Space Maze

Space Maze Rulebook

Table of Contents

25 Maze tiles (24 maze tiles and 1 relic tile, the gameboard)
4 Control panels (for placing your action cards and dice)
16 Dice (12 power dice for activating cards, 4 green, 4 purple and 4 orange; 4 white move dice for moving through the maze)
12 Aliens (4 different species in 3 colours each)
4 UFO's (with coloured circles for your aliens)
1 Ancient Relic (which can be worn by all aliens, giving them a special power)
8 Relic tokens (extra rewards for stealing the relic)
40 Action cards (which can be used to alter the maze)

Overview

In SPACE MAZE, players race against each other to be the first to pick up the ancient relic and bring it to their UFO.

The Relic is positioned in the middle of a maze made up out of primary coloured doorways. Each player has a team of 3 aliens made up out of secondary colours. When navigating through the maze the aliens can only move from one tile to the next if the passage is a combination of 2 primary colours that equal the alien's secondary colour. (Example: the green alien can pass through because green is a combination of yellow and blue.)

Because the maze will never be perfect, you will have to change it to fit your needs. To do so you get a number of action cards that give you various options such as rotating a tile or exchanging it with another one. By using these action cards players will continuously alter the maze and eventually end up being in each others way.

Each round of play consists of 2 phases. During the action phase all the dice are rolled and every player can pick 1 die in turn. These dice can be used to activate cards or to move around the board. After the discard phase we're ready for a new round.

The player who steals the relic first will head back for its UFO, but from that moment, all others will be going after him.

Setup

Place the relic tile in the middle of the table. Shuffle the maze tiles and place them in a 5x5 square with the relic tile in the middle. Leave some space so the tiles can rotate.
Each player takes 1 set of aliens and places them on their UFO. They then place the UFO next to the tile in their corner of the maze, so that the exit tube is overlapping the doorway.
Shuffle the action cards and deal 4 cards to each player, place the rest of the cards face down next to the board. Each player also receives 1 control panel.
3 action dice (1 of every colour) and 1 move die per player will be used, the rest is removed from play. (3 players use 12 dice, 2 players use 8 dice.)
The relic tokens are placed nearby for later use.

Gameboard setup

A lot of different board setups are possible, especially with fewer players it's recommended to use fewer board tiles. Just make sure that the distance to the relic is the same for all players.

The player who last saw a UFO will be the startplayer. Next round the player to his left will be the startplayer and so on.

Playing the game

SPACE MAZE is played in rounds. Each round is built up out of 2 phases which always have to be played in this order:

1. Action phase

During this phase players perform their movement and actions in a maximum of 3 turns, spending 1 die each turn. The startplayer rolls the dice to reveal the power available for this round.

He then gets the first pick and chooses 1 die. If he wants to use a card, he places it on his control panel and places a power die with enough points on the card to activate it (see Action cards). If he wants to move his aliens he picks a move die and places it on the MOVE field of his control panel and moves his aliens (see Movement).

Then the next player to the left picks 1 die and so on until all players have used a move die and 2 power dice.

It's possible to pick more than 1 power die of the same colour; this does not count for move dice, of which every player can only pick 1 each round. Players can choose not to place cards, but they always pick a die during their turn. Use this to limit other players' choices.

2. Discard phase

When all actions are finished remove the dice from the control panels. All placed cards are put into a discard pile next to the action cards. Reshuffle the discard pile when the deck is exhausted.

Also all Datapads are cleared, any aliens standing on datapads are placed on the tile instead (see Movement).

Finally all players with more than 7 cards in their hand discard down to 7. After that a new round of play begins, the next player to the left will be the new startplayer.

Example of a round (3 player game)

Player A rolls the dice, he plays his action card Rotate 180, picks a green die with 6 points and places it on the card. He then rotates the tile to his right two quarters, finishing his turn.

Player B picks a move die, places it on his MOVE field and moves his aliens, player C picks an orange 4 and uses his card: Exchange.

Player A can now pick his second die, he picks a move die and moves his aliens, player B picks an orange 3 and uses a card, player C picks a purple 6 and places it on the empty ACTION space of his control panel.

Player A can't use any more of his cards because there's no die left with enough points on it, he picks a green 3 and places it on his control panel without using it, now player B can't pick a useful die anymore either. Player C picks the last move die, moves his aliens and the action phase is over.

The dice are gathered and the placed cards are put into the discard pile. All aliens on datapads are pushed off and the round is over.

Movement

Movement is determined by move points, indicated by footprints on the move dice. Each footprint can be used to make that colour alien do 1 of the following:

Move out of the UFO onto the first maze tile.
Move from one tile to an adjacent tile with a matching passage.
Activate an empty datapad by stepping onto it.
Take the Relic from the maze or from another alien.
Give the Relic to a teammate.

(Example: if your purple and orange alien both have 1 move point, your green alien can use 2 move points.)

All movement has to be done in one go, you can't keep part of your move points for your next turn. You can choose not to use some or all of your move points.

There can never be more than 4 aliens on a tile at any time.

Colour maze

The gameboard is made up out of 25 tiles which have coloured doorways on each side. The tiles are connected by a combination of 2 colours. Aliens can only move through passages that form the combination of colours that equals their own:

Green can only move through yellow/blue passages.
Purple can only move through blue/red passages.
Orange can only move through red/yellow passages.

Moving from your UFO onto the first maze tile is not influenced by colours since the exit tube is overlapping the first doorway.

The doorways on the relic tile are silver, which can be seen as any colour. Therefore, when trying to move through, an alien only needs the colour of the other doorway.

(Example: a red/silver passage. Purple and orange can pass. Green can't because red is not part of his colour combination.)

