Race for the Galaxy
351 questions players ask about Race for the Galaxy. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-04.
Setup
- What happens to start worlds that are dealt but not chosen when players choose their start world?
- Are the unused start worlds shuffled into the deck at setup?
- If I draw a third start world in my opening six cards, can I pick it as my start world?
- How does setup differ for a first game compared to later games?
- How do the preset starting hand cards work, and what do I do with them after the first game?
- Do I still draw six and discard two when my start world is military or Old Earth?
- How many cards does Ancient Race start with?
- Does a windfall start world such as Gateway Station or Alpha Centauri begin with a good?
- Can I use the New Starting Worlds promo with the basic start worlds, and should I in a first game?
- How does the choose-your-start-world rule work (second edition)?
- What do the numbers on start worlds mean, such as 0 on Old Earth?
- Which start worlds do I use with the 11 second-edition start worlds?
- Is Old Earth used in a 5-player game with custom starting-world setup?
- When are goals revealed during setup, before or after discarding down to four cards?
- How many victory point chips are in the pool at setup?
- What is my starting Military?
- How many copies of each card are in the base game, and is the third Contact Specialist an error?
- Can I play a 6-player game with only the base game cards?
- Should I mix all the expansions into the base game at once?
- Are the 10 VP chips used during normal play?
Playing the Game
- Do players place Develop and Settle cards at the same time?
- How do I show I am not developing or settling when there is no blank card?
- Can players talk about which action cards they are going to choose?
- Do I have to remind opponents of a bonus or power they forgot to use?
- If several players choose the same phase, is the phase played once or once per player?
- If two players pick the same action, do both receive the bonus?
- Can I change my action card before everyone reveals?
- Can I choose not to develop or settle after picking that action?
- What happens if a player calls Settle or Develop without cards to pay for it?
- Does turn order ever matter in Race for the Galaxy?
- Can I choose Develop or Settle twice, and do they resolve as two phases?
- Do action cards return to my hand each round?
- Do my tableau powers work when another player chose the phase?
- Can I build more than one development or world per phase?
- Is the discard pile face up or face down?
- In what order do players draw when several draw in the same phase?
- Do I have to develop or settle when the solitaire robot chooses those phases?
- If my plans change, must I use the benefits of the phase I chose?
Explore
- What happens if one player chooses both Explore actions, and another player did not choose Explore?
- If two players choose Explore with different bonuses, does the phase happen once?
- In Explore, are all cards drawn before any are discarded, and does draw order matter?
- Does Research Labs add to the draw when one player picks both Explore actions?
Develop
- Do Develop discounts and draw-after-develop powers stack?
- Can two players build the same development in the same Develop phase?
- Can I have two copies of the same development in my tableau?
- Can I discard R&D Crash Program to pay for a second copy of it?
- When does Interstellar Bank (or another card-draw icon on a Develop card) draw its card, and can I develop it?
- Does a Develop-phase draw power like Interstellar Galaxy work when another player called Develop?
- Does Public Works draw a card if I place no development?
- Does the Develop action's cost discount apply to every card I build?
- Does Investment Credits discount apply to its own cost?
- Does R&D Crash Program give an extra develop action?
- What do the card-only and diamond-plus-card draw icons on developments mean?
- Can a military development I play in Develop help me settle in the same round?
- Does a gray (non-colored) world count as an "other" world for SETI's 1 VP?
- Can I see whether opponents are developing before I choose to develop?
- If I have several +1 card draws from Develop-phase powers, do I get each when I did not choose Develop?
- Is placing a development optional, and do mandatory powers still apply?
- Can I place more than one development per Develop phase?
- If a development costs 1 and the Develop bonus reduces it, do I pay anything?
Settle
- Do I draw the Settle bonus card if I choose Settle but place no world?
- Does the Settle bonus apply when a power such as Terraforming Project places the world?
- Can I get more than one Settle bonus card in a single Settle phase?
- How do I place a military (red-circle) world?
- Do I need positive Military to conquer a world with 0 defense?
- Does the defense value of a military world count toward my Military total?
- What do shaded or colored military icons (Rebel, Alien, etc.) count toward?
- How does Contact Specialist work, and does my Military reduce the cost?
