a Jo hn Bu t t e r field g a m e

Multi-Player
image: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

Rulebook
GMT Games, LLC ©2018
 Introduction Game Components
! SpaceCorp play is broken up into three eras—Mariners ( ),
Note—This set of rules is used only when there are 2-4 players.
Planeteers ( ) and Starfarers ( ). Some game components
If you are playing the game solo, put this booklet back in the box:
show one or more era icons, indicating in which eras they are
you won't be using it. Instead, use the "Solo Rulebook."
used. Components without any of these icons are used in all eras.

In SpaceCorp each player controls an Earth-based enterprise

driving the expansion of humanity into the solar system and PLAYER AIDS
beyond. Players compete to conduct missions of exploration, Four double-sided quick reference rules summaries are provided
construction and settlement, seeking wealth through dis- for the players. (Keep the lone solo rules reference in the box.)
covery, resource production, technological development and
establishment of settlements.
PLAYING PIECES
Players explore and develop outer space over three eras. Each ●● Each of the four sets of colored player pieces has:
of the three eras is played on a different board:
•• a two-sided tile used to mark a player's profit
The first era, Mariners, covers exploration and develop- on the Profit Track of the Business Display;
ment as far out as Mars. If a player exceeds 50 profit, flip the marker over
In Planeteers, players settle the outer solar system. to its "+50" side and continue around the track.
In Starfarers, players send missions to nearby star sys- •• four wooden cubes to represent the player's
tems and establish interstellar colonies. spacefaring teams—teams move to, explore
and build at the various sites on the board;
A full game covering all three eras represents approximately •• 27 round base tiles that are placed on the board
three hundred years of human expansion into the cosmos. At during play to indicate specific capabilities;
the end of the Starfarers era, the player having accumulated
the most profit wins the game. Players can also choose to play ●● Fourtan genetics cubes and four black revela-
a short game, covering just one or two eras [page 22]. tion cubes used on each HQ's Progress Wheel.

The game is inspired by SpaceCorp, the first book in the Galac- ●● Seven orange contract fulfilled discs used on the
tican series written by Ejner Fulsang. Business Display to mark contracts as they become
fulfilled.

●● 70 Discovery tiles drawn and placed on the boards to represent

discoveries via exploration. Each tile is used in a specific era, as
marked on the back of the tile: there are 9 in Mariners, 28 in
Planeteers, and 33 in Starfarers. Discovery tiles can have all or
Index some of the following elements:

Natural discovery(s) (top)

Game Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3 Water, life or other icons (middle)
Setting up Era 1: Mariners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Immediate awards (bottom left)
The Player Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Persistent attributes (bottom right)

Gaining an Edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ●● 32hexagonal Colony markers used on the Starfarers board to

The Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 denote interstellar population centers. Each marker includes:
End of an Era . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Colony value (top)
Setting up Era 2: Planeteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Award (middle)
Additional Rules for Planeteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-17 Player count (left)
Circled ID number (solo game only) (right)
Setting up Era 3: Starfarers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Colony name (bottom; no game relevance)
Additional Rules for Starfarers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-21
●● Two Beyond markers used in the Mariners and
Game Variants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Planeteers eras. Beyond markers enhance the own-
Game Inventory & Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 ing player's setup options in the era that follows.
Colony Points & Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . back page

Page 2 SpaceCorp
 GAME BOARDS CARDS
Each era is played on its own board, showing a successively The cards comprise three
A
larger area of space: decks of action cards [sample
at right] for
•• Mariners shows a part of our solar system, near Earth.
•• Planeteers shows our solar system, out to the Kuiper Belt. Mariners (46 cards),
Planeteers (58 cards),
•• Starfarers shows major star systems within approximate- and C
B
ly 15 light years of our solar system.
Starfarers (76 cards);
Each board is divided into regions, most of which contain one
or more sites. Every site has a name (preceded by a circled ID as well as
number used only in the solo game) and most sites have explo-
ration boxes for holding Discovery tiles. Playing pieces on a 8 Time, E
board must always occupy a site. In addition, each board has: 18 Adaptation, and
14 Breakthrough cards. F
D
•• four offer card boxes;
•• spaces for holding unexplored Discovery tiles; Action Cards—Players draw and play action cards to perform
actions or gain Edges [page 8] throughout the game. Each card
•• a distance chart, showing distances between certain sites
may include the following elements:
on the board for quick reference;
•• a Competition box and a Competition Offers Action Key A•• Technology name and illustration—the specific technol-
(both used only in the solo game). ogy represented by the card; (For flavor only; no game effect)
B•• Action type and color—each card can be played for an
action of a specific type: Research, Move, Explore, Build,
Produce, Genetics, Revelation or Special [For example: "Ex-
BUSINESS DISPLAY plore" above]. Many cards list two actions and can be played
The Business Display is two-sided; as either, but never both at the same time;
use one side for 3- and 4-player
C•• Value—the numerical value the card contributes toward
games, and the other side for 2
performing the associated action [Explore "1" above].
players. The display includes:
D•• Era symbol—each card is in one of the three era decks;
•• a track on which markers are placed to record each
E•• Infra—a card with the "May upgrade as Infra" banner can
player's current profit, recorded in increments of trillion
be played for an action or played to the HQ as permanent
credits (Ŧ);
infrastructure.
•• a list of contracts for players to fulfill in each era as well
•• Edge—a card with an "Edge" ability can be played, often
as each contract's associated profit award.
out of turn, for the Edge effect described on the card [not
shown above; see page 8].
F•• Competition Action—(used only in the solo game).
HEADQUARTERS (HQ)
The HQ are where players keep track Time cards—[sample at right]
of their technological progress. Each are “wild” cards used in all three
HQ has: eras. A variable number of Time
cards are used based on the
•• four Infrastructure—or "Infra"—boxes for placing cards number of players.
as infrastructure. Some boxes include an intrinsic Infra
value; Progress cards—Adaptation
•• an abbreviated sequence of play; and Breakthrough cards are
collectively known as "progress"
•• a box for holding the player's unbuilt bases and unde-
cards [page 17]. Progress cards
ployed teams;
are eventually acquired by play-
•• a Progress Wheel for keeping track of the player's genet- ers as they play Genetics and
ics and revelation marker advancement; Revelation actions. A progress
•• a box for holding a legacy production site. card gives its owner either a per-
manent advantage or a powerful
Note: The HQ pictured above is used in the standard game. immediate effect, as described on the card, as well as a possible
See page 22 for how and when to use the optional HQ types. one-time profit bonus.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 3

 Setting Up Era 1: Mariners

A Boards—Place the Mariners board

on the table. Place the Business Dis- F
play next to the board with the H
appropriate side face-up ("1-2 play- J
ers" or "3-4 players").

B HQ—Each play-
er gets a HQ. Use
the ones that
show all three era B
start player
symbols on the right hand side.
Each player can also take a quick
reference sheet (not shown). A

C Contracts—Place the
seven orange contract ful-
filled markers in their
circles on the Business Display.

D Discovery tiles—
Shuffle the six e1
Discovery tiles face-
down, then stack them
to form a draw pile in the matching
space on the board. Do the same for L
the three e2 Discovery tiles. I
E Beyond Markers— G
Place the two Beyond
markers on the board at
the "Asteroid Belt" site.

F Player Colors—Each
player selects one of the
four player colors then
gathers up all wooden
cubes and round base markers of
that color. Place these in the space
provided on the player's HQ. Stack
bases by type.
fourth player
G Teams—Each player B
puts two of their wood-
en cubes on the board at the "Earth"
site. These are the players' starting
teams.

Progress Markers—
J
H H
Each player places one
tan cube and one black cube in the
F
"start" space of the Progress Wheel
on their HQ.

