HEXY STUDIOS HEXYBG005 Star Scrappers Orbital Instruction Manual
- June 5, 2024
- HEXY STUDIOS
Table of Contents
HEXY STUDIOS HEXYBG005 Star Scrappers Orbital
This game was crowdfunded on Kickstarter, and our special thanks go to each and every backer of the cam-paign We are very happy that you believed in us and extremely grateful for your generosity Star Scrappers: Orbital would not have happened without your immense support! Look forward to more games in the Star Scrappers Universe – they are coming!
The space industry is beginning to grow again after the Hy’Dran Wars! To encourage the development, interstellar foundations are awarding prizes to corporations that are outstanding in different areas. As the owner of one of these corporations, you compete to build the biggest, best, and most beautiful space station the worlds have ever seen…
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Star Scrappers universe! Have a seat and get comfortable in the commander chair on an orbital – one of many space stations that are being constructed in the asteroid belt called the Sybil Cloud Deposits of Hexis – the most desired mineral in the entire Galaxy – have been discovered there, attracting numerous dare-devils willing to extract the precious crystals Miners have to do business and enjoy themselves somewhere, so you and your corporation are here to provide them with accommodation and, naturally, to get rich!
TERRENCE
Terrons, the orbital builders, are descendants of the humans who came to this galaxy a long time ago Over a thousand years, united in the Interstellar Terron Federation, they have colonized many corners of the universe The democratic system of the Terron society has encouraged the creation of many inde-pendent structures, such as corporations, commercial consortiums and mercenary guilds By making con-tact with different alien species, they have caused their civilization to flourish and their influence to spread At the base of their success lies ambition Ambition that knows no bounds This trait of character drives Terrons ever forward, to conquer new territories, to discover the unknown, to push the frontier of the Federation another step further Their military forces are well-known across the Central Sector, as they strike fear in the hearts of alien beings inhabiting the Galaxy They became famous during the two Hy’Dran Wars, proving unshaken and well-trained Even now, in times of peace, the Terron fleet remains ready to defend their territories And their businesses
OTHER INHABITANTS OF THE
GALAXY
In the distant future, countless alien species explore the Galaxy in search of
fortune and fame The last interstel-lar war with the Hy’Dran Empire ended over
fifty years ago and since then peace treaties have been in power Newly
discovered cosmic nations, like the cybernetic Bioss and the expansive
Weedlocks, are beginning to influence the fate of the Galaxy, while the
inhabitants of ancient planets, such as the mechanical Metanels and the
mysterious Minegglers, are once again striving to achieve their goals
GAME CONTENTS
- 83 module cards
- 36 event cards
- 5 Structural Core Module tiles
- 5 Upgraded Core Module cards
- 25 crew meeples
- 42 Victory Point tokens
- 50 MegaCredit tokens
- 16 damage tokens
- 1 Year card
- 1 Year marker
- 1 First Player marker
- 5 player aid cards
GAME OVERVIEW
The game spans 5 years (rounds), marked on the Year card by the Year marker
In Star Scrappers: Orbital, each player builds their own orbital, starting
with a Structural Core Module During the game, they take turns doing one
action at a time: build modules to expand their orbitals, play event cards,
make repairs, buy cards from the market, and operate their modules When
everyone has passed consecutively (usually because they run out of cards or
money), the year ends and Victory Points (VPs) are awarded to the players with
the most non-damaged modules in each color Then each player gets new crew,
money, cards, and starts the next year
There are 6 kinds of modules that each have their own color and theme:
- Structural (red) – General functions
- Bio (green) – Providing crew
- Luxury (yellow) – Income
- Support (orange) – Building/Repairs
- Scientific (blue) – Drawing cards
- Military (purple) – Attack/Defense
- When 5 years are completed, the player with the most VPs wins the game
GAME SETUP
- Core Module: Each player takes a Structural Core Module tile and places it in front of them on the table The Core Module starts your orbital and counts as a normal module Any unused Structural Core Module tiles are placed back in the box Place the 5 Upgraded Core Module cards (green/blue/yellow/purple/orange) in a row at the center of the table
- Market: Shuffle the deck of cards (containing mod-ules and events) and place it below the Upgraded Core Modules at the center of the table (with space for a dis-card pile on one side, and the market on the other side) Reveal the top 5 cards of the deck and place them in a row away from the deck These cards may be bought using the Purchase action
- Crew: Start with 1 unused crew on your Core Module (as indicated by the crew support symbol on the module)
- MegaCredits and other tokens: Place the MegaCredits (money, abbreviated to MC) tokens at the center of the table Each player starts with 16 MegaCredits Place the Victory Point and damage tokens in separate pools next to the MegaCredit pool
- Cards: Deal 8 cards to each player They choose 5 cards to keep in hand, and return the other 3 to the top of the deck Then re-shuffle the whole deck
- First Player and Year card: Choose the First Player randomly and give the First Player marker to this per-son Place the Year card on the table and place the Year marker on space 1 on it
GAME ROUND (YEAR)
During a game round, the players take turns taking actions until everyone
passes On your turn, you can only take 1 of the following actions:
Build. Price: 6 MC.
