Nekonyancer[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_7Uuc6O.jpg[/img]
The Intergalactic Council needs a new space station to use as a base of operations, and you're in charge of the construction!
[green][tip] This tutorial is best viewed on a computer![/green]1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000
NekonyancerIn *Space Station Phoenix,* you and your opponents will gather resources to recruit aliens, dismantle ships for precious metal, and use the metal to build the greatest space station in the galaxy.
[green]When the game is over, whoever has the most points is the winner![/green]2archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000
NekonyancerThere are quite a lot of things on the table in this game, but they have been helpfully sorted into tabs.
*Click on the tab with your name. Then continue to the next textbox!*3ssp-tab-92143487000ssp-tab-92143487 7
NekonyancerThis tab features your *hub* at the top of the screen. It's the big hexagon. Your magnificent space station will eventually be built around it!
Each hub is *different,* granting different starting resources, bonuses, and endgame scoring mechanics.
[green]You can hover over it with your mouse to see an explanation of the iconography![/green]4archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000ssp-hub92143487-title 10
NekonyancerOur hub gives us a special bonus when we use *construction ships,* so we'll try and focus on that during the game!
[green][tip] We were assigned this hub, but you can enable a choice of hubs in the lobby options![/green]5archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000
NekonyancerBelow the hub, you can see your fleet of starships. Each player starts with exactly *nine* of them.
[red]*These 5 ships*[/red] are *level 1 ships,* which is indicated in the top-left corner of each card. Everyone has their own personal copies of these ships. 6ssp-ship23000ssp-ship23 6 ssp-ship21 6 ssp-ship24 6 ssp-ship25 6 ssp-ship22 6
NekonyancerYou also have [red]*two level 2 ships*[/red] and [green]*two level 3 ships.*[/green] These ships are upgraded versions of their level 1 counterparts, but they're more expensive to use!
Each player has a slightly different mix of level 2 and 3 ships. If you want to see what ships your opponent has, take a peek at their player tab!
Return to this tab before you continue!7archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000ssp-ship30 6 ssp-ship49 8 ssp-ship44 8 ssp-ship34 6
Nekonyancer[blue]Each turn, you can do one of two things:[/blue]
*- Trigger a ship's action.*
*- Take income.*
Most of the time, you'll be triggering a ship's action.
Here's a quick overview of the various ship actions...8archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000
Nekonyancer[red]*These are Dismantle ships.*[/red] They destroy other ships to give you a huge windfall of precious metal!
[blue]*These are Construction ships.*[/blue] They use metal to construct new sectors for your space station!
*[green]These are Terran Expedition ships.[/green]* They can help you get plants and water!9ssp-ship49000ssp-ship23 1 ssp-ship30 1 ssp-ship49 1 ssp-ship21 2 ssp-ship44 2 ssp-ship24 3 ssp-ship34 3
Nekonyancer*[red]This is your Transport ship.[/red]* It can use water and plants to transport residents to their new homes on your space station!
*[blue]This is your Diplomacy ship.[/blue]* Advancing on Diplomacy tracks will give you bonuses whenever other actions are taken!10ssp-ship25000ssp-ship25 1 ssp-ship22 2
NekonyancerThe cost of each ship is shown in the top right corner. If we use [red]*this construction ship,*[/red] we'll have to put four gems down onto it, as shown by the number on the left. The other number is an additional cost for any opponent who might want to use our ship!
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_VpQ8g1.jpg[/img]11archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment000ssp-ship21 6
NekonyancerThat *additional cost* is paid to the *ship's owner.*
So if another player wanted to use our construction ship, they'd have to put four gems down on the card, and then give a fifth gem to us.12ssp-ship21000ssp-ship21 6
Nekonyancer[green]*Our level 3 construction ship*[/green] is much more expensive - 8 gems (plus 3 for opponents) - but it gives us a *2 metal discount* on the construction.13ssp-ship44000ssp-ship44 8
NekonyancerAs you can see in our *inventory,* we started the game with [red]15 gems[/red] and [blue]4 metal.[/blue] 15 gems is plenty, and generally metal is a more limited resource than gems, so using the Level 3 construction ship seems like a better deal than its Level 1 counterpart.
