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

1. Main Board: Place it in the center of the table.
2. 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.
3. Scrapyard: Place it next to the main board.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. Invader Attack: If there are invaders within range, the active player may choose one to attack the active region.
4. 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

1. Activate Modules: Place a ship or energy on each undamaged and uncharged module. Science modules are activated via the Primary Reactor.
2. Return All Ships: Move all ships from the board and the Scrapyard back to the Launch Bay.
3. 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.