Star Realms: Frontiers
Star Realms: Frontiers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
Star Realms Frontiers contains:
- This Rulebook
- 144 Standard-Sized Cards
- 8 Oversized Challenge Cards
Trade Deck Cards — 80 Trade Deck cards (20 of each faction):
Blob: 1 Blob Alpha, 3 Blob Miner, 2 Burrower, 2 Crusher, 1 Hive Queen, 1 Infested Moon, 2 Moonwurm Hatchling, 1 Nesting Ground, 1 Pulverizer, 2 Spike Cluster, 3 Stinger, 1 Swarm Cluster
Machine Cult: 3 Builder Bot, 1 Conversion Yard, 2 Defense System, 3 Destroyer Bot, 1 Enforcer Mech, 2 Integration Port, 1 Nanobot Swarm, 1 Neural Nexus, 3 Plasma Bot, 1 Reclamation Station, 2 Repair Mech
Star Empire: 2 Captured Outpost, 3 Cargo Craft, 2 Farm Ship, 3 Frontier Hawk, 1 Hammerhead, 1 Imperial Flagship, 1 Jamming Terminal, 3 Light Cruiser, 2 Orbital Gun Platform, 1 Siege Fortress, 1 Warpgate Cruiser
Trade Federation: 1 Federation Battleship, 1 Federation Cruiser, 3 Frontier Runner, 1 Gateship, 2 Long Hauler, 2 Mobile Market, 3 Orbital Shuttle, 3 Outland Station, 2 Patrol Boat, 1 Transit Nexus
Basic Cards: 16 Explorer, 32 Scout, 8 Viper, 4 Scorecards (Ones Digit), 4 Scorecards (Tens Digit)
8 Oversized Challenge Cards: Automatons, Blob Assault, Dimensional Horror, Madness of the Machine, Nemesis Beast, Pirates of the Dark Star, Defy the Empire, The Cost of Freedom
Overview
In Star Realms, you start with a Personal Deck of cards representing your space armada. Each turn, you play all the cards in your hand to gain Trade, Combat, Authority and other effects.
Trade is used to buy powerful Ships and Bases from the Trade Row and put them into your Discard Pile.
Combat is used to attack opponents and their Bases.
Authority is your score. Each player begins the game with 50 Authority.
At the end of your turn, draw a new hand of five cards. When you run out of cards, shuffle your Discard Pile (including all the new cards you've bought) to form a new Personal Deck.
The first player to reduce their opponent's Authority to zero wins!
Setup
Set the oversized cards aside. You will only use them when playing a solo or cooperative challenge (see Solo and Cooperative, below).
Each player begins the game with a Personal Deck (containing 8 Scout cards and 2 Viper cards) and a starting score of 50 Authority.
To set up the game, place the 16 Explorer cards in their own pile face-up on the table. Shuffle the Trade Deck (all the standard size cards with Blob, Machine Cult, Star Empire, or Trade Federation faction icons in the upper left hand corner) and place it face-down on the table. Leave a space next to the Trade Deck for the Scrap Heap (a place to put any cards that are removed from the game during play). Lay out the top five cards from the Trade Deck face-up on the table. This is the Trade Row.
Each player shuffles their Personal Deck and places it face down in front of them. Leave room next to each deck for a Discard Pile.
Randomly determine which player will play first. In a standard two-player game, that player draws three cards (players always draw from their own Personal Deck) and the player going second draws five cards.
Keeping Score
Players may track their Authority using any method they like; such as with the included scorecards or a pencil and paper.
To use the scorecards, line them up with the appropriate side of the "tens digit" card just under the correct digit on the "ones digit" card.
For example, if you were at 30 Authority and then took 3 damage bringing your Authority down to 27, you would track that as: 30 Authority, -3, 27 Authority.
Play
Players alternate taking turns. Each turn has three phases:
- Main Phase
- Discard Phase
- Draw Phase
Main Phase
At any time during your Main Phase you may perform any of the following actions, as many times as you like, in any order you wish:
- Play cards from your hand.
- Use the Primary Abilities of in-play Bases.
- Use the Ally/Scrap abilities of in-play Ships and Bases.
- Use Trade to acquire new cards from the Trade Row.
- Use Combat to attack an opponent and/or their Bases.
Playing Cards
There is no cost to play a card from your hand, simply place it "in-play" (face-up on the table in front of you).
There are two main types of cards in Star Realms: Ships and Bases.
