Mission: Red Planet

Overview

Mission: Red Planet is an area-majority game set in a Victorian steampunk era where players lead mining corporations sending astronauts to Mars. Over 10 rounds, players simultaneously select character cards to place astronauts on ships, manipulate the board, and compete for majority in Mars zones to mine resources (ice, celerium, sylvanite). Points come from resource tokens, mission cards, and discoveries. The player with the most points wins.

Components

• 1 Mars game board (4 pieces, 10 zones)
• 1 launchpad (3-6 dock pieces based on player count)
• 86 point tokens (40 ice, 23 celerium, 23 sylvanite)
• 36 ship cards
• 30 event cards (13 missions, 13 discoveries, 4 actions)
• 1 global mission card (“Ice Monopoly”)
• 54 character cards (9 per color, for 6 players)
• 132 plastic astronauts (22 per color)
• 20 destination tokens (2 per zone)
• 11 resource tokens (placed on Mars zones)
• 1 round tracker
• 1 Lost in Space Memorial
• 1 Moon of Phobos

Setup

1. Assemble Mars in the center. Place Phobos and Lost in Space Memorial nearby.
2. Build launchpad with docks equal to player count.
3. Place “Ice Monopoly” card face up. Sort point tokens by type.
4. Shuffle ship deck; draw ships equal to player count, place one at each dock. Replace unknown-destination ships.
5. Each player takes 9 character cards and all astronauts of their color.
6. Randomly place 1 astronaut per player on ships. Leftmost dock player is first player.
7. Place 1 resource token face down on each Mars zone and Phobos (1 remaining token set aside).
8. Deal 2 mission cards to each player; each keeps 1 (secret). Return unchosen cards to deck.
9. Create event deck by shuffling discoveries, actions, and remaining missions.

Turn Structure

The game lasts 10 rounds. Each round:

1. Choose Character: All players simultaneously select 1 character card from hand, place face down.
2. Resolve Character Effects: First player counts down from 9 to 1. When your character’s number is called, reveal and resolve its effect. Same number = clockwise order.
3. Land Launched Ships: Full ships (or ships at end of round) fly to their destination zones. Astronauts aboard are placed in the zone.
4. Draw New Docked Ships: Refill empty docks from the ship deck.
5. Assign New First Player: The player whose character had the lowest number becomes first player.
6. Advance Round Tracker: Move to next round.

Production Phases (after rounds 5, 8, and 10)

After specific rounds, production occurs:

• In each zone, the player with the most astronauts receives resource point tokens.
• If tied for majority, tied players split points (rounded down).
• Reveal face-down resource tokens during the first production.

Actions

Character Cards (numbered 9 to 1)

#	Character	Effect
9	Recruiter	Place 1 astronaut in each docked ship with room
8	Explorer	Place 1 astronaut on a docked ship AND move up to 3 astronauts between adjacent Mars zones
7	Scientist	Place 1 astronaut on a docked ship AND draw 2 event cards, keep 1
6	Secret Agent	Place 1 astronaut on a docked ship AND swap 2 astronauts between Mars zones
5	Saboteur	Destroy a docked ship (all astronauts go to Lost in Space Memorial)
4	Femme Fatale	Place 1 astronaut on a docked ship by replacing an opponent’s astronaut
3	Travel Agent	Place 2 astronauts on docked ships
2	Soldier	Place 1 astronaut on a docked ship AND destroy 1 opponent’s astronaut in a zone
1	Pilot	Place 1 astronaut on a docked ship AND change a docked ship’s destination

Used character cards go to a discard pile. After round 5, all discarded cards return to hand.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Production Phases (after rounds 5, 8, 10)

For each zone: the player with the most astronauts claims the zone’s resource token(s). Ties split evenly (rounded down). Second-majority gets nothing.

Resource Point Values

• Ice: 1 point each
• Celerium: 2 points each (in some editions varies)
• Sylvanite: 3 points each (in some editions varies)

Additional Scoring

• Mission cards: Score if conditions are met at game end.
• Discovery cards: Special bonuses resolved when drawn or at game end.
• Global Mission (Ice Monopoly): Most ice tokens = 9 bonus points (ties split).

End of Game

After the 3rd production phase (end of round 10), total all points from resources, missions, discoveries, and global mission. Highest total wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Ships launch when full (capacity shown on card) or at end of round if at dock.
• Astronauts sent to Lost in Space Memorial are permanently removed.
• Phobos functions like a Mars zone for majority and scoring.
• Unknown-destination ships have their destination revealed when they launch.
• Character cards are recycled after round 5 (all discards return to hand).
• Players with the same character resolve in clockwise order from first player.
• A player may choose not to fully execute their character’s effect.

Player Reference

Round: Choose character (simultaneous) -> Resolve 9 down to 1 -> Land ships -> Refill docks -> New first player -> Advance tracker

Production: After rounds 5, 8, 10 – majority in each zone claims resources

Characters (high to low): 9-Recruiter, 8-Explorer, 7-Scientist, 6-Secret Agent, 5-Saboteur, 4-Femme Fatale, 3-Travel Agent, 2-Soldier, 1-Pilot

Card recycling: All used cards return to hand after round 5