We'll start off this tutorial by using it!14overall_player_board_92143487000ssp-gems-92143487 1 ssp-resource3-92143487 2
NekonyancerBut before we try constructing a sector, let's take a quick look at the [green]*Sectors*[/green] tab!
*Click on the Sectors tab before continuing.*15ssp-tab-sectors000ssp-tab-sectors 8
NekonyancerThese are the sectors available for construction!
[blue]There are three different sector colors:[/blue]
*Pink, brown, and green.*
The number of sectors available for each color is always equal to the number of players. This is a *2-player game,* so there are *2 pinks, 2 browns,* and *2 greens.*18ssp-sector103000
NekonyancerThere is also an equal number of *Level 2* and *Level 3 sectors,* but we can't build those yet!19ssp-sectors2-sectors000
NekonyancerEach sector has a cost in metal, slots for residents, and a bonus for each filled resident slot. You can hover over each sector for more info!
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_5bq1Dx.jpg[/img]20ssp-sector122000
NekonyancerThis particular sector has a construction bonus that should synergize nicely with our *hub's* bonuses.
Let's construct it!21ssp-sector122000
Nekonyancer*1. Click on your player tab.*
*2. Select the Level 3 Construction ship.*
*3. Select on the Pink sector!*
*4. Click on "Confirm" at the top!*22archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment010ssp-button-confirm 20 ssp-tab-92143487 17 ssp-sector122 19 ssp-ship44 18
Nekonyancer*Head back to your player tab!*
[blue]As you can see, the sector has been attached to your station's hub![/blue]
Each player is only allowed to have one sector of each color *per level.* That means we can't build another level 1 pink sector, but we *CAN* build a Level *2* pink sector, attaching it to the first one!1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd62ce8ba3100
NekonyancerEach player can build a level 1, level 2, and level 3 sector for *each* of the three colors.
That means you can build a maximum of *nine sectors!*2archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd62ce8ba3100
NekonyancerNext, note that our sector came with an [blue]*alien*[/blue] on one of its resident slots! That's because of our *hub's bonus:* +1 pink/green/brown alien whenever we use a construction ship!
This slot bonus gives us +1 gem whenever we take income. I'll explain more about income later.3ssp-residence122-resident0-162dd62ce8ba3100ssp-residence122-resident0-1 7
NekonyancerBGA automatically gave us a *Pink Circle alien* because our *sector* is pink! Pink Circle, Brown Square, and Green Triangle aliens can only live in sectors that match their color!
It's because of life support issues, not segregation.
There are also *Gold Circle* aliens, who can live anywhere.4ssp-residence122-resident0-162dd62ce8ba3100
NekonyancerYou can see how many aliens are left here, in the [red]*supply.*[/red]
The number of aliens of each type varies from game to game, but the *total* is consistent: *50/70/90* aliens for *2/3/4* player game.5ssp-info-supply-humanoid362dd62ce8ba3100ssp-info-title 1
NekonyancerThere are also [red]*human astronauts.*[/red] They can also live in any sector because they have spacesuits to protect them. There are *16/20/24* astronauts for a *2/3/4* player game.7ssp-info-supply-humanoid562dd62ce8ba3100ssp-info-supply-humanoid5 1
NekonyancerFinally, note that the ship we used is grayed out and has a gem symbol on it.
This means it has been *used.* It cannot be used again until we use the *Take Income* action!8ssp-ship4462dd62ce8ba3100
Nekonyancer*We finished our action, so go ahead and click on "End turn" at the top!*9ssp-buttonEndTurn62dd62ce8ba3110ssp-buttonEndTurn 16
Nekonyancer[blue]Okay, time for our next turn.[/blue]
Wait, didn't we have *7 gems* when we ended our turn? [green]We somehow got two extra gems![/green]
If you check the game log, you'll see it was because of a *diplomacy bonus!* I better explain how that works.
Click on the [red]*Diplomacy tab*[/red] before you go to the next textbox!1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd635e2693200ssp-tab-diplomacy 6
NekonyancerThis is the *Diplomacy Board.*
There are *four columns* (tracks), each marked by a symbol at the bottom. From left to right, they are marked as *Dismantle, Construction, Transport, and Expedition.*
Each player has a marker on each track. 2archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd635e2693200
NekonyancerWhenever *anyone* takes an action, *every player* gets a benefit according to their position on the corresponding track.
