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Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2026-06-19T19:25:39Z

AndrewB: Replaced content with "'''Lunar Pole''' This is an economic, tile placement, pick up and deliver game for 1 to 5 players. The game takes place at a pole of the Moon where the highest peaks have continuous sunshine but the craters are in permanent shadow. Your goal will be to extract the ice from craters, use a transporter to take it to a refinery, where it will be turned into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then either be loaded onto a rocket to sell from an orbiting satellite, or b..."

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2026-04-15T18:29:43Z

AndrewB: Change to 3 credits convert to 1 point at the end.

'''Lunar Pole'''

This is an economic, tile placement, pick up and deliver game for 1 to 5 players. The game takes place at a pole of the Moon where the highest peaks have continuous sunshine but the craters are in permanent shadow. Your goal will be to extract the ice from craters, use a transporter to take it to a refinery, where it will be turned into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then either be loaded onto a rocket to sell from an orbiting satellite, or be used to supply Moon bases with the resources needed for habitation.

You will gain points by:

* Placing ice at refineries.
* Placing resources at moonbases.
* Fully supplying your moonbases.
* Other players taking resources off your refineries or extractors.
* Having your solar array next to other player’s vehicles.

Your transporters allow you to move resources and your printer allows you to build moonbases. Both vehicles require energy to perform actions, and the energy comes from the sun. The numbers at the side of the board represent the strength of the sunlight across the Moon. Just over half the board is in sunlight while the other half is in shadow. After each round the direction of the sun will rotate by 60 degrees.

You begin by landing a rocket on the Moon, you can then pay for and add more pieces adjacent. A track records how players spend their money. Paying for pieces useful to only yourself will put you later in turn order, but those useful to other players will put you earlier in turn order for the rest of the round.

Money comes from selling resources. Players secretly choose their sale prices at the start of the round. And at the end of the round resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met.

When the game ends players convert their money to points 3 credits for 1 point. The player with the most points wins, with the player earlier in turn order winning if tied.
== Objective ==
In '''Lunar Pole''', players compete to extract water ice from lunar craters, refine it into hydrogen and oxygen, and either sell these resources to meet deep space mission demands or supply them to moonbases. The goal is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the game. Money is converted to points at a 2:1 ratio at the end.

== Quick Setup ==
* '''Starting Capital:''' Each player begins with 20 credits.
* '''Hand Cards:''' Each player has a set of sale price cards (values 1–6) for both Oxygen and Hydrogen.
* '''The Board:''' A polar map of the moon featuring craters (permanent shadow) and a rotating sunlight tile that determines light intensity (values 1–9) and active zones.

== Gameplay Flow ==
The game lasts '''6 rounds''' (one solar day). Each round consists of the following phases:

=== 1. Deployment ===
In turn order, players take turns performing two actions or passing.
* '''Actions:''' Buy a building or vehicle and place it on the map.
* '''Placement Rules:''' Rockets can be placed on any non-crater space. All other pieces must be placed adjacent to one of your existing pieces.
* '''Turn Order (Money Spent Track):''' Buying Rockets, Printers, or Transporters moves your token to the right. Buying Solar Arrays, Refineries, or Extractors moves it to the left. The player furthest to the '''left''' at the end of the phase becomes the first player for the next round.
* '''Upkeep (After Deployment):'''
** '''Extract Ice:''' Extractors on the light side produce ice based on their level (1–3).
** '''Charge Vehicles:''' Transporters and Printers gain energy based on the sunlight strength of their hex plus bonuses from adjacent Solar Arrays. Max energy per vehicle is 10.

=== 2. Choose Sale Price ===
Players secretly choose one sale price card (1–6) for Oxygen and one for Hydrogen. Each card can only be used once per game.

=== 3. & 4. Transport & Refine (Two Phases) ===
There are two identical transport phases. Players spend vehicle energy to perform actions:
* '''Move:''' 1 energy per hex. Vehicles can carry one resource.
* '''Pick Up / Drop Off:''' 1 energy. Ice can be taken from any player's extractor (the owner gains 1 point).
* '''Build Moonbase:''' A Printer can place a moonbase on an adjacent hex for 1 energy.
* '''Refining:''' At the end of each transport phase, Refineries on the light side automatically convert ice into Oxygen and Hydrogen.