- Can Contact Specialist and Colony Ship together settle a military world for free?
- Can Colony Ship or Doomed World give me an extra settle?
- Can Colony Ship place Alien worlds?
- Is Colony Ship optional when I settle?
- Can Colony Ship or Doomed World place a military world?
- Can I discard Doomed World to pay for a second world and then redraw it in the same Settle phase?
- Does a "-2 cost to non-military worlds" power such as Replicant Robots apply to windfall and Alien worlds?
- Does a discount for a color of world (Rare, Alien, yellow) apply to windfall worlds of that color?
- Which worlds do Alpha Centauri's military and cost bonuses apply to?
- Can I discard several Genes goods to Lifeforms, Inc. for a bigger discount?
- Can I discard New Military Tactics for +3 Military if I settle nothing?
- Do powers on a world I just placed work in the same Settle phase?
- In what order do the steps of a Settle phase resolve?
- When does a windfall world get its good?
- If one player picks Settle and another Settle and Settle (two-player advanced game), how many settle phases happen?
- If two players choose Settle, can one settle two worlds?
- Can Terraforming Engineers convert a world I just settled in the same Settle phase?
- Why can't I settle a military world such as Pirate World by paying cards?
Consume
- Do I have to use every consume power, and in what order?
- If a consume power takes "up to" N goods, must I consume as many as I can?
- Do I have to use a consume power that needs a specific number of goods (or three different goods) if I have fewer?
- Can one good be consumed by two different consume powers?
- Can a consume power be used more than once in a Consume phase?
- Can a consume power use a good from any world, including its own?
- If I choose Consume: Trade, do I have to sell a good first?
- Can I choose Consume: Trade if I have no goods or no consume powers?
- Do Trade bonuses ($ powers) stack, and can I sell more than one good?
- Do my Trade powers or Genetics Lab work when another player calls Consume: Trade?
- If another player picks Consume, must I consume?
- If one player picks Consume: Trade and another Consume: x2, are there two Consume phases?
- What does Consume x2 double?
- Does Galactic Trendsetters stack with Consume x2?
- Can I use both of Gambling World's consume powers in one Consume phase?
- Can I name 0 with Gambling World?
- How does Pilgrimage World score, and can it use my last good?
- Can cards drawn from one consume power be spent by another in the same phase?
- What happens to goods I cannot consume?
- Do I earn VP chips for placing worlds or developments?
- What happens if VP chips run out during the Consume phase?
- If a discarded good triggers a reshuffle, is the good reshuffled?
- Does New Economy count worlds that only have a Trade ($) power?
- Do gray planets produce goods?
- Can Deficit Spending discard cards I just gained in the same Consume phase?
- Does the solitaire robot get its Consume response when it chose the action itself?
- When can Peaceful Mineral Beneficiators produce its good?
- Can I force an opponent to trade a good?
Produce
- Do gray worlds (such as New Sparta or Epsilon Eridani) produce goods?
- Does a production world produce a good in every Produce phase?
- Why do production worlds print a produce power if they produce anyway?
- Do windfall worlds produce goods in the Produce phase?
- Does a produce-and-draw world (such as Gem World) draw if a good is already on it?
- In what order do Produce powers resolve?
- How does Damaged Alien Factory produce a good?
- When does Research Labs draw during Produce?
- How does Mining Conglomerate work, and what if players tie for the most Rare goods?
- Does Merchant Guild draw every Produce phase?
- How does Draw for Kind (Diversified Economy) count goods during Produce?
- Can I choose Produce if I have no production world?
- Where does a good go, and can I put a good on a world of another kind?
- Can I use a world's powers while a good sits on it?
- Can Mining Robots put a good on a brown windfall world that already has one?
- Do windfall worlds count as production worlds?
Card Powers
- Are card powers mandatory?
- Can I use a card's power in the phase I place it?
- If a card is discarded for its power, do its other powers still work that phase?
- Can a power be used twice in one phase?
- Can one power interrupt another that is still resolving?
- Do my tableau powers apply when another player chooses the phase?
- Can I use the card from a draw-after bonus (Terraforming Robots, Settle bonus) to pay for that same world?
- What military counts for New Galactic Order?
