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Moonrakers

1-5 players 60-120 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

In this futuristic deck-building game, space mercenaries compete for leadership while forming temporary partnerships. Players negotiate alliances to tackle contracts using action cards representing ship components and crew. Successfully completing missions earns prestige and credits, while failure brings hazardous consequences. Upgrade your vessel to handle tougher solo contracts. First player reaching 10 prestige claims victory.

Published 2020

Moonrakers

Get Ready

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

1
Distribute Command Terminals
Give each player a Command Terminal board
2
Create Action Decks
Each player shuffles a deck containing: 2 Damage 1 cards, 3 Reactor cards, 2 Shield cards, 2 Thruster cards, and 1 Miss card
3
Position Draw Pile
Each player places their shuffled Action Deck to the left of their Command Terminal
4
Set Up Armory Board
Place the Armory board accessible to all players
5
Prepare Ship Parts
Shuffle all Ship Part cards, place face down on the Armory, then draw 6 cards in two rows of 3
6
Prepare Crew Cards
Shuffle all Crew cards, place face down on the Armory, then draw 3 cards in 1 row
7
Distribute Starting Credits
Give each player 2 Credits on their Command Terminal, place remaining Credits in the Armory
8
Place Dispatch Board
Position the Dispatch board (or Navigation and Prestige boards if using Nomad expansion) across from the Armory
9
Set Up Contracts
Shuffle all Contracts, place face down on the Dispatch Board, draw 8 cards in 2 rows of 4
10
Deal Objective Cards
Shuffle Objectives, deal 3 to each player who secretly discards 1
11
Position Hazard Dice
Place near the Dispatch or Navigation board
12
Set Prestige Trackers
Place each player's Ship Token on the 0 space of the Prestige Tracker
13
Determine First Player
Each player rolls all 4 Hazard dice; whoever rolls the least Hazards goes first

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Draw Event Card (Nomad only)
Reveal a card from the Event Deck affecting all players
2
Choose Planning Option
Either Choose a Contract or Stay at Base
3
Select a Contract
Pick any face-up contract for potential Allies to see
4
Negotiate with Allies
Discuss rewards including Prestige, Credits, Bonus Cards, and Hazard Dice with potential teammates
5
Form Alliance
Agree on reward distribution; if no agreement after two contracts, solo a Contract or Stay at Base
6
Stay at Base Alternative
Draw 2 Objective cards (keep 1), collect 1 Credit, optionally replace a Contract, discard hand and draw 5
7
Roll Hazard Dice
Each participating player rolls dice equal to their agreed Hazard amount
8
Play Cards During Execution
Begin with 1 Action, play cards to fulfill Contract requirements
9
Determine Play Order
Mission Leader decides the order Allies play their cards
10
Complete Contract Requirements
Play cards matching or exceeding the icons shown on the Contract bottom
11
Collect Rewards
Upon success, players receive their negotiated rewards
12
Suffer Hazards
Subtract unblocked Hazard icons from Prestige (minimum 0 Prestige)
13
Discard All Cards
Both played and unplayed cards go to Discard Pile
14
Allies Draw New Hand
Allies draw 5 new cards immediately
15
Enter Buying Phase
Use Credits to purchase face-up Crew or Ship Parts from the Armory
16
Manage Ship Parts
Maximum 4 Ship Parts per player; if acquiring a fifth, remove one from the game
17
Draw New Hand
Draw 5 cards to form new Active Hand
18
Pass Mission Leader
Player to the left becomes the next Mission Leader

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Reach Prestige Goal
First player to have 10 Prestige (or 15 in variant) at the end of any player's turn wins
2
Earn Prestige from Contracts
Collect the Prestige reward value shown in the upper right corner of completed Contracts
3
Earn Prestige from Objectives
Reveal and claim Objective cards when conditions are met to gain listed Prestige
4
Break Ties
If two players reach 10 Prestige on the same turn, highest net worth wins
5
Become Moonrakers Leader
Winner becomes the new leader of the Moonrakers

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

MOONRAKERS – Regelerklärung und Review – Schicker Deck-Builder mit Space-Thema

MOONRAKERS – Regelerklärung und Review – Schicker Deck-Builder mit Space-Thema

Instructional

Moonrakers - A fun but polarizing game

Moonrakers - A fun but polarizing game

Review

MORE VIDEOS

FULL rules

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

PDF RULEBOOK

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