Welcome to the Junk Orbit Game!

Hey there! I’m here to guide you through the exciting world of the Junk Orbit Game. Buckle up and get ready for an interstellar adventure!

What is the Junk Orbit Game?

The Junk Orbit Game is a fun-filled game where you become a space captain, navigating your way through the galaxy. Your mission is to collect junk from different planets and deliver it to recycling centers.

But wait, what’s so important about collecting junk, you ask? Well, it’s not just any junk – it’s space junk! As we explore the universe, we encounter all sorts of debris from broken satellites, discarded rocket parts, and more.

Why is it important to collect space junk?

Space junk poses a great risk to space travel and exploration. If left unchecked, it could cause collisions, damage to spacecraft, and even endanger the lives of astronauts. That’s why it’s crucial to clean up and recycle this junk.

By collecting and recycling space junk, we’re not only making the universe a safer place for future space missions, but we’re also taking a step towards preserving our planet Earth. Many of the materials found in space junk can be repurposed and used in new technologies here on Earth.

How do I play the Junk Orbit Game?

Playing the Junk Orbit Game is a breeze! Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Set up the game board by placing the planets and recycling centers in their designated spots.
2. Take turns being the space captain and choose a planet to visit.
3. Use the power of gravity to sling your ship and collect junk from the planet.
4. Plan your trajectory wisely to maximize your junk collection and avoid collisions.
5. Once you’ve collected enough junk, deliver it to the recycling center to earn points.
6. Keep navigating through space, collecting junk, and delivering it to recycling centers to score even more points.
7. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!

So, what are you waiting for? Join the Junk Orbit Game and become a space captain today!

One planet’s trash is another planet’s treasure! I’m in charge of my own scavenger ship, collecting space junk and delivering it to cities that are willing to accept it. When I launch cargo out the airlock, it not only allows me to make remote deliveries, but also propels my ship in the opposite direction, enabling me to make direct deliveries. It’s like playing with the laws of astrodynamics for fun and profit!

Let’s talk about the different components of this game:

– There are 5 location boards that provide the settings for our adventures.

– We start with 15 tiles that will help us get going.

– We have 37 Source: Earth Tiles that we can gather and use.

– There are also 29 Source: Moon Tiles that we can pick up.

– And to top it off, we have 47 Source: Mars Tiles that we can collect.

– Each player has their own ship token and ship card, allowing us to navigate the galaxy.

Now, let’s focus on the junk tiles themselves.

Value: The number on a junk tile shows how heavy it is. This is important because the heavier the junk, the more victory points (VP) you get at the end of the game when you deliver it.

Source: You can tell where a junk tile comes from by looking at its color:

• Source EARTH: Junk tiles with a blue back come from Earth.
• Source MOON: Junk tiles with a gray back come from the Moon.
• Source MARS: Junk tiles with a red back are from Mars.
• The STARTER junk tiles have a black back.

Destination: The name on top of the junk tile shows which city the junk tile should be delivered to. The background color of the city name helps you locate it easily:

• Blue for Earth destinations
• Gray for Moon destinations
• Red for Mars (including Phobos and Deimos) destinations

The starter junk tiles don’t have a destination.

Player Count: This tells you the number of players for which this tile is included in the game.

The Location Boards

Art: When you look at each board, you’ll see a beautiful celestial body depicted – Earth, the Moon, Mars, Phobos, or Deimos. Each of them has its own unique charm.

Cities: Take a closer look at the outer edge of the board, and you’ll notice several sections representing cities. On Earth and Mars, there are nine cities each, while the Moon has five cities. Phobos and Deimos, being smaller celestial bodies, have three and two cities respectively. Pay attention to the icons on the edges of the Moon, Phobos, and Deimos boards that match up with icons on the Earth and Mars boards. These icons help you align the boards correctly.

Day or Night side: Each board has two sides – a Day side for the basic game and a Night side for the advanced game. You can switch between them based on your preference and level of challenge.

The Ship Cards

Color and Icon: Every ship card represents one of the 5 ship tokens. Each ship token is assigned a unique color and icon to easily identify it.

Name: Choose a name for your ship! You can also add a short description to capture the essence of your ship’s story.

Reference: This section provides a summary of the actions and steps you will take on your turn. It serves as a handy reminder to keep you focused on your strategy.

Cargo: Think of this area as your ship’s storage space. Here, you can store any junk tiles that you have collected and are currently carrying on your ship.

Deliveries: This section is reserved for the junk tiles that you have successfully delivered. It’s where you can showcase your hard work and success!

Special Power: Your ship is special and comes with a unique power. Each ship card has two sides – the “A” side for the basic game and the “B” side for the advanced game. These sides offer different powers, giving you the chance to explore various strategies.

Setup

Example of a 5-player Setup

Let’s set up the location boards.

• If there are 2 or more players: We’ll need the Earth, Moon, and Mars boards. Arrange them so that Earth lines up with the Moon at Kilimanjaro (look for the stars), and Mars lines up with the Moon at Olympus (look for the asterisks).
• If there are 4 or more players: We’ll also need the Phobos board. Align it with the Mars board at Bradbury (look for the square) as shown.
• If there are 5 players: We’ll need the Deimos board as well. Align it with the Mars board at Hellas (look for the triangle) as shown.

