FAQ
72 answered questions33 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Pink Troubadour or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to rotate the used Action tile in Cleanup — after an Upgrade nothing rotates. Ruling · Rule
- Paying a Major Object with a third colour — only its two colours count, at least one die of each. Ruling · Rule
- Counting cards taken face down for a constellation as observed Major Objects. Ruling · Rule
- Adding a comet the dice don’t need, just to move it on toward the Book of Comets. Ruling · Rule
- Using Inquisitor’s Farewell on an Inquisitor that is not on the rightmost (+1) space. Ruling · Rule
- Holding an interrogation when no Inquisitor actually moved — a Persuade with nobody able to move triggers nothing. Ruling · Rule
- Ending as soon as the deck runs out — finish the round, then everyone plays one more turn. Ruling · Rule
Showing 72 of 72
Must I take the fixed and the moving action my telescope points at?
No — the rulebook says you may take the actions of the space you point at. Both actions of the space are optional, as is stopping on the Upgrade space. What is not optional is what an action gives you: once you take it, its rewards are resolved as far as possible.
Source: BGG thread
Are rewards mandatory — for example a Persuade or a card from a constellation?
Yes, as far as you can carry them out. The only reward you may always decline is Inquisitor's Farewell. If you have no Inquisitor that can move, a Persuade simply does nothing.
Source: BGG thread
Is the Persuade icon mandatory when I get it? Official
Yes. You skip it only when you have no Inquisitor that can move (none in the cellar, or all on the rightmost space).
Source: BGG thread
Can I take free actions during the Cleanup phase, for example after the Book of Comets gave me a Quadrant? Official
Yes. Free actions can be taken at any point of your turn, also after placing comets in Cleanup — just never in the middle of resolving another action.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use a free action between the two constellations of one Observe action?
No. Observing up to two constellations is one action; free actions go before, between or after your actions, not inside one.
Source: BGG thread
Can I repeat the same free action several times in a turn?
Yes. The only limit is the Quadrants you can pay.
Source: BGG thread
When I take the Upgrade action, which Action tile moves in Cleanup? Official
None. The Upgrade space has no Action tile: you flip a tile where it lies, take a Quadrant instead of a moving action and rotate nothing.
Source: BGG thread
What does "MAX 3" at the top left of the player board mean?
You may never have more than three dice of one colour (and never more than four dice in all).
Source: BGG thread
When an action raises a die by 3, can I raise it by less?
Yes. You may raise it by 1 or 2 instead, so the action is still usable on a die that is already high.
Source: BGG thread
Is there anything to compensate the last player in turn order?
No. The game has none; some groups deal out the advanced characters in reverse turn order.
Source: BGG thread
What is the empty rectangle on the basic side of the Character Boards for? Official
Nothing in the rules — it is a place to keep your Quadrant tokens.
Source: BGG thread
For a Major Object, may I add dice of a third colour?
No. Only the two colours the object asks for, with at least one die of each.
Source: BGG thread
Can I observe two constellations on two different cards in one action? Official
Yes.
Source: BGG thread
Can I observe the same constellation twice?
A card's constellation can have one to three spots, each with its own cost. You may cover two different spots of the same card, paying each; a spot that already holds a token can't be observed again.
Source: BGG thread
Does completing all the spots of a constellation give me the card?
No. You take a Discovery card only by observing its Major Object, or face down as a constellation reward.
Source: BGG thread
Do cards taken face down for a constellation count as Major Objects? Official
No. Only cards you took by observing their Major Object count for objectives and scoring.
Source: BGG thread
How many cards can my library hold? Official
As many as you collect.
Source: BGG thread
May I observe if I can't carry out one of the rewards, such as a Persuade with no Inquisitors?
Yes. You only need to pay the cost; a reward you can't apply is skipped.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use a comet when my dice already pay the cost?
You choose which dice to spend. If the dice you spend fall short, a comet may cover the gap; if they already pay the cost, no comet may be added. A "2" comet may cover a gap of 1 (the extra is lost), but every comet you use must lower the cost.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use several comets on one observation? Official
Yes, any mix of "1" and "2" comets, as long as each one gives a discount.