- Which Gambling World card do I use and what does its odds chart mean?
- When I win with Gambling World, which card do I keep?
- Can I discard New Military Tactics for +3 Military without settling?
- Must I discard two cards to Deficit Spending?
- Can I boost Space Mercenaries after I already settled a world?
- Can Terraforming Engineers replace a windfall world with a production world of the same color?
- How much Military does Imperium Stealth Tactics give when discarded?
- Do Terraforming Robots and Replicant Robots apply to windfall as well as production worlds?
- Is Contact Specialist's payment option forced?
- What is the difference between military strength and defense icons?
- Is Alien Rosetta Stone World a yellow Alien technology world?
- What do the arrow colors on cards mean?
Timing and Turn Order
Round End, Hand Limit and Chips
Game End and Scoring
- Does the game end immediately when a player places their 12th tableau card or the last VP chip is taken?
- Do goods count toward the 12-card game-end condition?
- What happens when the VP chips run out?
- What is the tiebreaker?
- Do I take VP chips for the VP printed on worlds and developments?
- How do 6-cost developments score when they list several conditions?
- Do I need both listed cards to score on a 6-cost development like Free Trade Association?
- How does New Galactic Order score, and does temporary or specialized military count?
- What counts toward Galactic Renaissance's 1 VP per 3?
- How does Alien Tech Institute score alien worlds and Alien Rosetta Stone World?
- Does Terraformed World score the Terraforming bonus on a 6-cost development?
- Does Alien Burial Site score under a "non-Alien" production line?
- Does Hidden Fortress change the game end for other players?
- Do start worlds score VP and count toward goals?
- Does Galactic Imperium score alien military worlds?
- Does Merchant Guild score per production world or per set of colors?
- Do cards stored under Galactic Scavengers count for the tiebreaker?
- Is there a limit on how many VP chips I can collect?
- Can I block another player from winning?
Two-Player Game
- In the two-player game, can a player pick the same phase twice?
- Why does the base game include extra Develop and Settle cards?
- In the advanced two-player game, what happens when I choose both Explore cards?
- How many Settle bonuses can I get in the advanced two-player game?
- Is the experienced two-player version the intended way to play?
- With Psi-Crystal World in a two-player game, can I change my first phase choice after seeing my opponent's selections?
- In solitaire, can I take the phase the robot chose?
General Rules and Edition Differences
- Can I mix expansions from different arcs, such as The Gathering Storm and Alien Artifacts?
- Is Xeno Invasion usable with the base game alone?
- Which earlier expansions do I need for Rebel vs Imperium and The Brink of War?
- Can I add expansion cards without their new rules or modules?
- Does the second edition change any rules from the first edition?
- How can I separate expansion cards after mixing them?
- Can players attack each other in the base game?
- What does "Alien technology" mean in the base game?
- What do the red, black and colored circles on world cards mean?
- What does the small red circle by the VP hex on Rebel worlds mean?
- Do Uplift Mercenary Force and Uplift Revolt World double Military per Chromosome world?
Solitaire Robot
- Can the solitaire robot place a second copy of a development?
- If the robot and I choose the same phase, does the robot also respond?
- How does the robot respond to Explore when I also pick Explore?
- What does the robot do with a 6-cost development when it has no credit?
- Can the robot place a military world without enough military?
- What VP value does Hard difficulty use?
- Does Mining Conglomerate pay in solo play when the robot produces nothing?
- In solitaire, do I perform the phases the robot selects, and do I get their bonuses?
- How does the solitaire robot decide what it develops?
- How does the robot's economy size change?
- Does the robot use powers, goods or bonuses printed on its cards?
- How does the robot treat a flipped Doomed World, and can it settle Alien worlds with it?
- In solitaire, do I act in phases the robot picks?
- How does the robot's Damaged Alien Factory counter work?
- How does the robot's dice placement and star die work?
Race for the Galaxy: Rebel vs ImperiumExpansion
- What makes a world a Rebel military world?
- What military counts as a Rebel military world?
- Do worlds destroyed by Imperium Planet Buster count as placed?
- Does Rebel Uplift World count the Uplift keyword or just the chromosome symbol?