=== 5. Launch ===
Players decide which of their loaded rockets to launch.
* Resources are moved to the player's personal satellite.
* The rocket is returned to the supply, and the player receives 0.5 credits back.

=== 6. Sell & Sun Moves ===
* '''Selling:''' Reveal price cards. Resources are sold to meet the current mission demand, starting with the '''lowest price'''.
* '''Sun Rotation:''' The sunlight tile rotates 60 degrees. Buildings now in shadow become inactive; those moving into light become active.

== Key Details ==

=== Units and Infrastructure ===
* '''Rockets (1€):''' Necessary to get resources into orbit. They can be placed anywhere.
* '''Extractors (2€):''' Placed in craters to mine ice (Level 1, 2, or 3).
* '''Refineries (2€):''' Required to convert ice into O2 and H2.
* '''Solar Arrays (1€):''' Boost energy gain for any adjacent vehicle.
* '''Transporters (55€):''' Used to move resources across the board.
* '''Printers (5€):''' Used to build Moonbases.
* '''Moonbases (0€):''' Placed by Printers. Provide points when fully supplied with requested resources.

=== Symbols and Mechanics ===
* '''Light vs. Shadow:''' Energy generation, ice extraction, and refining only occur on the light side of the moon.
* '''Sunlight Strength (1–9):''' The numbers on the sun tile determine how much charge vehicles receive.
* '''Third-Party Usage:''' Using a teammate's extractor, refinery, or solar array awards that player '''1 point'''.
* '''Salvage:''' As a free action, you can remove your own pieces to get half the cost back, but any resources on them are lost.

== Game End and Scoring ==
The game ends after 6 rounds.
* '''Money Conversion:''' Every 3 credits remaining are worth 1 point.
* '''Winner:''' The player with the most points wins. Ties are broken by turn order (earlier player wins).

Tips isrulunarpole

2026-03-20T07:25:50Z

AndrewB: Changed to bullet points.

* In the first round considering the sun rotates clockwise, place your pieces towards the bottom left side so they are in sunlight for longer.
* Try to get a transporter next to an extractor, a refinery and two rockets.
* If you do find yourself in a bad position you can always salvage some pieces for half their cost, to get some money back into your hand.
* Think about how much energy you need, you can deploy a solar array next to your transporter to give it more charge, up to a maximum of 10.
* Try to have access to more than one extractor, incase the ice is taken by someone earlier in turn order.
* Deploying the printer is advised in those situations where the demand for resources is low, or you have already filled your satellite.
* The printer will allow you to build moonbases and start acquiring points by placing resources on them. Also remember resources on your satellite are worth nothing if unsold at the end of the game.
* Don't just focus on using your own pieces, you should instead be looking to acquire points and resources where you can get them, using as little energy as possible.

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2026-03-20T06:35:03Z

AndrewB: The title

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2026-03-07T19:18:34Z

AndrewB:

'''ISRU: Lunar Pole'''

This is an economic, tile placement, pick up and deliver game for 1 to 5 players. The game takes place at a pole of the Moon where the highest peaks have continuous sunshine but the craters are in permanent shadow. Your goal will be to extract the ice from craters, use a transporter to take it to a refinery, where it will be turned into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then either be loaded onto a rocket to sell from an orbiting satellite, or be used to supply Moon bases with the resources needed for habitation.

You will gain points by:

* Placing ice at refineries.
* Placing resources at moonbases.
* Fully supplying your moonbases.
* Other players taking resources off your refineries or extractors.
* Having your solar array next to other player’s vehicles.

Your transporters allow you to move resources and your printer allows you to build moonbases. Both vehicles require energy to perform actions, and the energy comes from the sun. The numbers at the side of the board represent the strength of the sunlight across the Moon. Just over half the board is in sunlight while the other half is in shadow. After each round the direction of the sun will rotate by 60 degrees.

