https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Babamots&feedformat=atomBoard Game Arena - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T10:35:22ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.39.0https://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Gamehelphomeworlds&diff=14848Gamehelphomeworlds2022-09-29T15:34:34Z<p>Babamots: Formatted for better in-game preview</p>
<hr />
<div>Homeworlds is an epic space opera in the form of a chess-like game played with colorful pyramid pieces.<br />
Each player is a galactic overlord, building and maneuvering an interstellar space fleet.<br />
Capital starships are sacrificed, worlds are vaporized, and lives are expendable.<br />
Only your Homeworld matters.<br />
<br />
==Setup==<br />
Stack up the pyramids, sorted by size and color, and place them to the side of the playing area.<br />
This is the Bank.<br />
<br />
==Rule summary==<br />
Once in play, standing pieces are stars that mark star systems. Pieces lying down are ships. Your ships point away from you.<br />
===On your turn===<br />
* '''First turn''': choose three pieces from the bank to form two stars and your first ship. This is your homeworld system.<br />
* '''Other turns''': choose one of the three options below.<br />
*# '''Basic action''': Chose one of your ships and empower it with the technology (color) of a '''star''' or any one of '''your ships''' in that system.<br />
*# '''Sacrifice''': Choose one of your ships and return it to the bank. Then empower some of your other ships with the technology of the sacrificed ship. The maximum number of ships you can empower this way depends on the sacrificed ship's size: small=1, medium=2, large=3.<br />
*# '''Pass''': Take no action.<br />
Besides player actions, few extra things can happen on a turn<br />
* '''Catastrophe''': If four or more pieces of the same color are in the same system, you may return them to the bank as a free turn action.<br />
* '''Forgetting''': If a system ''other than a homeworld'' has no ships, its star is immediately returned to the bank. This can happen if the last ship moves away, is sacrificed, or is destroyed in a catastrophe.<br />
* '''Super nova''': If a system's last star is destroyed in a catastrophe, all remaining ships are immediately returned to the bank.<br />
<br />
===Technologies===<br />
<br />
* '''Red=Capture'''. Take control of an enemy ship in the same system that is the same size or smaller than your empowered ship.<br />
<br />
* '''Yellow=Move'''. Move the empowered ship to a system connected to its current system. (Two systems are connected if they don't have any star sizes in common.) Alternatively, move your empowered ship to a new system, using any connected piece from the bank as a star.<br />
<br />
* '''Green=Build'''. Take the smallest bank piece in the empowered ship's color and add it as a ship to the empowered ship's system.<br />
<br />
* '''Blue=Trade'''. Exchange the empowered ship with any piece of the same size from the bank.<br />
<br />
===Winning===<br />
You win if your opponent controls no ships in their homeworld at the end of either player's turn. If both players lose homeworld control on the same turn, the game is a draw.<br />
<br />
==Fundamentals of space travel==<br />
Homeworlds is played without a board.<br />
Instead, the pieces that are in play are placed in clusters called "star systems."<br />
Each star system has at least one star and may be occupied by any number of ships controlled by either or both players.<br />
* Stars are marked on the playing field with upright pyramids (seen as squares from above).<br />
** The playing field is a "star map" that displays only the star systems currently being visited by spaceships.<br />
** Most systems have one star. Such a star is a "basic star."<br />
* Spaceships are represented by non-vertical pyramids (seen as triangles from above).<br />
** The direction in which ships point indicates who controls them. Your ships always point away from you.<br />
* When a ship Discovers a new star system, the star is added to the star map, and when the last ship leaves the system, the star piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
* You can move a ship from one star system to another ONLY if the stars are of different sizes.<br />
** Differently-sized star systems are connected, but same-sized stars are not. (Why? It’s just the way the wormhole technology works...)<br />
* A Binary Star (a system with two stars) is only connected to a basic star if that star is a size not included in the Binary Star.<br />
** A Binary Star is only connected to another Binary Star if they have NO star sizes in common. (Since there are only three piece sizes, a Binary Star can only connect to another Binary Star if at least one of the Binary Stars has two stars that are the same size.)<br />
<br />
==The first turn==<br />
The game begins with a setup round, during which the players choose their initial pieces.<br />
# To begin, create your Homeworld made of two upright pyramids in your choice of sizes and colors. Put them together to form a Binary Star.<br />
# Now take a Large spaceship (of any color) and place it by your Homeworld.<br />
<br />
The decisions you make during setup will greatly affect the entire game.<br />
If this is your first game, we suggest both players start with a Large Green ship,<br />
with one player starting with a Large Blue/Small Red Homeworld and the other player starting with a Medium Red/Small Blue Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Turn options==<br />
During each turn, you may<br />
* perform one Basic action,<br />
* OR you may Sacrifice one of your ships, putting it back into the Bank in order to gain one or more Sacrifice actions,<br />
* OR you can choose to pass. (This is rarely useful, but doing nothing may be a player’s best option during certain endgame situations.)<br />
<br />
Also, at any time during your turn, you may invoke the Catastrophe option ([[#Overpoulation and Catastrophe|described later]]) for any Overpopulation situation on the star map.<br />
<br />
===Basic action===<br />
You may perform your Basic action with any ship you control, in its system, using any power you can access in that system.<br />
<br />
===Sacrifice action===<br />
The number of Sacrifice actions you get is equal to the pip count of the ship you Sacrificed.<br />
You get that many actions, of that ship's color; each action can be used, independently of the other actions, in any system where you still control a ship, regardless of which colors you have access to in said system.<br />
<br />
==Color powers==<br />
A ship of ANY COLOR can use any power that it has access to.<br />
Color access is provided by any of the following:<br />
# Star: Color of a system's star,<br />
# Ship: Color of a ship YOU control there,<br />
# Sacrifice: Color of a ship you have sacrificed (also see: Sacrifice action).<br />
Each color provides a different power.<br />
* Green = Build (The green Colonists construct the starships.)<br />
* Yellow = Move, i.e., Travel or Discovery (The yellow Navigators grok the wormholes.)<br />
* Red = Capture (The red Warriors wield the weapons.)<br />
* Blue = Trade (The blue Ice-Traders offer exchanges.)<br />
<br />
===Green===<br />
Build a new ship by taking a piece from the Bank<br />
and placing it next to one of your existing ships.<br />
* Same Color: The color of your new ship must be the same as one of the ships you control in the system where the new ship is being Built.<br />
* Smallest Size: The ship you Build must be the smallest size of that color currently available in the Bank.<br />
<br />
===Yellow===<br />
Move a ship from the system it's in to any other connected system (existing or newly Discovered).<br />
* Travel: Move to any connected system whether it is currently populated with your ships, your opponent's ships, or both.<br />
* Discovery: Take a piece of your choice from the Bank, add it to the field as a star, then move your ship to that star.<br />
* Abandonment: Return a basic star to the Bank immediately if zero ships are located there. (The stars of Homeworlds are not returned to the bank, [[#Homeworld abandonment|explained below]].)<br />
<br />
===Red===<br />
Capture an enemy ship by turning the piece around so that it points away from you.<br />
(Traditionally, this power was referred to as "attacking", and many players may continue to use that term, but it’s more accurate to say "Capture" since the goal of the attack is to seize the ship, not destroy it.<br />
Starships are valuable.)<br />
* Size Matters: You can only Capture a ship if it’s the same size as, or smaller than, the biggest ship YOU control in that system.<br />
But note that a Small Red CAN be used to Capture a larger ship — you just need to have your own larger ship (of any color) in that system, which can attack the enemy's ship using the power of your Small Red.<br />
* Example: Suppose you have a Small Red and a Medium Yellow, and the other player has a Medium Red in the same system.<br />
Your Small Red is not big enough to Capture the Medium Red, and your Medium Yellow cannot attack on its own (except when the star is Red).<br />
But together they can prevail, because the Medium Yellow can "borrow" (has access to) the power of the Small Red.<br />
<br />
===Blue===<br />
Trade one of your ships with a differently colored piece of the same size from the Bank.<br />
You can only Trade exact size for exact size;<br />
if the size you want is not available, you cannot Trade.<br />
<br />
==Star Abandonment==<br />
When a star is not occupied by any ship at all, it is called abandoned. An abandoned star that's not part of a Homeworld is returned to the Bank immediately. This can happen when:<br />
* you move out of a system with the last ship.<br />
* when you sacrifice the last ship in a system.<br />
* after a Catastrophe.<br />
If you have actions remaining in your turn, then the stars that are returned to the Bank can be immediately used in the rest of your turn.<br />
<br />
==Overpopulation and Catastrophe==<br />
Too much of one color in one system can trigger a disaster called a Catastrophe.<br />
Overpopulation exists any time a single system contains four or more pieces of the same color — including ships on both sides AND the star system itself.<br />
<br />
At any point during your turn, if you notice an Overpopulated star system, you have the OPTION to declare a Catastrophe in that system (even if you don’t have a ship there).<br />
If called, all pieces of the Overpopulated color are returned to the Bank.<br />
If this includes the star itself, then ALL ships at that location are destroyed (unless the star was half of a Binary Star, in which case it becomes a single-star system, but still a Homeworld).<br />
If a Catastrophe leaves a basic star unoccupied, the piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
<br />
==How to win==<br />
A player is eliminated if, at the end of either player's turn, they do not control a ship at their own Homeworld (or if both stars of their Homeworld have been destroyed).<br />
You win by eliminating your opponent without being eliminated yourself.<br />
<br />
There are three paths to victory (not including resignation by the other player):<br />