The player who is *highest* in that track gets to take the reward shown in that row.
Other players get the reward shown in the row *below* their marker.
In both cases, lesser rewards from lower rows can be chosen if desired.3archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd635e2693200
NekonyancerIn this case, [red]*our marker*[/red] is highest on the construction track, so when we took our construction action, we took the reward shown in this row: *2 gems!*
[blue]*Our opponent's marker*[/blue] is lower than ours, and thus they could only take a reward from the row below their current row. There is no row below the bottom though, so they got *nothing!*4ssp-diplomacy2-player9214348762dd635e2693200ssp-diplomacy2-player11941354 2 ssp-diplomacy2-player92143487 1
NekonyancerIf we had been tied on [green]*this step*[/green] when the construction action was taken, then *neither* of us would have been the highest. We would have each received the reward from the next step down: 1 gem.5ssp-diplomacy2-player9214348762dd635e2693200ssp-diplomacy2-level1 3
NekonyancerBy the way, the reward, for the [red]*top two rows[/red]* is taking any two rewards from the first four rows.
*Go back to your player tab for the next textbox!*6archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd635e2693200ssp-diplomacy1-level4 6 ssp-diplomacy1-level5 6 ssp-diplomacy2-level4 6 ssp-diplomacy2-level5 6 ssp-diplomacy3-level4 6 ssp-diplomacy3-level5 6 ssp-diplomacy4-level4 6 ssp-diplomacy4-level5 6
NekonyancerIf we trigger our Diplomacy ship, we can move up on another track, letting us reap more rewards for the rest of the game! In addition to the cost to activate the ship though, we must pay a number of gems *equal to the rank we move into.*
For example, if we move into Rank 1 on a track, we'll have to pay an additional 1 gem!
*Click on this ship! Then click on "Expedition Lv.0-->1"!*7ssp-ship2262dd635e2693210ssp-ship22 16
Nekonyancer*Great!* Now we'll get 2 gems whenever anyone takes an Expedition action!
We'll learn about expeditions soon.1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd64921ebb800
NekonyancerOur opponent just took a construction action, so we got another two gems from Diplomacy! Excellent!
Next, let's learn about *Terran Expeditions.*1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd64f8eae9800
Nekonyancer[red]*Expedition ships*[/red] let you roll dice and take resources.
[blue]There are two numbers in the bottom-right corner of each expedition ship.[/blue]
*Left number: Dice you can roll.*
*Right number: Dice you can take resources from.*2ssp-ship2462dd64f8eae9800ssp-ship24 6 ssp-ship34 6
NekonyancerLet's give it a try!
*Click on this ship! Then click on "Roll 8 dice" at the top!*3ssp-ship3462dd64f8eae9810ssp-ship34 16
Nekonyancer*Okay!* We rolled 8 dice, and we can now pick 5 of them to keep!
[green][tip] Each die has the following faces: 2 water, 2 plant, 1 astronaut, 1 metal.[/green]1ssp-die-face-462dd65139593800
NekonyancerTaking astronauts is different than taking other resources. It's like adopting pets; we can only do so if we have resources to provide for them!
[red]Each astronaut requires 1 water, 1 plant, and 1 metal.[/red] It's fine if we acquire those resources at the *same time* as the astronaut (from other dice).
If "adopted," the astronauts will immediately move into the sector of our choice!2ssp-die362dd65139593800
NekonyancerWhenever you roll an astronaut, a [blue]*blue button with a galaxy*[/blue] will appear under it. Galaxies, if you haven't realized already, represent *victory points.*
If you don't want to take an astronaut, you can click on the button to instead take *1 point.*3ssp-buttonDie362dd65139593800ssp-buttonDie1 2 ssp-buttonDie2 2 ssp-buttonDie3 2
NekonyancerI don't think we want any astronauts or points right now. Let's load up on plants and water!
*Select all the plants and water. Then click on "Keep selected" at the top!*4ssp-die562dd65139593810ssp-die-face-4 16 ssp-die5 16 ssp-die-face-6 16 ssp-die7 16 ssp-die8 16
Nekonyancer*Great!* The plants and water went into our inventory.1ssp-resource1-9214348762dd6535c7aee00
NekonyancerNow we'll put the resources to good use! This is usually done with a [green]*Transport*[/green] ship.