Page 4 SpaceCorp
 Start cards are identified by:

I The Mariners Deck—

F •• Grab the Mariners deck. Remove the
H twelve cards marked "Start" (see example
J above) and set them aside.
•• Add a number of Time cards to the
Mariners deck depending on the num-
ber of players: zero Time in a 2-player
game; two in a 3-player game; or four in
a 4-player game. Set aside the remaining
B Time cards.
second player
•• Shuffle the Mariners deck and set it face-
down next to the board to form a draw
pile.
E
J Starting Hands—
A ●●Each player takes one Chemical Drive from
among the set-aside Start cards. Shuffle the
K remaining Start cards and place them face-
C down atop the Mariners deck.
●● Each player takes one of the set-aside Time
cards. Return any remaining to the box.
●● The person who most recently gazed at the
night sky becomes the start player.
●● If there are 2 players, the 2nd player draws the
top card of the deck.
●● If there are 3 players, the 2nd then the 3rd
players each draw the top card of the deck.
●● If there are 4 players, the 3rd then the 4th
players each draw the top card of the deck.

K Profits—Stack each player's like-

colored Profit marker on the "0"
space of the Profit Track that wraps Profit

around the outside of the Busi-

D ness Display (with its "+50" side face-down). If
there are 3 players, the third player begins at "1"
profit instead of "0"; if there are 4 players, the
third player fourth player (only) begins at "1".
B
L Card Offers—Draw the top four cards of the
deck and place them face-up in the four offer
J boxes on the board.

What About All This Other Stuff?—Keep

the rest of the cards, boards and markers in the
H box for now; most will enter play in later eras.
F
All Systems Go For Launch—The start
player begins the game by taking the first turn.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 5

 The Player Turn
Play proceeds in clockwise order around the table, with players 1a. Using Infra from one HQ
taking individual turns. When a player is taking a turn they are The active player may declare use of all matching Infra located on
termed the "active player." The active player's turn consists of the any one HQ—theirs or an opponent's—gaining its value towards
following steps and are performed in the order shown: the chosen action. All matching Infra on a single HQ is cumula-
tive. Ignore all non-matching Infra.
1. conduct an action; then
2. claim contract awards; then Example: Bob wants
to take a Move
3. opponents claim rewards; then action. He opts to use
4. perform a free team transport; then the Infra on his own
HQ (having previ-
5. discard played cards & replenish offers; then
ously added a second
6. draw a card if four or fewer in hand. Move/Explore Infra).
In addition, some "Edge" abilities on cards [page 8] can be played Bob's Move value is
by opposing players during the active player's turn. currently 3.

No card is played or otherwise expended when using Infra, in-

1. CONDUCT ACTION cluding any card already in that Infra slot [Upgrade, page 12]. If
First, the active player announces which action they wish to con- an opponent's Infra is used, that opponent will receive a reward
duct for their turn. Action choices include: [facing page]. Opponents' Infra can't be used once the end of an
era has been triggered [page 13].
•• Research
•• Move
•• Explore 1b. Playing Cards
•• Build In addition to or instead of using Infra on a HQ , the active player
•• Produce may play any number of cards face-up to the table from their
•• Genetics hand, though each card must contain the same action type. If
•• Upgrade Infra was used, the cards played must match that Infra's action
•• Special type. Action types are differentiated by color and name (example:
These basic actions are described in detail in "The Actions" section Move or Build) and by a thematic icon (example: for Move).
that begins on page 8. Cards containing more than one action type may be played for
one of those types, counting only the values for the type chosen.
•• Revelation (Planeteers and Starfarers eras only—page 16)
•• Colonize (Starfarers era only—page 20) Note that you may play cards from your hand even if you didn't
use Infra, and vice versa.
The Upgrade and Special actions are conducted by playing the
relevant card from hand. However, the other basic actions re-
quire a player to determine a "value" for the action: the higher
the value, the more powerful that action will be. The active player
can add to an action's default value of "0" by performing a com-
bination of one or more of the following:

•• using Infra on a HQ ;
•• playing one or more cards from hand;
•• using the ability of a base;
•• using a bonus granted by a progress card (Planeteers and
Starfarers eras only—page 17).
•• spending profit (Planeteers and Starfarers only—page 15).
Example: Continuing with Bob's turn, he plays these two cards,
SpaceCorp Math—Whenever a value is being determined for
adding a Move value of 4 (3+1) to his 3 Infra for a current total
any activity in SpaceCorp, always perform all addition and sub-
of 7. He ignores everything else on the cards, specifically the Edge
traction before applying any multiplication or division.
effect on the left card and the Build value of the card on the right.

Page 6 SpaceCorp
 Time Cards—If the active player is conducting a 3. OPPONENTS CLAIM REWARDS
Move, Build or Explore action, they may play one Throughout the game, whenever the active player uses an op-
Time card from their hand and choose one of its ponent’s base or HQ Infra for any activity, that opponent
two benefits: is given a "reward" during step 3 of the active player's turn.
Each such instance gives a reward, so a player could be eli-
•• double the total value of the chosen action; gible to receive two or more rewards in a turn.
or
•• apply the action's total value twice, conduct- If any opponents are due one or more rewards based on the
ing the same action with two different teams. active player's activities, they claim them now. For each re-
ward, that opponent may draw the top card of the deck (not
If choosing the second option, the first team's action must be com- from the offers). If two or more players are eligible for re-
pleted in its entirety before beginning the second. Apply the action's wards in the same turn, resolve the rewards in turn order.
total value to each team.

Example: If Bob also plays a Time card, he could choose to either (a) 4. TRANSPORT TEAM
double his total Move value to 14 for one of his teams (effectively The active player may relocate one of their teams that did not
being able to move anywhere on the Mariners board); or (b) move perform an action this turn. There are three criteria a player
two of his teams, each using the previous total value of 7. must meet in order to conduct a team transport:

•• The team must begin at a site with one of their bases;

1c. Using Bases •• the team may travel any distance but must end at a site
The Move, Produce and Colonize actions require a base be present or containing one of their bases; and
the action can't be taken [pages 9, 12 and 20, respectively]. Some bases
•• at least one of those two bases must be a Spaceport
provide a boost to the value of a specific action taking place at its site
[page 11].
or in its region (for example, gaining +2 Move value if the team starts at
a Mariners era Spaceport—see page 11). If the active player chooses to
use the ability of a base owned by an opponent, that opponent will 5. DISCARD & REPLENISH
receive a reward [next column]. Opponents' bases can't be used once First, cards played by the active player this turn that are still
the end of an era has been triggered [page 13]. face-up on the table—any that weren't placed on a player's HQ
with an Upgrade action, for example—are placed in a common
Example: Continuing with Bob's turn, he chose to have each of discard pile next to the draw pile.
his teams Move 7. One is departing from a Spaceport he built in a
previous turn, so that team adds +2 to its move for a total of 9. If the The Time cards will be needed in future eras so players
other team departs from a Spaceport owned by Rachel, he may choose are advised to set them aside in their own pile instead of
to also have its move total increased to 9, but if he does Rachel will discarding them to the common pile. This will make it quick
receive a reward. and easy to find them when the time comes.