# Direct Assault: Use Red to take control of all enemy ships at the enemy's Homeworld.<br />
# Fleet Catastrophe: Destroy all enemy ships at their Homeworld by causing a Catastrophe.<br />
# Star Demolition: Cause two Catastrophes, each destroying half of the Homeworld.<br />
<br />
===Homeworld abandonment===<br />
It’s OK to momentarily abandon your Homeworld as long as you have a ship there again by the end of your turn.<br />
However, you are eliminated from the game if both stars in your Homeworld are destroyed, or if you don’t control any ships at your Homeworld when your turn is over.<br />
Note that Homeworlds are different from basic stars and thus are not returned to the Bank if the star is temporarily abandoned.<br />
(Even if you send your whole fleet away for a brief time, Earth is still the Earth and you don’t remove it from the active star map the way you do with basic stars.)<br />
<br />
===Deadlocks and draws===<br />
There are two ways in which the game can end in a tie.<br />
# If one player eliminates the other, but in the process, leaves their own Homeworld abandoned, it's a draw (both players simultaneously win and lose).<br />
# If both players conclude that they’ve reached an impasse (if, for example, they both feel that their only acceptable action is to re-capture the same ship the other player just Captured), the game is deadlocked and ends in a draw.<br />
<br />
==Source==<br />
* With permission from Looney Labs, this article is adapted from their rules published in [https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/literature/Homeworlds%20Rules13.pdf Pyramid Quartet (2020)].</div>Babamotshttps://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Gamehelphomeworlds&diff=14494Gamehelphomeworlds2022-08-25T23:26:22Z<p>Babamots: Added a very short rule summary.</p>
<hr />
<div>Homeworlds is an epic space opera in the form of a chess-like game played with colorful pyramid pieces.<br />
Each player is a galactic overlord, building and maneuvering an interstellar space fleet.<br />
Capital starships are sacrificed, worlds are vaporized, and lives are expendable.<br />
Only your Homeworld matters.<br />
<br />
==Setup==<br />
Stack up the pyramids, sorted by size and color, and place them to the side of the playing area.<br />
This is the Bank.<br />
<br />
==Rule summary==<br />
Once in play, standing pieces are stars that mark star systems. Pieces lying down are ships. Your ships point away from you.<br />
===On your turn===<br />
* '''First turn''': choose three pieces from the bank to form two stars and your first ship. This is your homeworld system.<br />
* '''Other turns''': choose one of the three options below.<br />
*# '''Basic action''': Chose one of your ships and empower it with the technology (color) of a '''star''' or any one of '''your ships''' in that system.<br />
*# '''Sacrifice''': Choose one of your ships and return it to the bank. Then empower some of your other ships with the technology of the sacrificed ship. The maximum number of ships you can empower this way depends on the sacrificed ship's size: small=1, medium=2, large=3.<br />
*# '''Pass''': Take no action.<br />
* '''Catastrophe''': If four or more pieces of the same color are in the same system, you may return them to the bank as a free turn action.<br />
* '''Forgetting''': If a system's last star is destroyed in a catastrophe, all remaining ships are immediately returned to the bank. If a system ''other than a homeworld'' has no ships, its star is immediately returned to the bank.<br />
<br />
===Technologies===<br />
<br />
* '''Red=Capture'''. Take control of an enemy ship in the same system that is the same size or smaller than your empowered ship.<br />
<br />
* '''Yellow=Move'''. Move the empowered ship to a system connected to its current system. (Two systems are connected if they don't have any star sizes in common.) Alternatively, move your empowered ship to a new system, using any connected piece from the bank as a star.<br />
<br />
* '''Green=Build'''. Take the smallest bank piece in the empowered ship's color and add it as a ship to the empowered ship's system.<br />
<br />
* '''Blue=Trade'''. Exchange the empowered ship with any piece of the same size from the bank.<br />
<br />
===Winning===<br />
You win if your opponent controls no ships in their homeworld at the end of either player's turn. If both players lose homeworld control on the same turn, the game is a draw.<br />
<br />
==Fundamentals of space travel==<br />
Homeworlds is played without a board.<br />
Instead, the pieces that are in play are placed in clusters called "star systems."<br />
Each star system has at least one star and may be occupied by any number of ships controlled by either or both players.<br />
* Stars are marked on the playing field with upright pyramids (seen as squares from above).<br />
** The playing field is a "star map" that displays only the star systems currently being visited by spaceships.<br />
** Most systems have one star. Such a star is a "basic star."<br />
* Spaceships are represented by non-vertical pyramids (seen as triangles from above).<br />
** The direction in which ships point indicates who controls them. Your ships always point away from you.<br />
* When a ship Discovers a new star system, the star is added to the star map, and when the last ship leaves the system, the star piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
* You can move a ship from one star system to another ONLY if the stars are of different sizes.<br />
** Differently-sized star systems are connected, but same-sized stars are not. (Why? It’s just the way the wormhole technology works...)<br />
* A Binary Star (a system with two stars) is only connected to a basic star if that star is a size not included in the Binary Star.<br />
** A Binary Star is only connected to another Binary Star if they have NO star sizes in common. (Since there are only three piece sizes, a Binary Star can only connect to another Binary Star if at least one of the Binary Stars has two stars that are the same size.)<br />
<br />
==The first turn==<br />
The game begins with a setup round, during which the players choose their initial pieces.<br />
# To begin, create your Homeworld made of two upright pyramids in your choice of sizes and colors. Put them together to form a Binary Star.<br />
# Now take a Large spaceship (of any color) and place it by your Homeworld.<br />
<br />
The decisions you make during setup will greatly affect the entire game.<br />
If this is your first game, we suggest both players start with a Large Green ship,<br />
with one player starting with a Large Blue/Small Red Homeworld and the other player starting with a Medium Red/Small Blue Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Turn options==<br />
During each turn, you may<br />
* perform one Basic action,<br />
* OR you may Sacrifice one of your ships, putting it back into the Bank in order to gain one or more Sacrifice actions,<br />
* OR you can choose to pass. (This is rarely useful, but doing nothing may be a player’s best option during certain endgame situations.)<br />
<br />
Also, at any time during your turn, you may invoke the Catastrophe option ([[#Overpoulation and Catastrophe|described later]]) for any Overpopulation situation on the star map.<br />
<br />
===Basic action===<br />
You may perform your Basic action with any ship you control, in its system, using any power you can access in that system.<br />
<br />
===Sacrifice action===<br />
The number of Sacrifice actions you get is equal to the pip count of the ship you Sacrificed.<br />
You get that many actions, of that ship's color; each action can be used, independently of the other actions, in any system where you still control a ship, regardless of which colors you have access to in said system.<br />
<br />
==Color powers==<br />
A ship of ANY COLOR can use any power that it has access to.<br />
Color access is provided by any of the following:<br />
# Star: Color of a system's star,<br />
# Ship: Color of a ship YOU control there,<br />
# Sacrifice: Color of a ship you have sacrificed (also see: Sacrifice action).<br />
Each color provides a different power.<br />
* Green = Build (The green Colonists construct the starships.)<br />
* Yellow = Move, i.e., Travel or Discovery (The yellow Navigators grok the wormholes.)<br />
* Red = Capture (The red Warriors wield the weapons.)<br />
* Blue = Trade (The blue Ice-Traders offer exchanges.)<br />
<br />
===Green===<br />
Build a new ship by taking a piece from the Bank<br />
and placing it next to one of your existing ships.<br />
* Same Color: The color of your new ship must be the same as one of the ships you control in the system where the new ship is being Built.<br />
* Smallest Size: The ship you Build must be the smallest size of that color currently available in the Bank.<br />
<br />
===Yellow===<br />
Move a ship from the system it's in to any other connected system (existing or newly Discovered).<br />
* Travel: Move to any connected system whether it is currently populated with your ships, your opponent's ships, or both.<br />
* Discovery: Take a piece of your choice from the Bank, add it to the field as a star, then move your ship to that star.<br />
* Abandonment: Return a basic star to the Bank immediately if zero ships are located there. (The stars of Homeworlds are not returned to the bank, [[#Homeworld abandonment|explained below]].)<br />
<br />
===Red===<br />
Capture an enemy ship by turning the piece around so that it points away from you.<br />
(Traditionally, this power was referred to as "attacking", and many players may continue to use that term, but it’s more accurate to say "Capture" since the goal of the attack is to seize the ship, not destroy it.<br />
Starships are valuable.)<br />
* Size Matters: You can only Capture a ship if it’s the same size as, or smaller than, the biggest ship YOU control in that system.<br />
But note that a Small Red CAN be used to Capture a larger ship — you just need to have your own larger ship (of any color) in that system, which can attack the enemy's ship using the power of your Small Red.<br />
* Example: Suppose you have a Small Red and a Medium Yellow, and the other player has a Medium Red in the same system.<br />
Your Small Red is not big enough to Capture the Medium Red, and your Medium Yellow cannot attack on its own (except when the star is Red).<br />
But together they can prevail, because the Medium Yellow can "borrow" (has access to) the power of the Small Red.<br />
<br />
===Blue===<br />
Trade one of your ships with a differently colored piece of the same size from the Bank.<br />
You can only Trade exact size for exact size;<br />
if the size you want is not available, you cannot Trade.<br />
<br />
==Star Abandonment==<br />
When a star is not occupied by any ship at all, it is called abandoned. An abandoned star that's not part of a Homeworld is returned to the Bank immediately. This can happen when:<br />
* you move out of a system with the last ship.<br />
* when you sacrifice the last ship in a system.<br />
* after a Catastrophe.<br />
If you have actions remaining in your turn, then the stars that are returned to the Bank can be immediately used in the rest of your turn.<br />
<br />
==Overpopulation and Catastrophe==<br />
Too much of one color in one system can trigger a disaster called a Catastrophe.<br />
Overpopulation exists any time a single system contains four or more pieces of the same color — including ships on both sides AND the star system itself.<br />
