How to Play the Starfarers of Catan

Welcome, fellow space explorers! Today, I’ll guide you through the exciting world of The Starfarers of Catan. Brace yourself for an intergalactic adventure, where you’ll navigate the vast cosmos, trade with alien beings, and establish colonies on distant planets.

Let’s begin our journey by first understanding the game components. The playing field consists of hexagonal tiles that represent different sectors of space. Each tile features a particular resource or a cosmic event. These tiles are randomly arranged, creating a unique board for each game.

But hold on tight, because the fun doesn’t end there! You’ll take on the role of a starfaring civilization, represented by spaceships that will sail across the stars, seeking new opportunities. By harvesting resources like ore, fuel, and energy, you’ll build up your fleet and expand your cosmic empire.

As you venture through space, you’ll encounter friendly space traders and mysterious aliens. These encounters offer the chance to trade resources, form alliances, or engage in thrilling quests. Beware, though, as some cosmic events can be treacherous, challenging your skills and strategies.

Exploration is not the only goal in The Starfarers of Catan. As a savvy space entrepreneur, you’ll aim to establish colonies on planets. These colonies generate valuable resources for you, allowing you to further develop your fleet and expand your cosmic influence.

To win the game, you’ll need a combination of shrewd trading skills, strategic decision-making, and a sprinkle of good fortune. The first player to reach a set number of victory points will claim the title of the greatest starfarer in the galaxy!

Before launching your spacecraft, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the game rules. Grab some friends and embark on this thrilling cosmic journey. The Starfarers of Catan awaits, ready to whisk you away to a world of endless possibilities!

So here’s how we set up the game and get started. First, let’s go over the pieces and components you’ll need. Then, I’ll explain the rules and guidelines on how to actually play the game. And don’t worry, if you have any questions during gameplay, you can always refer to the Starfarers’ Almanac for more help. It’s organized by topic, so you can easily find what you’re looking for.

Start by placing the game board on the table. You’ll see 4 alien bases and 11 planetary systems, each with 3 planets. The 4 planetary systems on the bottom edge, known as the “Catanian colonies,” are where you’ll put your starting pieces.

Now, it’s time to choose your color and gather your game pieces. Here’s what you’ll need:

Okay, listen up, because here’s what you gotta do. You start with your two colonies and one spaceport. Take a good look at the diagram on the right to see where those bad boys belong – right on those circles between the planets that already have Catanian colonies.

So, here’s the deal. You want to create a spaceport. Cool, cool. Let me break it down for you.

First things first, you need to get yourself a spaceport ring. It’s like the foundation of your spaceport. Go ahead and slap that bad boy down on your colony.

But hold up! There’s a catch. If you’re playing with three players, you gotta set up pieces for a “fourth player”. That way, nobody can hog all the prime starting spots. Gotta keep it fair, you know?

Okay, now it’s time to get your transporter in the mix. Each player gets to pick one of their transporters from the reserves and plop it onto one of their colony modules. Easy peasy.

When I start playing the game, I get to place my colony ship right next to my spaceport. It’s important that I choose an intersection for this, just like it shows on the diagram. This is where my journey to colonize other planets begins.

But it’s not all smooth sailing. Building spaceships requires resources, and unfortunately, they’re not free. Well, except for the starting colony ship, that is. From there on, I’ll have to gather resources to build more ships.

Luckily, I can earn resources in a couple of different ways. One is through dice rolls, which will determine what resources I receive. The other way is by colonizing planets and collecting the resource chips they offer. The more planets I colonize, the more resources I’ll have access to.

So, let the colonization begin! I’ll need to strategize and make smart decisions to gather the resources I need and expand my fleet.

Hey there! Let’s get started by carefully taking the resource chips off the cardboard counter sheet.

Now, you’ll notice that some chips have Greek letters on one side. These chips with Greek letters should be placed on the Catanian colonies with the matching Greek letters facing up. Just refer to the set up diagram for the specific placements.

On the other hand, the chips with color dots on the back need a bit of shuffling. Turn them face down and mix them up. Then, place each individual chip on a planet that has the same colored dot. Remember, only one chip per planet. When a player establishes a colony on an adjacent colony intersection, flip the chip face up.

So here’s the deal: when we’re playing this game, we put the Reserve chips (the ones with white dots) right next to the game board, with the white side facing up. Then, whenever we roll the dice to produce something, all the planets that have a resource chip matching the number on the dice will produce resources. And get this: every colony next to those planets also gets to produce a resource card. The type of card you get depends on the type of planet. Pretty neat, right? You can check out the diagram on the left to see which planet produces which type of resource.

