Venus Needs Men

Venus Needs Men Rulebook

Table of Contents

Overview

The essence of Venus Needs Men! is as follows:

Build spaceships and move them to Earth.
Use your spaceships to collect population chips and teleport them back to your home world (or to the Secret Underground Refuge, if you are playing Earth).
Attack other players' spaceships to prevent them from collecting population.
Play Zap cards to help yourself or hinder other players.

The first player to collect a plurality of Earth's total population (101) wins the game immediately.

Number of players	Population needed to win
2	51
3	34
4	26
5	21
6	17

Game Versions

You can play Venus Needs Men! in two ways:

Basic Game: This version will introduce you to the fundamental concepts and strategies of the game. It is easy to learn, and it can be an enjoyable and interesting game on its own.
Enhanced Game: This version adds unique technologies and special abilities for each player. It allows for more strategies and options, but may be somewhat harder to learn at first.

Parts of the Game

Board: The board represents the Earth and five worlds of the solar system. It is divided into 30 areas:

5 home worlds (Venus, Mars, Ganymede, Titan, and Pluto). These are sometimes referred to here as planets, although in reality Ganymede and Titan are moons.
11 space areas (black background). Orbit is a special space area.
13 Earth areas, including 8 land areas (green background) and 5 ocean areas (blue background). Each is labeled with a name, and the land areas also have a starting population.
Secret Underground Refuge. Although this is part of Earth, you can't move spaceships to it.

Broken lines indicate neighboring areas, which govern how you move and attack, as described later.

Spaceships: There are six sets of spaceships, with colors corresponding to the five planets plus Earth. Each set has five spaceships, except Earth, which has four, and Ganymede, which has six.

Dice: There are three dice, with sides numbered 0 through 9. The 0 is always considered to be a 10.

Population: The plastic chips represent Earth's population. Each green chip is one unit of population (about 25 million people). The yellow chips are only used in the Enhanced Game. Each yellow chip represents one unit of population which has been infected by Titanian parasites.

Each red chip denotes five units of population. You may exchange five green or yellow chips for one red chip, or vice versa, at any time. There are 60 green chips, 25 red, and 40 yellow, but if for some reason you run out you may use coins, beads, or other chips to represent additional population.

Cards: There are 76 cards used in play, plus 12 reference cards. The upper left corner of each card says which type it is:

36 Zap cards. These are kept secret. Each player has their own deck of Zap cards and their own discard pile. You can keep three Zap cards in your hand; each is played once and then discarded.
18 Technology cards (only used in the Enhanced Game). These are public — any player can look at them at any time. Each player starts with three Tech cards: Weapon, Defense, and Movement. They are always in effect and last the entire game.
16 Technology Upgrade cards (only used in the Enhanced Game). You can acquire these during the game; once acquired, they are permanent and remain public. Seven of these are duplicates; two are unique.
6 Special cards (only used in the Enhanced Game). Each player receives one Special card at the beginning of the game, listing that planet's special ability. These are also public and permanent.

Setup

Put population chips on the eight land areas on Earth, as marked on each area — 27 units in China, 21 in India, 16 in Europe, and so on. Remember, 1 red chip = 5 green chips.
Choose a home world (one of the five alien planets or Earth), either randomly or according to your preference. Any combination of planets is allowed, with or without Earth.
Take the set of spaceships for your home world's color and put some on your home world as follows:

Planet	Color	Starting spaceships (Basic Game)	Starting spaceships (Enhanced Game)
Venus	Purple	2	2
Earth	Green	0	0
Mars	Red	2	2
Ganymede	Blue	3	2
Titan	Yellow	3	2
Pluto	Black	5	2

If you are playing the Enhanced Game, take the three Technology cards and one Special card for your planet and put them face up in front of you.
If you are playing the Enhanced Game, shuffle the 16 Technology Upgrade cards and put the top three cards face up beside the deck.
Shuffle the 36 Zap cards and deal out an equal number to each player. If you have five players, there will be one left over — just put it aside, out of play. Draw the top three Zap cards from your deck to make your starting hand.

Turns

Pluto takes the first turn, or else the first player clockwise from Pluto if no one is playing Pluto. Play proceeds to the left (clockwise).

At the beginning of your turn, if you have fewer than three Zap cards in your hand, draw cards from your deck until you have three again. If you run out of cards, you don't get to draw any more, so use them wisely!

Next, choose one of the following actions to perform:

Build a spaceship
Move your spaceships
Attack enemy spaceships
Collect population
Research a technology upgrade (Enhanced Game only)

You can never combine actions. If you decide to move, all your spaceships must move (or do nothing) — you can't have some spaceships move while others attack or collect population.

Actions

Build Action

Put a new spaceship of your color on your home world. If you are the Earth player, put it in any populated area except the Secret Underground Refuge.