<br />
At any point during your turn, if you notice an Overpopulated star system, you have the OPTION to declare a Catastrophe in that system (even if you don’t have a ship there).<br />
If called, all pieces of the Overpopulated color are returned to the Bank.<br />
If this includes the star itself, then ALL ships at that location are destroyed (unless the star was half of a Binary Star, in which case it becomes a single-star system, but still a Homeworld).<br />
If a Catastrophe leaves a basic star unoccupied, the piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
<br />
==How to win==<br />
A player is eliminated if, at the end of either player's turn, they do not control a ship at their own Homeworld (or if both stars of their Homeworld have been destroyed).<br />
You win by eliminating your opponent without being eliminated yourself.<br />
<br />
There are three paths to victory (not including resignation by the other player):<br />
# Direct Assault: Use Red to take control of all enemy ships at the enemy's Homeworld.<br />
# Fleet Catastrophe: Destroy all enemy ships at their Homeworld by causing a Catastrophe.<br />
# Star Demolition: Cause two Catastrophes, each destroying half of the Homeworld.<br />
<br />
===Homeworld abandonment===<br />
It’s OK to momentarily abandon your Homeworld as long as you have a ship there again by the end of your turn.<br />
However, you are eliminated from the game if both stars in your Homeworld are destroyed, or if you don’t control any ships at your Homeworld when your turn is over.<br />
Note that Homeworlds are different from basic stars and thus are not returned to the Bank if the star is temporarily abandoned.<br />
(Even if you send your whole fleet away for a brief time, Earth is still the Earth and you don’t remove it from the active star map the way you do with basic stars.)<br />
<br />
===Deadlocks and draws===<br />
There are two ways in which the game can end in a tie.<br />
# If one player eliminates the other, but in the process, leaves their own Homeworld abandoned, it's a draw (both players simultaneously win and lose).<br />
# If both players conclude that they’ve reached an impasse (if, for example, they both feel that their only acceptable action is to re-capture the same ship the other player just Captured), the game is deadlocked and ends in a draw.<br />
<br />
==Source==<br />
* With permission from Looney Labs, this article is adapted from their rules published in [https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/literature/Homeworlds%20Rules13.pdf Pyramid Quartet (2020)].</div>Babamotshttps://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Tips_homeworlds&diff=10410Tips homeworlds2021-11-30T21:54:54Z<p>Babamots: Formatting, language polishing</p>
<hr />
<div>Homeworlds is a deep game with a steep learning curve.<br />
This guide introduces some of the most important strategies and concepts for playing effectively.<br />
<br />
==Common mistakes==<br />
In a game as complex as Homeworlds, even seasoned players make mistakes.<br />
Here are some of the concepts new players find most difficult to grok:<br />
* '''Can't move there:''' Beware of thinking two systems are connected when they aren't.<br />
* '''Can't do that:''' Your ships can't use the power of another player's ship even if it's in the same system. You can only use your own ships, the star itself, or power gained by a Sacrifice.<br />
* '''Can't build that:''' You can't construct a ship if you don't already control a ship of that color in the same star system.<br />
* '''Can't capture yet:''' The one-two punch nature of attacks in this game is confusing at first. You must have the drop on the other player — you cannot move in and attack all at once. When you move a ship into my system, I get a turn to respond before you get to attack me. Then, during my turn, I can (potentially) Capture your ship, as if it were a gift being delivered right to my doorstep. <br />
<br />
==It's all about the economy==<br />
While Homeworlds may seem like a war game, like most wars, it's all about the financing.<br />
So keep a close eye on the Bank!<br />
Here are some tips on banking wisely:<br />
<br />
===Don't Take the Last Serving===<br />
When possible, avoid being the player who has to take the last available Small or Medium piece of any given color.<br />
(You'd rather be the one who gets to Build the first ship of the next size.)<br />
<br />
===Smart Shopping===<br />
Wait for bargains, and snap them up when they're available.<br />
It's a good time to go shopping when there are three of a size available in the Bank, but the best time is when there are two, since the other player will be opening up availability of the next size if they copy your action.<br />
Other good opportunities to look for are times when you might be able to Sacrifice a Medium Green to Build a couple of Larges, and times when you can leave the next size open because you know your opponent can't safely Build the next size themselves.<br />
<br />
===Don't Get Frozen Out of Any Color===<br />
Maintain control of at least one ship of each color (and seek to freeze out your enemy by monopolizing a color they lack).<br />
It's easy to get frozen out of a color early in the game, when most of the pieces in play are Smalls.<br />
If the only piece you have available to Trade for a new color is a Small, and the other player grabs the last Small of that color, you won't be able to get into that economy until you have a Medium available to Trade...<br />
and that could take a while.<br />
And by then, all the Mediums might be gone and they'll be Building Large ships while you're still struggling to catch up.<br />
<br />
==Choosing your Homeworld==<br />
But what setup is best?<br />
Most Starship Captains agree that you need to start with Blue and Green along with either Red or Yellow.<br />
Beyond that, opinions vary.<br />
Some players like to start with Yellow, so they can move immediately, but others prefer starting off with a Red ship.<br />
Many like building a "Planetary Defense System" which means including Red as one of the two colors that form the Homeworld itself.<br />
As for the size pairings, here are the three possibilities:<br />
<br />
* '''Banker (Small-Medium star):''' This setup gives you an edge when using the Investment strategy, since it moves first to Large systems.<br />
* '''Fortress (Medium-Large star):''' This setup makes your Homeworld harder to invade as the game progresses, since the supply of Smalls needed for bordering star systems dwindles quickly.<br />
* '''Goldilocks (Small-Large star):''' The stars you can go to from here are "just right" because they're not too big and not too small.<br />
<br />
===Beware the small universe===<br />
If the second player chooses the same two sizes of pieces for their Homeworld as the first player did, the star map will be far more compact than with non-matching Homeworlds.<br />
This shrunken universe makes the game very claustrophobic.<br />
Choosing a "Gemini Star" (Large-Large, Medium-Medium, or Small-Small) also shrinks the universe.<br />
These setups aren't illegal, but they create tricky situations, so be careful.<br />
<br />
==Avoid getting Bluebirded==<br />
Imagine you have exactly two ships at your Homeworld, and they're both the same color.<br />
Let's say they're Blue.<br />
If your opponent has a Large Yellow, and two Blue ships at near and far positions, they can knock you out in one turn.<br />
Don't let this happen to you!<br />
(The name refers to a coffeeshop in Amsterdam called the Bluebird, where a particularly memorable game ended this way, back in the earliest days of the game's history.) There are two ways a Bluebird can happen, and one is easier to see coming than the other.<br />
Either way, you are vulnerable if you have exactly two ships at your Homeworld and they're both the same color.<br />
* '''The Easy Bluebird:''' Your enemy Sacrifices a Medium Yellow to simultaneously move two ships of your color, from systems one jump away, into your Homeworld.<br />
* '''The Tricky Bluebird:''' Your enemy Sacrifices a Large Yellow to move in two ships of your color, one from a nearby star and one from two jumps away.<br />
* '''The Sitting Duck:''' This is like a Bluebird but even more vulnerable. If you have three ships of the same color (or two ships plus a star of the same color) and no other ships at your Homeworld, all your enemy needs do is to drive one ship of that color into your system and KA-BOOM it's game over.<br />
<br />
==Don't rush==<br />
Tempo is tricky in this game.<br />
Sometimes fortune favors the patient, not the bold.<br />
For various reasons (such as how all Bank quantities are in odd numbers), the player who acts first can sometimes get the short end of the stick.<br />
If it's a bad time to go shopping, consider stalling instead, moving ships around rather than constructing new ones.<br />
<br />
==Make investments==<br />
When the only ship at a basic star goes away, the star-piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
If the ship that just departed was Green, and was Sacrificed, it may be possible to instantly change the star it was taken from into a ship.<br />
Parking Green ships at stars you'd like to change into ships later is called Investing.<br />
The best use of this strategy is to park Greens at Large stars while Mediums and Smalls of that color are available, then wait until the Bank is empty to "cash in." You just need to hope that your enemy doesn't move any other ships into your Investment system before you can Sacrifice the solitary Green ship you have at that system to turn its star into a ship.<br />
<br />
==Play keep-away==<br />
If you can't Build a desirable piece as a ship, try turning it into a star.<br />
Even if the ship you Discover it with isn't Green, you might be able to turn the system into an Investment opportunity later on.<br />
More importantly, you are preventing your enemy from getting to Build a ship with that piece.<br />
<br />
==Squonking==<br />
There are times when you might wish to Sacrifice a piece wastefully, specifically to interfere with your opponent's access to the Bank.<br />
We call this Squonking (a combination of squandering and blocking).<br />
For example, you might want to Sacrifice a Small Yellow when moving a ship away from a Yellow system, not because you need the movement ability — you don't — but because the return of the Small Yellow to the Bank will block your opponent from Building a larger Yellow piece.<br />
<br />
==The hyperspace bypass==<br />
When the first half of someone's Homeworld is destroyed, the whole star map changes.<br />
New connections become possible, and travel times to and from that Homeworld become shorter.<br />
It's like when a planet needs to be destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass...<br />
travel becomes easier after the obstruction is removed.<br />
So whenever a new bypass is created, take a good look at how the stellar topography has changed, and consider all the new possibilities.<br />
<br />
==The factory==<br />
A Large Green ship, along with another Green ship in the same system, sets up a powerful maneuver called the Factory.<br />
When you get to the point when only Large Greens (or none) remain in the Bank, you can Sacrifice your Large Green for three Build actions.<br />
