STRATASTAR
INTRODUCTION
Space Empire building, Interstellar conquest.
Build, maneuver, trade, and fight your way to Galactic supremacy.
Minimal units and card mechanics make for quick turns.
MAP OF THE GALAXY
For the board use a 10 X 10 grid
Make 100 map chits of the following composition:
4 Homeworlds
20 Worlds
4 Supernovas
4 Black Holes
8 Nebulas
60 Blanks
MAP SETUP
Each player receives a 'Homeworld' chit.
Place the other map chits face down randomly on the board, one per space.
Leave the corners empty.
Flip the chits over. Remove the blanks.
Each players homeworld is placed in a different corner of the board.
Players randomly determine who places their homeworld first.
If a Homeworld is closed in by Supernovas, Black Holes, and Nebulas then
remove one of these hazards.
EMPIRE CHITS
Each player gets a set of chits in a different color.
A set consists of 10 Fleet, 10 Stargate, and 20 colony chits.
VICTORY
Victory goes to the first empire to have colonies on 12 worlds or that
captures an enemy homeworld.
EMPIRE SETUP
Each player starts the game with 4 Fleets and one stargate located on their Homeworld.
Each player gets dealt 5 cards from the Galaxy Deck.
THE GALAXY DECK
The deck contains 85 cards:
20 Attack
20 Move
20 Build
20 Trade
5 Research
If during play, the deck is used up, reshuffle the discard pile and continue.
TURN SEQUENCE
Players take turns.
The last player to place a Homeworld goes first and so on.
Each turn is divided into 6 phases:
1. Draw
2. Trade
3. Support
4. Build
5. Movement
6. Battle
DRAW PHASE
Retooling: The active player may discard up to 3 cards. Next:
Production: All players draw galaxy cards to fill their hands to maximum
draw size. (Yes, you read it right, ALL players)
Homeworld Production: The starting max draw size is 5 cards.
Colonial Production: Max draw size is increased by 1 for every 3 colonies the player has.
TRADE PHASE
Free Trade: All players may freely trade cards with each other.
External Trade: The active player may discard a Trade card to take a random
card from an opponent. If the card is also a trade card, both are discarded.
Internal Trade: The active player may discard a Trade card and X other cards
to draw X +1 cards from the Galaxy deck. This may be done only once per turn.
SUPPORT PHASE
Active player only.
Defense Spending: Your Homeworld can support 2 Fleets.
Defense Taxes: You may support an additional Fleet for every 2 colonies you have.
Military Cutbacks: Unsupported Fleets of the active player are removed from the map.
Logistics: A Build card may be discarded to count as a colony for support purposes.
BUILD PHASE
Active player only.
Shipyards: A Build card may be discarded to build a Fleet at your Homeworld.
Colonization: If you have a Fleet present at a world which has no colonies,
you may discard a Build card to build a colony there.
Stargates: Three Build cards may be discarded to build a Stargate at a colony
Terraforming: Five Build cards may be discarded to Terraform a world on which
you have a colony. Add an additional colony to the terraformed world.
MOVEMENT PHASE
Active player only.
Armadas: Multiple friendly Fleets in the same space may be stacked together
as an Armada. (or Starmada)
Free Move: You get one free move. Move one Fleet or Armada one space
orthogonally (no diagonal moves)
Hazards: Fleets & Armadas cannot enter spaces occupied by hazards: Supernovas,
Black Holes, and Nebulas.
Spaceflight: A move card may be discarded to move one of your fleets or
Armadas one space. A Fleet or Armada can move multiple times per turn.
Beam me up: A Fleet or Armada at a stargate may move to any other friendly
stargate as its move.
BATTLE PHASE
Units: Fleets and Colonies are the two types of 'units' in the game.
Battlefield: A battle occurs if opposing units occupy the same space and at
least one player wants to fight. All units in the space must participate
Resolution: The side with the highest force total wins.
Each unit has a force value = 1.
