Ad Astra

Overview

In the far future, humanity has evolved into five factions suited to different planetary environments. As Sol dwindles, players guide factions to explore star systems, colonize planets, build factories, terraform worlds, and trade resources. Actions are driven by a shared planning board where players simultaneously program action cards each round. The game ends when all planets have been explored or a player reaches 50 victory points; the player with the most points wins.

Components

• 1 Planning board (with 15 action spaces and scoring track)
• 150 Resource cards (25 each of 6 types: Water, Food, Energy, Ore-Xanthium, Ore-Yoyodium, Ore-Zozodium)
• 55 Action cards (11 per player, 5 sets)
• 25 Starship pawns (5 per player, 4 usable + 1 spare)
• 25 Colony pawns (5 per player, 4 usable + 1 spare)
• 25 Factory pawns (5 per player, 4 usable + 1 spare)
• 25 Terraformer pawns (5 per player, 4 usable + 1 spare)
• 11 Alien artifact cards (including 2 optional)
• 43 Planet tokens (6 types + 5 alien planets)
• 9 Star tokens (1 white Sol + 8 colored: large/small/twin/nebula in red and yellow)
• 5 Scoring tokens, 1 First Player token
• 5 Player reference sheets

Setup

1. Each player takes: 11 action cards, 4 starship/colony/factory/terraformer pawns, 1 scoring token, 1 reference card.
2. Place the 9 stars face up on the table. Sol (white) is the starting system.
3. Place face-down planets around Sol equal to the number of players. Each player flips one and places a factory on it (no alien planets for starting positions).
4. Distribute remaining planets face-down around other stars (3-7 per system).
5. Sort resource cards by type into a face-up resource bank.
6. Shuffle alien artifact cards face-down (optionally remove the 2 optional cards).
7. Each player takes 1 resource card of each type (6 cards total).
8. Place planning board. Use first 12 spaces for 3-4 players; all 15 for 5 players.
9. Randomly select first player (takes first player token).
10. All scoring tokens on “0”. Each player places 1 starship in deep space.

Turn Structure

The game is played in rounds, each with two phases:

1. Planning Phase

Starting with the first player, clockwise, each player places 1 action card face-down on any empty planning board space. This repeats until all spaces are filled.

• 3 players: 4 cards each (12 spaces)
• 4 players: 3 cards each (12 spaces)
• 5 players: 3 cards each (15 spaces)

Cards can go on any empty space (no need to fill in order).

2. Action Phase

Reveal cards in order from space 1 onward. For each card:

• The card owner acts first, then other players clockwise.
• Exception: “Identical Resources” and “Different Resources” scoring start with the player to the owner’s left.

End of Round

No player may have more than 10 resource cards; discard excess. All players retrieve their used action cards (except scoring cards, which return only when all 3 have been played).

Actions

Production

Owner chooses 1 of the 2 resource types shown on the card (choice applies to all players).

• Colony or Starship on matching planet: 1 resource card each
• Factory on matching planet: 2 resource cards
• Alien planets never produce resources.
• If bank runs short, cards distributed clockwise from card owner until empty.

Movement

Owner moves 1 starship first. Then each other player (clockwise) moves 1 starship. Then owner moves all remaining starships.

Movement costs:

From	To	Cost
Deep space	Any planet	Free
Planet in system	Deep space	1 Energy
Planet to planet (same system)	Same system (if on card)	1 Energy
Planet in different system	Planet in system on card	2 Energy

When entering a system, the player may secretly view all face-down planets, then either land on a face-up planet or reveal a face-down planet and land there.

• Cannot land on a planet with another player’s pawns.
• Discovering an alien planet grants 1 alien artifact card (drawn randomly).
• The starting system (Sol) cannot be moved to (it does not appear on movement cards).

Build

Card owner may build any number of items. Other players may build 1 item each (clockwise).

Item	Cost	Requirement
Colony	Water + Food + 1 any Ore	Starship on planet OR terraformed planet
Factory	Water + Food + Energy	Colony already on that planet (colony is removed)
Terraformer	Energy + Food	Colony, Factory, or Starship on a non-alien planet
Starship	Water + Energy + Food + 1 any Ore	Placed in deep space

• Only 1 colony or factory per planet.
• Colony on alien planet: +3 VP (no production).
• Factory on alien planet: +6 VP (no production).
• Terraforming: +4 VP immediately.

Trade

All players reveal their resource cards. Card owner may:

• Trade with any player (both must agree).
• Trade with bank: return 2 identical cards, receive 1 card of any type.
• Make unlimited trades.

Other players cannot trade with each other or the bank. After trading, all cards go back to hand.

Scoring

Owner chooses 1 of the 2 scoring elements on the card. All players score for that element. 3-point bonus to the player who scored the most (no bonus if tied). Playing a scoring card makes you the first player.

Scoring cards are set aside after use and only returned when all 3 of a player’s scoring cards have been played.

Element	Points Per
Colonies/Factories	1 per colony, 2 per factory
Starships	2 per starship
Terraformers	3 per terraformed planet
Systems	1 per system with your presence
Identical Resources	1 per card discarded (min 2, all same type)
Different Resources	1 per card discarded (2-6, all different types)

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends at the end of a round when either:

• The last planet in play is revealed, OR
• A player reaches 50+ victory points.

The player with the highest score wins.

Points come from: scoring card actions, building on alien planets (colonies +3, factories +6), and terraforming (+4).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Alien artifact cards are kept secret until used. Each can only be used once, then removed from the game. “Repositorium Alienum” must be revealed and applied immediately.
• A player has only 6 of the 8 non-Sol systems on their movement cards, requiring use of other players’ cards to reach the remaining 2.
• Maximum hand size: 10 resource cards (discard excess at end of round).
• Each player has only 4 usable pawns of each type.
• Scoring cards cycle: only retrieved when all 3 have been played.

Player Reference

Action Card Types (per player: 11 cards)

• 3 Production cards (each shows 2 resource types)
• 3 Movement cards (each shows 2 star systems)
• 1 Build card
• 1 Trade card
• 3 Scoring cards (each shows 2 scoring elements)

Building Costs Quick Reference

Build	Water	Food	Energy	Ore (any)
Colony	1	1	-	1
Factory	1	1	1	-
Terraformer	-	1	1	-
Starship	1	1	1	1

Key Numbers

• Game end: 50 VP or all planets revealed
• Max hand: 10 resource cards
• Planning board: 12 spaces (3-4 players), 15 spaces (5 players)
• Scoring bonus: +3 VP to highest scorer per scoring action