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The rules:

In the Spacetrace Cardgame two neighbour planets are fighting against each other with their fleets. Each player tries to destroy the base of the opponent with an attacking spacefleet or other tactics.

Preparations

Sort out the cards named "Base" (it's a class IV ship with 1000 lifepoints - LP). each one of you puts one "Base" card face up in front of you on the table. This is the first card of your first fleet (a second extra fleet can be started later in the game). In battle the "Base" counts as a class IV ship card. It represents the HQ of all your fleets.

If you play Spacetrace for the first time, you should play a simplified version for a start.

simplified version

sort out all tactic cards (blue), Commander cards (brown), class II ships (grey and with class II Symbol) and also the class III Apollo Ship Card.

Both Players get 12 ship cards (grey) and 8 reinforcement cards (orange)

(in the second game, you can add all ships and both Players get 17 ship cards and 12 reinforcement cards)

normal version

Both players get minimum 40 cards that should contain about one third reinforcement cards, at least one commander card and at least one Mothership.

both versions

Both players shuffle their library.
Both players draw 4 cards, do not reveal them.

The player that has his/her turn is called the active player.

Cards

Reinforcement cards

Most cards need manpower (MP) to be played. you get MP by playing reinforcement cards. You only get the MP for one time, the reinforcement cards are discarded.
Any MP that is not used in that turn expires

Ship cards

To bring a ship card into play, you need enough MP. So you need to play one or more reinforcement cards with the ship card, that have a total MP that is enough to play the ship card. The ship cards are placed on the table in front of you next to your base fleet ordered by class.

Tactic cards

Tactic cards can be played any time in the game.
Some tactic cards need MP in the same way like the ship cards.

If a player plays a tactic card the opponent may answer with another tactic card. The effects are resolved last in, first out. That means that the last effect is resolved first.
This way it can happen that a tactic card targets nothing. If this happens, that card will have no effect at all, it fizzles, and is discarded.
Tactic cards can be countered (for example with the card "Counter Strike"). The target card and the counter tactic card will both be discarded.

After the effects of all tactic cards are resolved those cards are discarded.

Commander cards (Spacetrace heroes)

Commanders can only be placed on ship cards with the class indicated on the commander cards and stay on those ships. They will improve your tactical skills. You can only have one commander card on your side in game at the same time. If a ship with a commander on it gets destroyed, both cards get destroyed.

Order of actions

At the beginning of each turn the active player draws 2 cards. if there are no cards left, no card is drawn (the discarded cards cannot be drawn again).

Then the following actions can be done in your turn in any order and as often as you like (before and after the battle):

bring out a ship card (not during the attack) if you can play the needed reinforcements
play a tactic-, commander- or reinforcement card
move ships between your fleets (not during the attack and only if you have more than one fleet, later in the game)
start an attack if you like (maximum is one attack per turn)
discard 3 non-reinforcement cards to get 100 MP (in case you have not enough reinforcement cards to play any of your cards in your hand). discarded ships don't count to the wrecked ships
discard 3 reinforcement cards to draw a new card (in case you have too many reinforcement cards in your hand)

The active player can play as many tactic, ship and reinforcement cards as he/she wishes and maximum one commander card. the other player can only play tactic cards (and eventually the needed reinforcements). Tactic- and reinforcement cards can be played any time, ship cards and commanders only by the active player.

The battle

Only if the active player decides to start an attack a battle happens.
(The starting player may not start an attack during the first turn.)
Every player can choose the order of ships in each class stack (ship cards of each class) in his fleet(s). The active player (attacker) has to choose order first.
At least the base fleet of the attacker must attack. If the attacker has an extra fleet, the attacker decides if this fleet attacks also.
The base fleet of the defender must defend, the other fleet may defend.

The battle is resolved very similar to the computer game: class-I against class-I, class-II against class-II etc.
If some classes are missing, it is resolved just like the real game: the class-battle then happens between the class and the next higher class of the player that has the missing class.
for example if the active player has class 1,3,4 and the defender has class 1,2,4, then the battle order will be: c1-c1; c3-c2; c3-c4; c4-c4.