Now, let’s talk about resource cards. There are five different types, each representing a different planet type. We’ll sort these cards by type and put them in the compartments of the card tray. Make sure to keep the tray close to the game board so everyone can reach it. Oh, and before we get started, each of us gets a mother ship and a cap that matches the color of our playing pieces. We’ll place our mother ships right in front of us – they don’t go on the board.

First things first, let’s organize the freight rings, boosters, and cannons and put them in the plastic compartments inside the game box. Keep the box within easy reach of all of us. Right from the start of the game, the mother ships don’t have any expansions. However, throughout the game, we can use our resources to get expansions that we can place on our mother ships. Check out the illustration above to get an idea of what a mother ship with expansions looks like.

Your mother ship is like the embodiment of all your ships. So the more boosters you add to your mother ship, the faster all your starships (both colony ships and trade ships) will move. Now, if you place cannons on your mother ship, it will make your combat strength stronger. And if you add freight rings, your trade ships will have more cargo space.

Remember, your mother ship represents the characteristics of all your starships. So make sure you think strategically when it comes to expanding it. That’s it! Now we’re ready to embark on this interstellar adventure.

Did you know that colonies and spaceports aren’t the only way to win in this game? There’s a sneaky trick that can earn you more victory points – building trading posts at an alien’s home base!

When you build a trading post, you get to pick a friendship card. And guess what? You might even score a friendship chip!

These friendship chips are like little gold nuggets, worth a whopping 2 victory points each!

Oh, and here’s a tip: make sure to sort those friendship cards by race. You’ll find each group of cards face up on the game board, right next to their matching race’s home base.

And don’t forget to put the friendship chip for each race right on their home base – it’s like their little badge of honor!

When I move my starships, something unexpected might happen. These surprises are shown on the encounter cards. I shuffle the 32 encounter cards and put them face down next to the game board.

An encounter can make me more famous. My fame is measured by fame rings. I put my fame rings in the fourth part of the box insert.

I get one fame ring, and I put it at the top of my mother ship.

I also get a game overview card that has important information about how to play the game.

So, here’s what you gotta do. First, put the dice right next to the board. Easy enough, right? Now, let’s get the game set up. We need to make a resource reserve pile. Grab 12 cards of each type, so that’s 60 total cards, and give them a good shuffle. Place this deck face down next to the card tray. Oh, and just a little reminder, if the reserve pile ever runs out, we’ll need to make a new one. Just take 6 cards of each resource type, shuffle them, and boom! New reserve pile ready to go.

Alright, now it’s time for each player to get their hands on some cards. Each player should take 3 cards from the reserve pile and keep them hidden. These are your secret weapons, so hold on tight.

But wait, there’s more! Pay attention to this important note: once you and your buddies have played the game a couple of times, it’s time to level up. You should use the starting set up for advanced players, which is all explained in the Almanac. Yeah, it’s like a fancy rulebook for pros like us.

About the Game

To win this game, you must collect 15 victory points. It’s all about building colonies and spaceports.

A colony is worth one victory point, and a spaceport is worth two victory points. So, at the start of the game, you already have four victory points. That’s because you have one spaceport (worth 2 points) and two colonies (each worth 1 point).

We keep track of victory points using markers on the victory point track. Place your marker on the “4” space.

How to Play

First, each player rolls both dice. The player with the highest roll goes first. Now, let’s go through the three phases of each turn:

1. Production Phase: 1. Roll the dice. Planets with matching numbers produce resources. 2. You can also receive supplies from Earth.

During a game of Solar Frontier, there are three main phases that I go through. The first phase is the Trade and Building Phase. This is when I make trades with other players and construct buildings on the game board. It’s an exciting time because I’m strategizing and trying to outsmart my opponents.

Once the Trade and Building Phase is complete, I move on to the Flight Phase. This is when I get to move my starships across the galaxy. It’s like a thrilling adventure as I explore new planets and expand my influence. I carefully plan my moves, taking into account where my opponents’ starships are and where I want to go.

After the Flight Phase comes the Production Phase. This is a crucial part of the game because it determines how many resources I’ll have for the next round. I start by rolling the dice to see which planets will produce resources. If the number on the dice matches the resource chip on a planet, that planet will produce resources.

I collect one resource for each of my colonies and spaceports that are next to a planet with a matching resource chip. It’s like striking gold when a planet produces resources because it means I’ll have more to work with in the game.

However, if a “7” is rolled, things get a little tricky. Earth demands tribute, and I have to give up half of my resource cards if I have more than seven. It’s a tough decision to make because I don’t want to lose too many resources, but I also don’t want to give away too few.

