The Forgotten Planet Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Aim of the Game
• Set-up
• Starting Scenarios
• Game Sequence
  • Phase 1, Energy and Robot Check
  • Phase 2, Actions
  • Phase 3, Area of Control Check
  • Phase 4, Production and End of Turn
• Robot Actions
  • Movement (1 energy for 3 tile movement)
  • Building a Base (3 energy + 3 cubes)
  • Build a Land Tile (1 energy)
  • Build a Mine Tile (1 energy)
  • Build a Wall (1 energy + 1 resource cube)
  • Push a Wall (2 energy)
  • Self-destruct (2 energy)
• Base Actions
  • Produce a Robot (2 energy + 2 cubes)
  • Sell Resource Cubes (1 energy)
  • Concentrate Energy (4 energy)
  • Conserve Energy (0 energy)
  • Consume Metal (1 energy)
• End of the Game
• Alliances
• About Components
• Components
• Create a Scenario
  • Fixed Game Area
  • Open Game Area
  • Random Tile Position Method
• Base Assignment
• Frequently Asked Questions

Aim of the Game

Each player is a space miner trying to earn the favours of the powerful Intergalactic Merchant Mining Guild. Victory Points (VP) represent the rewards that players get from the Guild thanks to their work on the Forgotten Planet.

The Forgotten Planet is very inhospitable. The ground is corrosive and unstable. To enable miner robots to traverse it, players need to place metal floors on the surface. These floors also allow energy to be captured from the Sun and then to be transmitted from the Bases to the robots, so it's very important who controls them: without a connection, robots will stay where they are and be unable to work.

In order to earn VPs, players have to extend their area of control as much as possible. Players do that by placing Land tiles around their Base and moving their robots over the tiles. It's possible to steal control of part of the surface from another player and to build protective walls. VPs are also earned from the control of special mines, selling crystals (resource cubes), and building robots and bases.

Set-up

1. Players choose a game Scenario and place starting Bases and Special Mines on the table. Starting Bases are assigned to the players randomly or by an auction (see Base Assignment) and are identified by a disc of the player's color (ownership marker).
2. Some components are removed from the game depending on the number of players:
   • Base tiles: use all 16 Base tiles with 4 players, 12 with 3 players, 8 with 2 players.
   • Land tiles: use a limited number of Land tiles depending on the game Scenario chosen.
3. Prepare the three Mine Tile decks, separating them by color, and put them near the play area with the other game components (walls, resource cubes, die, Land tiles).
4. Each player takes the robots and discs of his chosen color and 3 different resource cubes (1 blue, 1 white, 1 brown). Each player places one robot on his starting Base.
5. The player order is determined randomly and the game begins.

Starting Scenarios

Here are three starting Scenarios shown as a "virtual grid" which defines the game area and the starting positions of Bases and Special Mines. During the game players can only place tiles within this virtual grid. Other examples are available at the end of the rulebook.

• Suggested for 2 players: 7 x 7 grid, 33 Land tiles.
• Suggested for 3 players: irregular grid, 41 Land tiles.
• Suggested for 4 players: 9 x 9 grid, 53 Land tiles.

The printed scenario diagrams use these symbols: a special mine position, a player Base starting position, unavailable spaces or border markers (use a flipped Land tile), and grid Angle markers, which are useful for visualizing the grid area. There are also some grid Spacers available to help players set distances: use them like rulers. For each Scenario, the number of Land tiles available in the game is shown.

Game Sequence

Each player performs the activities of the 4 phases in order and then play passes to the next player.

1. Phase 1, Energy and Robot Check
2. Phase 2, Actions
3. Phase 3, Area of Control Check
4. Phase 4, Production and End of turn

Phase 1, Energy and Robot Check

The player determines his available energy. The basic energy generation is 3 and is increased by 1 for every 7 tiles (of all types) controlled by the player.

After that, the player checks his robot status: robots inside his area of control are active (ON status) and can be used by the player. Any others are inactive (OFF status) and cannot be used.

Example. Yellow's turn begins, Phase 1. Energy check: Yellow player controls 7 tiles: his available energy is 4 (3+1). Robot Status Check: The yellow robot number 2 is OFF, while yellow robot 1 is ON. The yellow player can only use robot 1. Hexagons = bases.

Phase 2, Actions

The player uses all his available energy doing actions or stores it on his bases. Each player has to declare the use of his energy during his turn: "First energy... second and third..." in order to enable the other players to clearly understand what he is doing.

Each player uses his available energy to perform actions during each turn according to their cost.

Bases can always consume energy to perform actions. Robots can do that only if they are in ON status.

