Alien Artifacts

To set up Alien Artifacts, place the central game board on the table along with the resource deck, alien system cards, and defense cards. Each player chooses a faction, taking their double-sided player board, the matching faction card, and starting credits. Players begin with three cards placed under construction on their empire board using their faction sheet. The remaining cards form available display decks near the main board, and merchant tokens are placed on the research track to keep score.

The main goal of Alien Artifacts is to establish supremacy in the galaxy by building a powerful empire. Players achieve this by discovering planets, researching advanced technologies, and constructing ships. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.

The game is played over a series of clockwise turns. On your turn, you must perform a single action. Available actions include buying new cards from the central display using credits, discovering planets, developing technologies, building operational cards into your empire, trading unwanted resource cards, or launching attacks against alien systems or opponents.

Scoring happens primarily at the end of the game. You earn victory points for every card successfully built in your empire. Additional points are awarded based on set collection conditions found on operational technologies, unique faction goals, and your progress on the research track.

The game end is triggered when the resource deck is exhausted for a second time. Once triggered, the round finishes so every player gets an equal number of turns. After the final round, players calculate their scores to determine the winner.