Pulsar 2849

Goal and length: CGE lists the base game for 2–4 players and about 60–100 minutes. Play eight rounds, each made up of a Dice Phase, Action Phase, and Production Phase. Players score by exploring planetary systems, claiming pulsars, starting gyrodynes, building transmitters, patenting technologies, and completing headquarters projects. After production in round eight, resolve the end-game scoring; the player with the most points wins.

Setup: Use nine silver dice with four players, seven with two or three; do not roll the red bonus die. Randomly select a technology board from each group I/II/III and three goals. Stack transmitters A above B above C and display three. Randomize play order; ordinary first through fourth starting scores are 5/6/7/8. Choose different entry gates in reverse order. Each player has six claim rings and one ±1 modifier. In standard play choose a side of a random HQ before the first roll; the introductory game omits HQs and uses AI/AII/AIII technologies. Two-player order and counters have special rules below.

Dice and median marker: Sort the silver dice into their value spaces and locate the middle die. Cover every die in that space and compare how many remain to its left and right. With equal counts the marker stays on that space; otherwise move it toward the larger side into the neighboring gap. With three or four players, draft one die in order, then a second in reverse order. Each choice moves either initiative or engineering according to the chosen space’s side of the marker and the number of die spaces crossed. Matching the mathematical median value does not always mean zero movement.

Tracks and two players: Left is ahead, with the top counter ahead in a stack. A counter arriving at an occupied space goes on top. Normally you cannot move off the right end: choose another die if neither permitted counter fits. Only when all remaining dice would force every eligible counter off the right may you take one and put a chosen counter at the far-right stack’s bottom. Moving beyond the left stops at its end. With two players, each has two initiative and two engineering counters; initial order slots are A/B/A/B. Draft once per slot in order instead of the ordinary snake. Action turns use each player’s foremost slot; each still gets two dice. The third engineering position scores one point, with cubes for the first two as printed. A two-player die choice can move any of that player’s four track counters if legal.

Actions and modifiers: Each player completes one whole Action turn, spending dice of exactly the required value rather than treating a high die as universally sufficient. Spend one ±1 token or one +2 token; modifier tokens cannot stack, though a patent’s payment flexibility can combine with one. A 1 or 2 buys a ±1 token, and a 2 buys +2. At most one red bonus die may be used per turn. Four engineering cubes copy a silver die left on the board without removing it, so later players can copy it too. Red dice from linked transmitters or technology share that same limit and do not add unlimited extra actions.

Flight and exploration: Move exactly the die’s number of connected segments, never repeating a segment in one flight; a later flight can reuse it. Passing through a system prioritizes a lifeless planet, while ending there prioritizes blue. Each player can have only one station per system, and occupied or player-count-blocked planets are unavailable. Gain the system’s exploration reward only when the flight ends there and establishes a new blue-planet station; a random exploration tile may replace that reward. Claim an unclaimed pulsar only when ending there, up to six claims. Flying through is insufficient. Isolated pulsars have no flight connection and require an effect expressly permitting an isolated claim.

Gyrodynes and transmitters: Small/medium/large gyrodynes cost a 1/2/4 to take, then can be placed free as construction on a claimed undeveloped pulsar. Once placed they cannot change size; a 3/5/6 starts the respective size spinning. Two same-size tiles placed on pulsars qualify for the first/second construction awards of 7/4 points even if unfinished; four can let one player take both. Taking a transmitter pays one of its printed die costs. Pay the rest over any rounds, resolve its immediate reward on completion, then flip it online. Decide links when taking tiles; they cannot later be changed. A red die formed by two linked online tiles is usable only that turn. Spinning and online production starts in the completion round, including round eight.

Patents, HQ and Production: Patent only the current technology row or earlier rows. Normally two different players may patent a technology once each. A single-die icon permits only one patent in a round, opening its second slot next round; a double-die icon allows two in the same round. In two-player games single-die technologies allow only one owner for the entire game. HQ projects unlock from the bottom by their prerequisite structure and complete once each. After all Action turns, update next order, grant cubes, take right-end -1/-2 penalties, resolve online transmitters, spinning gyrodynes and green scoring patents. Scores cannot fall below zero. Each spinning gyrodyne scores its face plus the current row’s common bonus. Before round eight, refresh three transmitters, open second patents and advance time.

Final scoring: After round-eight Production, score purple patents, the three goals and any goal bonuses bought with engineering cubes; a second bonus requires buying the first. Each claimed pulsar with no gyrodyne or an unfinished one scores one; each unfinished or unused gyrodyne tile separately scores one, so both can apply. Leftover cubes score one per pair. Initiative places one/two score 7/4; place three scores two in two- or four-player games, but zero with three players. A two-player participant may score two places. Score stations using the reference table: thirteen score fifty, with three extra per station beyond thirteen. Virtual-station bonuses apply to that scoring step, not station goals. Initiative position breaks a final total tie. If two goals require spinning gyrodynes, those counted for one cannot also count for the other. For two through thirteen stations the table awards 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 36, 42 and 50 points respectively.