This is a reorganized and rewritten version of the Living Rules that is, to the best of our knowledge, accurate and up to date. It assumes you are using every Colonization module (working their text into the body of the rules), but rules pertaining to modules you aren’t using can largely be ignored (see section R).

It consists of the rulebook proper, an extensive glossary, and a lookup for individual cards and unique map symbols. The glossary^[c] contains no rules not already found within the text, and is not required reading. In Section B you will find a “Terminology” section, which is an unfortunate compromise and does contain rules not mentioned elsewhere in the book.

All text in black is a literal reading of the Living Rules. There may be times where the rules as written do not match up with what you feel is intended, but we have tried to make no assumptions on Mr. Eklund’s behalf unless absolutely necessary. If you believe a rule is not working as intended, post a comment on the Living Rules. If you believe we are mistaken in our reading of it, post a comment here.

All text in pink are official revisions made in the Living Rules that are not present in the printed 3rd Edition rulebook.

All text in red is to clarify cases where text on components (the board and cards) is expanded upon in the Living Rules.

All text in green are assumptions made by us. Feel free to completely ignore them. For the more significant revisions, we have left comments in an attempt to justify ourselves and to post the Living Rules text for people who wish to disregard us. Unfortunately, Google Docs comments don’t seem to display on every device.

Finally a note on what this book considers “canon”. The Living Rules was used as the final word. Forum posts and Living Rules comments by Mr. Eklund, as well as forum posts by playtester and Interstellar developer Andrew Doull were used to inform our personal interpretations, but these are not to be considered canon and cannot show up here in black text until they have officially made their way into the Living Rules.

A note on pronouns: For brevity and clarity, this document uses “he/his”. We by no means wish to exclude anyone of any gender.

A. Setup

A1 Politics and Sunspot Disks. Place a blue disk on the “start” space of both the Space Government chart and the Sunspot Cycle diagram.

A2 Moon Treaty. Place a blue “busted” disk on both Luna sites. These sites may not be prospected.

A3 Choose Factions. Deal each player a random crew card on a random side. Give each player the matching Bernal card (white side up) corresponding to their faction color.

If two players share a faction privilege, redeal.

A4 Reserves. Each player takes the 1 large cube, 1 rocket, 6 small cubes, 7 domes, 2 rings, 9 disks, and 2 cylinders of their faction color along with a playmat.

A5 Thrust and Mass Indicators. Each player takes and places near their playmat:

A net thrust marker (blue disk)
3 Wet Mass Indicators for their Rocket (black/blue/yellow rocket figures)
3 Wet Mass Indicators for their Bernal (black/blue/yellow cylinders)
A Rocket Dry Mass Indicator (blue disk)
A Bernal Dry Mass Indicator (red disk)

A6 Starting Water. Give each player 4 clear blue WT disks to put in the WT depot on the playmat.

A7 Bernal Setup.

Each player forms their Bernal Stack consisting of their starting Bernal and Crew cards.
They place a Bernal figure (cylinder) on their faction’s home orbit.
They place their Bernal’s Dry Mass Indicator (red disk) on the ‘11’ space of the fuel strip printed on their mat (as the total mass of the cards in their Bernal stack is 10 + 1).

A8 Patent decks. Separate and shuffle the nine patent decks (Thruster, Robonaut, Refinery, Generator, Reactor, Radiator, GW Thruster, Freighter, and Colonist). Shuffle and place white-side up near the game board.

GW Thrusters, Freighters, and Colonists are placed purple side down (white or black side up).

A9 Resource exploitation. Place five blue disks on the starting positions of the resource exploitation tracks.

A10. Determine the starting player by any means you choose. Give them some sort of marker as a reminder. Turn order is fixed during set-up and needs to be remembered for various things.

A11. Place the 6 Glory Cards and the 4 Venture Cards orange-side up near the game board.

A1 Quick Start Variant^[d]

For a faster opening, modify set-up as follows:

A1.1 Extra WT. Players start with 1 WT per patent deck in play instead of 4 WT (i.e., 9 WT in an all-modules game).

A1.2 Idea Turns. Instead of taking a normal turn, a player may instead pay 1 WT and take the top card of any patent deck into his hand.

Exception: The first player’s first idea turn costs 2 WT.
This is not subject to the hand limit (I3.2).
Cards do not come with additional supports (unlike during the Research operation, I3.4.1)
Do not move the Sunspot Disk (L).

A1.3 End of the Idea Turns. The first player who chooses to take a regular turn instead of an idea turn becomes the starting player (A10) and begins the first round of the game. No more idea turns can be taken by any player.

B. Terminology

While one of the goals of this book is to eliminate the need to reference the glossary of the Living Rules, there are some terms that make more sense to be defined here.

If you come across an unfamiliar term it should either

Be defined within that very paragraph.
Be defined nearby.
Contain a cross-reference to the place it is defined in.
Be defined here.

In short, these terms will not always be defined within the book and may not always contain a cross-reference to this section.

A complete glossary is included at the end of this book, but its entries are comprised of summaries and cross-references and contain no rules not found elsewhere.

Terms here are defined to the minimum extent necessary for the rest of this book to be understandable. While these entries are not “incorrect”, the corresponding entries in the complete glossary may have more detail and cross-references to other parts of the rules.

Particularly important or non-obvious definitions are highlighted in blue.

B1 “Adjacent”

A space (B22) is adjacent to another space if you can trace a path from one to the other (along the lines of the map) without passing through another space.

Ignore Crash Hazard spaces (pink or empty circles marked with a skull), and Lander Burn spaces (pink lander vehicles or half of a lander vehicle) when tracing the path. They are abstractions and do not represent distance.

Aerobrake hazards and radiation hazards do block adjacency.

A “buggy road” (yellow dotted line) is not a travelable path and spaces connected by them are not adjacent (the horizon blocks line-of-sight).

This applies even if the spaces are also connected by a Lander Burn or Crash Hazard. ^[e]

A space is always adjacent to itself.^[f]

Relevant Sections: Factory Assisted Landing/Liftoff (H5.4), Raygun Prospecting (I9.3), Space Elevator Venture (M2.3), Dirtside (B4)

B2 “Bernal”, “Bernal Stack”

A large space station that starts in your Home Orbit and can be moved like a rocket (with a few, listed exceptions). Represented by a cylinder figure. When promoted, provides additional player power (Bernal Privilege, Q2.9) specific to your faction. Cards in your Bernal Stack are colocated with your Bernal.

Relevant sections: Ersatz Bernal (B5), Home Orbit (B11), Bernal Privilege (Q2.9)

B3 “Colocated”

Shorthand for “on the same space”. A space, all figures on that space, and cards in stacks represented by those figures are considered colocated.

B4 “Dirtside”

An Industrialized Factory on a site adjacent to your Bernal.

Exception: Your Bernal must be located at a Synodic Comet site (L1.1.1) in order to use it as a Dirtside.

Dirtsides provided various benefits compared to Industrialized Factories alone.

Relevant Sections: Free market to Bernal (I6), Colonist Limit (I7.7), Factory Refuel (I8.1), ET Production at Bernal (I11), Labs (I13.1.1). Bernal Promotion (I13.2)

B5 “Ersatz Bernal”, “Ersatz Bernal Stack”

A “replacement” bernal that can be boosted to your Home Orbit when your Bernal has been moved. Represented by a cylinder figure. Is always promoted and indestructible. Cards in the Ersatz Bernal stack are colocated with your Ersatz Bernal.

Relevant sections: Bernal (B2), Home Orbit (B11), Bernal Privilege (Q2.9), Boost Operation (I7).

B6 “Felony”

Various rules only allowed if you have an ability that “allows felonies”.

All players have this ability if the Politics Disk (B19) is on “War” or “Anarchy”.
The red or green player may have this ability printed on their Crew card as a faction privilege (Q2.2).

This allows you to commit the following felonies:

Murder. You may voluntarily decommission humans, normally allowed only under certain circumstances (C3.9).
Claim Jump. You may steal an opponent’s claim disk as a free action (G6) if it does not contain an Industrialized Factory.
Hijack. You may borrow an opponent’s Industrialized Factory to perform a factory-assisted landing/lift-off (H5.4.4), perform a Factory Refuel operation (I8.1.3), or perform a Promote operation (I13.1.2).

You may not hijack a factory for any other purpose, such as ET Production (I11) or for use as a Dirtside (B5)

B6.1 Humans Required. In addition to the “allows felonies” ability, you must have a human located at the space the felony is being committed.

For Murder, you do not need an additional human present; humans can murder themselves.

B6.2 Humans Prevent. Any opponent may prevent a Claim Jump or Hijacking if they control a human located at the space the felony is being committed.

I.e., any player may protect another player.
For Hijacking as part of an operation, this is checked before performing the operation. If prevented, the operation is not used up and any extra costs (I1.5) are refunded.
This does not apply to Murder.
Reminder: Space Colonies (G5) are human.

B7 “FFT”

Fungible Fuel Tank. 1 mass unit’s worth of fuel represented by a disk on the map. FFTs are considered cards for all purposes with the exception that they never go into a player’s hand and cannot be sold (also see Buggy Combat J5.2).

They have a “mass” of 1 and and a “rad-hardness” of 8.

Relevant Sections: Convert Fuel free actions (G3), Site Refuel operations (I8).

B8 “Figure”

Any component placed on the map directly. These include figures that represent a stack’s location (Rocket figure, large Freighter cube, Bernal/Ersatz-Bernal cylinder, or Outpost ring) as well as your Claim Disks (I9), Industrialized Factories (B14), Mobile Factories (B16), and Space Colonies (G5).

B9 “Freighter”, “Freighter Stack”

A spacecraft represented by a Freighter card for transporting components around the solar system. Comes with built-in thruster that does not require fuel. Represented on the map by the large cube figure. You may only have one Freighter in play at a time. Created through the ET Production operation. Cards in your Freighter Stack are colocated with your Freighter.

Relevant Sections: Mobile Factories (B16), Digital Swap (I12), ET Production (I11), Promote Operation (I13.1), Movement (H), Freighter Futures.(P2.1)

B10 “Heliocentric Zone”

Concentric ring-shaped zones on the map centered on the sun. These have numbers printed by them (positive and negative) that affect the efficacy of solar-powered cards (H3.1.4) and the severity of solar flares (L2.4) for stacks inside them.

Relevant Sections: Solar Flare Event (L2.4), Solar Power Modifier (H3.1.4).

B11 “Home Orbit”, “Starting Orbit”

Your home orbit is your Bernal’s starting orbit, the 7-pointed star in your color where your Bernal is placed during set-up.

If your Bernal leaves its starting orbit, the LEO space becomes your home orbit.

Your starting orbit is restored as your home orbit upon boosting an Ersatz-Bernal (I7.3), and will stay there as the Ersatz-Bernal can never move or be decommissioned.

Relevant Sections: WT (B25), Boost (I7), Faction Privilege (Q2.2), Bernal (B2), Ersatz-Bernal (B5), Pad Explosion (L2.3)

B12 “Human”

Several rules care if there are “humans” colocated or not or if a component is “human”.

The following are human:

Any card that has an orange “humans on board” triangle (Crew, non-robot Colonists, and Bernals)
Bernal and Ersatz-Bernal figures.
Space Colony domes.
Robot Colonist cards, but only after the Robot Emancipation operation (I14) has been successfully performed.

Whenever the word “human” is used in this book, it is meant to refer to all kinds of humans. In some uses of the word, there will be a reminder listing only some of the types. This is not saying “for this rule, the types not listed aren’t human” but rather “this rule could never possibly apply to the types not listed so we won’t confuse you by listing it here”.

Relevant Sections: Glitch (L2.2), Murder (C3.9), Robot Emancipation (I14), Recruit (I4), Hostile Recruit (I5), Felonies (B6)

B13 “In Play”

A figure (non-card component) is in play if it is on any space of the map. A card is in play if its on one of the “stack” sections of your playmat (stacks which, in turn, are represented by a figure on the map).

Cards in your hand or figures on the aids next to the board are not in play.

B14 “Industrialized Factory”

A cube (small or, once you have Mobile Factories, large) sitting on one of your Claim Disks. Created through the Industrialize operation (I10). Industrialized Factories provide points and many other benefits.

Once you have a promoted (purple-side up) Freighter card in play, your Industrialized Factories also become Mobile Factories and are capable of movement. They must still be sitting on a Claim Disk to be considered an Industrialized Factory, however.

B15 “LEO”, “LEO Stack”

Low-Earth Orbit. The closest space to Earth. This space is your Home Orbit if (and only if) you have no Bernal or Ersatz-Bernal in your starting orbit.

Cards in your “LEO Stack” are located in LEO.

Relevant Sections: Boost (I7), Solar Flare Event (L2.4), Free Market (I6), Bernal (B2)

B16 “Mobile Factory”

Once a player’s Freighter card has been promoted (flipped to its purple side), all cubes he controls (including the large Freighter cube) become Mobile Factories in addition to whatever they used to be.

Mobile Factories copy the thruster triangle and abilities in the red box of your promoted Freighter card, but cannot carry other cards.

Mobile Factories are slightly easier to create than Industrialized Factories, and can move on to your empty Claim Disks to become Industrialized Factories (I10.8)

Relevant Sections: Freighter Immunity (C3.6), Freighter thrusters (H2.4), Freighter Restrictions (H1.5) , Factory Assisted Landing/Lift-off (H5.4), Promoted Freighter Cube Swap (G8), Decommission (G11), Industrialize (I10.8), Digital Swap (I12), Buggy Capture (J5.3)

B17 “Operational”

A card is “operational” if all of its required support cards (if any) are in the same stack as it. Solar-Powered cards (with the sunburst symbol) are also non-operational in the Neptune heliocentric zone.

See K4 for a complete definition.

Any instances where a card is required to be operational are noted as such. All other times it does not have to be.

B18 “Outpost”, “Outpost Stack”

A Stack of cards not otherwise specified located somewhere on the map and represented by the “ring” figure. They can be created in various ways; for example, the Cargo Transfer or Jettison free actions, the ET Production operation, or the Factory Refuel operation.

Essentially, anything that puts a card into play without putting it into another type of stack makes a new Outpost.

You may have as many Outpost stacks as necessary on the turn, but at the end of a player’s turn there may only be two Outpost stacks. Outposts cannot move but they can be converted into a Rocket stack as a free action or transfer their cards to other, colocated stacks.

Relevant Sections: Create Rocket/Outpost (G1.2), ET Production (I11), Jettison (G2), Factory Refuel (I8.1)

B19 “Politics Disk”, “Policy”, “In Power”, “Anarchy”, “War”, “Felony”

The Politics Disk begins the game on the center space of the Sol Space Government chart. It can be moved along the lines, usually through an Election (I15).

The disk’s position has various effects:

B19.1 Colored Space. The depicted policy (rules text) is in effect. The corresponding colored player is in power, which grants points (N3) and enables certain operations (I14, I16).

B19.2 Anarchy. All players have the “allows felonies” ability, allowing them to commit crimes not normally allowed (B6). This is the most common source of the ability.

B19.3 War. In addition to the “allows felonies” ability, players may also declare combat (J).

B19.4 Faction Privilege Loss. The abilities printed in the colored band of your Crew card (“faction privileges”) are lost during Anarchy and War (Q2.2).

B19.5 Hand Free Market. The amount of WT received for selling a card from your hand during a Free Market operation (I6.1) is listed along the side of the space government chart.

B20 “Rocket”, “Rocket Stack”

Your rocket is your primary spacecraft for traversing the solar system. It can carry any amount of cargo limited only by total mass.

You may only have one rocket at a time, but you may convert any Outpost stack into a Rocket through the Cargo Transfer free action.

Relevant Sections: Create Rocket/Outpost (G1.2), Jettison (G2), Movement (H), Outpost (B18)

B21 “Site”

The larger, hexagonal spaces where most things of interest happen. Sites have a “size” (the number), a “spectral type” (the letter), an amount of “hydration” (0-4 water droplets), and sometimes other symbols.

B22 “Space”

A position on the map, sometimes referred to as “location”.

Any symbol on the map is a space.
A large, hexagonal “site” is a space.
An intersection of multiple lines with or without a symbol is a space.

Note some “intersections” have gaps near the crossing, to show that the lines do not actually intersect there.

A sharp corner is a space, and rules-wise is identical to a symbol-less intersection.

A space with a symbol is named after that symbol (e.g., a “Lander Burn” space, a “radiation hazard space”, etc). A space without a symbol is a pivot.

B23 “Spacecraft”, “Spacecraft Stack”

Rocket, Bernals, Freighters, and Mobile Factories are called “Spacecraft” and are capable of movement.

Ersatz-Bernals and Outposts are not spacecraft, and cannot move.

Your Rocket, Bernal, and Freighter stacks are thus called “spacecraft stacks” (Mobile Factories do not have a corresponding stack).

B24 “Stack”

A collection of “cargo” (cards, FFTs, and/or towed cubes) whose location is represented by a figure on the map (Exceptions: the LEO stack and Outpost stacks in excess of two). With exceptions, cards can be moved between colocated stacks and even new stacks can be created using various free actions.

Relevant Sections: LEO Stack (B15), Rocket Stack (B20), Bernal Stack (B2), Freighter Stack (B9), Outpost Stack (B18), Jettison (G2), Create Rocket/Outpost (G1.2), ET Production (I11).

B25 “WT”

Short for Water Tank. The currency of the game. WT are kept on your player mat, but thematically are stored in your Home Orbit.

B25.1 For this reason, you may spend blue (water) and yellow (isotope) FFTs located in your home orbit as WT.

C. Decommissions

To “decommission” a card or figure is to remove it from play. The ways a card/figure can be decommissioned and what to do with it afterwards depends on the component in question.

The rest of this document assumes you know the definitions and exceptions listed here, and they apply unless explicitly said otherwise.

C1 “Voluntary” versus “Involuntary” Decommissions.

The type of decommission is noted whenever the term is used and an entire list would be unnecessarily lengthy, but here is a rule-of-thumb with a few examples:

Voluntary. Any time a component is removed from play by choice.

E.g, Decommission free action (G11), Free Market operation (I6), Industrialize Operation (I10).

Involuntary. Any time an opponent’s action or a random occurrence forces you to remove a component from play.

E.g, Combat (J), Crash Hazards (H6.1), the “Glitch” event (L2.2).

This definition should be taken as a guideline. There are a small handful of cases which you could argue are voluntary, but are listed as involuntary (e.g., choosing between multiple cards for the Glitch event or refusing to leave the Kreutz-Sungrazer Q1.4).

The rest of this section will use “any decommission” or just “decommission” when the type of decommission does not matter.

C2 Decommissions in General.

Except when modified by the exceptions in C3, the following apply to any decommission.

C2.1 Cards. Any decommissioned cards are returned to your hand.

C2.2 Figures. Any decommissioned figures are removed from the map and returned to your available supply.

If a figure representing a Stack has no cards in that stack, it is decommissioned at that moment.
If a figure representing a Stack is decommissioned, a new Outpost stack is created (G1.2) in that location and all of the figure’s cards are transferred to it.

Note that Crash Hazards (H6.1) and Epic Hazards (P1.5) decommission every card in the affected stack.^[g]

C3 Exceptions and Special Cases.

C3.1 Rocket Fuel. All fuel in a decommissioned Rocket figure is lost. Remove its Dry and Wet Mass Indicators until it reenters play.

Bernals are immune to decommissioning, thus this only applies to Rockets.

C3.2 Discard FFTs. FFTs are considered cards (B7), but are removed from play when decommissioned and never enter a player’s hand.

C3.3 Bernal and Ersatz-Bernal Immunity. Bernals and Ersatz-Bernals can never be decommissioned by any means.

C3.4 Promoted Bernal Protection. Promoted Bernals protect colocated cards from involuntary decommission due to radiation hazards (H6.2) and Solar Flare events (L2.4).

Exception: Radiator cards currently in use (supporting the Bernal and, during movement, the activated thruster) are not protected.
See also “Glitch” and “Pad Explosion” events (L2.2, L2.3).

C3.5 Freighter Figure/Card Decommission. The large cube figure representing your Freighter Stack is linked to your Freighter card. If one is decommissioned, the other is also decommissioned (convert other cards into an Outpost stack per C2.2).

C3.6 Promoted Freighter “Immunity”.^[h]^[i]^[j] A promoted (purple-side up) Freighter card resurrects. If it’s decommissioned (directly or per the previous paragraph), convert the other cards in its stack to an Outpost stack per C2.2, then replace any small Mobile Factory cube on the map with your large cube. This creates a new Freighter Stack with only your Freighter card (purple-side up) in it.

If you have no small cubes in play, the card returns to your hand as normal and the large cube is removed as normal.
This is mandatory, so a promoted Freighter card is usually permanent.

C3.7 Radiator “Immunity”. A radiator card played in its “heavy” orientation (K5.6.1) flips to its lighter side when voluntarily or involuntarily decommissioned (exception: crash hazards H6.1, epic hazards P1.4, and the Free Market operation I6).

When paying for a Digital Swap operation (I12) or a Phileas Fogg Refuel free action (G4), only count the difference in mass between the two orientations.
Aerobrake Hazards (H5.3.1) and factory-assisted launch/lift-off (H5.4) are considered to be Crash Hazards for this purpose, but Radiation Hazards (H6.2) are not.
There is no way to flip a radiator from its light orientation to its heavy orientation.

C3.8 Human Colonists to the Deck. Non-robot Colonist cards and emancipated robot Colonist cards are returned to the bottom of their patent deck when decommissioned.

Crew cards are not colonist cards and return to your hand as normal.
Robot Colonist cards go to your hand as normal until emancipated (I14).
Also see Murder rules (C3.9).

C3.9 Restrictions on Voluntary Human Decommission (“No Murders”). Crew cards, non-robot Colonist cards, and emancipated robot Colonist cards are “human”.

You may not voluntarily decommission a human card except under at least one of the following circumstances:

The card is located at LEO or at any player’s Space Colony.

Being located at a Bernal does not satisfy this condition.

The card is being decommissioned to form a Space Colony (G5).
You have an ability that “allows felonies” (B6).

Bernals and Ersatz-Bernals are also human, but cannot be decommissioned by any means.
No Murder of Space Colonies. Space Colonies (G5) are also human, but can only be voluntarily decommissioned via G11.3 and thus murder rules don’t apply.

C3.10 Voluntary Decommission Free Action.

Further exceptions are listed in G11. Those exceptions only apply to the Voluntary Decommission free action, as that free action is the only way the listed components could be voluntarily decommissioned.

D. Negotiation

At any time, you may negotiate deals with the other players. A deal can involve promises and/or the transfer of certain items (see below), but any deals that cannot be carried out in the current turn are non-binding.

Clarification: Deals can be made at any time and on any player’s turn, but transfer of items cannot be done during Combat or Movement.^[k]

A list of tradable items and specific rules for doing so follows:

D1. WT. Players may transfer WT directly to and from each other (they do not need to turn the WT into FFTs and carry it somewhere).

D2. Stack Cards. Cards (including FFTs) can be transferred to other, colocated stacks or transferred to create new Outpost stacks.

Exception: Bernal and Freighter cards cannot be traded.
Your Crew card may be moved into an opponent’s stack but it is still under your control and provides no benefits to the opponent. Either player may Jettison (G2) the Crew as a free action and it is returned to your hand if decommissioned.

This allows other players to rescue your crew.

Limits Reminders: Each player may only have one GW Thruster card in play, one Freighter card in play, and they may not receive a non-robot Colonist as part of a deal if they are at or above their Colonist Limit (I7.7).

D3. Hand Cards. Players may transfer cards from their hand to other players’ hands.

Your Crew card may not be in another player’s hand.
A card that has been traded from hand cannot be traded from hand again until the start of its original owner’s next turn.

There are no restrictions on trading cards in play.

D4. Claim disks, Industrialized Factory cubes, and Space Colonies. One player removes her component from the board and the other replaces it with a corresponding one of his own.

Any components you control sitting on or below the traded component (Space Colonies sitting on cubes sitting on claim disks) must be traded as well.

Due to Buggy Combat (J5.3) you may not necessarily own all of the components in such a stack. Trade just the components you control.

Keep in mind Disk, Cube, and Dome limits (I9.2, I10.6, G5)
Only the active player may perform free actions on his turn (e.g, his opponents may not swap their freighter cube or withdraw components to comply with the previous two bullet points).

D5. Mobile Factories.^[l] Mobile Factories cannot be traded, unless they are also Industrialized Factories per D4.

D6. Faction Privileges.^[m] A player with the “Powersat” faction privilege (H3.1.5, Q2.2.1) may use it to add to the thrust of any pushable spacecraft (marked with the “ high frontier push factory.png ” icon) per H3.1.5.

The purple player’s second, unnamed faction privilege (Q2.2.3) may use it to allow any spacecraft to ignore radiation hazards (H6.2) near Earth.

D7. Push Factory for Thrust and Support. A player with an Industrialized Factory on Mercury, Venus, or Io (marked with the “ high frontier push factory.png ” icon) may use it to the benefit of the other players in two ways:

It may add to the thrust of any pushable spacecraft (also marked with the “” icon) per H3.1.5.
It may allow an opponent to support a promoted Bernal with solar-powered supports out to and including the Saturn heliocentric zone instead of out to only the Mars heliocentric zone (I13.2.2). You may cut support on future turns, as deals in the future are non-binding.

D8. Factory Assisted Landing/Lift-off. You may perform a factory-assisted landing or lift-off using an opponent’s Industrialized Factory with his consent (H5.4).

This can also be done without consent as a felony (B6).

D9. Factory Refuel Operation. You may perform a Factory Refuel operation using an opponent’s Industrialized Factory with his consent (I8.1).

This can also be done without consent as a felony (B6).

D10. Promotion Operation. You may perform a Promote Operation (I13) using an opponent’s Lab (of either type, I13.1.1) with his consent.

This can also be done without consent as a felony (B6).

Note that Bernals are human, and thus Bernal Labs are immune to felonies (B6).

D11. Free Market at Opponent’s Bernal. You may sell to an opponent’s Bernal as a Free Market operation with his consent (I6.3).

E. Spacecraft Mass and Fuel Management

This section deals with managing the fuel strip printed on the playermat, as well as describing the three forms fuel can take (“WT”, “FFT”, and “fuel”) and how to convert between them.

Your Rocket Stack has a blue disk for a Dry Mass Indicator and a black, blue, or yellow rocket for a Wet Mass Indicator.

Your Bernal Stack has a red disk for a Dry Mass Indicator and a black, blue, or yellow cylinder for a Wet Mass Indicator.

Freighters and Mobile Factories never track mass or fuel (though they have a Mass value as printed on your Freighter card which is relevant to towing, G1.3, or the Pad Explosion event, L2.3).

E1 Dry Mass Adjustment

A spacecraft’s Dry Mass Indicator should always be located on the numbered space corresponding to the total Mass of all cards in its stack (indicated on the card’s corner) plus the mass of any towed freighter/Mobile Factories (G1.3).

While your Rocket figure is not in play, its indicators can be left off your mat.

If a stack gains or loses such “dry” mass, immediately perform a Dry Mass Adjustment. For each unit of mass gained/lost, move the Dry Mass Indicator one step to the right/left along the red lines. Then, move the Wet Mass Indicator an equal number of spaces along the red lines in the same direction.

Exception: Spending fuel to create FFTs requires a different motion (see G3.3). The total mass of the spacecraft remains unchanged, so only the Dry Mass Indicator moves.
Exception: If a Spacecraft loses mass during a movement (H) due to a Jettison (G2) or Radiation Hazard^[n] (H6.2), do not perform a Dry Mass Adjustment until the end of the movement.

This means it is impossible to improve thrust or fuel efficiency in the middle of a movement.

E1.1 Limits. The Dry Mass Indicator may never pass ‘23’, as indicated.^[o]^[p] It is allowed to have a spacecraft with a dry mass of ‘0’ but it is instead considered to have a dry mass of ‘1’.

E2 Wet Mass Adjustment

A spacecraft’s Wet Mass Indicator should always be located on or to the right of the Dry Mass Indicator. It indicates the total mass of the spacecraft (relevant when calculating net thrust, H3) and, by subtracting the Dry Mass, the amount of fuel in the spacecraft.

E2.1 Limits. The Wet Mass Indicator may never cross to the left of the Dry Mass Indicator and may never exceed ‘32’.

In addition to moving up and down during a Dry Mass Adjustment (per E1), the indicator moves as follows:

E2.2 Adding Fuel. Move the Wet Mass Indicator one step to the right along the red lines for each unit of fuel added (see E4 for sources of fuel).