Build a module, playing a module card from your hand and adding it to your orbital If you connect the mod-ule to a module of the same color, the cost is reduced by 1 MC When connecting a module to another, the new module’s entrance (in-arrow) is placed at the exit (out-arrow) you want to build from A new module must always be connected to a free exit on your orbital The modules on your orbital cannot overlap, cover one another, etc. You may not build a module that would leave your orbital without any usable exits!
Upgrade. Price: 4 MC.
Once per game, you may upgrade your Core Module. Choose one of the available
Upgraded Core Modules and place it on the designated space on your Structural
Core Module tile.Your Core Module is not red anymore, but
it gains the color of the Upgraded Core Module card. And you now have a
special effect or bonus for the rest of the game!
Purchase. Price: 1-5 MC.
Purchase one of the cards from the market to your hand. The card furthest away
from the deck costs 1 MC, the next one 2 MC, and so on, and finally 5 MC for
the card closest to the deck. When a card is purchased, the remaining cards
are moved toward the deck to close the gap and form a new row where the cards
now cost 1-4 MC, and so on. The market card furthest away from the deck always
costs 1 MC.
» Operate
Use the action indicated on one of the non-damaged modules on your orbital.
Pay the cost (crew/money) indicated before the arrow, and get the effect
indicated after the arrow. Take the required number of crew from the Core
Module and place them on the operated module. The crew and the module may only
be used once per year. Note that modules that have no arrow printed in the
text box are always active and don’t require any action or additional payment
» Play Event
Play an event card from hand. Perform the effect and then discard the card to
the discard pile at the center of the table. If you can’t perform the effect
of the card, you can’t play it.
» Repair. Price: 3 MC.
Remove 1 damage token from one of your modules.
» Pass
If you pass on your turn, you can still take actions later, but if all players pass consecutively, the year ends immediately and no more actions can be taken. If you can’t do anything else, passing is your only option
END OF YEAR
At the end of each round of the game, perform the following steps exactly in the following order:
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Victory Points: For each of the 6 module colors, 1 VP is awarded to the player(s) with the most non-damaged modules of that color. Core Modules count too, and more than one player may win each color! During the last year of the game, 2 VPs are awarded for each color instead of just 1. Then the game ends and the player with the most VPs wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most non-damaged crew support symbols wins. If still tied, the player with the most MC wins.
-
Market: Discard any remaining market cards, and draw 5 cards to form a new market row away from the deck.
-
Crew: All players remove all crew (used and unused) from their orbitals, then gain new crew. The number of crew is determined by adding all crew support symbols on all non-damaged modules on an orbital. All new crew are placed on the Core Module, where they count as unused crew until they are moved away (usually in an Operate action).
-
MegaCredits: Each player gains 7 MC and chooses a color. They then get 1 MC for every non-damaged module of that color on their orbital.
-
Cards: Each player draws 4 cards to hand. If they now have more than 5 cards (handsize limit), they discard the excess until they have exactly 5 cards. If the deck runs out of cards, shuffle the discard pile to make a new deck.
-
Maintenance: All damage is removed from all orbitals.
Note that damaged modules may affect VPs, crew money, and handsize in the previous steps, before the damage is removed. -
New Year: Move the Year marker to the next space on the Year card, and pass the First Player marker clockwise to the next player. That player becomes the starting player for the new year.