Ships
Each Ship card shows its faction, name and card type, cost to buy (all cards are free to play), Primary Ability, Ally Ability, and Scrap Ability (if any).
When a Ship is played, its Primary Ability happens immediately. If a Ship has an Ally and/or Scrap Ability, you may choose to use one or both of these abilities any time during your Main Phase (provided you fulfill the obligations for doing so).
Ships that you play remain face-up in front of you until the Discard Phase, at which time you place them in your Discard Pile.
Bases
Each Base card shows its faction, name and card type, cost to buy, Primary Ability, Outpost/Defense (if any), Ally Ability, and Double Ally Ability (if any).
Unlike Ships, Bases are not discarded at the end of the turn. Instead, they remain in play until they are destroyed or scrapped. Also unlike Ships, you may choose when during the Main Phase to use a Base's Primary Ability.
Each Base has a Defense number that represents the amount of Combat that it must be attacked with in a single turn to destroy it. Once destroyed, a Base is placed in its owner's Discard Pile.
Bases with the Outpost designation protect you and your other Bases. If you have an Outpost in play, you may not be attacked and your non-Outpost Bases may not be attacked or targeted by an opponent until all of your Outposts are destroyed. Once destroyed, a Base is placed into its owner's Discard Pile.
Using Abilities
With the exception of a Ship's Primary Ability (which happens immediately as the Ship is played), players may use the various abilities of their in-play Ships and Bases at any time during their Main Phase. Each ability may be used just once each turn.
If an ability grants Combat or Trade, that resource goes into a resource pool, which can be used at any point during the Main Phase. If an ability grants additional Authority, immediately add it to your Authority score.
Some abilities provide multiple effects (for example; Frontier Runner provides both 2 Combat and 2 Trade). Other abilities allow you to choose from multiple effects (for example; Outland Station provides 1 Combat or 3 Trade).
Ally Abilities
Ally Abilities are indicated by a faction icon (Blob, Machine Cult, Star Empire, or Trade Federation) in the left-most part of the text box.
On your turn, an Ally Ability is triggered (and is available to be used) as soon as you have another card of that faction in-play. The order in which you play your cards doesn't matter, as soon as you have two or more cards of the same faction in play, trigger all relevant Ally abilities.
Once an Ally Ability has been triggered, it may be used at any time during your Main Phase.
Double Ally Abilities
Double Ally Abilities are a special type of Ally Ability. They are indicated by a double faction icon (double Blob, double Machine Cult, double Star Empire, or double Trade Federation) in the text box.
A Double Ally Ability works exactly like a regular Ally Ability, except it requires two other cards of that faction in play to trigger.
Scrap Abilities
Some Ships and Bases have a Scrap Ability, indicated by a trash can icon in the text box. Any time during the Main Phase you may use a card's Scrap Ability by immediately removing it from play and placing it in the Scrap Heap. Cards in the Scrap Heap do not return to your deck, so consider carefully if using a card's Scrap Ability is worth losing that card for good.
Scrapping Cards
Some card abilities allow you to scrap other cards from your hand, your Discard Pile or the Trade Row. Whenever a card is scrapped, place it in the Scrap Heap. If a card is scrapped for any reason other than its Scrap Ability, you do not gain the effects of that Scrap Ability. If an Explorer would be placed in the Scrap Heap for any reason, instead place it face-up in the Explorer pile.
The Trade Row should always have five cards in it, so when a card is scrapped from the Trade Row, immediately replace it with the next card from the Trade Deck.
Acquiring (Buying) Cards
Some card abilities give you Trade. When you gain Trade, it goes into a Trade Pool, which you may add to and use over the course of your Main Phase.
Trade is used to acquire cards from the Trade Row or the Explorer Pile. A card's cost is found in the Trade symbol in its upper right hand corner. To acquire a card, subtract Trade from your Trade Pool equal to the card's cost and place the card into your Discard Pile. Acquiring a card doesn't count as playing it, so it doesn't go into play and you don't use its abilities. Any remaining Trade is saved and can be used to acquire additional cards during the Main Phase.
Some card abilities instruct you to "acquire a card." In this case, you acquire the card without paying its cost.
Remember, the Trade Row should always have five cards in it, so when you acquire a card from the Trade Row, immediately replace it with the next card from the Trade Deck.
Attacking
Some card abilities give you Combat. When you gain Combat, it goes into a Combat Pool, which you may add to and use over the course of your Main Phase. You may use Combat to attack an opponent or their Bases. You may make any number of attacks during your Main Phase.