Then, as one of those actions, you can re-build the Large Green in the same system you took it from.<br />
You now have two more Build actions without having lost your original Large Green.<br />
You can do this over and over again!<br />
<br />
==Using green to teleport==<br />
This trick is very useful if you get frozen out of Yellow.<br />
You can "teleport" a Small Green ship into any other system where you have another Green ship.<br />
Just Sacrifice the ship to get a Build action, then re-build that ship in a different star system that is occupied by one of your Green ships.<br />
If the Bank is low on Green, you can also teleport Medium or even Large ships, and get extra Build actions in the process!<br />
<br />
==Create happy systems==<br />
When you have a system containing exactly four pieces, one of each color (including the star), we call it a Happy System.<br />
This is ideal because it's the most difficult to blow up and it gives you all the options.<br />
So, while it's great to have a Factory, doing so requires having two Greens in the same system, and that's more dangerous.<br />
<br />
==Terraforming==<br />
When you Sacrifice a Yellow for movement, the piece immediately goes into the Bank, which means you can instantly take it out again and place it back onto the field as a star, while moving one of your ships into orbit alongside it.<br />
We call this Terraforming, and it's a very useful technique for a couple of different reasons.<br />
First, it allows you to maintain control of the Yellow piece you're Sacrificing, so that your opponent can't immediately Build it as a ship themselves, which is particularly important if the Yellow ship you are Sacrificing is a Large and the Bank is empty.<br />
Second, Terraforming allows you to transform one of your Yellow ships into a star, which can be crucial when all pieces of that size are gone from the Bank and you need to get to a star of that size.<br />
<br />
==Beware the incomplete battle plan==<br />
One of the easiest ways to lose this game is to mount an attack that fails to annihilate your opponent, but leaves your own empire vulnerable.<br />
This most often happens when you knock out half of a player's Homeworld, leaving you with fewer ships and your opponent with a better-connected Homeworld than before.<br />
Plan for total victory!<br />
<br />
==The doomsday machine==<br />
With a particular fleet of nine ships, scattered across the galaxy in specific positions, you can vaporize your enemy's Homeworld in exactly two turns.<br />
We call this setup a Doomsday Machine:<br />
* 2 Large Yellow ships, for two triple-jump moves<br />
* 3 ships of one of the colors of the target system, all located at systems one jump away<br />
* 3 ships of the target system's other color, located at stars that will be within one jump after the first half of the target Homeworld is destroyed<br />
* 1 extra ship, to protect your own Homeworld<br />
<br />
==The demolition fleet==<br />
This is a tricky maneuver, requiring just the right conditions, but it's devastating if done correctly.<br />
It's only possible if your opponent has just one Large ship at their Homeworld, along with at least one other ship of that color.<br />
(Note: if the only ships they control at home are those two, it's a Bluebird situation.) You will need two ships of the same color as your opponent's Large, accompanied by a Large ship of a different color.<br />
We will call these three ships your "Demolition Fleet." You will also need a Large Yellow you can Sacrifice, and some kind of access to Red.<br />
Position the ships in your Demolition Fleet at stars one jump away from your enemy's Homeworld.<br />
Spread your fleet out between multiple stars if you can, to make it more difficult to notice what you're setting up.<br />
Assuming they don't see the threat in time, you can move all three of your Demolition Fleet ships into your enemy's Homeworld at once, and call Catastrophe.<br />
They will be left with no ships big enough to challenge your Large, and as long as you don't run out of attack power, you should be able to Capture all enemy ships at their Homeworld on subsequent turns — including any other Large ships they might try to return home after the damage is done.<br />
<br />
==Obey the primary directive==<br />
The Starship Captain's Primary Directive is to defend the Homeworld.<br />
Here are four practical tips for accomplishing this:<br />
<br />
===Maintain a strong home defense===<br />
Keep a Large ship at the Homeworld at ALL times.<br />
Tempting though it can be to use that big powerful ship elsewhere, you should always protect your Homeworld with a Large ship, unless you are about to win or are absolutely certain you will get a Large back at home before being invaded.<br />
<br />
===Don't be the one without a gun===<br />
As soon as your enemy gets a weapon (i.e., a Red ship), you should get one, too.<br />
You may not need a weapon until your enemy has one, but as soon as they do, you need to arm yourself immediately.<br />
(This is particularly true if you don't have a Planetary Defense System, i.e., a Homeworld setup that includes a Red star.)<br />
<br />
===Create a happy homeworld===<br />
Diversify and minimize your local defense fleet, i.e., the ships at your Homeworld.<br />
To reduce the threat of Catastrophe, avoid having more than one piece of each color at your Homeworld, either as a ship or part of the star system.<br />
In particular, never let ALL your home ships be of a single color if there's ANY chance of being invaded.<br />
<br />
===Lock down your achilles color===<br />
If your star is half-destroyed, monopolize the remaining color of your Homeworld.<br />
After half of your Homeworld has been blown up, your enemy needs just three ships of your remaining color to finish you off.<br />
Take those pieces out of circulation any way you can!<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* With permission from Looney Labs, this article contains material adapted from their rules published in [https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/literature/Homeworlds%20Rules13.pdf Pyramid Quartet (2020)].<br />
* [https://jpeterbaker.github.io/homeworlds/site/strategy.html Babamots' Homeworlds strategy guide]<br />
* [https://jpeterbaker.github.io/homeworlds/site/tactics.html Babamots' Homeworlds tactics guide]<br />
* [https://www.icehousegames.org/wiki/index.php?title=Homeworlds_strategy Homeworlds strategy on Icehouse Games Wiki]</div>Babamotshttps://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Tips_homeworlds&diff=10409Tips homeworlds2021-11-30T21:42:31Z<p>Babamots: Copied and formatted material from Pyramid Quartet rules</p>
<hr />
<div>Homeworlds is a complex game with a steep learning curve.<br />
A strategy guide like this one can help you avoid learning the hard way.<br />
<br />
==Common mistakes==<br />
Homeworlds is a complex game, and even seasoned players can make mistakes.<br />
Here are some of the concepts new players find most difficult to grok:<br />
===Can't Move There===<br />
Beware of thinking two systems are connected when they aren't.<br />
<br />
* '''Can't Do That:''' Your ships can't use the power of another player's ship even if it's in the same system. You can only use your own ships, the star itself, or power gained by a Sacrifice.<br />
<br />
* '''Can't Build That:''' You can't construct a ship if you don't already control a ship of that color in the same star system.<br />
<br />
* '''Can't Capture Yet:''' The one-two punch nature of attacks in this game is confusing at first. You must have the drop on the other player — you cannot move in and attack all at once. When you move a ship into my system, I get a turn to respond before you get to attack me. Then, during my turn, I can (potentially) Capture your ship, as if it were a gift being delivered right to my doorstep. <br />
<br />
==It's all about the economy==<br />
While Homeworlds may seem like a war game, like most wars, it's all about the financing.<br />
So keep a close eye on the Bank!<br />
Here are some tips on banking wisely:<br />
<br />
===Don't Take the Last Serving===<br />
When possible, avoid being the player who has to take the last available Small or Medium piece of any given color.<br />
(You'd rather be the one who gets to Build the first ship of the next size.)<br />
===Smart Shopping===<br />
Wait for bargains, and snap them up when they're available.<br />
It's a good time to go shopping when there are three of a size available in the Bank, but the best time is when there are two, since the other player will be opening up availability of the next size if they copy your action.<br />
Other good opportunities to look for are times when you might be able to Sacrifice a Medium Green to Build a couple of Larges, and times when you can leave the next size open because you know your opponent can't safely Build the next size themselves.<br />
<br />
===Don't Get Frozen Out of Any Color===<br />
Maintain control of at least one ship of each color (and seek to freeze out your enemy by monopolizing a color they lack).<br />
It's easy to get frozen out of a color early in the game, when most of the pieces in play are Smalls.<br />
If the only piece you have available to Trade for a new color is a Small, and the other player grabs the last Small of that color, you won't be able to get into that economy until you have a Medium available to Trade...<br />
and that could take a while.<br />
And by then, all the Mediums might be gone and they'll be Building Large ships while you're still struggling to catch up.<br />
<br />
==Choosing your Homeworld==<br />
But what setup is best?<br />
Most Starship Captains agree that you need to start with Blue and Green along with either Red or Yellow.<br />
Beyond that, opinions vary.<br />
Some players like to start with Yellow, so they can move immediately, but others prefer starting off with a Red ship.<br />
Many like building a "Planetary Defense System" which means including Red as one of the two colors that form the Homeworld itself.<br />
As for the size pairings, here are the three possibilities:<br />
<br />
* '''Banker (Small-Medium star):''' This setup gives you an edge when using the Investment strategy, since it moves first to Large systems.<br />
* '''Fortress (Medium-Large star):''' This setup makes your Homeworld harder to invade as the game progresses, since the supply of Smalls needed for bordering star systems dwindles quickly.<br />
* '''Goldilocks (Small-Large star):''' The stars you can go to from here are "just right" because they're not too big and not too small.<br />
<br />
===Beware the small universe===<br />
If the second player chooses the same two sizes of pieces for their Homeworld as the first player did, the star map will be far more compact than with non-matching Homeworlds.<br />
This shrunken universe makes the game very claustrophobic.<br />
Choosing a "Gemini Star" (Large-Large, Medium-Medium, or Small-Small) also shrinks the universe.<br />
These setups aren't illegal, but they create tricky situations, so be careful.<br />
<br />
==Avoid getting Bluebirded==<br />
Imagine you have exactly two ships at your Homeworld, and they're both the same color.<br />
Let's say they're Blue.<br />
If your opponent has a Large Yellow, and two Blue ships at near and far positions, they can knock you out in one turn.<br />