IMPORTANT GAME CONCEPTS
» Damage: When a module is damaged as a result of a card effect, put a damage token on it. A damaged module may not use its color, ability, crew support symbols, and you may not connect new modules to it while damaged. For example, it doesn’t count towards getting VPs, income, and crew at the end of the year. A module may be damaged multiple times, adding more damage tokens to it. Multiple Repair actions are then needed to repair it (or wait for the Maintenance step at the end of the year to remove all tokens at once). Core Modules (both Structural and Upgraded ones) cannot ever be damaged. A module connected to a damaged module is not affected and may be used normally.
»» Exterior module: A module that has no other modules built onto its
exits is called an exterior module. A module without any printed exits is
always exterior. These modules are more exposed and may be targeted by the
Meteor Storm event card or the Weapon Platform action.
» Remove: If you are instructed to remove a game component from its
current location, it means the component is lost and has no effect anymore.
Crew and tokens go back to their respective pools (you get new crew as normal
at the end of the year), while removed modules are discarded.
SOLO RULES
Competitive (Bot) Version: This solo variant uses 2 bot players to play
against. The bot players are handled by the bot algorithm and follow the
normal rules with just a few exceptions, as detailed below. Use the normal
setup and rules for a 3-player game with the following exceptions:
»» No market is used in this version.
»» Each bot starts each year with 5 cards in “hand” (a face-down stack).
»» A bot targeted by the Uneventful Year event card discards the top card from
its hand stack.
»» The Insider Contacts event card makes you draw 2 cards from the deck
instead of taking 1 from the market.
Bot turn algorithm:
On its turn, the bot will act with the following priority:
-
If a bot has cards in its hand-stack, it reveals the top card.
If the revealed card is an event and the bot can play it, it does. Exceptions: A bot never plays Visiting Worker, Economic Crisis, and will only play Crew Rotation and Cold War if it gains anything from it. High-Risk Project will always use up all remaining crew. When choosing targets for an event, the bot targets the leading player if possible (i.e. you or the other bot, depending on who currently has the most VPs), or the next player to the left if there is a tie. Module targets are chosen from the inside out clockwise, starting left of the Core Module (see image below). The first legal target is chosen, except that the bot will not damage an already damaged module. If the revealed card is a module and the bot can build it, it does, paying as normal or using Command Center or Military Command if possible. The module is connected to a module of the same color to get the discount if possible, and if several exits are available, it is placed using the same method as when choosing a module target. It can’t build a module that would leave the station without any exits. If a bot can’t play the card, it is discarded instead, and the bot gains 2 MC. The bots may be bad builders, but they do get this bonus to their economy, as well as a full hand of 5 cards each year. -
If a bot has no cards, it will operate a module, if able. Use the same method for choosing modules until a module is chosen that has a usable Operate action. A bot will not upgrade its Core Module, or use the Operate action of the Robotic Arm. Command Center and Military Command are only used when building a module (see above), not when the bot is out of cards. Workshop is only used when repairing (see below). When a bot uses Observatory, it simply draws 1 card instead of choosing one from 3. Military modules will choose targets using the same targeting method as described above for event cards.
-
If a bot has no cards and no available crew actions, it will try to repair any damage, prioritizing modules using the same method. Workshop is used if possible, and any functioning Airlocks reduce the repair cost as normal.
-
If a bot has nothing else it can do, it passes. To win, you must beat the bots like in a normal game! If you like, the bot players may also be added to a regular multiplayer game.
Peace Version
This solo version uses 2 simplified “opponents” that are outside of play and
only determine what is required for gaining the VPs that you compete for. You
play alone and you have many strategic options at your disposal;
this variant will test your building skills! Setup: Remove all event cards
from the deck. Use the backsides of 2 Core Module tiles as your two opponents.
The tracks represent how many modules they have of each color – what you have
to compete with! Place a crew on the starting space of each track (marked with
a symbol, it represents value “0”), except for red, where they start at “1”,
just like you start with 1 red Core Module. Gameplay: When you draw your
starting cards or draw cards at the end of each year, also draw and discard 3
cards for each of your opponents. That opponent “builds” those modules –
increase the corresponding tracks. This happens before you discard cards if
you have too many. The opponents do not get any resources and they do not take
any actions during the game. You play your turns as normal, but the effect of
your cards can’t target the opposing orbitals. After 5 years, you add up your
VPs, and if you score at least 22, you win!