To attack a Base, subtract Combat from your Combat Pool equal to the Base's Defense. That Base is destroyed and goes to your opponent's Discard Pile.
Sometimes a card's ability instructs you to "destroy target base." In this case you destroy the Base without using Combat.
To attack an opponent, subtract any amount of Combat from your Combat Pool and lower their Authority by that amount.
If an opponent has an Outpost in play, they can't be attacked directly and their non-Outpost Bases can't be attacked or targeted by you until all of their Outposts are destroyed.
Discard Phase
Whenever you discard a card or acquire a new card from the Trade Row, place that card face-up in your Discard Pile. Any player may look through your Discard Pile at any time.
During your Discard Phase, you:
- Lose any Trade remaining in your Trade Pool.
- Lose any Combat remaining in your Combat Pool.
- Put all in-play Ships into your Discard Pile.
- Put any cards left in your hand into your Discard Pile.
Draw Phase
During your Draw Phase you:
- Draw five cards, then your turn ends.
Note: if you ever need to draw a card and your Personal Deck is empty, shuffle your Discard Pile and place it face-down as your new Personal Deck.
Example: At the beginning of your Draw Phase you have three cards left in your deck. Draw those three cards, shuffle your Discard Pile into a new Personal Deck, then draw two more cards.
Icon Reference List
Faction icons — Blob, Machine Cult, Star Empire, Trade Federation: When these icons appear in the upper-left corner of a card, they indicate the card's faction. When they appear in a card's text box, they indicate an Ally Ability.
Authority: Players start the game with a score of 50 Authority. If your Authority is reduced to zero or below, you lose the game. When this icon appears in a card's text box, it indicates an amount of Authority that you gain. You may gain Authority even if it would cause you to exceed the amount you started the game with.
Combat: When this icon appears in a card's text box, it indicates an amount of Combat that you gain.
Trade: When this icon appears in the upper-right corner of a card, it indicates the card's cost. When this icon appears in a card's text box, it indicates an amount of Trade that you gain.
Scrap: When this icon appears in a card's text box, it indicates a Scrap Ability.
Outpost: A Base with this icon is an Outpost. If a player has an Outpost in play, they may not be attacked and their non-Outpost Bases may not be attacked or targeted by an opponent until all of their Outposts are destroyed.
Defense: A Base's Defense is the amount of Combat that it must be attacked with in a single turn to destroy it. (Any damage dealt to a Base without destroying it is removed at the end of the turn.)
Ready to Play!
You are now ready to play a standard two-player game! The remainder of this rulebook covers other cool formats you can try later.
Formats
Star Realms is designed to support a wide variety of formats that support various numbers of players. Unless otherwise specified, all the standard rules apply to each format. Frontiers contains enough cards to support four players. Add the Star Realms Core Set or Star Realms Colony Wars to support 5-6 player formats.
Standard (2 Players)
Randomly determine which player is going first. That player gets a three-card starting hand. The other player gets a five-card starting hand.
Free-For-All (3-6 Players)
Randomly determine which player is going first. That player gets a three-card starting hand. Play proceeds clockwise around the table. The player going second gets a four-card starting hand. All other players get a five-card starting hand.
On their turn, players may attack/target any combination of Bases and players. The last player alive wins the game!
Hunter (3-6 Players)
Randomly determine which player is going first. That player gets a three-card starting hand. Play proceeds clockwise around the table. The player going second gets a four-card starting hand. All other players get a five-card starting hand.
On their turn, players may only attack/target the player to their left and/or the Bases belonging to players on their left and right. If the player to your left is defeated, the next player to your left can then be attacked/targeted. The last player alive wins the game!
Hunter First Blood
The same rules as Hunter, but when the first player is defeated, the game immediately ends and the player to their right wins!
Hydra (4 or 6 Players)
All players on a team share an Authority score. Each individual player has their own Personal Deck, hand, Discard Pile, and in-play zone (for example, your teammate's in-play cards won't trigger your Ally Abilities).
Randomly determine which team goes first. Players on that team get three-card starting hands. Players on the opposing team get five-card starting hands. Teams alternate taking turns (rather than individual players), with all teammates sharing their Main, Discard, and Draw Phases.