Don't let this happen to you!<br />
(The name refers to a coffeeshop in Amsterdam called the Bluebird, where a particularly memorable game ended this way, back in the earliest days of the game's history.) There are two ways a Bluebird can happen, and one is easier to see coming than the other.<br />
Either way, you are vulnerable if you have exactly two ships at your Homeworld and they're both the same color.<br />
<br />
* '''The Easy Bluebird:''' Your enemy Sacrifices a Medium Yellow to simultaneously move two ships of your color, from systems one jump away, into your Homeworld.<br />
<br />
* '''The Tricky Bluebird:''' Your enemy Sacrifices a Large Yellow to move in two ships of your color, one from a nearby star and one from two jumps away.<br />
<br />
* '''The Sitting Duck:''' This is like a Bluebird but even more vulnerable. If you have three ships of the same color (or two ships plus a star of the same color) and no other ships at your Homeworld, all your enemy needs do is to drive one ship of that color into your system and KA-BOOM it's game over.<br />
<br />
==Don't rush==<br />
Tempo is tricky in this game.<br />
Sometimes fortune favors the patient, not the bold.<br />
For various reasons (such as how all Bank quantities are in odd numbers), the player who acts first can sometimes get the short end of the stick.<br />
If it's a bad time to go shopping, consider stalling instead, moving ships around rather than constructing new ones.<br />
<br />
==Make investments==<br />
When the only ship at a basic star goes away, the star-piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
If the ship that just departed was Green, and was Sacrificed, it may be possible to instantly change the star it was taken from into a ship.<br />
Parking Green ships at stars you'd like to change into ships later is called Investing.<br />
The best use of this strategy is to park Greens at Large stars while Mediums and Smalls of that color are available, then wait until the Bank is empty to "cash in." You just need to hope that your enemy doesn't move any other ships into your Investment system before you can Sacrifice the solitary Green ship you have at that system to turn its star into a ship.<br />
<br />
==Play keep-away==<br />
If you can't Build a desirable piece as a ship, try turning it into a star.<br />
Even if the ship you Discover it with isn't Green, you might be able to turn the system into an Investment opportunity later on.<br />
More importantly, you are preventing your enemy from getting to Build a ship with that piece.<br />
<br />
==Squonking==<br />
There are times when you might wish to Sacrifice a piece wastefully, specifically to interfere with your opponent's access to the Bank.<br />
We call this Squonking (a combination of squandering and blocking).<br />
For example, you might want to Sacrifice a Small Yellow when moving a ship away from a Yellow system, not because you need the movement ability — you don't — but because the return of the Small Yellow to the Bank will block your opponent from Building a larger Yellow piece.<br />
<br />
==The hyperspace bypass==<br />
When the first half of someone's Homeworld is destroyed, the whole star map changes.<br />
New connections become possible, and travel times to and from that Homeworld become shorter.<br />
It's like when a planet needs to be destroyed to make way for a hyperspace bypass...<br />
travel becomes easier after the obstruction is removed.<br />
So whenever a new bypass is created, take a good look at how the stellar topography has changed, and consider all the new possibilities.<br />
<br />
==The factory==<br />
A Large Green ship, along with another Green ship in the same system, sets up a powerful maneuver called the Factory.<br />
When you get to the point when only Large Greens (or none) remain in the Bank, you can Sacrifice your Large Green for three Build actions.<br />
Then, as one of those actions, you can re-build the Large Green in the same system you took it from.<br />
You now have two more Build actions without having lost your original Large Green.<br />
You can do this over and over again!<br />
<br />
==Using green to teleport==<br />
This trick is very useful if you get frozen out of Yellow.<br />
You can "teleport" a Small Green ship into any other system where you have another Green ship.<br />
Just Sacrifice the ship to get a Build action, then re-build that ship in a different star system that is occupied by one of your Green ships.<br />
If the Bank is low on Green, you can also teleport Medium or even Large ships, and get extra Build actions in the process!<br />
<br />
==Create happy systems==<br />
When you have a system containing exactly four pieces, one of each color (including the star), we call it a Happy System.<br />
This is ideal because it's the most difficult to blow up and it gives you all the options.<br />
So, while it's great to have a Factory, doing so requires having two Greens in the same system, and that's more dangerous.<br />
<br />
==Terraforming==<br />
When you Sacrifice a Yellow for movement, the piece immediately goes into the Bank, which means you can instantly take it out again and place it back onto the field as a star, while moving one of your ships into orbit alongside it.<br />
We call this Terraforming, and it's a very useful technique for a couple of different reasons.<br />
First, it allows you to maintain control of the Yellow piece you're Sacrificing, so that your opponent can't immediately Build it as a ship themselves, which is particularly important if the Yellow ship you are Sacrificing is a Large and the Bank is empty.<br />
Second, Terraforming allows you to transform one of your Yellow ships into a star, which can be crucial when all pieces of that size are gone from the Bank and you need to get to a star of that size.<br />
<br />
==Beware the incomplete battle plan==<br />
One of the easiest ways to lose this game is to mount an attack that fails to annihilate your opponent, but leaves your own empire vulnerable.<br />
This most often happens when you knock out half of a player's Homeworld, leaving you with fewer ships and your opponent with a better-connected Homeworld than before.<br />
Plan for total victory!<br />
<br />
==The doomsday machine==<br />
With a particular fleet of nine ships, scattered across the galaxy in specific positions, you can vaporize your enemy's Homeworld in exactly two turns.<br />
We call this setup a Doomsday Machine:<br />
* 2 Large Yellow ships, for two triple-jump moves<br />
* 3 ships of one of the colors of the target system, all located at systems one jump away<br />
* 3 ships of the target system's other color, located at stars that will be within one jump after the first half of the target Homeworld is destroyed<br />
* 1 extra ship, to protect your own Homeworld<br />
<br />
==The demolition fleet==<br />
This is a tricky maneuver, requiring just the right conditions, but it's devastating if done correctly.<br />
It's only possible if your opponent has just one Large ship at their Homeworld, along with at least one other ship of that color.<br />
(Note: if the only ships they control at home are those two, it's a Bluebird situation.) You will need two ships of the same color as your opponent's Large, accompanied by a Large ship of a different color.<br />
We will call these three ships your "Demolition Fleet." You will also need a Large Yellow you can Sacrifice, and some kind of access to Red.<br />
Position the ships in your Demolition Fleet at stars one jump away from your enemy's Homeworld.<br />
Spread your fleet out between multiple stars if you can, to make it more difficult to notice what you're setting up.<br />
Assuming they don't see the threat in time, you can move all three of your Demolition Fleet ships into your enemy's Homeworld at once, and call Catastrophe.<br />
They will be left with no ships big enough to challenge your Large, and as long as you don't run out of attack power, you should be able to Capture all enemy ships at their Homeworld on subsequent turns — including any other Large ships they might try to return home after the damage is done.<br />
<br />
==Obey the primary directive==<br />
The Starship Captain's Primary Directive is to defend the Homeworld.<br />
Here are four practical tips for accomplishing this:<br />
<br />
===Maintain a strong home defense===<br />
Keep a Large ship at the Homeworld at ALL times.<br />
Tempting though it can be to use that big powerful ship elsewhere, you should always protect your Homeworld with a Large ship, unless you are about to win or are absolutely certain you will get a Large back at home before being invaded.<br />
<br />
===Don't be the one without a gun===<br />
As soon as your enemy gets a weapon (i.e., a Red ship), you should get one, too.<br />
You may not need a weapon until your enemy has one, but as soon as they do, you need to arm yourself immediately.<br />
(This is particularly true if you don't have a Planetary Defense System, i.e., a Homeworld setup that includes a Red star.)<br />
<br />
===Create a happy homeworld===<br />
Diversify and minimize your local defense fleet, i.e., the ships at your Homeworld.<br />
To reduce the threat of Catastrophe, avoid having more than one piece of each color at your Homeworld, either as a ship or part of the star system.<br />
In particular, never let ALL your home ships be of a single color if there's ANY chance of being invaded.<br />
<br />
===Lock down your achilles color===<br />
If your star is half-destroyed, monopolize the remaining color of your Homeworld.<br />
After half of your Homeworld has been blown up, your enemy needs just three ships of your remaining color to finish you off.<br />
Take those pieces out of circulation any way you can!<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* With permission from Looney Labs, this article contains material adapted from their rules published in [https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/literature/Homeworlds%20Rules13.pdf Pyramid Quartet (2020)].<br />
* [https://jpeterbaker.github.io/homeworlds/site/strategy.html Babamots' Homeworlds strategy guide]<br />
* [https://jpeterbaker.github.io/homeworlds/site/tactics.html Babamots' Homeworlds tactics guide]<br />
* [https://www.icehousegames.org/wiki/index.php?title=Homeworlds_strategy Homeworlds strategy on Icehouse Games Wiki]</div>Babamotshttps://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Gamehelphomeworlds&diff=10408Gamehelphomeworlds2021-11-30T21:04:45Z<p>Babamots: Composed new intro, added permission statement</p>
<hr />
<div>Homeworlds is an epic space opera in the form of a chess-like game played with colorful pyramid pieces.<br />
Each player is a galactic overlord, building and maneuvering an interstellar space fleet.<br />
Capital starships are sacrificed, worlds are vaporized, and lives are expendable.<br />
Only your Homeworld matters.<br />
<br />
==Setup==<br />
Stack up the pyramids, sorted by size and color, and place them to the side of the playing area.<br />
This is the Bank.<br />
<br />
==Fundamentals of space travel==<br />
Homeworlds is played without a board.<br />
Instead, the pieces that are in play are placed in clusters called "star systems."<br />
Each star system has at least one star and may be occupied by any number of ships controlled by either or both players.<br />