Exception: Spending FFTs to add fuel requires a different motion (see G3.3). The total mass of the spacecraft remains unchanged, so only the Dry Mass Indicator moves.

E2.3 Burning Fuel. Move the Wet Mass Indicator the indicated number of steps to the left along the black lines during a burn (H4.1) or afterburn (H3.1.1).

The burn cannot be performed if it would cross the Dry Mass Indicator.
Fuel can also be dumped following the black line as a Jettison free action (G2).

E3 WT, FFTs, and Fuel

Blue disks on your playermat are WT (“water tanks”), the currency of the game (B25).

Black/blue/yellow disks in a stack on your playermat are FFTs (“Fungible Fuel Tanks”). They are considered “cards” with a Mass of 1 (among other things, B7).

Fuel represented by a black/blue/yellow Wet Mass Indicator is just “fuel”.

The six Convert Fuel free actions (G3) can convert these from one to another.
Water or Isotope FFTs in your home orbit are considered to be WT for spending purposes and for the Egalitarianism policy (I2).

E4 Sources of Fuel

WT can be spent to add fuel to a spacecraft located in your home orbit as a Convert Fuel free action (G3.1).

FFTs colocated with the spacecraft can be spent to add fuel to it as a Convert Fuel free action (G3.3.1).

Fuel can be added to a spacecraft or, sometimes, produced as FFTs using a Site Refuel operation (I8).

E5 Fuel Grades and Mixing Fuel

Fuel and FFTs come in one of three grades: Dirt (black), Water (blue), or Isotope (yellow). This is represented by an appropriately colored Wet Mass Indicator for fuel and an appropriately colored disk for FFTs.

WT, when converted to fuel or FFTs, is water grade.

Higher and Lower Grade. Dirt is the lowest grade, Isotope is the highest grade, and Water is in the middle. This is relevant for thruster activation (E5.1), fuel mixing (E5.2), not being able to convert Dirt into WT (E3, G3.1.1), and the rate of the Factory Refuel operation (I8.1).

E5.1 Fuel Use

A spacecraft may hold any type of fuel, but it cannot choose a thruster triangle for movement (H2) if the color of the thruster triangle is of a higher grade than the fuel (lower is fine).

E5.2 Fuel Mixing

A spacecraft may only carry one grade of fuel (represented by one Wet Mass Indicator).

If a spacecraft adds fuel of a different grade than the one it's currently holding, all of its fuel becomes the lower of the two grades (swap its Wet Mass Indicator to the correct color, if necessary).

Fuel can be Jettisoned (G2) or converted to FFTs (G3.3) if you wish to avoid this.
A spacecraft with no fuel does not cause fuel mixing (swap its Wet Mass Indicator to whatever you load it with).

E5.3 Isotope Fuel Type

Isotope (yellow) fuel/FFTs is also one of the five Spectral Types (letters, ‘C’, ‘S’, ‘M’, ‘V’, or ‘D’), which is determined by the spectral type of the site the fuel was produced from (I8).

This is relevant as thrusters with a yellow triangle (found on GW Thruster cards) can only use Isotope fuel of the matching type (H2.3).

E5.3.1 Type Limit. You may only have one type of Isotope fuel/FFTs in play at a time. This type is determined by the spectral type of your in-play GW Thruster card.

If you have no GW Thruster in play, you must indicate the type of isotope fuel you have with a claim disk placed on the “exploitation track” on the board. This disk must remain until you have a GW Thruster or until you have no isotope fuel in play.
If you have a GW Thruster in play, it is not allowed to produce isotope fuel of the wrong type.

Or to trade with your opponents for it (D).

Changing Type. If you replace your GW Thruster card with a GW Thruster card of a different letter (or if you have no GW Thruster card and produce fuel of a different type than you originally chose), all of your isotope fuel of the previous type (stored as FFTs or on a fuel strip) convert to Water grade.

F. Player Turn

A player may do any or all of the following on his turn, in any order: Move a spacecraft, perform an operation, perform a free action.

Movement (H) Each spacecraft (Rocket, Bernal, Freighter, and each Mobile Factory) may be moved once per turn.
Operations (I) The number of operations a player may perform is limited by the amount of Colonist cards she has in play (see I1.2)
Free Actions (G) A player may perform any number of free actions on his turn.

(for example, a player might perform an operation, move a spacecraft, perform a free action, move another spacecraft, and then perform a second operation)

The player last in turn order (as determined at the start of the game) moves the Sunspot Disk at the end of each of his turns (L).

G. Free Actions

A player may perform any number of free actions in any order on his turn (and only on his turn). They can be performed at any time other than

During spacecraft movement (H).
During Combat^[q] (J)

Exception: “Jettison” (G2) can be done during movement.

Exception: “Declare Combat” (G7) can only be done after you have moved all of your spacecraft or have decided not to move them.

Exception: The red player’s “move from anarchy to war” faction privilege (Q2.2.4) must be performed at the start of his turn.

Exception: You may voluntarily decommission (G11) disks, cubes, and domes during combat, but only if you are capturing an opponent’s component during buggy combat (J5.3) and have none available to replace it with.

G1 Cargo Transfer Actions.

The Cargo Transfer free actions include transferring cargo from one stack to another (G1.1), creating Outpost or Rocket stacks (G1.2), and towing spacecraft cubes (G1.3).

Dry Mass. Perform a Dry Mass Adjustment (E1) if your Bernal/Rocket stack gains or loses mass.
Dedicated Bernal Card. Your Bernal card may never leave the Bernal stack.
Dedicated Freighter Card. Your Freighter card cannot be voluntarily transferred out of your Freighter Stack (but see towing, G1.3). It may still be decommissioned (but see exceptions for promoted Freighter cards, C3.6).
Negotiation. You may transfer cargo to other players or give them your Outpost stacks as part of a deal (D).

Large cubes can’t be traded, small cubes are traded per D4.

G1.1 Cargo Transfer

Move or swap any number of cards, FFTs (which are considered to be cards), or towed cubes (G1.3) from one stack to another, colocated stack.

G1.1.1 Spacecraft Mass Limit. The amount of cargo and fuel a Rocket or Bernal can carry is limited per E1.1 and E2.1 (as indicated by “max dry mass” and “max wet mass” on the fuel strip).

G1.1.2 Freighters and Load Limit. The total mass of all cards in your Freighter stack (not including the mass of the Freighter card itself) may never exceed the “load limit” printed on the card.

G1.1.3 “Factory Loading Only” Freighters. A Freighter labeled as such may only receive cargo when located at an Industrialized Factory or your promoted Bernal.

It may never receive cargo in LEO even if your Bernal is there.
It may give cargo anywhere.

G1.2 Create Rocket/Outpost

Create a new Outpost or Rocket stack by transferring any number of cards out of a pre-existing stack. Place a ring figure (for an Outpost) or a Rocket figure (for your Rocket) colocated with the original stack. For Rockets, place its Dry Mass Indicator on your fuel strip per E1.

Rocket Limit. You may only have one Rocket stack in play at a time. You must voluntarily decommission your current Rocket (G11) or convert it into an Outpost (G1.2.1), if necessary.
Outpost Limit. You may have any number of Outpost stacks in play during any turn, but must voluntarily decommission (G11) down to 2 at the end of the turn.

Ring figures are only necessary to mark these at the end of the turn.
If you acquire more than two Outposts outside of your turn (through negotiation or having your Freighter decommissioned, which dumps its cargo as an Outpost), you may and must perform free actions at the end of the active player’s turn to comply with this limit.^[r]
Reminder: If an Outpost contains humans, it may not be voluntarily decommissioned unless you have an ability that “allows felonies” per C3.9. Either transfer the human cards to a colocated stack, or convert the Outpost into a Rocket per G1.2.1.^[s]

“Rocket” in Name Only. A Rocket Stack does not need a card with a thruster triangle, but it will have to have one if you want to move it (H).

G1.2.1 Swapping Outpost/Rocket.

You may also turn any of your Outpost stacks anywhere on the map into your Rocket stack or vice-versa. Swap their figures on the map and swap the cards in their stacks.

Adjust your Dry and Wet Mass Indicators appropriately (E1, any fuel on the fuel strip in the original Rocket is lost; convert fuel into FFTs, G3.1.1, to avoid this).

G1.2.2 Other Stacks. This action only creates Outposts and Rockets.

Your Bernal and LEO stack start in play and are always in play (B2, B15).
Your Ersatz-Bernal stack can be created during a Boost operation (I7.3).
Your Freighter stack can be created during an ET Produce operation (I11).

G1.3 Tow Cubes

A Rocket or Bernal (but not a Freighter) may take a colocated cube (Freighter or Mobile Factory only) into its stack or drop off a cube at its current location.

G1.3.1 Large Freighter Cube. The total mass of all cards in your Freighter stack is added to the Dry Mass of the spacecraft (perform a Dry Mass Adjustment per E1).

Separate Stacks. Cards in the Freighter stack are not considered to be in the towing spacecraft’s stack, except they may share supports (K3.3) and are considered to be the same stack during Combat (J).

G1.3.2 Mobile Factory Cubes. The mass of a Mobile Factory is the same as the mass printed on your Freighter card.

Your small cubes are not Mobile Factories unless you have a promoted (purple-side up) Freighter card in play.
Space Colonies. A Mobile Factory that is also an Industrialized Factory cannot be towed if it has a Space Colony (G5, as they are not allowed to move at all with a Space Colony, H1.5).

G2 Jettison Cargo/Fuel.

A special free action that can be done during Movement (H) but can also be done normally. A spacecraft may do any or all of the following:

New Outposts. Transfer any of its cargo (cards, FFTs, or towed cubes) into a new Outpost stack at the spacecraft’s current location (per G1.2. Dropping off cubes per G1.3).
Dump Fuel. Move its Wet Mass Indicator any number of steps to the left (following the black line).

This allows you to precisely lower your mass if done before calculating Net Thrust (H3.1.2).
This fuel is lost. Any fuel you wish to convert to FFTs (G3.3) must be done before the movement.

Reminder: A spacecraft’s Net Thrust (H3) and Dry Mass are not changed during a movement, and thus Jettisoning cargo provides no benefit to thrust or fuel economy unless done before the move.

G2.1 Jettison and Lander Burns.^[t] You may not Jettison cargo on to a Lander Burn space (H5.2).

G3 Convert Fuel Actions.

The Convert Fuel free actions allow you to convert WT, FFTs, and fuel on a fuel strip from one form to another. Fuel can also be Jettisoned (G2) and FFTs can be voluntarily decommissioned (G11) if you don’t want them anymore.

G3.1 WT to Fuel (in Home Orbit)

Spend any number of WT to move the Wet Mass Indicator of a Rocket/Bernal in your home orbit that many steps to the right (following the red line).

This is Water grade fuel (E5).

G3.1.1 Fuel to WT (in Home Orbit)

If your Rocket/Bernal is in your home orbit, move its Wet Mass Indicator any number of steps to the left (following the red line) and gain that many WT.

Dirt grade fuel (E5) cannot be converted to WT, but Isotope fuel can be.

G3.2 WT to FFT (in Home Orbit)

Spend any number of WT to create that many Water grade (E5) FFTs as a new Outpost stack (G1.2) in your home orbit.

G3.2.1 FFT to WT (in Home Orbit)

Voluntarily decommission any number of FFTs located at your home orbit and gain that many WT from the supply.

Dirt grade FFTs (E5) cannot be converted to WT, but Isotope FFTs can be.

G3.3 Fuel to FFT

Move your Rocket/Bernal's Dry Mass Indicator any number of steps to the right (following the red line) to add that many FFTs of the corresponding grade (E5) to the Rocket/Bernal stack.

The Wet Mass Indicator is left unmoved, as the total mass of the stack remains the same.
Reminder: The Wet and Dry Mass Indicators may meet but never pass each other.

G3.3.1 FFT to Fuel

Voluntarily decommission any number of FFTs in your Rocket/Bernal stack to move its Dry Mass Indicator that many steps to the left (following the red line).

Cargo Transfer (G1) the FFTs into your Rocket/Bernal stack and perform a Dry Mass Adjustment (E1) first, if necessary.
The Wet Mass Indicator is left unmoved, as the total mass of the stack remains the same.
Keep in mind the FFT’s grade (for fuel mixing, E5.2).

G4 Dirt “Phileas Fogg” Refueling.

Voluntarily decommission any number of cards from your Rocket/Bernal stack to move its Dry Mass Indicator one step to the left per unit of mass decommissioned (as if consuming FFTs, G3.3.1).

This action can only be performed with a Rocket/Bernal, and only if it contains at least one operational^[u] card with a black thruster triangle (i.e., a thruster that consumes dirt fuel).

That card cannot be one of the cards decommissioned.

This is considered to be adding Dirt grade fuel (for fuel mixing, E5.2).
Radiators. Reminder: Decommissioning a radiator card in its “heavy” orientation (K5.6.1) rotates it to the “light” orientation instead of returning it to your hand. This only pays for the difference in mass between the two orientations,^[v] but you may then decommission it again to get the full amount.

G5 Build Space Colony.

Voluntarily decommission a human card (Crew card, non-robot Colonist card, or emancipated robot Colonist card) colocated with one of your Industrialized Factories that does not already have a Space Colony. Place a dome figure on the Factory to represent a Space Colony.

Not Murder. This is one of the cases where voluntarily decommissioning a human is allowed (C3.9).
On-Board Supports. A human with On-Board Supports (K3.2) decommissioned as part of an Industrialize operation (I10) can immediately be used to build a Space Colony on the new Industrialized Factory.
Colonies and Mobile Factories. A Mobile Factory must be sitting on a Claim Disk in order to also be an Industrialized Factory. A Space Colony on a Mobile Factory prevents it from moving (H1.5) and from being voluntarily decommissioned.
Dome Limit. Your supply of domes is limited. If you wish to place one and you have none available, you must first voluntarily decommission one in play (for domes, this is not trivial, see G11.3).

G6 Claim Jump.

Replace an opponent’s claim disk with one of your own if it does not already contain an Industrialized Factory (B14) and you meet the following restrictions:

Felony. You have an ability that “allows felonies”
Human Required. You have a human card/figure located at the site (Crew card, non-robot Colonist card, emancipated robot Colonist card, or Bernal).
Humans Defend. The opponent does not have a human card/figure located at the site.

Disk Limit. Your supply of Claim Disks is limited. If you wish to place one and you have none available, you must first voluntarily decommission one in play.

G7 Declare Combat.

You may initiate Combat after you have moved all of your spacecraft or have decided not to move them this turn. See J1.1 for detail.

G8 Promoted Freighter Cube Swap.

Exchange the large cube representing your Freighter stack with one of your small Mobile Factory cubes anywhere on the map.

Any cargo the Freighter was carrying is dropped as a new Outpost stack per G1.2 (the Freighter card itself stays with the Freighter cube).
Movement Restriction. The Mobile Factory may not have already moved this turn.

The Freighter is allowed to have moved, and this action does not prevent either cube from moving this turn (i.e., it does not count as their movement).

G9 Claim Glory or Venture.

Claim any Glory or Venture cards you have met the conditions for (M).

G10 Discard Cards.

Discard cards from your hand to the bottom of the appropriate patent deck.

There is no hand limit, but a player with 4 or more cards in hand (excluding his Crew card) may not participate in auctions (I3, I4).

G11 Voluntary Decommission.

Voluntarily decommission any card, Rocket figure, Outpost figure, Claim Disk, large Freighter cube, small Mobile Factory cube, or Space Colony dome you have in play.

(i.e, anything but Bernals and Ersatz-Bernals, which are invincible)

The general rules for decommission (C) are not reiterated here but exceptions listed there apply. The following apply only to this free action, as it is the only way Claim Disks, small cubes, and Space Colonies may be voluntarily decommissioned.

G11.1 Claim Disk Decommission.

Claim Disks may only be decommissioned if it does not violate dependency (see below).

A site with no Claim Disk is available to be prospected again (I9).

G11.2 Small Cube Decommission.

Small cubes may only be voluntarily decommissioned if they are Mobile Factories and it does not violate dependency (see below).

Reminder: All of your cubes, large or small, sitting on a Claim Disk or not, are Mobile Factories only while you have a promoted (purple-side up) Freighter card in play.
Your large Freighter cube is not subject to these restrictions.
Therefore, Industrialized Factories (with the exception of your large cube) are stuck until you have a promoted Freighter.

G11.3 Space Colony Decommission.

Crew Required. A Space Colony dome may only be voluntarily decommissioned if (and only if) you have your Crew card in your hand. Remove the Space Colony, and create a new Outpost stack at its location containing your Crew card per G1.2.

You may not murder (C3.9) Space Colonies, even if you have an ability that “allows felonies”.

G11.4 Component Dependencies.

A Space Colony must always sit on top of an Industrialized Factory cube (which, in order to be considered an “Industrialized” Factory must be sitting on a Claim Disk).
An Industrialized Factory cube must always sit on top of a Claim Disk unless it is also a Mobile Factory, in which case removing the Disk causes it to cease being an Industrialized Factory.
You may not voluntarily decommission a Claim Disk or Industrialized Factory if it would violate the previous two bullet points.

See Combat Miscelanea (J6) for scenarios where these conditions are involuntarily violated.

H. Movement

Spacecraft (Rocket, Bernal, Freighter, or Mobile Factory) are capable of flight. Each spacecraft can move once during the player turn, and may move at any time on the turn. Movement consists of three steps:

Activate (choose) a thruster which will be used to move (H2).
Calculate net thrust (which, among other things, determines how far you can move) (H3).
Move until you decide to or are forced to stop (H4).

H1 Movement Restrictions.

H1.1 Unlimited Stacking.

There is no limit to the amount of figures that can be on any given space (symbol, line intersection, or corner).

However, leaving a space containing an opponent’s figure might make you susceptible to interception combat (J1).

H1.2 No Double Moves.

No component (figure, card, or unit of fuel) may move more than once per round. Any component that moves at least one space via the movement rules cannot be moved again (by any player) until the start of your next turn.

For fuel, this applies whether its represented on a fuel strip, stored as an FFT, or stored in your home orbit. This also applies if the fuel is converted from one of these things to another.^[w]

(e.g., you cannot move fuel back to your home orbit, convert it into WT, load those WT onto a spacecraft, and then move that fuel again).

This applies strictly to moving from one space to another via the movement rules. Free actions, Operations, or other rules that lead to components being in a different location than they were previously do not prevent them from moving.

E.g, converting an Outpost into a Rocket, decommissioning a card and Boosting it again, or moving cards with the Space Elevator Venture.

H1.3 No Free Actions.

Free Actions (G) and Operations (I) cannot be performed through the entirety of the spacecraft’s movement, with the exception of the Jettison free action (G2).

H1.4 Bernal Restrictions.

Bernals may not enter Lander Burn spaces (H5.2) or the “kreutz sungrazer” site (Q1.4).

They may still enter aerobrake hazards (H5.3.1) but will be permanently trapped if they land on a site that requires entering a Lander Burn space to leave.

H1.5 Freighter/Mobile Factory Restrictions.

In-Built Thruster. Your Freighter may only use the thruster triangle printed on your Freighter card. Mobile Factories copy the thruster triangle and red box of your promoted Freighter card (B16).
Mobile Factories and Space Colonies. A Mobile Factory cannot move if it carrying a Space Colony (G5).

(see also Thrust Requirement: H2.5, Operational Thruster requirement: H2.6, Burn Limit: H4.1.1, No U-Turns: H4.2.3, Landing/Lift-off: H5, No stopping on Lander Burns: H5.2, Synodic Comets: H6.4)

H2 Activate a Thruster

H2.1 Thruster Triangles

A card in the spacecraft’s stack with a thruster triangle must be chosen at the start of each movement.

This section uses the word “thruster” to refer to cards with a thruster triangle. Thruster triangles are usually found on “thruster” cards, but can be found elsewhere.
Many Generator or Reactor cards also have a triangle on them, but these are instead Movement-Modifying Supports (K6). They can be distinguished by their red color and the horizontal orientation of the card’s artwork.

H2.2 Rocket & Bernal Thruster Choice

Choose a single card in the spacecraft’s stack with a thruster triangle. Only this thruster can be used for the entire movement.

The specific cards in that thruster’s support chain (if any, K3.4) must also be decided at this time and cannot be changed mid-movement.

E.g, you cannot switch to another generator if the one you are using is lost mid-movement.

The activated thruster does not need to be operational, but the spacecraft’s movements will be limited to the exceptions listed in H2.6.
Promoted (purple-side up) Bernal cards have a thruster triangle printed on them, but nothing prevents you from using a different thruster, even if your Bernal is not promoted yet.

H2.3 Fuel Grades

Thruster triangles are color-coded with one of the three fuel grades (E5, black -> blue -> yellow for dirt -> water -> isotope fuel).

A thruster can only be activated if the spacecraft is fueled with that grade of fuel or better (i.e., a dirt thruster can use any type of fuel while an isotope rocket may only use isotope fuel).

Isotope (yellow) thrusters may only use Isotope fuel with a spectral type (letter) matching the spectral type of the card (E5.3).
Fuel can be added to a Rocket/Bernal using various free actions (G3, G4) or operations (I8).
Be wary of the Fuel Mixing rules (E5.2).
No Fuel. A spacecraft with no fuel on its fuel strip (i.e., the Wet and Dry Mass Indicators are on the same space) can always be activated regardless of fuel grade, but it won’t be able to perform burns (H4.1).

H2.4 Freighter/Mobile Factory Thruster Choice

Your Freighter may only use the thruster triangle printed on your Freighter card. These consume no fuel (as Freighters do not track fuel).

Mobile Factories copy the thruster triangle and red box of your promoted Freighter card (B16).

H2.5 Thrust Requirement

The activated thruster must calculate a net thrust of at least 1 (H3) or it cannot be chosen^[x]^[y].

H2.6 Operational Thruster Requirement and Exceptions

The activated thruster must be in the stack operational at all times during the movement, even if the movement path contains no burns (H4.1), otherwise the movement must immediately end. See below for exceptions.

Clarification. Activating (and thus having) a thruster is mandatory at the start of a movement, even if the movement is limited to the exceptions below.
Clarification. H2.3 and H2.5 must still be complied with in order to activate a thruster, even if the movement is limited to the exceptions below.

H2.6.1 Factory-Assisted Exception. The activated thruster does not need to be operational (but must still be in the stack) when performing factory-assisted landings or lift-offs (H5.4, i.e., being flung into space or caught out of space by a factory).

H2.6.2 Aerobrake Exception. The activated thruster does not need to be operational or remain in the stack^[z] in order to follow an aerobrake path (dotted line, H5.3), provided the path ends on a site and does not enter a burn (i.e., you don’t need a thruster to fall down).

The path must be followed completely, you may not stop (e.g., to enter and leave an aerobrake path to Atmosphere Refuel, I8.3).
Some aerobrake paths do not end on a site. These cannot be followed without an operational thruster.

H2.6.3 Flyby Exception. The activated thruster does not need to be operational (but must still be in the stack) in order to move if you have any free burns remaining from a flyby (H6.3, i.e., using a gravity slingshot) but movement must end once those burns are used.

H3 Calculating Thrust

The left number on the thruster triangle is the base thrust. Mark the net thrust of the movement along the top of your playmat after applying the following modifiers:

H3.1.1 Afterburn. If the thruster triangle has an afterburn symbol (flame) and the thruster is operational, you may spend (E2.3) the indicated number of fuel steps (left along the black line) to increase net thrust by one. This can only be done once per movement.

Afterburns on GW Thrusters (marked with “+X Thrust”) instead spend one step of fuel to gain that much thrust.
Fuel-Modifying Supports. The cost to perform an afterburn is not affected by fuel-modifying supports (K6.3).
Afterburner Cooling. Afterburns also generate one therm of cooling (K5) that applies for the rest of the turn (i.e., for operations as well as movement)

This cooling may only be used on cards that were in the thruster’s support chain (K3.4) at the time of the afterburn.

It is allowed to activate and afterburn with a thruster that would normally be non-operational as long as the extra therm of cooling makes it operational (K5.5).

H3.1.2 Mass Modifier. Increase or decrease net thrust by the amount shown in the colored band below your spacecraft’s Wet Mass Indicator (-2, -1, +0, +1, or +2).

This is calculated after spending fuel to perform an afterburn (if you were able and chose to do so).
Freighters/Mobile Factories do not track fuel or mass and thus skip this step.

H3.1.3 Thrust-Modifying Supports. Some supports (K6.1) show a thrust modifier. Apply this modifier only if the support is part of the thruster’s support chain (K3.4, i.e, if the support is required for the thruster to be operational).

Multiple modifiers stack.
These do not apply if the thruster is a GW Thruster (yellow triangle).

H3.1.4 Solar-Power Modifier. If the thruster or any card in its support chain (K3.4) has the “solar-powered” icon (☀, K6.2), increase or decrease the net thrust depending on which heliocentric zone its in (-6 to +2, as indicated on the map).

Does not Stack. This modifier only applies once regardless of the amount of solar icons present.
This modifier still applies for GW Thrusters (yellow thruster triangles), but note that some solar-powered cards are also thrust-modifying supports (in this case, only apply the solar modifier).
Neptune Solar. Solar-powered cards are non-operational in the Neptune heliocentric zone (as indicated). It still has a listed ‘-6’ modifier as some solar-powered cards are an exception to this.

H3.1.5 Beamed Power Modifier. If the thruster has the “pushable” icon ( high frontier push factory.png ), add a +2 modifier if you have an Industrialized Factory on Mercury, Venus, or Io (marked with the same icon). Players with the “Powersat” faction privilege (Q2.2.1) can also add a +1 modifier.

Only one of these modifiers can apply.
Negotiation. Either of these can be used to benefit an opponent’s spacecraft, which must be decided prior to this step.

H3.2 Calculate Once.

Net thrust is only calculated at the start of the move. Changing mass (e.g., jettisoning fuel or cargo, spending fuel), losing supports, or moving on the map does not affect Net Thrust until the next movement.

Losing components may, however, violate the requirement of having an operational thruster (H2.6) and end movement early.

H4 Movement Procedure

A spacecraft may freely move any distance along the lines of the map until it has used a number of burns (H4.1) up to its net thrust. Afterwards it may coast (H4.3, continue moving without entering a space that requires burns).

A spacecraft may stop on any space (map symbol, intersection, or sharp corner. Exception: Lander Burns, H5.2) or may be forced to stop due to landing on a site (H5) or by not having an operational thruster (H2.6).

H4.1 Burns.

A spacecraft is required to use a burn whenever it:

Enters a Burn space (pink circle) or Lander Burn space (pink lander vehicle, H5.2).
Wishes to quickly turn at symbol-less intersections (see H4.2).

For each burn used, move the spacecraft’s Wet Mass Indicator a number of steps left along the fuel strip (following the black line) according to the number on the right of the activated thruster triangle.

H4.1.1 Burn Limit. The total amount of burns you may use during a movement (not including free burns from flybys, H6.3) may not exceed the spacecraft’s net thrust, as calculated before movement (H3.2)

H4.1.2 Fuel Use. You may not perform a burn if the spacecraft does not have enough fuel (the Wet Mass Indicator may never pass the Dry Mass Indicator).

H4.1.3 Fuel Mass. The Wet Mass Indicator is moved rightwards along the red line when adding fuel, but moves leftwards along the black line when burning fuel. Adding one step of fuel along the red line pays for a varying amount of steps along the black line depending on the mass of the spacecraft (see fuel strip).

Reminder: A Spacecraft’s Dry Mass is not adjusted until the end of the movement (E1). Losing dry mass mid-movement does not improve fuel economy.

H4.1.4 Fractional Fuel Use. Some thrusters use a fractional amount of fuel steps per burn. Move the Indicator partially along the black line to show this. At the end of movement, the total number of steps used is rounded up (move the marker left along the black line to the next numbered space).

Half Burns. Some Lander Burn spaces (H5.2) show only half of a lander vehicle. These still count as one full burn towards the maximum allowed burns, but only uses half as many fuel steps (do not round until the end of the movement, as above).

H4.1.5 Fuel-Modifying Supports. Some supports (K6.3) show a “fuel consumption” modifier. Apply this modifier only if the support is part of the thruster’s support chain (K3.4, i.e, if the support is required for the thruster to be operational).

Multiply the number on the right of the thruster triangle by all modifiers to get the amount of fuel steps used (see H4.1.4 for fractional results).
This does not affect the fuel cost required for Afterburning (H3.1.1).
You may not change the activated thruster’s supports mid-movement.

H4.1.6 Free Burns. Free Burns can be acquired by moving through flybys (H6.3).

H4.1.7 Freighters/Mobile Factories and Burns

Freighters and Mobile Factories do not track fuel, and are thus only limited by their Net Thrust per H4.1.1 (this is usually ‘1’).