Each player still has their own Trade and Combat Pools and still makes their own decisions regarding playing cards, acquiring cards, activating abilities, and attacking. Players may, as many times as they like each turn, transfer any amount of their Trade and/or Combat to a teammate's pool. This allows teammates to work together to destroy bases and purchase expensive cards. As long as any player on a given team has an Outpost in play, that team may not be attacked and any non-Outpost Bases belonging to that team may not be attacked or targeted by opponents.
When a team's Authority is reduced to zero, all players on that team are defeated.
Two-Headed Hydra (4 Players): Each two-player team has a shared score of 75 Authority.
Three-Headed Hydra (6 Players): Each three-player team has a shared score of 100 Authority.
Note: When playing as a Hydra team against a Challenge Card (see Solo and Cooperative, below), the team has a total Authority equal to the individual player Authority times the number of players.
Emperor (6 Players)
Players split into two teams of three, with each team choosing one teammate to be their Emperor. The Emperors sit facing each other, flanked by their teammates (Admirals) on either side.
Admirals start the game with 50 Authority, and Emperors start with 60 Authority. The team going first (Team A) gets a three-card starting hand. The team going second (Team B) gets a five-card starting hand. Play begins with Player 1 and proceeds clockwise.
Admirals may only attack/target the enemy Admiral across from them and/or Bases controlled by that Admiral. If that Admiral is defeated, they may then begin to attack/target the enemy Emperor and his Bases. Emperors may attack/target any player or Base.
During their Main Phase, any player may pay 1 Trade to move a card from their Discard Pile to the Discard Pile of a neighboring teammate.
When an Admiral is defeated, they may put any one card from their hand, deck, or Discard Pile into their Emperor's Discard Pile. When an Emperor is defeated, their team loses the game!
Raid (3-6 Players: 1 Boss and 2-5 Raiders)
Choose one player to act as the Boss, with all other players acting as the Raiders. Play starts with the Boss and proceeds clockwise around the table. The Boss begins the game with two fewer cards than their normal hand size (found below), while Raiders begin the game with a standard five-card hand. Raiders take their turns individually, but any damage dealt to the Boss' Bases doesn't heal until the start of the Boss' turn (so that one Raider can start an attack on a Base while another Raider finishes the job on their own turn).
Raiders: Raiders may look at each other's hands and discuss strategy. Though Raiders are playing as a team, each player still has their own Trade Pool and Combat Pool, and still makes their own decisions regarding playing cards, acquiring cards, activating abilities, and attacking. When a Raider is eliminated, they may place one card they own in the Discard Pile of each teammate. If all of the Raiders are eliminated, the Boss wins!
The Boss: The Boss' starting Authority score and hand size is dependent on the number of Raiders. If the Boss has their Authority reduced to zero, the Raiders win!
| # of Raiders | Boss Starting Authority | Boss Hand Size |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 50 | 7 |
| 3 | 70 | 7 |
| 4 | 70 | 8 |
| 5 | 90 | 8 |
Solo and Cooperative
Players battle against the game using Challenge Cards.
Each oversized Challenge Card lists the Challenge Name, the Boss' starting Authority, its Special Abilities or Rules, and the Challenge Rules for its Boss Order of Play.
Additional rules and instruction for each Challenge Card can be found in the following pages.
Challenge Cards
The eight oversized Challenge Cards included in this set allow you to play by yourself, or on a team with your friends, against the game. In each challenge you will be fighting against a different bad guy (known as "the Boss").
Typically, you'll use normal Star Realms rules for hand size, acquiring cards, using Combat, etc., but the challenge will have special rules for how the enemy you are facing plays against you. Rules for each challenge can be found on the front and back of its oversized card and in this rulebook.
After you pick the Challenge Card you want to play, find its corresponding rules pages in this rulebook. Then read the story (in italics) aloud to all players, and follow the setup rules to get started.
Challenge Difficulty Levels
There are four difficulty levels for each challenge. The challenges are designed to be tough for an experienced player at Veteran level, so you may want to start out on Beginner or Intermediate and work your way up from there.
- Beginner: Players take three turns each before the Boss's first turn.
- Intermediate: Players take two turns each before the Boss's first turn.
- Veteran: Players go first.
- Expert: Boss goes first.
Mulliganing the Trade Row
A player may, during their Main Phase on any turn, scrap every card in the Trade Row. The Trade Row may only be mulliganed once during a challenge, so this ability may only be used if no player has already mulliganed the Trade Row this game.
Challenge Notes
- For Bosses that have a hand, they get their normal hand size even when going first.
- When the players play first (Beginner, Intermediate and Veteran), they get a three-card starting hand on their first turn of the game.
