Basic Game Rules

Battlespace Sirius Logo

(2 Players — No Lifeboats)

SETUP

Select your Ship. Remove the Lifeboat cards and set them aside (Lifeboats are used in the Advanced Game). Choose a Ship card (the Ship cards display different colored Ships, but they are functionally identical).

Place Power Clips. Use the 4 color-coded Power Clips matching your Ship’s color. Place one Power Clip on the “6” position of each side of your Ship.

Set Priority. Roll 2d6 (2 6-sided dice). The highest total has Priority and moves first. Re-roll ties.

Place Ships. Place the Ships parallel to each other in the center of the play area.

Image of 2 Ship Cards (Green and Red), Side by Side in starting position, with Power Clips affixed at the 6 Power position on each side: Bow, Port, Stern, and Starboard

PLAY

Play proceeds in Player Turns. The Priority Player moves first, following the Turn Sequence. Then the next Player, until a Ship is destroyed.

Turn Sequence Summary

Your turn has four steps (as described more fully below):

1. 1. Maneuver Your Ship may change position or orientation.
  2. Lock Targets Your Ship locks its weapons on your opponent’s vessel.
  3. Enemy Reaction Your opponent may take limited preemptive action before you shoot.
  4. Fire Your Weapons deliver damage to your opponent’s vessel.

ABOUT YOUR SHIP

Your Ship is represented by a card in play during the game. It’s your primary interstellar vessel. It has 4 Ship Sides—Bow, Port, Stern, and Starboard (i.e., front, left, rear, and right, respectively).

Each Side has its own Power, Shields, and Weapons. (Your Ship has all sorts of other awesome features—state-of-the-art food and drug synthesizers, an amazing Relativity Drive, virtual reality stations with a comprehensive library of every entertainment humans ever devised, and engaging AI elements, to name just a few. But for game play, what matters are the Power, Shields, and Weapons on each Side of your Ship.)

Power. The Power on each Ship Side is tracked by its Power Clip. Power never exceeds a value of 6. Power decreases voluntarily when you perform certain actions that use Power. Power decreases involuntarily when the Side is hit with a Weapon. Power can increase through Repairs on rolls of doubles, triples, etc.

Shields. The Shield value of each Ship Side is equal to the Side’s Power value. Opponents firing against a Shielded Side (i.e., a Side that has at least 1 Power) must match or beat your Side’s Shield value to score a hit. Shields prevent destruction. A Ship can only be destroyed if an opponent fires at a Side that has no Shield.

Weapons. Each Ship Side can fire up to 4 Weapons. 1 Weapon fired uses no Power. But each additional Weapon fired per Side uses Power.

Illustration of Emerald Ship, showing varying Power settings on different sides, as it might appear later in a game.

1. MANEUVER

You may change your Ship’s relative tactical profile. During Maneuver you may do one of the following: Rotate, Position, Rotate & Position, OR Stay Put (i.e., choose not to maneuver).

- - - Rotate (no Power requirement)
      Your Ship rotates in place 90°, 180°, or 270°

Image of Emerald and Red Ships, demonstrating Green's 90 degree clockwise rotation.

- - - Position (no Power requirement)
      Your Ship shifts to a different location relative to your opponent
      Your Ship’s orientation remains the same

Illustration of parallel Red and Green Ships, showing the "Position" destinations for the Red Ship, in front of, behind, to the other side of, or in a corner quadrant of, the Emerald Ship

- - - Rotate & Position (requires 1 Power from any Side of your Ship)
      Your Ship shifts to a different location relative to your opponent
      It also rotates orientation

Illustration of Emerald Ship moving from Red's Port Side to Red's Bow/Starboard Corner, rotating 90 degrees clockwise, and moving a Power Clip down 1.

2. LOCK TARGETS

If you are in Square Position (not diagonal), you Lock Target on your opponent’s Facing Side.

