Tabletop Simulator

Tabletop Simulator

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Starbase Jeff
   
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Game Category: Card Games, Strategy Games
Tags: 4+
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151.717 KB
30 Nov, 2014 @ 12:22pm
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Starbase Jeff

Description
Starbase Jeff is a space building game: one part puzzle game, one part gambling game. Players have their own decks of 20 starbase elements. On each round, each player picks one card (in secret) to add to the station. Connectors cost money to build, and end caps pay money back, but if you try to build the same piece as another player, both pieces are delayed.

Money flows in and out of the pot throughout the game, and the player who caps off the last open end will take that pot.

There are alternate advanced rules that let you gain bonus powers by assembling specific piece combinations. But you'll learn all about them in the rulebook!

The Object:
To make the most money. Each round takes about twenty minutes, and you can play as many rounds as you like.

Before the Game:
Each player takes a deck. The cards in each deck are the same, and include:
End Caps: 3x Rec., 2x Doc., 3x Comm.
Extensions: 3x Factory, 4x Laboratory.
Junctions: 2x Habitat
Hubs: 1x Power Station
Bombs: 2x Sabotage
Players start with money, as much as they like. There is also a “Pot,” a central pool of money which starts empty. If you aren’t playing for real money, start everyone with 50 credits. If a player runs out of money, the game ends immediately and the player with the most money wins. Otherwise, play for as long as you like. Finishing the game with more money than you started with is an honorable goal.

To Start the Round:
Each player takes his own deck (all the cards in one color) and shuffles it thoroughly. Then each player draws a hand of five cards from his deck.

On Each Turn:
To begin the turn, each player puts one card from his hand face down on the table, and then draws another card to replace it. After everyone has laid down a card, they are revealed together. The cards will now be built (“played”) into the Space Station in order of rank. “Rank” is the white number in the black circle; build the higher numbers first. If two or more cards of the same rank are revealed on one round, those cards are deferred, and will be held back until a later round. (See below.)

Building the Station:
Cards are built into a grid pattern, in any orientation, with open ends attaching to other open ends just like you would expect. The first card of the station must be played in the middle of the table. After the first piece is built, new cards must be attached to open ends of the station; they cannot be played in empty space. Furthermore, you may not play a card which does not link properly to all the cards it touches. The building area is theoretically infinite, but you should probably restrict it to the tabletop just to keep your life easy.

Building Fees:
When you build a card, you must pay a building fee to the Pot. The fee for each card is printed in the upper left hand corner. For example, when you build a Habitat card, you must pay 2 to the Pot. End caps are an exception, and actually allow you to collect money from the pot. When you build an End Cap (Recreation, Docking, Communication), you withdraw one credit from the pot, if there is any money to be had. It the pot is empty, you’re out of luck; you won’t be able to collect it later.

Connection Fees:
You may also be forced to pay a connection fee when you build a new piece. Unless you build next to a piece of your own color, you will pay one credit to every player who stands between your new piece and your nearest existing piece, for every card along the way. You never pay a connec- tion fee when you play your first piece, because you have nothing on the board to connect to. Example: Green builds a Factory. He does not build next to another Green piece, but instead connects to his existing pieces via a trail of Yellow and Blue pieces. There are two Yellow cards and one Blue card along the route, so Green pays a Building Fee of 1 credit to the Pot (for the Factory card), plus a connection fee of 2 credits to Yellow, and 1 to Blue.

Multiple Paths: You may choose any connection route between your new piece and your existing pieces, even a longer one then necessary, if you would rather pay your fee to a particular opponent.

Deferred Parts: Frequently, more than one player will play cards of the same rank. These cards will not be built right away, but instead get “deferred.” Put these cards aside, leaving them face up in front of you, until you play an unmatched card on a subsequent round. You will then play all of your tabled cards at the same time, determined by the rank of the new card. When you come back in, you can play your deferred cards and your new card in any order.

The Sabotage Card:
When you play a Sabotage, you must destroy one piece of the station, with one exception: you can’t remove a card which would break the station into two unconnected pieces. The card you destroy with your Sabotage goes out of play, as does the Sabotage card. Sabotage has a rank, like any other card. If your Sabotage is deferred, because someone else also played a Sabotage, put the card aside like any other deferred piece, and play it when you are
allowed to build again

Unplayable Cards:
If you play a Sabotage card when there is no legal target (i.e., the board is clear), the Sabotage card is simply discarded with no effect. If any other card is unbuildable at the time when you are required to build it (i.e., there is no open end of the station where the piece will legally fit) then the card is set aside as if it were deferred.

Winning:
The game ends as soon as someone closes off the Station. This can happen as early as the first round. The player who closes the Station will take the Pot, after the cleanup, described below. Rarely, the Station will never close. The game continues until every player draws the last card from their deck. If the station is not closed at the end of that turn, the game ends and the remainder of the pot is divided evenly among all players, after any necessary cleanup. If the pot doesn’t divide evenly, leave the remainder for the next game.

Cleanup:
Before the winner takes the pot, each player must pay one credit to the pot for each unbuilt card he has on the table. Deferred cards, other tabled cards, and new cards not yet built on this round, count as unbuilt. Cards which are still in your hand and deck do not. After everyone has paid for his unbuilt cards, the pot can be collected, and the game is over.

Advanced Rules:
Stop reading here if you are new to Starbase Jeff. We have included a set of advanced game rules which you only need to learn if you’re looking for more complexity in the game.

The “Capsules”:
Around the edges of the cards, you’ll see a few halves of symbols. These symbols are called “capsules,” and completing them can give you special bonuses in the advanced game. If you aren’t playing the advanced rules, just ignore the capsules.

How to Play:
Everything in the basic game also applies here, so you should be sure everyone is aware that they are playing by the advanced rules. When you complete a capsule, as shown in the example below, you gain a special power, which goes into effect right away. Both cards must be your own color; it doesn’t help to finish a capsule
on another player’s card.
Torus (Cash): When you play End Caps, take two Credits instead of one.
Cube (Labor): You may play two pieces each turn, but you still draw only one card. This means that your hand will shrink by one card each time you use this power. If either of your pieces is deferred, they both are.
Sphere (Graft): When players connect through you, they pay the building cost of each card, not just 1 credit, in connection fees.
Diamond (Muscle): You may choose to win or lose deferral ties, with anyone who does not also have this Capsule. In other words, if you play a piece which is deferred, you may choose to let it be deferred, or play it either before or after the other matching piece.
1 Comments
TyreForHyre  [author] 30 Nov, 2014 @ 12:53pm 
Thanks for taking the time to give this awesome game a shot and I would appriciate any feedback.
If you enjoyed this port please remember to give it a thumbs up as it helps visibility, and if you had issues with it please let me know here and I'll work to fix em asap.

The full rulecard and tiles for your own print and play version are located here: http://cheapass.com/freegames/jeff