Second, replenish any empty offer boxes. For each empty of-
2. CLAIM CONTRACT fer, draw a card from the top of the current era's action deck
If the active player has met the prerequisite for one of the seven con- and place it face-up in the box. If the deck has been depleted
tracts associated with the current era [see Business Display] and that [page 13], the offer box will remain empty.
contract has not yet been fulfilled, they may claim it. They gain profit
equal to that listed for the contract, then slide the associated con-
tract fulfilled marker to the right onto the contract to indicate it is 6. DRAW
no longer able to be fulfilled by any player. Multiple contracts may be As the last step of their turn, if the active player has four or
claimed in a single turn. fewer cards in hand, they draw the top card of the deck (not
from the offers). If the draw deck has been emptied, this
Important: A player's home base is never considered when determin- draw is forfeit.
ing whether certain base-specific contracts can be fulfilled.

Richard built a base at his third non-Lagrange site this turn (he
doesn't count his home base on Earth). He slides the third row's orange
marker to the right onto the contract and gains 2Ŧ. That contract can't
be claimed again by any player.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 7

 Gaining an Edge The Actions

EDGE RESEARCH
Some cards contain an "Edge" effect below the card's action. Requirement—A Research action can only be taken if the ac-
Edge effects are not actions, and thus are not played during step tive player has seven or fewer cards in hand.
1 of a player's turn. Instead, each Edge can be played at a time
that is specified in the first line of the effect itself, sometimes Research allows the active player to draw cards from the draw
even during an opponent's turn. deck and/or from the four offer boxes. The number of cards that
can be drawn equals the action's total research value. Cards may
Example: If Julie holds the Edge card shown above, she can be drawn one at a time.
opt to play the Edge effect immediately after she, or one of her
opponents, fulfilled a contract during step 2 of a player turn. Hand Size—Though announcing a Research action requires
that the player have seven or fewer cards in hand, there is no
When an Edge is played, follow the instructions given in the red actual limit to the number of cards a player can have in hand.
box—disregarding any action also on the card—then discard the
card. Example: Kai has 7 cards in hand and announces a Research
action for her turn. She uses her Research Infra (2 value) then
Continuing the example above, after Julie gained the indicated plays two Research cards from hand (2+2) drawing a total of 6
profit the Edge card would be discarded with no further effect. cards from amongst the current offers and/or off the top of the
draw pile. She ends her turn with 11 cards in hand (and thus
would not be able to Research again on her next turn).

Edge Clarifications
Competitors—You can choose to use two opponents' Infra or use yours plus one opponent's. This Edge still works after the end
of an era has been triggered [page 13]—the card effect overrides the rules as written.

Divert—For example, if an opponent Produces on tiles totaling 5Ŧ, you would get 3Ŧ. The 3Ŧ isn't subtracted from their profit.

Hack—Note that any card taken from the offers won't replenish until step 5 of the active player's turn.

Hostile Microbes—The penalty hits all players meeting the condition, including the one playing the card.

Incompatible—Players make their decisions as to which Infra card to remove in player order, beginning with the active player.

Intercept—The extra turn doesn't count against the player's "one more turn" limit if the end of the era has been triggered [page 13].

Leak—If for some reason the non-award version of the Breakthrough had already been taken, you get nothing (so don't play this).

Market Influence—"Your" contract means "you claimed on your turn."

Poach—You only get cards that were physically discarded, not cards that were placed on HQ or already taken into a player's hand.

Sabotage—The actions that may be named are those listed under 1. Conduct Action on page 6.

Salvage—Note that any emptied offer boxes won't replenish until step 5 of the active player's turn.

Page 8 SpaceCorp
 Gravity Penalties—Some sites have a gravity penalty listed
after its name (for example, "Gravity +2" for Earth or "Gravity +1"
for the Mars sites). The active player must add a site's gravity pen-
MOVE alty to the distance of a move that starts or ends at such a site.
This action allows the active player to move one of their teams These penalties are cumulative.
from its current site to another site. A team can't end a move
“floating in space" in a region: it must always end at a site. The ac-
tion's total Move value must equal or exceed the distance traveled.
4
Base Prerequisite—A move must always begin or end at a site
with a base. The active player may use their own or an opponent’s
base to allow a move. If an opponent’s base is used to allow a
move, that opponent gains a reward [page 7, step 3].
3
Each player begins with a generic base on Earth. Other sites
gain bases as players build them.

Region Border Costs—The distances represented by regions

vary greatly. Region borders are marked with a specific cost that
must be paid when moving across that border in either direction.

Example: The cost to move from Earth to Luna is 4—1 to move

into Earth's region +2 for Earth’s gravity = 3, then +1 to land
on Luna.

Example: The distance from the region containing Halley's Mars North and South—Mars is divided into two sites, with
Comet to the region containing Phobos is 3. a boundary between them. A team moving to Mars can land at
either site. A move from one Mars site directly to the other Mars
Distance Traveled—To calculate a move's distance, count: site has a total distance cost of 3, as noted on the board. You're not
leaving the planet so ignore Mars's gravity penalty.
•• 1 to lift off from the starting site into its surrounding region;
•• +X to cross region borders into adjacent regions, where X
equals the cumulative cost shown in those border diamonds;
•• +1 to land at the destination site.

3
4

2 The Asteroid Belt—The first player to move a team to this site

1 takes the 1st Beyond marker, placing it next to their HQ. The
player who controls the second team that moves to this site takes
the 2nd Beyond marker. Beyond markers give their owners bet-
ter setup options at the start of the next era [pages 14 and 18].

Example: Sarah wants to move from Luna to Sisyphus. The A team at the Asteroid Belt can't perform any actions for the
distance is 4—1 to depart Luna into its surrounding region, +1 remainder of the era.
to move to the intervening region, +1 to move to the region con- For convenience, the chart on the board gives calculated total
taining Sisyphus, and +1 to land on Sisyphus itself. To make this distances from Earth to all destination sites, including gravity
move Sarah would have to accumulate a total Move value of 4 penalties. Distances between non-Earth sites still need to be
or greater through Infra use, card play, etc. calculated on the fly.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 9

 Revealed Discovery Tiles—A revealed Discovery tile lists
one or more natural discoveries [such as Water and Exo-Microbes
on the tile shown below] and will also provide one or more of:

●● immediate awards (listed at the bottom left of the tile);

EXPLORE
An Explore action allows the active player to place a Discovery ●● ongoing benefits (listed at the bottom right of the tile);
tile at a site containing:
●● symbols such as Water ( ) or Life ( ), among others, that
•• an empty exploration box (no Discovery tile there), and can be relevant for certain bases, contracts, Edge effects, etc.
•• one of their teams.
Awards and benefits on Discovery tiles can include:
The action's total Explore value must equal or exceed the site’s
explore cost (listed within the adjacent exploration box), shown as •• "#Ŧ"—immediately gain that much
"e#." profit [such as 2 trillion at right].
•• "Gen#"—advance your tan genet-
ics cube that many spaces along your
Progress Wheel [this tile would advance
the player's genetics cube 1 space; see Prog-
ress cards, page 17].
•• "Rev#"—advance your black revelation cube that many
spaces along your Progress Wheel [not on this tile; see Prog-
Example: To explore South Mars, with an explore cost of "e2," ress cards, page 17].
you must accumulate a total explore value of 2 or greater. •• "P#"—gain the indicated value in profit each time you per-
form a Produce action with that tile [this tile would produce
Unexplorable—Sites without explore costs—Lagrange Points, 1 trillion each time it produced; see Produce, page 12].
for example—can't be explored. •• "Base#"—the cost to construct a base on the site is reduced
(or increased) by the value shown [this tile would increase the
Discovery—When a site is explored, draw a Discovery tile cost of a base at its site by 2; see Build, next page].
from a stack on the board matching the cost of the site being
explored. Place the drawn tile face-up in the exploration box at •• "Col#"—receive that many Colony Points (CP) during a
the site, where it will remain for the rest of the era. Colonize action here [not on this tile; see Establishing Colo-
nies, see page 20].