Some Freighters also have a number of “free pivots” (H4.2.2) which they may use in addition to their allotted burns.
Some Freighters “+X TMP” (“thrust movement points”) which allow that many additional burns beyond the burn limit (H4.1.1). This does not count as an increase in Net Thrust.
Mobile Factories copy the movement-related abilities of your promoted Freighter card (B16).

H4.2 Turning.

A spacecraft must follow the lines on the map and may only change direction (switch lines) at an intersection or a sharp corner.

H4.2.1 Spaces with symbols. If the intersection has a symbol on it then changing direction there requires no additional burns. This includes:

Lagrange Points (open circles requiring no burn to enter)
Burns and Lander Burns
Flybys
Crash hazards
Anything else other than two bare lines intersecting

H4.2.2 Pivots. If there is no symbol on the intersection or corner, then turning the spacecraft must use two burns to turn.

Some Freighter cards, Bernal cards, or Colonist cards grant free pivots which can be used to turn without burns up to the number of times listed.

H4.2.3 No U-turns. A spacecraft may never reverse direction on the line it came from (no matter how many burns it can use or if it is on a symbol or not).

It is allowed to circle around, it just may not directly make a 180 degree turn.

H4.2.4 Distinct Movements. A spacecraft may begin its movement in any direction regardless of the direction or line it was travelling on in a previous turn.

i.e., it may disregard H4.2.2 and H4.2.3 at the cost of taking more turns to reach its destination.

H4.3 Coasting.

A spacecraft that has no burns remaining (either it’s normal allotment of burns -- H4.1 -- or free burns from flybys, H6.3) may continue to move provided it does not enter any burn or Lander Burn spaces (spaces that require using a burn).

The activated thruster must still be operational in order to move (H2.6 but see exceptions), otherwise the spacecraft must end its movement.
A spacecraft with free burns remaining from a flyby (H6.3) or a coasting spacecraft that acquires free burns by entering a flyby may continue to move until those burns are used, after which it is once again considered coasting.

H5 Sites: Landing & Lift-Off

Entering or exiting a site (hexagonal space) follows special rules.

Landing on a site ends a spacecraft’s movement, lifting-off does not.
You must follow one of three methods in order to land or lift-off from a site:

Powered Landing/Lift-off (H5.1)
Aerobrake Landing (H5.3)
Factory-Assisted Landing/Lift-off (H5.4).
But see also, Kamikaze Powered Landing (J4.3).

Larger sites usually require passing through Lander Burn spaces (H5.2) to reach them.

H5.1 Powered Landing/Lift-Off.

Unless a spacecraft is using aerobrakes (H5.3) or is receiving assistance from an Industrialized Factory (H5.4), the activated thruster must have a net thrust greater than the site’s size (large number on site) in order to enter or leave it.

Aerostat Exception: You may lift-off of sites named “aerostat” (found in the atmospheres of Venus, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) regardless of size.

You must still land on them through one of the normal methods.

Though it's called “powered”, this does not require a burn or any fuel.

(the landing/lift-off itself, that is. Entering a Burn or Lander Burn space requires spending fuel as normal)

Because Freighters must use their printed thruster with a base thrust of one (H2.4), they cannot perform a powered landing/lift-off on even a size 1 site unless they’re allowed to receive beamed power (H3.1.5).

Freighters can attempt to use aerobrakes (H5.3), receive assistance from a factory (H5.4), or be towed by another spacecraft (G1.3).

H5.2 Lander Burns.

Lander Burn spaces (pink lander vehicles) are a special type of burn space (H4.1) abstracting out the fuel required to land on a site.

No Stopping. You may not end movement on a Lander Burn.
You may not enter a Lander Burn if you cannot continue moving through it.

E.g., if the Lander Burn leads into another burn, the spacecraft must have enough fuel and burns remaining to move there.
E.g, if the Lander Burn leads into a site you must be able to land there.

Bernals may not enter Lander Burns.
Free burns (from flybys, H6.3) cannot be used to enter Lander Burns.
Factory Assisted Landings/Lift-Offs (H5.4) cannot be used to enter Lander Burns.
Half Burns. Some Lander Burn spaces show only half of a lander vehicle. These still count as one full burn towards the maximum allowed burns but only use half as many fuel steps (do not round until movement ends, H4.1.4).
Jettison and Lander Burns.^[aa] You may not Jettison cargo on to a Lander Burn space (G2).

H5.3 Aerobrake Paths & Landing.

Entering a site by following an aerobrake path (dotted line with an arrow) allows a spacecraft to land ignoring the site’s size if the path leads directly into the site (e.g., some aerobrake paths are near sites but do not directly lead into them).

A spacecraft may not cross the path’s arrowhead in the opposite direction.

This restriction only applies to the arrowhead. You may move against the direction of the arrow anywhere along the rest of the path (e.g., to enter and leave an aerobrake path to Atmosphere Refuel, I8.3).

Thruster-less Movement. A spacecraft may move through an aerobrake path along the direction of the arrow even if it does not have an operational thruster, unless the path enters a burn/Lander Burn space (H2.6).

H5.3.1 Aerobrake Hazards. Entering an aerobrake hazard (parachute symbol) is treated as a Crash Hazard (H6.1) for all purposes and incurs a Crash Hazard roll (roll 1d6, 1=spacecraft destroyed, may pay 4WT to skip rolling).

Unlike Lander Burns (H5.2), stopping on an aerobrake hazard is allowed.

H5.4 Factory-Assisted Landing/Lift-Off.

If a site has an Industrialized Factory, a spacecraft may enter or exit that site ignoring its size.

H5.4.1 Heavy Gravity Restriction. A spacecraft may not use factory assistance to move into or out of a Lander Burn space (H5.2).

All sites of size 6 or larger have Lander Burns. The converse is usually true.

H5.4.2 Crash Hazard. Factory-assistance is treated as a Crash Hazard (H6.1) for all purposes and incurs a crash hazard roll (roll 1d6, 1=spacecraft destroyed, may pay 4WT to skip rolling).

This would incur two, back-to-back Crash Hazards if you lifted off into a Crash Hazard space.

H5.4.3 Thruster-less Movement. A spacecraft may move with factory assistance even if its activated thruster is not operational (H2.6).

It must still have a thruster, however.

H5.4.4 Hijack Opponent’s Factory. Using an opponent’s Industrialized Factory is allowed if he permits you OR

You have an ability that “allows felonies” (B6) and
You have a human on the site (Crew, non-robot Colonist, emancipated robot Colonist, or Bernal) (B6.1) and
No opponent who has a human on the site chooses to stop you (B6.2).

H5.4.5 Mobile Factories. A Mobile Factory (B16, including the promoted Freighter) may use itself to land or lift-off.

The site must still have a claim disk, but it does not have to be yours (in the latter case, you do not need permission).
This is an exception to the rule that only cubes on claim disks count as Industrialized Factories.
Freighter Reminder: All of your cubes, including your large Freighter cube, are considered to be Mobile Factories while you have a promoted (purple-side up) Freighter card in play.

H6 Movement-Related Map Features

The following spaces were described above:

Burn spaces (H4.1)
Pivot Intersections (H4.2.2)
Lander Burn spaces (H5.2)
Aerobrake Paths and Hazards (H5.3)
Sites (H5)

Map features not presented in this section are described in Q1.

H6.1 Crash Hazards (skull symbol) & Hazard Rolls.

Entering a space with a crash hazard symbol incurs a crash hazard roll. Roll one die (1d6). If you roll a one, each card in the spacecraft’s stack is involuntarily decommissioned and, if its stack is now empty, the figure itself is decommissioned.

Moving into an Aerobrake Hazard (H5.3.1) or performing a Factory-Assisted landing/lift-off (H5.4) also incurs a crash hazard roll.
Failure is not an Option. Before rolling, you may spend 4WT to not roll.
For hazard spaces that are also burn spaces (H4.1), the fuel for the burn must still be paid regardless of the roll’s result.

This is only relevant for Bernals, which cannot be decommissioned (C3.3) and thus may need the fuel later.

H6.2 Radiation Hazards (radiation symbol).

Entering a space with a radiation hazard incurs a radiation hazard roll. Roll one die and subtract your spacecraft’s net thrust (1d6 - net thrust). Compare the result to the rad-hardness of each card in the spacecraft’s stack (listed in the top-right corner). Any card with a rad-hardness less than the result is involuntarily decommissioned.

H6.2.1 Failure Is an Option. You may not pay WT to skip this roll.

H6.2.2 Active Red Sunspots. If the Sunspot Cycle disk (L1) is in the red section, add +2 to all radiation hazard rolls.

H6.2.3 Promoted Bernal Protection. All of your^[ab] cards colocated with your promoted Bernal or Ersatz-Bernal are protected from radiation hazards and Sunspot Events (L2).

Exception: Radiator cards in use (K4.2) are not protected (as they are outside).
This applies to all colocated cards, even those not in the Bernal stack.
Reminder: Bernals, promoted or otherwise, are already immune to decommissioning.

H6.2.4 Fungible Fuel Tanks (B7). FFTs are considered to be a card with a rad-hardness of 8.

H6.2.5 Mobile Factories (B16). Mobile Factory cubes are considered to be a card with the same rad-hardness as your promoted Freighter card for this purpose. Decommission the cube if the result is higher than this.

H6.2.6 Solar Flare Protection. Stacks on a radiation hazard space are immune to solar flare events (L2.4).

H6.2.7 Boosting through Hazards. Cards entering play through a Boost operation (I7) that traces a path from LEO through a radiation hazard (i.e., boosting to any Bernal except the purple player’s) incur a radiation hazard roll with a “net thrust” of 3 (1d6 - 3).

This does not apply to the ET Production operation (I11) or Digital Swap operation (I12).

H6.3 Flybys (circled “+X” numbers and circled crescent moons).

Entering a space with a flyby grants the spacecraft a number of free burns (H4.1) equal to the amount printed on it.

H6.3.1 Free Burns. They do not count towards your burn limit per H4.1.1, require no fuel, and can be spent any time you’d normally require a burn (exception: H6.3.2). If you have both free and non-free burns remaining, you may choose the order you use them in.

H6.3.2 No Lander Burns. Free burns cannot be used to enter Lander Burns (H5.2).

H6.3.3 Thruster-less Movement. A spacecraft with free burns remaining may continue to move even if it has no operational thruster (H2.6).

H6.3.4 Lunar Flybys. The moon-shaped flybys grant +1 free burn (the symbol is for flavor only and has no associated rules aside from this).

H6.3.5 Multiple Flybys. A spacecraft may benefit from multiple flybys during a movement, and may even benefit from the same flyby multiple times.

Exception: A spacecraft may benefit from the “Solar Oberth Flyby” (Q1.8) only once per movement.

H6.4 Synodic Comet Sites (Site with Red/Blue/Yellow border).

A Synodic Comet site cannot be entered by a spacecraft unless the Sunspot Cycle disk is in the matching-colored sector (L1) or the spacecraft is a Rocket (specifically) using a card with a starship thruster triangle to move.

A thruster triangle is considered a starship if it has a beehive symbol or a smaller, green thruster triangle next to it.
A spacecraft may leave a Synodic Comet at any time.
See also L1.1.1 for non-movement related rules regarding Synodic Comets.

H6.5 Buggy Roads and Space Elevators (dashed lines).

No movement is ever performed along a buggy road. They are only relevant for prospecting (I9.4) and adjacency (B1).
The player who owns the Space Elevator Venture (M2.3) may use the space elevators printed on the board, but this is not considered movement.

I. Operations

A player may perform a number of operations each turn depending on the amount of Colonists she has in play (I1.2).

I1.1 Order of Operations.

Operations can be done before and/or after moving a spacecraft. You may choose the order your Colonists and Crew perform their operations in. It is allowed to perform the same operation multiple times.

Auction Limit Exception: A player may only perform one operation that auctions off a card (I3, Research or I4, Recruit) per turn.

I1.2 Operations Limit.

Crew. A player may perform one Operation per turn using his Crew card, whether it is in his hand or in play.
Colonists. A player may perform an additional operation with each Colonist card they have in play (not in hand).

This is the largest incentive for raising your Colonist Limit (I7.7).

I1.3 Specialties.

A Crew/Colonist can only perform an operation matching one of its listed specialities: Science (microscope), Engineering (wrench), or Finance (handshake). A card with multiple specialities can still only perform one operation per turn.

(the operations below have been color-coded by their specialty)

I1.4 Remote Operations.

The location of the card performing the operation is irrelevant (they teleconference), with the following exceptions:

I1.4.1 Remote Crew/Colonist ISRU. The ISRU Refuel Operation (I8.2) and Prospect (I9) operations require a card with an ISRU rating to be on the space where you’re performing the operation. If you wish to use the ISRU rating printed on a Crew/Colonist card, not only must it be on the space but also either

That Crew/Colonist has to be the one performing the operation or
The Crew/Colonist performing the operation is also on the space.

When using the ISRU rating printed on non-Crew/Colonist cards (i.e, Robonaut cards), the location of the Crew/Colonist card performing the operation is irrelevant (as normal).

I1.4.2 Epic Hazards. When performing an Epic Hazard Operation (P1.4) in an attempt to score a Future (P), the card performing the operation and the card containing the Future must be on the space the operation is being performed at.

I1.5 Extra Operations Costs.

Operations your Colonists perform (i.e., not your Crew’s) are “extra”. Your first extra operation in each specialty costs 1 WT, paid before performing the operation, in addition to any WT the operation requires. The second operation in a given specialty costs 2 more WT, the third costs 3 WT, and so on.

Clarification. Your Crew’s operation does not cost extra WT and does not count towards these totals.
Clarification: This is tracked separately for each specialty (e.g, three science operations and one finance operation costs 1+2+3+1 WT).
Operations that require “any” specialty count towards one of the specialties of the card performing it (your choice).

I1.6 Useful Definitions.

“Adjacency” (B1) and “Dirtside” (B4) are referenced frequently in this section.

I2 Income Operation (any specialization)

Receive 2 WT from the supply. For the purposes of extra operation costs (I1.5), this counts as an operation of the colonist or crew’s specialty (pick if they have multiple specialties).

I2.1 Capitalism Policy (all players). If the Politics Disk (B19) is on the “Capitalism” space, you instead receive 1 WT per Industrialized Factory you own.

I2.2 Nationalism Policy (all players but white). If the Politics Disk is on the “Nationalism” space, only the white player may perform the Income operation.

I2.3 Egalitarianism Policy (all players). If the Politics Disk is on the “Egalitarianism” space you may instead take the 2 WT from a player who is “richer” than you.

“Richer” means more WT than you.
Count blue and yellow FFTs in home orbits as WT for this purpose^[ac] (Reminder: such FFTs can be spent as WT for any purpose).

I3 Research Operation (science)

Choose one of the patent decks (A8) and auction off the top card.

I3.1 Auction Limit. A player may only perform one operation that auctions off a card (Research or I4, Recruit) per turn.

I3.2 Hand Limit. A player with four or more cards in hand (not counting his Crew card) may not initiate or bid in an auction.

The active player may discard cards as a free action (G10) before performing the operation.
A player may have any number of cards in hand; he just cannot participate in auctions while he has more than three cards.

I3.3 Procedure. The active player must make the first bid (minimum of 0 WT) after which bids can be made or raised in any order and may even match bids made by other players. Continue until no player wishes to raise his bid. Bids are made in WT.

Reminder: Water or Isotope FFTs may be spent as WT if they are in your home orbit.

I3.4 Win Procedure. The winning bid is paid to the active player (or to the supply if the active player wins). The winner adds the card to her hand.

Ties. The active player wins a tied bid she is involved in. If she is not involved, she chooses which of the tied players wins.

I3.4.1 Supports. If the card requires supports (K) the winner also takes the top card of the corresponding patent deck for each required support into his hand.

The winner does not get additional cards for the listed supports of the supports.
It is allowed to auction off a support directly.
The winner receives top support of the required category (reactor, generator, or radiator), but not necessarily the required type of support within that category (ⓔ or generator; ⓝ, 💣, or ⓧ reactor, K3.1).

I3.5 Information.

The front side of the top card of each deck is visible and open to inspection at all times.
The backside of a card may only be viewed after it is put up for auction.
The front side of the card below the auctioned card is revealed immediately when the card above it is put up for auction.
Extra supports are not moved from their deck until the auction is won.

I3.6 Colonist Patents. The colonist patent deck is treated like any other patent deck (i.e., you may auction a card from it with a Research operation).

Colonists can also be auctioned off with the Recruit operation (I4).

I3.7 Paleoconservatism Policy (all players but white). If the Politics Disk (B19) is on the “Paleoconservatism” space, players other than the white player cannot perform Research operations unless they control at least one^[ad] Lab^[ae] (I13.1.1).

All players may still take part in auctions, however.

I4 Recruit Operation (finance)

Draw the top three cards of the Colonist deck (revealing the fourth) and choose one to auction off as described in I3 (keep in mind Hand Limit and Auction Limit). Return the two unchosen cards to the bottom of the deck in any order.

The top card (only) may be auctioned off as a Research operation instead (I3.6).
All players may examine both sides of each of the three cards.

I5 Hostile Recruit Operation (finance)

Move a colonist card from an opponent’s stack (not hand) into one of your colocated stacks if the following four requirements are met.

I5.1 Colonist Limit. The number of Colonist cards you may have in play (not including robot or emancipated robot Colonists and not including your Crew card) at a time is limited (see I7.7). You may not Hostile Recruit a colonist if you are at or above your limit.

I5.2 Minimum Card Requirement. Your colocated stack must contain at least one card (i.e., you cannot steal a Colonist into your LEO or Ersatz-Bernal stack without having a card in them. Other stacks will have cards in them by definition)

I5.3 Peace Requirement. The Politics disk (B19) must be on any non-War space.

I5.4 Loyalty Requirement. The chosen colonist must be Loyal to you.

Peacetime Loyalty. Unless the Politics disk is on a “War” space (B19), non-robot colonists are loyal to the player with the matching color and robot colonists are loyal to the robot emancipator (I14) (regardless of who owns the card).

Loyalty also determines votes during an election (I15).

Exception: You may always Hostile Recruit a non-robot Colonist owned by the robot emancipator (I14), regardless of its color.

I5.5 Press Gangs Policy (red player). If the Politics Disk (B19) is on the “Press Gangs” space, the red player may ignore loyalty for this purpose.

I6 Free Market Operation (finance)

Sell either a card either from your hand, a black card from the map in LEO, or a black card from the map to a Bernal.

Purple or white cards on the map cannot be sold directly, but can possibly be Decommissioned as a free action to return them to your hand (G11).
The color of cards in hand is irrelevant for selling.
You may never sell your starting Crew card or Bernal card.
Selling from the map is considered a Voluntary Decommission (G11). You may not voluntarily decommission an emancipated robot (I14) unless you have an ability that “allows felonies”.
No Selling FFTs. FFTs (B7) are considered “cards” but have no card color and are never in a player’s hand, thus can never be sold.

I6.1 Free Market from Hand.

Return a card from your hand to the bottom of its corresponding patent deck. Receive 2 to 6 WT from the supply as indicated by the position of the Politics disk (B19).

I6.2 Free Market from Map to LEO.

Voluntarily decommission a black card located in LEO to the bottom of its corresponding patent deck. Receive 6, 8, or 10 WT according to the exploitation track (I10.3) corresponding to its spectral type (letter on the card; ‘C’, ‘S’, ‘M’, ‘V’, or ‘D’).

I6.3 Free Market from Map to Bernal.

Voluntarily decommission a black card colocated with a Bernal in its home orbit or with a Bernal that has at least one Dirtside (B4). Receive 6, 8, or 10 WT according to the exploitation track (I10.3) corresponding to its spectral type (letter on the card; ‘C’, ‘S’, ‘M’, ‘V’, or ‘D’).

Letter Restriction. A card cannot be sold to a Bernal that has a Dirtside whose spectral type (site’s letter) matches the letter of the card.
Selling to your own Bernal. Cards sold at your own Bernal are returned to the bottom of the deck as normal.
Selling to an Opponent’s Bernal. Cards sold to an opponent’s Bernal are returned to your hand, but you cannot sell to an opponent's’ Bernal unless he agrees.

I6.4 You may not sell a black card if its corresponding exploitation track is on the “start” space.^[af]

This could happen if a Mobile Factory (B16) moves off of a claimed site, or if an Industrialized Factory is decommissioned (G11, J).

I6.5 Radiators and Free Market. A Radiator sold in its “heavy” orientation (K5.6.1) does not rotate per K5.6.1.1 but instead goes to your hand or the deck as described above.

I6.6 Anti-Nuke Policy (all players). If the Politics Disk (B19) is on the “Anti-Nuke” space, players may not Free Market or Boost “Reactor” cards or cards with On-Board Supports (K3.2).

This applies both to selling from your hand and from the map.

I7 Boost Operation (engineering)

Bring one or more cards into play from your hand, white side up, by spending WT equal to the combined mass of the cards (printed in the red box).

I7.1 Bernal or LEO. Newly boosted cards are placed into your LEO stack, your Bernal/Ersatz-Bernal stack (whichever is in your starting orbit, and only if one is in your starting orbit), or a combination of the two.

I7.2 White Cards Only. Cards entering play through boosting can only enter white-side up. Cards without a white side (freighters, GW Thrusters, some colonists) cannot be boosted.

See the ET Production Operation (I11) or Digital Swap Operation (I12) for black cards and the Promote Operation (I13) for purple cards.

I7.3 Ersatz-Bernal. Cards can only be boosted to your Bernal if it’s in its starting orbit. If your Bernal is not at its starting orbit, you may boost your Ersatz-Bernal as a Boost Operation by spending 10 WT. Place your second cylinder figure in your starting orbit. Cards may be boosted to your Ersatz-Bernal immediately as part of this operation.

I7.4 No Movement Restriction. A card may move in the same turn it enters play.

I7.5 Boosting Radiation Hazard. Cards entering play through a Boost operation that traces a path from LEO through a radiation hazard (i.e., boosting to any Bernal except the purple player’s) incur a radiation hazard roll (H6.2) with a “net thrust” of 3 (1d6 - 3).

This does not apply to the ET Production operation (I13) or Digital Swap operation (I12).

I7.6 Radiator Orientation. Radiator support cards (K5.6) have both a heavy and light orientation. Choose the card’s orientation as it enters play (and pay the appropriate amount of WT for its mass).

I7.7 Colonist Limit. The number of Colonist cards (not Crew) you may have in play at a time is limited.

If your Bernal card is not promoted (purple side up), you may only have one non-robot Colonist plus your Crew in play.
Promoted Bernal with Dirtsides. If your Bernal card is promoted, you may have your Crew plus a number of non-robot Colonists equal to half of the total hydration (number of water droplet symbols) of your Bernal’s Dirtsides (B4), to a minimum of 1 (rounded down).
Falling Limits. There is no penalty if this limit falls in any way (e.g., your Bernal is depromoted), you simply cannot bring more colonists into play until you are within limits again.
Robot Colonists do not count towards this limit (even if they become human through emancipation, I14).

I7.8 Anti-Nuke Policy (all players). If the Politics Disk (B19) is on the “Anti-Nuke” space, players may not Free Market or Boost “Reactor” cards or cards with On-Board Supports (K3.2).

I8 Site Refuel Operations (engineering)

The following three operations produce fuel from a location, which can be immediately used to refuel a Rocket/Bernal at that location, add FFTs to a Rocket/Bernal at that location, or -- for a Factory Refuel (I8.1) only -- produce FFTs directly into a new Outpost (G1.2) at that location.

If a Rocket or Bernal reaches its Wet Mass Limit (E2.1), the remaining produced fuel is added as a new Outpost.

Important: See E2.2 for adding fuel to a spacecraft. See E5 for rules regarding the three grades of fuel (Dirt, Water, and Isotope). In particular, fuel mixing (E5.2) and Isotope fuel type (E5.3).

I8.1 Factory Refuel Op.

An Industrialized Factory on a site can produce 20 units of dirt fuel, 8 units of water fuel, or 1 unit of isotope fuel (with a spectral type matching the site’s letter).

I8.1.1 Procedure. Each unit of fuel produced moves the Wet Mass Indicator of a colocated Rocket/Bernal one step to the right, adds 1 FFT to the spacecraft’s stack, or produces 1 FFT as an Outpost Stack, in whatever combination desired.

I8.1.2 No Spacecraft Necessary. A Factory Refuel Operation is allowed even if no spacecraft is colocated (in which case the fuel is produced entirely as FFTs).

I8.1.3 Using Opponents’ Factories. Using an opponent’s Industrialized Factory is allowed if he permits you OR

You have an ability that “allows felonies” (B6) and
You have a human on the site (Crew, non-robot Colonist, emancipated robot Colonist, or Bernal) (B6.1) and
No opponent who has a human on the site chooses to stop you (B6.2).

I8.1.4 Factory Refuel Op with Dirtsides. Fuel produced at a factory that is a Dirtside of a Bernal (B4) may be produced at that Bernal (to refuel the Bernal or as FFTs) instead of or in combination with the site.

Dirtside Isotope Bonus. If you produce Isotope fuel at a Dirtside, you may also produce Isotope fuel at all of your other Dirtsides with a matching letter.
No opponents. You may never use an opponent’s factory as a Dirtside for any purpose.

I8.2 ISRU Refuel Op.

A spacecraft stack containing an operational card with an ISRU rating can refuel at any site with enough hydration (water droplet symbols), regardless of who owns a factory there or if there’s even a factory there at all.

Reminder: To use the ISRU rating printed on a Crew/Colonist, either it needs to be the one performing the operation (and have an engineering specialty) or another Crew/Colonist on the same space must be performing the operation (with an engineering specialty) per I1.4.1.

I8.2.1 Water or Isotope Fuel. Produce a number of units of water or isotope fuel (with a spectral type matching the site’s letter) equal to one plus the site’s number of water droplets minus the ISRU rating of the required card (1 + hydration - ISRU).

I8.2.2 Dirt Fuel. This operation can instead produce 10 units of dirt fuel, regardless of the ISRU rating of the card or the site’s hydration (dirt is easy to find).

ISRU-less Dirt. A spacecraft stack containing an operational card with a black thruster triangle (a dirt thruster, H2.1) may produce 10 units of dirt fuel even if it has no card with an ISRU rating.

I8.2.3 Procedure. Each unit of fuel produced moves the Wet Mass Indicator of a colocated Rocket/Bernal one step to the right or adds 1 FFT to the spacecraft’s stack. A spacecraft’s presence is required.

Tip:^[ag] Though a spacecraft’s presence is required, see G1.2 for converting an Outpost into a Rocket as a free action.

I8.2.4 Busted Sites. A busted site (I9.1) can still be used to ISRU refuel.

I8.3 Atmospheric Scooping Op.

A spacecraft stack containing an operational card with the “scoop” ability may refuel on an aerobrake hazard (H5.3.1) space. This produces 8 units of water fuel (and only water fuel). Each unit of fuel produced moves the Wet Mass Indicator of a colocated Rocket/Bernal one step to the right or adds 1 FFT to the spacecraft’s stack.

Movement Cost. The spacecraft may not move this turn and must not have already moved this turn (i.e., it must spend the entire turn on the aerobrake hazard). It may move on your next turn in either direction along the aerobrake path.
Environmental Concerns. You may not Atmospheric Scoop in the three aerobrake hazards near Earth.

I9 Prospect Operation (science)

A successful Prospect operation allows you to place a claim disk on a site, claiming it for yourself. Attempting to prospect a site is a four step process:

You must have a stack containing an operational card with an ISRU rating located on the site.

Exception: See Raygun and Buggy prospecting below.

Hydration Requirement. That card’s ISRU rating must be equal to or less than the site’s hydration (number of water droplet symbols).
Size Roll. Roll a die (1d6). A result equal to or less than the site’s size (large number on site) is successful.

Therefore rolls on sites of size 6 or larger will always be successful.

If successful, place a claim disk on the site. If unsuccessful, place a blue disk on the site.

(words to remember: You need a low ISRU and high hydration to attempt a roll; you need a high site size for it to be successful.)

Reminder: To use the ISRU rating printed on a Crew/Colonist, either it needs to be the one performing the operation (and have a science specialty) or another Crew/Colonist on the same space must be performing the operation (with a science specialty) per I1.4.1.

I9.1 Busted Sites. A site with a blue disk is “busted” (containing nothing of interest). It cannot be prospected again by any player. It can still be landed on and used to ISRU refuel (I8.2). It still qualifies for Glory and Venture cards (M) and Futures (P) that require visiting a site, unless specifically mentioned otherwise.