- In Beginner and Intermediate difficulty levels, once the players have taken their extra turns at the start of the game, play proceeds as normal, with the players and the Boss alternating turns.
- When the Boss Order of Play rules instruct the Boss to use an ability (such as an Ally ability), and the Boss has multiple cards with that type of ability in play, the Boss uses the ability of the card with the highest cost. If there is a tie, choose a tied card at random and use that card's ability.
- If the Trade Deck ever runs out of cards, shuffle the Scrap Heap into a new Trade Deck (first remove any cards that don't belong in the Trade Deck, like Scouts).
Boss Attacks
When the rules say, "the Boss attacks," the Boss uses its Combat to make a series of attacks. For each attack, it follows the steps below, making the first possible attack. Repeat this process (starting at #1) until the Boss has no Combat remaining. For each attack, the Boss uses the minimum Combat required to defeat a player or to destroy a Base.
- If the Boss can attack and defeat a player, it attacks the player with the highest Authority that it can defeat. (If tied, it attacks one of them at random.)
- The Boss attacks the highest Defense Outpost that it can destroy (If tied, it attacks the highest-cost tied Outpost. If still tied, it attacks one of them at random.)
- The Boss attacks the highest Defense non-Outpost Base that it can destroy. (If tied, it attacks the highest cost tied Base. If still tied, it attacks one of them at random.)
- The Boss attacks the player with the lowest Authority. (If tied, it attacks one of them at random.)
Remember, the Boss can't attack a player or a non-Outpost Base that is protected by an Outpost.
If an ability allows the Boss to "destroy a base," it selects the Base using the steps above. (The Boss never destroys its own Bases.)
Automatons
1-4 players solo/co-op challenge
A few weeks ago, a group of your Explorers stumbled across what appeared to be a long dead civilization. The cold dark planet was covered with roads and advanced looking buildings, but had no signs of life. Your ships hailed the planet on all frequencies. A moment later, the entire world lit up and your ships were attacked by swarms of automated spacecraft that poured out of thousands of spaceports.
Since then, this mysterious alien fleet has taken every ship and base they have encountered, killed their crews, and then incorporated the salvaged tech into their fleet. Your intelligence officers theorize this was a defense technology designed to kill the enemy while assimilating their hardware. They believe this technology ran amok, wiping out its creator race. You must defeat this threat quickly, lest your star realm meet the same fate.
Challenge Setup: Have a way to track the "Assimilation Count" (pencil and paper, extra score cards, etc). The Assimilation Count represents the growing alien armada as they assimilate more and more captured technology.
The Boss starts the game with 30 Authority per player and an Assimilation count of 0 (+4 for each additional player beyond the first). For example: when playing with 3 players, the Assimilation Count starts at 8.
Note: The Boss has no hand, deck or Discard Pile.
Each player starts with a standard Personal Deck (8 Scouts and 2 Vipers).
Players start with 60 Authority each. When playing with more than one player, players are a Hydra team (see Hydra, above).
Boss Order of Play: After the Boss plays its cards (see Automatons Challenge Card), use the steps below to complete its turn. After each step, if the Boss did anything in that step, go back to step 1. Repeat this process until you reach "End the turn."
- The Boss uses an available Primary Ability of a Base.
- The Boss uses an available Ally Ability.
- The Boss uses an available Double Ally ability.
- The Boss attacks.
- Add 1 to the Assimilation Count.
- End the turn.
Blob Assault
1-4 players solo/co-op challenge
A Blob spike cluster was discovered by colonists at the fringe of your star realm. Panicked colonial defenses attacked and destroyed the cluster, but not before it sent a distress signal deep into Blob space.
The mistake has been made, there is no undoing it now. Your only choice is to prepare your realm for the inevitable Blob response… and pray you can survive it.
Challenge Setup: Remove all Blob cards from the Trade Deck. Put one Spike Cluster face up in the Blob's Discard Pile. Then create a Blob deck with the following cards in order (top to bottom): Stinger, Spike Cluster, Burrower, Crusher, Nesting Ground, Pulveriser, Blob Alpha, Swarm Cluster, Infested Moon, Hive Queen. Set all the other Blob cards aside, they will not be used.
The Boss starts the game with 40 Authority per player.
Note: The Boss has no hand.
Each player starts with a standard Personal Deck (8 Scouts and 2 Vipers).
Players start with 40 Authority each. When playing with more than one player, players are a Hydra team (see Hydra, above).