If a Discovery tile's award or benefit is shown in red text, it has a

Example: If Jennifer
special effect: refer to these rules for clarification.
explored Luna (e1) on
the Mariners board,
If a Discovery tile directs the player to draw a tile from a different
she would draw a tile
stack, discard the first tile and draw the indicated tile in its place.
labeled "e1" and place
it face-up in the Luna
Claims—Place the exploring team atop the newly-discovered
exploration box.
tile to indicate the active player's "claim" to that site [see Build
action, next page]. An Explore action is the only way a team can
claim a site, and the claim lasts only as long as the team remains.

This allows the player conducting the exploration to "stake a

claim" to that site, which is in effect as long as that team is pres-
ent. If another player builds a base where you have a claim, you
stand to profit.

Page 10 SpaceCorp
 Building Modifiers—If the site has a Discovery tile with
a base modifier, adjust the build cost up or down accordingly.
A build cost can't be reduced below 0.

BUILD Example: In the previous example, Sarah's cost to build

A Build action allows the active player to place a base at a base on Luna was reduced by 1 ("Base-1") so her net
any one site that meets the following requirements: build cost was 1. A Discovery tile showing "Base+1" would
increase the cost by one.
•• they have a team at the site;
•• the site does not already have a base; Base Specialties—When building a base, the active play-
er chooses from among those still available on their HQ. Six
•• if the site has one or more exploration boxes, all are occupied by
of the nine types of bases are available in Mariners, each
Discovery tiles.
one conferring a different effect, and each having a different
Each site has a build cost, listed as "b#." The action's total Build value prerequisite that the site or its Discovery tile must meet in
must equal or exceed the site’s build cost. order for that base to be built there [detailed in the table below
as well as on the back of the quick reference sheets].

Example: In the Mariners era a Spaceport can only be

Example: It costs 6 to build a base on built at a Lagrange Point. A Bio Lab can only be built at a
South Mars (" b6") . site where the Discovery tile shows the (life) icon. Sarah's
Research base in the previous example could have been
built at any discovered site since it has no prerequisite. An
Industrial base could have also been built on Luna due to
Exploration Claim—If a Build action is conducted at a site where a the presence of (water) on the Discovery tile.
Discovery tile is currently claimed by an opponent’s team [see previous
page], that opponent gains 2Ŧ profit. Some base types have an immediate effect at the time they
are built. Some provide an ongoing benefit for as long as it
Example: Mark (yellow) and remains in play (for example, the doubling of Build values in a
Sarah (blue) each have a team 1 region with an Industrial base). The active player may choose
on Luna . On Mark's turn to use the benefit of an opponent's base, if able, or to ignore
he explores Luna, gaining 1Ŧ it; if they choose to use it, that opponent receives a reward
then claiming the newfound [page 7, step 3].
Discovery tile .
Example: Sarah's Research base has no ongoing benefit—
On Sarah's turn, she takes she gained its immediate benefit (taking a card from the
advantage of the tile's -1 base offers) at the time she built it.
cost and builds a Research 2 3
base on Luna at a cost of 1 .
Mark gains 2Ŧ in recompense.

BASES IN MARINERS
Note that only six are listed here: three of the base types—Exploiter, Secure and Shield Factory—aren't available until the Planeteers era.

BASE TYPE BUILD REQUIREMENT BENEFIT

Attraction the Discovery tile has a Natural Wonder ( ) The tile gains "P1."

Bio Lab the Discovery tile has life ( ) When built, advance your genetics marker 1 space.

Industrial the Discovery tile has water ( ) or a P# (even 0) The active player may double their total build value when
performing a Build action elsewhere in this region.
Refinery the Discovery tile has a P# The tile's P# gains +1 value.

Research none When built, take one card from the offers.

Spaceport the site is a Lagrange Point The active player may have each moving team that begins at a
Spaceport gain Move 2.
Allows Team Transport [page 7, step 4] to or from this site.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 11

 UPGRADE
This action allows a player to gain a new Infra on their HQ or to
PRODUCE replace an existing one. Upgrade is limited to a single card played
This action allows a player to collect profit from eligible Discov- from the active player's hand.
ery tiles. A tile is eligible if:
In other words, even if you have two or more eligible upgrade
•• it has a production value (P#), and cards in hand, only one can be played for this action per turn.
•• the active player has any type of base there (a team need
not be present). The card played must be marked with the "May Upgrade as Infra"
In later eras players can also collect profit from a Discovery tile banner. The card is placed on the active player's HQ into any of
in the Legacy Production site of their HQ. Infra Slots 1, 2 or 3: Infra cards can never be placed in the Re-
search Infra box. If another card of the same era already occupies
The action's total Produce value must equal or exceed the number the box, return it to the active player's hand. If another card from
of eligible tiles from which the active player will collect. a previous era already occupies the box, remove it from play.

Example: If you play Produce cards with a combined value of 2, Example: Chad takes an
you can collect profit from up to two different production tiles. Upgrade action. He already has
Explore and Build Infra in slots
The active player gains profit (Ŧ) equal to the total P# on the tiles 2 and 3, respectively, and would
from which they choose to collect. like to keep those so he chooses to
place an eligible "Move 3" card
Example: Kai plays a in his Infra Slot 1 box, overrid-
"Produce 1" card from her hand, ing his previous default Infra of
meaning she can produce at Move 1. If later in the game he
a single tile: she chooses the Upgraded another Move card
Exotic Elements tile with her to any of the three slots, the card
base on it at Deimos. She gains there would be removed.
2Ŧ due to the tile's production
value of 1 (P1) +1 for the Once placed, a card in an Infra box remains there unless and
Refinery base. A team need not until it is replaced with a future Upgrade action. Newly-placed
be present to produce at a site. Infra cards are available for use on any future turns [page 6, step 1].

Note that two Infra boxes on each HQ start with an intrinsic

Infra value ready for immediate use.

GENETICS
When this action is chosen, the active player moves their tan ge-
netics marker clockwise around their Progress Wheel a number
of spaces equal to the total value of the action. SPECIAL
This action is limited to the play of a single card from hand, even
if the active player has two or more Special actions in hand.
When played, follow the instructions given in the gray box.
eakthroug Some Discovery tiles, as well
Br or Adapt h
as the Bio Lab base, also allow
a player's genetics cube to be
Special Action Clarifications
advanced. Benefits for making
Anti-Matter Prototype—This is not a standard move action and
a full orbit around the wheel
requires no card play or Infra use.
begin in the Planeteers era
and are explained on page 17
Near/Deep Space Probe—The site must contain an exploration
as well as in the Planeteers
box. An "empty" site is one containing no game piece of any kind.
setup.