I9.2 Disk Limit. A player’s supply of claim disks is limited. If you wish to place a claim disk and have no more remaining, you may remove one from another of your claimed sites as a free action (G11).

The vacated site may be prospected again by any player.
A claim disk might also be in use indicating your isotope fuel type (E5.3) and cannot be removed until you own a GW Thruster.
A claim disk might also be in use marking a scored Future (P1.3) and cannot be removed.

I9.3 Raygun Prospecting.

If the used card has a raygun symbol next to its ISRU rating it may prospect multiple sites with a single operation and may prospect at range. Choose any number of sites with high enough hydration located at and/or adjacent (B1) to the card’s stack, then resolve each roll separately in the order of your choice.

All desired sites must be chosen before any rolls are made.
A Raygun may never prospect an Atmospheric Site at range (Venus, Mars, Saturn, Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. Exact list: Q1.1).

It may prospect them if it is located on them.
It may prospect out of just not into an atmospheric site.

A Raygun may not prospect a Synodic Comet site (red/blue/yellow border) at range unless the Sunspot Cycle disk is in the appropriately colored section (L1).

It may prospect them if it is located on them.

I9.4 Buggy Prospecting.

If the used card has a buggy symbol next to its ISRU rating it may reroll a failed prospecting roll once per attempt (as written).

Instead of using this ability, it may prospect multiple sites connected by a buggy road (yellow dashed line) with a single operation. Choose any number of sites with high enough hydration on and/or connected to the card’s stack by a buggy road, then resolve each roll separately in the order of your choice.

All sites with buggy roads are size 6 or higher, so such rolls are always successful.

I9.5 Multiple ISRUs.

If a stack has multiple cards containing an ISRU rating, or if a single card has multiple types of ISRU ratings, only one of them can be chosen before making the roll.

I10 Industrialize Operation (engineering)

Voluntarily decommission an operational “robonaut” and “refinery” card, along with their required support chains (K3.4), located at a site containing your claim disk. Place an available cube (small or large) on the claim disk (I10.6). The claim disk plus cube pair is an Industrialized Factory.

If their support chains overlap (i.e., they share supports), then decommissioning those shared supports counts for both the robonaut and refinery.

I10.1 Stacking Limit. You may only have one Industrialized Factory on each site.

Other cubes at the site (Freighters and Mobile Factories) are placed beside the claim disk to show they are not Industrialized Factories, and there may be any number of them.
(and see Mobile Factory industrialization, I10.8, below)

I10.2 Spectral Type. The spectral type (letter) of an Industrialized Factory is the same as the spectral type of its site.

A factory’s spectral type determines what cards it can ET produce (I11), how many points it is worth (See I10.3, N3), the type of isotope fuel it can produce (I8.1), and the type of cards that cannot be sold to a Bernal that has that factory as a Dirtside (I6.3).
The letters on the cards decommissioned as part of the Industrialize operation are irrelevant.

I10.3 Exploitation Track. Use the blue disks on the exploitation track (printed on map) to keep track of the total number of Industrialized Factories of each spectral type in play. Adjust the disk up or down as appropriate: 1 Factory, 10 VP. 2 Factories, 8 VP. 3+ Factories, 6 VP.

The exploitation track determines how many points Industrialized Factories are worth during scoring (N3) and how many WT are received when Free Market selling a black card of the corresponding letter (I6.2, I6.3).
Only a factory on a claim disk is considered “industrialized”. A Mobile Factory (B16) that moves away or is sitting next to a claim disk does not count towards the exploitation track, nor do factories that are decommissioned (G11, J).

I10.4 Radiator and Cooling Exception. It is not required to decommission or even have a radiator support (K) in order to industrialize. Any card that requires cooling (K5) has its requirements met for this purpose (night time in space is cold enough).

This does not apply to any other operations that take place on a site.

I10.5 Space Colonies. A Space Colony can be built on an Industrialized Factory as a free action now or at any time in the future (G5).

I10.6 Cube Limit. A player’s supply of cubes is limited. If you wish to place a cube and have no more remaining, you may decommission your large Freighter cube or a Mobile Factory as a free action (G11).

Cubes are not Mobile until you have a promoted Freighter card in play (thus small cubes are stuck on the map until then).
Reminder: You may not decommission an Industrialized Factory that holds a Space Colony (but see the decommission Space Colony free action G11.3).

I10.7 On-Board Supports. Certain Freighter and Colonist cards can be used as Supports (K3.2), as indicated on the card) and thus voluntarily decommissioned as part of an Industrialize operation.

See special decommission rules for freighters and colonists (C3).
A human Colonist card (non-robot Colonists and emancipated robot Colonists) decommissioned this way can and must immediately be used to build a Space Colony (G5) unless you have an ability that “allows felonies”.

Dome Limits. In order to build a Space Colony you must have a dome available. Space Colony domes can only be retrieved as a free action under certain circumstances (G11.3).

I10.8 Industrialization & Mobile Factories.

Once you have a promoted (purple-side up) Freighter card in play, all of your cubes, large and small, are considered to be Mobile Factories in addition to whatever they used to be.

I10.8.1 Industrialization via Movement. A Mobile Factory can move on to one of your vacant Claim Disks as part of its movement (this does not require performing an operation).

It is now both an Industrialized Factory and a Mobile Factory (adjust the exploitation track, I10.3, appropriately as Mobile Factories move on and off claim disks).

I10.8.2 Mobile Factory Industrialization at Site. An Industrialize operation can create a new Mobile Factory at a site with your claim disk in the usual way (decommissioning a robonaut, refinery, and non-radiator supports).

This can be done even if the site already has an Industrialized Factory, in which case place the new Mobile Factory next to, not on, the claim disk.

I10.8.3 Mobile Factory Industrialization at Bernal. An Industrialize operation can also create a new Mobile Factory at your Bernal or Ersatz-Bernal (again, in the usual way).

The Bernal must be in its starting orbit or it must have at least one Dirtside in order to do this.

I11 ET Production Operation (engineering)

Bring a single card from your hand into play, black side up, at one of your Industrialized Factories. Place the card in a new Outpost stack (G1.2) at the location.

I11.1 Spectral Type. The spectral type (letter) of the card must match the spectral type (letter) of the Industrialized Factory (I10.2).

I11.2 Black Cards Only. An ET Production operation can only produce cards on their black side. A card without a black side (Crew and non-robot Colonists) cannot be ET Produced.

See the Boost Operation (I7) for white cards and the Promote Operation (I13) for purple cards.
Black cards may also enter play through the Digital Swap operation (I12).

I11.3 No Movement Restriction. A card (or freighter) may move in the same turn it enters play.

I11.4 ET Production at Bernal. A card produced at the Dirtside of a Bernal (B4) may enter play at the Industrialized Factory’s location or the Bernal’s location.

Ignore Hazards. Unlike when Boosting to a Bernal (I7.5), you do not need to make a radiation hazard roll if your Bernal is on a radiation hazard space. Also ignore any other hazards the Bernal is on or hazards between the site and the Bernal.

I11.5 No Felonies. Unlike Factory Refueling (I8.1) or Promoting (I13), you may not use an opponent’s factory to ET Produce even if you have an ability that “allows felonies”.

I11.6 Freighter Production and Limit. You may only have one Freighter card in play at a time. ET Producing a Freighter card is the only way to create your Freighter stack (B9). Place your large Freighter cube at the card’s location.

If you have used your large cube to Industrialize a site (I10), it must first be decommissioned as a free action (I10.6, G11).

I11.7 GW Thruster Limit. You may only have one GW Thruster card in play at a time (including its reverse “TW Thruster” side).

I11.8 Radiator Orientation. Radiator Support cards (K5.6) have both a heavy and light orientation. Choose the card’s orientation as it enters play.

I12 Digital Swap (engineering)

Voluntarily decommission any number of cards with enough total mass (see below) colocated with either your large Freighter cube or a Mobile Factory in order to bring a card from your hand into play, black side up.

This can be one of the cards you just decommissioned.
Important: A card produced through Digital Swapping cannot be decommissioned to pay for another Digital Swap until your next turn.

I12.1 Colocation Requirement. All cards decommissioned must be colocated with the used cube (Freighter or Mobile Factory). The produced card is placed at that location as an Outpost.

Factory cubes are not mobile until you have a promoted Freighter card (I13.2) in play. Until then, Digital Swap operations may only occur at your Freighter.

I12.2 Mass Requirement. The total mass of all cards being voluntarily decommissioned must be at least as high as the mass of the black card entering play.

No “change” is given if the decommissioned mass is higher, nor may multiple black cards enter play as a single Operation.

I12.3 Spectral Type Requirement. The spectral type (letter) of your Freighter card, all cards being decommissioned, and the black card entering play must match.

Mobile Factories share the spectral type of your promoted Freighter card.
White cards have the spectral type of their backside (this is printed on both sides if the backside has a letter at all).
Cards with no spectral type letter cannot be used.
Isotope FFTs are cards with a spectral type (E5.3), but cannot be used to pay for a Digital Swap or be created with a Digital Swap.

I12.4 Decommission Exceptions.

Bernals. Per C3.3, your Bernal card may never be decommissioned.
Freighters. Your Freighter card may not be decommissioned to pay for a Digital Swap, even if the swap is being done with a Mobile Factory cube.

Mobile Factories also can’t be decommissioned, as they are not cards.

Radiators. Reminder: Decommissioning a radiator card in its “heavy” orientation (K5.6.1) rotates it to the “light” orientation instead of returning it to your hand. This only pays for the difference in mass between the two orientations, but you may then decommission it again to get the full amount.
Murder. Voluntarily decommissioning a human (in this case only emancipated robots, as other human cards do not have spectral types) is not allowed unless you have an ability that “allows felonies” (B6).

I12.5 No Movement Restriction. A card (or freighter) may move in the same turn it enters play.

I12.6 Freighter Production and Limit. You may only have one Freighter card in play at a time. ET Producing (I11.6) a Freighter card is the only way to create your Freighter stack (B9).

I12.7 GW Thruster Limit. You may only have one GW Thruster card in play at a time (including its reverse “TW Thruster” side).

I12.8 Radiator Orientation. Radiator Support cards (K5.6) have both a heavy and light orientation. Choose the card’s orientation as it enters play (and decommission enough cards for its mass).

I13 Promote Operation (science)

Flip a single in-play card with a purple backside (Bernal cards, Freighter cards, GW Thruster cards, and Colonist cards) to that purple backside.

This is the only method of getting purple cards into play; they cannot enter play from your hand directly.
This operation works differently for Bernals and for the other types of cards.

I13.1 Freighter, GW Thruster, & Colonist Promotion.

This operation can be performed on a card located at a Lab to promote it to its purple side.

The spectral type (letter) of the Lab or the card does not matter.
Most cards of these types have a Future on their purple side (P).
Promoting your Freighter card unlocks Mobile Factories (B16).

I13.1.1 Labs. A Lab is one of the following:

An Industrialized Factory located on a site with a TNO Science symbol (microscope with a star).
A promoted (purple side) Bernal with at least one Dirtside (B4) on a site with a Science symbol (microscope with or without a star).

The Bernal is the lab, not the Science site itself.

I13.1.2 Using Opponent’s Labs. You may perform this operation with an opponent’s Lab if she permits you OR

You have an ability that “allows felonies” (B6) and
You have a human on the site (Crew, non-robot Colonist, emancipated robot Colonist, or Bernal) (B6.1) and
No opponent who has a human on the site chooses to stop you (B6.2).

Therefore a Bernal being used as a Lab can’t be hijacked.

I13.1.3 Promoted GW Thrusters and GW Thruster Limit. You may only have one GW Thruster card in play at a time. The purple side of a GW Thruster (a “TW Thruster”) is still considered a GW Thruster for all purposes.

I13.2 Bernal Promotion

This operation can promote your Bernal card to its purple side if either a) it's in its starting orbit (B11) or b) it has at least one Dirtside (B4).

I13.2.1 Support Requirement and Depromotion. In order to be promoted, the Bernal’s stack must have an operational support of the type shown. Once promoted, it becomes depromoted (flipped back to its white side) if at any moment it does not have an operational support of the listed type (e.g., it is blown up in a crash hazard or is moved to another stack).

Bernal cards themselves are immune to being decommissioned (C3.3) and can only be “damaged” by losing their supports.

I13.2.2 Hampered Solar Supports. As indicated on your Bernal card (except the green player’s), a solar-powered support (K4) is non-operational in the Ceres heliocentric zone or beyond for the purpose of supporting a Bernal.

Normally only the Neptune zone makes solar-powered cards non-operational.
Cards other than the Bernal or its support chain (K3.4) can be solar-powered as normal.

I13.2.2.1 Push Factory Exception. If you (or a player who agrees) have an Industrialized Factory on Mercury, Venus, or Io (marked with a high frontier push factory.png icon), a solar-powered Bernal is non-operational in the Uranus heliocentric zone or beyond.

I.e, you gain access to the Ceres, Jupiter, and Saturn zones.
This is not indicated on the card.

I13.2.3 Cargo Swap Clarification. A Bernal does not demote during a Cargo Transfer free action (G1) unless it is missing an operational support at the conclusion of the action (i.e., you may swap out its support with another with no ill effects).

I14 Robot Emancipation Operation (science)

This operation can be used to become the Robot Emancipator. In order to perform this action there must be at least one robot colonist in play (owned by any player) and you must be in power (the Politics Disk must be on a space matching your faction’s color, B19).

I14.1 Procedure. Roll one die (1d6). A result less than the number of purple cards in play owned by any player (promoted Bernal cards, Freighter cards, GW Thruster cards, and Colonist cards) is successful.

I14.2 Effects of Successful Emancipation.

Human Robots. All robot colonists are now treated as human for all purposes (B12) except they still do not count towards the Colonists in space limit (I7.7).
You become the Robot Emancipator for the rest of the game (see below).
This operation can never be performed again.

I14.3 Effects of being the Emancipator.

Good. All robot colonists have loyalty (I15.3) to you during peacetime (the Politics disk is on any non-war space, B19).

This is relevant for the Hostile Recruit operation (I5) and for voting (I15).

Bad. Any player may perform a Hostile Recruit operation (I5) on a non-robot Colonist you own, regardless of its color.

I15 Election Operation (finance)

This operation can be used to initiate an Election Auction, the winner of which may move the Politics disk one space along a line (B19).

This procedure is also followed during an Election event (L2.5) and the end-of-game election (N2).

I15.1 Blue Timing Restriction. This operation can only be performed while the Sunspot Cycle disk (L) is in the blue section.

I15.2 Auction Procedure and Maximum Bid. Players secretly and simultaneously bid an amount of WT between 0 and 10. Then all players reveal their bid.

All bids are lost regardless of the result.

I15.3 Colonist Votes and Loyalty. Colonists add their indicated number of votes to the bid of the player they are loyal to (if any).

Peacetime Loyalty. If the Politics disk is on a non-War space (B19), non-robot colonists are loyal to the player of the matching color and robot colonists are loyal to the robot emancipator (I14) (regardless of who owns the card).
War-Time Loyalty. If the Politics disk is instead on a War space, colonists are loyal to the player who owns them (regardless of the player’s color or who the Robot Emancipator is).
Voting Robots. Robot colonists do not vote until they are emancipated (I14) after which they vote as described in the previous two bullet points.

I15.4 Winning Procedure. The player with the highest total of bid plus votes may (optionally) move the Politics Disk one space along the lines.

Ties. In case of a tie, the player in power (the player whose color matches the current space of the Politics disk, B19) chooses which tied player wins.
If no one is in power, no one wins and the Politics disk remains unmoved.

I16 Antitrust Operation (finance)

If you are in power (the Politics disk is on a space matching your faction’s color, B19), you may use this operation to steal a card from another player’s hand into your hand.

I16.1 Greedy Victim. You may only steal from a player that has two or more cards in hand with the same category (from the same patent deck: thruster, GW thruster, robonaut, refinery, generator, radiator, reactor, freighter, or colonist).

I16.2 Victim’s Choice. The targeted player may choose the stolen card. It must be from one of the categories he has two or more cards of in hand (i.e., any category that made him eligible to be stolen from via I16.1).

I16.3 No Hand Limit. This operation can be performed regardless of the number of cards in your hand.

This is in contrast to the Research (I3) or Recruit (I4) operations.

I17 Epic Hazard & Other Operations (varies)

Certain Futures scorings (P) require spending an operation to attempt an epic hazard roll. See (P) for the process.

Some Glories (M1) require spending an operation to claim them.

J. Combat

J1 Declaring Combat

Combat can be initiated in two ways, assuming the requirements (J1.3, J1.4, J1.5) are met:

J1.1 Attack. As a free action^[ah] (G7), you may initiate combat with one opponent in a space where you have at least one attack-capable component (J2.2) colocated with an opponent’s figure (stack, Industrialized Factory, or Mobile Factory).

This free action may only be performed after you have finished moving all of your spacecraft (or have chosen not to move them this turn).
This free action can be performed any number of times (but see J1.4). Resolve each combat before declaring the next one.^[ai]

J1.2 Movement Interception. As an opponent’s spacecraft exits (not enters) a space as part of a movement (H), you may prevent it from leaving and initiate combat if you have at least one attack-capable component (J2.2) on the space being exited.

If multiple players wish to intercept, each combat is resolved separately, going clockwise from the starting player.
After combat, the opponent’s spacecraft continues its movement. Combat does not affect the spacecraft’s previously calculated net thrust (H3), the number of its allowed burns used (H4.1.1), free burns remaining (H6.3), etc.

Though its activated thruster may become unoperational as a result of combat, limiting it to the thruster-less movement exceptions (H2.6).

J1.3 War-Time Requirement. The Politics disk must be on a “War” space (B19) to initiate combat.

J1.4 No Multiple Combats. Except for interceptions by multiple players (J1.2), combat may not be initiated twice in the same space in a single turn.

J1.5 LEO Security Zone. Combat may not be initiated on the LEO space.

The player with the Space Elevator Venture may optionally consider the L2 space to be LEO (M2.3).

J2 Combat Procedure

J2.1 Attacker and Defender. The active player is always considered the “Attacker”. The other player is considered the “Defender”.

Thus a player being intercepted (J1.2) is the attacker even though his opponent is the one who initiated combat.

J2.2 Attack-Capable Components. The following components are capable of performing an attack (whether you are the attacker or defender).

Operational cards with an ISRU rating.
Industrialized Factories.
Mobile Factories.
Promoted Freighter cards (because they are Mobile Factories).
Space Colonies (G5).
Bernal cards / Ersatz-Bernals.
Operational cards with the “attacks as [...]” ability.
Operational cards with a starship thruster triangle (green triangle or beehive symbol next to thruster triangle).

Mobile Factories are not cards, and do not inherit the starship combat ability found on certain Freighters.
A promoted Freighter that is also a starship does not get to attack twice.

All attack-capable components on the combat space may attack, regardless of which stack they are in.
Non-Operational Cards. If a card ceases to be operational during combat (i.e., if it or any of its required supports become decommissioned) it may not perform an attack.

J2.3 Attack Types. An attack-capable component has one of three attack types, which determine when and how it can attack (J2.9).

The attack types are Raygun, Missile, and Buggy.
A card with an ISRU rating will have a Raygun, Missile, or Buggy symbol.

If it has multiple symbols, it can attack multiple times.

All other attack-capable components are considered Raygun attacks.

J2.4 Attackable Components. Exactly which components can be destroyed as a result of an attack depends on which combat step it is (J3, J4, J5).

Only components on the combat space can be attacked.
Only components of the two players involved in combat can be attacked.

J2.5 Entrenchment. Any card that has been on the same site space (and only site spaces) since the start of the active player’s turn has its rad-hardness increased by 2 for the purposes of combat.

This does apply to interception combat (J1.2) in the case of intercepting a spacecraft as it leaves a site.
This only applies to cards, not to Industrialized Factories, Mobile Factories, or Space Colonies.
Exception: The large cube representing your Freighter is also considered a Mobile Factory (once you’ve promoted your Freighter card) but it may benefit from entrenchment because the card and the cube are considered one and the same.

J2.6 Combat and FFTs. FFTs (B7) are “cards” with a rad-hardness of 8 (and a mass of 1).

They thus can benefit from entrenchment (J2.5).
Unlike other cards, FFTs do not protect Industrialized Factories and Space Colonies during the buggy attack step (J5).

J2.7 Non-Card Rad Hardness.

Industrialized Factories have a rad-hardness of 8 for the purposes of combat.
Space Colonies have a rad-hardness of 8 for the purposes of combat.
Small cube Mobile Factories (unless they are also an Industrialized Factory) have the same rad-hardness as your promoted Freighter card, but do not benefit from entrenchment (J2.6).

J2.8 Combat and Towed Freighters. If your Freighter is being towed by your Rocket/Bernal (G1.3), that stack and your Freighter stack are considered to be a single stack for the purposes of combat and sharing supports.

J2.9 Combat Steps in Brief.

Raygun Step. Defender, then Attacker, may attack with rayguns.
Missile Step. Defender, then Attacker, may attack with missiles or kamikaze attack with missiles.
Buggy Step. The player with the highest recalculated Net Thrust may attack or capture with buggies.

Each step is only performed once, even if both sides have attack-capable components remaining afterwards.

J2.1^[aj]0 Free Actions and Combat. You may not perform free actions during combat (exception: see buggy capturing J5.3).

J3 Raygun Step

First the Defender may attack once with each of his operational raygun-equipped components (J2.3), then the Attacker may attack once with each of his operational raygun-equipped components. Resolve each component separately before moving on to the next component.

J3.1 Attack Procedure. Choose a single card, Industrialized Factory, or Mobile Factory as the target. Roll one die (1d6). If the result is greater than the target’s rad-hardness, it is decommissioned.

Some cards (as indicated) and all starship thrusters (J2.2) use the sum of two dice instead (2d6).

J4 Missile Step

First the Defender may attack once with each of his operational missile-equipped ISRU cards (J2.3), then the Attacker may attack once with each of his operational missile-equipped ISRU cards. Resolve each card separately before moving on to the next card.

J4.1 Attack Procedure. Target all cards in a single, chosen stack along with all enemy Industrialized Factories, Mobile Factories, large Freighter cube (if the Freighter card itself isn’t already a target), and Space Colonies on the space. Roll two dice (2d6). Compare the sum to the rad-hardness of each target. If the sum is greater than the target’s rad-hardness, it is decommissioned.

J4.2 One-Use Missiles. After^[ak] performing all of your missile attacks, the missile-equipped cards and all the cards in their respective support chains (K3.4) are decommissioned.

You may choose to not attack with a missile.

J4.3^[al] Kamikaze Movement.

During its movement, a non-Bernal spacecraft may receive any or all of the following benefits:

It may make a powered landing on a chosen site, ignoring the usual net thrust restriction (H5.1).

This does not imply it has to; it may land via aerobrakes or factory-assistance as well.

It also does not spend fuel for any Lander Burns it moves through that are adjacent to the site.

Reminder: Lander Burn spaces do not block adjacency, so this includes the entire “string” of Lander Burns.

These burns still count towards your burn limit (H4.1.1).
You must still have an operational thruster in order to move unless following the thruster-less movement exceptions, H2.6.

In order to do so, it must follow the kamikaze promise:

The spacecraft’s stack must include at least one missile-equipped ISRU card.
The spacecraft must end its movement on the chosen site.
No card may voluntarily enter or leave the stack for any reason once it has entered a Lander Burn adjacent to the site and/or the site itself.
No operations can be performed that would require a card in the stack, and no Crew/Colonists in the stack can perform an operation.
You must declare combat with this spacecraft at the site.

In the normal way, the Declare Combat free action G7 (i.e., not during the movement).

All cards in the stack are involuntarily decommissioned at the end of the Missile Step.

J4.3.1 Promise Timing. The promise is made once any of the benefits of kamikaze movement are used. If a spacecraft cannot fulfill the promise, decommission it and all the cards in its stack.

Usually this would be due to failing point 2, either intentionally moving elsewhere or by losing your operational thruster because of a hazard.

J5 Buggy Step^[am]

Unlike the previous steps, only one player may attack with his buggies. Both players perform a “breakthrough check” and the winner will be allowed to attack with any buggies that participated in the check.

J5.1 Breakthrough Check.

J5.1.1 Stack Nomination. First the attacker nominates a single one of his stacks to perform the check, then the defender does the same.

Mobile Factory. A player may nominate a Mobile Factory as his “stack” which, as a reminder, has the movement-related abilities of his Freighter card.

This is only allowed if the Mobile Factory is allowed to move (i.e., it does not have a Space Colony on top of it).
Because such a “stack” does not contain any buggies, this is only useful for preventing your opponent from attacking you.

No Stacks. If a player has no stacks colocated, his “net thrust” for the next paragraph is ‘0’.

J5.1.2 Calculate Thrust. Both players, attacker then defender, choose an operational thruster in their stack and calculate Net Thrust per the movement rules (H2, H3).

Afterburning. This includes afterburning (H3.1.1), if possible and desired, which still provides the normal 1 unit of cooling for the rest of the turn (K5.5).

If it has already afterburned this turn, it may afterburn again here but it does not receive additional cooling.

Jettisoning. As an exception, both players may perform the Jettison free action (G2) to dump cargo as an outpost and/or to dump fuel, in an effort to lower the stack’s mass for the calculation.
If the nominated stack is not a spacecraft (i.e., it’s an Outpost or Ersatz-Bernal) or it does not contain an operational thruster, it’s Net Thrust is ‘0’ (but see the next paragraph).

J5.1.2.1 Buggy Site Calculation

(this represents just driving the buggies along the ground)

You may use the following calculation for your stack’s net thrust instead of the normal net thrust calculation (use whichever will be higher).

Site and Buggy Requirement. The combat must be occurring on a site (not open space) and the nominated stack must contain at least one operational buggy-equipped ISRU card.
Calculation. The stack’s “net thrust” is 4 minus the lowest buggy ISRU rating in the stack (e.g, if it contains two operational buggies with ISRU ratings of 2 and 3, the net thrust is 4 - 2 = 2).

J5.1.3 Comparison. Only the player with the highest calculated net thrust is allowed to attack with his buggies. In case of a tie, neither player attacks (thus, a net thrust of ‘0’ could still prevent an attack).

J5.2 Buggy Attacks

The winner of the breakthrough check may attack with each of his operational buggy-equipped ISRU cards in the nominated stack. Resolve each card separately before moving on to the next card.

J5.2.1 Choose a single card as the target. If and only if the opponent has no cards colocated (or the only cards colocated are FFTs), you may instead target a cube (Industrialized Factory or Mobile Factory).

The targeted card does not need to be in the stack your opponent nominated.

Roll two dice (2d6). Do not apply the result to the target’s rad-hardness, but rather:

If the opponent has a human colocated the result must be greater than 8 (humans include Crew, non-robot Colonist, emancipated robot Colonist, Bernal, Ersatz-Bernal, or a Space Colony)
Otherwise the result must be greater than 6.

A successful buggy attack against a card decommissions it.

Steal FFT. Exception: Successfully attacking an FFT moves it to any of your colocated stacks.

A successful buggy attack against a cube captures it or a Space Colony on it (see below).

Note it is impossible to capture a Freighter cube, as the Freighter card would prevent targeting a cube.

J5.3 Buggy Capture

For each of these paragraphs, keep in mind Disk, Cube, and Dome limits (I9.2, I10.6, G5).

Reminder: You may not normally perform free actions during combat, but you may voluntarily decommission figures (G11) if and only if you have none available to replace a captured component.

J5.3.1 Space Colony. If you successfully buggy attack an Industrialized Factory that has an opponent’s Space Colony on it, replace the opponent’s Space Colony dome with one of your own (place it on his cube).

See J6.1 for handling a Space Colony without a matching-colored Industrialized Factory.

J5.3.2 Industrialized Factory. If you successfully buggy attack an Industrialized Factory without an opponent’s Space Colony, replace the opponent’s cube and Claim Disk with a small cube and Claim Disk of your own.

If the Industrialized Factory has an opponent’s Space Colony on it, you must capture that first per J5.3.1. A second successful buggy attack (now or on a future turn) can capture the factory.

J5.3.3 Mobile Factory. If you successfully buggy attack a Mobile Factory, replace the opponent’s cube with a small cube of your own.

If the Mobile Factory is also an Industrialized Factory, you must resolve it per J5.3.1 or J5.3.2 instead.
You may not capture a non-Industrialized Mobile Factory (one not sitting on a claim disk) if you do not have a promoted Freighter card yourself (as a promoted Freighter is required to unlock Mobile Factories).

J6. Combat Miscellanea.