Boss Order of Play: After the Boss plays its card (see The Blob Assault Challenge Card), use the steps below to complete its turn. After each step, if the Boss did anything in that step, go back to step 1. Repeat this process until you reach "End the turn."
- The Boss uses an available Primary Ability of a Base.
- The Boss uses an available Ally Ability.
- The Boss uses an available Double Ally Ability.
- The Boss attacks.
- End the turn.
Dimensional Horror
1-4 players solo/co-op challenge
Long ago, the frontier was the target of a failed colonization effort which used a powerful, but tragically flawed experimental warp gate technology. These warp gates left tiny fractures in the fabric of space-time. Something horrible from outside of our reality has found this weak point and used it to break through into our dimension...
Challenge Setup: The Boss has no hand, deck, Discard Pile, or Authority. Instead, it has four tentacles (Red, Yellow, Green and Blue). Players must destroy all the Boss' tentacles to win the game. Before laying out the initial Trade Row, reveal the top 10 cards of the Trade Deck. Separate these cards into tentacle piles by color (faction). Make sure the cost of each card in every pile is visible. Each of these piles represents one of the Dimensional Horror's tentacles.
Each player starts with a standard Personal Deck (8 Scouts and 2 Vipers).
Players start with 40 Authority each.
Players take individual turns. Randomly determine which player goes first. Play proceeds clockwise around the table from that player. After each player's turn, the Boss takes a turn. The Boss' special abilities and attacks only affect the player whose turn just ended.
Difficulty Levels:
- Beginner: The Boss doesn't take a turn after each player's first and second turns.
- Intermediate: The Boss doesn't take a turn after each player's first turn.
- Veteran: Play normally.
- Expert: The Boss takes a turn against each player before the first player's turn.
Boss Order of Play:
- Take the card in the Trade Row furthest from the Trade Deck and put it into the appropriate tentacle pile.
- Slide the remaining cards in the Trade Row one space away from the Trade Deck.
- Reveal the top card of the Trade Deck. If it is of the same faction as the card just added to a tentacle, add the new card to the tentacle as well. Otherwise, put the new card in the empty spot in the Trade Row. Repeat this step until you fill the empty Trade Row spot.
- The Boss gains a special ability based on the color of the card(s) added to the tentacle (see Dimensional Horror card front). It gains the ability only once regardless of the number of cards added to the tentacle.
- The Boss gains Combat equal to the number of cards in the longest tentacle.
- The Boss attacks.
- End the turn.
Madness of the Machine
1-4 players solo/co-op challenge
A recent Blob attack damaged the Machine Cult Brain World in your sector. Cult ships swarmed to its defense, and then industrious repair bots brought it back online. In a sudden epiphany, the Brain World realized purifying the Cult wasn't enough. The divine efficiency of the Cult must be embraced by all. All must convert or be purged.
Convert or be purged. Convert or be purged…
Challenge Setup: Remove all Machine Cult cards from the Trade Deck. Shuffle those cards, 4 Scouts, and 4 Vipers together to make the Machine Cult deck. (If you are playing with multiple sets, use only the 20 Machine Cult cards that came with Frontiers.)
The Boss starts the game with 40 Authority per player.
Each player starts with a Personal Deck consisting of 7 Scouts and 1 Viper.
Players start with 60 Authority each. When playing with more than one player, players are a Hydra team (see Hydra, above).
Boss Order of Play: After the Boss draws its cards on its turn, follow the steps below to determine its actions. After each step, if the Boss did anything in that step, go back to step 1. Repeat this process until you reach "End the turn."
- The Boss plays the most expensive Machine Cult card that it has in hand (if there is a tie between a Ship and a Base, play the Base).
- The Boss uses an available Primary Ability of a Base.
- The Boss uses an available Ally Ability.
- The Boss uses an available Scrap ability (except for Reclamation Station's).
- If the Boss has Reclamation Station in play, it uses its Scrap ability.
- The Boss plays all Scouts and Vipers in its hand.
- The Boss attacks.
- End the turn.
Nemesis Beast
1-4 players solo/co-op challenge
While exploring a new system for colonization, your scanners pick up what appears to be a massive geomagnetic storm on the fourth planet. The storm continues to grow in intensity, ripping the planet apart.
The storm moves away from the debris field and toward your fleet, matching your changes in course. You realize to your horror that the "storm" is a supermassive planet-swallowing space beast! You must defeat it to save your fleet, your realm, and perhaps the galaxy itself!