Phase 3, Area of Control Check

The player checks ownership of the tiles on the table and defines their Area of Control.

A tile is owned (controlled) by a player if the tile is closer to one of his bases than to another player's bases, keeping in mind that walls act as barriers and that diagonals are not permitted. A tile equally distant from two or more bases of two or more colors is not controlled by anyone. An Ownership Marker of the color of the player is put on the tile to show ownership.

Phase 4, Production and End of Turn

The mines with an active player robot on them and inside the area of control of the player produce resource cubes. The player turn ends and the next player's turn begins.

The mines in the Area of Control of the current player produce 1 resource cube for each robot on the mine tile. The color of the cube is defined by the mine color. Each robot on a special mine owned by the player produces a cube whose color is chosen by the player.

Game example. First 3 game turns are presented.

Yellow, turn 1: The player checks his available energy and his robot status (Phase 1): he has 3 starting energy and his robot is ON, as it is on a yellow tile. He proceeds with Phase 2 and uses his energy to place 3 Land tiles (A-B-C).

Yellow, turn 1: The player checks his Area of Control (Phase 3) and places 3 new ownership markers. He doesn't produce cubes (Phase 4) and play proceeds to the next player.

Red, turn 1: He has 3 energy available and his robot is active. He uses 1 energy to place a Land Tile (A), another energy to move the robot (B), and the third energy to place another Land tile (C).

Red, turn 1: He checks his Area of Control and places 3 new ownership markers. After that he passes.

Yellow, turn 2: Check: Has 3 energy available and the robot is ON. Actions: He consumes 1 energy to move the robot (A), 1 energy to build a Mine (B) and a roll of 4 indicates a white mine, and the third energy to place a new land tile (C).

Yellow, turn 2: Area Check: the player places 2 new ownership markers and removes 1 red marker from the central mine, as this mine is equidistant from the player Bases. Production: no production and the player passes.

Red, turn 2: Check: energy is the same and the robot is ON. Actions: 1 energy to move the robot by 2 tiles (A); 1 energy to build a Wall spending 1 resource cube of any color (players start the game with 3 resource cubes); conserves the last energy and places 1 marker on his Base as a reminder (C).

Red, turn 2: Area Check: the player places 1 new ownership marker on the central Mine (the wall blocks the other Base). Production: he produces 1 resource cube of his choice, because his robot is on his central Special Mine.

Yellow, turn 3: Check: energy is the same and the robot is ON. Actions: consumes 2 energies and 2 resource cubes to build a new robot (A-B) and places it on his Base; places a Land Tile (C) using his third energy.

The game proceeds until there are no Land tiles available or the virtual grid is full of tiles.

Robot Actions

Movement (1 energy for 3 tile movement)

The player can use 1 energy to move one of his robots up to 3 tiles. For example, if a robot moves 2 tiles, the player has to consume 1 energy. For 4 tile movement, he consumes 2 energy.

A robot can only move over the tiles, it cannot move over another player's bases, through a wall, nor can it move diagonally.

Building a Base (3 energy + 3 cubes)

Place a new Base tile on an empty space orthogonally adjacent to the one occupied by the robot, spending 3 energy and 3 resource cubes of different colors (brown, white and blue).

Limits to bases: A base may not be built orthogonally adjacent to another base or a mine.

Tip: as Bases are used to define the players' Areas of Control, adding new bases near the center of the Scenario or near the Special mines is very important.

Build a Land Tile (1 energy)

Place a new Land tile on an empty space orthogonally adjacent to the one occupied by the robot.

Tip: land tile position is very important, as they allow robot to move.

Build a Mine Tile (1 energy)

The Player chooses an empty space orthogonally adjacent to the one occupied by the robot and rolls a 6-side die. The number rolled determines the type of tile to be placed:

• 1-2: Land Tile
• 3: Brown Mine
• 4: White Mine
• 5: Blue Mine
• 6: Player chooses

In Phase 4, each active robot on a mine produces 1 resource cube (taken from the Bank) of the matching color. Special Mines (see Scenario) are like ordinary Mines except that the player chooses the color of the cube(s). Special mines are only placed at the beginning of the game and cannot be built.

Limits to mines: A mine may not be built orthogonally adjacent to another mine or a base.

Tip: Mines are important for producing resources, so players should always build some near to their Bases, where it will be easier to retain control.

Build a Wall (1 energy + 1 resource cube)

A wall is placed on one side of the tile occupied by the robot. A wall separates the two tiles as if there was an empty space between them, so it's not possible to cross it, build over it, or extend your Area of Control over it. The cube spent can be of any color.