Datapads

Activating a datapad costs 1 move point and lets you draw a card. Activate a datapad by placing your alien on it. An alien stepping onto a datapad ends its movement for that turn.

Aliens on datapads are still considered to be on that tile, you only need 1 move point to move from a datapad to an adjacent tile (this might happen when using a RUN card).

It's not possible to use a datapad that's already occupied. Morphing to a datapad doesn't activate it because you're not spending a move point.

Clear all datapads at the end of each round.

Examples

Player A uses a move die showing 1 purple move point and 3 green move points. He first moves his purple alien to the tile on the right, then moves his green alien to the tile above and onto the datapad, providing a new card and leaving 1 of the footprints unspent.

Player B uses a move die showing 1 purple, 1 green and 2 orange move points. He first moves his orange alien to the tile on the left and then up, he moves his green alien left 1 tile and finally he moves his purple alien onto the datapad and draws a card.

Action cards

Action cards can be used to alter the maze. After use these cards are discarded. Draw new cards by moving onto datapads.

Power points

Each card has a die field in the middle with points on it. Those points represent its activation cost. To use the card you will have to place a die on it with at least that number of power points.

There are 3 different coloured power dice in the game, which are the same as your aliens. The colour of the die that you place on an action card determines which of your aliens is going to use it.

If you can't power up your card you will not be able to use it.

Activation

To activate a card, place a die with at least the same amount of points on it and carry out the effect using the alien matching the die colour. (Example: only your purple alien can activate this card because you placed a purple die on it.)

Card effects that move board tiles also move the aliens on those tiles with them. UFO's do not move with moving tiles, they stay in the same position and do not form an obstruction.

Most cards can only be used within a specific range of the alien who activated it. On such cards there's a symbol in the lower right corner showing which tiles are within range.

When standing in your UFO it can be counted as a tile when determining whether or not another tile is in range, but it can never be moved or rotated unless the card specifically says so (MOVE BASE).

Range symbols:

The card can only affect the tile that the alien is on and/or tiles that are directly adjacent to him.
The effect of the card has to include a tile that is diagonally adjacent to the tile that the alien is on.
When activated, the effect of the card remains until the end of that round.

Card summary

Diagonal twist: Choose a tile that is diagonally adjacent to your alien's position. Rotate that tile 1 or 2 quarters clockwise.
Diagonal switch: Choose a tile that is diagonally adjacent to your alien's position. Switch that tile with a tile that is directly adjacent to him. (Note that the alien himself cannot move this way, nor does the tile he is on.)
Superglue: Activate this card to glue the relic to that alien's head. Once the card is active, the relic cannot be stolen from that alien for the rest of that round. When active, morph can't be used on this alien.
Morph: The alien activating the card switches places with 1 of your other aliens. If the alien switches with an alien wearing the Relic the relic doesn't move, but will stay in the same room on the other alien's head instead.
Exchange: Switch the tile that the alien is on, with a tile that is directly adjacent. This tile can be on any side (up, down, left or right), as long as it borders the tile that the alien is on.
Move base: Move your empty UFO to the next free tile on the border of the maze. This can be a tile on a different axis of the board. You can use any power die to activate this card, but all of your aliens have to be out of your UFO first.
Rotate 90: Rotate a tile 1 quarter. You can choose to rotate the tile that the alien is on, or a tile that is bordering his tile on any side.
Rotate 180: Rotate a tile 1 or 2 quarters. You can choose to rotate the tile that the alien is on, or a tile that is bordering his tile on any side.
Rotate 270: Rotate a tile 1, 2 or 3 quarters. You can choose to rotate the tile that the alien is on, or a tile that is bordering his tile on any side.

The relic

To take the relic an alien must be on the same tile, spend 1 move point and place it on its head. If another alien already has the relic it can be stolen by standing on the same tile and spending 1 move.

An alien wearing the relic can move through any passage, no matter the colour of the alien. It can even move through passages of 2 of the same colours.

Example: Player B moves his orange alien to the other tile. Because he is wearing the relic, it doesn't matter that he crosses 2 blue doorways.

Relic tokens

Every time you take the relic you receive 1 relic token. You can take it by picking it up from the maze or stealing it from another alien. If you collect 3 of these tokens you win the game.

You do not receive tokens for possessing the relic for consecutive rounds, nor for exchanging the relic between your own aliens.

Game over

If one of your aliens enters your UFO while wearing the relic you instantly win the game, make sure to annoy your friends by showing how you feel.

The game also ends immediately when any player collects 3 relic tokens.

Gameplay summary

At the start of the game each player receives: 1 UFO, 3 aliens, 1 control panel and 4 action cards. Use 3 power dice (1 of every colour) and 1 move die for each player.

Round:

Startplayer rolls all the dice.
Pick 1 die in turn and perform the corresponding actions.
Clear the datapads and discard all placed action cards.

Card effects

Diagonal switch: Exchange a diagonally adjacent tile with a directly adjacent tile.
Diagonal twist: Rotate a diagonally adjacent tile 1 or 2 quarters clockwise.
Exchange: Exchange this tile with a directly adjacent tile.
Morph: Switch this alien with 1 of your other aliens. The Relic does not move this way.
Move base: Move your empty UFO to the next free tile on the border of the maze. All your aliens need to be out of your UFO first.
Rotate 90: Rotate this tile or a directly adjacent tile 1 quarter clockwise.
Rotate 180: Rotate this tile or a directly adjacent tile 1 or 2 quarters clockwise.
Rotate 270: Rotate this tile or a directly adjacent tile 1, 2 or 3 quarters clockwise.
Run +1: 1 move point, apart from your move die.
Run +2: 2 move points, apart from your move die.
Superglue: When activated, the relic can not be stolen from this alien for the rest of this round.