Page 12 SpaceCorp
 End of an Era
ENDING AN ERA CONTINUING PLAY
The end of an era is triggered when: At the conclusion of the Mariners or Planeteers era, prepare for
the next era by conducting the following steps in the order given:
●● Six of the seven Contracts for that era have been fulfilled.
If this occurs, each other player takes one more turn then the 1. Legacy Production—Each player may choose one Discovery
era ends. tile on the board that

or •• has a P# value and

•• is accompanied by one of their bases.
●● The action card draw pile has been emptied. If this occurs,
play continues with the following changes: Remove both the Discovery tile and the base from the board
and place them together in the Legacy Production site on the
•• The active player can choose to "pass" and skip their entire player's HQ. This tile/base pair can continue to produce in
turn. A player who doesn't have the capability to perform the next era exactly as if it were at a site on the current board.
an action must pass, even if they hold one or more cards in If there is already a tile/base pair in the Legacy Production
hand. A player who passes must pass for the rest of that era. box from a previous era, remove the old tile from play and
•• In a 2-player game, once one player passes the remaining return the old base to the player's stock.
player takes one last turn then the era ends.
2. Cards—
•• In a 3- or 4-player game, once two players have passed the
remaining player or players each take one last turn then the •• Gather all Time cards that were used in the current era and
era ends. set them aside for use in the next era.
Edge Exception—If the Intercept Edge is played after the end •• Action cards played as Infra remain on players' HQ. Re-
of an era has been triggered, the extra turn gained from the ef- move from play all other action cards of the current era
fect doesn't count against the "take one last turn" limit described from wherever they are (hand, offers, discard, draw pile).
above: the card effect overrides the rule.
•• If you are finishing the Planeteers era, all progress cards
remain where they are.
Base & Infra Use—When the end of an era is triggered, play-
ers are not allowed to use their opponents' Infra or bases for the 3. Playing Pieces—Remove all playing pieces from the board:
rest of that era.
•• Return each player's teams and bases to the holding box on
their HQ (bases in Legacy Production stay where they are).
•• Put removed Discovery tiles back in the box.
•• Set aside any removed Beyond markers for now.
4. Business Display—Leave the Business Display where it
is. Players' Profit markers and the orange contract fulfilled
markers remain in their current locations.

5. Board—Replace the current board with the next board: swap

Mariners for Planeteers, or flip Planeteers over to Starfarers, as
appropriate.

6. Sideboard—If you are finishing the Mariners era, flip the

Mariners board over to its Sideboard side and place it on the
table next to the board. If you are finishing the Planeteers era,
keep the Sideboard where it is.

7. New Era—If you just finished a Mariners era, proceed with

the Planeteers era setup [next page]; otherwise conduct the
Starfarers era setup [page 18].

For short-game variants in which the game begins or ends in

between eras, see page 22.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 13

 Setting Up Era 2: Planeteers

A Discovery tiles—Shuffle the six e1 Dis- shuffle them, and deal two to each player. Set aside the re-
covery tiles face-down, then stack them to form maining Start cards, face-down.
a draw pile in the matching space on the board.
Do the same for the fourteen e2 tiles (mak- Planeteers Deck—Add any set aside Time cards to the G
ing two stacks), then the eight e3 tiles. Planeteers deck. Shuffle this deck and set it face-down next
to the board as a draw pile. Place the set aside Start cards
B Teams—Each player places two of their teams at their base face-down atop the Planeteers draw pile.
in the "Inner Solar System" region of the Planeteers board.
Offers—Deal the top four cards of the draw pile face-up to H
C 1st Beyond—If a player holds the 1st Beyond marker (from the four offer boxes on the board.
the Mariners era), they may instead set up one of their two
teams at the "Ceres" asteroid site. If so, they draw and place a Progress Cards—Place the 16 Adaptation and Break- I
e1 Discovery tile there, taking any immediate awards for through cards marked with the Planeteers symbol face-up
the tile, then claiming the Discovery. in their allotted spaces of the Sideboard. Stack cards with the
same name together, with the card having the profit award
D 2nd Beyond—A player holding the 2nd Beyond marker (for example: "1Ŧ") atop the one without.
may instead set up one of their two teams at the "Vesta" aster-
oid site (unexplored). Progress Wheel—If any player's genetics cube advanced
into or beyond the "start" space of their Progress Wheel dur-
E Beyond Markers—Place the two Beyond markers on the ing the Mariners era, they gain an Adaptation card [page 17].
board at the "Oort Cloud" site.
All Systems Go For Launch—The player with a team on
F Starting Hands—First, give each player one of the Time Ceres takes the first turn of this era. If none, the player with
cards used in the Mariners era. Set aside any remaining. Then the least profit goes first. If there is a tie for least profit, ran-
remove the twelve "Start" cards from the Planeteers deck, domly determine which of the tied players will start.

F F

E
G
I

D C
B
A

F
F

Page 14 SpaceCorp
 Additional Rules for Planeteers
All rules of Mariners also apply to Planeteers unless specifically
amended in this section. TRANSIT ADDITIONS
Design Note: The outer planets in our solar system are widely
separated from each by their relative positions in their orbital
paths. This is represented here by adding orbital transit costs to
RADIATION SHIELDING the movement distances between the outer planetary regions.
All regions beyond the asteroid belt on the Planeteers board (and
all regions on the Starfarers board) have high radiation. Move The four planetary regions for Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Plu-
and Build actions taking place in such a "radiation zone" cost a to each list transit additions for movement to one of the other
player profit if the action doesn't include radiation shielding. three regions. When Moving from (not through) one of these
regions to another of these regions, refer to the list in the depar-
ture region to see how much the distance is increased beyond
what would normally be calculated. Add the listed transit addi-
tion to the distance of the move.

Certain Move and Build cards include two values, one without
shields and one with shields ("Shielded"). The active player
chooses which value to use when playing the card; a single action
D
can't use both. If a Move or Build action uses at least one card or
Infra with a shielded value, the entire action is shielded.

Example: In a Build action, Lu- C

ther plays the leftmost card for a B
Shielded Build value of 2. This au-
tomatically makes his Build action
Shielded, so he plays the rightmost A
card to add its better Build value of
2; he couldn't combine both values on Example: If Martin is moving from Iapetus (a moon of Saturn)
this card to add 3 to the action. to Umbriel (a moon of Uranus) he would add 6 to the distance,
increasing the actual distance traveled to a total of 12: 6 for
In Planeteers and Starfarers players can build the transit addition (A), +1 to lift off (B), +4 to cross the region
"Shield Factory" bases [page 16]. Any Move action Shield boundary (C), +1 to land (D) = 12.
Factory
originating from a region with a Shield Factory—
not just that site—may be automatically shielded.
SPENDING PROFIT FOR ACTIONS
Note that the starting site in the Inner Solar System region If the active player wants to conduct a Move, Build or Explore
includes an inherent Shield Factory base for every player—thus action for which they can’t amass the requisite point value, they
all moves from the Inner Solar System are shielded. can make up the difference by spending 1Ŧ of their profit per
point value shortfall, up to a maximum of 3Ŧ.
Any Build action conducted in the same region as a Shield Fac-
tory base—not just that site—may be automatically shielded. Example: Mark wants to conduct a Move action with a total
distance cost of 9, but can only assemble 7 points via card play,
If the active player uses an opponent's Shield Factory to gain Infra and other means. He can spend 2Ŧ of his current profit to
shielding for an action, that opponent is rewarded [page 7, step 3]. make up the difference and make the move viable.

Cost of Unshielded Actions—In Planeteers if any part of the Spending Limit—No more than 3Ŧ can be spent to make up
active player's Move or Build action occurs in the radiation zone an action shortfall. Furthermore the profit spent must be less than
and the action isn't shielded, that player loses 2Ŧ profit. An un- the total value acquired through other means.
shielded Move or Build action anywhere on the Starfarers board
costs that player 3Ŧ. If the player doesn't currently have enough Example: If David played Explore action cards with a total
profit to pay the penalty, the action can't be taken unless shielded. value of 3, he could add at most 2 more value by spending profit.

These costs represent health risk to your teams and the resulting
litigation and public outcry.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 15

 INCREASED CONTRACT AWARDS
If a Mariners contract wasn't fulfilled in that era, the award for
claiming the corresponding contract in the Planeteers era is in-
creased to equal the amounts for both contracts combined.