Source: BGG thread
Can one comet be used for two constellations in the same turn — first as a 1, then as a 2? Official
No. Each comet is used once per turn, to reduce one cost.
Source: BGG thread
Can comets reduce the cost of a constellation?
Yes. Constellations and Major Objects are both objects; comets work on either.
Source: BGG thread
Can I use another player's comets? Official
No, only your own.
Source: BGG thread
With comets bringing the cost to zero, do I still need dice?
Yes. You must still spend at least one die of each colour the object needs.
Source: BGG thread
Are all Book of Comets pages used with 3 or 4 players?
Yes. The purple pages marked 3/4 are used only with 3 or 4 players; the blue pages are always in play.
Source: BGG thread
How many comets fit in the Appendix? Official
Any number.
Source: BGG thread
May I put a comet in the Appendix while pages are still empty?
The rulebook puts comets on empty pages and only the excess in the Appendix; the forum reads that as "pages first".
Source: BGG thread
With a partial Write split between books, in what order do I take the rewards? Official
Move one Book token one space at a time, in any order you like, and take each space's reward as soon as the token reaches it. You can move a lower book, then a higher one, then the lower one again.
Source: BGG thread
Do I have to use every step of a Write 3 if a step would give me an Inquisitor?
The rulebook says to move a total equal to the number, and Gain an Inquisitor rewards must be taken; the forum's reading is that you use all the steps you can.
Source: BGG thread
Do empty library spaces count as steps?
Yes. A blank space is still a space the Book token moves through.
Source: BGG thread
When a book moves again, do I get its earlier rewards again?
No. Only the spaces it newly passes or reaches pay out.
Source: BGG thread
Does the starting space count toward "all Book tokens on at least the third space"?
No. The count starts at the first library space; the starting area is not one.
Source: BGG thread
Some Scale tiles show points without the × sign. Are they not multipliers? Official
A misprint: every number on the Scale tiles is a multiplier, on both sides.
Source: BGG thread
Which side of the Scale tiles do we use?
The rulebook only says to place four at random. Sides differ (the forum notes B sides tend to trade end-game multipliers for bonuses), so most groups place the side at random too.
Source: BGG thread
Does an objective give both points and the Inquisitor's Farewell? Official
Yes. You score the points and may also take the Farewell, which stays optional.
Source: BGG thread
Does Inquisitor's Farewell remove the rightmost Inquisitor, wherever it is? Official
No. Only an Inquisitor on the rightmost (+1) space of the cellar can leave; with none there the action does nothing.
Source: BGG thread
How far does the Tribunal token move in an interrogation? Official
As many spaces as the total of your cellar: a result of –5 moves it five spaces left. (Some printed copies say "one step" in the example; the total is what counts.)
Source: BGG thread
If I persuade several Inquisitors, am I interrogated more than once?
No. One interrogation per turn, however many moved.
Source: BGG thread
If all my Inquisitors are fully persuaded, can a Persuade still trigger an interrogation?
No. None of them can move, so nothing was persuaded and there is no interrogation.
Source: BGG thread
If I persuade an Inquisitor and then send it off with a Farewell, is there still an interrogation? Official
Yes. An Inquisitor moved this turn, so you are interrogated.
Source: BGG thread
Does a new Inquisitor move or trigger an interrogation on arrival?
No. It arrives on the leftmost space and stays there until something persuades it.
Source: BGG thread
Off the end of the Reputation track, do I lose 2 points per extra step?
No. 2 points once per interrogation, however far you would have gone.
Source: BGG thread
Can my score go below 0? Official
Yes.
Source: BGG thread
With two Persuade moves and only one Inquisitor able to move, can I use just one?
Yes. Use what you can; the rest is lost.
Source: BGG thread
How exactly does the final round work?
Finish the current round so the player before the first player (who keeps the telescope standee) has played. Then everyone, starting with the first player, has one more turn.
