Gamehelphumanity

GAME OBJECTIVE

The player with the most points at the end of the game wins the game of Humanity. To do this, expand your Base by deploying Production Modules, Research Modules, and Greenhouses; complete the Missions that you are asked to do; and carry out Scientific Experiments to move forward on the Research Track and earn additional victory points at the end of the game.

PLAYING THE GAME

The game is played over 3 “years”. Each year consists of several turns. On their turn, a player performs 1 action with an Astronaut. It is then the turn of the player to their left, and so on. When the players can no longer use any Astronauts, the main board is reset and a new round begins. When there are no more tiles for the current year to reset the main board with, the players move on to the next year. At the end of Year 3, victory points are counted.

1. Perform an Action

The player whose turn it is (starting with the player who has the Patch token) chooses an Astronaut to perform one of the following actions:

A) Work on the Base: The player uses their Astronaut's Work value to activate tiles in their Base.

B) Deploy a Module: The player sends an Astronaut to the main board to install a Module in their Base in exchange for resources.

C) Carry out an Experiment: The player sends an Astronaut to the main board to complete an Experiment in exchange for resources.

A) Work on the Base

- The player chooses an active Astronaut, meaning one who is present in their Base and facing towards them.

- They then use that Astronaut’s Work points to activate 1 or more tiles in their Base. The tiles that can be activated with the Astronaut's Work points are those marked with the Arrow symbol, of which there are 2 types: Modules and Obstacles. The activations of these 2 types of tiles are explained below.

- Once the player has finished their actions, they turn the Astronaut just used so they are facing away from them. That Astronaut is no longer active and cannot be used again during this round.

Activating a Module: When most Modules are activated, they produce resources that are stored on that Module until spent. Modules with one Arrow symbol require 1 Work point to activate them and are mostly related to the production of basic resources. Modules with two Arrow symbols require 2 Work points and are mostly related to the production of advanced resources. Each time a player activates a Module, it is turned a quarter turn clockwise to produce the resource indicated on the Module. The number of resources that a player has are indicated at the bottom of the tile. When they have the maximum amount of resources produced by the Module in stock, it cannot be activated again until the resources are spent.

Important: Production Modules with the time symbol work differently. Each time they are activated, their effect is applied immediately. The tile does not have to be turned.

Activating an Obstacle: An Obstacle requires 1 Work point to activate. Each time a player activates an Obstacle, it is turned clockwise a quarter turn to make it lose 1 resistance point. As soon as the research point symbol reaches the bottom of the tile, the Obstacle is destroyed: The player earns 3 research points. The Obstacle is removed from the game and the free space can now be used.

Note: Players can activate Modules and Obstacles in any order, and the same tile can be activated several times in the same turn.

At the beginning of the game, all Astronauts have a Work value of 2. If a player does not spend all the Work points of their Astronaut, there is no compensation and unspent Work points are lost.

B) Deploy a Module

This action symbolizes an Astronaut riding a transport rover to the AMBS (Automated Module Building Station), where they select a module pre-assembled by the station, then bring it back to their base to be connected.

- The player chooses the Module they want to deploy from the main board, regardless of whether there is another Astronaut positioned in front of it.

- They spend the resources indicated on the Module by taking them from their Base. This step is detailed below.

- Their active Astronaut is moved in front of the Module. This Astronaut will remain in this location until the player is able to retrieve them.

Important: An Astronaut placed next to the main board is no longer active and therefore cannot be used to perform any actions.

- The player places the Module in their Base, in the direction shown in the illustration, in the exact place where the Astronaut who deployed it was located. If it is marked on the Module, the player immediately earns research points on the Research Track or a victory point on the Score Track.

- They then check to see if their new Module completes a square of four Modules. If it does, they immediately earn a victory point token, which they place at the intersection of the four Modules, and move forward 1 space on the Score Track. They also check to see if the square they have just formed allows them to upgrade an Astronaut. This step is described below.