REVELATION ACTION Example: If contract 1 in the Mariners era (“First Produce Ac-
The Planeteers and Starfarers decks include "Revelation" action tion”) wasn't fulfilled, its award (2Ŧ) is added to the award for
cards. When this action is chosen, the active player moves their contract 1 in the Planeteers era (“2 progress cards”), increasing
black revelation marker clockwise around their Progress Wheel that award value from 3Ŧ to 5Ŧ.
a number of spaces equal to the
Note: You can tell which awards are increased by the location of
total value of the action.
eakthroug the seven orange contract fulfilled markers. If a marker occupies a
Br or Adapt h
Some Discovery tiles also particular Mariners contract then the corresponding Planeteers
allow a revelation cube to contract immediately to its right is awarded at face value. If a
be advanced. Each full orbit Mariners contract contains no marker, however, then the cor-
around a wheel allows that responding Planeteers contract has its award increased to equal
player to gain a Breakthrough the sum of both.
card [facing page].
Whenever a contract is claimed in the Planeteers era, slide that
row's contract fulfilled marker to the right from its current posi-
tion onto the Planeteers contract.

SPECIALIZED BASES IN PLANETEERS

Three additional bases are available to players in the Planeteers (and Starfarers) era: Exploiter, Secure and Shield Factory.
Also note that some build requirements and benefits are expanded or modified from Mariners, as noted in the following table:

BASE TYPE BUILD REQUIREMENT BENEFIT

Attraction the Discovery tile has a Natural Wonder ( ) The tile gains "P1."

Bio Lab the Discovery tile has life ( ) When built, advance your genetics marker 1 space.

Exploiter the Discovery tile has a P# When built, gain Ŧ equal to the Discovery tile’s P#.
That P# is forfeit for the rest of the game.
Industrial the Discovery tile has water ( ) or a P# The active player may double their total build value when
performing a Build action elsewhere in this region.
Refinery the Discovery tile has a P# The tile's P# gains +1 value.

Research none When built, take one card from the offers.

Secure none When built, gain 1Ŧ for each base in the region belonging to an
opponent. The benefit is forfeit if there is already a Secure base
in the region (belonging to any player).
Shield the Discovery tile has water ( ) The action during which a Shield Factory is built is automatically
Factory shielded from radiation.
The active player may choose to have a Move action originating
from this region be shielded from radiation.
The active player may choose to have a Build action in this
region be shielded from radiation.
Spaceport the site has no gravity penalty The active player may double the value of any one Move card
played or any one Move Infra card used if all moving teams
begin at a Spaceport.
Allows Team Transport to or from this site.

Page 16 SpaceCorp
 THE OORT CLOUD
The first player to move a team to this site takes the 1st Beyond
marker, placing it next to their HQ. The player who controls the
second team that moves to this site takes the 2nd Beyond marker.

A team at the Oort Cloud can't perform any actions for the re-
mainder of the era.

PROGRESS CARDS
Whenever a player's tan genetics cube advances into the top
"Breakthrough or Adapt" space of their Progress Wheel, they
are awarded an Adaptation card. Whenever their black revelation
cube advances into that space, they are awarded a Breakthrough
card.

When an Adaptation or Progress card is awarded, the player

selects from among the appropriate progress cards that are still
available on the Sideboard. A player can't select a card with the
same title as one they already own.

Example: There are two copies of each progress card—one with

a profit bonus and one without. If Bob already owned the Probe
Network card shown at right, he couldn't take the other one: he
can only ever have one of each card, by title.

Once selected, place the card face-up next to the owning player's
HQ , where it will remain for the rest of the game. That player
immediately gains profit equal to the amount shown in the circle
near the top of the card, if any.

Example: The Star Children card shown at right would gain

its owner 1Ŧ; Probe Network 2Ŧ.

The owning player gains the benefit described in the card's text
box—this can be a powerful one-time effect or an ongoing ability
that lasts for the rest of the game.

Example: Star Children is a one-time effect performed imme-

diately upon acquiring the card. Probe Network is an example
of an ongoing effect.

Prerequisites—Some progress cards list a "Prerequisite" in a

yellow box. If a card's prerequisite is not met at the moment a
progress card is awarded to a player, it can't be chosen. It could be
chosen with a future award if the prerequisite is met at that time.

Example: Star Children can't be selected by a player unless and

until they own two Breakthrough cards.

Action Value—Some progress cards enhance a player's value

when taking a specific action. Unlike Infra and bases, opponents
can't use your progress card enhancements.

Example: A player owning Probe Network would double the

total value of each of their Explore actions for the remainder of
the game.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 17

 Setting Up Era 3: Starfarers
A Discovery tiles—Shuffle the 16 Primary Starfarers Deck—Add any set aside Time cards to the F
Discovery tiles face-down, then stack them Starfarers deck. Shuffle this deck and set it face-down next
to form two draw piles of eight each in the to the board as a draw pile. Place the set aside Start cards
matching spaces on the board. Do the same face-down atop the Starfarers draw pile.
for the twelve Secondary tiles (in two stacks
of six), then the five Alien tiles. Offers—Deal the top four cards of the draw pile face-up to G
the four offer boxes on the board.
B Teams—Each player places 3 of their teams on their base in
the central "Sol" region of the Starfarers board. Progress Cards—[Remember: all unclaimed progress cards H
from the Planeteers era should still be on the Sideboard.] Place
C 1st Beyond—If a player holds the 1st Beyond marker the 16 Adaptation and Breakthrough cards marked with
(from the Planeteers era), they may instead set up one of the Starfarers symbol face-up in their allotted spaces of the
their three teams in the "Alpha Centauri" region, placing Sideboard. Stack cards with the same name together, with
the team on the star symbol there. the card having the profit award (for example: "2Ŧ") atop the
one without.
D 2nd Beyond—A player holding the 2nd Beyond marker
may instead set up one of their three teams in the "Luhman Colony Tiles—Gather all colony tiles that have the num- I
16" region, placing the team in the box of the star track fur- ber of players in the game marked along their
thest from the star. Put the Beyond markers back in the box. left hand side (there will be 20 colonies with four
players; 17 with three players; and 12 with two
E Starting Hands—First, give each player one of the Time players). Place these tiles face-up in their allot-
cards used in previous eras. Set aside any remaining. Then ted spaces of the Sideboard. Put the remaining
remove the twelve "Start" cards from the Starfarers deck, colony tiles back in the box.
shuffle them, and deal two to each player. Set aside the re-
maining Start cards, face-down. All Systems Go For Launch—The player with a team on
Alpha Centauri takes the first turn of this era. If none, the
player with the least profit goes first. If there is a tie for least
profit, randomly determine one of the tied players to start.

E
E

F
I
D B
G
C
H

E E

Page 18 SpaceCorp
 Additional Rules for Starfarers
All rules of Mariners and Planeteers also apply to Starfarers
unless specifically amended in this section. Star Tracks—Each star system has a star track consisting of
three boxes pointing to its star. Whenever a team moves to a star
system, place it on the star track in the box furthest from the star.
A team on a star track can't be used to perform actions.

Design Note: A team on the track is considered to have reached

its destination but because communication is limited to the speed
of light, reports from the team are delayed for years.
MULTIPLIERS
Some cards in Starfarers list a multiplier—shown as "x" before At the start of the active player's turn, advance each of their
the value, like the "Move x3" shown above—which multiplies teams on a star track one box closer to the star. If already in the
that action's value rather than adding to it. Remember to add box closest to the star, instead place the team on the star.
together all non-multiplier values before applying each multiplier.