The 3 in the bottom-right corner shows that we'll get *3 transactions* when we trigger the action.1ssp-ship2562dd6590a0c3100ssp-ship25 8
NekonyancerThese are the possible transactions:
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_pvc2aU.jpg[/img]
*A:* Pay 1 plant and 1 water for 1 alien.
*B:* Pay 1 plant, water, and gem for a Gold alien.
*C:* Trade any 2 resources for 1 resource.
*D:* Trade 3 gems for 1 resource.2ssp-ship2562dd6590a0c3100
NekonyancerThe tutorial is a little buggy here, so we unfortunately can't have you execute the transport action yourself.
*Click on "Continue," and we'll activate the ship for you!*3ssp-ship2562dd6590a0c3100
NekonyancerYou should see many options at the top of the screen! They all boil down to the four transaction types that you saw in the last textbox.
Click on *Continue!* We'll buy two pink aliens for you.1ssp-ships92143487-title62dd65e3687dd01gameaction_status_wrap aHR0cHM6Ly94LmJvYXJkZ2FtZWFyZW5hLm5ldC9kYXRhL3R1dG9yaWFscy9odHRwc19fX3NuaXBib2FyZC5pb19DMk9Rb1YuanBn/-27/2
NekonyancerOkay! We paid *2 plants* and *2 water* for *2 pink aliens.*
[blue]All the bonuses in this sector are now active![/blue]2ssp-residence122-resident2-162dd65e3691e200
NekonyancerNext, we'll learn about Taking Income.
[blue]You cannot Take Income unless *one* of the following is true![/blue]
*- You have 7 or fewer gems.*
*- At least one of your ships has been used.*
*- You are not able to take any ship actions.*
Looks like there's no problem with us taking income this turn.1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd6613ee26f00
Nekonyancer[blue]When you take income, three things happen:[/blue]
*1. All gems on your ships are returned to the supply.* This resets the ships so they can be used again.
*2. You activate your space station,* taking any income bonuses that are shown.
*3. You MAY relocate any of your citizens* to other sectors while still following life support rules.2archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd6613ee26f00
NekonyancerLet's try it!
*Click on "Take income" at the top!*3ssp-buttonIncome62dd6613ee26f10ssp-buttonIncome 16
NekonyancerOkay! As you can see, all of our [red]*used, grayed-out ships*[/red] are now vibrantly colored, so they're ready to be used again!1ssp-ship4462dd662ce863000ssp-ship44 6 ssp-ship34 6 ssp-ship25 6 ssp-ship22 6
NekonyancerNow for income. Our *hub* says that we gain 1 gem for every ship in our fleet. We have nine ships, so that means nine gems!
Then we looked at our constructed *sectors,* though we only have one of them. The filled slots in the sector give us +1 gem and +1 gem.
*All in all, we got 11 gems as income!*2ssp-hub162dd662ce863000
NekonyancerIt is important to note that we did *NOT* get 2 points for income, as the last slot bonus of our sector might suggest.
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_SQpJT0.jpg[/img]
That bonus only applies when we *activate construction ships,* not when we take income!3ssp-sector12262dd662ce863000
NekonyancerThe last step of the income action is *relocating residents.*
Residents can be moved into any sector as long as they follow life support rules. That means brown aliens cannot move to a pink sector, but gold aliens and astronauts can move anywhere.
Within each sector, they must fill slots from *left to right.* In other words, you cannot fill a "3" slot unless the "1" and "2" are already filled!4archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd662ce863000
NekonyancerWe only have one sector, so there's nowhere to relocate our aliens to, but here's an example from the instruction manual:
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_ZUdpTN.jpg[/img]
This player just relocated an alien from the 3rd slot of his Level 2 sector to the 2nd slot of his Level 1 sector!5archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd662ce863000
NekonyancerSince we don't have any relocating to do, go ahead and *end your turn.*8ssp-buttonEndTurn62dd662ce863010ssp-buttonEndTurn 16
NekonyancerThere's only one more action I need to show you: [blue]*dismantling.*[/blue]
When you trigger a dismantle ship, you select another of your unused ships to remove from the game. When you do, you gain the amount of metal shown at the top of the removed card.
