# Andromeda's Edge

## General Info
- **Year Published**: 2024
- **BGG Rating**: 8.3
- **BGG Rank**: #171
- **Players**: 2-4 (Best with: 3)
- **Duration**: 80-160 min
- **Weight**: 3.75 / 5
- **Designers**: Luke Laurie, Maximus Laurie
- **Artists**: Sergio Chaves
- **Publishers**: Cardboard Alchemy, Cranio Creations, CrowD Games, Frosted Games, Galápagos Jogos, Games7Days, Gémklub, Lucky Duck Games, Maldito Games, MINDOK, YOKA Games
- **Categories**: Fighting, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Territory Building
- **Mechanics**: Area Majority / Influence, Dice Rolling, End Game Bonuses, Events, Hand Management, Hexagon Grid, Tech Trees / Tech Tracks, Variable Player Powers, Variable Set-up, Worker Placement, Worker Placement, Different Worker Types

## Verdict
Perfect for those who love dense 4X and Eurogames with an epic space theme.Satisfying engine building mechanicsDynamic combat with luck mitigationHigh replayability via modular mapImmersive art and componentsSteep initial learning curveGames can run quite longRECOMMENDED

## Description
Get ready to explore the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy! In Andromeda's Edge, you lead a desperate faction fleeing the oppressive rule of the Lords of Unity in search of a fresh start. The setting is a fascinating chaos: modular debris from precursor civilizations, dense nebulae, and malicious extragalactic raiders who are not to be trifled with. You start with almost nothing — just a space station, a few ships, and minimal resources — and your goal is to transform this into a thriving civilization.

The game blends worker placement strategy with powerful tableau building. In this case, your workers are your starships, which can be upgraded with special abilities. On the modular hexagonal board, you'll deploy ships to gather resources, claim moons, and populate planets. But be careful: if a region is occupied by rivals or raiders, a fight is inevitable! Combat is resolved via dice, but it's not just pure luck; there's room for strategic manipulation to turn a potential loss into a reward.

The heart of the game lies in your star station. By returning your ships to base, you activate your production engine, using acquired modules to generate energy and carry out complex actions. As you expand your presence with factories, observatories, and cities, you advance along progress tracks such as Science, Industry, and Supremacy. These tracks aren't just for show; they grant bonuses during mid-game events and are crucial for the final scoring. Victory belongs to whoever best balances territorial expansion, technological development, and resource management in a hostile and unpredictable environment. Can you build an empire where others only saw ruins?

## How to Play
Game Objective
In Andromeda's Edge, you lead a desperate faction seeking to build a new civilization in the Andromeda's Edge region. The primary objective is to build planetary developments, acquire resources, claim moons, and overcome invaders. The victory condition is reached when a player reaches the terminus marker on the VP track, after which all players take one final turn. The player with the highest VP (Victory Point) score wins the game. If a player loses all of their VP, they are eliminated.

Setup

Main Board: Place it in the center of the table.
Event Board: Place it next to the main board and position the event marker on the starting space. Choose and shuffle an event deck (Galactic Aurora recommended) and place it face down.
Scrapyard: Place it next to the main board.
Starting Regions: Separate the 15 planet tiles, shuffle them, and stack them face down at the bottom of the main board. Draw planets based on the player count (2 players = 4 planets, 3 players = 6 planets, 4 players = 8 planets). Mix the drawn planets with the 6 Allied Base tiles and place them face up on the board, one by one, starting from the top left corner.
Orphan Moons: Shuffle the 6 nebula orphan moons and place 1 face up in each nebula. On each planet, stack 3 moons of the corresponding color face down, then flip the stack face up. The remaining moons are kept in stacks of 3 near the board.
Starting Invaders: Choose an S-class invader card (Vorticon Attackers recommended) and assemble the corresponding miniatures. Place the card face up next to the board. Roll 2 dice and place 1 S-class invader miniature in the nebulas corresponding to the numbers rolled. Select 1 invader from each class A, B, C, and D and assemble the miniatures. Place the invader cards face down next to the board. Return all unused cards and miniatures to the box.
Progress Tracks: Shuffle the discovery tokens and place 5 face down in each of the 2 marked spaces on the science track. Do the same for the observatory track. Shuffle the supremacy tokens and place 1 face up in each of the 3 marked spaces on the supremacy track.
General Reserve: Shuffle the tactical card deck and leave it face down. Stack the development cards by type, keeping the corresponding development pieces nearby. Stack the damage markers and resources.
Game Duration: Decide if the game will be short (50 VP), medium (60 VP), or long (70 VP) and place the terminus marker on the appropriate space on the VP track.
Modules: Shuffle each of the 4 module decks and place them in the marked spaces at the top of the main board. Reveal 3 modules from each deck to fill the spaces in the columns below.