Once I’ve completed the Production Phase, my turn is over, and I pass the dice to the player on my left. The game continues in this way, with each player going through the three phases until someone emerges as the ultimate winner.

Solar Frontier is an exciting game that requires strategy, planning, and a bit of luck. It’s a game that keeps me engaged and entertained, and I always look forward to playing it. If you enjoy games that involve resource management and galactic exploration, then you’ll love Solar Frontier. So gather your friends, roll the dice, and embark on a space adventure like no other!

Hey there! Let’s talk about what happens when someone rolls a 7 in the game. It’s a pretty interesting part, so listen up!

So, when a player rolls a 7, they get a special power. They can take one resource card from any other player. It’s like stealing in a game! The player who got stolen from has to pick a card at random and give it to the person who rolled the 7.

Let me give you an example to help you understand better. Let’s say the red player rolls an 8 during their turn. They get to take a Carbon resource card from both the yellow and blue players. It’s like a reward for rolling that number!

Now let’s move on to the next part of the game.

If a player has less than 9 Victory Points, they can get another advantage. They can draw a card from the reserve pile during their turn. This represents supplies sent from Earth. Pretty cool, right?

Oh, but here’s the catch: If a player already has more than 8 victory points, they don’t get to draw a card from the reserve pile anymore. They’re too good for those free cards!

So, here’s the deal. If you forget to draw a card, no worries! You can still draw it during your Trade and Building Phase. But hey, don’t forget to draw it before the phase is over, okay? ‘Cause if you do, then you’ll have to give up that card. Bummer, right?

Let’s Talk Trade and Building

During this phase, you have the freedom to trade and build as much as you want, in any order you want. It’s your time to shine!

Trading

1. Trading With Other Players

Now, during your Trade and Building Phase, you can trade resources with other players. Pretty cool, huh?

Here’s how it works: you tell everyone what resources you need and what you’re willing to give in return. Easy peasy.

Just remember, when it comes to trading, you can make deals with other players. But no trading between the other players themselves. You’re the star of the show!

2. Dealing with the Galactic Bank

The Galactic Bank is represented by the five resource piles. When it’s my turn, I can make trades with the bank by giving back three resource cards of the same kind and choosing a new resource card from the piles (trade ratio 3:1).

But, I can get an even better trade ratio if I have trade goods. If I trade in two trade goods cards, I can get any one card in return (trade ratio 2:1). And if I happen to have a merchant friendship card, I can improve my trade ratio with the Galactic Bank even more (check out the Almanac to learn about Friendship Cards).

Building

During the Trade and Building Phase, I can also construct new buildings. The only limit to building is the number of resource cards I have. I can keep constructing until I run out of resource cards or building pieces. The costs for each building are listed on the game overview cards.

I. Starships: Colony Ships and Trade Ships

Starships are essential vehicles for space exploration and commerce. They are composed of two main components: a transporter and either a colony module or a trade module.

If you wish to construct a colony ship, you must gather the necessary resource cards and exchange them for a colony module. Once obtained, you can attach one of your three transporters to the colony module.

So, let’s say you want to build a trade ship. What do you do? Well, it’s actually pretty simple. First, you need to gather the right combination of resource cards. Once you have the cards you need, you trade them in with the resource piles, and in return, you get a trade module from your reserves. It’s like making a deal!

But we’re not done yet! After you’ve got your trade module, the next step is to place one of your three transporters onto the module. That’s right, your transporter will be the one doing all the hard work, so choose wisely!

Building a trade ship may sound like a big task, but if you follow these steps, you’ll have your very own ship in no time. Good luck, and happy trading!

So here’s the deal: when you want to build a starship or trade ship in this game, you gotta put it on an open “spaceport intersection” right next to one of your spaceports. Sounds simple, right?

Well, hold your horses! There are a few conditions you need to keep in mind. Even if you’ve got all the resources you need, you can’t build a starship if all three of your transporters are already on the board. You gotta wait until one becomes available.

And it gets trickier. If you’ve used up all your colony modules, sorry buddy, but you can’t build a colony ship. Same goes for trade ships – if you’ve used up all your trade modules, tough luck, no trade ship for you.

Now, here’s another hurdle. If there are no empty spaceport intersections next to any of your spaceports, you gotta be patient and wait until one becomes available. Space is limited, you know?

But hey, there’s a silver lining! If you manage to build a starship during your Trade and Building phase, you get to move it during your Flight Phase later in the same turn. How cool is that?

When I build a starship, I can choose any of my three transporters. Each transporter has rings around the front end. If I have an encounter during my Flight Phase (see below), the starship with the fewest rings will be the one that has that encounter. We call this ship the First Starship.