Spending Resources: To spend resources, choose a module in your base that has at least 1 resource in stock and turn it a quarter turn counterclockwise. In this way, the required resources can be spent by rotating the same Module several times and/or as many Modules as necessary. Once the Module has reached 0 resources in stock, it cannot spend any more resources until it produces new ones. Spending resources is not an action and does not require spending Work points.

Basic Resources: ice, methane, and insects

Advanced Resources: oxygen, aircarbon, and protein preparation

Special Resources: electricity

3 identical basic resources can be spent at any time instead of 1 corresponding advanced resource:

- 3 ice > 1 oxygen

- 3 methane > 1 aircarbon

- 3 insects > 1 protein preparation

1 electricity can be spent instead of ice or methane or insects

In both cases, the reverse is not possible.

The Astronaut used to deploy the Module, the one with 2 Work points left, is sent to the main board in front of the chosen Module. The Module is placed in the empty space left by the Astronaut.

You apply the effect of the deployed Module, immediately gaining 2 research points plus 3 research points for each [orange picto] adjacent Module. You therefore move forward 5 points on the Research Track. It is now the turn of the person to your left.

Greenhouse Modules: There are 3 types of Greenhouses: round, rectangular, and octagonal. A greenhouse awards victory points when a player places it.

- Placement Rules: You cannot deploy 2 Greenhouses of the same type next to each other. 3 connected Greenhouses must be of 3 different types. You cannot deploy more than 3 connected Greenhouses.

- Earning Points: If only 1 Greenhouse has been deployed, place 1 victory point on it (this will allow points to be recounted at any time) and move forward the same amount on the Score Track. If a Greenhouse is deployed adjacent to another one, place 2 victory points on it and move forward on the Score Track. If a Greenhouse is deployed that makes up a set of 3, place 3 points on it and move forward on the Score Track.

Note: There is a special Greenhouse, a “wild”, whose type is chosen by the player. This choice may change depending on the Greenhouses that are placed around it.

Important: In the rules, when “adjacent” Modules are mentioned, it means orthogonally adjacent—i.e., they have one side in common; diagonals are not included. Exceptions to this rule are specified in full.

Upgrading an Astronaut: If the Module that was just deployed completes a square of 4 Modules, a victory point is added. Then, the player checks the number of colors that make up that square. If this square is composed of 1 or 2 Module colors, the Work value of any 1 of their Astronauts is increased by 1 point, whether they are in their Base or beside the main board, active or not. (If there are more than 2 colors, you do not get to upgrade an Astronaut.) If the player needs to upgrade their Astronauts by more than 1 Work point (because several squares were completed at the same time), they may distribute the upgrades as desired. The Work token in the stand of the figurine is flipped over or replaced. The Astronaut stays where they were and in the same state. The maximum Work value of an Astronaut is 4; once they have reached this, they cannot be upgraded further.

C) Carry out an Experiment

This action symbolizes an Astronaut carrying out a scientific experiment ordered by engineers on Earth, allowing them to earn research points. There are 3 types of Experiments: Left side – Center – Right side. Experiments can earn victory points when a player places them. To earn the most points, the player must try to form groups of 3 Experiments of different types. A group of Experiments can be formed in any order and several groups can be started at the same time.

- The player chooses an Experiment on the main board, regardless of whether there is another Astronaut in front of it.

- They spend the resources indicated on the Experiment by taking them from their Base.

- As for the deployment of a Module, an active Astronaut is moved from their Base to in front of the Experiment. This Astronaut will remain in this location until the player is able to retrieve them.

Important: An Astronaut placed next to the main board is no longer active and therefore cannot be used to perform any actions.

- The player places the Experiment next to their Base, visible to all. If it is the first Experiment of a group, they earn no points. If it is the second Experiment of a group, they earn 1 point on the Score Track. If it is the third Experiment of a group, they earn 2 points on the Score Track. Thus, a complete group is worth 3 points. In addition, if a victory point is shown on the tile, they earn it immediately on the Score Track.

- The player also earns the indicated number of research points, moving forward on the Research Track, and applies any effect shown there.

