Objective of the Game
Race for the Galaxy is a strategic card game where players take on the roles of civilization leaders competing to build the most powerful and influential galaxy. The goal is to earn the most victory points by playing cards that represent settlements and developments.
Setup
- Each player receives a starting world card. This provides initial production capabilities and possibly a special bonus.
- Shuffle the Origin deck (comprised of worlds and developments) and each player draws 6 cards. Players then choose 4 to keep and discard the rest.
- Each player receives a set of action cards with the options: Develop, Settle, Consume, Produce, and Explore.
Gameplay
The game is played in rounds. Each round consists of the following phases:
1. Phase Selection
- Each player secretly selects an action card.
- Reveal the chosen phases and resolve them. A phase occurs if at least one player has chosen it.
2. Phase Actions
- Develop (II): Players can play a development card by paying the cost with cards from their hand. If a player chose this phase, they can reduce the cost by 1 card.
- Settle (III): Players can play a world card. Planets often have production or special abilities or provide points. A player who chose this phase may draw a card after settling.
- Consume (IV): Resources on production worlds can be utilized. Depending on the consume cards, players may gain points and/or cards.
- Produce (V): A resource card is placed on production worlds, which can then be consumed in the consume phase. The production of desired goods on specific worlds can be particularly valuable.
- Explore (VI): In some game variants, this phase allows drawing additional cards.
Game End
The game ends when a player has 12 cards in their tableau or the victory point chips are depleted. At the end, players tally up their victory points from their tableau cards and consumed point markers.
Strategic Tips
- Balance your cards: Make sure to keep developments and worlds in harmony to make effective use of both production and consume phases.
- Optimal phase selection: Try to anticipate which phases your opponents will choose to benefit from them. It's wise to choose phases that also help your opponents, as you get an additional action in your chosen phase.
- Flexibility: Always keep options open for adapting. Be ready to switch strategies based on the unfolding game dynamics.