You begin by landing a rocket on the Moon, you can then pay for and add more pieces adjacent. A track records how players spend their money. Paying for pieces useful to only yourself will put you later in turn order, but those useful to other players will put you earlier in turn order for the rest of the round.

Money comes from selling resources. Players secretly choose their sale prices at the start of the round. And at the end of the round resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met.

When the game ends players convert their money to points 2 for 1 and the player with the most points wins.

Tips isrulunarpole

2026-03-07T08:43:15Z

AndrewB: Created page with " One the first round when deploying you should try to place all your pieces in sunlight, and considering the sun rotates clockwise, place your pieces towards the bottom/left side on the starting round, so that they are in sunlight for longest. Try to get a transporter next to an extractor (preferably more than one), a refinery and two rockets. If you do find yourself in a bad position you can always salvage some pieces for half their cost, to get some money back into y..."

One the first round when deploying you should try to place all your pieces in sunlight, and considering the sun rotates clockwise, place your pieces towards the bottom/left side on the starting round, so that they are in sunlight for longest. Try to get a transporter next to an extractor (preferably more than one), a refinery and two rockets.

If you do find yourself in a bad position you can always salvage some pieces for half their cost, to get some money back into your hand.

Also think about how much sunlight you need to move an ice from the extractor to the refinery, then to move the oxygen and hydrogen from the refinery to the rockets. If all pieces are next to the transporter that would cost 6 energy. So you ideally want your transporter on at least a 6 space in this instance, else deploy a solar array next to your transporter to give it more charge. Alternatively deploy another transporter on a space that gains you more energy.

But getting one hydrogen and one oxygen at the end of the first round is a minimum, and you should be trying to gain at least two or three resources on your rockets to launch to your satellite. Although if the demand for resources is low, you might decide to not launch your rockets, and wait until the end of the second round.

Deploying the printer is advised in those situations where the demand for resources is low, so selling resources is going to be difficult. The printer will allow you to build moonbases and start acquiring points by placing resources on them. Also remember resources on your satellite are worth nothing if unsold at the end of the game.

Don't just focus on using your own pieces, you should instead be looking to acquire points/resources using as little energy as possible.

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2025-12-15T17:25:41Z

AndrewB:

'''ISRU: Lunar Pole'''

This is an economic, tile placement, pick up and deliver game for 2 to 5 players. The game takes place at a pole of the Moon where the highest peaks have continuous sunshine but the craters are in permanent shadow. Your goal will be to extract the ice from craters, use a transporter to take it to a refinery, where it will be turned into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then either be loaded onto a rocket to sell from an orbiting satellite, or be used to supply Moon bases with the resources needed for habitation.

You will gain points by:

* Placing ice at refineries.
* Placing resources at Moon bases.
* Fully supplying your Moon bases.
* Other players taking resources off your refineries or extractors.
* Having your solar array next to other player’s vehicles.

Your transporters allow you to move resources and your printer allows you to build moonbases. Both vehicles require energy to perform actions, and the energy comes from the sun. The numbers at the side of the board represent the strength of the sunlight across the Moon. Just over half the board is in sunlight while the other half is in shadow. After each round the direction of the sun will rotate by 60 degrees.

You begin by landing a rocket on the Moon, you can then pay for and add more pieces adjacent. A track records how players spend their money. Paying for pieces useful to only yourself will put you later in turn order, but those useful to other players will put you earlier in turn order for the rest of the round.

Money comes from selling resources. Players secretly choose their sale prices at the start of the round. And at the end of the round resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met.

The game ends after a set number of rounds. Players then convert money in hand to points 2 for 1 and the player with the most points wins.

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2025-11-19T18:54:31Z

AndrewB: Rewrite the summary

'''ISRU: Lunar Pole'''

This is an economic, tile placement, pick up and deliver game for 2 to 5 players. The game takes place at a pole of the Moon where the highest peaks have continuous sunshine but the craters are in permanent shadow. Your goal will be to extract the ice from craters, use a transporter to take it to a refinery, where it will be turned into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then either be loaded onto a rocket to sell from an orbiting satellite, or be used to supply Moon bases with the resources needed for habitation.