J6.1 Space Colony Disbandment. Due to raygun attacks, missile attacks, or buggy capturing, a player might own a Space Colony without an Industrialized Factory or with an Industrialized Factory in an opponent’s color.

An unsupported Space Colony dome is involuntarily decommissioned at the end of its controller’s next turn.
Reminder: A Mobile Factory can be put on an un-industrialized claim disk you control as part of its movement.

J6.2 Exploitation Reminder. The exploitation track (I10.8) should always match up with the number of Industrialized Factories in play. Adjust it if an Industrialized Factory is decommissioned.

K. Supports and “Operational”

Cards from the Generator, Reactor, or Radiator patent decks are considered Supports.

Many cards require support cards in order to function (including some supports themselves). A card without its supports cannot be used for most purposes.

K1 Acquiring Supports.

The winner of the auctioned card during a Research operation (I3) also receives the top card of the corresponding patent deck for each of its required supports.

A support card can also be chosen as the auctioned card directly.
Supports can also be acquired by negotiating with other players (D) or by stealing them with the Antitrust operation (I16).

K2 Playing Supports.

Supports can be brought into play from your hand in the same way as any other card, through the Boost (I7), ET Production (I11) or Digital Swap (I12) operations.

K3 Using Supports.

A card is only operational (K4) if all of its required supports (the ones indicated on its card) are in the same stack and are also operational.

Towed Freighter Exception. The cards in a towed Freighter stack (G1.3) can support and be supported by cards in the stack towing it.

K3.1 Support Types. Often a card will need not just a support of a given category, but a specific type of support within that category. The type is designated by a symbol (or symbols) on the support and cards requiring it.

Generators: ⓔ or
Reactors: ⓝ, 💣, or ⓧ
Radiators: (see K5)

K3.2 On-board Nuclear Supports. Certain Freighter and Colonist cards have a support (or supports) printed on them. These cards are treated as support cards of those types for all purposes, in addition to the normal rules regarding Freighter and Colonist cards.

K3.3 Sharing Supports. A single support satisfies all other cards in its stack that require that type of support.

Exception: Radiators only provide a limited amount of cooling and thus can only be shared in a limited way (see K5.2).

K3.4 Support Chains. Usually it is not necessary to specify which support is supporting which card. For the purposes of supporting a thruster during Net Thrust calculation (H3), supporting a promoted Bernal (I13.2.1), supporting missiles during combat (J4), and when using afterburner cooling (K5.5) you must specify at that moment which supports are being used.

The card itself, the supports directly required by the card, the supports of those supports, the supports of the supports of those supports, etc. are all part of the card’s support chain.
Because supports can be shared (K3.2), it is possible for support chains to be circular or for cards to be part of multiple support chains. For when it’s required, it only matters if a card is part of the chain, not its location within the chain.
Designating a card as part of a support chain can be done at any time.

Exception: You may not change a thruster’s support chain mid-movement. This may cause movement to end even if the spacecraft is carrying other supports it could use, and it prevents swapping movement-modifying supports (K6).

K3.4.1 Necessary Parts Only. If a card requires a support card of a given type, you may only include one such support card in the support chain for this purpose (e.g., if a card requires a 💣 reactor you may only include one 💣 reactor for this purpose).

If multiple cards in the support chain require supports of the same type, you may include one such support card for each of them.^[an]

Example: You have an Ablative Plate thruster which requires “any” type of reactor. You equip it with the Project Valkyrie 💣 reactor, which in turn requires an ⓧ reactor. Although the ⓧ reactor could be used to support the Ablative Plate and make the Project Valkyrie unnecessary, you are not forced to do so.

Exception: A card that requires multiple therms of cooling (K5) may receive those therms from multiple sources.
This is relevant for supports that modify spacecraft’s movement if used to support its thruster (K6), or if you wish to cool a specific card using afterburner cooling (K5.5).

K4 Operational Cards

A card is considered “operational” only while the following holds true:

Solar Power. If the card has a sunburst symbol (☀) then it may only be operational outside of the Neptune heliocentric zone (labeled “NO SOLAR POWER”).

Solar-powered cards supporting a promoted Bernal have a more restrictive condition (I13.2.2).

All of its required supports (if any) are in the same stack as it.
All of its required supports (if any) are operational (by this same definition).
Cooling. The card’s stack contains enough radiators to meet its cooling needs (if any, see K5).

A card ceases to be operational the moment one of these requirements is violated.

(E.g, if a solar-powered card moves into the Neptune zone or if a required support is lost)

K4.1 Non-Operational Allowances.

This book makes an effort to use the word “operational” whenever a rules requires a card to be supported. A card does not need its supports if that word is not used.

Below is a (hopefully) exhaustive list of such cases, but these are all implied in the rest of the book by the omission of the word “operational”.

Hand Cards. Cards in your hand do not need to be operational for any purpose (they represent ideas until they enter play).
Free Market. Non-operational cards can be sold with the Free Market operation (I6).
Hostile Recruit. Non-operational colonists can be recruited with the Hostile Recruit operation (I5).
Thruster-less Movement. A spacecraft whose thruster becomes non-operational may still move via a few exceptions (H2.6).
Adding Fuel. A spacecraft does not need an operational thruster to add fuel to its fuel strip.

However producing the fuel itself with on-site ISRU refueling (I8.2) or atmospheric scooping (I8.3) requires an operational card with an ISRU rating or an operational card with the “scoop” ability, respectively.

Cold-Side Industrialization. The robonaut and refinery card decommissioned as part of an Industrialize operation (I10) do not need cooling to be operational.
Digital Swap. Non-operational cards may be decommissioned to pay for a Digital Swap operation (I12).
Promotion. Non-operational cards may be flipped to their purple side with the Promote operation (I13).

However, a promoted Bernal card immediately depromotes if it is non-operational (I13.2.1).

Robot Emancipation. The required robot colonists and purple cards in play for the Robot Emancipation Operation (I14) do not need to be operational.
Colonist Futures. Futures (P) printed on Colonist cards are always usable.
Colonist Operation. A non-operational Colonist can still be used to perform operations.

The previous two bullets are only relevant for solar-powered Colonists, as no Colonist has a listed support requirement.

Buggy Defense. During combat, non-operational cards still prevent buggies from capturing factories or Space Colonies (J5.2).

K4.2 Using a Card.

Any free action, operation, movement, support requirement, combat step, or printed ability that requires a card to be in play and is not covered by K4.1 is considered “using” the card. A card must be operational in order to be used (this book specifically points this out by use of the word “operational”).

Support cards are in use while any card they are supporting is in use.

Promoted Bernals. A promoted Bernal automatically depromotes if unsupported (I13.2.1), therefore its support chain is always in use.

K4.2.1 Common Examples of Using a Card.

This list is not exhaustive.

During movement (H), the activated thruster and its support chain are used for the entire duration of the movement (assuming the thruster stays operational the whole time).
During an Industrialize operation (I10), the robonaut and refinery card being decommissioned and their support chains are used.
During an ISRU Site Refuel operation (I8.2) or a Prospect operation (I9), the card containing the ISRU rating and its support chain are used.
A card used to attack during combat (J) and its support chain are used.

K4.2.2 Uncommon Examples of Using a Card.

Below are easy to forget cases where the card must be operational.

A promoted Bernal automatically depromotes if it is not supported (I13.2.1), so its supports are always in use.
Using a cards printed ability (such as Project Orion’s protection from missiles) counts as using it.
Moving with a colonist’s thruster triangle or using a colonists printed abilities requires it to be operational, but (per K4.1) using it to perform an operation or to trigger its Future does not.

Currently, only the single solar-powered colonist can be non-operational.

K5 Cooling

All cards that list a radiator as a required support also list an amount of required therms (units of cooling denoted by a high frontier therm.png symbol). Radiators (K5.6, and afterburn cooling, K5.5) provide these therms, which in turn are spent by the cards requiring them whenever those cards are used.

K5.1 Therm Production.

Each radiator produces the amount of therms listed each turn (but see K5.3). Therms can then be spent to provide cooling to cards in the same stack as the radiator per K5.2.

Unspent therms do not carry over between turns.
If a radiator leaves and then re-enters play, it produces a new set of therms.
It is helpful to picture therms as a physical currency produced, carried by the radiator’s card, and then spent.

K5.1.1 Radiator Flip. If a radiator is rotated from its “heavy” to “light” orientation (K5.6.1), “discard” therms from it equal to the difference between the two orientations.

K5.2 Therm Assignment.

K5.2.1. Each time a card that requires cooling is used (by the definition in K4.2), therms must be spent from a radiator (or radiators) in the card’s stack as indicated on the card.

The most common and notable examples:

A robonaut needs to be cooled each time it is used during an operation.
A thruster needs to be cooled for each movement it makes (but see K5.3).
A card with a printed ability must be cooled each time the ability is used.
During combat (J) a card must be cooled for each attack it makes.
A support must be cooled each time the card it is supporting is used.

K5.2.2. A radiator’s therms can be divided between cards however you wish and a card may receive therms from multiple radiators (up to the required amount of therms).

K5.2.3. While using a card, a radiator is considered to be part of the card’s support chain (K3.4) if it provided at least one therm to the card.

K5.3 Cooling During Movement

A spacecraft’s movement is considered a separate “turn” for the purposes of cooling, i.e., a radiator can be used to cool cards during a movement and then used to cool more cards outside of the movement.

K5.3.1. At the start of the movement (before activating the thruster, H2), each radiator produces its listed amount of therms again.

These therms can only be used to cool the activated thruster and any cards in its support chain (K3.4)
These therms cannot be combined with the outside-of-movement therms in any way.
Unspent movement-therms are lost at the end of the movement.

K5.4 Cooling Clarifications and Exceptions

K5.4.1 Promoted Bernals. A promoted (purple-side up) Bernal automatically depromotes if unsupported (I13.2.1). Any therms required to cool its supports must be spent at the start of each turn (or at the moment of promotion, if promoted in the middle of a turn) or it demotes.

K5.4.2 Industrialization Exception. No cooling is required for any card used as part of an Industrialize Operation (I10).

K5.4.3 Losing Therms Mid-Use. It is possible for a radiator to flip or leave the stack in the middle of using a card (e.g, the support’s of a promoted Bernal which are always in use or cards used during a movement). The supported card immediately becomes non-operational unless enough therms remain to support it.

Reminder: For movement, you may not change the activated thruster’s support chain (K3.4) mid-movement, but any remaining radiators in the thruster’s support chain may contribute additional unspent therms, if any.

Example: When activating a thruster that required three therms of cooling, you assigned it one therm each from three different radiators. These radiators can contribute their remaining therms if one of them ends of jettisoned or lost to a radiation hazard.

K5.5 Afterburner Cooling.

If a card with a thruster triangle afterburns (H3.1.1) as part of its movement or during the buggy step of combat (J5), it produces one therm of cooling as if it were a radiator.

Restriction: This therm can only be used to cool the card with the thruster triangle itself or any card that was in its support chain at the time of the afterburn and is still in the same stack.

^[ao]

Per K5.3, this provides one therm that can be used during movement and one therm that can used outside of movement.
Non-Operational Cooling. A non-operational thruster may afterburn^[ap] if the single therm provided is enough to make it operational (i.e., it is only one therm short of being operational).
GW Thrusters. GW Thrusters have stronger afterburning (H3.1.1) but still only provide one therm of cooling.
The card with the thruster triangle must still be operational at the time the therm is used.^[aq]^[ar]

Obviously, it is not required to cool the card and its supports again in order to use the afterburn therm.

K5.6 Radiators and Special Radiator Rules.

Radiators provide an amount of therms as indicated (denoted “COOLS: X”). These can be used to satisfy the cooling requirements of other cards in its stack per K5.2.

K5.6.1 Orientation. Radiator cards have two orientations: a heavy (more mass) or light (less mass) orientation. A radiator card’s orientation is set when it enters play from your hand through a Boost, ET Production, or Digital Swap operation. It may only change orientation via K5.6.1.1

K5.6.1.1 Radiator Decomissions and Orientation. A radiator card played in its “heavy” orientation flips to its lighter side when voluntarily or involuntarily decommissioned (exception: crash hazards H6.1, epic hazards P1.4, and the Free Market operation I6).

When paying for a Digital Swap operation (I12) or a Phileas Fogg Refuel free action (G4), only count the difference in mass between the two orientations.
Aerobrake Hazards (H5.3.1) and factory-assisted launch/lift-off (H5.4) are considered to be Crash Hazards, but Radiation Hazards (H6.2) are not.
There is no way to flip a radiator from its light orientation to its heavy orientation.

K5.6.2 Bernal Protection Exception. A promoted Bernal does not protect an in-use (K4.2) radiator from radiation hazards and Solar Flare events (L2.4) like it would other colocated cards.

Because a promoted Bernal depromotes if not supported, cards supporting a promoted Bernal are always “in use”.
Radiators not in use are still protected.

K6 Movement-Modifying Supports

A spacecraft that includes an operational movement-modifying support in the support chain of its activated thruster might gain or lose net thrust or might consume more or less fuel during a movement.

A movement-modifying support not included in the thruster’s support chain has no effect.
You may not count a support as part of the chain if it is not necessary (by the definition of “necessary” in K3.4.1).
The supports included in the thruster’s support chain must be decided before net thrust is calculated and cannot change mid-movement.

K6.1 Thrust Modifying Supports.

A support with a triangle and a positive or negative number in that triangle is a thrust-modifying support. When calculating a spacecraft’s net thrust (H3), modify it by this number.

If the support chain contains multiple thrust modifying supports, they stack.
GW Thruster Exception. Thrust modifying and fuel-modifying supports have no effect on the thrust of GW Thruster cards, but they are still affected by solar power modifiers (K6.2).

K6.2 Solar Power Modifiers.

A support with the sunburst symbol (☀) is a solar-powered support. If the thruster’s support chain contains at least one solar-powered support (or if the thruster itself is solar-powered), modify its net thrust by the amount depicted in the spacecraft’s heliocentric zone (-6 to +2).

This modifier only applies once regardless of the number of solar-powered cards in the support chain.
The Neptune zone contains a -6 modifier, but solar cards are normally non-operational in that zone (K4). Some special abilities break this restriction.
Some solar-powered cards are also thrust-modifying supports. In this case, the numerical value stacks with other thrust-modifying supports per K6.1 but the solar modifier still applies only once. In any case, the support must still be operational (e.g., outside of the Neptune zone).
GW Thrusters. GW Thrusters are still affected by solar-powered supports. If the solar-powered support is also a thrust-modifying support or fuel-modifying support, only the solar modifier applies.

K6.^[as]3 Fuel Modifying Supports.

A support labeled “X Fuel Consumption” is a fuel-modifying support. When a spacecraft performs a burn (H4.1), multiply the number on the right side of the thruster triangle (the number of fuel steps consumed) by this amount.

This can lead to fractional fuel steps (H4.1.4).
Multiple fuel-modifying reactors stack multiplicatively (i.e., multiply all numbers together).
No Afterburns. These do not modify the cost to perform an afterburn (H3.1.1).
GW Thruster Exception. Thrust modifying and fuel-modifying supports have no effect on the thrust of GW Thruster cards, but they are still affected by solar power modifiers (K6.2).

L. Sunspot Cycle & Events

At the end of each his turns, the player going last in turn order moves the Sunspot Cycle disk one space clockwise along the Sunspot Cycle diagram.

I.e, each player takes a turn (one round) between each movement of the disk.
Turn order is fixed during set-up. The player going last will always be in charge of moving the disk.

There are two important features on the diagram: The three colored sections and the red “event” lines.

L1 Colored Sections

The Sunspot Cycle diagram is divided into three colored sections, labeled “red comets”, “blue comets”, and “yellow comets”. Various effects are in place if the Sunspot Cycle disk is within a given colored section.

L1.1 All Sections.

L1.1.1 Synodic Comet Sites.

A site with a red, blue, or yellow border is a Synodic Comet site. They are subject to the following:

Movement. (H) A Synodic Comet site cannot be entered by a spacecraft unless the Sunspot Cycle disk is in the matching-colored sector or the spacecraft is a Rocket (specifically) using a card with a starship thruster triangle to move.

A thruster triangle is considered a starship if it has a beehive symbol or a smaller, green thruster triangle next to it.
A spacecraft may leave a Synodic Comet at any time.

Raygun Prospecting. (I9.3) A Raygun may not prospect a Synodic Comet site at range unless the Sunspot Cycle disk is in the appropriately colored section.

It may prospect them if it is located on them.

Dirtsides. A Bernal must be located on (and not just adjacent to) a Synodic Comet site in order to use it as a Dirtside (B4). This is regardless of the current position of the Sunspot Cycle disk.

L1.1.2 Section-Specific Events. An Event Roll (L2) of ‘5’ or a ‘6’ results in the event listed in the current colored section.

L1.2 “Red Comets” Section.

The following rules are in effect:

Red Synodic Comet sites are active (L1.1.1).
An Event Roll of ‘5’ or ‘6’ results in a Solar Flare event (L2.4).
All Radiation Hazard Rolls (H6.2) are made with a +2 penalty.

L1.3 “Blue Comets” Section.

The following rules are in effect:

Blue Synodic Comet sites are active (L1.1.1).
An Event Roll of ‘5’ or ‘6’ results in an Election Year event (L2.5).
The Election operation (I15) may be performed.
The Venus flyby (H6.3, Q1.10) can be used.

L1.4 “Yellow Comets” Section.

The following rules are in effect:

Yellow Synodic Comet sites are active (L1.1.1).
An Event Roll of ‘5’ or ‘6’ results in a Budget Cuts event (L2.6).

L2 Events

When the Sunspot Disk passes a red “event” line on the Sunspot Cycle diagram, resolve a Sunspot Event before the next player takes his turn. Roll one die (1d6) and resolve the event listed in the nearby table.

Turn Order: If an event instructs multiple players to do something, they resolve it beginning with the starting player and going clockwise.

L2.1 Inspiration/Exotropy Event (‘1’ or ‘2’)

Put the topmost card of each patent deck on the bottom of that deck.

The colonist deck is a patent deck for all purposes.

L2.2 Glitch Event (‘3’)

Each player, in turn order, involuntarily decommissions one of their in-play cards with the greatest mass, considering only cards not protected by (colocated with) at least one of the following they control:

A human card/figure (human colonist card, emancipated robot colonist card, Bernal card/figure, Ersatz-Bernal figure, or Space Colony figure).
A cube (Small cube: Industrialized Factory or Mobile Factory. Large cube: Freighter).

If multiple cards are tied for most mass, the player may choose between them.

If (and only if) all of a player’s cards are protected, nothing happens.

L2.3 Pad Explosion/Space Debris Event (‘4’)

Each player, in turn order, involuntarily decommissions one of their in-play, non-Bernal cards with the greatest mass, considering only:

Stacks located in LEO (the LEO stack and colocated stacks).

The stacks connected to LEO for the player with the Space Elevator Venture (M2.3) are also vulnerable.

The player’s Bernal stack and stacks colocated with it.

Exception: If your Bernal is promoted, any card colocated with it is not considered (e.g, a promoted Bernal in LEO would provide complete immunity to this event).

If multiple cards are tied for most mass, the player may choose between them.

If (and only if) all of a player’s cards are protected, nothing happens.

L2.4 Solar Flare Event (‘5’ or ‘6’, Sunspot disk in red section)

Roll one die (1d6) any apply the single result to every card in play (but see protections below). For each card:

Add or subtract the modifier printed next to the heliocentric zone it’s located in (-6 to +2) from the die result.
Compare the result to the rad-hardness of the card. Any card with a rad-hardness less than the result is involuntarily decommissioned.

Exception/Note! For this event Mobile Factories are considered to be cards with a rad-hardness equal to your promoted Freighter card.

L2.4.1 Promoted Bernal Protection. Cards you control^[at] colocated with your promoted Bernal (Ersatz-Bernal or purple side up Bernal) are immune to this event.

Exception: Radiator cards currently being used (i.e., are part of the Bernal’s support chain K3.4) are not protected.

L2.4.2 Earth Protection. Cards located in the LEO space or the HEO space connected to the LEO space are immune to this event.

L2.4.3 Magnetic Field Protection. Cards located on a Radiation Hazard space (H6.2), with the exception of the 14 surrounding Sol, are immune to this event.

L2.4.4 Site Protection. Cards on sites are immune to this event.

L2.5 Election Year Event (‘5’ or ‘6’, Sunspot disk in blue section)

Carry out an Election (in the same manner as the Election operation, I15).

L2.6 Budget Cuts Event (‘5’ or ‘6’, Sunspot disk in yellow section)

Each player, in turn order, returns a card of their choice from their hand to the bottom of the corresponding patent deck (if possible).

Crew cards cannot be discarded.

M. Glories and Ventures

As a free action (G), a player may claim any Glory or Venture cards he qualifies for.

Reminder: Only the orange side of each Glory or Venture is available (the yellow side is only used in games without Futures).

M1 Glories

M1.1 Golden Apples of the Sun

Claim if you’re the first to voluntarily decommission (as a free action or as part of an Industrialize operation^[au]) a refinery card along with its required support chain (K3.4) at the “Kreutz-Sungrazer” site (Q1.4).

As during an Industrialize operation (I10), It is not required to decommission or even have a radiator support (K) in order to do this. Any card that requires cooling (K5) has its requirements met for this purpose.
This Glory can be claimed even if the site is unclaimed, busted (I9.1), or owned by another player.

Not through the Industrialization method, however.

The Kreutz-Sungrazer is found in the Saturn heliocentric zone.

M1.2 Outer Diaspora

Claim if you’re the first to have a Space Colony (G5) in at least five different heliocentric zones.

M1.3 Saving the Earth

Claim if you’re the first to voluntarily decommission (as a free action or as part of an Industrialize operation^[av]) a refinery card along with its required support chain (K3.4) at both the “Hermes A” and “Hermes B” sites (Q1.3).

Like during an Industrialize operation (I10), It is not required to decommission or even have a radiator support (K) in order to do this. Any card that requires cooling (K5) has its requirements met for this purpose.
The refineries do not need to be decommissioned at the same time (track this in whichever way you feel like).
This Glory can be claimed even if the sites are unclaimed, busted (I9.1), or owned by another player.

Not through the Industrialization method, however.

Hermes A and B are found in the Ceres heliocentric zone, near the bottom.
A spacecraft may move from the Hermes A site to the Hermes B site or vice-versa even if the Sunspot Disk is not in the blue section (unlike the usual rules of Synodic Comets, L1.1.1).^[aw]

!! M1.4 Search for CUDOS
Claim if you’re the first to:

Have a human card (Crew, non-robot Colonist, or emancipated robot Colonist) on a TNO Science site (microscope symbol with star) you control.
Move that human card back to LEO and voluntarily decommission it there as a free action.

The decommission part is not written on the card.

The human card must stay in play and under your control during the return trip.

Otherwise you must perform step 1 again.

Reminder: Bernal cards are human, but cannot be decommissioned.
Reminder: Voluntarily decommissioning a human in LEO is not murder (C3.9).

!! M1.5 Search for ET Life

Claim if you’re the first to:

Perform a successful ET Search operation (see below) with your Crew or a human Colonist (non-robot or emancipated robot Colonist).
Move that human card back to LEO or one of your Labs (I13.1.1) and voluntarily decommission it there as a free action.^[ax]

The decommission part is not written on the card.

The human card must stay in play and under your control during the return trip.

Otherwise you must perform step 1 again.

Reminder: Voluntarily decommissioning a human in LEO (and in this case only, the Lab) is not murder (C3.9).

M1.5.1 ET Search operation. As a science-specialty (I1.3) operation, your Crew/Colonist can attempt to search for life at a site with a leaf symbol. Roll one die (1d6), a ‘1’ or ‘2’ is a success.

This operation can only be performed once per site (whether it succeeds or fails). Track this in whichever way you like.

This operation can be performed even if the site is unclaimed, busted (I9.1), or owned by another player.

This is in contrast with “Submersible Prospectors” (M1.6).

The card performing the operation must be located at the site.
A failed attempt does not bust the site in the same way a failed Prospect operation does.

!! M1.6 Submersible Prospectors

Claim if you’re the first to:

Perform a successful Ocean Search operation (see below) with your Crew or a human Colonist (non-robot or emancipated robot Colonist).

A card with an ISRU rating and a buggy symbol must be colocated as well, which may be the human itself.

Move that human card back to LEO or one of your Labs (I13.1.1) and voluntarily decommission it there as a free action.^[ay]

The decommission part is not written on the card.

The human card must stay in play and under your control during the return trip.

Otherwise you must perform step 1 again.
The buggy does not need to return to LEO.

Reminder: Voluntarily decommissioning a human in LEO (and in this case only, the Lab) is not murder (C3.9).

M1.5.1 Ocean Search operation. As a science-specialty (I1.3) operation, your Crew/Colonist with a buggy colocated can attempt to search for a subsurface ocean at a site with a wave symbol. Roll two dice (2d6), a result less than or equal to the site’s size is a success.

This operation can only be performed once per site (whether it succeeds or fails). Track this in whichever way you like.

This operation can be performed only at a site containing your claim disk.

This is in contrast with “Search for ET Life” (M1.5).

The card performing the operation must be located at the site.
A failed attempt does not bust the site in the same way a failed Prospect operation does.

M2 Ventures

M2.1 Ventures in General.

In addition to its prerequisites, you must spend 5 WT to claim a Venture (as indicated).

If you can’t or don’t wish to claim the card immediately (due to lack of WT):

The “first to claim … “ prerequisite is not lost once met, even if you lose the claims.
The “first to claim …” prerequisite cannot be achieved by other players, as only one player can be the “first”.

If necessary, place the card in front of you sideways to remember this until you officially claim it.

Each Venture claimed and paid for provides a special ability.

M2.2 Space 3D Printing Venture

Prerequisite: First to own a claim on at least 3 ‘M’ sites.

Ability. You receive 1 WT from the supply at the end of each of your turns for each ET Production and/or Digital Swap operation you performed that turn.

M2.3 Space Elevator Venture.

Prerequisite: First to own a claim on at least 4 ‘C’ sites.

Ability: You own both space elevators (near Earth and Mars). The spaces connected by a space elevator are considered to be the same space when you wish them to be.^[az]^[ba]^[bb]^[bc]^[bd]

Exception: See “Pad Explosion” event.

Benefits of this:

Spaces adjacent to one end of the elevator are considered adjacent to the other end of the elevator (useful for Dirtsides or raygun prospecting).

The connected spaces themselves are also adjacent, as they are the same space.

A stack located on one of them can “teleport” to the other, not only as a free action but also as part of a movement.

For example, you can powered-land on the size 2 Phobos in order to actually land on the size 10 Arsia Mons caves.
For example, you could move from red’s starting orbit in L3, down to LEO, and out to L2 without having to stop.

Cards/Figures/Stacks on one space are considered colocated with Cards/Figures/Stacks on the connected space.
The LEO security zone rule for combat (J1.5) optionally applies to L2

M2.4 Space Pharmacy Venture

Prerequisite: First to own a claim on at least 3 ‘S’ sites.

Ability: You receive 1 WT from the supply at the end of each of your turns if you performed a Research operation that turn.

Reminder: You may only perform one operation that auctions of a card (Research or Recruit) per turn.

M2.5 Space Tourism Venture

Prerequisite: First to own a claim on at least 3 ‘V’ sites.

Ability: You receive 1 WT from the supply at the end of each of your turns if the Politics Disk (B19) is not on an “Anarchy” or “War” space.

N. Game End and Scoring

N1 Game End

The end of the game is triggered when the number of Future Stars with disks on them (P1.3, either claim disks from players or blue “busted” disks) is one less than the number of players (also printed next to the Stars themselves).

Any unoccupied Future Stars are still available to be claimed, this number is just the amount needed to end the game.

The game continues for a few more rounds, and ends after the Sunspot Cycle disk passes two more event lines (L2). The game ends immediately after the resolution of the second event.

Thus the game will end after exactly 2 or 3 more rounds (not including the round where the end is triggered).

Footfall Ending. A successful scoring of the “Footfall Future” (P2.2) immediately ends the game.

N2 Endgame Election

Regardless of how the game ends, carry out an Election (in the same manner as the Election operation, I15), even if the Sunspot Disk is not in the blue section (L1.3).

N3 Scoring

The player with the most Victory Points (“VP”) at the end of the game is the winner. VP are awarded for the following:

Summary:

Disks and Cubes on map: 1 VP each.
Domes in play: 2 VP each.
Ersatz Bernal in play: 1 VP.
Promoted Bernal with Dirtside: 1 VP.
Factory Exploitation: +6-10 VP each.
Factory Science Site: +2/4 VP each.
Glories and Ventures: +X VP each.
In Power: +5 VP.
Future Stars: +X VP each.