Limits to walls: it is not possible to completely enclose a single tile with walls. On other hand, it is possible for a group of tiles to become closed off by walls: in this case no player will control them.

Push a Wall (2 energy)

A robot can push a wall and move it across 1 tile. The movement is always in a straight line and the robot follows the wall onto the traversed tile.

Limits to pushing: it is not possible to push a wall across a robot (ON or OFF), mine tile, or Base tile, nor into a wall on the opposite side. Pushed walls must adhere to the same limits as built walls.

Example: (on the left) the yellow robot pushes the wall as shown by the arrow, consuming 2 energy. (on the right) the result of the action: the wall and the robot are moved by 1 tile to the right. In Phase 3, two tiles will become yellow and in the next Phase 1, the green robot will be switched OFF. Hexagons = bases.

Self-destruct (2 energy)

A robot can explode and destroy itself and all the robots that are on the same tile. Alternatively, the robot can self-destruct next to a wall on a specific side of a tile, destroying it. The robots and the destroyed wall go back to the Bank and are available again to the players.

Tip: self-destruction is a serious choice, players should always think twice about it!

Example. The tile at the same distance from the yellow Base and the green Base is not controlled by anyone (A). Other tiles are under the control of the green or yellow player. Hexagons = bases.

Example. Tile B is under the control of the Red player: the Red base is three tiles away whereas the Green base is four tiles away. The Yellow base is blocked by the wall and by the Green base. Hexagons = bases.

Base Actions

Produce a Robot (2 energy + 2 cubes)

A base produces a robot, paying 2 energy and 2 resource cubes of any color. The new robot is placed on the base that produced it.

Sell Resource Cubes (1 energy)

Consuming 1 energy it is possible to sell a set of 3 resource cubes of different colors (1 white + 1 brown + 1 blue) in exchange for 2 VPs (the 2VP and 6VP tokens are used for this). The sold resource cubes go back to the Bank and are available again to the players.

Concentrate Energy (4 energy)

4 energy can be converted into 1 resource cube of any color. The player takes a cube of their choice from the Bank.

Conserve Energy (0 energy)

The player can save 1 energy for use in his subsequent turns instead of using it for actions in the current turn. It is possible to save up to 3 energy total. To remind everybody of this, place an additional ownership marker on the player's base for each energy saved.

Consume Metal (1 energy)

The player can permanently remove a land tile from the game, taking it from the Bank and placing it back in the game box.

Tip: Removing tiles can be a useful way to accelerate the end of the game if you are winning.

End of the Game

The game ends at the end of the current player's turn if:

• The Game Area is completely filled by tiles, or
• The last available Land tile has been taken from the Bank.

At the end of the game the following VPs are awarded to the players according to their ownership:

• Land tiles owned: 1 VP
• Special mine tiles owned: 3 VPs
• VP tokens as their value.

And the following Bonuses are applied:

• Player with most common mines: 3 VPs.
• Player with most robots in play (ON or OFF): 3 VPs.
• Player with most bases: 3 VPs.

In the case of a tie for a Bonus, the VP are divided between the players concerned, rounding down.

The player with most VPs is the winner. In the case of a tie, the player with more resource cubes wins. A further tie represents a joint victory.

Alliances

With 4 players, it is possible to play with Alliances: two players against two players. In this scenario:

• Allied players can use allied mines to produce resource cubes.
• A tile that is equidistant from only allied bases is assigned to one of the allies as they choose. This tile cannot be re-assigned without a change of ownership of an adjacent tiles.
• Resource cubes are shared.
• Robots can be activated (ON status) within the Area of Control of the allied player.
• At the end of the game VP bonuses will be counted per Alliance and final VPs will be combined.

About Components

If you run out of ownership markers or resource cubes, you may use alternatives to replace them. Other components are limited to those available in the game scenario.

If players want, they can add an hourglass to the game to manage their turns.

Although counters for energy are not included in the game, some players may find it useful to use additional counters to represent energy and to help keep track of it during their turn. These could be coins, different colored cubes, or anything else to hand.

Components

• Robots: 7 for each color (28 in total)
• Land tiles: 72
• Base tiles: 16
• Mine tiles: 24 (8 for each color)
• Special mine tiles: 4
• VP tiles: 5 (6 VP value), 11 (2 VP value)
• Grid Angle markers: 4
• Grid Spacers: 5 (5 spaces), 4 (3 spaces)
• Resource cubes (blue/brown/white): 20/20/20
• Ownership Markers: 35 for each colour (140 in total)
• Wall sticks: 28
• 6-face die: 1

Create a Scenario

Players can create their own Scenarios. A scenario can have a Fixed game area or an Open game area. In both cases, players have to choose the area of play, the amount of Land Tiles, and where to place their starting Bases and up to 4 Special Mines.