You will gain points by:

* Placing ice at refineries.
* Placing resources at Moon bases.
* Fully supplying your Moon bases.
* Other players taking resources off your refineries or extractors.
* Having your solar array next to other player’s vehicles.

Your transporters allow you to move resources and your printer allows you to build moonbases. Both vehicles require energy to perform actions, and the energy comes from the sun. The numbers at the side of the board represent the strength of the sunlight across the Moon. Just over half the board is in sunlight while the other half is in shadow. After each round the direction of the sun will rotate by 60 degrees.

You begin by landing a rocket on the Moon, you can then pay for and add more pieces adjacent. A track records how players spend their money. Paying for pieces useful to only yourself will put you later in turn order, but those useful to other players will put you earlier in turn order for the rest of the round.

Money comes from selling resources. Players secretly choose their sale prices at the start of the round. And at the end of the round resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met.

The game ends after a set number of rounds or when one player has supplied 8 moonbases. Players then convert money in hand to points 2 for 1 and the player with the most points wins.

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2025-11-09T19:41:43Z

AndrewB: Explain the suns degree of rotation.

'''ISRU: Lunar Pole'''

'''Quick summary'''

This is a game of tile placement and pickup and deliver for 2-5 players.

You start the game with 10 money and 10 points. Points can be spent as money.

Each round starts with a placement phase. The types of pieces you place will determine turn order for the round. You want to try to deploy a rocket, extractor and a refinery. And have a transporter adjacent or as close as possible to each, as transporter actions cost energy.

Your energy for the round will be determined by where you place your vehicles. The numbers on the edge of the moon denote the energy values for the non-crater spaces. Solar arrays provide energy to adjacent vehicles.

The sun will rotate around each round clockwise by 60 degrees. Black lines on the edge of the Moon board show the angle of rotation.

You should use your transporters to take ice to your refineries. At the end of the transport phase ice on refineries will be converted into hydrogen and oxygen. If you still have energy you can in the next transport phase take those resources to your rockets. Each rocket can only hold one type of resource.

When the second transport phase is finished, rockets can be launched, transferring the resources to your satellite to be sold. Rockets can only be launched if there is enough space for the resources on the satellite.

Players will have secretly chosen their sale prices at the start of the round, and the resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met. Turn order break ties.

As demand for resources will likely not be enough for all players to sell their resources, you can alternatively acquire points by taking resources to moonbases that you have built using your printer vehicle.

Points are acquired by:
Having your solar array next to other players vehicles. 1 point each other vehicle.
2 points for placing ice at yours and other player's refineries.
2 points for placing the required resources at yours and other player's moonbases.
2 points for fully supplying moonbases awarded to the owning player.

At the end of the game, money is converted to points, 2 for 1, and the player with the most points wins. Turn order breaks ties.

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2025-11-09T16:09:51Z

AndrewB: Small edit.

ISRU: Lunar pole - Quick summary

This is a game of tile placement and pickup and deliver.

You start the game with 10 money and 10 points. Points can be spent as money.

Each round starts with a placement phase. The types of pieces you place will determine turn order for the round. You want to try to deploy a rocket, extractor and a refinery. And have a transporter adjacent or as close as possible to each, as transporter actions cost energy.

Your energy for the round will be determined by where you place your vehicles. The numbers on the edge of the moon denote the energy values for the non-crater spaces. Solar arrays provide energy to adjacent vehicles.

The sun will rotate around each round clockwise, so be aware of for how many rounds a space will be in sunlight when determining placement position.

You should be trying to use your transporters to take ice to your refineries. At the end of the transport phase ice on refineries will be converted into hydrogen and oxygen. If you still have energy you can in the next transport phase take those resources to your rockets. Each rocket can only hold one type of resource.

When the second transport phase is finished, rockets can be launched, transferring the resources to your satellite to be sold. Rockets can only be launched if there is enough space for the resources on the satellite.

Players will have secretly chosen their sale prices at the start of the round, and the resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met. Turn order break ties.