* Stars are marked on the playing field with upright pyramids (seen as squares from above).<br />
** The playing field is a "star map" that displays only the star systems currently being visited by spaceships.<br />
** Most systems have one star. Such a star is a "basic star."<br />
* Spaceships are represented by non-vertical pyramids (seen as triangles from above).<br />
** The direction in which ships point indicates who controls them. Your ships always point away from you.<br />
* When a ship Discovers a new star system, the star is added to the star map, and when the last ship leaves the system, the star piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
* You can move a ship from one star system to another ONLY if the stars are of different sizes.<br />
** Differently-sized star systems are connected, but same-sized stars are not. (Why? It’s just the way the wormhole technology works...)<br />
* A Binary Star (a system with two stars) is only connected to a basic star if that star is a size not included in the Binary Star.<br />
** A Binary Star is only connected to another Binary Star if they have NO star sizes in common. (Since there are only three piece sizes, a Binary Star can only connect to another Binary Star if at least one of the Binary Stars has two stars that are the same size.)<br />
<br />
==The first turn==<br />
The game begins with a setup round, during which the players choose their initial pieces.<br />
# To begin, create your Homeworld made of two upright pyramids in your choice of sizes and colors. Put them together to form a Binary Star.<br />
# Now take a Large spaceship (of any color) and place it by your Homeworld.<br />
<br />
The decisions you make during setup will greatly affect the entire game.<br />
If this is your first game, we suggest both players start with a Large Green ship,<br />
with one player starting with a Large Blue/Small Red Homeworld and the other player starting with a Medium Red/Small Blue Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Turn options==<br />
During each turn, you may<br />
* perform one Basic action,<br />
* OR you may Sacrifice one of your ships, putting it back into the Bank in order to gain one or more Sacrifice actions,<br />
* OR you can choose to pass. (This is rarely useful, but doing nothing may be a player’s best option during certain endgame situations.)<br />
<br />
Also, at any time during your turn, you may invoke the Catastrophe option ([[#Overpoulation and Catastrophe|described later]]) for any Overpopulation situation on the star map.<br />
<br />
===Basic action===<br />
You may perform your Basic action in any system where you control a ship, using any power you can access in that ship's system.<br />
<br />
===Sacrifice action===<br />
The number of Sacrifice actions you get is equal to the pip count of the ship you Sacrificed.<br />
You get that many actions, of that ship's color, in any systems where you still control a ship, regardless of which colors you have access to in said system.<br />
<br />
==Color powers==<br />
A ship of ANY COLOR can use any power that it has access to.<br />
Color access is provided by any of the following:<br />
# Star: Color of the system's star<br />
# Ship: Color of a ship YOU control there<br />
# Sacrifice: Color of a ship you dismantle<br />
Each color provides a different power.<br />
* Green = Build (The green Colonists construct the starships.)<br />
* Yellow = Move (The yellow Navigators grok the wormholes.)<br />
* Red = Capture (The red Warriors wield the weapons.)<br />
* Blue = Trade (The blue Ice-Traders offer exchanges.)<br />
<br />
===Green===<br />
Build a new ship by taking a piece from the Bank<br />
and placing it next to one of your existing ships.<br />
* Same Color: The color of your new ship must be the same as one of the ships you control in the system where the new ship is being Built.<br />
* Smallest Size: The ship you Build must be the smallest size of that color currently available in the Bank.<br />
<br />
===Yellow===<br />
Move a ship from the system it's in to any other connected system (known or newly Discovered).<br />
* Travel: Move to any connected system whether it is currently populated with your ships, your opponent's ships, or both.<br />
* Discovery: Take a piece of your choice from the Bank, add it to the field as a star, then move your ship to that star.<br />
* Abandonment: Return a basic star to the Bank immediately if zero ships are located there. (The stars of Homeworlds are not returned to the bank, [[#Homeworld abandonment|explained below]].)<br />
<br />
===Red===<br />
Capture an enemy ship by turning the piece around so that it points away from you.<br />
(Traditionally, this power was referred to as attacking, and many players may continue to use that term, but it’s more accurate to say Capture since the goal of the attack is to seize the ship, not destroy it.<br />
Starships are valuable.)<br />
* Size Matters: You can only Capture a ship if it’s the same size as, or smaller than, the biggest ship YOU control in that system.<br />
But note that a Small Red CAN be used to Capture a larger ship — you just need to have your own larger ship (of any color) in that system, which can attack the enemy's ship using the power of your Small Red.<br />
* Example: Suppose you have a Small Red and a Medium Yellow, and the other player has a Medium Red in the same system.<br />
Your Small Red is not big enough to Capture the Medium Red, and your Medium Yellow cannot attack on its own (except when the star is Red).<br />
But together they can prevail, because the Medium Yellow can "borrow" the power of the Small Red.<br />
<br />
===Blue===<br />
Trade one of your ships with a differently colored piece of the same size from the Bank.<br />
You can only Trade exact size for exact size;<br />
if the size you want is not available, you cannot Trade.<br />
<br />
==Overpoulation and Catastrophe==<br />
Too much of one color in one system can trigger a disaster called a Catastrophe.<br />
Overpopulation exists any time a single system contains four or more pieces of the same color — including ships on both sides AND the star system itself.<br />
<br />
At any point during your turn, if you notice an Overpopulated star system, you have the OPTION to declare a Catastrophe in that system (even if you don’t have a ship there).<br />
If called, all pieces of the Overpopulated color are returned to the Bank.<br />
If this includes the star itself, then ALL ships at that location are destroyed (unless the star was half of a Binary Star, in which case it becomes a single-star system, but still a Homeworld).<br />
If a Catastrophe leaves a basic star unoccupied, the piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
<br />
==How to win==<br />
A player is eliminated if, at the end of either player's turn, they do not control a ship at their own Homeworld (or if both stars of their Homeworld have been destroyed).<br />
You win by eliminating your opponent without being eliminated yourself.<br />
<br />
There are three paths to victory (not including resignation by the other player):<br />
# Direct Assault: Use Red to take control of all enemy ships at the enemy's Homeworld.<br />
# Fleet Catastrophe: Destroy all enemy ships at their Homeworld by causing a Catastrophe.<br />
# Star Demolition: Cause two Catastrophes, each destroying half of the Homeworld.<br />
<br />
===Homeworld abandonment===<br />
It’s OK to momentarily abandon your Homeworld as long as you have a ship there again by the end of your turn.<br />
However, you are eliminated from the game if both stars in your Homeworld are destroyed, or if you don’t control any ships at your Homeworld when your turn is over.<br />
Note that Homeworlds are different from basic stars and thus are not returned to the Bank if the star is temporarily abandoned.<br />
(Even if you send your whole fleet away for a brief time, Earth is still the Earth and you don’t remove it from the active star map the way you do with basic stars.)<br />
<br />
===Deadlocks and draws===<br />
There are two ways in which the game can end in a tie.<br />
# If one player eliminates the other, but in the process, leaves their own Homeworld abandoned, it's a draw (both players simultaneously win and lose).<br />
# If both players conclude that they’ve reached an impasse (if, for example, they both feel that their only acceptable action is to re-capture the same ship the other player just Captured), the game is deadlocked and ends in a draw.<br />
<br />
==Source==<br />
* With permission from Looney Labs, this article is adapted from their rules published in [https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/literature/Homeworlds%20Rules13.pdf Pyramid Quartet (2020)].</div>Babamotshttps://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Gamehelphomeworlds&diff=10404Gamehelphomeworlds2021-11-30T15:39:19Z<p>Babamots: Formatting, draw section</p>
<hr />
<div>Homeworlds is an epic space opera in which the players each control an interstellar space fleet.<br />
It's all done with clusters of colorful pyramids arranged upon the table.<br />
<br />
Each player begins with one star system: the Homeworld.<br />
Each will then build a fleet of ships and expand to colonize other star systems, spreading out across the galaxy until one side conquers the other, either by capturing or destroying the enemy's Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Setup==<br />
Stack up the pyramids, sorted by size and color, and place them to the side of the playing area.<br />
This is the Bank.<br />
<br />
==Fundamentals of space travel==<br />
Homeworlds is played without a board.<br />
Instead, the pieces that are in play are placed in clusters called "star systems."<br />
Each star system has at least one star and may be occupied by any number of ships controlled by either or both players.<br />
* Stars are marked on the playing field with upright pyramids (seen as squares from above).<br />
** The playing field is a "star map" that displays only the star systems currently being visited by spaceships.<br />
** Most systems have one star. Such a star is a "basic star."<br />
* Spaceships are represented by non-vertical pyramids (seen as triangles from above).<br />
** The direction in which ships point indicates who controls them. Your ships always point away from you.<br />
* When a ship Discovers a new star system, the star is added to the star map, and when the last ship leaves the system, the star piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
* You can move a ship from one star system to another ONLY if the stars are of different sizes.<br />
** Differently-sized star systems are connected, but same-sized stars are not. (Why? It’s just the way the wormhole technology works...)<br />
* A Binary Star (a system with two stars) is only connected to a basic star if that star is a size not included in the Binary Star.<br />
** A Binary Star is only connected to another Binary Star if they have NO star sizes in common. (Since there are only three piece sizes, a Binary Star can only connect to another Binary Star if at least one of the Binary Stars has two stars that are the same size.)<br />
<br />
==The first turn==<br />
The game begins with a setup round, during which the players choose their initial pieces.<br />
