How to Play

The Search for Planet X

1-4 players 60-75 min 7.9 Board Game Geek Rating

Players become astronomers searching for the mysterious Planet X using an app-driven deduction system. Each round, scan sectors and attend conferences to gather clues about celestial object locations, marking discoveries on deduction sheets. Score points by publishing theories about object placements. Victory comes from successfully pinpointing Planet X's exact location first.

Published 2020

Get Ready

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

Select difficulty level

Choose one of two game difficulty levels (Standard or Expert)

Place the game board

Put the game board in the center of the table

Seat players by season

Players sit according to their assigned seasons and take their corresponding note sheets

Position the Sun

Place the Sun token in the center of the game board

Align the Earth

Position the Earth marker at sector 1 of the solar system

Distribute player materials

Each player takes a pencil and their note sheet

Set up screens

Each player takes a screen and places it in front of them

Distribute radar tokens

Give each player two radar tokens

Prepare research articles

Place 12 research article tokens nearby

Launch the app

Open the companion app to begin the game

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Determine turn order

The player furthest behind on the track takes their turn first

Perform one action

Choose exactly one of four available actions each turn:

Advance your telescope

After completing an action, move your telescope forward the required number of steps

Rotate the Earth

After moving your telescope, rotate the Earth marker to position one sector behind the last-place player

Winning

How to claim victory.

Trigger endgame

When a player correctly locates Planet X, the endgame begins

Advance the discoverer

The player who found Planet X moves their telescope 5 steps forward

Grant final opportunity

Players at least one sector behind the discoverer get one final chance to score

Attempt to locate Planet X

Players may attempt to locate Planet X based on how far behind they are

Verify all objects

Use the app to confirm all object types in the sky

Score remaining articles

Reveal all published articles, remove incorrect ones, and award points for correct ones

Calculate final scores

Total all points earned throughout the game

Determine the winner

The player with the highest score wins

Translators

Farrukh and Zulpiye*

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