SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence rules – how to play and how to score

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence quick rules

The goal

Each player runs a space agency searching for traces of extraterrestrial life. Two alien species are hidden under their boards, and you all discover them together over the course of the game. The game lasts five rounds, and the most victory points wins.

Your turn

On your turn, you take exactly one main action, and as many free actions as you like, before, during or after it. Play goes clockwise until everyone has passed; a player who has passed sits out the rest of the round.

Your resources and cards

You have credits, energy, cards and publicity from 0 to 10. Each card is used in only one way: played for its effect by paying its cost, discarded for the bonus in its top left corner, or tucked under your starting income card, which gives you its resource right away and again every round.

Probes

Launching a probe costs 2 credits; you can only have one at a time in the solar system. Each energy moves it one space, and leaving an asteroid space costs one extra move. At a planet, you orbit for 1 credit and 1 energy, or land for 3 energy, the best way to find yellow life traces.

Scanning nearby stars

For 1 credit and 2 energy, you mark a signal in Earth’s sector, then one in a sector matching the color of a card you discard from the card row. Each signal replaces a data token at the nearby star with your marker. When the last data is gone, the majority wins the sector and its reward; on a tie, the last marker placed wins.

Data

Your data goes into your data pool, six at most. You move it into your computer as a free action, and some spaces give a bonus. Once the top row is full, for 1 energy, you analyze data, clear your computer and mark a blue life trace.

Life traces and alien species

Yellow traces from landers, purple from sectors won, blue from analysis: each discovery space below a species scores 5 points and 1 publicity. Once all three spaces of a species are filled, it is discovered: read its rule sheet, and it brings new cards and new points.

Technologies

Researching a tech costs 6 publicity. First rotate the solar system, then take a tech you don’t own yet, with its bonus, and 2 points if you are first on its stack. Probe techs for probes, telescope techs for scanning, computer techs for your computer.

Passing and the end of a round

Passing is a main action: you keep 4 cards at most, the first player to pass rotates the solar system, then you choose an end-of-round card. When everyone has passed, each player collects income and the starting player marker goes left.

Milestones

At the end of the turn your score counter reaches 25, 50 then 70 points, you mark a gold scoring tile: the first to arrive takes the best value, never the same tile twice. With fewer than 4 players, the neutral milestones at 20 and 30 points bring a species’ discovery closer.

End of the game

After the fifth round, you keep the points on the scoring track, then add your end-of-game scoring cards with gold boxes and the gold scoring tiles. Some species add a scoring step. The highest total wins; ties are shared.

Beginner traps

Forgetting to rotate the solar system before a tech, or when you are the first to pass. Gaining data with a full data pool: the extra is lost. Taking a free action on someone else’s turn: never allowed.

With Space Agencies

The expansion adds cards, signal tokens and three species. A signal token is discarded during a scan action to discard one more card from the card row and mark its signal. With organizations, each player takes an organization with unique powers instead of their starting income card, and the game lasts four rounds.

How to score SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Scoring track

The space of your score counter at the end of round 5: everything you scored during the game, plus your 100/200-point token if you passed 100.

End-of-game scoring cards

The points from the end-of-game scoring cards you played, the ones with gold boxes.

Gold scoring tiles

For each tile with your marker: the value under your marker, once for every set you made.

Exertian cards and danger

If the Exertians were discovered: the points from the Exertian cards whose condition you meet; then the player with the most danger loses 10% of their total, rounded down, after all other points.

Glyph tokens (Space Agencies)

If the Glyphids were discovered: for each set of different unplaced glyph tokens, 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15 or 20 points for 1 to 7 tokens.

Worked example

Emma finishes on 112 on the scoring track. Her end-of-game scoring cards are worth 14 points. On her gold scoring tiles: 3 tech sets at 3 points, 4 completed missions at 2 points and 2 life trace sets at 3 points, so 9 + 8 + 6 = 23. Total: 112 + 14 + 23 = 149 points.

Common mistakes

• Counting again points already on the track: life traces, planets and techs are already there.
• Counting the resources printed on the starting income card for a gold scoring tile: only tucked cards count.
• Forgetting that an end-of-game scoring card worth 0 points still counts toward pairs on the mission tile.
• Applying the Exertian danger before everything else is counted: the 10% is taken from the final total.

How to set up SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Setup takes about 15 minutes. Neutral milestones depend on the number of players; the solo game has its own phase, at the end.