Overview

Buck Rogers: Battle for the 25th Century is a strategic board game published by TSR in 1988. Players control competing factions vying for control of the solar system. Each faction has a Leader character, military units, and Factories to produce more units. The game is played on a board depicting the solar system with planets orbiting the Sun, territorial zones on planetary surfaces, and orbital/space zones for ship movement. Players move units, engage in combat, and build new forces to achieve victory.

Components

• 1 game board (Solar System Display with planetary maps)
• 6 Leaders (Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering, Doc Huer, Killer Kane, Ardala, Black Barney)
• 356 miniatures per color (120 Troopers, 48 Gennies, 24 Transports, 90 Fighters, 36 Battlers, 14 Killer Satellites, 24 Factories)
• 199 counters per color (138 Control Markers, 48 Transport Markers, 13 Planet Markers)
• 54 cards (6 Leader Cards, 6 Turn Order Cards, 42 Territory Cards)
• 45 white 1-unit chips and 5 red 5-unit chips
• 5 ten-sided dice
• 1 Basic Rulebook and 1 Advanced Rulebook

Setup

1. Place each Planet Marker sun-side up on the SSD Space Zone matching their abbreviation.
2. Each player chooses a Faction tray and Leader.
3. Deal each player 6 Territory cards (9 for 3 players, 12 for 2 players).
4. Place one Control Marker in each of your 6 dealt Territory zones.
5. Each player receives 18 Starting Units: 1 Leader, 8 Troopers, 1 Transport, 2 Factories, 2 Gennies, 4 Fighters.
6. Roll 1d10 for start player, then proceed clockwise. Each player in turn places 3 units onto any single Territorial Zone with one of their Control Markers.
7. Continue for 6 placement turns until all 18 Starting Units have been placed. No Zone may contain more than 6 units during Setup.

Turn Structure

Each turn consists of 4 phases completed in order:

Phase 1 – Turn Setup:

• a) Planetary Movement: Slide each Planet Marker 1 Space Zone counter-clockwise along its orbit, then flip the Planet Marker. Units do not move with planets.
• b) Player Turn Order: Each player rolls 1d10; high roller is the new start player. If high roll is even, movement goes clockwise; if odd, counter-clockwise.

Phase 2 – Movement:

• Each player moves in turn order. Move any number of units, each up to their movement allowance. Ships can move from Near Orbit to Far Orbit to SSD and vice versa. All units must stop on entering a Territorial Zone containing enemy units. Territorial Zones may not be occupied by more than 1 player at end of turn.

Phase 3 – Combat:

• Combat is mandatory in Territorial Zones, optional in Space/Orbit Zones. Resolve from center of solar system outward.
• Order of battles: (a) Killer Satellites free attacks, (b) Battlers bomb surface, (c) Territorial Zone battles, (d) Orbit battles, (e) Space Zone battles.
• Each battle consists of rounds. Combat is simultaneous; each unit attacks once per round.

Phase 4 – Building:

• Players in turn order declare what each Factory produces. New units are placed on the board.

Actions

Movement Allowances (Basic Game):

• Leader: 4 zones (any type, can travel in space without a ship)
• Trooper: 1 Territorial Zone
• Gennie: 1 Territorial Zone (can never leave their planet/moon/asteroid)
• Transport: 4 Space/Orbit/Territorial Zones (carries up to 5 Troopers or 1 Factory)
• Fighter: 4 Space/Orbit/Territorial Zones
• Battler: 4 Space/Orbit Zones only (may never enter Territorial Zones)

Combat Resolution:

1. Starting with the lowest turn order player, announce 1 unit to attack with.
2. Announce target unit (may not target escorted Transport or Leader directly).
3. Find hit number on Combat Result Table. Roll 1d10, add +2 if your Leader is present.
4. If hit, tap target — it is destroyed at end of Combat Round.
5. Repeat until all units have attacked.
6. Territorial Zone battles must be fought to the death. Orbit/Space Zone battles can be called off if all sides agree.

Building (Factory Production per turn):

• 1-turn builds: 2 Troopers, or 2 Gennies, or 1 Fighter, or 1 Transport, or 1 Trooper + 1 Gennie
• 2-turn builds: 1 Battler (placed in Near Orbit), or 1 Factory (adjacent friendly zone), or 1 Killer Satellite (placed in Near Orbit)
• A Factory may not produce if loaded on a Transport, in the same Zone as another Factory, or built this turn.

Transport Operations:

• Loading/unloading is free and can be done multiple times along a Transport’s move.
• A Trooper can move before loading but not after unloading.
• All transported units are destroyed if their Transport is destroyed.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

A player wins by achieving any of these conditions:

1. Control 15 Territorial Zones at the end of any turn (20 for 3 players, 25 for 2 players).
2. Control the last Leader on the board at any time.
3. Convince everyone else to surrender.
4. Control the most Territorial Zones when Earth returns to its start space (completing one revolution around the Sun). In case of a tie, the player with the most zones at the end of any future turn wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Defeated Leaders (Basic): A Leader is defeated if left alone among the enemy with no friendly units. If a Faction’s only Leader is defeated, all units of that Faction are rendered inert — the Faction loses the rest of the current turn and all 4 phases of the next turn.
• Defeated Leaders (Advanced): Defeated Leaders are held captive and return after 2 full turns, placed anywhere on the board.
• Factory Sabotage: If all your units are eliminated from a Zone with your Factory, roll 1d10: on 7+ the Factory is destroyed; otherwise the enemy captures it.
• Black Market: A player with no Factories may acquire 1 Trooper or Fighter per turn (or wait 2 turns for a Factory).
• Killer Satellites: Require control of all surface zones of a planet (or majority with optional rule). Only 1 per Near Orbit. Gets free attacks on every enemy ship before normal combat.
• Advanced Leader Abilities: Buck Rogers (Fighters hit on 4+), Wilma Deering (immunity to pass-through fire), Doc Huer (+2 movement), Killer Kane (free pre-combat attack), Ardala (steal 2 units or control enemy Leader), Black Barney (capture ships instead of destroying them).
• Commando Operations (Advanced): Troopers/Gennies can attempt to destroy an enemy Factory; each surviving commando rolls 1d10 per round, destroying the Factory on 6+.
• Retreat (Advanced): At end of any Combat Round, surviving units can move 1 zone away, subject to pass-through fire from enemies in the combat zone.

Player Reference

Unit	Build Time	Movement	Special
Leader	N/A	4 (any zone)	+2 combat bonus to all friendly units
Trooper	2 per turn	1 (territorial)	Can load onto Transports
Gennie	2 per turn	1 (territorial)	Cannot leave home planet/moon
Fighter	1 turn	4 (any zone)	Versatile combat unit
Transport	1 turn	4 (space/orbit/territorial)	Carries 5 Troopers or 1 Factory
Battler	2 turns	4 (space/orbit only)	Bombards surface from orbit (7+ to hit)
Killer Satellite	2 turns	Stationary	Free attack on all enemy ships in Near Orbit
Factory	2 turns	N/A	Produces units; captured if undefended

Victory Conditions by Player Count:

• 4-6 players: Control 15 Territorial Zones
• 3 players: Control 20 Territorial Zones
• 2 players: Control 25 Territorial Zones