Playing Entropy

Movement, Creation tokens, traffic bonuses, actions, Life cards, Missions and Objectives in Entropy.

Turn structure

A round gives each player one turn, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise. Every turn is Movement → Action → Mission.

Movement and traffic

Move your Scientist 1–3 spaces clockwise around the Main board. You must stop on an inner-ring Action space or an outer Action-tile space. To use an inner-ring space, place its matching available Creation token or your Wild token beside it; a token already on the ring or lying down on your Console is unavailable.

If you pass one or more Creation tokens, retrieve each one to your Console lying down. For each retrieved token, choose to gain 1 Entropy or activate one Star. The Wild token flips from locked to unlocked the first time you pass it; it is not retrieved then. Stand retrieved tokens during the Mission step so they are ready next turn.

After movement, resolve the Traffic Bonus shown on your landing space. If that action space is occupied by any Scientist, including on the paired inner/outer space, add 1 to the distance for the Traffic Bonus. If your actual move was three spaces and you land with another Scientist there, also pay 1 Entropy. Rewards are optional; you may forfeit any part of a reward.

Action step

Resolve the action at your destination. You may spend 2 Entropy to gain 1 Energy or 1 Mass any number of times during this step. Unless an action is Create Life, you may skip an action you cannot or do not wish to resolve and still take its Traffic Bonus. Inner-ring placement still requires its Creation token.

Evolve a Star

Choose one of your Stars and pay its printed Energy cost to replace it with the next Star on the printed path. Or pay 1 Energy to add a tier-I Star to a Solar System without a Star to a starless Solar System or to a new Solar System. Evolving does not trigger the Star; activate it separately. A Starting Star that is evolved returns to the box.

Aggregate a Planet

Take a Planet from the offer by paying its Mass cost. Resolve the effect on the cost side, flip it and place it on an empty Planet space in one of your Solar Systems, or add it to a new Solar System. If one Planet stack runs out, refill that type’s offer from the other stack if possible. The effect is also printed on the other side and can be triggered by later Asteroid actions.

Create Life

Play one Life card from your hand to a Planet in your play area that meets its Life Condition and Lifeform requirements. You may discard one Life card to supply one missing Life Condition icon. Add the required Lifeforms and resolve the card effect. If the card has the local marker, its tokens and effect stay with the named Planet; otherwise its effect may apply across your play area. Planet limits are five tokens of each Lifeform type. Resolve any Create Life Traffic Bonus on the same Planet.

Activate Stars

Choose any number of your Stars and pay their Entropy costs, reduced by the Generator track only when you take this rondel action. Resolve effects one at a time. The same Star cannot be activated more than once during this one action.

Set a Biome

Take a Biome from the offer and place it beside a Planet without a Biome. It remains for the game. To fulfill it, meet its printed requirement; fulfilled Biomes are flipped and grant their continuing benefit. Each Planet can hold one Biome.

Upgrade Console

Spend 3 Energy to advance one of your Focus cards to the next tier. Its effect triggers when you use the matching Creation token for its matching main-board action. If its Creation token is on the Main board, the Upgrade Console action returns that token; upgrades caused by other effects do not return it.

Take Life cards

Take two cards from the Life-card offer. If one deck runs out, immediately refill its offer from the corresponding deck. There is no hand limit.

Catch an Asteroid

Take an available Asteroid and place it in an empty Asteroid space on one of your Planets, then pay its printed cost. Some types also cost 1 Mass. Add its Life Condition icons and resolve that Planet’s effect. A Satellite replaces an Asteroid choice but does not trigger the Planet.

Primordial Soup

Advance your Generator one space, then gain 1 Energy and 1 Mass. Reaching a marked Generator milestone also gives the printed VP. Its Traffic Bonus advances the indicated Lifeforms: gain a Bacteria, exchange a Bacteria for a Plant, or exchange a Plant for an Animal, respecting the five-token limit.

Mission step

You begin with two Mission cards. If you meet a Mission’s requirement, you may play it and gain its reward; playing one Mission discards both cards from your hand. Then advance each Main Objective whose condition you met and claim eligible Lifeform Objective tiles. You can claim at most one small tile of each type; a big tile is available when its higher requirement is met and claiming it contributes to the end trigger.

See End Game and Scoring for objective completion and scoring.