Stellar Cartography is a two- to four-player competitive, roll/flip & write game.

It’s a new age in the universe: great civilizations have overcome the grip of their home worlds and have set out to explore and conquer the galaxy. In this new age, you are in charge of charting paths to new worlds, directing research and development, and planning your expansion.

In Stellar Cartography, you are one of 16 different, space-faring races mapping the skies and colonizing new worlds in order to establish the most control over the universe. Each player is the race's stellar cartographer -- the most influential person in that race. The player maps routes between planetary systems, commits others to journey to the planets, and directs the research and development of new technologies.

Earn the most Control by the end of the game. You can earn control by:

1. Colonizing planets
2. Controlling sectors of the universe.
3. Researching technologies
4. Exploring the galaxies
5. Contacting other races

Stellar Cartography is a flip, roll and write game. It's played over a series of rounds. During each round, players will take turns either using Space Meeples to take actions or to explore space. A round ends once all players have either moved or placed all of their available space meeples or passed.

TAKING ACTIONS

There are five core actions players can take:

• Chart a new planetary system.
• Place an available space meeple on one of their Home World or Colonized World.
• Move a space meeple along a charted path in their system
• Colonize a Planetary System.
• Connect Planetary Systems in their system

Players will write on the map when: charting new planetary systems, connecting planetary systems, and colonizing planetary systems.

Stellar Cartography is played on a shared map of the universe. During a "Chart" or "Connect" action, a player will draw directly onto the shared map.

Moving along charted paths

Using your available space meeples, you can send them through out your charted systems, including to other player's planets. The only rules:

1. Your space meeple must start on your home world or another colonized planet
2. Your space meeple can only follow your charted paths.

Charting a Planetary System

During the game, each round will have a set of Planetary Systems to chart. These options are reflected by the Exploration Cards in the deck. Each card has a "required" path shown on it. And, at the start of the round, each card will be assigned a "Sector Distance" and a "Resource" value.

To add a planetary system to the map, the player starts from any planet in their system and draws the required path up to the path distance -- if the required path is shorter than the path distance, the player chooses how to draw the remaining path -- and draws the planet into the map sector at the end of the path. Each sector has center dots to assist in the drawing.

In this example, the sector distance is 1 plus the d4 roll of 3, a total of 4. The player draws a path 4 sectors long following the required path and draws a circle for the planet. In the middle of the planet, the player writes 4, the "resource value" equal to the rolled d6.

There are rules to drawing paths:

1. They cannot cross or overlap other paths or other planets.
2. They must start at a planet in your planetary system.
3. They cannot enter impassible spaces: like spaces with blackholes and unstable star systems.

Connecting Planetary Systems to Enclose Space

The other primary way to draw on the map is to send a space meeple to establish a connection among planetary systems. On a turn, a player can move a space meeple up to two spaces in a straight line to enclose empty (no paths, planets or other markings) sectors. This makes these sectors impassible and scores controlling players more Control.

(note, the above action takes two rounds)

Colonizing new Planetary Systems

After sending your space meeples to new planetary systems, you can colonize them. Colonizing a Planetary System earns a player control as well as the Resource Value of the system. The player can then choose to spend the Resource Value on one of three tracks: Technology, Population or Power.

The Tracks

Reaching a marker on any of the three tracks garners the player a bonus: a new technology, another available space meeple, or more control.

Reaching a threshold along the Technology track earns you one of 18 unique technologies:

The Technologies

	Class	Technology	Effect
	Advanced Sciences	Exotic Thermodynamics	Once per round, you can use an "Exhausted" Space Meeple to perform another action.
	Advanced Sciences	Warp Gravitronics	When moving your Space Meeple, do not count sectors adjacent to planets, stars, or black holes.
	Advanced Sciences	Mass Particle Displacement	Move any of your available Space Meeples to any planets in your system.
	Advanced Sciences	Applied Casmir Effect	Chart a wormhole from an open sector to an open sector connected to an opponent. Each side must be within 1 Sector of a planet. The two sectors are treated as connected and adjacent.
	Advanced Sciences	Gravitron Manipulation	When charting a new planetary system, you may add or remove one sector from the required path.
	Advanced Sciences	Particle Scanning	Whenever space is enclosed, immediately earn 1 extra Control per captured sector that scores you Control. This effect applies regardless of who encloses the space.
	Exploration	Adaptive Colonization	You may add an available Space Meeple, or move a spent Space Meeple, to any planet on the outer edge of your system.
	Exploration	Core Mining	During a Colonize action, earn 2 extra Resources.
	Exploration	Solar Mining	When learned, immediately add 1 Resources for each planet in your system bordering a star. And, during subsequent Chart actions, earn 1 Resources for each planet charted adjacent to a star.
	Exploration	Adoptive Society	Connect up to two uncolonized planetary systems within 3 Sectors of a planet in your planetary system.
	Exploration	Blackhole Mining	When learned, immediately add 3 Resources for each planet in your system bordering a star. And, during subsequent Chart actions, earn 3 Resources for each planet charted adjacent to a star.
	Exploration	Interstellar Construction	Add a interstellar space station to your system up to two sectors away. It counts as a colonized planet. You will earn 1Resources for each planet directly connected to it. Other players will earn 2 Resources for each connection they make.
	Trade	Relativistic Economics	Take a White Space Meeple and place it on your Home World. At the start of each Round, you must move it along a charted path. Whenever the White Space Meeple encounters a unique, colonized planet, you and the colonizer will earn 2 Resources.
	Trade	Subspace Communication	Immediately establish a communication connection between one of your colonized planets and an uncolonized planet up to five sectors away. Use a dotted line. The path counts for connection, but not as a charted path. It may be crossed and overlapped.
	Trade	Universal Translation	For purposes of a Move action, treat all charted paths as if they're your own.
	Trade	Exotic Game Theory	Take or repeat any non-permanent technology of another player.
	Trade	Galactic Trade Center	Add an interstellar trade center to your system. You earn Resources for every connection. All other players who connect to the trade center earn Resources equal to the number of directly connected planets. For sectors surrounding the GTC, players can re-use already-drawn paths.
	Trade	Advanced Logistics	When Charting a new planetary system, you may re-use any already-drawn path of one sector.

