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How to Play

Circadians: First Light

1-4 players 60-90 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

Players lead research teams exploring planet Ryh, managing crew dice to trade, farm, build, and conduct research across eight rounds. Points are earned by negotiating with three local clans, harvesting samples for your depository, upgrading your base, planetary exploration, and gem collection. The explorer with the highest score wins.

Published 2019

Circadians: First Light

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Place the Planet Board
Position the board in the middle of the table with either side faceup, then place 3 Water or 1 Gem onto each indicated space (marked by small icons at the top point of some spaces)
2
Create the Main Supply
Place all remaining Water, Algae, Energy, and Gems within reach of all players
3
Position Gem Caches
Mix the 6 Gem Caches and randomly slot 1 into each open space along the Planet Board edge, with the Gem and Die icons faceup
4
Set up the Negotiations Board
Place near the Planet Board with the appropriate side faceup for the player count
5
Arrange Faction Boards
Choose either side of each Faction Board and slot them above the Negotiations Board with Leyrien left, Zcharo middle, and Jrayek right
6
Place Incident Tokens
Put the 12 Incident Tokens into the holes on the left side of the Negotiations Board
7
Position the Spaceport Board
Place near the Planet Board with the appropriate side faceup for player count
8
Create the Event Draw Pile
Place the "End of an Era" Event Card facedown, shuffle remaining Event Cards, and place 6 facedown on top; return unused cards to the box
9
Set up Station Boards
Place all 6 Station Boards with appropriate sides faceup for player count
10
Prepare Farm and Ship Tiles
Shuffle Farm Tiles into 3 even stacks with 1 faceup on each Laboratory space; shuffle Ship Tiles into 3 even stacks with 1 faceup on each Foundry space
11
Create Contract Draw Pile
Shuffle all Contract Cards together, allowing space for a discard pile
12
Distribute player components
Each player receives 1 Research Base, 1 Screen, 13 Dice in their color (3 on Research Base, 10 in reserve), 15 Water, 4 Algae, 2 Energy, and 1 Harvester placed on the Planet Board's central space
13
Determine starting player
Randomly select a starting player and give them the Radio
14
Select Leaders
Shuffle Leader Cards, deal 3 facedown to each player, each keeps 1 faceup alongside their Research Base and returns others to the box
15
Draft Contract Cards
Each player draws 4 Contract Cards, selects 1 to keep, passes 3 left, selects 1 from 3 received, passes 2 left, selects 1 from final 2, discards the last card

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Reveal Event Card
At the beginning of the Planning Phase, reveal the top Event Card and read it aloud; some affect the current Round, others resolve at specific moments
2
Roll Dice
All players simultaneously roll all available Dice behind their Screens (3 Dice in Round 1)
3
Assign Dice to Garages
Place Dice onto spaces above Garages from left-to-right; these Dice will be sent to locations during Execute Phase
4
Assign Dice to Farms
Place Dice on any available Farm; Farms produce resources during Harvest Phase
5
Remove Screens
Once all players finish assigning, simultaneously reveal Dice
6
Send Dice from Headquarters
Regardless of turn order, all Dice at Headquarters are sent first in placement order; the first Die may be flipped to its opposite side
7
Send Dice from Garages
Starting with the Radio holder, players take turns sending 1 Die clockwise until no Dice remain
8
Headquarters
Place Die on highest available space to resend next Round ahead of turn order; immediately gain either 2 Contract Cards or 5 Water
9
Mining Camp
Place Die on any available space to collect Gems; pay Water equal to the space's target number minus your Die value
10
Laboratory
Send a pair of equal-valued Dice; pay 3 Algae or 10 Water to take a Farm Tile from any stack and place on your left-most empty Foundation
11
Foundry
Send Die to gain a Ship Tile (1-2 for left stack, 3-4 for middle, 5-6 for right); pay 2 Energy or 10 Water; place on left-most Garage without a Ship
12
Market
Place Die on any available space to make trades; Die value determines maximum number of individual trades using the displayed options
13
Academy
Place Die on a space matching its value; pay indicated resources to gain 1 or 2 Dice from reserve to your Research Base for future Rounds
14
Control Room
Pay 2 Energy or 10 Water to move Harvester one adjacent space; direction determined by Die value per the directional guide
15
Negotiations Board
Place Die on any available space and pay required resources; Dice remain here permanently
16
Depository
Place Die on available space matching its value column; must fulfill a Contract Card
17
Collect from Planet Board
Gain Water, Algae, Energy, Gems, or Dice based on Harvester's position; further from center produces more resources
18
Collect from Farms
Gain resources from active Farms; some require Dice, others produce passively each Round
19
Return Dice
Simultaneously return all Dice from Station Boards, Farms, and Cantinas to your supply
20
Pass the Radio
Give the Radio to the player on your left; they become first player next Round
21
Check limits
Maximum 5 Dice in supply (Headquarters Dice count toward limit) and 8 Contract Cards in hand; return or discard excess

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Game end trigger
The game ends immediately after the Rest Phase of the seventh Round (all 7 Event Cards revealed)
2
Score Negotiations Board
Count printed point values next to each of your Dice on the Negotiations Board
3
Score fulfilled Contracts
Add set values and any end-game scoring bonuses from Contract Card abilities
4
Score Harvester position
Gain points if your Harvester is on a Gem Cache
5
Score Research Base
Add printed values on specific Ships and Farms, plus printed values on your left-most empty Garage and Farm/Foundation spaces
6
Score remaining Gems
Gain 1 point per Gem still in your supply
7
Determine winner
The player with the most points wins
8
Break ties
The tied player with the most Dice in supply wins; if still tied, most combined Energy, Algae, and Water wins; if still tied, share victory

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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