Game Flow
The game progresses in player turns clockwise, starting with the starting player. On each turn, the active player may choose between:

Launch Turn: Send a ship from the station to a region and activate the region.
Return to Station Turn: Return all ships from the board and the Scrapyard to the station, activate modules, and perform free actions.

After the active player's turn, invader events are resolved according to the event cards and invader attack rules. If the event marker reaches the end of the track, an event is triggered: reveal the top planet tile from the stack, place it in the next empty space on the board, stack 3 corresponding moons, and position the event marker at the active player's station to resolve an event card at the end of their turn.
The game ends when a player reaches the terminus on the VP track. All players take one more turn, including the active player, and then the final score is calculated.

Actions and How to Play
During your turn, you may perform the following actions (some are restricted to the turn type):
Launch Turn

Launch a Ship: Choose a ship in your Launch Bay and allocate it to a region. First Launch and Subsequent Launch rules determine where the ship can be placed.
Activate the Region: Depending on the type of region (Planet, Nebula, Allied Base), different effects occur (claim moons, look at event cards, perform base actions).
Invader Attack: If there are invaders within range, the active player may choose one to attack the active region.
Battle: If there are 2 or more player ships or invaders in the active region, a battle is resolved (details on page 21 of the manual).


Return to Station Turn

Activate Modules: Place a ship or energy on each undamaged and uncharged module. Science modules are activated via the Primary Reactor.
Return All Ships: Move all ships from the board and the Scrapyard back to the Launch Bay.
Discard Energy: Remove all energy used to activate modules.


Free Actions (any turn)

Allocate a Moon Token: Place a claimed moon into a module or the Tactical Operations area.
Play Tactical Cards: Use tactical cards according to their usage conditions.
Recruit Leaders: Place leaders at the station or in regions where you have ships.
Abandon a Moon: Discard a moon to receive resources or VP.
Collect Bonus Resources: Receive bonus resources from regions where you have ships.
Use Faction Abilities: Activate faction abilities as free actions, if permitted.


End of Game and Scoring
The game ends when the terminus marker reaches the end of the VP track. All players take one more turn. Then, the final score is calculated as follows:

Developments: Each built development grants VP equal to the total number of leaders on the developed planet and in adjacent regions, up to a maximum of 10 VP. At the end of the game, each development also marks additional VP based on the development level on the corresponding progress track.
Progress Tracks: Each track (Science, Industry, Trade, Civilization, Supremacy) offers VP upon reaching specific levels. Refer to the scoring table on page 19 of the manual.
Modules: Science, industry, trade, and civilization modules grant resources and benefits that can be converted into VP at the end of the game.
Unspent Resources: On the Trade track, resources unspent at the end of the game are worth VP equal to the highest vault bonus achieved.
Invaders and Battles: Winning battles may grant VP via supremacy tokens or other rewards.

The player with the highest VP score wins. If a player loses all of their VP, they are eliminated.

Tips for Winning

Manage your moons: Claim moons quickly and allocate them to input modules to maximize resources and VP.
Plan invader attacks: Use the ships' Travel ability to enter nebulas and attack invaders before they cause damage.
Build developments early: Developments generate VP and unlock development card benefits that can turn the tide in your favor.

## FAQ
### Is the game too complex?
It has a medium-high weight (3.7 on BGG), so it's not for absolute beginners, but those familiar with modern Euros will adapt quickly.

### How long does a game last?
Expect something between 80 to 160 minutes. Depending on the player count and group experience, it can reach the upper limit.

### Is there a high language dependency?
There is moderate language dependency. If a translated version isn't available, you'll need translated cards or spreadsheets.

### Is combat based purely on luck?
Nope! While it uses dice, there are several ways to manipulate results and mitigate losses, making the fight strategic.

### Who would you recommend this game to?
To players who enjoy resource management, building efficient engines, and competing for territories in sci-fi settings.

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