Race for the Galaxy

To set up Race for the Galaxy, each player is dealt a starting hand of cards and a tableau area in front of them. Players also receive a set of identical action cards, each representing a different phase of the game. A central pile of victory point chips, which come in denominations of 1 and 5, is placed within reach of all players. The main deck of game cards, consisting of worlds and developments, is shuffled and placed face down.

The primary objective of Race for the Galaxy is to build the most prosperous galactic civilization, represented by the cards in your tableau, and accumulate the highest number of victory points. Players achieve this by strategically playing world and development cards, producing and consuming goods, and leveraging card abilities to gain points and resources.

Each round begins with players secretly and simultaneously selecting one of their action cards (Explore, Develop, Settle, Consume, or Produce). Once all players have chosen, the cards are revealed. All phases corresponding to the chosen cards are then performed in numerical order (I to V). The player who chose a particular phase receives a special bonus for that phase, in addition to performing the standard action. For example, choosing 'Explore' might grant extra cards or better card selection options.

Victory points are accumulated in several ways. Players earn points directly from victory point chips, which are gained by consuming goods or through certain card abilities. At the end of the game, each card in a player's tableau has a base victory point value, indicated by a number in a hexagon. Additionally, some development cards provide end-game bonuses based on specific card types or combinations in a player's tableau. The player with the highest total victory points from chips and cards wins the game.

The game concludes immediately at the end of the round in which either of two conditions is met: (1) any player has successfully placed 12 or more cards (worlds or developments) into their tableau, or (2) the supply of victory point chips in the central pile has been completely exhausted. Once one of these conditions is met, players tally their victory points, and the player with the highest score is declared the winner.