# To begin, create your Homeworld made of two upright pyramids in your choice of sizes and colors. Put them together to form a Binary Star.<br />
# Now take a Large spaceship (of any color) and place it by your Homeworld.<br />
<br />
The decisions you make during setup will greatly affect the entire game.<br />
If this is your first game, we suggest both players start with a Large Green ship,<br />
with one player starting with a Large Blue/Small Red Homeworld and the other player starting with a Medium Red/Small Blue Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Turn options==<br />
During each turn, you may<br />
* perform one Basic action,<br />
* OR you may Sacrifice one of your ships, putting it back into the Bank in order to gain one or more Sacrifice actions,<br />
* OR you can choose to pass. (This is rarely useful, but doing nothing may be a player’s best option during certain endgame situations.)<br />
<br />
Also, at any time during your turn, you may invoke the Catastrophe option ([[#Overpoulation and Catastrophe|described later]]) for any Overpopulation situation on the star map.<br />
<br />
===Basic action===<br />
You may perform your Basic action in any system where you control a ship, using any power you can access in that ship's system.<br />
<br />
===Sacrifice action===<br />
The number of Sacrifice actions you get is equal to the pip count of the ship you Sacrificed.<br />
You get that many actions, of that ship's color, in any systems where you still control a ship, regardless of which colors you have access to in said system.<br />
<br />
==Color powers==<br />
A ship of ANY COLOR can use any power that it has access to.<br />
Color access is provided by any of the following:<br />
# Star: Color of the system's star<br />
# Ship: Color of a ship YOU control there<br />
# Sacrifice: Color of a ship you dismantle<br />
Each color provides a different power.<br />
* Green = Build (The green Colonists construct the starships.)<br />
* Yellow = Move (The yellow Navigators grok the wormholes.)<br />
* Red = Capture (The red Warriors wield the weapons.)<br />
* Blue = Trade (The blue Ice-Traders offer exchanges.)<br />
<br />
===Green===<br />
Build a new ship by taking a piece from the Bank<br />
and placing it next to one of your existing ships.<br />
* Same Color: The color of your new ship must be the same as one of the ships you control in the system where the new ship is being Built.<br />
* Smallest Size: The ship you Build must be the smallest size of that color currently available in the Bank.<br />
<br />
===Yellow===<br />
Move a ship from the system it's in to any other connected system (known or newly Discovered).<br />
* Travel: Move to any connected system whether it is currently populated with your ships, your opponent's ships, or both.<br />
* Discovery: Take a piece of your choice from the Bank, add it to the field as a star, then move your ship to that star.<br />
* Abandonment: Return a basic star to the Bank immediately if zero ships are located there. (The stars of Homeworlds are not returned to the bank, [[#Homeworld abandonment|explained below]].)<br />
<br />
===Red===<br />
Capture an enemy ship by turning the piece around so that it points away from you.<br />
(Traditionally, this power was referred to as attacking, and many players may continue to use that term, but it’s more accurate to say Capture since the goal of the attack is to seize the ship, not destroy it.<br />
Starships are valuable.)<br />
* Size Matters: You can only Capture a ship if it’s the same size as, or smaller than, the biggest ship YOU control in that system.<br />
But note that a Small Red CAN be used to Capture a larger ship — you just need to have your own larger ship (of any color) in that system, which can attack the enemy's ship using the power of your Small Red.<br />
* Example: Suppose you have a Small Red and a Medium Yellow, and the other player has a Medium Red in the same system.<br />
Your Small Red is not big enough to Capture the Medium Red, and your Medium Yellow cannot attack on its own (except when the star is Red).<br />
But together they can prevail, because the Medium Yellow can "borrow" the power of the Small Red.<br />
<br />
===Blue===<br />
Trade one of your ships with a differently colored piece of the same size from the Bank.<br />
You can only Trade exact size for exact size;<br />
if the size you want is not available, you cannot Trade.<br />
<br />
==Overpoulation and Catastrophe==<br />
Too much of one color in one system can trigger a disaster called a Catastrophe.<br />
Overpopulation exists any time a single system contains four or more pieces of the same color — including ships on both sides AND the star system itself.<br />
<br />
At any point during your turn, if you notice an Overpopulated star system, you have the OPTION to declare a Catastrophe in that system (even if you don’t have a ship there).<br />
If called, all pieces of the Overpopulated color are returned to the Bank.<br />
If this includes the star itself, then ALL ships at that location are destroyed (unless the star was half of a Binary Star, in which case it becomes a single-star system, but still a Homeworld).<br />
If a Catastrophe leaves a basic star unoccupied, the piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
<br />
==How to win==<br />
A player is eliminated if, at the end of either player's turn, they do not control a ship at their own Homeworld (or if both stars of their Homeworld have been destroyed).<br />
You win by eliminating your opponent without being eliminated yourself.<br />
<br />
There are three paths to victory (not including resignation by the other player):<br />
# Direct Assault: Use Red to take control of all enemy ships at the enemy's Homeworld.<br />
# Fleet Catastrophe: Destroy all enemy ships at their Homeworld by causing a Catastrophe.<br />
# Star Demolition: Cause two Catastrophes, each destroying half of the Homeworld.<br />
<br />
===Homeworld abandonment===<br />
It’s OK to momentarily abandon your Homeworld as long as you have a ship there again by the end of your turn.<br />
However, you are eliminated from the game if both stars in your Homeworld are destroyed, or if you don’t control any ships at your Homeworld when your turn is over.<br />
Note that Homeworlds are different from basic stars and thus are not returned to the Bank if the star is temporarily abandoned.<br />
(Even if you send your whole fleet away for a brief time, Earth is still the Earth and you don’t remove it from the active star map the way you do with basic stars.)<br />
<br />
===Deadlocks and draws===<br />
There are two ways in which the game can end in a tie.<br />
# If one player eliminates the other, but in the process, leaves their own Homeworld abandoned, it's a draw (both players simultaneously win and lose).<br />
# If both players conclude that they’ve reached an impasse (if, for example, they both feel that their only acceptable action is to re-capture the same ship the other player just Captured), the game is deadlocked and ends in a draw.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
This description of the game was adapted from<br />
* Pyramid Quartet (2020) https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/literature/Homeworlds%20Rules13.pdf<br />
* Pyramid Primer (2011) https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/rules/Homeworlds.pdf</div>Babamotshttps://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Gamehelphomeworlds&diff=10389Gamehelphomeworlds2021-11-30T03:53:34Z<p>Babamots: Initial draft</p>
<hr />
<div>Homeworlds is an epic space opera in which the players each control an interstellar space fleet.<br />
It's all done with clusters of colorful pyramids arranged upon the table.<br />
<br />
Each player begins with one star system: the Homeworld.<br />
Each will then build a fleet of ships and expand to colonize other star systems, spreading out across the galaxy until one side conquers the other, either by capturing or destroying the enemy's Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Fundamentals of space travel==<br />
* Star systems are marked on the playing field with upright pyramids (seen as squares from above).<br />
** This "star map" displays only the star systems currently being visited by spaceships.<br />
* Spaceships are represented by non-vertical pyramids (seen as triangles from above).<br />
** The direction in which they point indicates who controls them.<br />
** Your ships always point away from you.<br />
* When a ship Discovers a new star system, the star is added to the star map, and when the last ship leaves the system, the star piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
* You can move a ship from one star system to another ONLY if the stars are of different sizes.<br />
** Differently-sized star systems are connected, but same-sized stars are not. (Why? It’s just the way the wormhole technology works...)<br />
* A Binary Star (a system with two stars) is only connected to another star if that star is a size not included in the Binary Star.<br />
<br />
==The first turn==<br />
The game begins with a setup round, during which the players choose their initial pieces.<br />
# To begin, create your Homeworld made of two upright pyramids in your choice of sizes and colors. Put them together to form a Binary Star.<br />
# Now take a Large spaceship (of any color) and place it by your Homeworld.<br />
<br />
The decisions you make during setup will greatly affect the entire game.<br />
If this is your first game, we suggest both players start with a Large Green ship,<br />
with one player starting with a Large Blue/Small Red Homeworld and the other player starting with a Medium Red/Small Blue Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Turn options==<br />
During each turn, you may<br />
* perform one Basic action,<br />
* OR you may Sacrifice one of your ships, putting it back into the Bank in order to gain one or more Sacrifice actions,<br />
* OR you can choose to pass. (This is rarely useful, but doing nothing may be a player’s best option during certain endgame situations.)<br />
<br />
Also, at any time during your turn, you may invoke the Catastrophe option (described later) for any Overpopulation situation on the star map.<br />
<br />
===Basic Action===<br />
You may perform your Basic action in any system where you control a ship, using any power you can access in that ship's system.<br />
<br />
===Sacrifice Action===<br />
The number of Sacrifice actions you get is equal to the pip count of the ship you Sacrificed.<br />
You get that many actions, of that ship's color, in any systems where you still control a ship, regardless of which colors you have access to in said system.<br />
<br />
==Color powers==<br />
A ship of ANY COLOR can use any power that it has access to.<br />
Color access is provided by any of the following:<br />
# Star: Color of the system's star<br />
# Ship: Color of a ship YOU control there<br />
# Sacrifice: Color of a ship you dismantle<br />
Each color provides a different power.<br />
* Green = Build (The green Colonists construct the starships.)<br />
* Yellow = Move (The yellow Navigators grok the wormholes.)<br />
* Red = Capture (The red Warriors wield the weapons.)<br />
* Blue = Trade (The blue Ice-Traders offer exchanges.)<br />
<br />
===Green===<br />
Build a new ship by taking a piece from the Bank<br />
