Planet Unknown

Place the space station in the center of the playing area, ensuring the polyomino tiles are correctly positioned within its depots. Randomly select civilization cards equal to the number of players plus one, ensuring all four ranks are represented. Place the meteorite and biomass tokens within easy reach of all players. Shuffle the objective cards and distribute them based on the player count: for 3-6 players, place one objective card between each player (e.g., for 4 players, 4 cards); for 2 players, place three objective cards between them. Each player takes a planet board, a corporation board, two depot markers (one on their corporation board, one on a depot equidistant from other players), and five resource cubes to place on their resource tracks. Players choose their preferred side (symmetric or asymmetric) for their planet and corporation boards, noting the complexity level indicated by the number of meteors. Finally, place rescue pods on the blue sites and two rovers on the planet board, and the first player receives the commander token.

The ultimate goal of Planet Unknown is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the game. Players achieve this by strategically placing polyomino tiles on their planet boards, advancing resource tracks, collecting various tokens, and fulfilling objective cards.

Each round begins with the commander (the player with the commander token) rotating the space station any number of depots clockwise or counter-clockwise, or choosing not to rotate it at all. Following this, all players simultaneously choose one of the two polyomino tiles from the depot corresponding to their depot marker. Players then place their chosen tile on their planet board, adhering to placement rules (first tile on the perimeter, subsequent tiles adjacent to existing ones, no overlapping, can be rotated). After placing a tile, players advance their resource cubes on the corresponding tracks for each resource shown on the tile. If a tile contains a meteorite, a meteorite token is immediately placed on that symbol. The commander token then passes clockwise to the next player, and a new round begins.

At the end of the game, victory points are calculated as follows: points for each completed row and column on the planet board that does not contain any meteorites (points are indicated on the board, with longer lines yielding more points); the highest medal value reached on each resource track; points for collected rescue pods and meteorites (as indicated on the corporation board); points from private objective cards (if playing with this variant); and points from shared public objective cards (players compete for these, with the highest scorer getting 5 points, and ties resulting in 2 points each).

The game concludes under two conditions: either a player cannot place any polyomino tile from their designated depot, or a depot (both internal and external sections) on the space station becomes completely empty. In either case, the current round is completed, and then final scoring is performed. If there is a tie in victory points, the player with fewer empty spaces on their planet board wins. If still tied, the player with fewer meteorite tokens on their planet board wins. If a tie persists, victory is shared.