Example: Four Move cards with value 3, 5, x3 and x4 have a The Orion Spur
total value of 96: 3+5 = 8; then x3 = 24; then x4 = 96. The Orion Spur is the local area of the Sagittarius Arm of our
Milky Way galaxy. Teams in outer regions of the Starfarers map
If only multipliers are used, start with any one as the base numeral. can move beyond Sol’s intersteller neighborhood and out into the
Orion Spur.
Example: Leia plays Move cards with values x3, x3 and x5.
She would have a total move value of 45 (3x3x5). If Kim plays A team can't move to a “To Orion Spur” region unless:
a single "Produce x2" card, her total value would be 2.
•• The move departs directly from an adjacent region; and
•• The active player has a colony in that region [page 20].
INTERSTELLAR MOVEMENT
Each region on the Starfarers board: A team in an Orion Spur region can't perform any actions for the
rest of the game.
•• contains a star system site; or
•• contains an Orion Spur site; or Orion Spur Awards—When the first team moves into any
•• is the Sol site; or Orion Spur region, its owner immediately gains 5Ŧ. Afterwards,
•• is empty. whenever a team moves into an unoccupied Orion Spur region, its
owner gains 2Ŧ. This award can be earned in each of the other
The cost of a Move action to any Starfarers region equals the to- two regions, by the same or different players.
tal cost of the region borders crossed during the move. There is
no cost to “land” or "take off from" sites as in previous eras.
Empty Regions
Example: A move Teams can never end a turn in one of the four empty regions. A
from Kapteyn’s Star moving team must always have sufficient Move value to move
to Epsilon Eridani through an empty region into one containing a site.
would require a Move
value of 60 (40+20), Example: In the example at left the moving team couldn't spend
not 62 (1+40+20+1). just 40 Move and stop in the intervening empty region.

Star Systems Nearby Sites & Regions

Each star system is a single site containing one, two or three Some effects will refer to something that is "nearby" (the Secure
exploration boxes. A system depicting two or more stars is a base, for example). Nearby is defined as anything that is within a
"multi-star" system. A star system's 20 distance move of whatever is being referenced.
name is followed by its explore cost
(e#) and build cost (b#). Example: Epsilon Indi is
nearby Lacaille 9352, while
Example: Epsilon Indi is a multi-star Ross 780 is not. Anything
system with an explore cost of 10, a in the Lacaille 9352 region
build cost of 20, and three exploration is nearby anything in the
boxes. Epsilon Indi region.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 19

 ESTABLISHING COLONIES EXPLORING STAR SYSTEMS
As their action for the turn, the active player may choose to "Col- Whenever a team on a star performs an Explore action it will
onize" in any one region in which place a Discovery tile in all of the region’s empty exploration
boxes with a single action. The active player draws and places a
●● all exploration boxes are occupied by their bases; and Discovery tile on each of the system's empty exploration spaces,
●● no colony is already present. starting with the Primary space followed by any Secondary spac-
es. Place Discovery tiles one at a time, resolving any immediate
The presence of a team is not required to take a Colonize action. effects before placing the next. The exploring team claims all
Any available colony tile—that is, one still on the Sideboard— placed Discovery tiles simultaneously (place it on any of the tiles).
may be chosen for the action.
Example: Carol has a team on
Colony Points—Each colony tile has a number Epsilon Eridani. Her Explore
of pips across the top which represent its "colony action will need to attain a
value" (for example, "6" for the colony at right). To value of at least 10 ("e10").
conduct a Colonize action, the active player must She will then draw and place
be able to accumulate "colony points" ("CP") a Primary Discovery tile first,
equal to or greater than the colony value of the followed one at a time by two
colony marker they wish to place. Secondary Discovery tiles. She
takes immediate awards for
CP are accumulated in any combination by the active player as each tile as it is placed.
follows, with each item only allowed to be claimed once:
Alien Culture Contact—Two Primary Discovery tiles instruct
•• X CP, where X equals the sum total listed on the player to instead draw an Alien tile. Alien Discovery tiles are
all Discovery tiles in the region; normal Discovery tiles in every way, with two exceptions:
•• 1 CP if you already own a nearby colony;
●● Phobes—If this tile is revealed, the active player must imme-
•• 1 CP if there is an Industrial base in the region;
diately relocate one of his teams in the region to the Sol region
•• 1 CP if there are two or more bases in the region; unless that player owns the Energy Fields Breakthrough.
•• 1 CP if the active player removes one of their teams in the Continue placing any remaining Secondary discoveries. No
region from play; benefits—immediate or ongoing—are received from any Dis-
covery tiles in that region unless a Secure base is built on the
•• 1 CP if the active player uses Infra and/or plays cards with Phobes tile: immediate benefits for all Discovery tiles in the
a Build value of at least 8 (12 if Colonizing a multi-star system would be awarded at that time to the player construct-
region); ing the base.
•• 1 CP if they spend 5Ŧ;
●● Introvs—Bases can't be built in this system unless the active
•• 1 CP if they have an Enviro Tolerance Adaptation card.
player owns either the Cooperative Empathy or Sensory Fo-
Upon demonstrating that the active player has the requisite CP, cus Adaptation.
place the selected colony marker in that region.

Note that ownership of a colony is indicated by the presence of INCREASED CONTRACT AWARDS
your bases in the region. Contract awards in Starfarers are increased if the correspond-
ing contracts—those along the same row—in earlier eras weren't
A colony provides the following benefits: fulfilled.

•• Provides 1 CP towards colonizing nearby regions. •• If the corresponding contract was not claimed in either of
•• The owner is eligible to conduct a Move action to an adja- the Mariners or Planeteers era—that is, the orange Con-
cent Orion Spur region. tract Fullfilled marker still occupies its starting space—the
award for claiming the contract during the Starfarers era
•• At the end of the era, the owner is awarded profit based on equals the sum of all three contract awards.
the number of colonies they control [see table on facing page
and on the Sideboard]. •• If the corresponding contract was claimed in the Mariners
era but not in the Planeteers era, the award for claiming
In addition, most colonies provide a unique benefit as described that contract in the Starfarers era equals the sum of the
on the Sideboard. Some benefits occur immediately, others each Planeteers + Starfarers contract awards.
time an event occurs during play, and still others at the end of the
era or end of the game. Whenever a contract is claimed in the Starfarers era, slide that
row's corresponding contract fulfilled marker to the right from
Example: The tile above pays you 1Ŧ for each progress card you wherever it is onto the Starfarers contract. This will serve as a
own at the time the tile is acquired. reminder that it can't be claimed again.

Page 20 SpaceCorp
 BUILDING BASES IN STAR SYSTEMS WINNING STARFARERS
Whenever a team on a star performs a Build action, it will build When the era ends, players owning colonies that give benefits at
an eligible base on all of the region’s Discovery tiles with a single the end of the era gain those awards.
action. The cost for the action is the star system's base cost (b#)
plus the sum total of the base modifiers listed on every Discovery Then each player adjusts their profit based on the number of colo-
tile in the region. If an opponent has a claim to the Discovery nies that player established:
tiles there, that opponent receives 2Ŧ compensation as normal
(total; not per tile). No Colonies ......... Lose 1Ŧ
1 Colony ............... Gain 1Ŧ
Example: Carol's previous 2 Colonies ............ Gain 4Ŧ
exploration of Epsilon Eridani 3 Colonies ............ Gain 8Ŧ
revealed Alien Ruins, Rings 4+ Colonies ........ Gain 13Ŧ
and Precious Dust. Her Build
action will need to attain a After profit for colonies, the player with the most profit wins.
value of at least 16 (8+4+4);
she will then choose three of •• If there's a tie for highest profit, the tied player with the
her bases to place on the three highest total colony value wins.
Discovery tiles. •• If still tied, the tied player with the greatest number of Ad-
aptation and Breakthrough cards wins.
•• If still tied, the victory is shared in what is likely a monu-
mental merger.

