
On your turn, if you have 7 or more of each resource including hydrogen, you may place your star colony on any non-collapsed star that you are currently occupying. Only one Colony may occupy a single star. That star may still be harvested down to zero but once that happens it does not collapse.
Activate your Biosphere Engine
Use each star power in your engine as many times as you want paying the harvest cost to receive the harvest reward only instead of receiving the hydrogen you will pay the hydrogen. Just imagine the hydrogen symbol was on the top of the card rather than on the bottom.
Card Anatomy
Top row represents an ability that you can use at any time during EVERY player's turn including your own. You may only use ONE of your 3 faction abilities on someone's turn. You can only do the ability once meaning the most you'll ever gain in resources is ONE.
Once a faction is satisfied and thus flipped its top row ability is no longer usable.
Bottom row represents the requirement that you must satisfy AFTER establishing your colony. Once the faction requirement is satisfied, flip the card over to indicate it has been satisfied. It will not be flipped up again regardless of what happens in the game.
(Example card: top row, water <-> artifact exchange; bottom row, water and artifact 14.)
Card Reference
- Top Row: When you successfully attack (win a battle) against another player. Gain 1 Lifeform. This lifeform does come from their supply. You may also launch an attack on another player's turn if you are on the same space. (Printed as "does come"; transcribed as printed.) Bottom Row: Every other players' life form count must be below 7.
- Top Row: you may exchange ONE water for ONE artifact. Bottom Row: Water and artifact count must reach 14.
- Top Row: May exchange ONE Hydrogen for ONE of any resource. Bottom Row: Colony must be established adjacent to a neutron star.
- Top Row: When another player increases their water, you may increase your water by one. Bottom Row: Must have 14 water.
Symbol Reference
- Attack: This refers to the completion of a SUCCESSFUL attack.
- All other players: This will refer to all of the other players in the game. It could refer to when any of the other players receive resources, what their resources need to equal, or how you interact with them (perhaps attacking for instance).
- Bi-directional Exchange: Exchange 1 resource for one of another as indicated in either direction.
- One-way conversion: Either receive a resource upon an event triggering (bottom card example) or convert a resource from one to another (second from the bottom card example).
- Vertical line breaks between resources: This indicates that each resource indicated is interchangeable and that you will select only one of the resources in question. The same applies for star cards.
Space Cards
- Black Hole: Must pay 5 hydrogen instead of 2 to move off of this card.
- Wormhole: Teleport to another wormhole. This does not cost any hydrogen to do and occurs during a move action.
- Space Dust: Treat this the same as a space between cards. Only costs one hydrogen to move from this card to a space between cards.
- Neutron Star: Cannot move here. If you are on a neutron star when a star collapses, move to an adjacent space between cards for free. If you ever have 3 Neutron stars in a corner that block off a corner. Simply switch the last neutron star with another collapsed star (Space dust first if an option).
Single Player Rules
Play exactly the same as standard rules with the following changes:
- Start with 5 stars destroyed.
- Deal out 3 random factions.
- At the end of each turn, roll two dice (just like in the beginning) to remove the top layer card of a star. Must re-roll dice if it is above 4.
If a star is destroyed as a result, flip over the space card as normal. If the space that you must take a card from is already destroyed and the space card is flipped up, you are safe for the turn and do not need to re-roll. For a real challenge, re-roll until you destroy a star card.
Establish your colony and satisfy your factions before the universe collapses.
Semi-Cooperative Rules
Add the dice roll mechanics in the single player rules to remove a top layer card of a star card every time the starting player begins their turn. Everyone can win by establishing their colonies and satisfying their factions. Once a player satisfies their factions they win and are removed from the game.
Federations
Each player will pilot one of the Ark's of Salvation. (Not recommended for 1st time players.)
Deal each player a federation card at the beginning of the game. These cards function similar to faction cards. The top row represents a power that will be available to you as a top-row action ONLY IF the bottom row is presently satisfied.
The six federation cards (power; requirement):
- Pay 2 hydrogen: teleport anywhere; hydrogen 14, adjacent to black hole.
- Harvest costs 1 resource of your choice and 2 hydrogen; artifacts 14, hydrogen 10, life forms 4.
- Attack with highest resource value; life forms 5, botanical oxygen 5, water 5, artifacts 5.
- X2 output from biosphere engine; botanical oxygen 14, hydrogen 14, on space dust card.
- Force trade up to 7 resources 1:1; occupy a space with another player and have 14 of any 2 resource types excluding hydrogen.
- Convert any number of 1 resource type to any other resource types; life forms 14, botanical oxygen 5, water 5.
Packing
- Player mats
- Star cards
- Faction cards / player reference cards
- Colony discs, Ark of Salvation cylinders, dice
- Resource cubes: place on top of faction cards / Ark of Salvation cylinders / dice
- Rulebook on top!