# Race for the Galaxy

Race for the Galaxy is a board game for 2–4 players. It plays in 30–60 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 2. It is rated 7.3 out of 10 by 157 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $20.90 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–4 (best with 2)
- **Playing time:** 30–60 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2007
- **Categories:** Card Game, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, Economic, Civilization
- **Mechanics:** Income, Variable Phase Order, Multi-Use Cards, End Game Bonuses, Hand Management, Tags, Follow, Simultaneous Action Selection, Market
- **Ludoya rating:** 7.3 out of 10, from 157 reviews
- **Owned by:** 277 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 5,588
- **Unique players:** 995

**Designers:** Thomas Lehmann

**Artists:** Claus Stephan, Martin Hoffmann

**Publishers:** Rio Grande Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gamers Guild AZ | 20.9 $ | https://gamersguildaz.com/products/race-for-the-galaxy-revised-2nd-edition |
| Miniature Market | 24.99 $ | https://www.miniaturemarket.com/rgg301.html |
| Cardhaus Games | 29.95 $ | https://www.cardhaus.com/race-for-the-galaxy/ |
| Gameology | 51.95 $ | https://www.gameology.com.au/products/race-for-the-galaxy |
| Zatu Games | 27.99 £ | https://zatu.com/products/race-for-the-galaxy |
| Hyggeonkel | 249.95 kr | https://www.hyggeonkel.dk/produkt/race-for-the-galaxy |
| Alphaspel | 399 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/97136-race-for-the-galaxy-2nd-ed |
| Fantasiapelit | 38.9 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_118487 |
| Ludifolie | 38.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/77-race-for-the-galaxy-nouvelle-edition.html |
| Game Ninja | 429 kr | https://www.gameninja.no/produkt/race-for-the-galaxy/ |
| Nexus | 6995 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/race-for-the-galaxy/ |

## Expansions

- [Race for the Galaxy: The Gathering Storm](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-the-gathering-storm)
- [Race for the Galaxy: Rebel vs Imperium](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-rebel-vs-imperium)
- [Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-the-brink-of-war)
- [Race for the Galaxy: Alien Artifacts](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-alien-artifacts)
- [Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Invasion](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-xeno-invasion)
- [Race for the Galaxy: Expansion and Brinkmanship](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-expansion-and-brinkmanship)
- [Race for the Galaxy: New Worlds Promo Cards](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-new-worlds-promo)
- [Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Counterstrike](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-xeno-counterstrike)
- [Patronage (fan expansion for Race for the Galaxy)](https://www.ludoya.com/games/patronage-fan-expansion-for-race-for-the-galaxy)

## Similar games

- [Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition](https://www.ludoya.com/games/terraforming-mars-ares-expedition)
- [Roll for the Galaxy](https://www.ludoya.com/games/roll-for-the-galaxy)
- [Innovation Ultimate](https://www.ludoya.com/games/innovation-ultimate)
- [Glory to Rome](https://www.ludoya.com/games/glory-to-rome)
- [Terraforming Mars](https://www.ludoya.com/games/terraforming-mars)
- [San Juan](https://www.ludoya.com/games/san-juan)
- [Ultra Tiny Epic Galaxies](https://www.ludoya.com/games/ultra-tiny-epic-galaxies)
- [It's a Wonderful World](https://www.ludoya.com/games/its-a-wonderful-world)
- [Age of Galaxy](https://www.ludoya.com/games/age-of-galaxy)
- [Gaia Project](https://www.ludoya.com/games/gaia-project)
- [Star Tycoon](https://www.ludoya.com/games/star-tycoon)
- [New Frontiers](https://www.ludoya.com/games/new-frontiers)

## Rules questions

### 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).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy)
- [Race for the Galaxy in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/race-for-the-galaxy)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28143)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-18. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._