If all of your spaceships are already on the board, you can't build any more, until some of them are destroyed.

In the Basic Game, if you are Titan, you can build two spaceships with a single build action, and if you are Pluto, you can build three. In the Enhanced Game, you can normally only build one spaceship per action, but some Technology and Special cards let you build two.

Move Action

Each of your spaceships can move one area. In the Enhanced Game, some Technology cards let you move two areas.

If you are in...	... you can move to:
Space area or planet	Neighboring space area
Orbit	Any Earth area
Earth area	Any other Earth area; Orbit

You may move to an area even if another player already has a spaceship there. There can be any number of spaceships belonging to any number of players in the same area.

No spaceships can move to the Secret Underground Refuge.

Attack Action

Each of your spaceships can attack one enemy spaceship (a "target").

If you are in...	... you can attack a target in:
Space area or planet	Same area
Orbit	Any Earth area; Orbit; Same area
Earth area	Same area; Neighboring Earth area; Orbit

In the Basic Game, roll two dice for each attack. If either die is an 8 or higher, the target is destroyed; otherwise, nothing happens. The target may not "shoot back" until its owner's turn.

The Enhanced Game is similar, but instead of always rolling two dice, roll the number of dice listed on your Weapon Technology card. If any of your die rolls is greater than or equal to the target's defense value (listed on that player's Defense Technology card), the target is destroyed. A target has a different defense value depending on whether it is in a space area (including Orbit), a land area, or an ocean area.

You must declare which enemy spaceship you are attacking before you roll the dice. You can use different spaceships to attack the same target more than once. You can wait and see how one attack goes before deciding the target of your next attack.

Population Action

Each of your spaceships can collect one population unit from the area it is in and send it back to your home world (or to the Secret Underground Refuge, if you are the Earth player). Remember, 1 red chip = 5 green chips.

Once you collect population, it is safe — no other player can affect it. However, in the Enhanced Game, population in the Secret Underground Refuge may be attacked as described on Earth's Special card.

Infected population (described on Titan's Special card) may be collected by other players, or destroyed by Pluto, while it is still on Earth.

The Earth player may not collect population until an alien spaceship has either attacked an Earth spaceship or collected or destroyed population (infecting doesn't count).

Research Action

When you take this action, you may first discard one of the face-up Technology Upgrade cards and turn over the top card to replace it.

Then choose an Upgrade card and roll one die. If your roll is greater than or equal to the number indicated on the Upgrade card, you acquire the Upgrade. It takes effect at the end of the turn. Place the card with your other Technology cards and turn over the top card from the Upgrade deck to replace it.

You may not attempt to acquire an upgrade which duplicates or is obsoleted by a card you already have. If you acquire an Upgrade which obsoletes another of your Upgrades, discard the obsolete one. Each Upgrade card lists the cards it duplicates, obsoletes, or is obsoleted by.

Zap Cards

You can play a Zap card at any time, even if it is not your turn, unless the card says otherwise. If you play a Zap card which conflicts with a previously played Zap card, or there is a question of priority, the card with the highest number (in the lower right corner) wins.

When you play a Zap card, follow the instructions on the card, and then put it on your discard pile face up. Each player should keep a separate discard pile.

Instead of playing a Zap card normally, you can use it to extend your action. Discard up to three Zap cards. For each card you discarded:

Build one extra spaceship (if you did a build action this turn)
Move one of your spaceships one extra area (if you performed a move action)
Attack once more with one of your spaceships (if you performed an attack action)
Collect, infect, or destroy one extra population (if you performed a population action)
Roll again to research a Technology Upgrade (if you performed a research action)

In the Enhanced Game, when you discard a Zap card to extend your action, Technology and Special cards do not apply. For example, if you have the Alluring Special (Venus), you still only collect one extra population for each Zap card you discard, not two.

Certain Zap cards (Natural Disaster, Alien Plague) cause each player to receive population, which may result in two or more players obtaining enough population to win at the same time. If this happens, those players share the victory.

Some Zap cards may affect a player's choice of action for the turn. In general, as long as you haven't moved or built a spaceship, rolled the dice, or picked up a chip yet, you can change your mind about your action, even if a card has been played.

Some Zap cards allow a player to take an immediate action. These cards may be played in the middle of a turn. After the card action has been completed, play resumes with the player whose turn was interrupted. This does not count as a turn (except for Time Dilation).

Technology & Special Cards

Technology and Special cards are used only in the Enhanced Game. Many of them conflict with the rules given above. In such cases, the cards take precedence over the general rules. For example, ordinarily when another player makes a successful attack roll, the target is destroyed. However, if the target player has the Robotic Special card (Pluto), the target is only disabled instead of being destroyed.

