Game Objective

Module 2 – Colonization extends the core game by introducing orbital space colonies called Bernals and space pioneers known as Colonists. The goal is to move beyond simply industrializing and exploiting the solar system's resources to actually settling and colonizing it. Players aim to establish Anchored Bernals to house Colonists, unlock powerful abilities, and increase their final victory points through dirtside hydration and colony establishment.

Setup

Setup follows the core rules, with the following additions during the patent decks setup:

• Bernal Patent Deck: Place Bernal Cards as a separate patent deck with the White-Side faceup.
• Colonist Queue: Shuffle all Human and Robot Colonist Cards and place them in a deck with the Purple-Side facedown. This is the queue; these cards are not for auction and enter play only via exomigration.
• Bernal Reserves: Each player adds 2 Bernal Figures of their color to their Reserves.
• Game Length: During Seniority Disk placement, choose the game length: short (4 disks/48 years), medium (5 disks/60 years), or Futures (7 disks/84 years).
• Quick Start: The Quick Start Variant (V1) is recommended for games of 60+ years or with more than 3 players.
• Wet Mass Chits: Each player adds 1 extra yellow/gray Wet Mass Chit to their Pool.

Game Flow

The game progresses through turns and years. In this module, the flow is modified by the following mechanics:

• Exomigration: This is a free action that occurs whenever a player's total number of Colonists is less than the number allowed by their Anchored Bernals (e.g., after anchoring a Bernal or losing a Colonist).
• Faction Privileges: Unlike the core game, faction privileges listed on the Crew start locked. They are only unlocked once the player has a Bernal Anchored in a Home Orbit.
• Turn-Based Profits: Players with an Anchored Home Bernal gain 1 Aqua at the start of every turn.

Actions and How to Play

Bernal Operations

• Boosting: The first Bernal enters the map by boosting from the hand. The second Bernal is constructed at the location of the first if a Home Bernal is already Anchored.
• Anchoring: This operation converts a Bernal into a functional orbital colony.
  • Requirements: The location must be a Home Orbit or Adjacent to one of your Colonies (that is not used as Dirtside). It cannot be a lander burn, Hazard, Site, Luna, or already contain another Anchored Bernal.
  • Process: You must Decommission the Bernal's support chains (radiators, etc.). Solar-Powered supports do not work in the Jupiter zone or beyond unless a Powersat push is provided.
  • Result: A Colony dome is placed on the Bernal figure. All Adjacent Factories become Dirtsides. This triggers exomigration to gain a Colonist.
• Unanchoring: A free action where the Colony dome is removed. The player must Discard one Colonist (two if the Bernal was promoted). The Bernal can then be refueled as a dirt rocket to move to a new site. Per the Move-On Rule, a voluntarily unanchored Bernal cannot be re-anchored in the same space.

Colonist Operations

• Exomigration: When a Colonist is needed, draw from the Colonist Queue.
  • Humans: Move to LEO or the player's Hand.
  • Robots: Move to the Hand, then perform another exomigration until a Human enters space.
  • Emancipation: If the queue is empty, Robots in all players' hands are discarded, one is drawn randomly, and all Robots become Emancipated Robots (treated as Human Colonists). This happens once per game.
• Professions: Colonists provide free actions if Colocated where the operation takes place:
  • Miner: One site refuel operation per turn.
  • Prospector: One prospect operation or promotion operation per turn.
  • Industrialist: One industrialize operation, anchoring operation, or nanofacture operation per turn.
  • Engineer: During an ET production operation, produce one extra card per engineer present.

General Operations

• Promotion: Flips a card to its Purple-Side. The card must be at a Promotion Colony (specified by the card's dome icon) or at a Lab. Bernals must be Anchored adjacent to the promotion colony. Promoted Bernals increase their Colonist limit from 1 to 2.
• Homesteading: A new way to build a Colony. By surrendering a Black-Side product in LEO, you place a Colony dome on an uncolonized Factory, Decommission one Colonist to the queue, and exomigrate a new Colonist.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when the final Seniority Disk is taken (after 48, 60, or 84 years).

Scoring Criteria:

• Token VP: Sum of Rockets, cubes, disks, Bernal Figures (1 VP each), and Colony domes on a Bernal (2 VP each).
• Factory Stocks: VP from factory stocks.
• Home Bernal: An Anchored Home Bernal is worth 6 VP.
• Dirtside Hydration: For each Bernal, add the combined Hydration value of all Sites containing its Dirtside Factories (regardless of who owns the factory). This total is added to the final score.
• Bernal Abilities: Some Bernals provide specific VP (e.g., L1 Climate Control and Tourism Cycler provide 2 VP per Dirtside).

Tips for Winning

• Prioritize Early Bernals: The primary motivation for investing in Bernals is the Colonists they provide; acquiring them early allows you to utilize their Professions across the map.
• Strategic Second Bernal: Since you cannot use factory-assist on worlds requiring lander burns, building a second Bernal at your Home Bernal and moving it to those sites activates Bernal abilities and factory-assist.
• Diversify Destinations: Avoid "Planetary Chauvinism" (over-relying on Mars). Exploring W-class Asteroids or Galilean Moons provides better dirtside hydration for endgame VP.