SPECIALIZED BASES IN STARFARERS

Some base building requirements and benefits are expanded or modified in Starfarers, as noted in the following table:

BASE TYPE BUILD REQUIREMENT BENEFIT

Attraction the Discovery tile is Anomaly ( ) or The tile gains "P2."
Alien Artifact/Outpost/Ruins ( )
Bio Lab the Discovery tile has life ( ) When built, advance your genetics marker 1 space.

Exploiter the Discovery tile has a P# or a colony When built, gain Ŧ equal to the Discovery tile's P# + its Col#.
bonus That production number/colony bonus is forfeit for the rest of the game.
Industrial the Discovery tile has water ( ) or a P# Worth 1 Colony Point. (Max 1 CP per region.)

Refinery the Discovery tile has a P# The tile's P# gains +1 value.

Research none When built, choose one:

» take one card from the offers;
» advance your revelation marker 1 space.
Secure none When built, gain 1Ŧ for each nearby base belonging to an opponent.
The benefit is forfeit if there is already a Secure base in or nearby the
region (belonging to any player).
When built, if the Phobes Alien Discovery tile is present, gain all
immediate awards on Discovery tiles in this region.
Shield the Discovery tile has water ( ) The action during which a Shield Factory is built is automatically
Factory shielded from radiation.
The active player may choose to have a Move action originating from
this region be shielded from radiation.
The active player may choose to have a Build action in this region be
shielded from radiation.
Spaceport the site is neither Anomaly nor Dust The active player may double the value of any one Move card played or
any one Move Infra card used if all moving teams begin at a Spaceport.
Allows Team Transport to or from this site.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 21

 Game Variants
You can start or end a game of SpaceCorp with any era. When doing so, use the following modifications to the preceding rules.

STARTING A GAME WITH PLANETEERS STARTING A GAME WITH STARFARERS

Place the Planeteers board in the middle of the table. Place the Place the Starfarers board in the middle of the table. Place the
Sideboard and Business Display next to the board. Sideboard and Business Display next to the board.

Players gather all playing pieces of their chosen color as normal. Players gather all playing pieces of their chosen color as normal.
Players use the HQ shown below instead of the basic HQ. Players use the HQ shown below instead of the basic HQ.

Conduct the Planeteers setup [page 14] except as modified Conduct the Starfarers setup [page 18] except as modified
below: below:

Place the seven contract fulfilled markers on the seven Mariners Place the seven contract fulfilled markers on the seven Planeteers
contracts. contracts.

Players begin with their genetics marker already advanced one Players begin with both their genetics and revelation markers al-
space on their Progress Wheel. ready advanced two space each on their Progress Wheel.

You will use two Time cards in a 2-player game; five in a 3-player You will use two Time cards in a 2-player game; five in a 3-player
game; or all eight in a 4-player game. Put any excess Time cards game; or all eight in a 4-player game. Put any excess Time cards
back in the box. back in the box.

Players begin the game with +8Ŧ in profit. Players begin the game with +20Ŧ in profit.

Place all Planeteers era progress cards in their spaces on the

Sideboard. Beginning with the last player in turn order and pro-
ceeding counterclockwise around the table, each player takes one
Planeteers Adaptation card without a prerequisite from the Side-
board, ignoring any profit award on the card.

ENDING A GAME EARLY

If players wish to end a game upon completion of the Mariners •• At the end of the Mariners era (only) players gains 1Ŧ
or Planeteers era, determine a winner as follows at the conclu- for each space their genetics marker had advanced along
sion of that era instead of proceeding to the next era [page 13]. their Progress Wheel.

First, players earn final profit as follows: Then, the player with the most profit wins the game. If tied for
most profit, the tied player with the greatest number of bases
•• The player holding the 1st Beyond marker gains 3Ŧ. on the board wins. If there is still a tie, the victory is shared in
•• The player holding the 2nd Beyond marker gains 1Ŧ. what is likely a monumental merger.

Page 22 SpaceCorp
 INVENTORY
●● this rulebook
●● one Solo Rulebook
●● two 17" x 17" double-sided boards
●● one 11" x 8.5" double-sided Business Display
●● six 11" x 6" double-sided player HQ
●● four 8.5" x 11" double-sided quick reference sheets
●● one 8.5" x 11" double-sided solo player aid
●● 16 wooden cubes in four player colors
●● four tan and four black wooden cubes
●● seven orange wooden discs
●● 220 cards
●● three sheets of die-cut tiles:
•• 32 colonies
•• 70 discoveries
•• 108 bases in four player colors
•• four Profit markers in four player colors
•• two Beyond markers
•• 13 solo variant game markers

CREDITS
Game Design — John Butterfield
Development — Chad & Kai Jensen
Box Art — Shrox
Package Design — Rodger MacGowan
Card Art — Kurt Miller and Shrox
Layout & Graphics — Chad Jensen, Kurt Miller
and Mark Simonitch
Playtesters Above and Beyond — Mark Beyak,
Bob Borbe, Julie Butterfield, Sarah Quass,
Marty Sample, Christopher Schall and David
Spangler
Additional Playtesting — Dan Healy, Tom
Kassel, Natalie Pinto, Stephen Pinto, Jonathon
Quass, Peter Quill, Allan Rothberg, James
Terry, John Tiehen, John Vogel, Chris Wade,
Charles Ward and Srivani Narra Ward
Online VASSAL Module — Joel Toppen
Production Coordinator — Tony Curtis
Producers — Gene Billingsley, Tony Curtis, Andy
Lewis, Rodger MacGowan and Mark Simonitch
Technical Advice — Ejner Fulsang, author of
SpaceCorp, the first book in the Galactican
Series; available on Amazon in digital and
paper formats.

Multi-Player Rulebook Page 23

 Colony Effects
solo game
2-player
3-player
4-player

Whenever an opponent Whenever an opponent fulfills

1Ŧ Colonizes, gain 1Ŧ. 1Ŧ a contract, gain 1Ŧ.

Whenever an opponent or the

Whenever an opponent or the
competition fulfills a contract,
1Ŧ competition Colonizes, gain 1Ŧ. 2Ŧ
gain 2Ŧ.

Whenever your opponent Gain Ŧ equal to the printed

2Ŧ Colonizes, gain 2Ŧ. ? award for any one unfulfilled
Starfarers contract.

1Ŧ Whenever you Colonize, At the end of the era, claim any

including this one, gain 1Ŧ. one unfulfilled contract.

Whenever you Colonize,

At the end of the era, gain 1Ŧ
Ŧ including this one, gain Ŧ equal
x 1Ŧ for every star system without a
to the number of colonies you
colony (not Sol).
control.

Gain 1Ŧ for every two Whenever your opponent

x1Ŧ competing colonies in play. 1Ŧ Produces, gain 1Ŧ.

Gain 1Ŧ for each Breakthrough Gain 1Ŧ for each site at which

x1Ŧ
in play. 1Ŧ you have a Secure base.

Gain 1Ŧ for every two COLONY POINTS (each item eligible once only):
x1Ŧ Adaptations in play.  ? CP equal to that listed on all discovery tiles in the
region;
 1 CP if you have a nearby colony;
 1 CP if there is an Industrial base in the region;
Gain 1Ŧ for every Adaptation
x1Ŧ  1 CP if there are 2 or more bases in the region;
and Breakthrough you own.
 1 CP if you remove one of your teams in the region
from play;
 1 CP if you accumulate 8+ Build value (12+ in a
multi-star system) via play of action cards from
no special benefit hand and/or Infra use;
 1 CP if you spend 5Ŧ;
 1 CP if you own the Enviro Tolerance Adaptation.

© 2018 GMT Games, LLC SpaceCorp Multi-Player Rulebook