2. Spaceports

I start the game with one spaceport. I can only build a starship in one of the two intersections adjacent to my spaceport. As the game progresses, the distance between the Catanian colonies and the unexplored planets will get greater. I can choose to build new spaceports in faraway colonies to help speed up my efforts.

Creating spaceports involves expanding an existing colony. It requires 3 Carbon and 2 Food resources. You discard these cards and place a spaceport ring from your reserve onto a colony of your choice.

A spaceport is worth two victory points and produces the same output as a colony. However, even if a planet adjacent to a spaceport is rolled, it still only produces one resource card. The great part is that you don’t need to use transporter units to deliver spaceport rings.

3. Enhancing the Mother Ship

You have the option to improve your ships by purchasing expansions for your mother ship. You can expand it by adding freight rings, boosters, and cannons. By paying the right combination of resources, you can attach the new expansion to your mother ship.

Every booster you add increases the speed of all your starships by one.

When I add cannons to my starships, it makes them stronger in combat. Each cannon gives my starships a boost of one point in their combat strength.

On the other hand, when I add freight rings to my trade ships, it increases their trade capacity. This allows me to transport more goods and resources.

But there are limits to how much I can expand my mother ship. It can have a maximum of 6 cannons, 6 boosters, and 5 freight rings. I need to choose how to allocate these upgrades wisely.

During the Flight Phase…

If I don’t have any starships on the board, I can’t make any moves, and the turn goes to the next player. So it’s crucial to have starships in play to stay in the game.

When I do have starships, the first thing I need to do is determine their speed. I roll the dice with my mother ship to find out how fast my ships can move. This roll also determines if my first ship encounters anything interesting.

Once I have my speed, I can move my ships according to the flight rules. Here’s what they can do:

Starships can explore new planets, uncovering valuable resources and expanding my knowledge of the galaxy.

Colony ships have a special ability: they can move to colony intersections to establish new colonies. This is where I can make use of colony modules and start building a presence in different corners of the galaxy.

Did you know that trade ships can be moved to outpost intersections to establish trading outposts? These outposts come equipped with trading outpost modules to facilitate trading activities. Pretty neat, right?

Now, let’s talk about how to determine the speed of these ships.

It’s quite an interesting process, actually. To determine the speed, we “roll” the mother ship. How? Well, first we turn it upside down and give it a good shake. Then, we turn it back right side up, and something magical happens. Two balls fall into a transparent cylinder at the base of the ship.

But here’s the thing – the color of these balls actually determines the ship’s speed. Each color represents a specific value, which you can find listed on the game overview card. To get the ship’s roll, you simply add up these two values. This roll will not only determine the ship’s base speed but also whether there will be an event during that turn. Exciting, huh?

Now, let’s dive into the possibilities based on whether the black ball has fallen into the cylinder or not:

1. If the black ball hasn’t rolled

So, here’s how it works. The speed of your ships depends on the ship roll. Let’s say you roll a red and blue ball – that gives you a base speed of “4”. Simple enough, right?

But it doesn’t stop there. You can amp up your ships’ speed even more. How? Well, you add the base speed to the number of boosters you have on the mother ship, and any speed boosts from friendship cards. This total sum is what we call the “total speed” of your fleet. The more boosters and friendship cards you have, the faster your ships will go.

When it comes to moving my starships, I have a total speed that applies to each of them. I can move each ship a certain number of intersections, up to my total speed. But of course, I have to follow the flight rules when I’m moving my ships.

Let me give you an example. Say I’m the yellow player and I roll a base speed of 4. That means I don’t have any boosters or friendship cards to help me go faster. I have one starship on the board, so I can move it up to 4 intersections. Pretty straightforward, right?

2. If I Roll the Black Ball.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. If I roll the black ball, I have an encounter before I can move. It adds a little extra spice to the game.

Here’s how it works: the player to my left draws the top encounter card from the stack. They read the question in the first box, but they don’t show the card to anyone. It’s a secret!

Now, it’s my turn to respond to the question. How I answer will determine what happens next. The player to my left will read out the chosen result based on my response. It’s like a little adventure within the game.

So here’s what happens. I’m reading through the responses to whatever choices the current player made, right? I keep going until I get to the end of the encounter card.

Once I reach the end, that’s when the final result of the encounter kicks in. After that, I just toss the encounter card onto the discard pile. Simple as that!

Oh, quick note: If the encounter result does something to one of my starships, it’s always the first one that takes the hit. You know, the ship with the fewest rings on its transporter tip.

If I manage to negotiate my way through an encounter like a pro, I get to snag a fame ring. I put those bad boys on the tip of my mother ship. But, here’s the catch – if the results of the encounter don’t go my way, I might have to say goodbye to one of my fame rings. Bummer, right?