In-Detail:

Disks and Cubes on map: 1 VP each. Each claim disk, small Industrialized Factory cube, small Mobile Factory cube or large Freighter cube you have in play is worth 1 VP.

Towed Freighters and Mobile Factories (G1.3) are still “in play”.
Claim disks tracking isotope fuel type (E5.3) or used to score Future Stars (P1.3) are not “in play”.
An Industrialized Factory is composed of the claim disk and the small cube, each separately worth 1 VP.

Domes in play: 2 VP each. Each Space Colony dome you have in play is worth 2 VP.
Ersatz Bernal in play: 1 VP. The cylinder representing your Ersatz-Bernal is worth 1 VP if in play.
Promoted Bernal with Dirtside: 1 VP. The cylinder representing your Bernal is worth 1 VP only if your Bernal is promoted (I13.2) and has at least one Dirtside (B4).
Factory Exploitation: +6-10 VP each. Each Industrialized Factory is worth additional VP based on its spectral type (site’s letter) and the corresponding exploitation track (I10.3). +10/+8/+6 VP for 1/2/3+ Industrialized Factories of a given type in play.
Factory Science Site: +2/4 VP each. Each Industrialized Factory on a site with a science symbol (microscope symbol) is worth an additional 2 VP. It is worth an additional 4 VP instead if on a TNO science site (microscope symbol with a star).
Glories and Ventures: X VP each. Each of your claimed Glory and Venture cards (M) are worth the listed amount of VP.
In Power: 5 VP. If the Politics disk (B19) is on a space matching your faction’s color it is worth 5 VP.
Future Stars: X VP each. Each Future Star with one of your claim disks on it (P1.3) is worth the listed amount of VP.

N3.1 Ties

In case of a tie, the tied player with the most WT is the winner.

Tip: Convert Water or Isotope FFTs (blue or yellow FFTs) in your home orbit into WT and empty the fuel strip of any spacecraft in your home orbit. This has to be done on your turn.

O. Important Errata

Throughout this book, and especially in the following sections, red text is used when the wording printed on a component may be misleading. A few cases are placed here, for lack of a better spot.

O1 Felonies in War. Players have the “allowed felonies” ability when the Politics Disk is on a “War” space (B19), even though this text is missing from the space government chart.

O2 Bernal Labs. The key on the map implies that science sites are Labs (I13.1.1) if they are the Dirtside of a Bernal (B4). This is not true, the Bernal itself is the Lab. TNO Science sites are Labs if they have an Industrialized Factory but, like normal science sites, they also turn a Bernal into a Lab if they’re a Dirtside.

O3 Map Aids. The Future Stars, Event table, and politics chart printed along the bottom of the map are incorrect in several places. The information on the included placard is correct.

Future Stars. The game ends after two events, not one.
Busted Future Stars are not worth VP.
Glitch Event. All stacks are considered, not just rockets and outposts.
The Capitalism, Paleoconservatism, and Anti-Nuke Policies are misprinted. Refer to the placard instead.

O4 Fuel Strip Red Arrows. Arrowheads are missing, refer to this image. Draw in arrow heads, or always remember to take the lower path when moving your Dry or Wet Mass Indicators backwards along the red line.

O5 Replacement Cards. Two cards were printed incorrectly. Replacements were sent, but your copy may not have them.

P. Futures

Freighter cards, Colonist cards, and GW Thruster cards each have a unique Future printed on their purple side. If you satisfy its conditions, you score points. Once the players collectively score enough Futures, the end of the game is triggered.

P1 Futures in General.

The following apply to all Futures.

P1.1 Operational Requirement.

You must control the card, the card must be in play with its purple (promoted, I13) side up, and it must be operational.

Location Restriction. The card normally may be in any location but see P1.4.
Exception: A Colonist’s Future is still usable even if the Colonist isn’t operational.

Currently this only applies to the solar-powered colonist.

P1.2 No Negotiation.

Unlike other cases, you may not use an opponent’s components (usually factories) to satisfy a Future, even with his permission. You must own all components mentioned.

P1.3 Scoring Process.

The moment the conditions listed on the Future are met, you must place a claim disk on the highest-valued, unoccupied Future Star (printed on the board).

This affects your disk limit (I9.2).

P1.3.1 Total Limit. Only 4 futures can be scored in total (as there are only 4 stars).

P1.3.2 Personal Limit. You may only score one Freighter Future, one Colonist Future, and one GW Thruster Future.

P1.3.3 Failed Futures. An attempted Future might fail due to an Epic Hazard Roll (P1.5). Place a blue disk on the Future Star instead (or, for the latter, replace your claim disk with a blue disk). This Future Star cannot be claimed and counts towards triggering the end of the game (N1).

Futures that “fail” in other ways (P1.6.1) do not bust a Future Star unless indicated otherwise.

P1.4 Epic Hazard Operation.

Many Futures will ask you to perform an Epic Hazard Operation (marked with “[skull] Op”). This requires using an operation following the normal rules (i.e, it uses up one of your allowed operations for the turn and may cost extra WT; I1.5) to attempt an Epic Hazard Roll (P1.5). The roll must be successful in order to score.

P1.4.1 Specialty. The operation can be performed by a colonist/crew of any specialty (I1.3) unless otherwise noted. For the purposes of extra operation costs (I1.5), this counts as an operation of the colonist or crew’s specialty (pick if they have multiple specialties).

P1.4.2 Promoted Card Location Restriction. The card with the Future must be at the location where the operation is performed and also be operational.

This applies even if not explicitly said so on the card.

P1.4.3 No Remote Control. The colonist/crew card performing the operation must be at the location where the operation is performed.

This applies even if not explicitly said so on the card.
For Colonist futures, the promoted colonist must be colocated per the previous bullet but does not necessarily need to be the one performing the operation (unless otherwise stated).

P1.4.4 Future Requirements Restriction. You may only perform an Epic Hazard operation if the Future you are scoring requires it, the rest of the Future’s listed conditions are met, and you would not be in violation of the two scoring limits (P1.3).

For example, you may not attempt a roll hoping to fail and destroy the site (P1.5.2).

P1.4.5 Epic Hazard operations made to satisfy one Future cannot simultaneously satisfy another Future.

P1.5 Epic Hazard Roll.

Roll one die (1d6). Only a ‘6’ is a success, a ‘1’ through ‘5’ is a failure.

You may not pay WT to skip this roll.

P1.5.1 Increasing Odds. You succeed on a ‘2’ through ‘6’ instead (failing only on a ‘1’) if you have at least one of the following:

A Lab on a TNO Science Site (microscope symbol with a star) anywhere (I13.1.1).
A claim disk on at least two Synodic Comet sites (red/blue/yellow border) anywhere, one of which is both a Science site (microscope symbol with or without a star) and a Dirtside for your Bernal (B4)

Reminder: Unlike other sites, a Bernal must be on a Synodic Comet to use it as a Dirtside.

Industrialized Factories on sites anywhere with at least four of the five spectral types (letters on sites).

(meeting multiple conditions provides no further benefits)

P1.5.2 Effects of Failure.

All cards and figures (of any player) on the space are decommissioned.

Reminder: Bernals are immune to decommissioning.

If the space was a site it is destroyed. Perform the previous bullet-point then cover the site with a black disk. A destroyed site provides no benefit for any purpose except it may still be moved into or out of following the normal movement rules (H5).
Place a blue disk on the highest-valued, unoccupied Future Star to show it cannot be scored (P1.3.3).

P1.6 Tracking.

Many futures require you to track various things (such as how many times an operation has been performed, the number of rounds it has been since a certain action, etc.). Players should track these in a way they find agreeable; no rules are provided for doing so.

P1.6.1 Progress Reset. If the card containing the Future is decommissioned or leaves your control for any reason, any progress towards scoring that Future is reset.^[be]

P2 List of Futures.

The following is a list and clarification of all futures. It is sorted alphabetically by the Future’s name with the promoted card’s name in parenthesis.

It is recommended to read these when you acquire a card with a Future, as the printed description may differ from the actual rules. Complicated cases are marked with red text.

These entries do not reiterate the general restrictions stated in P1.1 through P1.4

(Easy to Forget: The card with the future must be colocated with the location of any Epic Hazard roll, but unless otherwise specified it does not matter where the card is in-play).

P2.1 Freighter Futures.

!! Antimatter Creation Future (Antiproton Sail and Harvester) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (engineering specialty)^[bf] using a promoted (purple-side up) Colonist card at a science site (microscope symbol) containing your Industrialized Factory.

This is a single operation (contrary to what the card says) but two Epic Hazard rolls are made. Both must succeed.

Beanstalk Future (D-nanotube Dirt Launcher)

You have an Industrialized Factory on both Pluto and Charon and you have claimed the ‘C’ or ‘V’ Venture (“Space Elevator” or “Space Tourism”).

Beehive Ark Future (KESTS Hoop Dirt Launcher) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (any specialty) with an emancipated robot colonist (I14) at any letter ‘D’ site containing your Industrialized Factory. Then, if successful, the factory (and Space Colony, if it has one) is decommissioned.

Climate Mirror Terraform Future (Archimedes Palmer Lens) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (any specialty) at your promoted Bernal if:

You own at least two additional^[bg] human cards/figures colocated with the Bernal (crew, non-robot colonists, emancipated robot colonists, or Space Colonies)
It has a Dirtside (B4) on an atmospheric site (Q1.1).

Planet Hunt Future (Fission GCR) You have an Industrialized Factory on Sedna (top-left corner of the map).

Remember the rules for landing on Synodic Comet sites (H6.4).

Spacefaring Future (Z-pinch 3He-D Target Fusion) The total hydration (number of water droplet symbols) of your Bernal’s Dirtsides (B4) is at least 10.

Tip: Orbits with a potential Dirtside hydration of 10 or more include the Gefion family, Saturn Norse Moonlets, Saturn dusty ring, Uranus Portia Group, Pluto, and Haumea.

Star Wisp Future (Magnetic Mirror Beam-Rider) You have all of the following simultaneously:

Cube. A Freighter or Mobile Factory located at the EM Sunlens space or the Neutrino Sunlens space.

The EM Sunlens is in the top-left corner of the map.
The Neutrino Sunlens is on the border of the Neptune and Uranus zones.

Push Factory. An Industrialized Factory on Mercury, Venus, or Io (marked with the “” symbol).
TNO Lab. An Industrialized Factory on a site with a TNO Science symbol (microscope with a star).

P2.2 Colonist Futures.

!! Artificial Consciousness (RENAISSANCE MAN) Cannot score a new Future. Instead, if a Future Star is marked with a blue disk (P1.3), perform an Epic Hazard operation with this colonist at your Industrialized Factory on a site with a TNO Science symbol (microscope with a star). If successful, replace the blue disk with your own claim disk. If you fail, in addition to the usual penalties (P1.5.2), involuntarily decommission all human cards and human figures in play (owned by any player).

Crew cards, non-robot colonists, emancipated robot colonists, Space Colonies, Bernals, and Ersatz-Bernals are human (though Bernals are immune to any decommissioning).

!! Footfall Future (EUGENIC PILGRIMS) As a free action, voluntarily decommission a promoted (purple side up) GW Thruster and its required support chain (K3.4) at your Industrialized Factory on a Synodic Comet site (red/blue/yellow border).

Radiator Exception: Like an Industrialize operation (I10), you do not need to decommission or have a radiator colocated and all cooling requirements (K5) are satisfied.

Move the Politics disk to a war space of your choice (B19). This does not score the Future immediately, but rather announces your intentions to crash the comet into Earth.

The Eugenic Pilgrims do not need to be colocated.

Only one attempt may be in process at a time. If the Industrialized Factory is removed from the site in any manner before the 12th turn (even if it is replaced within that time), the attempt fails. Nothing happens, and you may try again without waiting for the 12th turn to pass.

The Eugenic Pilgrims must also stay in play and under your control per P1.6.1 or the attempt fails.

NEO Mines Future (GYPSY ALCHEMISTS) You have a claim disk on at least three sites of size 1 within the Mars, Earth, and/or Venus heliocentric zones (B10).

!! New Venus Future (WET-NANO SEED SAIL) As a free action, voluntarily decommission a promoted (purple side up) GW Thruster and its required support chain (K3.4) at your Industrialized Factory on a Synodic Comet site (red/blue/yellow border).

Radiator Exception: Like an Industrialize operation (I10), you do not need to decommission or have a radiator colocated and all cooling requirements (K5) are satisfied.

Move the Politics disk to a war space of your choice (B19). This does not score the Future immediately, but rather announces your intentions to crash the comet into Venus (as a terraforming effort, not to destroy it).

The Wet-Nano Seed Sail colonists do not need to be colocated.

At the start of your 12th turn following the announcement (i.e., the start of your turn in the round where the Sunspot Cycle disk is once again in the spot it is now), destroy the comet site as per P1.5.2 and score an unoccupied Future Star if any still remain. Also decommission all cards and figures on the “Venus Aerostat-Xity” site (regardless of who owns them), remove the claim disk there (if any), and replace it with one of your own along with a small factory cube (to create an Industrialized Factory there).

The Wet-Nano Seed Sail Colonists must also stay in play and under your control per P1.6.1 or the attempt fails.

!! Pan-Sapiens Future (GROUP MIND

IMMORTALISTS) As indicated by this card’s ability, you may perform an Epic Hazard operation with this colonist which, if successful, performs a Hostile Recruit operation (I5) at that location regardless of the target colonist’s loyalty. Score a Future if you have recruited two colonists this way.

The Colonist Limit (I5.1) and Peace Requirement (I5.3) are still in effect.

If you wish to decommission colonists to comply with the Colonist Limit, you must do so before performing the operation.^[bh]

The Group Mind Immortalists must be colocated per P1.4.
It is not necessary to perform both operations within the same turn.
Your running total of colonists recruited is not reset if those colonists leave play or if they are recruited back.

Revolution Future (NEW ATTICA

SECESSIONISTS) Perform an Epic Hazard operation with this colonist on any space if the Politics disk (B19) is on a “War” space and you have at least three human colonist or emancipated robot colonists anywhere in play.

Other humans like Crew, Bernals, and Space Colonies do not count.
These colonists can be on any space, and do not necessarily need to be on the same space.

!! SETI Future (BLUE GOO SYBONTS) Have an Industrialized Factory on at least one “Jovian Trojans (Trojan Camp)” site and on at least one “Jovian Trojans (Greek Camp)” site.

These are labeled on the board and both are in the Jupiter heliocentric zone. The Trojan Camp is in the upper right of the map, the Greek Camp is in the lower left of the map.
Trojan Camp: Patroclus, Glaukos, Menoetius, Antenor, Laocoon, Äenaes, or Tithonus
Greek Camp: Agamemnon or its moonlet, Icarion, Philoctetes, Nestor, Telamon, Achilles, Hektor or its moonlet.

Supreme Cult Leader Future (JOSEPHSON IMPLANTS) Win an election while the Politics disk is on any non-War space (B19, before moving it as part of the election).

An election can be initiated through the Election operation (I15), the Election Year event (L2.5), or the end-of-game Election (N2)

In addition, not only must you win the election (through votes plus WT spent), you must have also received more votes from colonists (I15.3) than each other player (considered individually).

If the Josephson Implants colonist is decommissioned after scoring the Future, replace your claim disk with a blue disk (P1.3).

This only applies if the Josephson Implants are decommissioned, not if they change control through a Hostile Recruit operation (I5). You still lose the Future if the colonist is decommissioned while you don’t own it. If the new owner also scores this Future, both disks are replaced should the colonist be decommissioned.

Time Vault Future (CRYOLIBRARIANS) Perform an Epic Hazard operation with this colonist at your Bernal if it has at least one Dirtside (B4) in the Neptune heliocentrix zone.

Uplift Future (CREEPER NEOGEN) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (science specialty) at a Lab (I13.1.1) but only if you are the Robot Emancipator (I14).

Unlike most Colonist Futures, any colonist/crew with a scientist specialty may perform the Epic Hazard operation (as the Creeper Neogen have no specialty and thus cannot perform operations).
By the general rules for Epic Hazard operations, the Creeper Neogen must still be colocated however (P1.4).

Von Neumann Future (NEUMANN TURINGS) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (any specialty) at any of your Industrialized Factories but only if at least two of your emancipated robot colonists (I14) are colocated with it and one of them performs the operation.

The Neumann Turings need to be colocated by the general rules of Epic Hazard operations (P1.4) but any emancipated robot at the location may perform the operation.
You do not need to be the Robot Emancipator (I14) but beware as she can easily take your colonists during peacetime with the Hostile Recruit operation (I5).

P2.3 GW Thruster Futures.

Daedalus Future (Daedalus 3He-D Inertial Fusion) You have all of the following simultaneously:

An Industrialized Factory on the “Saturn aerostat” site.
An Industrialized Factory on the “Uranus aerostat” site.
An Industrialized Factory on a site with a TNO Science symbol (microscope with a star).

Tip/Reminder: You can powered lift-off (but not land) at an aerostat site regardless of its size (H5.1).

!! Enzmann Starship Future (Colliding FRC 3He-D Fusion) As part of a movement, enter a Sol exit arrowhead (see below) with a rocket stack (not any other kind of spacecraft) containing at least the following:

This GW Thruster card as the activated thruster (H2).
At least three colonists (not crew). One with a science specialty, one with an engineering specialty, and one with a finance specialty.

A colonist with multiple specialities only counts as one of these.

At least 8 mass units worth of isotope fuel, counted at the moment the arrowhead is entered (E5.3, where each Isotope FFT has a mass of 1 and your Wet Mass Indicator minus your Dry Mass Indicator gives the mass of fuel in the rocket).

Roll for a Crash Hazard (H6.1, not an epic hazard. Standard results for Crash

Hazard failure apply) except you may not pay WT to skip the roll. If successful, voluntarily decommission each card/figure in the rocket stack and score this Future.

Colonist Exception: Colonists decommissioned this way are returned to your hand instead of to the bottom of the deck. Voluntarily decommissioning colonists in this way does not require the ability to “commit felonies”.

The three Sol Exit Arrowheads are the “Sol Exit Oort” in the top-left of the map, the “Sol Exit Neptune” in the middle-left, and the “Jupiter-Sol-Jupiter Exit” near Jupiter.

!! Fusion Candle Future (Zubrin-GDM) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (any specialty) at the “Uranus Aerostat” or “Neptune Aerostat” sites if the following is true:

If at the Uranus Aerostat, you have at least two Space Colonies (G5) on the Uranus Aerostat or its moons (see below)
If at the Neptune Aerostat, you have at least two Space Colonies on the Neptune Aerostat or its moons (see below).

If successful, decommission this card and score this Future.

(the moon sites are anything near their respective planet with no real surprises, but a full list is below)

Uranus: Oberon, Titania, Umbriel, Ariel, Miranda, Puck, Juliet, Portia, Belinda, Cordelia, Sycorax, Setebos, Prospero, Uranus Aerostat.

Neptune: Tuenela Plantia, Mahilam Plume, Proteus, Larissa, Galatea, Despina, Sao, Nereid, Neptune Aerostat.

!! Lithiated Ammonia Ice Starship (Solem Medusa Tugged Orion)

As part of a movement, enter a Sol exit arrowhead (see below) with a rocket stack (not any other kind of spacecraft) containing at least the following:

This GW Thruster card as the activated thruster (H2).
At least three colonists (not crew). One with a science specialty, one with an engineering specialty, and one with a finance specialty.

A colonist with multiple specialities only counts as one of these.

At least 8 mass units worth of isotope fuel, counted at the moment the arrowhead is entered (E5.3, where each Isotope FFT has a mass of 1 and your Wet Mass Indicator minus your Dry Mass Indicator gives the mass of fuel in the rocket).

Roll for a Crash Hazard (H6.1, not an epic hazard. Standard results for Crash Hazard failure apply) except you may not pay WT to skip the roll. If successful, voluntarily decommission each card/figure in the rocket stack and score this Future.

Colonist Exception: Colonists decommissioned this way are returned to your hand instead of to the bottom of the deck. Voluntarily decommissioning colonists in this way does not require the ability to “commit felonies”.

The three Sol Exit Arrowheads are the “Sol Exit Oort” in the top-left of the map, the “Sol Exit Neptune” in the middle-left, and the “Jupiter-Sol-Jupiter Exit” near Jupiter.

Mass Beam Future (Dusty Plasma) You have an Industrialized Factory on each of Mercury (either site), Venus, and Io (either site).

That’s at least three factories total.
Push Factories. These sites are marked with the symbol.

Mini-Black Hole Creation Future (Amat-initiated H-B Magnetic-inertial) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (any specialty) at a size-1 site with an ‘S’ spectral type while you have a promoted colonist with the scientist specialty colocated (it does not necessarily need to be the card performing the operation).

Protium Fusion Future (Crossfire H-B Focus Fusion) Perform an Epic Hazard operation (any specialty) at a site with at least four promoted cards colocated, at least one of which must be a colonist with the scientist specialty (it does not necessarily need to be the card performing the operation).

Because this card must be colocated per P1.4, you only need three additional promoted cards including the scientist.

Q. Map and Card Lookup

This section contains a reference for map symbols not covered under the movement section as well as rules for individual cards where the printed text is not sufficient.

Important! Several map symbols or cards contain rules not thoroughly described near/on them. These entries will be colored red and marked with an exclamation point.

Q1. Map Features

See H4.1, H4.2, H6, L1.1.1 for symbols not listed here.

Q1.1 Atmospheric Sites.

Sites near Venus, Mars, Saturn, Titan, Uranus, or Neptune are atmospheric sites.

Venus: Venus Aerostat-Xity
Mars: Arsia Mons Caves, North Pole, Hellas Basin Buried Glaciers
Saturn: Saturn Aerostat
Titan: Ontario Lacus, Kraken Mare
Uranus: Uranus Aerostat
Neptune: Neptune Aerostat

You also may not raygun prospect (I9.3) into an atmospheric site, and individual cards may mention them.

!! Q1.2 The “Eureka” Site

(Mars heliocentric zone)

Determine if it is a science site or not the moment anyone lands there (use whatever method and marking you deem appropriate).

!! Q1.3 Hermes A, Hermes B

(Ceres heliocentric zone, bottom of map)

A spacecraft may move from the Hermes A site to the Hermes B site or vice-versa along the blue line even if the Sunspot Disk is not in the blue section (unlike the usual rules of Synodic Comets, L1.1.1).^[bi]

Also see the “Saving the Earth” glory, M1.3.

!! Q1.4 Kreutz Sungrazer.

(Saturn heliocentric zone)

In addition to the usual rules for Synodic Comet sites (L1.1.1), all figures^[bj] and cards on it are decommissioned when the Sunspot Disk leaves the yellow section of the Sunspot Cycle diagram (L).

!! Bernals may not enter the Kreutz Sungrazer.

Q1.5 Leaf / Wave Symbols.

Only relevant for certain Glories (M1)

!! Q1.6 Microscope Symbols.

These mark science sites (no star) and TNO science sites (with stars). Important for scoring (N3) and creating Labs (I13.1).

!! Contrary to what the side of the map says, a non-TNO science site can never be a Lab (but the TNO description is accurate). The Bernal itself is a Lab if it has either type of science site as a Dirtside (B4).

Q1.7 Signposts & Colored Lines.

These have no gameplay meaning. They are a helpful aid, highlighting a possible path to the depicted location and listing the number of burns, hazards, and net thrust required. The purple and blue lines list two amounts for the number of burns required. The left number is only relevant in the basic game, where free burns from flybys do not exist.

!! Q1.8 Solar Oberth Flyby.

(Mercury heliocentric zone)

A special flyby (H6.3) that grants a number of free burns equal to the base thrust of the spacecraft’s activated thruster triangle (left number on the triangle), plus an additional free burn if you chose to afterburn (H3.1.1) when calculating net thrust.

!! A spacecraft may benefit from this flyby only once per movement (in contrast to other flybys).
A GW Thruster, using its improved afterburn (H3.1.1), still only receives its base thrust + 1 in free burns.
Only the middle burn space is the flyby. A spacecraft could stop right before it and, on a future movement, switch to a thruster more suited for it.
Burns are paid for upon entering a space, so the free burn received from this flyby cannot be used to enter this flyby.
!! Crash Hazards (H6.1) are rolled upon entering a space. Bernals are immune to decommissioning. A Bernal that fails this space’s crash hazard does not receive^[bk] its free burns.

Q1.9 Sol-Mercury Rabbithole.

(Mercury heliocentric zone)

No rules, just a picture of a rabbit. Like all map intersections with symbols, you may turn there without spending burns (H4.2).

!! Q1.10 Space Elevator

(Earth, Mars)

See “Space Elevator Venture” (M2.3).

Q1.11 Venus Flyby.

(Venus heliocentric zone)

This flyby (H6.3) may be entered at any time but only provides free burns when the Sunspot Cycle disk is in the blue section of the Sunspot Cycle diagram (L1).

Q1.12 Map Text

Most map text has no meaning, rules-wise. Exceptions are pointed out above, in the rest of this text, and/or on specific, individual cards.

Q2. Card Lookup

Rules that apply to an entire category of cards (e.g., all radiator cards or all Bernal cards) are not reiterated if they have been mentioned elsewhere in the book. Check the Index or the relevant Glossary entry.

!! Q2.1 All Cards

Card Manifest: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/145228/high-frontier-3rd-edition-cards

Q2.2 Crew Cards

!! In General (rules that apply to all Crew):

Faction Privilege. All abilities printed within the colored band (i.e., not the ISRU rating and thruster triangle) are “faction privileges”. They may be used even if the card is in your hand.
Anarchy/War Privilege Loss. Faction privileges cannot be used while the Politics disk is on an “Anarchy” or “War” space (B19).
Homeless Privilege Loss. Faction privileges are lost if you do not have a Bernal on your faction’s starting orbit (B11).

They are restored upon boosting an Ersatz-Bernal (I7.3).

!! Q2.2.1 ESA Space Unionists (green) /

ISRO Radicals (white)

The “Powersat” faction privilege is used when calculating a spacecraft’s net thrust (H3).
!! The Powersat privilege has no effect if the spacecraft is already being pushed (H3.1.5).
!! The Powersat privilege can be used to benefit other players as part of a negotiation (D).

Q2.2.2 Shimizu Corp Entrepreneurs (Orange)

The “Skunkworks” privilege applies to both starting and bidding in auctions.

!! Q2.2.3 United Nations Cosmonauts /

Radical B612 Foundation (Purple)

The “Skunkworks” privilege applies to both starting and bidding in auctions.
The unnamed privilege is referred to as the “Cycler” privilege in the living rules.
The radiation belts are the 8 radiation hazards near earth.
!! The Cycler privilege cannot be used if you do not have your Bernal/Ersatz-Bernal in your Home Orbit.
!! The Cycler privilege can be used to benefit other players as part of a negotiation (D). In this case, it must be used before they roll.

!! Q2.2.4 PRC Taikonauts /

ROSCOSMOS Radicals (Red)

The unnamed privilege is referred to as the “War Declaration” privilege in the living rules.
!! It may only be used at the start of your turn, as a free action.
!! It may only move the Politics disk to an adjacent War space.
This privilege is not lost during Anarchy.

Q2.3 Thrusters

!! Q2.3.1 Mag Sail

Each radiation hazard space grants one free burn in the same manner as a flyby (H6.3).
Unlike other flybys, this card may only receive this benefit once per space per movement.

Q2.3.2 n-6Li Microfission

This is referring to being attacked by missiles during combat (J4)
This card does not need to be in the rocket stack, but only cards in the rocket stack are protected (i.e., not Bernal, Freighter, or any other stack).^[bl]

Q2.3.3 Solar Sails (Photon Heliogyro, Electric Sail, Photon Kite Sail, Mag Sail)

These cards are decommissioned when the stack they’re in enters an aerobrake hazard, even if they are not the thruster being used to move with.

Q2.4 Robonauts

Q2.4.1 Lorentz-propelled Microprobe

Make all desired rolls first, then decide on a single failure to reroll.

Q2.4.2 MagBeam

A “Push Factory” is an Industrialized Factory on Mercury, Venus, or Io (marked with a icon).
Having a factory on both Mercury sites or both Io sites provides no extra benefit^[bm] (i.e., the minimum ISRU of this card is 0).
“Bernal” applies to your^[bn] Bernal or Ersatz-Bernal.

Q2.5 Refineries

Q2.5.1 Atmospheric ISRU Scoop

“Aerostats” are found in the atmospheres of Venus, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
All aerostats on or adjacent to this card’s stack are considered to have 2 hydration (water droplets) for all purposes (prospecting, refueling, Dirtside hydration, etc).
This card and its supports only need to be operational when a rule calls for a site’s hydration to be checked (e.g, you could support it to comply with the Colonist Limit, I7.7, during a Boost operation and then let your limit fall).