It is important that the Bases be equidistant from the special mines, unless the players want to provide an advantage/disadvantage to some players. For the same reason, the distance between the bases should be equal.

Bases and Special Mines can also be placed randomly, as described in the Random Tile Position Method chapter.

It is also possible to place obstacles on the grid: simply turn some land tiles over and use them as unavailable spaces.

Bases are assigned randomly or by an auction (see Base Assignment chapter).

Fixed Game Area

Players define a game grid, as in the Starting Scenarios. After that, they have to choose the number of Land tiles to use in the game: a good starting point is 2/3 of the grid composition; for example for 9x6 grid players can use 36 Land tiles (9x6=54; 2/3 of 54 is 36). With more tiles play will be longer and with fewer, shorter. After that, they have to choose where put the starting Bases and the 1-4 Special Mines.

The game grid can have a square, rectangular or irregular shape. The Bases inside the grid can be placed on vertices, along the sides or anywhere the players want. The same concept is applied to the Special Mines, even if generally these are placed in a central position.

See Scenario Examples at the end of the rulebook.

Open Game Area

There are no restrictions in an Open Area Scenario: during the game, players can place starting tiles where they want. Usually the only restriction is defined by the table surface.

We suggest using some kind of game containment, though, such as a small table or other object on it, thus avoiding a situation where players are too far away and isolated from each other. We suggest putting Bases within 8-12 tiles distance at maximum.

Furthermore, it is really important that the players are encouraged to move towards a common central point by placing Special Mines in the middle, or it could happen that the players will never come into contact (or conflict!).

The players also have to decide the number of Land tiles available during the game: with more tiles the play will be longer, with fewer, shorter. As usual, check the approximate Game Area size and use in the game the 2/3 of this number as available Land tiles.

Random Tile Position Method

This method can be applied to a Fixed or to an Open game area Scenario to put Bases and Mines randomly.

Each player takes a Base tile, a Land tile, and a Special mine tile. The first player places one of them face down on the table where he wants, keeping its nature secret from other players, the second player does the same, and so does the third and fourth player. Players repeat this with the second tile, and then finally with the third tile.

Note: players can place tiles in any position but have to keep all tiles on the table separated by at least 2 empty spaces and not more than 5 empty spaces from another tile.

When all tiles are on the table, reveal them. When a Base tile is revealed, assign it to a player randomly to give 1 Base to each player.

Base Assignment

Usually Bases are assigned randomly to the players. Some correction is necessary when the Scenario is not regular and a starting Base position can give some advantage to one or more players.

If a player asks for that correction, remove all player Ownership markers from the Base tiles and start an auction for starting positions. During the auction players try to take the best Base position in return for negative VPs. When all players have a Base assignment the auction ends.

For example, in this 3-player game (see figure) a random player starts the auction, the Green one. He has to put one of his Ownership marker on a Base tile, as he wishes (A, B, or C). He chooses position A. This means that green player wants this position and bid on it 1 VP.

The second player in clockwise order, the yellow player, has to do the same considering that when more than one Ownership marker is on the same Base, only the top one is valid. Yellow player chooses the C position. The third player, the Red player, chooses the A position over the Green marker.

The situation after first round is (see figure): Red player has position A and the Yellow player position C; Green player none.

As not all players got a Base assignment, a second auction round starts. In this round only the Green player can place an Ownership marker, as he is the only player without a Base assignment. If the Green player chooses the B position, the procedure ends, because all players now have a Base position: Red in A, Yellow in C, and Green in B.

If the Green player chooses the A (case 1) or the C position (case 2), a third round will begin, because either the Red player (case 1) or the Yellow player (case 2) has no Base assignment.

Continue this procedure until all the players have a Base. Note that each contested round will cost VPs!

When the auction ends, players take -1 VP for each marker on their assigned position excluding the first one. After that players remove all markers from the Base tiles leaving the one showing the color of the assigned player and the game can start.

Frequently Asked Questions

When I want to build a mine, do I have to choose the place before I roll the die? Yes.

Is it possible to push a wall if behind it there is an OFF robot? No, the tiles behind the wall to push need to be empty and a Land Tile.

Can tiles be removed/destroyed after their placement? No, they remain there up to the end of the game.

If a robot stays in a non-controlled tile, it is ON or OFF? Off.

If I have two bases at distance X from a tile and another player has only one base at the same distance, who will control the Base? Nobody. It doesn't matter how many bases you have.

If Mine tiles are exhausted, how do I proceed? Roll again until you get a tile that can be placed.