Lunar – Game Rules

Overview

In Lunar Colonization, you command an alien fleet tasked with the colonization of the Moon. Your mission is to clear difficult lunar regions—obstructed by rugged terrain—using your scouts. Once cleared, these regions transform into Lunar Beacons that serve as strategic waypoints for further exploration. Ultimately, you build full-fledged lunar colonies by assembling complete suit sequences. Every card in your deck represents a part of your invading fleet, and each move brings you closer to establishing a dominant alien presence on the Moon.

Setup

1. Alien Fleet (Deck):

   • A standard deck of 52 cards is shuffled. This deck represents your alien fleet.

2. Columns (Scouting Areas):

   • Four columns are created, each representing a lunar region that must be scouted and cleared.
   • Each column is set up as follows:
     • Region Card: Drawn from the deck, placed face up at the top of the column. This card marks a specific lunar area that requires clearance.
     • Terrain Cards: Three cards are drawn next and placed face down. These represent the difficult lunar terrain that must be overcome.
     • Scout Card: One final card is drawn and placed face up at the bottom of the column. This card is your initial scout unit, ready to explore the region.

3. Discard Pile:

   • Starts empty. Cards drawn from the fleet are placed here (face up).

4. Colony Piles (Lunar Colonies):

   • Four foundation piles where you will build colonies. They must be built by suit in ascending order—from Ace to King.

Objective

Your goal is to complete all four colony piles by transferring cards from the alien fleet and the scouting columns according to specific movement rules. When each colony pile has 13 cards (from Ace through King), you win the game.

Gameplay Mechanics

1. Drawing from the Alien Fleet

• Drawing a Card: Click the deck (alien fleet) to draw the top card. This card is turned face up and placed in the discard pile.

• Recycling the Fleet: If the fleet runs out of cards, a double-click on the deck will recycle the discard pile back into the deck (all cards are turned face down in the process).

2. Scouting and Clearing Regions

• Region Cards & Terrain:

  • Region Cards: Represent specific lunar areas that require clearance.
  • Terrain Cards: Placed over the region card in each column, these represent the difficult terrain that must be cleared.

• Flipping Terrain Cards: When no playable scout remains in a column, the next terrain card (currently face down) is flipped to reveal additional scouting resources. Only when all terrain cards in a column are cleared is the region card “unlocked” and transformed into a Lunar Beacon.

• Scouts: Only face-up cards (other than locked region cards) can be moved. Scouts are used to explore and clear the terrain and can be moved either individually or as part of a substack that follows the proper sequence.

3. Moving Cards Between Columns (Scouting Moves)

• Building Substacks: Cards in a column may be moved together as a substack if they form a descending sequence in alternating colors. This represents your scouts moving in formation to clear obstacles.

• Restrictions on Region Cards: A region card is locked in place as long as there is unrevealed (face-down) terrain. Only once all the terrain is cleared (flipped face up and moved) can the region card be shifted. When the final Terrain card is moved, the cleared region becomes a Lunar Beacon.

• Double-Click Moves: A double-click on a card automatically attempts to send that card to a colony (if the move follows the rules) for quick play.

4. Building Lunar Colonies

• Colony Piles: These foundation piles are built by suit in ascending order.
  • Starting a Colony: The first card must be an Ace.
  • Subsequent Cards: A card can be added if it is of the same suit as the top card and exactly one rank higher.
• Objective: Complete all four colonies (each must have 13 cards) to win the game.

5. Additional Controls

• Back Button: A blue “BACK” button allows you to return the top card of the discard pile to the fleet if you need to change your move.

• Reset Button: Clicking the “RESET” button restarts the game, re-shuffling your alien fleet and re-dealing the scouting columns.

Winning the Game

You win Lunar Colonization when all four colony piles are complete—each colony must have exactly 13 cards built in order from Ace to King.

Strategic Tips

• Plan Ahead: Consider your moves carefully, especially when moving substacks between columns. A misstep might block a potential clearing of a region.

• Clear Terrain Promptly: Flipping and clearing the difficult terrain (face-down cards) is key to unlocking your region cards and turning them into Lunar Beacons.

• Efficient Fleet Management: Use your discard pile and the back button wisely to cycle through your alien fleet, ensuring you have the right cards available when needed.

• Quick Moves: Use the double-click feature to quickly move cards to your colonies when the conditions are met—this can save valuable time and prevent clutter in your scouting areas.

Thematic Interpretation

• Alien Fleet: Every card in your deck symbolizes a spacecraft or unit from your invading alien fleet. Managing this fleet effectively is crucial to your success.

• Regions & Lunar Beacons: The region cards represent untamed areas on the Moon. Your scouts must clear away the rugged, uncharted terrain so these regions can be converted into strategic Lunar Beacons—guiding posts that enable further colonization.

• Lunar Colonies: The final destination of your operations. Once a region is cleared and transformed, you build a colony there, securing your alien foothold on the Moon.