As demand for resources will likely not be enough for all players to sell their resources, you can alternatively acquire points by taking resources to moonbases that you have built using your printer vehicle.

Points are acquired by:
Having your solar array next to other players vehicles. 1 point each other vehicle.
2 points for placing ice at yours and other player's refineries.
2 points for placing the required resources at yours and other player's moonbases.
2 points for fully supplying moonbases awarded to the owning player.

At the end of the game, money is converted to points, 2 for 1, and the player with the most points wins. Turn order breaks ties.

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2025-11-09T15:54:41Z

AndrewB: Points can be spent as money

ISRU: Lunar pole - Quick summary

This is a game of tile placement and pickup and deliver.

The round starts with a placement phase. You start the game with 10 money and 10 points. Points can be spent as money. The types of pieces you place will determine turn order for the round. You want to try to deploy a rocket, extractor, refinery. Then have a transporter adjacent or as close as possible to each, as transporter actions cost energy.

Your energy for the round will be determined by where you place your vehicles. The numbers on the edge of the moon denote the energy values for the non-crater spaces. The sun will rotate around each round clockwise, so be aware of for how many rounds a space will be in sunlight when determining placement position. Solar arrays provide energy to adjacent vehicles.

You should be trying to use your transporters to take ice to your refineries. At the end of the transport phase ice on refineries will be converted into hydrogen and oxygen. So if you still have energy you can in the next transport phase take those resources to your rockets. Each rocket can only hold one type of resource.

When the second transport phase is finished, rockets can be launched, transferring the resources to your satellite to be sold. Rockets can only be launched if there is enough space for the resources on the satellite.

Players will have secretly chosen their sale prices at the start of the round, and the resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met. Turn order break ties.

As demand for resources will likely not be enough for all players to sell their resources, you can acquire points by taking resources to moonbases that you have built using your printer vehicle.

Points are acquired by:
Having your solar array next to other players vehicles. 1 point each other vehicle.
2 points for placing ice at yours and other player's refineries.
2 points for placing the required resources at yours and other player's moonbases.
2 points for fully supplying moonbases awarded to the owning player.

At the end of the game, money is converted to points, 2 for 1, and the player with the most points wins. Turn order breaks ties.

Gamehelpisrulunarpole

2025-11-09T13:36:02Z

AndrewB: ISRU: Lunar pole - Quick summary

ISRU: Lunar pole - Quick summary

This is a game of tile placement and pickup and deliver.

The round starts with a placement phase. You start the game with 10 money and 10 points. Money can be spent as points. The types of pieces you place will determine turn order for the round. You want to try to deploy a rocket, extractor, refinery. Then have a transporter adjacent or as close as possible to each, as transporter actions cost energy.

Your energy for the round will be determined by where you place your vehicles. The numbers on the edge of the moon denote the energy values for the non-crater spaces. The sun will rotate around each round clockwise, so be aware of for how many rounds a space will be in sunlight when determining placement position. Solar arrays provide energy to adjacent vehicles.

You should be trying to use your transporters to take ice to your refineries. At the end of the transport phase ice on refineries will be converted into hydrogen and oxygen. So if you still have energy you can in the next transport phase take those resources to your rockets. Each rocket can only hold one type of resource.

When the second transport phase is finished, rockets can be launched, transferring the resources to your satellite to be sold. Rockets can only be launched if there is enough space for the resources on the satellite.

Players will have secretly chosen their sale prices at the start of the round, and the resources are sold from cheapest to most expensive until the demand is met. Turn order break ties.

As demand for resources will likely not be enough for all players to sell their resources, you can acquire points by taking resources to moonbases that you have built using your printer vehicle.

Points are acquired by:
Having your solar array next to other players vehicles. 1 point each other vehicle.
2 points for placing ice at yours and other player's refineries.
2 points for placing the required resources at yours and other player's moonbases.
2 points for fully supplying moonbases awarded to the owning player.

At the end of the game, money is converted to points, 2 for 1, and the player with the most points wins. Turn order breaks ties.