Space Station
Space Station Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 6 Core Module cards (should be cut to size)
- 117 game cards
- 3 Rules Summary cards
- 1 rules sheet
- 1 year marker die
- 10 red permanent damage tokens
- 10 orange temporary damage tokens
- 30 green crew tokens
- 25 blue 1 Victory Point tokens
- 15 purple 5 Victory Point tokens
- 14 1 M€ bills
- 14 2 M€ bills
- 14 5 M€ bills
Module card
- Exit
- Name
- Effect (in this case, a Crew Action)
- Flavor text
- Module kind
- Crew provided
- Entrance
Event card
- Name
- Effect
- Flavor text
- Card type and symbol
Overview
The game spans 6 years. At the beginning of each year, the players get resources in the form of cards, crew and money. The players then take turns doing actions like building new modules, playing events, repairing and using module actions. When everyone has passed consecutively, the year ends and Victory Points (VPs) are awarded to the players with the most functioning modules in each color.
There are 6 kinds of modules that have their own color and theme:
- Structural - General functions
- Bio - Providing crew
- Luxury - Income
- Support - Building / Repairs
- Scientific - Drawing cards
- Military - Attack / Defense
Who wins?
When the 6 years are completed, the player with the most Victory Points (VPs) is the winner.
Preparations
Core Module cards and Rules Summary cards are kept separate from the other cards. The other cards are shuffled together and the resulting deck is placed so that everyone can reach it. Each player gets 1 Core Module and 10 M€ before playing the first year. The Core Module is placed on the table in front of the player and money is placed beside the station. The die is used to determine who goes first and then it is placed on the first player's Core Module to indicate that and what year is being played (i.e. the '1' should be face up year 1). Then go through the procedure for the beginning of the year.
The Beginning of Each Year
- Each player gets crew (person icon, green markers) from functioning modules. These are placed on the Core Module and are called unused crew.
- Each player gets 5 M€.
- Each player chooses one color and gets 1 M€ for each functioning module of that color his station has. The Core Module is also counted if its color is chosen. The first year this adds up to 10 + 5 + 1 = 16 M€.
- Each player may discard 1 card from his hand and must then draw cards until he has a hand of 5 cards. If a player has more than 5 cards, discarding cards is necessary until that player has 5 cards. If the deck runs out of cards, shuffle the discard pile to make a new deck.
- The year starts.
The Turn
The players take turns doing actions. On your turn, you can only do 1 action.
Build Action: Build a module from your hand to your station. Price: 6 M€. If you connect the module to a module of the same color, it costs -1 M€. When connecting a module to another, the new module's entrance (in-arrow) is placed at the previous module's chosen exit (out-arrow).
Module Action: There are two kinds of Module Actions; the Crew Action and Other Module Actions.
- Crew Action: Use a crew action as defined on a functioning module. Crew used in this way is moved from the Core Module to the used module to indicate their occupation this year. Each crew action can only be used once per year.
- Other Module Actions: Some modules define actions that do not require crew. They can be used many times each year (Core Module, Junkyard, Robotic Arm).
Repair Action: Price: 3 M€. Remove 1 temporary (orange) or permanent (red) damage marker from your station.
Event Action: Play an event (lightning bolt icon). The event ends up in the discard pile when its text has been performed. If you can't perform the text, you can't play it.
Pass Action: If you pass, you can still take actions later, but if all players pass consecutively, the year immediately ends and no more actions can be taken. If you can't do anything else, passing is your only option.
At the End of Each Year
- For each of the 6 colors, 1 VP is awarded to the player(s) with the most functioning modules of that color. The last year, 2 VPs are awarded for each color instead. VPs are placed on the Core Module. We recommend starting with awarding the first player the correct number of VPs, then player number 2 is awarded and so on.
- Temporary damage is removed.
- All crew is removed.
- Player number 2 from this year is the first player for the next year. Move the die to his/her Core Module to indicate new first player and the new year number.
- Now start the beginning of the next year, unless this was the last year.
Game Concepts
Damage
When a module is being damaged, put a red damage marker on it. Its text can no longer be used, its color doesn't count towards getting VPs or money and you may not connect new modules there. A module can be damaged multiple times, adding more damage markers. Multiple repairs are then necessary in order to make it functioning again.
Temporary damage is treated the same way as normal damage, except that it is marked with orange markers and is removed after VPs are awarded at the end of the year. Special Rule: During the first year, all damage is considered temporary.
Only a module without damage markers is considered functioning.
Used / Unused Crew
You begin each year with a number of unused crew (green markers) on the Core Module. These can be used in crew actions, moving them to the chosen module. They are then used.
Exterior Module
A module is considered exterior if only its entrance is connected, and none of its exits (if it has any).
M€
MegaCredits, the currency used in Space Station.
VP
Victory Points are collected on the Core Module. Blue markers = 1 VP, purple markers = 5 VPs.
Card Clarifications
- Library allows you to draw 1 extra card after the hand has been replenished to 5 cards so that you can start the year with 6 cards, or more if you have multiple Libraries.
- Efficiency allows you to use your modules' crew actions twice, meaning two separate turns and paying twice (crew and money if required).
- Visiting Worker can use any available crew action, although some actions are not beneficial to you. For example, Workshop can only repair damage on its own station.
- To build a Galleria, you must already have a functioning Bio module in your station.
- To build a Shipyard, you must already have another functioning Support module in your station. When you use its crew action, you must move 2 unused crew to it in order to get the VP.
- Junkyard can be used many times each year.
- Robotic Arm allows you to move modules around to new connections, meaning that you can restructure your station, step by step. Can be used many times each year.
Optional Rule: Enhanced Start
At the beginning of the first year, instead of drawing 5 cards, each player draws 10 and then discards down to 5.