Q2.5.2 Femtochemistry

That’s two robonauts instead of one robonaut, not two robonauts in addition to the one normally required.
Like a normal industrialize operation, this includes the support chains of both robonauts.

Q2.5.3 Ilmenite Semiconductor Film /

Ionosphere Lasing

Atmospheric Sites: Venus, Mars, Saturn, Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. (Exact list: Q1.1)
“You don’t need a generator” refers to the cards supporting the robonaut decommissioned alongside it.
Your new faction privilege applies for the rest of the game. See Q2.2, Q2.2.1.

Q2.5.4 Laser-heated Pedestal Growth

Colocated to the card performing the Prospecting operation, not colocated with the site being prospected.

Q2.5.5 Von Neumann Santa Claus

Machine

A card may not have a negative ISRU rating.^[bo]

Q2.6 Generators

Q2.6.1 Magnetoshell Plasma Parachute

This card cannot be part of a Bernal’s support chain.
This card cannot be part of the robonaut or refinery’s support chains during an industrialize operation.

Q2.6.2 Marx Capacitor Bank / Casimir Battery

These cards can support themselves^[bp] when colocated with the Utility Fog Halbonaut (which turns them into ‘e’ generators).

Q2.7 Reactors

!! Q2.7.1 Metallic Hydrogen

This card cannot be part of the robonaut or refinery’s support chains during an industrialize operation.
This card cannot be part of the activated thruster’s support chain if it is a GW Thruster (or its purple TW Thruster side).
!! This applies to Bernals as well as Rockets.

Q2.7.2 Nuclear-pumped Excimer Flashlamp

A spacecraft’s net thrust is increased by one if it includes a solar-powered generator in its thruster’s support chain and this card is colocated with the spacecraft at the start of the move.

!! Q2.7.3 Optoelectric Nuclear Battery

A spacecraft’s net thrust is increased by one if it includes a solar-powered generator in its thruster’s support chain and this card is colocated with the spacecraft at the start of the move.
!! This card has no reactor type, and thus cannot support anything (not even cards that need “any” type of reactor).

The “supports solar generator only” is meant to indicate this, even though it's not really “supporting” anything.

Q2.7.4 Project Orion

This is referring to being attacked by missiles during combat (J4)
This card does not need to be in the rocket stack, but only cards in the rocket stack are protected (i.e., not Bernal, Freighter, or any other stack).^[bq]

Q2.7.5 Project Valkyrie

The “can’t carry” ability only applies if this card is part of the activated thruster’s support chain (K3.4).
Cards with three or less rad-hardness can be in the same stack as Project Valkyrie, but they must be left behind if it is used to support a thruster during movement.

Q2.8 Radiators

Q2.8.1 Li Heatsink Fountain /

Thermochemical Heatsink Fountain

This radiator is “used” when any card it is directly providing a therm of cooling to is used (see K4.2 for definition).
This radiator reorients the moment any card it is supporting stops being used

(e.g., during movement this is normally when the movement is complete but if a radiation hazard or such decommissions even one of the cards this radiator is supporting it flips)
Cards supporting a promoted Bernal are always in use (as the Bernal would depromote otherwise) so this card would never flip as long as all of its therms are used exclusively for the Bernal.

!! Q2.8.2 Magnetocaloric Refrigerator

The “can cool its own supports” should be taken literally and has no deeper implications.
!! The ‘e’ generator supporting this card cannot be used as a movement modifying^[br] support (K6) unless it is also supporting another card in the activated thruster’s support chain.

Q2.9 Bernal Privileges

!! Q2.9.1 Ersatz-Bernals

An Ersatz-Bernal is considered to be a Bernal and considered to be promoted for all purposes.

This includes the unique ability each promoted Bernal has.
Exception: An Ersatz-Bernal cannot move and is thus not a spacecraft.

Q2.9.2 unionist PEOPLE'S BERNAL (promoted green Bernal)

“Out to the Neptune zone” includes the Neptune heliocentric zone (i.e., it can use solar-powered supports everywhere).

Other cards in the Bernal’s stack still can’t be solar-powered or supported by solar power in the Neptune zone, as usual.

Other Bernals can only be supported by solar-powered cards out to and including the Mars heliocentric zone (I13.2.2)

Q2.9.3 private enterprise BUSINESS BERNAL (promoted orange Bernal).

Each of your Colonists located at your promoted Bernal (or Ersatz-Bernal) can use its operation to perform a Free Market operation (I6), even if they do not have the finance specialty.
The operation still counts as a Finance specialty for the purposes of extra operation costs (I1.5).

!! Q2.9.4 multinational POLITICAL BERNAL (promoted purple Bernal).

You do not have to follow the rules indicated by the location of the Politics Disk (B19) when it’s on a colored space, and other players may not use those rules against you.
This ability is optional.

Q2.9.5 socialist MILITARY BERNAL (promoted red Bernal)

Your Rocket or Freighter may make one free pivot (H4.2.2) if it starts its movement colocated with your promoted Bernal (or Ersatz-Bernal).

Q2.9.6 national SCIENCE BERNAL (promoted white Bernal).

Each of your Colonists located at your promoted Bernal (or Ersatz-Bernal) can use its operation to perform a Research operation (I3), even if they do not have the science specialty.
You are still limited to one operation that auctions off a card per turn (I1.1).
The operation still counts as a Science specialty for the purposes of extra operation costs (I1.5).

Q2.10 Freighters

See G1.1 for “Load Limit” and “Factory Loading Only”.
See H4.1.7 for “TMP” (“thrust movement points”).
See H4.2.2 for “Free Pivots”.

Q2.10.1 Inflatable Solar Heated /

!! Archimedes Palmer Lens

A “Push Factory” is a factory on Mercury, Venus, or Io (marked with a icon).
“As far as the ___ zone” includes the listed zone.
!! Mobile Factories copy all abilities printed in your promoted Freighter’s red box, positive or negative.

Q2.10.2 Fission GCR

This ability does not apply to Mobile Factories.

Q2.10.3 HIIPER Beam-Rider /

Magnetic Mirror Beam-Rider

This card has no spectral type and can only be ET Produced (I11) at an Industrialized Factory on Mercury, Venus, or Io (marked with a icon).
This card has no spectral type, and thus can only be Free Marketed (I6) from your hand.
This card has no spectral type, so neither it nor your Mobile Factories can perform the Digital Swap operation (I12).

Q2.11 Colonists

!! Q2.11.1 “In Bernal” If a Colonist’s ability says “In Bernal ...” then the Colonist must be located at your Bernal or Ersatz-Bernal.

Q2.11.2 BABBAGE HALBONAUT

This card boosts its own rad-hardness as well (making it 6, effectively).

Q2.11.3 BLUE GOO SYBONTS

Your Space Colony domes are considered to be Labs (I13.1.1) if they are at a science site and this card is located in your Bernal (or Ersatz-Bernal).
The Bernal itself is also Lab if both

It has a Dirtside or it's your Ersatz-Bernal.
This card is there.

Q2.11.4 BOTANY BAY CONVICTS

You may still ET Produce (I11) robot colonists, even if they have been emancipated and are now human (I14).
See “Felonies” (B6).
This card may voluntarily decommission (murder, C3.9) itself.

!! Q2.11.5 CALYPSO 2 SEED-SAIL /

WET-NANO SEED SAIL

These cards are solar-powered. Their thruster and printed abilities cannot be used if they are in the Neptune heliocentric zone.
They may still perform operations, vote, score their Future, etc.

The Living Rules and the card itself are in disagreement.

The front of this card says it cannot enter aerobrake hazard spaces.

Other sails specifically allows this but decommission the card.

The back of this card should have this restriction too.
The Living Rules glossary says all sails (including both sides of this card) may enter aerobrake hazards but are then decommissioned.
Mr. Eklund responded to a question posted on the Living Rules that moving either side into an aerobrake hazard decommissions the card and is only allowed if you may commit felonies.

Q2.11.6 CRYOLIBRARIANS

“Legal” is referring to voluntary decommission of humans (C3.9), normally only allowed as a felony (B6).
The second sentence applies only to voluntary decommissions, unlike the white side of the card.

Q2.11.7 EUGENIC PILGRIMS

This applies to both your Bernal or your Ersatz-Bernal.

Q2.11.8 FRANKENSTEIN NAVIGATORS

“Rapid Rotation” hazards are Crash Hazards labeled as such on the map.
Free Pivots (H4.2.2).

Q2.11.9 GROUP MIND IMMORTALISTS

See Pan-Sapiens Future (P2.2).

Q2.11.10 GYPSY ALCHEMISTS

This is referring to the Factory Refuel operation at a Bernal (I8.1.4).
But, like all “in Bernal” powers, it can be at your Ersatz-Bernal and not necessarily the Bernal doing the refueling.

Q2.11.11 HEAVY WATER SURVIVALISTS

Add +1 to the die roll when this card is making an attack (J).
“Ring” hazards are Crash Hazards with a label including the word “ring” (usually “ring crossing”)
These are commonly found near Saturn and Uranus.

Q2.11.12 JOSEPHSON IMPLANTS

“Performing an Op” in this case means “Performing an operation or using this card’s ISRU value as part of an operation”.
“Failure is not an Option” refers to paying 4WT to skip a Crash Hazard roll (H6.1).

Q2.11.13 MALCOLM

This is referring to the “Budget Cuts” event (L2.6).

Q2.11.14 NEUMANN TURINGS

This is referring to the “Glitch” event (L2.2).

!! Q2.11.15 NEW ATTICA SECESSIONISTS

Any player declare Combat (per J1) in a space containing this card even if the Politics Disk is not on a “War” space.

All other restrictions, such as “no combat in LEO” (J1) apply.

Only cards in the same stack as this one may make attacks, and opponents may only pick cards in the same stack as this one as targets.

Q2.11.16 ROCK RATS MINERS' UNION

The operation still counts as a Finance specialty for the purposes of extra operation costs (I1.5).

Q2.11.17 SECURITY SYSTEM

Add +1 to the die roll when this card is making an attack (J).
“Ring” hazards are Crash Hazards with a label including the word “ring” (usually “ring crossing”)
These are commonly found near Saturn and Uranus.

Q2.11.18 SIREN CYBERNAUTICS INC.

It only costs you 2 WT to skip a Crash Hazard roll instead of 4 WT (H6.1).
These operations still count as Science or Finance specialties, respectively, for the purposes of extra operation costs (I1.5).

Q2.11.19 SMART PETS

You may put it in your Ersatz-Bernal stack as well.

Q2.11.20 SOLDIER CASTE

Add +2 to the die roll when this card is making a raygun, missile, and/or buggy attack (J).
Reminder: A card with multiple ISRU types may attack once with each during the appropriate step of Combat.

Q2.11.21 SQUID TURING

If the “heaviest card” selected for a Glitch event (L2.2) is in the same stack as this card, you may roll to ignore the event.

Q2.11.22 UTILITY FOG HALBANAUT

For the Glitch and Pad Explosion events (L2), this just means that colocated cards are not considered for the event. An unprotected card must still be selected, if possible.

Q2.11.23 VATICAN OBSERVERS

This applies to the Election operation, Election event, and end-of-game election.
This declaration must be made before any bids are made.
Colonists vote differently depending whether it’s peacetime or wartime (I15.3).

R. Removing Modules^[bs]

For a simpler game, the following is a list of rules that should be changed when not using certain modules. Only changes are listed; rules that should be ignored because they’re irrelevant without the module are not.

R1 Support Module

All other modules must be removed as well (supports are required for them).
Remove the “Generator”, “Reactor”, and “Radiator” patent decks.
All cards use the Mass value labeled “Basic Game” instead of the Mass listed in the red box (continue using the listed Rad-Hardness, however).
No cards require supports; solar-powered cards are still non-operational in the Neptune heliocentric zone.

R2 Freighter Module

Remove the “Freighter” patent deck.
Players may not use the “Digital Swap” operation.

R2.1 ET Production of Freighters.

When performing an ET Produce operation, you may put your large Freighter cube into play in addition to the black card produced.

You may voluntarily decommission your large cube as a free action first, if necessary.
This creates your Freighter stack, and the produced card is placed in it.

R2.2 Dedicated Freighter.

Your Freighter may only hold the card it was produced alongside of.

If that card leaves your Freighter stack, then by C2.2 your Freighter cube is decommissioned for having no cards in its stack.
If the Freighter cube is decommissioned, it’s cargo becomes an Outpost.

R2.3 Freighter Movement.

Freighters move as described in section H (particularly, H1.5 and H2.4).
Pretend they have a card with a 1•0 thruster triangle, and they are pushable (H3.1.5) with the powersat faction privilege or a push factory.

R3 Bernal Module

During set-up, your Crew card is placed into your hand instead of into your Bernal stack.
Players do not lose their faction privilege for not having a Bernal in their home orbit.
Your home orbit is always LEO.
The purple player may use their “ignore radiation hazards near earth” faction privilege even though they do not have a Bernal.

R4 Colonist Module

Remove the “Colonist” patent deck.

R5 GW Thruster Module

Remove the “GW Thruster” patent deck.
Players may not produce isotope fuel (though there is no reason to do so).

R6 Combat Module

Players may not declare combat (J1).

R7 Endgame Module

Players may not score Futures or perform Epic Hazard operations.
The Glory and Venture cards are placed yellow-side up during set-up.

Reminder: Glories that require returning to Earth’s surface require voluntarily decommissioning the human card in LEO.

Do not perform an end-game election (N2).

R7.1 New End Game Trigger.

The end of the game is triggered when there are a number of Industrialized Factories in play simultaneously^[bt] depending on the number of players. The number of Industrialized Factories needed to trigger the end of the game is four (if 2 players), six (if 3 players), or seven (if 4+ players).

Finish out the round and then all players get one final turn.

A Note: For players who want a “shorter than Futures” game but don’t want to go “basic game short”, I suggest Living Rules variants V9, V10, or V11.

Glossary^[bu]

For easy navigation, there is an index at the end of this glossary.

Active Thruster

Activism Operation

Renamed to Election operation (I15)

Adjacent

A space is adjacent to another space if you can trace a path from one to the other (along the lines of the map) without passing through another space.

Ignore Crash Hazard spaces, and Lander Burn spaces when tracing the path. They are abstractions and do not represent distance.

All other spaces -- including Aerobrake Hazards and Radiation Hazards -- block adjacency.

A “buggy road” (yellow dotted line) is not a travelable path and spaces connected by them are not adjacent (the horizon blocks line-of-sight).

This applies even if the spaces are also connected by a Lander Burn or Crash Hazard! ^[bv]

A space is always adjacent to itself.^[bw]

Adjacency is mostly relevant for Dirtsides and Raygun Prospecting (I9.3).

Aerobrake Hazard

Special type of Crash Hazard found along aerobrake paths.

Aerobrake Hazards are treated identically to Crash Hazards, with a few exceptions:

Aerobrake Hazards block adjacency.
Aerobrake Hazards can be used to perform the Atmospheric Scooping operation (I8.3) if you have a card with the “scoop” ability.
Some card abilities specifically refer to Aerobrake Hazards and not Crash Hazards.

Aerobrake Path

Dotted line containing at least one Aerobrake Hazard with an arrowhead on one end of the line.

A Spacecraft following an aerobrake path that leads directly into a site (i.e., not one that just happens to be near the site) may ignore the site’s size for landing purposes (see “Powered Landing” for the usual case).

A Spacecraft that has lost its operational thruster may enter and travel along aerobrake paths provided the path ends on a site, does not enter a burn, and the path is followed completely (H2.6.2).

A Spacecraft may stop on spaces in an Aerobrake Path (i.e, it is not forced to keep moving except per the previous paragraph or if it is on a Lander Burn).

A Spacecraft may move in either direction along an Aerobrake Path; only the arrowhead itself restricts movement to one direction.

Afterburn | Afterburn Cooling

Anarchy

When the Politics Disk is on an “Anarchy” space:

All players may commit felonies.
All players lose their faction privilege (exception: following bullet).
The red player may use her unnamed faction privilege to move the Politics Disk from an “Anarchy” space to an adjacent “War” space as a free action at the start of her turn.

Reminders/Clarifications:

Anarchy is still peacetime, and peacetime Loyalty is in effect.
No one is in power.

Anti-Nuke (top-left green Policy)

If the Politics Disk is on the “Anti-Nuke” space, players may not Free Market (I6) or Boost (I7):

“Reactor” cards
Cards with On-Board Supports (K3.2).

This applies both to selling from your hand and from the map.

Antitrust Operation

See I16.

Atmospheric Scoop

See I8.3.

Atmospheric Site

See Q1.1.

Base Thrust

The bottom-left number on a thruster triangle.

The Base Thrust of the active thruster is used to calculate a spacecraft’s Net Thrust during movement (H3).

The active thruster’s base thrust, not net thrust, is considered when passing through the Solar Oberth Flyby (Q1.8).

Beamed Power Modifier

A part of Net Thrust calculation, see H3.1.5.

See Push Factory for other uses.

Bernal

A large space habitat, represented by a cylinder in your player color which designates the location of your Bernal and your Bernal Stack.

Begins play in the Starting Orbit corresponding to your color along with your crew card.

Provides extra benefits if it moves adjacent to one of your Industrialized Factories, creating a Dirtside.

Bernals are Human.

If your Bernal is in its Starting Orbit, you may Boost cards there (I7.1).

This incurs a Radiation Hazard roll for most players (I7.5).

The presence or lack thereof your Bernal determines if LEO or your Starting Orbit is your Home Orbit.

After moving your Bernal from its Starting Orbit, you may boost an Ersatz-Bernal as part of a Boost operation (I7).

Moving your Bernal from its Starting Orbit causes you to lose your Faction Privilege until you move it back or boost an Ersatz-Bernal.

Bernals are Spacecraft and move in the same manner as Rockets, but cannot enter Lander Burns, enter the Kreutz Sungrazer, or perform Kamikaze movement (J4.3).

Bernals cannot be decommissioned, voluntarily or involuntarily (G11).

Cards can be sold to any player’s Bernal as a Free Market action (I6), with a benefit for selling to other player’s Bernals and a restriction on the spectral type of the card sold.

Bernal cards can be promoted (I13.2) if they have their required support and are either in their Starting Orbit or have at least one Dirtside. See “Bernal, Promoted”.

Mobile Factories can be Industrialized at a Bernal instead of on a site (I10.8.3).

Cards colocated with your un-promoted Bernal (or in LEO) are vulnerable to the “Pad Explosion” event (L2.3).

Bernal, Promoted

Bernal cards can be promoted (I13.2) if they have their required support and are either in their Starting Orbit or have at least one Dirtside.

A Promoted Bernal depromotes if it loses its required support or if it becomes non-operational (X.X.X).

Solar-powered supports are less effective than usual for this purpose (X.X.X).

Radiation Protection. Promoted Bernals protect colocated cards from involuntary decommission due to radiation hazards (H6.2) and “Solar Flare” events (L2.4).

Exception: Radiator cards currently in use (supporting the Bernal and, during movement, the activated thruster) are not protected.

Pad Explosion Protection. Cards colocated with your promoted Bernal are immune to the “Pad Explosion” event (L2.3).

(Promoted or unpromoted Bernals protect from the “Glitch” event, as they are human)

Colonist Limit (I7.7). If your Bernal card is promoted, you may have your Crew plus a number of non-robot Colonists equal to half of the total hydration (number of water droplet symbols) of your Bernal’s Dirtsides, to a minimum of 1.

Bernal Lab. A Promoted Bernal can become a Lab if it has a Dirtside on a Science Site.

“Factory Loading Only” Freighters. A Freighter labeled as such may only receive cargo when located at an Industrialized Factory or your promoted Bernal.

It may never receive cargo in LEO even if your Bernal is there.

It may give cargo anywhere.

Black-Side Card

Boost | Boost, Hazards

Budget Cuts (event)

See L2.6.

Buggy

Buggy Road

Burn

Burn Limit

Burn Space

Busted

Capitalism (orange Policy)

If the Politics Disk is on the “Capitalism” space, you instead receive 1 WT per Industrialized Factory you own when performing an Income operation (I2).

This is misprinted as “2 WT per factory” on the large board (see O).

Cargo Transfer | Cargo

Claim Jump

Claim | Claim Disk

Coasting

Colocated

Colonist Limit

Colonist | Colonist, Emancipated Robot | Colonist, Human | Colonist, Non-Robot | Colonist, Robot

Combat | Combat, Buggy | Combat, Declare | Combat, Missile | Combat, Raygun

Component Dependency

Component Limits

Convert Fuel

Cooling | Cooling, Afterburn

Corner

Crash Hazard

Crew | Crew, Card

Cube, Large | Cube, Small

Cylinder

Declare Combat

Decommission | Decommission, Involuntary | Decommission, Voluntary

Digital Swap

Dirt

Dirtside

An Industrialized Factory you control adjacent to your Bernal.

Exception: Your Bernal must be located at a Synodic Comet site (L1.1.1) in order to use it as a Dirtside.

A Bernal can only be promoted with the Promote Operation (I13.2), sold to with a Free Market operation (I6), or used to Industrialize a Mobile Factory (I10.8.3) if it is in its Starting Orbit or it has at least one Dirtside.

Free Market Letter Restriction (I6.3). A card cannot be sold (via the Free Market operation) to a Bernal that has a Dirtside whose spectral type (site’s letter) matches the letter of the card.

Factory Refuel Operation with Dirtsides (I8.1.4). Fuel produced at a factory that is a Dirtside of a Bernal may be produced at that Bernal (to refuel the Bernal or as FFTs) instead of or in combination with the site.

Dirtside Isotope Bonus. If you produce Isotope fuel at a Dirtside, you may also produce Isotope fuel at all of your other Dirtsides with a matching letter.

ET Production at Bernal (I11.4). A card produced at the Dirtside of a Bernal using an ET Production operation may enter play at the Industrialized Factory’s location or the Bernal’s location.

Ignore Hazards. Unlike when Boosting to a Bernal (I7.5), you do not need to make a radiation hazard roll if your Bernal is on a radiation hazard space. Also ignore any other hazards the Bernal is on or hazards between the site and the Bernal.

Bernal Lab (I13.1.1). Your Bernal is considered to be a Lab if it has at least one Dirtside on a Science site.

Synodic Dirtside Lab & Epic Hazards. One method to improve your chances during an Epic Hazard roll (P1.5) is to have a claim disk on at least two Synodic Comet sites anywhere, one of which is both a Science site and a Dirtside for your Bernal.

Discard

Return a card from your hand to the bottom of its corresponding patent deck.

Can happen as a free action (G10), as a Free Market from hand operation (I6.1), or as part of the “Budget Cuts” event (L2.6).

Your Crew card may never be discarded.

Dome

See Space Colony.

Dry Mass Adjustment | Dry Mass Indicator

ET Production

Egalitarianism

Election

Emancipated Robot, Robot Emancipator

All Robot Colonist cards are considered “emancipated” for the rest of the game as soon as someone successfully performs the Robot Emancipation operation (I14). That player is considered the “Robot Emancipator”.

Emancipated Robots are treated as human for all purposes except they still do not count towards the Colonists in space limit (I7.7).

Effects of being the Emancipator:

Good. All robot colonists have loyalty (I15.3) to you during peacetime.

This is relevant for the Hostile Recruit operation (I5) and for voting (I15).

Bad. Any player may perform a Hostile Recruit operation (I5) on a non-robot Colonist you own, regardless of its color.

Epic Hazard Operation

A special operation with a chance of failure; required to score some Futures (P).

See P1.4, P1.5

Ersatz-Bernal

A replacement Bernal, represented by a cylinder in your player color which designates the location of your Ersatz-Bernal and your Ersatz-Bernal Stack.

Enters play at your Starting Orbit as part of a Boost operation (I7.3) at the cost of 10 WT and only after you have moved your Bernal from its Starting Orbit.

Is considered to be a Bernal (and also a Promoted Bernal) for all purposes except it cannot move and is thus not a Spacecraft.

Eureka Site

See Q1.2

Event

An event occurs each time the player last in turn order moves the Sunspot Cycle disk across a line labeled “event”.

See L2.

Exploitation Track

A record of how many Industrialized Factories of each spectral type are in play (totaling all players). Update this as Industrialized Factories are created (through Industrialization or moving a Mobile Factory onto a claim) or destroyed (through decommission or moving a Mobile Factory off of a claim).

0 Factories: “Start” space

1 Factory: “10 VP” space

2 Factories: “8 VP” space

3+ Factories: “6 VP” space

The exploitation track determines how many additional VP each Industrialized Factory is worth during scoring (N3) and how many WT you receive when you sell a card from the map to a Bernal or LEO as part of a Free Market operation (I6).

FFT

Fungible Fuel Tank. 1 mass worth of fuel represented by disks placed in your stacks (in the same manner as cards). Use a black, blue, or yellow disk corresponding to the FFT’s grade.

An FFT is a considered a card with a mass of ‘1’ and a rad-hardness of ‘8’ for all purposes with the following exceptions:

It is discarded instead of returning to your hand when decommissioned (C3.2).
It cannot be sold as part of a Free Market operation (I6) or decommissioned to pay for a Digital Swap operation (I12).
It does not prevent your cubes and domes from being captured during Buggy Combat (J5.2).

FFTs can be created or used to refuel a spacecraft as a Convert Fuel free action (G3).

FFTs can also be created using the Site Refuel operations (I8).

Blue and Yellow (Water and Isotope) FFTs located in your Home Orbit can be spent as WT directly or converted into WT (and vice-versa) as a Convert Fuel free action (G3).

They also count for determining if someone is richer than you for the Egalitarianism Policy (I2.3).

Yellow (Isotope) FFTs belong to a spectral type, and you are restricted on the type that can be in play (E5.3).

Add note on buggy combat FFT capture.

Faction | Faction Privilege

Factory

Factory Assisted Landing/Liftoff

Factory Loading Only

Factory Refuel | Factory Refuel, With Bernal

Failure is Not an Option

Before making a Crash Hazard roll (whether it’s via a Crash Hazard space, an Aerobrake Hazard space, or a factory-assisted landing/liftoff) you may pay 4 WT before rolling to automatically succeed.

You may not use “FinaO” when making any other type of roll, such as Radiation Hazard rolls or Epic Hazard rolls.

You may not use “FinaO” on the Crash Hazard roll required for the Enzmann Starship Future or the Lithiated Ammonia Ice Starship Future (P2.3).

Felony

Figure

Flyby | Flyby, Lunar

Free Action

Free Burn

Free Market

Freighter Stack,

Freighter | Freighter, Card | Freighter, Cube Swap | Freighter, Stack

Fuel Grade | Fuel Mixing

Fuel | Fuel Strip | Fuel, Convert | Fuel Use

Fuel-Modifying Support

Future | Future, Star

GW Thruster

Generator

Glitch (event)

See L2.2.

Glory

Hand Limit

A player with four or more cards in hand (not counting his Crew card) may not initiate or bid during Research (I3) or Recruit (I4) operations.

Otherwise, there is no limit to the number of cards a player may have in his hand.

But an excess of cards may make you vulnerable to the Antitrust operation (I16).

Heliocentric Zone

Hermes A, B

See Q1.3 and M1.3.

Hijack

Home Orbit

Hostile Recruit

Human

Hydration

ISRU

ISRU Refuel

In Play

In Power

Income Operation

See I2.

Industrialize Operation

See I10.

Industrialized Factory

Inspiration/Extropy (event)

See L2.1.

Intersection

Isotope

Jettison

Kreutz Sungrazer

See Q1.4.

LEO Stack,

LEO | LEO, Stack

Lab

A Lab is one of the following:

An Industrialized Factory located on a TNO Science Site.
A promoted Bernal with at least one Dirtside on a Science Site (TNO or regular).

The Bernal is the lab, not the Science Site itself.

A Lab is necessary to perform the Promote Operation on a GW Thruster, Freighter, or Colonist card (see I13.1).

Humans can return to a Lab (or LEO) to claim the “Search for ET Life” or “Submersible Prospectors” glories (M1.5, M1.6).

TNO Lab & Epic Hazards. One method to improve your chances during an Epic Hazard roll (P1.5) is to have a Lab on a TNO Science Site.