Step 2. Mission Check

After completing their action, the player must check to see if they have completed a Mission. If the player is the first to complete that Mission, they take the associated Science token and place it behind their game aid. They also take the Mission tile, place it in plain view in front of them, and immediately earn 3 victory points on the Score Track.

The player will keep the Science token until the end of the game, but the Mission tile may be stolen from them if someone else does better than they did in the accomplishment of that Mission. In this case, the new player earns 3 points while the earlier player must move back 3 spaces on the Score Track. The tile can be passed from one player to another every time the objective is exceeded.

Step 3. End of the Turn

Once the player has completed their turn (1 action + Mission check), it becomes the turn of the player to their left, and so on.

If a player has no more active Astronauts in their Base (they are all either exhausted or around the main board), that player must skip their turn.

Note: During a full game round, the players will not necessarily all play the same number of turns. Some players will finish sooner than others. One person may even be the last one able to play and take several turns while the others skip theirs.

End of a Round and Reset

When no player has any active Astronauts left, the game round is over and the players move on to reset the main board for the next game round:

- The Patch token is passed to the next player in a clockwise direction.

- If the first 2 Modules, placed under the white crosses, have not been deployed, they are removed from the game.

- The remaining Modules are shifted clockwise around the main board without leaving any empty hangars between them. The articulated arm is turned clockwise until it is placed on the last empty hangar.

- All Astronauts overtaken by the articulated arm are returned to their players. Any Astronauts in front of the articulated arm (like the green Astronaut in the example) as well as any Astronauts that have not been overtaken remain beside the main board.

- The empty hangars are then filled in a clockwise direction with Modules of the current year. The Experiment wheel is not touched; it will remain as it is until the end of the year.

Important: If it is not possible to fill all the hangars with Modules because the deck has run out, the end of the year is triggered. The reset is stopped for now, and see the next section, "End of the Year". If the deck runs out, but all of the hangars have been filled, it is not yet the end of the year.

- All players place the Astronauts they have recovered back into their Bases. Each Astronaut must be placed orthogonally adjacent to at least 1 Module (Obstacles are not Modules). In addition, the Astronaut must be active (i.e., facing the player).

Important: Players should think carefully before placing their Astronauts, because they will not be able to move them unless they send them to the main board, and because it is only at their location that new Modules can be built.

- All the Astronauts already in a player’s Base remain in their place and are made active.

- A new game round can begin.

End of the Year

If there are not enough Modules from the current year to fill all the hangars on the main board during Step 5 of the reset, the current year ends. Move on to the next year and continue the reset as follows:

- Players earn a number of Science tokens equal to the highest number they have reached on the Research Track, plus the number of players behind them on the Research Track (with 2 players, whoever is in the lead earns 2 extra Science tokens). These are placed behind the player’s game aid. Then each player returns their Research marker to the start space of the track.

- All Experiments are removed from the main board and are replaced with 7 Experiments from the new year.

- All empty hangars are filled with Modules from the new year. Any Modules from the previous year remain on the main board.

- The recovered Astronauts are returned to the players’ Bases. Each Astronaut must always be placed in an active position and adjacent to at least 1 Module.

- All Astronauts already in a Base remain in their place and are made active.

- A new game round can now begin.

Important: At the end of Year 3, the game is over. Determine the Research Track scores, then go to the End of the Game.

END OF THE GAME

Once the players have reached the end of Year 3 and have earned their Research Track scores, the game is over. Players now earn 1 victory point on the Score Track for each Science token they have behind their game aid. They also earn 1 victory point for every group of 5 resources remaining in their supply (no matter which ones).

Whoever is in the lead on the Score Track wins the game! In case of a tie, the one with the most electricity wins the game. In case of another tie, compare these values in order: the number of advanced resources (oxygen, aircarbon, and protein preparation), then the number of basic resources (ice, methane, and insects).

TILES DESCRIPTION

[Tile Details] Experiment Tiles

   1. Resources needed to carry it out
   2. Research points
   3. Effect
   4. Victory point (only for Year 3)

All Astronauts in the player’s Base are immediately reactivated: They are turned around to face the player and can be used again to perform an action starting from their next turn. If the player has no Astronauts to reactivate, the effect is lost.