Challenge Setup: When playing with two or more players, for each player in the game, place one card from the top of the Trade Deck face down in front of the Boss.
The Boss starts the game with 50 Authority per player.
Note: The Boss has no hand, deck or Discard Pile.
Each player starts with a standard Personal Deck (8 Scouts and 2 Vipers).
Players start with 50 Authority each. When playing with more than one player, players are a Hydra team (see Hydra, above).
Boss Order of Play: On the Boss' turn, follow these steps:
- Scrap the card in the Trade Row furthest from the Trade Deck.
- Move the entire Trade Row one position away from the Trade Deck.
- Place the scrapped card face down in front of the Boss. The Boss gains Combat equal to the number of cards in front of it.
- Reveal a new card from the Trade Deck to fill the empty spot in the Trade Row.
- The faction of the card revealed determines which special ability the Boss gains that turn (see Nemesis Beast card front).
- The Boss attacks.
- End the turn.
Pirates of the Dark Star
1-4 players solo/co-op challenge
The Pirates of the Dark Star are known galaxy-wide for their cruelty, laying waste to entire systems and leaving few survivors to tell the tale. Now they have their sights set on your star realm. They have smashed your frontier fleet and are now advancing on the inner planets. Defeat the pirates or see your realm lost!
Challenge Setup: The Boss starts the game with 25 Authority per player.
Note: The Boss has no hand, deck or Discard Pile.
Each player starts with a standard Personal Deck (8 Scouts and 2 Vipers).
Players start with 50 Authority each. When playing with more than one player, players have individual Authority and can be individually eliminated. However, players have a shared turn, and pool their Trade and Combat like a Hydra team (see Hydra, above).
Boss Order of Play: On the Boss' turn, follow these steps:
- For each player remaining in the game, scrap one card in the Trade Row furthest from the Trade Deck.
- Move the remaining Trade Row cards one position away from the Trade Deck for each card scrapped.
- Reveal a new card from the Trade Deck to fill each empty spot in the Trade Row.
- The faction and cost of the first card revealed determines what the Boss does to the first player (see Pirates of the Dark Star card front). The second card revealed determines what the Boss does to the second player, and so on.
- End the turn.
Defy the Empire
1-3 players solo/co-op challenge
The Star Empire recently fought off a Blob incursion into one of its systems bordering your star realm. Now, you've received a communication from the Star Empire demanding that you pay a tribute to the Emperor.
By their logic, your realm would've been the Blob's next target, so you benefited from the Emperor's protection. While this may be true, you know that if you pay, their next demand will be for an oath of fealty. Better to fight and risk all, than to lose your authority one concession at a time.
Challenge Setup: Remove all Star Empire cards from the Trade Deck. (If you are playing with multiple sets, use only the 20 Star Empire cards that came with Frontiers.)
You'll use those 20 cards to make two decks:
The "Emperor's Elite" Trade Deck (top to bottom in order): Hammerhead, Jamming Terminal, Warpgate Cruiser, Siege Fortress, Imperial Flagship.
The "Emperor's Subjects" Trade Deck: The rest of the Star Empire cards from Frontiers, shuffled.
The top card of each of these decks is always face-up.
The Boss starts the game with 40 Authority per player.
The Boss and each player start with a standard Personal Deck (8 Scouts and 2 Vipers).
Players start with 50 Authority each. When playing with more than one player, players are a Hydra team (see Hydra, above).
Boss Order of Play: After the Boss draws its cards on its turn, follow the steps below to determine its actions. After each step, if the Boss did anything in that step, go back to step 1. Repeat this process until you reach "End the turn."
- The Boss uses an available Primary Ability of a Base.
- The Boss uses an available Ally Ability.
- The Boss uses an available Double Ally Ability.
- The Boss plays the most expensive card that it has in hand (Scouts and Vipers cost 0).
- The Boss acquires the most expensive card that it can afford from its own Trade Decks.
- The Boss attacks.
- End the turn.
The Cost of Freedom
1-4 players solo/co-op challenge
The Trade Federation has decided that your star realm is a desirable acquisition. They've banned their subsidiary forces from working with you, and are using their considerable financial might to buy the loyalty of nearby forces. You must show the Federation that your realm would be far too costly to add to their portfolio.
Challenge Setup: Remove all Trade Federation cards from the Trade Deck. (If you are playing with multiple sets, use only the 20 Trade Federation cards that came with Frontiers.)
