Race for the Galaxy

Players build a galactic civilization by playing cards that represent worlds and technological or social developments. Each round, everyone secretly and simultaneously selects one action phase; only the chosen phases occur but every player participates in those phases, with selecting players receiving bonuses. Actions include exploring to draw cards, developing or settling to add cards to a tableau, producing goods on worlds, trading goods for cards, and consuming goods for victory-point chips. Cards placed in the tableau grant powers, produce goods, and provide end-game victory points. Play ends when a player has twelve tableau cards or the VP chip pool is exhausted; highest total VPs wins.

Players: 2–4 best 2
Playing time: 30–60 min
Age: 12+
Complexity: 3 / 5

7.3 on Ludoya from $20.90Science FictionSpace ExplorationIncomeVariable Phase OrderMulti-Use Cards

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5,588
Plays logged: 995
Players: 14m 10s
Average play: 277
In collections: 44
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7.3/10

from 157 Ludoya reviews

Vic Granell8.0
Complex symbolism but worth learning to play. Second Spanish edition. Playing often on Board Game Arena since I got the physical edition!
Daniel García Cruz4.0
Pero que mierda es esta??? Quiero salir de aquí Mamaaaa...!!!
Martin Peral7.8
Revisado 27/05/2025

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

How do I tell which cards are Alien Artifact cards and which are regular cards?

Alien Artifact cards are identified by the gray/gold artifact marks on the cards; follow the expansion’s start-world and non-orb component setup when adding them (see page 2).

In the Orb (Explore) step, how does priority and passing work for Move / Play Orb / Draw Orb actions?

The Orb step uses a priority order; the player with priority may take one Orb action (Move up to 4, Play an Orb, or Draw an Orb), and passing gives priority to the next player in order (see pages 3–4).

Can my survey team cross beam barriers or mismatched edges, and when does a survey team become stranded?

Orb perimeter rules require an overlapping edge to be the same or worse (you cannot change a wall into a beam, etc.), so survey teams cannot move across incompatible edges; a survey team is stranded if it has no legal moves (see pages 5–6).

When and how do I pick up artifact tokens and what do they do?

Survey teams pick up artifact tokens by moving onto artifact locations; tokens provide specific powers, cost reductions, and scoring modifiers (including Genes/Uplift effects) and are used/scored according to the artifact token rules (see pages 7–8).

If the Orb deck runs out, does the game end immediately?

Deck exhaustion triggers the Orb-game end condition—follow the deck-exhaustion/end-of-deck procedure to end the game as described in the rules (see page 7 and the Orb reminders on page 12).