Objective of the Game

Welcome, Commodores, to the vast expanse of Space Base! In this intergalactic dice game of fleet management, you'll take command of your very own fleet, starting with a humble station and expanding it into a powerful force. Your ultimate goal? To become an Admiral! This isn't just about accumulating wealth; it's a thrilling race to 40 **Victory Points (VP)**. The first player to reach 40 **VP** triggers the end of the game, but don't celebrate too soon! Everyone gets an equal number of turns, and then the player with the most **VP** claims victory. So, manage your ships, deploy strategically, and spread your influence across the sectors to secure your promotion!

Preparation (Setup)

Alright, future Admirals, let's get your command consoles ready for action!

1. Command Consoles: Each player grabs one **Command Console** (your player board), a set of 12 **Starting Ship cards** (identified by their unique card backs), and one counter (cube) for each track: **Credits**, **Income**, and **VP**.
   • Place your **Command Console** in front of you.
   • Set your **Credits** and **Income** counters on the "0" space.
   • Place your **VP** counter on the "5" space.
   • Now, place each of your **Starting Ship cards** face-up in the corresponding sectors on your board, matching the sector number in the upper right-hand corner of each card. Every sector from 1 to 12 on your board should have one card.
2. Colony Cards: Take the 12 **Colony cards** and arrange them face-up in ascending sector order somewhere accessible to all players.
3. The Shipyard: This is where you'll be acquiring new ships!
   • Separate the remaining **Ship cards** into three decks based on their card backs (Level 1, Level 2, Level 3).
   • Shuffle each deck separately and place them face-down on the table.
   • Draw the top six cards from each deck and lay them face-up to form the **Shipyard**.
4. Charge Tokens: Gather all the **Charge Tokens** and place them in a general supply pool for everyone to use.
5. Determine Starting Player: This is a fun little pre-game ritual!
   • Make sure everyone's **VP** is at 5.
   • Each player draws one random card from the Level 1 deck.
   • You'll lose **Credits** equal to the cost shown on the top left of the card.
   • Place the drawn card in its respective sector on your board. The card that was already there gets turned upside down and "deployed" under the top of your board in the same sector, with its **Deployed Reward** visible.
   • The player who drew the card with the highest sector number is the **Starting Player** and takes the **Starting Player card**. If there's a tie, tied players roll the dice, and the highest total wins.
   • Finally, players gain additional resources based on their turn order:
     • The **Starting Player** gains no resources.
     • The 2nd player gains 1 **Income**.
     • The 3rd player (if any) gains 2 **Income**.
     • The 4th player (if any) gains 1 **VP**.
     • The 5th player (if any) gains 1 **VP**.

You're all set! The **Starting Player** begins the game.

The Turn of Play

A turn in Space Base is a dynamic dance of dice rolls and strategic decisions, where everyone is involved! When it's your turn, you're the **active player**; everyone else is a **passive player**.

