Star Realms FAQ
83 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup and Multiplayer
- How many base sets do I need for 3 or more players?
- Can 3 or 4 players play with a single base set?
- Can I combine the Core Set, Colony Wars and Frontiers in one game?
- Do I need more than one copy of an expansion when I combine several base sets?
- Is there a limit on trade deck size or on how many promo cards I can add?
- What do the gold, silver and white star symbols on cards mean?
- Which cards are shuffled into the trade deck, and which are kept out?
- Do Gambit cards need a Gambit set per base game?
- Can my Authority go above 50?
- What happens when the trade deck runs out?
- What starting hand sizes and Authority apply in multiplayer?
- Is there a minimum deck size?
- Are expansion packs random boosters?
Turn Structure and Information
- Can my opponent look at my discard pile, deck or hand?
- Do I have to play every card in my hand?
- Can I alternate playing cards, attacking and buying in any order?
- If I scrap a ship or a base is destroyed, do I keep the Trade or Combat it already gave me?
- Can I use a scrap or base ability during my opponent's turn, for example to scrap a base being attacked?
- When a card says "draw a card", where does the card come from?
- When is my discard pile shuffled into a new deck?
- Can I draw a card I just put on top of my deck this turn?
- If an attack or discard empties my hand, do I still draw five at the end of my turn?
Playing Cards, Ships and Bases
- Must I use a ship's primary ability when I play it, and in what order does it resolve?
- Are base, ally and scrap abilities optional, and can I use them at any time in my turn?
- What does "or" mean between abilities on a base or ship?
- If a ship's primary ability is a choice, must I choose before using an ally ability?
- Do bases stay in play between turns, and do they affect how many cards I draw?
- When a base is destroyed, where does it go?
- If I buy a base, can I use it right away?
Ally Abilities
- Does the order I play same-faction cards in matter for ally abilities?
- Does a base already in play trigger a newly played ship's ally ability?
- Can I still use an ally ability if the card that enabled it is scrapped?
- Are ally abilities optional?
- Can a card trigger its own ally ability?
- Does a ship acquired but played later get its ally bonus?
- How do dual-faction cards trigger ally abilities?
- How does Mech World count for ally abilities?
- Do factionless cards like Merc Cruiser or Mercenary Garrison trigger ally abilities?
Scrapping and Scrap Abilities
- Do I get a card's scrap ability or its play effects when another card scraps it from my hand, discard or the Center Row?
- Can I use a card's main ability and then scrap it for its scrap ability?
- Can a scrap-from-hand effect like Supply Bot or Missile Bot scrap a card I already played?
- Where does a scrapped Explorer go, and can I buy it back?
- When a card says "scrap" or "scrap up to X", must I scrap, and can I scrap zero?
- Can I scrap a card that has no scrap ability, such as a Scout?
Acquiring Cards
- When I scrap or buy a Center Row card, how is it replaced?
- Where does an acquired card go, and can I use it this turn?
- Do Scouts and Vipers count as cost 0 for "acquire a card of cost X or less"?
- Can I buy more than one card per turn?
- How does Central Office's "next ship you acquire" work?
- Does Customs Frigate let me acquire a ship for free and top-deck it?
Attacking and Outposts
- Must I destroy all Outposts before attacking the opponent or their other bases?
- Who chooses which base or Outpost is attacked and how Combat is split?
- After I destroy a base, does leftover Combat hit the opponent's Authority?
- Can I combine Combat from several cards to destroy a base?
- Does "destroy target base" need Combat, and can it hit my own base?
Discard Effects
Specific Cards
- Does Fleet HQ give +1 Combat to ships I already played this turn?
- What exactly does Stealth Needle copy?
- Does a Stealth Needle copying a Blob ship count as a Blob card for Blob World?
- What counts toward Blob World's "draw a card for each Blob card played this turn"?
- Does Starbase Omega trigger again for each extra base I play?
- How does Recycling Station work: can I discard one card and see the replacement first?
- Does scrapping Long Hauler for its top-deck effect lose the Trade I already gained?
- Does Lunar Landing count itself, and does Command Center give 2 Combat per ship?
- Must I decide on Trade Bot's optional scrap when I play it?
- When does a scrapped Mobile Market return to my discard pile?
- Where does a card go when Megahauler puts an acquired card on top of the deck and it has its own acquire effect?
Heroes and Events
Team Play and Multiplayer Variants
- In team play (Hydra) or co-op, can teammates pool Trade and Combat?
- In free-for-all can I split one attack between several opponents?
- Does the base game include solo or co-op rules, and where do I find them?
- What happens when a challenge boss attack hits a factionless card like Merc Cruiser?
- How does Pirates of the Dark Star attack and what is "2x the cost"?