In the card game Race for the Galaxy, players build galactic civilizations by playing game cards in front of them that represent worlds or technical and social developments. Some worlds allow players to produce goods, which can be consumed later to gain either card draws or victory points when the appropriate technologies are available to them. These are mainly provided by the developments and worlds that are not able to produce, but the fancier production worlds also give these bonuses.
At the beginning of each round, players each select, secretly and simultaneously, one of the seven roles which correspond to the phases in which the round progresses. By selecting a role, players activate that phase for this round, giving each player the opportunity to perform that phase's action. For example, if one player chooses the settle role, each player has the opportunity to settle one of the planets from their hand. The player who has chosen the role, however, gets a bonus that applies only to them. But bonuses may also be acquired through developments, so you must be aware when another player also takes advantage of your choice of role.
Race for the Galaxy's development began when Thomas Lehmann, at Alea's request, started work on a card game version of Puerto Rico in parallel with Andreas Seyfarth's own. Their independent efforts resulted in some degree of collaboration, and though some of Mr. Lehmann's design ideas did make it into what eventually became San Juan, he continued to develop his concepts, taking the theme and other elements from an unpublished customizable card game he had previously designed.
Race for the Galaxy benefits from an unusually thorough development process, involving thousands of test games and the deliberate design of an unusually coherent iconography (by onigame and the graphics designer, Mirko Suzuki) as well as a unique approach to player interaction that prevents direct conflict and encourages "parasitic conflict".
Expansions
Four expansions have been published, adding new cards, game features, start worlds, as well as supporting up to 6 players and solo play. A fifth expansion has been announced. Each expansion arc required the base game and is not officially compatible with the other arcs.
First Arc - The Descent into War
The first expansion arc comprises 3 expansions, each of which is designed to be played with the earlier expansions. The storyline covers the exploration of the galaxy and the growing conflict between the Galactic Imperium and the Rebels.
The first is The Gathering Storm (2008), adding goals, solitaire play, another player, and drafting rules.
The second is Rebel vs Imperium (2009), adding military takeovers and another player.
The third is The Brink of War (2010), adding prestige and search rules.
Second Arc - Alien Artifacts
The second arc consists of a single expansion. The story is set between the base game and the first arc and covers the discovery and exploration of a mysterious Alien orb.
Expansion four - Alien Artifacts (2013). Adds new cards and an optional Alien orb to explore. (This branches from the previous three and is not compatible with them.)
Third Arc - Xeno Invasion
The third arc has been announced and consists of a single expansion:
Expansion five - Xeno Invasion. Adds 51 new cards and an optional Invasion Game.
A BGG FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page for Race for the Galaxy and its expansions can be found at the Rules FAQ or by setting the BGG search to "wiki" and entering "Race FAQ".
A draft pdf from the publisher showing sample rounds of play can be downloaded.
Rio Grande Games granted permission to release a Race for the Galaxy AI to the public. Great for solitaire play and refining your RftG skills, it also now features online play. Posted by mrkeldon, may he be granted many Thumbs, donations, and GG!
BGG Thread: Race for the Galaxy AI
AI Link: http://keldon.net/rftg/
This is the updated version of the comprehensive (and colored!) card reference for Race for the Galaxy, originally found here: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/54378/race-galaxy-card-reference-all-expansions
Excel table (sortable, filterable) containing details of every card in the base game and all five currently released expansions for Race for the Galaxy, in glorious technicolour.
Also includes calculations for each card's scoring value with each 6-cost development, and the search categories from The Brink of War.
Credits go to Tycho for the original spreadsheet (of the base game) and scwont for the 1st arc spreadsheet.
The Heptagon is the headquarters of your galactic government and all its branch departments. All tactical and strategic decisions, both military and economic, are taken within this mobile, cloaked megastructure.
If you are using this with either The Brink of War or the Alien Artifacts expansion and you want to choose the extra action, you can pretend you're selecting one of the regular actions, then place the Heptagon face down and declare either SEARCH/PRESTIGE or EXPLORE ORB. I can add icons for these two actions on the back of the Heptagon, if people are requesting it.
Print at 100% (page size is Letter). Feedback is welcome.
Paper card box, 7x10 cm, base, Alien Artifacts, The Brink of War, The Gathering Storm, Rebel vs Imperium, pdf file, v. 1.0.
[url=https://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/187003/]Full list[/url] of boxes.
Set of tools & a tutorial to make homemade cards. Tutorial uses GIMP (freeware image editor). Any questions or requests can be addressed to the forum thread http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1319096/new-card-tools
I recently started playing RFTG again, and didn't carry the goal cardboard around due to it not fitting in the box I had. So I took the goals from all three expansions, and turned them into cards, which I sleeve, and now everything fits in the box.
Print on US_LETTER sized paper, cut, optionally sleeve, and use as goals, instead of the thicker cardboard pieces.