1. Abilities May Be Triggered (1): Before the dice even hit the table, all players can optionally trigger any **Abilities** they desire.
   • As the **active player**, you can trigger **Abilities** with blue or green ability boxes.
   • **Passive players** can only trigger **Abilities** with red or green ability boxes.
   • Remember, you can't trigger abilities with the "2 dice" icon yet.
2. Roll: The **active player** rolls both six-sided **dice**. This is the only time certain abilities, like "re-roll" or "set dice," can be used.
3. Allocate Dice: This is where the magic happens for *everyone*! Each player, independently, decides how to allocate the rolled **dice**:
   • You can choose to claim rewards for each individual die (e.g., if you roll a 5 and a 6, you can claim rewards for your sector 5 and sector 6 cards).
   • Or, you can choose to claim rewards for the sum of the dice (e.g., if you roll a 5 and a 6, you can claim the reward for your sector 11 card).
   • If you choose the sum, you can now trigger **Abilities** that show the green "2 dice and arrow" icon.
   • Important: If you roll doubles and choose to take the dice separately, you gain the rewards for that sector twice!
4. Gain Rewards: Now, based on your dice allocation, each player gets rewards from their cards:
   • The **active player** gains the **blue rewards** from the **station cards** (the cards on their board) in the sector(s) they allocated dice to.
   • **Passive players** gain the **red rewards** from their **deployed cards** (the cards tucked under their board) in the sector(s) they allocated dice to. If a **passive player** has multiple **deployed cards** in one sector, they gain all the rewards from those cards!
   • Remember, **Rewards** are things like **Credits**, **Income**, **VP**, or placing a **Charge Token** on a card.
5. Abilities May Be Triggered (2): Just like before the roll, players can now trigger **Abilities** if they're able and willing.
6. Buy a Card: The **active player** now has the chance to expand their fleet!
   • You can buy any one card you can afford from the 18 available **Ship cards** in the **Shipyard**, or even a **Colony card**.
   • You can choose not to buy a card to save your **Credits**.
   • If you buy a card, you must spend *all* of your **Credits** (set your yellow cube to 0), even if the card costs less.
   • When you buy a card, place it in the appropriate sector on your board (matching the top-right grey number). The card that was previously in that sector gets "deployed" – turned upside down and tucked under your board in the same sector, with its **Deployed Reward** visible.
   • Colony cards are a bit special: they give immediate **VP** but cannot be replaced once placed, meaning you can't buy other cards for that sector later. They also have no reward on your turn.
7. Charge Abilities May Be Triggered (3): Another opportunity for players to trigger **Abilities**!
8. Refill Shipyard: If any cards were bought from the **Shipyard**, replace them with the top card of their respective decks. Each level should always have a selection of six cards at the end of your turn.
9. Income: The **active player** checks their **Income** cube. If their **Credits** cube is lower than their **Income** cube, they move their **Credits** cube up to match their **Income**. This is how you build up your spending power! **Passive players** do nothing in this step.

And that's it for a turn! Play then passes clockwise to the next player.

End of Game and Scoring

The race to Admiral is on! The game ends when any player reaches at least 40 **Victory Points (VP)**, even if it happens on another player's turn. When this happens, you'll finish the current round so that every player has had an equal number of turns. This means the player to the right of the **Starting Player** will take the very last turn. Once the round is complete, the player with the most total **VP** is the winner! If there's a tie for the most **VP**, don't fret! You'll play one more full round (each player takes one more turn). After this extra round, the player with the most **VP** wins, even if it's someone who wasn't originally tied. If there's *still* a tie, you'll keep playing extra rounds until a clear winner emerges. Remember, while your resource track only goes to 40, there's no limit to how many **Credits**, **Income**, or **VP** you can gain! If you go over 40, simply place a **Charge Token** on the 40 spot of the respective tracker and start counting again from 0, adding 40 to your total.

Tips for Winning

Becoming an Admiral isn't just about luck; it's about smart fleet management! Here are a few strategic pointers to help you on your way:

1. Balance Your Rewards: Remember the core concept: **Station cards** (on your board) give you **blue rewards** on your turn, while **Deployed cards** (tucked under your board) give you **red rewards** on opponents' turns. A strong fleet needs both! Don't just focus on your own turn; building up powerful **Deployed rewards** means you're gaining resources even when it's not your turn, which is crucial for accelerating your progress.
2. Prioritize Frequent Dice Rolls: The dice probabilities aren't a normal distribution in Space Base. Sectors 1-6 are rolled more frequently individually, with 6 being the most common (17 results), followed by 5 (16 results), and so on. Sector 7 is the most common sum (6 results), but higher sums (8-12) are much rarer. This means investing in cards for sectors 1-6, especially those with good **Deployed rewards**, can give you a consistent stream of resources. While higher sectors offer more powerful rewards, they trigger less often, so make sure your frequent rolls are paying off!
3. Master Charge Abilities: **Abilities** are distinct from **Rewards** and can be game-changers. Cards with **Charge Token** squares allow you to place tokens as a reward, and once fully charged, you can activate powerful effects by removing those tokens. Pay attention to the color of the ability box (blue for your turn, red for opponents' turns, green for any turn) and their timing restrictions. Using a "Buy a Card" ability to get an extra purchase or a "Place one Charge Anywhere" to quickly activate another ability can give you a significant advantage. Don't just collect charges; use them!