Overview

Colony is a strategic engine-building game where players construct and upgrade buildings to grow their fledgling colony. In a clever twist, dice are used as resources — each face value represents a different resource type. Players draft dice from a shared pool, use them to purchase and activate buildings, and compete to accumulate the most victory points. The game features 28 different building types, but only 7 (plus fixed buildings) are used each game, ensuring high replayability.

Components

• Large supply of dice (used as resources)
• 28 different building card types (variable setup cards)
• 3 fixed building card types (used every game)
• Player boards/areas
• CHIPI tokens (wild resources)
• Score track or VP tokens

Setup

1. Place the 3 fixed building types (Construction, Warehouse, Upgrade Facility) in the center as a shared supply.
2. Randomly select 7 of the 28 variable building types and place them in the center (or use a predetermined set for balanced play).
3. Each player takes a starting building and starting resources (dice).
4. Roll all remaining dice to form the resource pool in the center.
5. Determine a starting player.

Turn Structure

Each turn consists of three phases:

1. Draft Phase: Select dice from the shared pool.
2. Build/Activate Phase: Use dice (resources) to buy buildings, activate building abilities, and upgrade buildings.
3. End Phase: Return unused dice to the pool; pass to the next player.

Actions

Draft Dice

• On your turn, select dice from the shared resource pool.
• The number of dice you may draft depends on your buildings and upgrades.
• Each die face represents a resource of that value (1 = basic resource, 6 = rare resource).

Buy Buildings

• Pay dice matching the building’s resource cost to purchase a building card.
• Place the building in your colony (player area). It is now available for activation and scoring.
• Each building type has a limited supply; once sold out, no more can be purchased.

Activate Buildings

• Many buildings have special abilities that trigger when activated.
• Activation may require spending additional dice or meeting conditions.
• Abilities include: generating extra resources, converting dice values, stealing from opponents, scoring bonus VP, etc.

Upgrade Buildings

• Some buildings can be upgraded to more powerful versions.
• Pay the upgrade cost (specific dice values) to flip or replace the building with its upgraded side.
• Upgraded buildings provide better abilities and/or more VP.

Trade and Convert

• Fixed buildings allow basic trades: convert dice to different values, store dice for future turns, etc.
• The Construction building allows purchasing other buildings.
• The Warehouse lets you store dice between turns.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when a set number of building stacks are depleted (varies by player count). Players then total their victory points from:

• VP values printed on buildings in their colony
• Bonus VP from building abilities
• VP from stored resources (if applicable)

The player with the most VP wins. Ties are broken by the number of remaining resources.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Dice as resources: The face value of each die determines what type of resource it is. You cannot freely change die values unless a building ability allows it.
• CHIPI tokens: These wild resources can substitute for any single die value when purchasing or activating.
• Variable setup: Using different combinations of the 28 building types each game creates very different strategic landscapes. Some sets favor aggressive play, others favor engine-building.
• Solo mode: A solo variant is included where the player competes against a target score.
• Rerolling: Some buildings allow you to reroll dice in the supply or your own dice to change their values.
• Stacking limits: You may have multiple copies of the same building in your colony unless a card specifies otherwise.

Player Reference

Resource Die Values
1-2: Common resources
3-4: Uncommon resources
5-6: Rare resources

Phase	Action
Draft	Take dice from shared pool
Build	Spend dice to buy/upgrade buildings
Activate	Use building abilities
End	Return unused dice

Win Condition

Most VP from buildings when supply depleted