Source: BGG thread
Does taking the last card as a constellation reward trigger the end? Official
Yes. The end comes when the deck runs out, however the last card left it.
Source: BGG thread
In the final round, a constellation gives me a card but the deck is empty. What now? Official
Take a random unused Tier III card from the box, as you do to refill the display.
Source: BGG thread
Can Kepler swap his special tile with its own ability? Official
No. The special tile can't be swapped by its own action.
Source: BGG thread
Does Kepler do both swaps or one? Official
One of the two, as with any tile showing two options.
Source: BGG thread
Can Kepler's "+2 to two dice" go on dice of different colours? Official
Yes, two different dice.
Source: BGG thread
When Galileo observes a Major Object with his ability, when is the display refilled? Official
Immediately, before his extra constellation.
Source: BGG thread
May Copernicus' library tiles be turned sideways?
The rulebook only forbids upside down; players read the tiles as needing the same orientation as the cards.
Source: BGG thread
Can Edmond Halley's personal comet pages hold ordinary comets?
Yes, any comet.
Source: BGG thread
Does Halley's Comet count for objectives about comets removed from the player board?
No. It never sits on your player board, so it is never removed from it.
Source: BGG thread
Is Tycho limited to four dice? Official
No. Tycho has no dice slots and can hold any number of dice.
Source: BGG thread
When Tycho draws the 0 tile and upgrades, does he also take that Action tile? Official
No. He upgrades and his turn ends, just as a player who upgrades takes no moving action.
Source: BGG thread
Which constellation does Tycho take — the most points or the highest dice cost? Official
The highest dice cost (value), not the most victory points. For a Major Object he takes the one worth the most points.
Source: BGG thread
When Tycho's Movement deck runs out? Official
Shuffle it and keep going.
Source: BGG thread
Do I win ties against Tycho? Official
No — you must score more than him.
Source: BGG thread
Does Tycho get Inquisitors from the cards he observes? Official
No. Only his Action tiles give him Inquisitors.
Source: BGG thread
Does Tycho get the reward under a Constellation token he removes?
No. He ignores those rewards.
Source: BGG thread
Which Scale does Tycho lecture on?
The one whose subject he has achieved most often (for example, most comets placed) — not the one worth most points. Ties go to the leftmost.
Source: BGG thread
What does "unpersuaded" mean on Tycho's tiles?
Inquisitors still on the leftmost (–4) space. Partly persuaded ones don't count.
Source: BGG thread
Tycho's "place a comet" row needs a comet — on the game board?
No: the condition means a Comet token still on his player board.
Source: BGG thread
What is Tycho's special Book token for?
His library gives no rewards, but its position scores the "leftmost Book token" subject and counts for library objectives.
Source: BGG thread
Does Tycho place Achievement tokens?
Yes. He achieves objectives and scores them like a player, but never takes Inquisitor's Farewell.
Source: BGG thread
[Moon] Do Grand Inquisitors count as Inquisitors for scoring and objectives?
Yes, each as a single Inquisitor: for its end-game cellar penalty, for the Inquisitor subject and for scoring tiles. Only during an interrogation is its value doubled.
Source: BGG thread
[Moon] If a Grand Inquisitor leaves for the Bonus Board, are my other Inquisitors still interrogated? Official
Yes. An Inquisitor moved this turn, so the interrogation happens.
Source: BGG thread
[Moon] Does Sophia Brahe get her Sun rewards if she stops on Observe without observing? Official
No. Only when she actually carries out an Observe action.
Source: BGG thread
[Moon] What happens when Maria Cunitz's square token reaches the end of the Urania Propitia track? Official
It stays there and moves no further.
Source: BGG thread
[Moon] Can Cunitz earn a two-colour Note twice by focusing on both colours?
No. A Note pays out only when the square token moves onto it.
Source: BGG thread
[Moon] Does Tycho observe the Moon even if no Scoring tile would give him bonus points?
Yes. The rulebook makes no exception: he still scores the Moon tile's observation reward, and you lose that Scoring tile's later bonus.
Source: BGG thread