- How does Imperium Planet Buster work?
- What do I lose if a takeover attempt fails?
- When are takeover boosts applied and when are takeovers resolved?
- Can I take over with zero or negative Military?
- Does specialized military count when attacking or defending in a takeover?
- Does the attacker get prestige from a captured world that grants prestige when placed?
- Do pre-printed prestige icons matter without The Brink of War?
- In what order do takeovers happen within the Settle phase?
- Does a takeover replace my normal Settle?
- What worlds can I take over?
- Should takeovers alternate on and off between games?
- Can I play Rebel vs Imperium without The Gathering Storm?
- How does Imperium Cloaking Technology work?
- Can two pay-for-military powers (Contact Specialist, Rebel Alliance, Rebel Cantina) combine?
- Which Rebel worlds are not military worlds?
- Can the attacker add more Mercenary military after declaring a takeover?
- How does Galactic Exchange score and consume?
- Can Universal Symbionts put a good on itself?
- How does Hidden Fortress change the game end?
- Does the choose-start-world rule apply in Rebel vs Imperium solitaire?
- Can I ignore Pan-Galactic Research's higher hand limit to claim Budget Surplus?
- What do the Uplift Knowledge and Expansion Leader goals count?
- Does Imperium Warlord's +1 apply to each Rebel military world?
- Which cards carry takeover powers?
Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering StormExpansion
- If a Most goal is tied, who holds it?
- Does the Most Consume Powers goal count cards or powers?
- Does a card discarded during a phase still count toward a goal?
- Does Largest Industry count rare and novelty worlds together?
- Can a goal in the center be claimed in a phase other than the one printed on it?
- How does an unclaimed Most goal score at game end?
- How does Improved Logistics work: is it a second Settle phase?
- Which Settle powers and bonuses apply to the second world placed with Improved Logistics?
- Can Improved Logistics be used with a takeover?
- Are the Gathering Storm goals mandatory, and when are they set up?
- When can a Most goal be lost or taken?
- What happens when two players reach a First goal in the same phase?
- How do tied Most goals score at game end?
- Do goal VP count toward Galactic Renaissance's chip bonus?
- Does specialized military count toward the Most Military goal?
- Does negative military count as a Settle power for the Innovation Leader goal?
- What counts for production-world goals?
- Does discarding to produce on Damaged Alien Factory count for the First to discard goal?
- Do I add all Gathering Storm cards to the deck?
- Can The Gathering Storm be played with six players?
- What is the difference between Rebel Sympathizers' and Galactic Studios' produce powers?
- Does Alien Toy Shop give its VP when its good is traded?
- How does Genome Project score gene worlds?
- What is the Ancient Race start power?
- Does New Military Tactics' +3 apply to both worlds with Improved Logistics?
Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of WarExpansion
- Does Search or Prestige Opportunity count as my action choice for the round?
- When do I get prestige for a world I placed?
- Does Trade League give its bonus cards when its owner chose Prestige Consume: Trade?
- Does a Prestige symbol on a card count as VP at game end?
- What does the sole Prestige Leader receive at the start of a round?
- When is the Prestige Leader checked?
- What if the last VP chip is taken during the Prestige Leader step?
- If a card is removed from my tableau during a phase, do its powers and keywords still apply that phase?
- In the advanced two-player game, can Prestige Opportunity modify the second Develop or Settle?
- How does Alien Oort Cloud Refinery's good kind work?
- How does the robot earn prestige?
- How and when does Terraforming Engineers' replace power work?
- What counts as the same kind of world for Terraforming Engineers?
- Which prestige can I spend, and does prestige on the Prestige Leader tile still count?
- What is needed for the Prestige Leader start-of-round bonus, and what about ties?
- What happens if the prestige VP pool runs out?
- How does the Prestige Opportunity action card work?
- Does Prestige on Consume: Trade combine with Consume x2, and does it triple discard powers?
- How does Search work?
- What happens to the cards saved under Galactic Scavengers?
- What does Retrofit & Salvage collect?
- How does Imperium Invasion Fleet work?
- Can I take over a Rebel Cantina?
- Is Rebel Freedom Fighters' -1 Military total correct, and does prestige apply before other Settle powers?