The player immediately gains 2 Time units: All their Astronauts around the main board are moved 2 hangars counterclockwise (including the one who just carried out this Experiment). Astronauts cannot be moved beyond the articulated arm.

Module Tiles

   1. Resources necessary for deployment
   2. Number of Work points necessary to activate it 
   3. Quantity and type of resources produced
   4. Research point gained for adjacent Modules
   5. Immediate research point gain 

Production Modules This type of Module requires 1 Work point to activate and produces 1 basic resource that can be spent later.

This type of Module requires 1 Work point to activate and produces 1 variable basic resource. But, the player does not have to choose which resource type it is until they spend it later on. Each resource stored in this module, for example, can be spent as 1 methane or 1 ice. If they decide to spend several resources from this Module at once, they can choose different resources for each.

This type of Module requires 2 Work points to activate and produces 1 advanced resource, for example 1 aircarbon, that can be spent later.

This type of Module requires 2 Work point to activate and produces 1 variable basic resource. But, the player does not have to choose which resource type it is until they spend it later on. Each resource stored in this module, for example, can be spent as 1 aircarbon or 1 oxygen. If they decide to spend several resources from this Module at once, they can choose different resources for each.

This type of Module requires 1 Work point to activate and produces 1 electricity that can be spent later. Players can spend 1 electricity to replace 1 basic resource (methane, ice, or insect).

This type of Module requires 1 Work point to activate and produces 1 Time unit that must be spent immediately: All of that player’s Astronauts around the main board are moved 1 hangar counterclockwise. Astronauts cannot be moved beyond the articulated arm.

Modules that Earn Research Points When a Communications Module is deployed, the player chooses whether it is blue or orange. This tile is then discarded and either a blue tile or an orange tile is taken from the additional Communications Modules for the current year, matching the player’s choice. It is placed in their Base following the usual rules. When a player deploys this type of Module, they immediately earn the number of research points indicated at the bottom right. In addition, for each adjacent module of the indicated color (green, orange, purple, and/or blue), they immediately earn the number of research points shown (see the example on p. 10). If the player later deploys a Module of the indicated color adjacent to this one, they earn the number of research points shown.

Greenhouse Modules Greenhouses have special placement rules and allow the player to score points during the game (see p. 10). There are 3 different types: round, rectangular, and octagonal. This special Greenhouse Module is a “wild” whose type is chosen by the player (round, rectangular, or octagonal). This choice may change depending on the Greenhouses that are placed around it. It also earns the player 1 victory point when it is deployed.

Drone Landing Strips

These Modules earn the player 1 victory point when deployed. They count as a blue or orange Module, depending on their color, but cannot be activated.

Mission Tiles

“A” Missions Have at least 4 adjacent orange Modules. Have at least 3 adjacent blue Modules. Have at least 3 adjacent purple Modules. Important: for this Mission only, diagonally adjacent Modules are also counted. Note: For these Missions, the layout of the Modules presented on the tiles is for information only—the player does not have to reproduce it exactly to complete the Mission. Have at least 6 orange Modules in their base. Have at least 4 blue Modules in their base. Have at least 3 purple Modules in their base.

“B” Missions Have a vertical line of at least 4 adjacent Modules, whatever their color. Have a horizontal line of at least 5 adjacent Modules, whatever their color. Have a diagonal line of at least 4 adjacent Modules, whatever their color.

Have a vertical line of at least 3 adjacent Modules of the same color. Have a horizontal line of at least 3 adjacent Modules of the same color. Have a diagonal line of at least 3 adjacent Modules of the same color.

“C” Missions Have at least 4 ice and/or oxygen pictograms represented on the Experiments they have carried out. Have at least 4 methane and/or aircarbon pictograms represented on the Experiments they have carried out. Have at least 4 insect and/or protein preparation pictograms represented on the Experiments they have carried out.

Have carried out at least 3 Experiments from the left side. Have carried out at least 3 Experiments from the center. Have carried out at least 3 Experiments from the right side.