1ssp-ship3062dd666de0aeb00ssp-ship23 7 ssp-ship30 7 ssp-ship49 7
NekonyancerLet's try it!
*1. Select the Level 3 Dismantle ship.*
*2. Target the Level 2 Dismantle ship.*
*3. Click on "Confirm" at the top!*2ssp-ship4962dd666de0aeb10ssp-ship30 18 ssp-ship49 17
Nekonyancer*Great!* The dismantled ship provided 8 metal, and since we used a Level 3 Dismantle ship, we gained an extra 2 metal!
[green]We have more than enough for another sector now![/green]1ssp-resource3-9214348762dd6691ac8d700
NekonyancerLet's construct a new sector!
*1. Activate the Level 1 Construction ship.*
*2. Select the indicated sector.*
*3. Click on "Confirm" at the top!*1ssp-ship2162dd66d6cbdee10ssp-sector221 18 ssp-ship21 17
NekonyancerGo back to your Player tab to see your new sector! Just like before, it came with a free alien, thanks to our hub!1archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
NekonyancerOkay, you've seen the most important ships! In some games though, you might see ones like this:
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_98nbCd.jpg[/img]
Simple, right? The one on the left gives you plants. The other gives you water.2archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00ssp-tab-ships 8
NekonyancerAs the game goes on, your fleet will dwindle, restricting the kinds of actions you can do! But there's nothing wrong with a little outsourcing...
*Go to the [green]Ships[/green] tab before you continue!*3archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
NekonyancerHere you can see everyone's ships in one place.
Using an opponent's ship is more expensive than using your own, but the action is often worth it, so don't be afraid to use them now and then!
Alternatively, you can use a *neutral ship.*4archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
NekonyancerThese are the neutral ships. Whenever a player uses one, they'll put a *special marker* on that ship.
The marker prevents anyone else from using that ship *AND* prevents the marker's owner from using another neutral ship.
The marker is retrieved from the neutral ship board when its owner *Takes Income.*5ssp-shipsNeutral-cards62dd673863c6f00
NekonyancerOkay, we've covered everything!
The game will continue as you've seen until someone triggers one of the [blue]three game ending conditions:[/blue]
*- Someone reaches 40 points.*
*- There are 4 or fewer aliens left in the supply.* (Not counting astronauts.)
*- Someone finishes their space station by building 9 sectors.*6archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
NekonyancerWhen a player triggers the end, *all other players* get one more turn!
[green]Then we go to scoring![/green]7archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
Nekonyancer[green]SCORING[/green]
[blue]In addition to points accumulated throughout the game, each player scores:[/blue]
[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_nx8T9F.jpg[/img]
*- 4 points per Level 1 sector constructed.*
*- 6 points per Level 2 sector constructed.*
*- 10 points per Level 3 sector constructed.*8archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
Nekonyancer[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_eTwXvf.jpg[/img]
*-Two points per resident on their space station.*
Both aliens and astronauts count as residents.
9archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
Nekonyancer[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_GvCyBK.jpg[/img]
*- 10 points if they have the most of a certain resident type.*
*- 5 points if they have the second most of a certain type.*
For example, if you have the most pink aliens, the most brown aliens, and the second most astronauts, you'd score *25* points!
Tied players split the prize points, rounding down.10archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
Nekonyancer[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_yV30NK.jpg[/img]
*- Points indicated on their hub.*
*- Points indicated on their Level 3 sectors* (if applicable).
For example, our *hub* gives us an extra 2 points for each Level 3 sector we constructed.11archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
Nekonyancer[img]https://x.boardgamearena.net/data/tutorials/https___snipboard.io_r3c5Bp.jpg[/img]
*- 1 point for every 5 leftover resources* (metal, plants, water).
*- 1 point for every 20 leftover gems.*12archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
Nekonyancer[green]After all of that is counted up, whoever has the most points is the *winner!*[/green]13archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
Nekonyancer[blue]Thank you for playing through this tutorial for Space Station Phoenix![/blue]
If you have any questions or comments about the tutorial, feel free to send *Nekonyancer* a message!
A big thank you goes out to *Kayvon* and *Mogri* for bringing this game to BGA!
Have fun! :D14archivecontrol_editmode_centercomment62dd673863c6f00
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