Just in case you’re wondering, every two fame rings I collect are worth one victory point. So they’re definitely something to aim for!

So after I finish an encounter, my speed always goes back to 3. It doesn’t matter which balls I use. But check this out – if I used any boosters or got any new friendship cards during the encounter, those count as extra speed. Cool, huh?

Discovering New Worlds

When I move my starship onto an intersection next to a planet with a hidden resource chip, marked by those red arrows on the drawing, I can take a peek at the other side of that planet’s chip. And if I move my starship onto a colony intersection, I can check out the chips on both planets next to it.

But here’s the catch – I can’t tell the other players what I found. I have to keep the chip’s identity secret. So I put it back face down on the planet it came from.

Now, if my starship still has some movement left, I can keep exploring other planets.

Starting a Colony

When I move one of my colony ships to an empty colony intersection, I get to see the resource chips on both planets next to it. Talk about a sneak peek!

If neither of the spaceships is a pirate hideout or an icy planet, I can start a settlement.

I take the transporter away from the settlement and put it back in my supplies. Then I turn both planet chips face up to see what resources they have.

A settlement is worth one victory point, and I get resources whenever I roll the right number.

Once I start a settlement, I can’t take it apart and turn it back into a settlement module.

Starting Trading Outposts

Each alien home base has five places where I can start outposts. Each place has a number from 1 to 5.

I can start an outpost with an alien race by moving a trade ship to the lowest numbered empty place near that home base.

To set up a trading post, I need to upgrade my mother ship with freight rings. The number of freight rings on my mother ship must be equal to or greater than the number marked on the outpost intersection.

If I meet these requirements, I can remove the transporter from the trading post and put it back in my reserves.

If I become the first player to set up a trading outpost with a particular race (meaning I place my outpost on the “1” space attached to their home base), I automatically earn a friendship chip for that race. Each friendship chip is worth 2 victory points, so I’ll move my victory point marker forward by 2 spaces.

Once I’ve established a trading outpost with a race, I can take a look at all the unclaimed friendship cards on their home base. I have the freedom to choose any one of these cards and put it face up in front of me. Each friendship card comes with its own set of advantages, which I can start using right away.

When I’m establishing additional trading outposts at my home base, I need to be mindful of where I place them. The second outpost must go on the intersection numbered “2”, the third outpost on space 3, the fourth outpost on space 4, and the fifth outpost on space 5. It’s important to note that the minimum number of freight rings on the mother ship should be equal to the number of the outpost’s intersection. And here’s something exciting: each trading outpost I establish allows me to choose a friendship card!

Now, here’s where things get really interesting. The player with the most trading outposts at a single home base gets the friendship chip for that race and earns two valuable points. But what happens if there’s a tie? Well, in that case, the player who owns the trading outpost with the lowest number gets the chip. It’s a double-edged sword because while having more outposts gives you an advantage, you have to be strategic and try to secure the lowest numbered outpost to break ties.

Pirate Lairs and Ice Planets

I can’t start a colony next to a planet that has a pirate lair chip or an ice planet chip. However, if I succeed in defeating a pirate lair or making an ice planet habitable, I can trade the pirate or ice chip for a resource chip from the pile.

(Resource chips have white dots on their back).

I’ll keep the pirate or ice chip in front of me. Each chip is worth one victory point.

To defeat a pirate hideout, you need to have your spaceship on a spot next to the planet where the hideout is located. In order to succeed, the combined number of cannons on your main ship and your friendship cards must be equal to or greater than the number shown on the pirate hideout chip.

If you have a starship next to the ice planet and your mother ship has enough freight rings, you can take away an ice planet chip.

Rules for Flying

When you move your starships, you have to follow these flight rules:

You can move each of your starships as many intersections as your speed allows. You can choose not to move a starship if you don’t want to.

A starship can move to the same intersection multiple times during a move.

A starship can move through an intersection that has another starship (yours or someone else’s), a colony, a spaceport, or a trading outpost.

You won’t be able to park your starship next to someone else’s spaceport or on a spot where there’s already a starship, colony, spaceport, or trading outpost. The same goes for colony ships and trade ships—they have their own restrictions too. If you start your flight on a colony spot, you can’t end it on the same spot unless you actually found a colony there that turn. And if you want to end your trade ship’s move on a trade intersection, you need to make sure your mother ship has enough freight rings and that you found a trading outpost. Now, when it comes to keeping track of victory points, you’ll move your marker forward or backward depending on whether you gain or lose a victory point. Finally, when the game comes to an end, it’s all about who has the most victory points.