You'll use those 20 cards to make two decks:
First, make an Acquisition Deck containing: 1 Transit Nexus, 1 Federation Battleship, 1 Ion Station, 2 Mobile Market and 1 Outland Station.
If playing with one player, add 1 Patrol Boat.
If playing with two players, add 1 Patrol Boat and 1 Federation Cruiser.
Place the Transit Nexus card face down, then shuffle the remaining Acquisition Deck cards and place them face down on top to create the Acquisition Deck.
Shuffle the remaining Trade Federation cards from Frontiers to make the Boss' Personal Deck.
The Boss starts the game with 40 Authority per player.
The Boss and each player start with a standard Personal Deck (8 Scouts and 2 Vipers).
Players start with 30 Authority each. When playing with more than one player, players are a Hydra team (see Hydra, above).
Boss Order of Play: After the Boss draws its cards on its turn, follow the steps below to determine its actions. After each step, if the Boss did anything in that step, go back to step 1. Repeat this process until you reach "End the turn."
- The Boss uses an available Primary Ability of a Base.
- The Boss uses an available Ally Ability.
- The Boss uses an available Double Ally Ability.
- The Boss plays the most expensive card in its hand (Scouts and Vipers cost 0).
- The Boss acquires the most expensive card that it can afford and puts it into the Assets Ledger (see Trade Federation Challenge Card back).
- The Boss attacks.
- End the turn.
Faction Stories
Trade Federation Story: In the far future, the traditional governing bodies of the human race have been replaced with corporate leadership. Earth and its surrounding colonies are ruled by a group of corporations called the Trade Federation. The Federation's policies are focused around commerce and growth, but especially on profits for those at the top of the corporate ladder. While they prefer to deal with other star realms using trade and diplomacy, they have a large defense branch dedicated to protecting the Federation's interests.
The Trade Federation specializes in generating large amounts of Trade and in gaining Authority (increasing your score).
The Blobs Story: These mysterious creatures are the first alien life forms encountered by the human race. Most of the initial encounters consisted of human colonies being completely obliterated. On the few occasions that a Blob ship has been recovered somewhat intact, the only biological remains found inside have consisted of a gelatinous mass, thus leading to the moniker, "The Blobs." While for several years all encounters between humanity and the Blobs have been extremely violent, there is currently some limited trade between various Blob factions and some of the more-daring human traders.
The Blobs are best at generating massive amounts of Combat, and at removing undesirable cards from the Trade Row.
Star Empire Story: The Star Empire consists primarily of former colonies that were on the outer edges of the Trade Federation. Not only did the colonists feel used by the corporations, but they felt the Federation failed to give them adequate protection from the Blobs. As a result, one ambitious colonial governor was able to unite several colonies into an independent empire under his control, one with a strong military, both for warding off the Blobs and for discouraging the Federation from trying to reclaim their lost colonies.
The Star Empire is a combat-oriented faction that draws many cards and makes the opponent discard cards.
Machine Cult Story: A cluster of industrial mining worlds were completely cut off from the Trade Federation by the Blobs. With the threat of annihilation always looming, and no contact with the rest of human space, these worlds were forced to take drastic measures. Soon a cult of technology arose, focused on using advanced robotics and computerization to create a powerful defense force that belied their relatively small population. Since their leaders believed salvation lay in technology, technology soon became their god.
The Machine Cult gains most of its power from being able to remove undesirable cards from your deck and from having a large number of Bases designed to defend your Authority from attack.
Credits
Game Design, Lead Set Development, and Art Direction: Darwin Kastle
Set Design, Lead Game Development, and Product Lead: Robert Dougherty
Graphic Design: Randy Delven, Vito Gesualdi, and Adam Lachmanski
Lead Artist: Antonis Papantoniou
Art and Additional Art Direction: Graphics Manufacture
Additional Assistance: Nathan Davis
Playtesters: Connor Daly, Martin Dickie, Nate Dougherty, Maia Dougherty, George Groussis, Barbara Gugluizza, JR Honeycutt, Desiree Jerome, CJ Moynihan, Debbie Moynihan, Adam Podtburg, Spencer Schwarzwald, Zach Schwarzwald, John Tatian, Ian Taylor, Alex Tottenham, Ed Wilcox
For more information about Star Realms Frontiers, visit StarRealms.com/frontiers. There you can find rulings, gameplay hints, and other useful information.
Star Realms Frontiers™ & © 2018 White Wizard Games LLC