Let’s prepare the junk tiles.

• For 2 or 3 players: We’ll use only the junk tiles marked for 2 or more players.
• For 4 players: We’ll use only the junk tiles marked for 2 or more and 4 or more players.
• For 5 players: We’ll use all of the junk tiles, including those marked for 5 or more players.

Now let’s seed the cities.

And don’t forget to give each player a ship.

Setting up the cargo

First, let’s get our cargo sorted. Each player will start with their own set of items.

Playing the Game

We’ll take turns, going in a circle, starting with the player who last took out the garbage (if no one has, we’ll all race to the nearest bin). We’ll keep playing until the game is over.

When it’s your turn, you have three steps to follow:

1. Launch some junk
2. Move your spaceship
3. Pick up more junk

Step 1: Launching Junk

Pick a junk tile from your cargo area. Move it either clockwise or counterclockwise (you decide!) around your current location board, away from your ship token.

When I launch a junk tile, it has to travel to a certain number of cities, determined by its value. Once it arrives at one of those cities, it can either come to a stop or make a special remote delivery. But there’s more to it than that – if the junk tile lands on an opponent’s ship, it can cause some trouble too.

If my junk tile stops at a city that isn’t its destination, it will stay there. I can have as many junk tiles as I want at a single city.

On the other hand, if my junk tile reaches its destination city, I’ve successfully made a remote delivery! I’ll place the junk tile face down in my deliveries area. It’s important to note that starter junk tiles don’t have a destination, so they can’t be delivered.

Ready, steady, go! If your junk tile ends up in a city where one of your rivals has a ship, bang! Their ship gets hit. And here’s the catch: that rival has to take a junk tile from their own load or delivery stash and plonk it right there in the same city where their ship got smacked. Oh, and guess what? If there are more than one of your rivals’ ships in that city, all of them get a taste of the smacking!

II. Time to Set Sail

When you launch a junk tile, pay attention to the value it holds. Now, you have to move your ship exactly that number of cities, but in the opposite direction of the tile you launched.

While moving, it’s okay to go through or even occupy the same city as your opponents’ ships. Once you finish your move, you can make a direct delivery, if possible.

Direct Delivery: If your ship stops at a city where you have junk tiles in your cargo, you can deliver them! You can deliver as many of those junk tiles as you want. Place the delivered junk tiles face down in your deliveries area.

III. Pick Up Junk

After moving your ship, pick up all the junk tiles at your ship’s current city and add them to your ship’s cargo. There’s no maximum limit for your cargo. Then, refill your current city.

Refill: When a city becomes empty, we need to add a new junk tile to it. The type of junk tile depends on the location of the city. An Earth city is always refilled with an Earth junk tile, a Moon city with a Moon junk tile, and a Mars city with a Mars junk tile.

Note: Kilimanjaro is an Earth city and Olympus is a Mars city.

Switching Orbits

There are special cities called transfer points, where you can switch the orbit of your launched junk or moving ship.

• Kilimanjaro is a transfer point between Earth and the Moon.
• Olympus is a transfer point between the Moon and Mars.
• Bradbury is a transfer point between Mars and Phobos.
• Hellas is a transfer point between Mars and Deimos.

When you want to switch orbits, you have the choice to do so. It’s not something you have to do, but it can be a helpful maneuver. If you decide to switch orbits, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, you need to make sure that your junk or ship is still moving in the same direction. For example, if you were traveling in a clockwise direction, switching orbits would mean that you start traveling in a counterclockwise direction, and vice versa.

Ready for Launch: I’m in charge of the yellow spaceship at Kepler. I’m about to launch a “4”. Let’s see what could happen next.

a It’s possible that my ship will change orbits and land on Tharsis. If that happens, I’ll have successfully delivered the junk to its intended destination! I’ll make sure to put this junk tile in my DELIVERIES pile.

b Alternatively, my ship might land on Copernicus. In that case, it will collide with the purple ship. The other player will then have to choose a junk tile from their CARGO or DELIVERIES pile to discard onto Copernicus.

c Another possibility is that my ship will come to rest on Hamilton.

d Or maybe my ship will switch orbits at Kilimanjaro and stop at NYC.

Example Move: So, you made the choice to go with the first option in the previous example, and you delivered that tile to Tharsis. As a result, your ship needs to move in the opposite direction, making its way through four cities. Now, let’s take a look at what could happen next.

a First, your ship might land on NYC. If that happens, you get to pick up all the tiles from NYC and place them in your CARGO. After that, you can refill NYC with an Earth tile.

b Alternatively, your ship may land on Hamilton. If that’s the case, and if you have two junk tiles in your CARGO headed for Hamilton, you can directly deliver them! Simply place those tiles in your DELIVERIES. Then, you get to pick up all the tiles from Hamilton and add them to your CARGO. Finally, refill Hamilton with a Moon tile.

End of the Game

The game comes to an end when a city needs to be refilled but there are no more tiles left in its stack. At this point, each player will take one final turn, and then the game will be over.