About the Races

	Race	Special Power	About
	Sanner	When completing a Technology, the Sanner can look at one of the Technology decks and pick any of those Technologies.	The Sanner are visionaries and meticulous planners. They know how the world will advance before they "know" it.
	Stor'oil	The Stor'oil can move their {$M} from one Space Meeple to the next connected Space Meeple regardless of distance.	The Stor'oil are unmatched in their ability to cross interstellar space. A lucky, early technological break gave the Stor'oil unmatched ability to send their fleets to distant planetary systems.
	Cettuts	Cettuts earn 2 Resource whenever any other player learns a new Technology.	The Cettuts are a silica based lifeform that worship technological advancement anywhere in the universe.
	Onae	During Exploration, the Onae may place planets without drawing paths on the map. The Space Meeple must still be placed the required sector distance. Their {$M} can move through completely empty Sectors to Space Meeple they control. However, whenever placing new available {$M}s, they must start at their Home World.	The Orae are space pirates. Rampaging, pillaging. Not ones to be tied down to planned routes, Orae can travel through open space.
	Thirzo	When colonizing a Space Meeple, the Thirzo's gain 1 extra Resource for each Space Meeple directly connected to the colonized Space Meeple.	The Thirzo feel at one with the planets. Born from their home world's core, the Thirzo earn more resources the more connected their systems.
	Thraxid	At the start of the game, place one of the extra {$M}s in the first Planetary Exploration spot. During the game, the Thraxid can always claim the planetary system in this spot, if available. The Thraxid can use another available Space Meeple to claim a different Space Meeple.	The Thraxid have an unusual Thraxis-centric view of the world. They're focused on colonize the nearest planetary systems and devote much of their time to mapping that area of the universe.
	Sycarans	The Sycarans can drain all the energy from discovered planets. When Charting a new planetary system, the Sycarans may make the planet worth 0Resource and immediately take 2Control instead.	The Sycarans know no mercy. They see no use in colonizing the galaxy. They merely want to drain it for its value.
	Cedrik	If the Cedrik place a Space Meeple within two sectors of another Space Meeple in their system, they may immediately connect it (if possible).	The Cedrick build vast networks of planetary systems enabling fast travel and capturing vast swaths of the galaxy.
	Grahmat	Grahmat may reuse existing paths when charting new Space Meeple. The re-used sector paths count toward path requirements, but do not count toward the sector-distance requirements for the placed Space Meeple.	The Grahmat are efficient: they've figured a way to chart and reuse interstellar routes.
	Eisses	At the start of the game, place one unconnected Space Meeple with Resource Value 2 in any middle Sector. During the game, treat this just like a second Home World. At the end of the game, however, only score Space Meeple connected to your first Home World.
	Earthling	Once per Round, Earthlings can take one of their Actions out of turn. Play resumes with the player who the Earthlings interrupted.	It may seem unlikely that the Earthlings achieved interstellar travel, but they waited patiently, sleeping and took control when it was their time.
	Adi	During Colonization, the Adi roll a six-sided die and add half the value (rounding up) to the Resource gained.	The Adi are unique in the universe: a ferocious plant species that managed interstellar space. They're able to extract extra value from colonization when compared to others.
	Trengruns	When making a connection to another player's colonized planet, the Trengruns can immediately take the effect of any of that player's non-permanent Technologies.	For the Trengruns, espionage is a way of life. Connecting with other races' planetary systems brings immediate, technological rewards.
	Biedul	Once per round, the Biedul may establish a connection (not more than 2 sectors away) with another player's Space Meeple.	The Biedul are traders. They can quickly establish trading routes with neighboring races and capture large swaths of inter-galatic trade routes.
	Krilqex	The Krilqex draw extra Resource from the emptiness of space. At any time, they may use an available {$M} on a planet to gain 1Resource for every empty, unclaimed sectors bordering that planet in their system. Move the {$M} to "Exhausted".	The Krilgex can draw resources from the emptiness of space. Capturing planets and defending the emptiness is key to their survival.
	Esnell	Whenever Esnell colonize a Space Meeple adjacent to an opposing player's Space Meeple, the adjacent Space Meeple is destroyed (put an X through it). Esnell score Control equal to the Resource Value of the destroyed planet.	The evidence of the Esnell's rise is obvious: a path of destruction left throughout the universe. Whole planets destroyed for what? Control.

Learn to play!

Play the game now on Table Top Simulator: Steam Workshop :: Stellar Cartography

Special Acknowledgements

Certain planetary images: Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.