Lagrange Point

Lander Burn

Lander Burn Half Lander Burn

Landing & Lift-Off | Landing & Lift-Off, Aerobrake Landing | Landing & Lift-Off, Factory Assisted | Landing & Lift-Off, Powered Landing

Letter

Line

Load Limit

Location

Mass

Mass Limits

Mass Modifier

Missile

Mobile Factory

Moon Boost

Movement | Movement, Freighter & Mobile Factory | Movement, Restrictions

Movement-Modifying Support

Murder

Nationalism

Negotiation

Net Thrust

Non-Robot

On-Board Support

Operation | Operation, Extra Cost | Operation, Limit | Operation, Specialty

Operational, Non-Operational

Outpost Stack,

Outpost | Outpost, Stack

Pad Explosion/Space Debris

Patent Deck

Peacetime

Phileas Fogg Refuel

Pivot

Policies

Depending on the location of the Politics Disk, the rules of the game may be modified in various ways:

Capitalism (orange, top). Any player performing the Income Operation (I2) receives 1 WT per Industrialized Factory he owns instead of the usual 2 WT.

Anti-Nuke (green, top-left). Players may not Free Market (I6) or Boost (I7):

“Reactor” cards
Cards with On-Board Supports (K3.2).

This applies both to selling from your hand and from the map.

Egalitarianism (green, bottom-left). Any player performing the Income Operation (I2) may instead take the 2 WT from a player who is “richer” than you.

“Richer” means more WT than you.
Count blue and yellow FFTs in home orbits as WT for this purpose^[bx] (Reminder: such FFTs can be spent as WT for any purpose).

Paleoconservatism (white, top right). Players other than the white player cannot perform Research operations unless they control at least one^[by] Lab^[bz] (I13.1.1).

All players may still take part in auctions, however.

Nationalism (white, bottom right). Only the white player may perform the Income Operation (I2).

Press Gangs (red, bottom). The red player may ignore the loyalty requirement (I5.4) when performing the Hostile Recruit Operation (I5).

See also: Politics, War, Anarchy, In Power

Politics | Politics Disk

Press Gangs

Product Letter

This has been reworded as “spectral type”.

Promote

Promoted

Prospect

Purple-Side Card

Push Factory

Rad-Hardness

Radiation Hazard | Radiation Hazard Roll

Radiator | Radiator, Orientation

Raygun

Raygun Prospecting

Reactor

Recruit

Refinery

Research

Robonaut

Robot Emancipation

Robot | Robot, Emancipated

Rocket | Rocket, Figure | Rocket, Stack

Round

Science Site | Science Site, TNO

Scoop

Signpost

Site

Site Refuel

Solar Flare

Solar Oberth Flyby

Solar Power Modifier

Solar-Powered

Space

Space Colony

Space Elevator

Spacecraft | Spacecraft Stack

Spectral Type

Stack

Starting Orbit

Sunspot Cycle | Sunspot Cycle Diagram

Support

Support Chain

Symbol

Synodic Comet Site

See L1.1.1.

TNO Science Site

Thrust, Base | Thrust, Net

Thrust-Modifying Support

Thruster | Thruster Triangle | Thruster, Activated

Tow

Towing

Turn

Turn Order

The starting player determined during set-up and then going clockwise.

The player last in turn order is responsible for moving the Sunspot Cycle disk (L).

Events (L2) and multiple instances of interception combat (J1.2) are resolved in turn order.

Turning

Use

Venture

Venus Flyby

War

Water

Wet Mass Indicator

White-Side Card

Zone

See Heliocentric Zone.

[a]A recent bunch of clarifications were made to the Living Rules (as of 5/19). Posting them here till I work them in; some I'm waiting for further clarification on.

*Actual changes:*

~ Cooling rules need a rewrite: The same card must be cooled multiple times if you wish to use it multiple times in one turn (with the exception that therms used to move can be reused). This should make them far simpler.

~ All faction privileges *and Bernal privileges* are tradable. What this actually means is unclear for some of them; awaiting clarification. Most importantly, colonist limit is listed as a Bernal privilege.

[b]Recent Fixes:

5/11 - *Added interpretation*: I6.4 - You may not free market a black card if its corresponding exploitation track is on the "start" space.

5/11 - Not a fix, but a section has been added in front of the glossary for rules in place when not using certain modules.

-------------------------

5/10 - *Clarification from Mr. Eklund*. Space Colonies cannot be murdered -- they can only be voluntarily decommissioned by using your crew card.

-------------------------

4/30 - Dry Mass is never adjusted during movement. Net Thrust not changing was already in, but this also means jettisoning does not improve fuel efficiency.

-------------------------

4/29 - Added a warning in O3 not to use the aid printed along the bottom of the map -- it is inaccurate in several places.

As well as other component errata.

-------------------------

4/28 - The purple player's "ignore radiation hazards around earth" privilege _(Q2.2.3 here)_ only functions if the purple player has their Bernal in their Home Orbit _(Living Rules K2)_.

_Take Care: This is not mentioned on the card._

-------------------------

4/23 - Loading a "Factory Loading Only" freighter can be done only at your promoted Bernal (or factory), not an unpromoted Bernal.

-------------------------

4/22 - The Synodic dirtside required to improve your Epic Hazard roll chances must also be a science site (a Bernal Lab) - P1.5

_(this is only relevant for Hermes A/B, as all other Synodics are science sites)_

4/22 - Revised note on fuel-modifying supports, K6.2. Offered suggestion for (unintentional?) abuse of fuel-modifying supports.

[c]Work in Progress.

[d]This is the second instance of section A1.

[e]This is what the rules literally say, so normally I would leave it at that.

I am only making this comment as I've seen at least one person miss this rule, and also to offer reasons to take it literally.

1) Adjacency is as much about line of site as it is distance. You can't raygun prospect a site connected by a buggy road because you can't see it.

2) If we went with a gentler interpretation, the only sites connected by a Buggy Road that are not also connected by a Lander Burn are the" North Pole" on Mars and the "Conamara Chaos/Subsurface Ocean" near Jupiter. If you're willing to go that far, you might as well scrap this rule entirely.

[f]Any instances of adjacency in the Living Rules have been clarified to include "on or adjacent to".

[g]The Living Rules sometimes state these hazards as the figures themselves being decommissioned, which in turn decommissions all cards. Reversing this is the same effect, but with many less exceptions that have to be added such as Freighter decommission and Bernal decommission.

[h]"A promoted Freighter Card cannot be decommissioned while you have any factories remaining."

Then later:

"If a small cube is decommissioned (e.g. by combat, radiation, flares, landings, or lift-offs), return it to your reserves (you can build a new one per P6). If your big cube is decommissioned, convert any surviving cargo into an Outpost Stack. As a dedicated card, your big cube is decommissioned any time your freighter card would be decommissioned. Once promoted, you can voluntarily decommission your mobile factories.

*Promoted.* If your Freighter Card is promoted, and you have any mobile factories (small cubes) remaining, replace one of them with the big cube. The freighter card remains in the freighter stack.

*Unpromoted.* If the card is not yet promoted, or if it is promoted but you have no remaining mobile factories in play, return the big cube to your reserves and return the Freighter Card to your Hand (it can be rebuilt per P3)."

[i]So Mr. Eklund has framed this as a replacement effect; that the "decommission" still applies but it's not called a decommission because the Freighter stays in play.

What is not clear is if this applies to voluntary decommissions, as all examples listed are involuntary. For simplicity, this book has taken the looser interpretation.

[j]I would think it applies to all decommissions. As I understand it, the logic of the game suggests that all instances of the freighter (in the form of small Mobile Factory cubes) are equivalent, so destroying one of them does not remove that freighter design from service. Once the last mobile factory is destroyed, that freighter design is out of service and gets removed from play.

The point of the "cannot be decomissioned" rule is that you can't straightforwardly replace all your freighters by decommissioning the card and making a new one. Effectively you need to destroy *all* factory cubes and then rebuild them all to the new template represented by the card.

[k]This is a fail-safe rule to mirror the one used for free actions, as transfers of components as part of a deal are very similar to free actions. There is no such restriction in the Living Rules, which simply state "any time". An example of abuse would be trading all of your stuff to a neutral 3rd party during Combat in order to protect it.

Feel free to disregard this if you're not playing with lawyers.

[l]Living Rules, D3.

"At any time, you may exchange WTs, FFTs, claims, factories, space colonies, stack cards, or services or actions as terms of a deal."

(Note that the Living Rules explicitly note that Mobile Factories are not factories.)

If you wish to allow the trading of Mobile Factories, follow rules the rules of Buggy capture (J5.3): You may only receive a non-Industrialized Mobile Factory if you have a promoted Freighter card.

[m]Note to me: The implications of conferring faction privileges probably needs an entire section. Maybe a section for faction privileges in general. Maybe under the card lookup, then put a cross-reference here.

[n]The Living Rules only mention Jettisoning whenever this is brought up, but are quite clear that any Dry Mass Adjustments should be made at the end of the move.

[o]In June, 2017, Mr. Eklund thumbed a post on BGG stating a Bernal can have unlimited dry mass as long as it doesn't move. If this is still true, it has not made its way into the Living Rules.

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/26188649#26188649

[p]I highly recommend this, and would also extend it to include rockets.

[q]There is no such restriction in the Living Rules, but allowing free actions "at any time" in combat breaks so much of the combat rules that this is necessary.

The alternative is a precise, moment-to-moment ruleset for when, exactly, you can use free actions in combat without destroying their intent (e.g., "you may not use free actions between attacking with a missile and decommissioning its supports. You may not...").

[r]The Living Rules says this:

Living Rules E6:

_"LIMIT: You can only have two outposts at the end of *any* turn."_

_"You may, however, have more than two outposts *at any given time* provided you *start and end* your turn with no more than two"._

(emphasis mine).

You could also rule that you are allowed to keep these extra outposts until the start of your turn, but each player only has two rings with which to mark Outposts so memory is required.

[s]Rarely, this may not be enough to comply with the Outpost limits (e.g., if you have three humans in separate outposts and a human in your rocket such that none of them can be decommissioned).

In a casual game, you could probably reset some moves. If this is not possible (because dice have been rolled, cards have been revealed, or some other non-reset- able event), then we suggest the following:

You announce at the end of your turn that you cannot comply and your opponents may offer suggested courses of action that would get you within limits. This could involve using free actions, available operations (which you can pay for), unused spacecraft movement, and negotiated trades. You must accept one of these suggestions if you can't come up with a course of action of your own.

If no one can think of anything, you are allowed to decommission a human as a special exception.

[t]The Living Rules only prevent you from ending movement on a lander burn space. They do not prevent you from jettisoning cargo onto that space.

Normally an outpost on a lander burn would be fairly useless (nothing can stop there to pick it up), but an outpost on a lander burn can be turned into a rocket as a free action.

Also note that Jettisoning every card out of a rocket causes it to decommission, which is not the same as ending movement (or, at least, someone could argue that). It is legal to pull a "ship of Theseus" type maneuver, completely dismantling a rocket and then turning all of its parts into an outpost only to form a completely identical rocket there. For rockets, the rule about not being able to stop on lander burns effectively does not exist.

This also prevents bizarre interactions with the Combat rules, such as leaving an outpost behind on a Lander Burn to intercept people or strange interactions with the kamikaze rules.

[u]The Living Rules do not explicitly state this, but this brings it in line with the similar rule allowing an operational dirt thruster to chew up rocks during an ISRU refuel.

[v]This has been added to the Living Rules for the Digital Swap operation, which we have extended to include this free action.

[w]The Living Rules, F, only state:

"Cards, figures, and fuel (e.g. stored on the fuel strip) that that move on a given player's turn (e.g. as cargo) cannot move again until the start of that player's next turn."

This addition is in the spirit of the rule, and also follows the precedent set by the Big Cube Swap free action (living rules P8) which has similar measures for preventing double moves.

[x]In Living Rules F2, this sentence is followed by a list of exceptions, but those exceptions seem to refer to solely the "operational" part of the preceding sentence.

" *Movement Requirements.* The rocket’s activated thruster must be operational (O1) with a net thrust of at least 1.

EXCEPTIONS: No operational thruster is needed when ... "

[y]In effect, this means that a spacecraft that is too heavy cannot follow the thruster-less movement exceptions, which makes thematic sense.

[z]The two of the three exceptions listed under Living Rules F3 for moving without an operational thruster have been clarified to say that the thruster must still exist _(presumably, it still functions well enough for minor course correction)_. The rules for aerobrake landing explicitly allow the thruster to be missing, and it's the only way landing via a solar sail _(which are destroyed by aerobrakes)_ makes sense.

[aa]The Living Rules only prevent you from ending movement on a lander burn space. They do not prevent you from jettisoning cargo onto that space.

Normally an outpost on a lander burn would be fairly useless (nothing can stop there to pick it up), but an outpost on a lander burn can be turned into a rocket as a free action.

This also prevents bizarre interactions with the Combat rules, such as leaving an outpost behind on a Lander Burn to intercept people or strange interactions with the kamikaze rules.

[ab]While the Living Rules do say "all", I assumed the protection was due to the Bernal's thick coating, hence why the radiators outside of it are not protected.

Living Rules, Q6:

_"Furthermore, if your Bernal is promoted (Q6), all colocated cards except radiators in active use are immune to radiation hazards, events, and solar flares."_

[ac]It has also been stated by playtester Andrew Doull that each mass unit of water/isotope fuel in a spacecraft in your home orbit counts towards this as well.

This has not made it into the Living Rules, however.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1785470/egalitarianism-ffts-and-hiding-your-money

[ad]The board and the Living Rules simply state _"at a Lab"_.

There has been some confusion on if this "at" overrides the usual rules allowing a card to perform its operation remotely or if the "at" is just flavor text. This text goes with the gentler interpretation.

[ae]It has also been stated by playtester Andrew Doull that a player allowed felonies can hijack a Lab for this purpose (whereas the Living Rules lists permits this only for Factory Refuels and Promotion).

In any case, doing so would be difficult as the politics disk isn't on anarchy/war, you would need a human present, and Bernals are human and thus prevent felonies. Only TNO Labs not protected by a human (including space colonies, remember) would apply.

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/25921117#25921117

[af]Pawel Garycki brought this up, and provided the thematic explanation that consumers aren't willing to buy from you if there's no factory capable of making replacement parts.

[ag]Because of free actions, it is always possible to convert an Outpost into a Rocket, ISRU refuel, and convert back with almost no penalties (Any fractional amount of fuel in the original rocket can't be converted into an FFT and is thus dumped).

Consider ignoring this requirement entirely.

[ah]Living Rules section T simply states you may declare combat _"after all of your spacecraft have completed movement in your turn"_. I have taken this to not mean "immediately after" but rather "any time after".

[ai]This is not explicitly stated, but I feel the wording of the opening of Living Rules section T leans towards this.

An alternative is declaring all combats simultaneously, then resolving them one at a time.

[aj]This is a safety-net rule to prevent the active player from manipulating their stacks during combat to, say, avoid enemy missiles or prevent their own missiles from self-decommissioning.

[ak]This is to bring it in line with kamikaze missile attacks, which specifically say to decommission only after all attacks have resolved. One could also argue that normally missiles are fired one at a time and that kamikazes are an exception.

[al]This paragraph is made up, as the current rules for Kamikaze attacks lead to (I believe) unintended maneuvers. For example, there is nothing preventing you from simply separating out any cards you'd like to save into an Outpost stack before declaring combat. They could even perform operations, even though they just slammed into the site at high and fatal speed.

Here's the Living Rules T3:

_" *Kamikazes*. When declaring a missile attack, a non-Bernal spacecraft can end its movement on a site without needing a net thrust higher than the site size, and may ignore fuel for lander burns. The entire stack is decommissioned after missile attacks are resolved."_

It would also be possible to interpret this as a combat declared during and as part of a movement, but that leads to its own similarly complicated set of exceptions.

[am]I had difficulty understanding the exact process for Buggy combat, in particular how it is handled with many stacks or buggies present, so this section is a possible interpretation.

To be clear, I am not saying this is how Buggy Combat is intended to be and I am not saying this is how Buggy Combat should be. I encourage everyone to read the combat section of the Living Rules and draw their own conclusion.

Luckily, in practice, situations where a buggy is involved in combat are usually simple, with at most only a single buggy and stack per side.

The rules laid out here capture how I would handle the simple case and extends it for cases involving many stacks and buggies.

-------

A possible, but lengthier alternative is to allow both sides to attack with buggies, attacker then defender. Calculate net thrust for each attacking stack and defending stack -- you may only attack a stack with a lower net thrust.

[an]This is actually a rarer case than one might think (see the contrived example below).

We believe this is in line with the Living Rules O1, which only state:

_"If you have multiple cards that can act as a support, only one can be chosen."_

[ao]Here is the entirety of the open-cycle cooling rules:

O5: "You can use afterburning to satisfy 1 therm of cooling for any component in your thruster chain used during a move or operation. Components cooled by paying the afterburning cost can be used for non-thrust purposes as well (e.g. combat, supporting a Bernal, robonauts)."

Open-Cycle Cooling glossary entry:

"If you afterburn at any point in a move, in addition to adding to your thrust, you can also satisfy one therm of cooling. (This simulates dumping coolant into the exhaust to increase thrust and get rid of heat.) Afterburners can be used to cool missile robonauts during prospecting or site-refuel, if they have expended the afterburning fuel that turn.

Expenditure of afterburning fuel also counts as cooling during combat, for combat-capable thrusters or missile robonauts."

[ap]This is not stated in the rules themselves, but the example given in the Open-Cycle cooling glossary entry makes this very clear.

The "it must make the thruster operational" is an interpretation, but is supported by the example's theme that states the thruster would melt down otherwise.

_"Example [Support Module]: A rocket uses a vortex-confined thruster (1 therm) and a D-T Tokamak as a support (2 more therms). This rocket has but a single 2-therm radiator, however, and thus must use open-cycle cooling every move the thruster is used, to keep from melting down. This increases the thrust (from 6 to 7), at a cost of an extra fuel step."_

[aq]This is to bring it in line with the Magnetocaloric Refrigerator, which is the only radiator that can be non-operational.

[ar]It could also be argued, chronologically, that the cooling occurred at the moment of the afterburn and thus the thruster doesn't need to be operational or exist at all but whatever.

[as]The Living Rules have two lines dedicated to how these actually work.

_"Fuel Economy Reactors (Support Module) – Some reactors have a triangle that reduces your fuel expenditure, if used in support of a thruster (O1)."_

_" Afterburning fuel consumption (F1) is not affected by these supports."_

[at]While the Living Rules do say "all", I assumed the protection was due to the Bernal's thick coating, hence why the radiators outside of it are not protected.

Living Rules, Q6:

_"Furthermore, if your Bernal is promoted (Q6), all colocated cards except radiators in active use are immune to radiation hazards, events, and solar flares."_

[au]The literal text of the card is:

_"First to decommission a refinery plus non-radiator supports on ..."_

with nothing stated about the type of decommission. Read literally, this would include Digital Swapping or Free Marketing at the location, as well as involuntary decommissions (though I don't see how someone could abuse that case).

This interpretation is based on the card's description of setting up infrastructure at the site.

[av]The literal text of the card is:

_"First to decommission a refinery plus non-radiator supports on ..."_

This interpretation is based on the card's description of setting up infrastructure at the site.

[aw]While this rule is only found in the official "Herme's Fall" variant written by Mr. Eklund, it is phrased as a general rule and the map is indeed highlighted with a blue line at these two locations.

[ax]Living Rules I1 clearly requires you to decommission the card to obtain a glory that requires you return to Earth:

_"If the card specifies returning humans to the Earth’s surface, they must travel the entire distance by spacecraft (e.g. no decommissions), and be decommissioned in LEO."_

It does not mention Labs, which could be because either

a) I1 is in the base game section of the rulebook, and thus this case doesn't come up.

b) Decommissioning is not required if you bring the card back to a Lab.

As none of the Glory cards list this decommission requirement, the intent is not clear here.

[ay]Living Rules I1 clearly requires you to decommission the card to obtain a glory that requires you return to Earth:

_"If the card specifies returning humans to the Earth’s surface, they must travel the entire distance by spacecraft (e.g. no decommissions), and be decommissioned in LEO."_

It does not mention Labs, which could be because either

a) I1 is in the base game section of the rulebook, and thus this case doesn't come up.

b) Decommissioning is not required if you bring the card back to a Lab.

As none of the Glory cards list this decommission requirement, the intent is not clear here.

[az]I wish to say, "for all purposes good and bad" but that's clearly not the case. E.g., having to use the Arisa Mon's size 10 when seeing if you can land there is not required.

The more accurate wording would be "for all purposes good and some, undefined amount of bad purposes".

Playtester Andrew Doull confirmed, and was thumbed up by Phil Eklund, that owning a space elevator makes you more vulnerable to the Pad Explosion event. There are clearly some cases where using this ability is non-optional.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1420508/pad-explosion-l2-space-elevator

I could not find any other official drawbacks of owning a space elevator, but consider the following with your group:

- Can an opponent declare combat or interception combat with stacks on the opposite end of a space elevator?

- If combat is declared (the normal way or as above), are both sides of the space elevator involved in combat or can the elevator's owner pick and choose which cards get to attack and be attacked.

[ba]And I'm sure there are a number of other scenarios where considering the spaces to be the same is bad for you.

[bb]Not an example of a drawback, but there is a thread on BGG about whether you can factory-assist take-off from one end using a factory on the other. My take on it is that no, you cannot. The sites are adjacent and co-located but they are not the same site.

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/31596998

[bc]I'd think any answer to this would come from the real life physics involved, rather than the literal rules or even an interpretation of the rules.

For example, here's the exact opposite conclusion that I don't believe is contradicted anywhere in the rules:

Assertion: You can use a space elevator mid-movement _(though I don't see this in the rules, so I've changed this section to be green text)_. This is not a free action, but something similar to a free action that can be done during movement. _(see the LEO-L2 elevator example in this section)_

Assertion: Moving across an elevator isn't "Moving - the rules definition" so entering a site via the mars elevator doesn't end your movement.

Therefore: Launching on Phobos, traveling across the elevator, and continuing movement is legal.

So again, it's a question of what's actually possible in real life.

[bd]Which I can't claim to understand; I'm not trying to say my ruling is correct.

[be]The Living Rules make no mention of this, but the converse (that progress is tracked even if you lose the card) would be a logistical nightmare. Handle this however you like.

[bf]This is me being pedantic, but its also possible to interpret the living rules as "perform the operation with an engineer, but not necessarily as an engineering specialty if they have more than one specialty".

[bg]Reminder: Bernal cards are human, hence "additional".

[bh]The card implies that this is a normal Hostile Recruit op in every way other than the loyalty requirement.

The text of the card is:

" *CHARISMA*: As an Epic Hazard Op, this card may perform a Hostile

Recruit regardless of the loyalty of the victim."

[bi]While this rule is only found in the official "Herme's Fall" variant written by Mr. Eklund, it is phrased as a general rule and the map is indeed highlighted with a blue line at these two locations.

[bj]No mention of Space Colonies in the text printed on the board. The Living Rules actually do handle a Space Colony losing its factory (see J6.1 in this text), which says it will last until the end of your next turn. A Starship could enter the Kreutz "out of season" to re-industrialize the site in time.

Still, I believe the intent is that all must burn.

[bk]Scientifically, the Oberth maneuver is not a gravitational slingshot but rather falling towards the Sun and firing your thrusters when you've reached max speed. Pulling an Icarus leaves you without the required thruster.

[bl]Mr. Eklund has gone on record about wanting to eliminate the need for figure-swapping shenanigans (in this case, moving all collocated cards into your rocket stack at the end of each turn). This wording is most in line with that sentiment while limited to what the card actually says. Feel free to consider all of your collocated cards protected instead.

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/26782102#26782102

[bm]This is how the "Mass Beam" Future works, and avoids issues with negative ISRU ratings.

[bn]Literal text: "a Bernal" implying "any player's Bernal" but this ability represents using the Bernal's infrastructure (the "power station" referred to in the flavor text).

Play it literally, allow negotiated use, whatever. Felonious use of an opponent's Bernal would not apply as Bernals are human and thus prevent felonies.

[bo]For the tenuous reason of the ISRU glossary entry only mentioning ISRU ratings of 0 to 4 and the practical reason of not having to deal with negative ISRU values.

Do whatever.

[bp]https://boardgamegeek.com/article/23124003#23124003

[bq]Mr. Eklund has gone on record about wanting to eliminate the need for figure-swapping shenanigans (in this case, moving all collocated cards into your rocket stack at the end of each turn). This wording is most in line with that sentiment while limited to what the card actually says. Feel free to consider all of your collocated cards protected instead.

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/26782102#26782102

[br]The Living Rules only forbid the generator's use as a "thrust-modifying support". That is, it does not mention supports that modify fuel consumption. We believe this is an oversight.

[bs]To add: Cross-references

[bt]If, for some god-forsaken reason, someone gets Mobile Factories in the basic game then they can move them off site to avoid triggering the end of the game.

[bu]Under Construction

[bv]This is what the rules literally say, so normally I would leave it at that.

I am only making this comment as I've seen at least one person miss this rule, and also to offer reasons to take it literally.

1) Adjacency is as much about line of site as it is distance. You can't raygun prospect a site connected by a buggy road because you can't see it.

[bw]Any instances of adjacency in the Living Rules have been clarified to include "on or adjacent to".

[bx]It has also been stated by playtester Andrew Doull that each mass unit of water/isotope fuel in a spacecraft in your home orbit counts towards this as well.

This has not made it into the Living Rules, however.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1785470/egalitarianism-ffts-and-hiding-your-money

[by]The board and the Living Rules simply state _"at a Lab"_.

[bz]It has also been stated by playtester Andrew Doull that a player allowed felonies can hijack a Lab for this purpose (whereas the Living Rules lists permits this only for Factory Refuels and Promotion).

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/25921117#25921117

How to Use this Guide

A. Setup

A1 Quick Start Variant[d]

B. Terminology

B1 “Adjacent”

B2 “Bernal”, “Bernal Stack”

B3 “Colocated”

B4 “Dirtside”

B5 “Ersatz Bernal”, “Ersatz Bernal Stack”

B6 “Felony”

B7 “FFT”

B8 “Figure”

B9 “Freighter”, “Freighter Stack”

B10 “Heliocentric Zone”

B11 “Home Orbit”, “Starting Orbit”

B12 “Human”

B13 “In Play”

B14 “Industrialized Factory”

B15 “LEO”, “LEO Stack”

B16 “Mobile Factory”

B17 “Operational”

B18 “Outpost”, “Outpost Stack”

B19 “Politics Disk”, “Policy”, “In Power”, “Anarchy”, “War”, “Felony”

B20 “Rocket”, “Rocket Stack”

B21 “Site”

B22 “Space”

B23 “Spacecraft”, “Spacecraft Stack”

B24 “Stack”

B25 “WT”

C. Decommissions

C1 “Voluntary” versus “Involuntary” Decommissions.

C2 Decommissions in General.

C3 Exceptions and Special Cases.

D. Negotiation

E. Spacecraft Mass and Fuel Management

E1 Dry Mass Adjustment

E2 Wet Mass Adjustment

E3 WT, FFTs, and Fuel

E4 Sources of Fuel

E5 Fuel Grades and Mixing Fuel

E5.1 Fuel Use

E5.2 Fuel Mixing

E5.3 Isotope Fuel Type

F. Player Turn

G. Free Actions

G1 Cargo Transfer Actions.

G1.1 Cargo Transfer

G1.2 Create Rocket/Outpost

G1.3 Tow Cubes

G2 Jettison Cargo/Fuel.

G3 Convert Fuel Actions.

G3.1 WT to Fuel (in Home Orbit)

G3.1.1 Fuel to WT (in Home Orbit)

G3.2 WT to FFT (in Home Orbit)

G3.2.1 FFT to WT (in Home Orbit)

G3.3 Fuel to FFT

G3.3.1 FFT to Fuel

G4 Dirt “Phileas Fogg” Refueling.

G5 Build Space Colony.

G6 Claim Jump.

G7 Declare Combat.

G8 Promoted Freighter Cube Swap.

G9 Claim Glory or Venture.

G10 Discard Cards.

G11 Voluntary Decommission.

H. Movement

H1 Movement Restrictions.

H1.1 Unlimited Stacking.

H1.2 No Double Moves.

H1.3 No Free Actions.

H1.4 Bernal Restrictions.

H1.5 Freighter/Mobile Factory Restrictions.

H2 Activate a Thruster

H2.1 Thruster Triangles

H2.2 Rocket & Bernal Thruster Choice

H2.3 Fuel Grades

H2.4 Freighter/Mobile Factory Thruster Choice

H2.5 Thrust Requirement

H2.6 Operational Thruster Requirement and Exceptions

H3 Calculating Thrust

A1 Quick Start Variant^[d]

J4.3^[al] Kamikaze Movement.

J5 Buggy Step^[am]