Ship cards can contain more than one ship. For examle the figther card contains 100 fighters, the destroyer card 10 destroyers etc.
All information is printed on the cards.
The total attack points (AP) and total life points (LP) of all ships on one card is listed also.
Special effects are printed below the picture on the card.
Some ships/effects are slightly altered to the online game to make the card game playable.

Some examples

fighters (100 x 1/1) vs fighters (100 x 1/1)
Both cards are destroyed because they can make 1 damage on 100 targets.
(unlike the online game, there is noone that shoots first in the card game: all ships will fire!)

destroyers (10 x 10/10) vs fighters (100 x 1/1) The destroyers will be discarded the fighters survive, because the destroyers can only target 10 ships.
if not all ships on one card are destroyed totally in one turn, that card will stay. All ships (exept the "Base") are repaired at end of each turn!

Special abilities

Destroy: a destroyed ship looses all lp, but can be repaired or reconstructed
Kill: a killed ship looses all lp, but cannot be repaired nor reconstructed
Removed from the game: a removed ship cannot be repaired nor reconstructed (and does not count to the wrecked ships if you play with the optional wrecked ships rules)
Preemptive strike: the following effect is done before the normal shots and special abilities are resolved. This way some ships may be destroyed before they shoot or use special abilities (if two ships with preemptive strike fight against each other, both effects are resolved)
Jam: a jammed ship cannot shoot nor use special abilities
Sacrifice: a sacrificed card cannot be repaired nor reconstructed. Some cards or effect demand sacrificing of another ship or a card to be played, that means that you cannot play the card if you cannot sacrifice the demanded card/ship.
Selfdestruction: a ship card with selfdestruction will be killed after it was involved in the battle.

The Base cannot be sacrificed nor removed from the game. It is also immune against the destroy effect and the kill effect, but not against damage done by ships or tactic cards.

Extra fleets

In our basic card-set there is one "Mothership" availble for each player.
With a "Mothership" you can open an extra fleet. Now you can move your ship cards from your base fleet into your extra fleet and back.
Only the active player can move ships between fleets. It is a very useful option for combined attacks.
In a battle you can choose for your extra fleet to fight or not to fight, and if, if before or after your base fleet.
For example, if you decide that your extra fleet fights too, and you decide it fights before your base, then there will be two battles:

first your extra fleet against the enemy base fleet
then a second battle will happen with your base fleet against the rest of the enemy base fleet.

(If both players have extra fleets the active player must decide first. If they decide that their extra fleets both fight, there will be four battles) Remember: your base fleet must fight if a battle happens.
If a "Mothership" gets destroyed all other ships in that extra fleet get destroyed too.

End of turn

The active player decides that he has nothing more to do and says: "ready". Then the other player takes his/her turn.

End of Game

The game ends if

one player looses his base or
if no player can draw any more cards and doesen't want to play any more cards and the next battles wouldn't destroy any more ships.

Who wins?

Beginners winning rule

You win if your opponents "Base" card gets 1000 or more damage points (the damage done to the "Base" is cumulated over all battles)

Optional winning rule : Wrecked Ships

(real spacetrace players should play this one!):

Winner is the player with the highest score. The game ends if one "Base" is destroyed. Both players count their wrecked ships total MP. A destroyed "Base" counts 500 MP. Each player gets the amount of wrecked ships of the opponent as score.

Example card

Online shop

You can order a two player cardset with 80 cards in our store: http://shop.spacetrace.org

Changes

Here we list some changes on the current basic card set from our shop

The Interceptor has 60 MP
In the Legend it sais abilites - should be abilities
base text should be "... doesen't get repaired"
erata deserter: also mothership, not base, text: "exchange the shipcards with the highest MP..."
Campaign Ship is class II
Commando Fighter: "Your next ship..."
Reinforcement 2: "Deals 40 damage to any target.

Spacetrace Card-Game - The Rules

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