Homeworlds have a force value = 4.
Attack Cards have a force value = 1.
Players simultaneously reveal the Attack cards they are using. (On the count of 3)
This is done once. More Attack cards cannot be added later.
Players may use some, all, or none of the Attack cards in their hands.
Attack cards used are discarded.
Win: The winner suffers no casualties.
Lose: All units of the losing side are destroyed (including Stargates).
Mutual Destruction: If the totals are tied then all units of both sides are destroyed.
RESEARCH CARDS
A research card can be used like any other type of card.
Basic Research: Discard a research card in your trade phase to draw 2 cards.
OPTIONAL ABILITIES
The following rules for spying, diplomacy, and retreat are
optional, but recommended:
SPYING
An Attack card may be discarded at any time to look at an opponents hand or
to look at the next 5 cards in the deck.
DIPLOMACY
A player may discard 2 Trade cards during an opponents move to prevent any
opposing fleets from moving into a target space occupied by one of that
players units (or homeworld).
RETREAT
During an opponents move phase, if an opponents fleet enters a space
containing one of your fleets or armadas, you may discard a move card to move
your fleet or armada to an adjacent space not containing enemy units.
The opponent may pursue by discarding his own move cards.
OPTIONAL RULES
Exploration: The map chits are not set up at the beginning of the game.
The identity of a space is not revealed (picked randomly from the pile) until
a Fleet enters it. Discard a trade card for a unit to see into an adjacent space.
Players cannot trade until their empires adjoin.
To the Death: The game lasts until only one player is left.
Low Technology: Do not use stargates.
Power cards: Draw a star on 4 build, 4 attack, 4 trade, and 4 move cards.
These are now worth two cards each.
MORE OPTIONAL ABILITIES
Before play starts determine which optional abilities and
rules are to be used, by whom, and when.
Uneven Start: Players start the game able to use one optional ability not
useable by the other players.
Breakthrough Technology: Discard 1 Research card and 4 build cards.
You gain 1 optional ability that you could not already use.
(Make cards for the Abilities listed in the Optional Ability List below.
When gaining a new ability select a random card)
OPTIONAL ABILITY LIST
Scout: Discard 2 Move Cards to move a Fleet 3 spaces.
Hyper jump: Discard 5 Move cards to move one fleet or Starmada to any
nonhazard space on the map.
Defend the Homeworld!: Discard 4 Move cards to immediately move
some or all of your fleets back to your Homeworld.
Expansion: Discard 2 Build cards to build a fleet at a colony.
Wormholes: Black holes can be used as one way gates to supernovas.
This means that these spaces can be entered.
Piracy: Discard 2 Attack cards to make opponent discard a random card.
Planning: Discard 2 Build cards to put the top card of the discard pile into your hand.
Treason: Discard 5 Trade cards to replace an opponents unit with one of your own.
Allied Minor Race: Discard 4 Trade cards to build a colony on an empty world
within 2 spaces of one of your units.
Treaty: Discard 5 Trade cards. You and an opponent cannot attack each other
for the next 2 turns.
Nebulous Navigation: Discard 2 Move cards to enter a Nebula.
Border Raids: Discard 1 attack card. An enemy colony adjacent to one of
your fleets is not counted on that players next turn in his draw or support phases.
Warfleet: Discard 2 Build cards to build a Warfleet at Homeworld. Identical
to regular fleet except that it generates 3 Force points and cannot build.
colonies. Indicate with a different kind of Chit.
Sabotage: Discard 3 Attack cards to negate a nonbattle action just performed
by an opponent.
Planet Buster: Discard 5 Attack cards to destroy any colony anywhere on the map.
Nova Mine: Discard 5 Attack cards to destroy any Fleet anywhere on the map.
COUNTERS & CARDS
This very cool counter & card set was created by David Ashton:
david.ashton@cheshdatasys.co.uk
David has also made counters and cards for Space Insurrection.
Download Stratastar Counters
Download Stratastar Cards
