Gameplay

The shuttle links orbital and surface turns as the colony grows.

The two locations

Your Player marker sits on a Turn Order space on either the Orbit side (spaces 1–4) or the Colony side (spaces 5–8). In the Colonization phase you may take only the Main actions of the side you are on; Executive actions work from anywhere. Turn order always runs from space 1 to space 8, so where you land also decides when you play.

Each Turn Order space has a benefit you may take when you move onto it (Rules Reference p. 2):

At setup, in clockwise order from the first player, everyone places their marker on an empty space and may take its benefit. The player on the highest-numbered space puts the Shuttle on one of the two red Travel spaces numbered 1.

Colonization phase

In turn order, take your turn:

1. At the start of your turn, move any Crystals below your Depot up into it (excess goes back to the supply).
2. Take 1 Main action from your side of the board — this is mandatory — and, before or after it, up to 1 Executive action from your Depot.
3. Contributing to a Mission gives you its Crystals (see Actions).
4. Lay your Player marker down.

Action slots. An action with a red Colonist needs one of your Colonists from your Living Quarters on its slots. If other players’ Colonists are already there, pay 1 Crystal or move 1 Colonist to your Working Area for each other colour present (in a 2-player game, for each Colonist, yours included). If every slot is full, first send the Colonists of whoever has the most there (ties: all of them) back to their owners’ Working Areas, then pay for those still there.

Boosting. A teal Colonist under an action means you may send Colonists from your Living Quarters to your Working Area to do more; a Crystal under it means you may spend Crystals instead. Each action says exactly what a boost gives.

Shuttle phase

1. Move the Shuttle one space toward the middle of the board. If it is already on the red Travel space nearest the middle, it travels instead: move it to the other side, onto the Travel space numbered for the current Colony level. The higher the level, the further out it lands, so the Shuttle travels less often as the colony grows. At Colony level 4 it stops moving; when the colony reaches level 5 it travels one last time in the next Shuttle phase, wherever it is, and is then removed (Rules Reference p. 8).
2. In turn order, each player decides whether to travel. If the Shuttle just left your side, ride it for free; otherwise you may discard a Ship from your Hangar to travel anyway. Travelling is never mandatory. If you stay, stand your marker up without taking its benefit again.

Each traveller resolves their trip before the next player decides.

Travel to the Colony

1. Exploration: place one of the two face-up Discovery tiles on an empty hex exactly 3 spaces from your Rover (from the starting Mine if your Rover isn’t on the map yet), then refill it.
2. Retrieve Colonists from the Colony-side action slots and from your Working Area.
3. Move to an empty Turn Order space on the Colony side and take its benefit if you wish.

Travel to Orbit

1. Production: each of your Advanced Buildings produces 1 Resource of its type (a Crystal if it is on a Shelter), and each of your Colonists or Advanced Building markers on a Mine produces 1 Mineral.
2. Retrieve Colonists from the Orbit-side action slots and from your Working Area.
3. Move to an empty Turn Order space on the Orbit side and take its benefit if you wish.

Colonists that don’t fit in your Living Quarters go back to your supply. You travel alone: you collect the Colonists waiting on the side you arrive at, not the side you leave.

Growing the colony

The LSS tracks how many Generators, Water Extractors, Greenhouses and Oxygen Condensers are on Mars (Mines aren’t LSS buildings). The Colony level is the row just below the Colony level marker; it starts at level 1, with the marker on the second row, meaning the colony wants two of each.

• Each Building placed moves its LSS marker up one space.
• The first Building of each LSS type scores its builder 2 OP.
• If the marker was below the Colony level marker, the builder also scores the LSS Reward tile above that column and takes one benefit from the top-left of the LSS: move Bots 2 spaces, 1 Mineral, 1 Crystal, or retrieve a Colonist. Score first, then take the benefit.

When all four markers reach the Colony level marker’s row, the Colony Status updates at the end of that player’s turn (after any Tech owner decides):

1. The Colony level marker moves up a row.
2. New Blueprints: at level 2, clear the display and deal 12 (the last 6 level-1 and 6 level-3 cards); at level 3, remove the level-1 cards and add the last 6 level-3 cards.
3. Refill the Tech Grid from the bottom (not in a 2-player game).
4. Refill the Warehouse to 3 of each item (2 in a 2-player game).
5. The first two times only: everyone scores 1/2/4/7/11 OP for 1/2/3/4/5 Progress cubes in the Progress area.
6. From level 3 on, move the Remaining Missions marker one space right — this can trigger the end.

Each level also lets every player welcome one more Ship. The actions page explains construction, upgrades, missions and the other actions.