Sputnik
Sputnik Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
The goal of the game is to eliminate opponents' rockets by hindering any of their movements.
Setup
Each player chooses his rocket (or rockets) and a place on his space base of the same color.
Bases, rockets and galaxies are placed on the board as shown in Fig. 1, according to the number of players.
Unused space bases are turned over to the galaxy side at the start of the game. (Fig. 2 shows an example of the start of a 3-player game: the board, the galaxies, and 3 rockets on their bases.)
Turn Order
Lots determine who starts the game. Then the turn passes clockwise.
On his turn, each player carries out 2 actions: he moves his rocket, and he takes any uninhabited galaxy token.
Moving Rockets
On his turn, each player must move his rocket onto a galaxy or an adjacent base of his own color (Fig. 3).
Rockets cannot move onto an empty space on the board, onto a galaxy occupied by another player's rocket, or onto another player's base (Fig. 4).
Removing Galaxies
After moving his rocket, the player takes any uninhabited galaxy from the board. The aim is to limit or hinder the movement of opponents' rockets.
Players cannot take from the board either an occupied galaxy or a space base, whether or not it is occupied.
Note: At the start of the game, it is forbidden to take a galaxy adjacent to a base.
Base Help
During the game, each base may come to the aid of its rocket one time only.
Example: the blue base helps the blue rocket. The owner of the blue rocket decides to move his base onto an empty space adjacent to his rocket. He turns the base over to its galaxy side and then places his rocket on it (Fig. 5).
Turned-over bases take on the properties of an ordinary galaxy, so later in the game they may be taken by any player.
When a player uses his base in this way, he ends his turn by moving his rocket. (Exception: he does not take any galaxy.)
End of the Game
When, on his turn, a player cannot move his rocket, he is eliminated (Fig. 6): his rocket leaves the game.
The player whose rocket remains last on the board wins the game.
Variants
For 2 or 3 players: it is possible for each player to play with several rockets.
For 4 players: it is possible to play in teams.