Objective of the Game

Welcome, future space colonizers! In Alien Frontiers, your mission is clear: establish dominance over a newly discovered world. You'll be managing resources, exploiting orbital facilities, and developing the planet by building colony domes in strategic locations. The ultimate goal? Gain more influence (measured in Victory Points) than your opponents by building colonies and controlling territories. Do you have what it takes to colonize a new world and claim it for your own?

Preparation (Setup)

Alright, let's get this space station ready for launch! Here’s how to set up your game of Alien Frontiers:

1. Unfold the game board and place it centrally on the table, accessible to all players.
2. Place the scoring track board nearby and put one scoring rocket of each color on the "0" line. Assign one player to track victory points throughout the game.
3. Place the clear die (the Relic Ship) on the square on the Burroughs Desert territory.
4. Place each territory card face-up on its matching territory on the board.
5. Place the orange fuel tokens near the Solar Converter (this is your fuel stock).
6. Place the gray ore tokens near the Lunar Mine (this is your ore stock).
7. Shuffle the alien tech cards and deal three cards face-up near the Alien Artifact (this is your alien tech stock). Deal one alien tech card face-up to each player. The remaining cards form a draw pile, and a discard pile will form as the game progresses.
8. Place the three field generator counters to the left of the board.
9. Each player chooses a color and takes three ships (dice) of that color, placing them on the Shipyard image near "Maintenance Bay." The remaining three ships of each color form the ship stock.
10. Each player takes six colony tokens of their chosen color. Return unused colony tokens to the box.
11. Choose player one by rolling for the highest number. Counting clockwise from player one:
    • Player two receives one fuel.
    • Player three receives one ore.
    • Player four receives one fuel and one ore.

    This initial allotment helps balance turn order. (Note: For 3-player and 2-player variants, setup details for colony tokens, dock covers, and starting resources will differ, as will the Long-Game variant for colony tokens.)

The Turn of Play

Alright, pilots, let's get those engines running! Play begins with player one and moves clockwise. Each turn, you'll perform these tasks:

1. Gather and Roll Your Fleet

First things first: gather all your ships from the board and roll them. These dice represent your fleet, and their values will determine your options for the turn.

2. Use Alien Tech Cards and Assign Your Fleet

This is where the strategy really kicks in! You can perform these two tasks in any order you like. You might use some, all, or none of your alien tech cards. However, you must dock all of your ships at orbital facilities if possible. If you can't legally dock a ship, place it on the Maintenance Bay.

• Using Orbital Facilities: To use a facility, you need to allocate your ships to its docking ports. Make sure there are enough available ports, you have ships with the required values, and you can pay any immediate costs. You gain the benefits of facilities, territory control, or alien tech immediately unless otherwise noted. Costs are paid to the general stocks.
  • Alien Artifact: Dock any ship to "cycle" (discard and draw new) alien tech cards. To claim a card, your docked ships must total 8 or more. Each claim requires a new total of 8+.
  • Colonist Hub: Dock ships to advance a colony on an "advancement track." Your first ship places a colony on the first circle. Each additional ship advances it one circle. Once it reaches the seventh circle, pay one fuel and one ore to launch it onto a territory.
  • Colony Constructor: Dock three ships of equal value and pay three ore to immediately land a colony on a territory.
  • Lunar Mine: Dock ships equal to or greater than the highest value already docked. Gain one ore per ship.
  • Orbital Market: Dock two ships of equal value. Pay fuel equal to the value of one docked ship to receive one ore. Trade as many times as you wish.
  • Raiders' Outpost: Dock three sequentially numbered ships. Steal four resources (any mix) or one alien tech card from an opponent. If occupied, you can bump existing ships by docking a higher-value sequence.
  • Shipyard: Dock two ships of equal value. Pay fuel and ore to gain a new ship of your color from the ship stock, placing it in the Maintenance Bay until your next turn. Costs increase for your 4th, 5th, and 6th ships.
  • Solar Converter: Dock ships of any value. Gain fuel equal to half the value of each ship (round up).
  • Terraforming Station: Dock one ship with a value of 6 and pay one fuel and one ore to immediately land a colony on a territory. The docked ship is consumed and returns to the ship stock at the start of your next turn (but you can't use this if it would leave you with fewer than three ships).
  • Maintenance Bay: If you can't legally dock a ship, it goes here. No benefits, just a holding pen until your next turn.
• Using Alien Tech Cards: You can use your alien tech cards at any time during your turn. Most cards have a power you pay fuel to use (once per turn) and a power you must discard the card to use (only one discard power per turn).
  • Colony Placement and Territory Control: If you place a colony, you immediately earn a victory point. If placing a colony gives you more colonies on a territory than any other player, you "control" that territory. You take its counter, gain an extra victory point, and can use its bonus. If you lose control, you return the counter, lose a victory point, and can no longer use the bonus.
  • Field Generators: These special counters alter territory rules. For example, the Isolation Field nullifies a territory's bonus, while the Positron Field grants an extra victory point to the controller. The Repulsor Field prevents colonies from being added or removed from its territory.

End of Turn

Once you've docked all your ships and used any alien tech cards you wanted, your turn is over. Leave your ships docked until your next turn. Remember to discard down to a maximum of eight total resource tokens at the end of your turn if you have more.

End of Game and Scoring

The game is a sprint to the finish! The game ends immediately as soon as one player places their last colony on a territory.

Scoring is a snapshot, not cumulative, so your score will fluctuate throughout the game. Here's how Victory Points (VP) are tallied:

• 1 VP for each of your colony tokens on a territory.
• 1 VP for each territory you control.
• 1 VP for having the Alien City card.
• 1 VP for having the Alien Monument card.
• 1 VP for controlling the territory with the Positron Field.

The player with the most victory points wins! In case of a tie, compare the number of alien tech cards. If still tied, compare ore tokens, then fuel tokens. Still tied? Play again!

Tips for Winning

Ready to dominate the Alien Frontier? Here are a few pointers to get you started:

1. Master the Orbital Facilities: Don't just blindly dock your ships! Each facility offers unique benefits. Early on, focus on the Solar Converter and Lunar Mine for resources, and the Shipyard to expand your fleet. As the game progresses, the Colony Constructor and Terraforming Station become crucial for rapid colony placement.
2. Control Those Territories: Colonies are your bread and butter for points, and controlling territories gives you even more! Look for opportunities to gain majority control on territories that offer bonuses that align with your strategy. For example, controlling Heinlein Plains makes the Orbital Market incredibly efficient, while Herbert Valley slashes the cost of new ships.
3. Leverage Alien Tech: Alien tech cards are game-changers. Don't hoard them! Use their powers strategically to manipulate dice, move ships, or even steal resources. Cards like the Booster Pod or Gravity Manipulator can turn a bad roll into a great one, while the Plasma Cannon can disrupt your opponents' plans. Remember to cycle cards at the Alien Artifact to find the ones you need!