Diplomacy

You may negotiate with other players at any time. You may not trade or give away spaceships, population, Tech/Special cards, or Zap cards. You are free to honor or break any agreements as you see fit.

You may discuss plans and offer advice freely ("table talk"). For example, if one player is about to win, you may point this out to another player who might be able to prevent it.

Two-Player Rules

If you have only two players, each player should choose two planets (other than Earth) and play them as a team. A team wins if the total population on both of its home worlds combined is 51 or more.

Players take turns normally for each of their planets, alternating so that no player gets two turns in a row. For example, if Wally is playing Mars and Venus, and Al is playing Ganymede and Titan, they should play in the order Titan – Mars – Ganymede – Venus.

Each player has one deck of 18 Zap cards. When you play a card, you must say which of your planets you are playing it for, if it makes a difference (for example, if it lasts until "the beginning of your next turn"). Likewise, if a Zap card says to choose a player, choose one of that player's planets for it to affect.

Game Length

For a shorter game, use less population; for a longer game, use more. To avoid ties, the total should not be evenly divisible by the number of players. The score needed to win should be the total population divided by the number of players, rounded up. For example:

Area	Short	Normal	Long	Epic
China	20	27	34	40
India	16	21	26	31
Europe	12	16	20	24
Africa	7	9	11	13
North America	6	8	10	12
Australia

For More Information

If you have questions about the game that are not answered here, please visit the publisher's website, www.venusneedsmen.com, or send e-mail to [email protected].

Revised Card Text

The publisher's revised card sheet (revised-cards.pdf, six pages) gives the card text for the six cards below, transcribed as printed. The sheet covers only these six cards; the text of the other Technology, Upgrade and Special cards (including the Titan, Pluto and Earth Special cards) is not in the source and is not reproduced here.

Q-Ray (Venus, Technology — Weapon)

When you perform an attack action, roll one die for each of your attacking spaceships:

1: Target and attacking spaceship are both destroyed
2: Target and attacking spaceship each teleport to a random space area (roll another die to see which)
3–5: No effect*
6–7: Target spaceship teleports to a random space area
8+: Target spaceship is destroyed

* If you have acquired the Auto Fire Control or Energy Amplifier tech upgrade, then when you roll a 4 or 5, roll again. A roll of 3 still has no effect.

Alluring (Venus, Special)

When you perform a population action, each of your spaceships in a populated area may collect two population units from that area instead of one.

However, if you discard one or more Zap cards to extend a population action, you only collect one extra population unit for each Zap card you discard, not two.

Mind Control (Mars, Special)

When you perform an attack action, each of your spaceships may either attack using your Weapon Technology or use mind control to take over one target spaceship in the same area. Its original owner no longer controls it — you do! Put the target spaceship on its side to indicate this.

On each of your turns after this one, you can use the controlled spaceship just as if it were one of your own spaceships — you can use it to move, attack, or collect population for you. However, the controlled spaceship uses its own Movement, Weapon, and Defense Tech cards, not yours. It cannot use its original owner's Special card while it is controlled.

Each of your spaceships may only control one other spaceship at a time. If, at the end of any turn, you do not have as many spaceships in an area as there are controlled spaceships in that area, you must release controlled spaceships of your choice back to their original owners until the number of controlled spaceships is equal to the number of your spaceships in that area.

Amphibious (Ganymede, Special)

When you perform a build action, you may build two new spaceships instead of one. However, if you discard one or more Zap cards to extend a build action, you only build one extra spaceship for each Zap card you discard, not two.

When you perform a population action, each of your spaceships may collect one population unit from the area it is in or from any neighboring area.

This allows your spaceships to remain in ocean areas (where their defense is better) and still collect population.

Gatling Lasers (Technology Upgrade)

You must roll a 5 or higher to acquire this technology.

When you perform an attack action, roll two dice for each attacking spaceship.

If you already have the Q-Ray (Venus), each spaceship may choose whether to use the Q-Ray or the Gatling Lasers, and this card is not obsoleted by Auto Fire Control or Energy Amplifier.

Obsoleted by Auto Fire Control, Energy Amplifier, Disintegration Ray (Pluto), Long-Range Missiles (Ganymede), Magneto-Blasters (Mars), Plasma Cannon (Titan).

Yttrium Alloys (Technology Upgrade)

You must roll a 5 or higher to acquire this technology.

Your spaceships' defense is:

7 in a land area
8 in a space area
9 in an ocean area

Duplicates Baryonite Armor (Venus), Biometallic Hull (Ganymede), and Ultronium Shielding (Pluto).

Obsoleted by Adamantium Armor, Adaptive Shield, Impervite Armor, Phased Shield Array, Chameleon Screen (Mars), Force Barrier (Titan).