2013 · Card Game
Race for the Galaxy: Alien Artifacts
Players expand galactic empires with new worlds, action cards, and a fifth-player setup while optionally engaging a shared Alien Orb to discover artifacts. In the base expansion mode new start worlds and action cards integrate into empire building and card-drafting play. In the orb mode players jointly map and explore a modular Alien Orb tableau, collect artifact tokens that grant one-use powers and victory points, and choose how much to invest in exploration versus developing their own tableau.
- Players
- 2–5 best 2
- Playing time
- 45 min
- Age
- 13+
- Complexity
- 2.9 / 5
About the game
- Design
- Publisher
Expansion for
See them in Ludoya
Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 33
- Plays logged
- 5
- Players
- 20m
- Average play
- 21
- In collections
- 2
- On wishlists
7.3/10
from 3 Ludoya reviews
FazerGD8.0 +
No plays logged
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
Do we need to use the Orb Game to play Alien Artifacts?
No. You can add the new start worlds and game cards to the base game without using orb cards, artifact tokens, the priority slide, disks, or survey teams; ignore powers and victory conditions that refer to them (p. 2).
Does every Explore action trigger an orb step, or only Explore: Orb?
Any player choosing an Explore action triggers one orb step, including Explore: +1, +1 or Explore: +5. The orb step happens before the normal Explore phase (p. 4).
Can my survey team move through a beam barrier if I have a Pay-for-Military power?
No. To pass a beam barrier, your current Military—including specialized Military vs. Aliens—must meet or exceed its strength; Pay-for-Military powers cannot be used for this (p. 5).
When my survey team reaches an artifact, can it keep moving afterward?
No. A survey team must end its move when it enters a space with an artifact token and pick it up. If the token is on a breeding tube space, you must immediately draw and play an orb card, which cannot overlap any part of the card your team occupies (pp. 5, 7).
Do I have to reveal or use my artifact tokens right away?
No. You may examine a token when you pick it up, but keep it face down until you choose to use its power; each power can be used only once for a given team move or action. At end-game scoring, reveal unused tokens and score all collected artifacts (p. 7).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Race for the Galaxy: Alien Artifacts with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.