If you are in Corner Position, you choose whether to Lock Target on one or two Facing Sides. (During the Fire step you will determine how many Weapons to use against each Facing Side.)

2 illustrations: Parallel, oppositely-oriented Ships, Red's starboard locking target against Emerald's starboard, and in Corner Position, Red Stern facing Emerald Port, and Red Starboard facing Emerald Bow

3. ENEMY REACTION

Enemy Reaction is the portion of your turn during which your opponent may take action before your Weapons fire. Your opponent may do one of the following:

Rotate 90° (clockwise or counterclockwise),
Rotate 180°,
Give Sentry Fire, or
Nothing.

- - - Rotate 90° (±)
      Your opponent’s Ship uses 1 Power from any Ship Side your opponent chooses
    - Rotate 180°
      Your opponent’s Ship uses 2 Power from any Ship Side(s) your opponent chooses
      [Note: Once Rotated, any Ship Side that is a Locked Target is adjusted to the Ship Side now in that position.]
    - Give Sentry Fire
      Your opponent may take a preemptive shot from any Target Locked Ship Side against your targeting Side before you Fire, provided it has enough Power:
      - If the vessels are in Square Position, Sentry Fire uses 1 Power from the Target Locked Side
        
        If the vessels are in Corner Position and only 1 Side is Target Locked, Sentry Fire from that locked Side does not require Power
        
        If the vessels are in Corner Position and 2 Sides are Target Locked, your opponent may give Sentry Fire from (a) one targeted Side requiring no Power, OR (b) both targeted Sides, requiring 1 Power from the targeted Side of your opponent’s choice

If you have no Shield on a Ship Side receiving Sentry Fire, your Ship is destroyed (see Winning and Losing)
Otherwise, your opponent rolls 1d6 against each Ship Side receiving Sentry Fire – For each roll, if it is ≥ your Side’s Shield value, you lose 1 Power on that Side (slide the Power Clip down 1; or remove it if Power is reduced to 0)

Illustration of parallel Ships, oppositely-oriented, Red Starboard locking target on Emerald's Starboard, and Emerald's Starboard giving Sentry Fire against Red's Starboard

4. Fire!

For each of your Ship Sides that have a Locked Target, you may fire up to 4 Weapons with the following Power requirement per firing Side:

- - - - 1 Weapon: 0 Power
        
        2 Weapons: 1 Power
        
        3 Weapons: 2 Power
        
        4 Weapons: 3 Power

For each Locked Target, in the order of your choice, do the following:

ØIf the Locked Target is a Ship Side that has no Shield, the Ship is destroyed (see Winning and Losing), otherwise:

- - - Announce the number of Weapons you will fire at the Locked Target
    - Roll a number of d6 equal to the number of Weapons you fire
      If rolling more than 1d6, see Repairs (below) for doubles, triples, etc.
      (You can roll them separately, but they count as if all rolled together—they roll against the Shield value at the time of your first roll)
    - For each d6 ≥ the Locked Target’s Shield value the targeted Ship Side loses 1 Power (your opponent moves or removes the corresponding Power Clip).
      [Note: Against a Shielded Side, you are only striking the Shield. If your hit exceeds the Shield, the extra does not hit the Ship. You must fire upon an unshielded Side to destroy a Ship.]

REPAIRS

On any roll of more than 1d6:

- - - A roll of doubles (2 dice with the same number) replenishes
      1 Power to any Side the rolling Player selects
    - Triples replenishes 2 Power anywhere on the Ship
    - Quadruples replenishes 3 Power
    - Repairs can’t replenish a Side to more than 6 Power

WINNING AND LOSING

You win the game if your opponent’s Ship is destroyed. You will reach Earth and turn the tide of battle. If, on the other hand, your Ship is destroyed, your opponent wins. The tide of battle will turn—but in the wrong direction.

The game is a draw if neither Ship is willing or able to Fire. There will be no turning of the tide…

For the Advanced Game Rules CLICK HERE.