- Do takeover defense powers count for the Peace/War Leader goal?
- When are goals checked relative to prestige, and what counts for the Prosperity Leader goal?
- Does Federation Capital score VP equal to prestige?
- Does Uplift Gene Breeders give prestige if its world already has a good?
- How does Psi-Crystal World work?
- Does Imperium Fuel Depot draw for later settled worlds?
- How does Golden Age of Terraforming's Genes discount work?
- Does a Rebel military world placed with Contact Specialist still count as Rebel military for prestige?
- Can a prestige bonus apply to the second Develop or Settle in the advanced two-player game?
- Can Rebel Sneak Attack's extra conquest be combined with a takeover power?
Race for the Galaxy: Alien ArtifactsExpansion
- What are the rules for placing a new Orb card?
- How does an Orb card from an Uplift breeding tube get placed?
- What does passing in the Orb phase do?
- When does an Orb step happen and how many?
- Does running out of the Orb deck end the game?
- How does an Alien Good artifact token work?
- Can an artifact token's temporary military be used for Settle and orb barriers?
- What if I play Alien Artifacts without the orb game?
- Does Alien Artifacts come with its own Gambling World card?
- Can I settle normally and also use Wormhole Prospectors in the same Settle?
- Does Terraforming Project give a Settle bonus card?
- How do Transit Point and Tranship Point handle goods?
- How do the Alien Uplift tokens and feeding stations score?
- Can a ship walk over a teleporter?
- Can Alien Artifacts be played solo with the robot?
- Can Imperium Stealth Tactics be used during orb exploration?
Race for the Galaxy: Xeno InvasionExpansion
- Does a Settle phase happen automatically in round one of Xeno Invasion?
- Is mix-and-match (mixed) Explore always used in Xeno Invasion?
- Is Xeno Invasion compatible with the base game and other expansions?
- In Xeno Invasion, can a card score in more than one category of a 6-cost development?
- What are the hexagons on the Bunker tile for?
- When does a war contribution happen?
- What military counts toward the Xeno repulse track and defense?
- How are defense awards handed out, including ties?
- How is an M+X invasion card ranked and valued?
- Can Pay-for-Military powers place Xeno worlds?
- How does repairing damaged worlds work?
- How does a Xeno Invasion game end?
- Does Galactic Homefront gain a VP chip each Consume, and is it doubled?
- Which icons are specific to the Xeno Invasion module?
- Can a bunker-style discard power be used several times in a round?
Race for the Galaxy: Xeno CounterstrikeExpansion
- To defeat a Xeno Hive World, must Military plus Military vs Xenos be more than 9, or 9 or more?
- Is the Xeno repulse value met by equalling it or only by exceeding it?
- Who wins ties when Xeno Counterstrike retaliation is resolved?
- Which Xeno Counterstrike modes need Xeno Invasion, and which expansions can it mix with?
- Does Xeno Counterstrike work with a first-edition base game?
- Can Colony Ship and Deep Space Terraforming be used on Frontier and Conquest settles?
- Do Xeno system worlds count as XENO worlds for 6-cost developments, and can a card score twice?
- Can I still repair worlds and make war contributions during Counterstrike?
- Is a Settle also carried out in the Breather round?
- Are Xeno Retaliation cards reshuffled?
- Can Scorched Earth Defense's Develop power be used with a normal Develop, and Construction Corps in the same phase?
- Does Federation Frontier HQ give only 1 VP chip per round?
- Does running out of VP end the game in Invasion or Counterstrike?
- Does a failed Conquest settle add +6 to retaliation if another player conquers a Xeno world that round?
Patronage (fan expansion for Race for the Galaxy)Expansion
- How do Patronage Agendas and Favor tokens work?
- How do specific Patronage cards work (Galactic Alliance, Alliance Negotiators, Mass-Market Advertisers, Alien Warning Beacon)?
- How should Patronage start worlds be dealt and how many players can play?
- Does the game end if the VP pool empties mid-round in Patronage?
- Can I ante a peaceful world on Patronage's Gambling World?
- Does Uplift Symbionts score per chromosome world or Uplift card?
- How do Core Intelligence and Quantum AI work in advanced two-player Patronage?