and placing it next to one of your existing ships.<br />
* Same Color: The color of your new ship must be the same as one of the ships you control in the system where the new ship is being Built.<br />
* Smallest Size: The ship you Build must be the smallest size of that color currently available in the Bank.<br />
<br />
===Yellow===<br />
Move a ship from the system it's in to any other connected system (known or newly Discovered).<br />
* Travel: Move to any connected system whether it is currently populated with your ships, your opponent's ships, or both.<br />
* Discovery: Take a piece of your choice from the Bank, add it to the field as a star, then move your ship to that star.<br />
* Abandonment: Return a basic star to the Bank immediately if zero ships are located there.<br />
<br />
====Homeworld abandonment====<br />
It’s OK to momentarily abandon your Homeworld as long as you have a ship there again by the end of your turn.<br />
However, you are eliminated from the game if both stars in your Homeworld are destroyed, or if you don’t control any ships at your Homeworld when your turn is over.<br />
Note that Homeworlds are different from basic stars and thus are not returned to the Bank if the star is temporarily abandoned.<br />
(Even if you send your whole fleet away for a brief time, Earth is still the Earth and you don’t remove it from the active star map the way you do with basic stars.)<br />
<br />
===Red===<br />
Capture an enemy ship by turning the piece around so that it points away from you.<br />
(Traditionally, this power was referred to as attacking, and many players may continue to use that term, but it’s more accurate to say Capture since the goal of the attack is to seize the ship, not destroy it.<br />
Starships are valuable.)<br />
* Size Matters: You can only Capture a ship if it’s the same size as, or smaller than, the biggest ship YOU control in that system.<br />
But note that a Small Red CAN be used to Capture a larger ship — you just need to have your own larger ship (of any color) in that system, which can attack the enemy's ship using the power of your Small Red.<br />
* Example: Suppose you have a Small Red and a Medium Yellow, and the other player has a Medium Red in the same system.<br />
Your Small Red is not big enough to Capture the Medium Red, and your Medium Yellow cannot attack on its own (except when the star is Red).<br />
But together they can prevail, because the Medium Yellow can "borrow" the power of the Small Red.<br />
<br />
===Blue===<br />
Trade one of your ships with a differently colored piece of the same size from the Bank.<br />
You can only Trade exact size for exact size;<br />
if the size you want is not available, you cannot Trade.<br />
<br />
==Overpoulation and Catastrophe==<br />
Too much of one color in one system can trigger a disaster called a Catastrophe.<br />
Overpopulation exists any time a single system contains four or more pieces of the same color — including ships on both sides AND the star system itself.<br />
<br />
At any point during your turn, if you notice an Overpopulated star system, you have the OPTION to declare a Catastrophe in that system (even if you don’t have a ship there).<br />
If called, all pieces of the Overpopulated color are returned to the Bank.<br />
If this includes the star itself, then ALL ships at that location are destroyed (unless the star was half of a Binary Star, in which case it becomes a single-star system, but still a Homeworld).<br />
If a Catastrophe leaves a basic star unoccupied, the piece is immediately returned to the Bank.<br />
<br />
==How to win==<br />
There are three paths to victory (not including resignation by the other player):<br />
# Direct Assault: Use Red to take control of all enemy ships at the enemy's Homeworld.<br />
# Fleet Catastrophe: Destroy all enemy ships at their Homeworld by causing a Catastrophe.<br />
# Star Demolition: Cause two Catastrophes, each destroying half of the Homeworld.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
<br />
This description of the rules was adapted from<br />
* The Pyramid Quartet version https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/literature/Homeworlds%20Rules13.pdf<br />
* This older version https://www.looneylabs.com/rules/homeworlds</div>Babamotshttps://en.doc.boardgamearena.com/index.php?title=Gamehelpforbiddenisland&diff=6684Gamehelpforbiddenisland2021-01-01T22:28:22Z<p>Babamots: Rule correction and clarification</p>
<hr />
<div>In Forbidden Island, you play as a cooperative team. Your goal is to collect all the four treasure items hidden on the sinking island: the Earth stone, the Crystal of Fire, the Ocean's Chalice, and the Statue of the Wind. If someone from your team acquires 4 of one treasure card in their hand they must then go to the treasures lair to collect it. When your team have secured all four treasures you all make a desperate helicopter escape via Fools Landing.<br />
<br />
This game is in a cooperative game series with Forbidden Desert and Forbidden Sky.<br />
The game is for 2 to 4 players.<br />
<br />
== Gameplay ==<br />
Each player has three actions which they may take on their turn. If it is advantageous, a player may choose to take fewer than three actions. After taking their actions players draw two cards from the treasure card deck. After resolving any Waters Rise cards they then draw the appropriate number of cards from the flood card deck, according to the current water level. It is then the next player's turn.<br />
<br />
The game is won by the players capturing all four of the treasures and returning to the Fools' Landing tile. Once all pawns are on that tile someone can play a Helicopter Lift card to win the game, regardless of whose turn it is or what phase of play it is.<br />
<br />
The game is lost immediately:<br />
* if Fools' Landing sinks at any point, or<br />
* if both tiles for a treasure that has not yet been captured sink, or<br />
* if a tile with a pawn on it sinks and that pawn cannot be rescued, or<br />
* if the Waters Rise to the tenth water mark (indicated on the water meter with a red skull)<br />
<br />
=== Actions ===<br />
Adjacent here means tiles sharing an edge. tiles that touch only at corners are not considered to be adjacent.<br />
<br />
'''Move:''' Any player may move to an adjacent tile<br />
<br />
'''Shore Up:''' Any player may flip one adjacent flooded tile (or the tile they are on if it is flooded) to its unflooded side.<br />
<br />
'''Give Card:''' Any player may give any card to another player on the ''same'' tile. You may only give regular treasure cards, not special action cards. You also cannot ''take'' a card from another player during your turn.<br />
<br />
'''Capture Treasure:''' If a player has four matching treasure cards, and is on a tile with the same matching symbol, they may capture that treasure. The player discards the four matching cards and matching treasure is taken from the board into the player's play area. The team is now one step closer to winning the game!<br />
<br />
=== Roles ===<br />
Each player plays a different role on the expedition team. Depending on their role they have abilities that make it easier to win the game. A role is assigned randomly to each player at the start of each game.<br />
<br />
'''Diver:''' ''(Black)'' May move through flooded or sunk tiles for one action, but must end their movement on a tile. (ie. not in a sunk tile square) Note this movement is still only through adjacent tiles, and it does not allow moving through spaces where there was never a tile, such as the open ocean around the island, or any holes in the initial setup, such as the lava in the volcano island setup.<br />
<br />
'''Engineer:''' ''(Red)'' May shore up two tiles in a single action, provided they can reach both flooded tiles normally.<br />
<br />
'''Explorer:''' ''(Green)'' Tiles that touch at corners only are considered to be adjacent for the explorer. Thus they may both move and shore up tiles diagonally.<br />
<br />
'''Messenger:''' ''(White)'' May give treasures to any player, regardless of where their pawns are.<br />
<br />
'''Navigator:''' ''(Yellow)'' May move another player's pawn up to two adjacent tiles for a single action.<br />
<br />
'''Pilot:''' ''(Blue)'' May move to any tile, not just adjacent tiles but only once per turn.<br />
<br />
=== Treasure Cards ===<br />
There are four treasure cards with five copies of each type: the Earth stone, the Crystal of Fire, the Ocean's Chalice, and the Statue of the Wind; which match the four treasures the team needs to find. There are also five special action cards, two sandbags and three helicopter lifts. Finally there are three Waters Rise cards, for a total of 28 cards in the treasure deck. As soon as the treasure card draw pile is empty, the treasure card discard pile is shuffled to form the new draw pile.<br />
<br />
The Hand Limit is 5 cards. Immediately after a player has more than 5 cards, the player must discard down to 5 cards, even if it not on his/her turn.<br />
<br />
Special action cards can be played at any time, whether it is that player's turn or not. Indeed it is often necessary to play a special action card during another player's turn to win the game. Also, if required to discard, a player may instead immediately play a special action card instead of discarding.<br />
<br />
'''Sandbags:''' When played allows the player to shore up any flooded tile anywhere on the island.<br />
<br />
'''Helicopter Lift:''' When played during the bulk of the game it allows a player to move any number of pawns from a single tile to any other tile on the board. Note the start and end tiles must be the same for all pawns moved, but you need not move all pawns from the start tile.<br />
The Helicopter Lift card is also necessary at the end of the game in order to win, in which case it lifts all players off of the sinking island with their treasures, but only if all pawns are on the "Fool's Landing" tile.<br />
<br />
'''Waters Rise:''' This card does not go into the players hand but is immediately discarded. The water level is then increased to the next water mark (possibly increasing the number of flood cards to be drawn) and any cards in the flood card discard pile are shuffled and placed on ''top'' of the flood card draw pile.<br />
<br />
= Implementation =<br />
<br />
=== Player Actions ===<br />
The implementation provides a limited '''Undo''' feature. The undo is provided for 'moves' only and only if another player has not played a special action card (Sandbags or Helicopter Lift).<br />
<br />
=== ELO ===<br />
<br />
ELO is awarded for winning based on a fictitious game opponent with an experience level determined by the '''Difficulty''' level of the game and the '''Number of Players'''. <br />
<br />
The following table provides the reference values:<br />
<br />
:'''Novice'''<br />
:* 2-players => 1350<br />
:* 3-players => 1400<br />
:* 4-players => 1450<br />
<br />
:'''Normal'''<br />
:* 2-players => 1550<br />
:* 3-players => 1600<br />
:* 4-players => 1650<br />
<br />
:'''Elite'''<br />
:* 2-players => 1750<br />
:* 3-players => 1800<br />
:* 4-players => 1850<br />
<br />
:'''Legendary'''<br />
:* 2-players => 1950<br />
:* 3-players => 2200<br />
:* 4-players => 2500<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
[[Tips_forbiddenisland|Strategy Page]]</div>Babamots