Star Realms rules: how to play and how to win

Star Realms quick rules

The goal

Each player starts with 50 Authority. You play cards to gain Trade, which buys new cards, and Combat, which attacks your opponent. The first to reduce their opponent’s Authority to zero wins.

Your starting deck

Your Personal Deck has 8 Scouts, which give Trade, and 2 Vipers, which give Combat. In the middle, the Trade Row always shows 5 cards, next to a pile of Explorers. The first player draws only 3 cards for their first turn, the other player 5.

A turn

In your Main Phase, you play your cards for free, use their abilities, acquire cards and attack, in any order. In your Discard Phase, unspent Trade and Combat are lost, and your Ships and hand go to your Discard Pile. In your Draw Phase, you draw 5 cards; an empty deck is reshuffled from your Discard Pile.

Ships and Bases

A Ship acts as soon as it is played, then goes to your Discard Pile at the end of the turn. A Base stays in play from turn to turn; to destroy it, you must deal as much Combat as its Defense in a single turn.

Acquiring cards

You spend Trade equal to the cost of a Trade Row card or an Explorer. The acquired card goes to your Discard Pile, not your hand, and the Trade Row refills right away.

Attacking

Your Combat lowers your opponent’s Authority by the same amount, or destroys their Bases. While they have an Outpost in play, you can neither attack them nor touch their other Bases: destroy their Outposts first.

Ally and Scrap

An Ally Ability triggers as soon as you have another card of the same faction in play: Blob, Trade Federation, Star Empire or Machine Cult. A Scrap Ability sends the card to the Scrap Heap for good, in exchange for its effect. Each ability can be used once per turn.

Game end

A player whose Authority drops to zero or below loses. Authority can also climb above 50. There is no final scoring: there is a winner.

Beginner pitfalls

A card you acquire isn’t played this turn. Nothing carries over between turns: spend your Trade and Combat. Damage on a Base is removed at the end of the turn. And scrap your Scouts and Vipers when you can.

Multiplayer

Everyone needs a starting deck: a Core Set or Colony Wars provides two, Frontiers four. In Free-For-All, you attack whoever you like; in Hunter, only the player on your left. Hydra and Emperor are team formats, and Raid pits one Boss against everyone else.

Solo and cooperative

Frontiers contains 8 Challenge Cards to face a Boss alone or as a team, on four levels, from Beginner to Expert. Once per game, a player may refresh the whole Trade Row.

How to win Star Realms

No points

There are no points in Star Realms: everyone starts at 50 Authority, tracked on the Authority cards.

Attacking

Each point of Combat removes one Authority from an opponent with no Outpost. A Base is destroyed if it takes as much Combat as its Defense in a single turn.

Victory

A player at zero Authority is defeated. With 2 players, the other wins; with more, the last one alive, except in Hunter First Blood, where the player to the right of the first defeated player wins.

What Ludingo records

The winner, and for the record the game format and everyone’s remaining Authority.

Example ending

Jake has 7 Authority and an Outpost with Defense 5. Emma has 11 Combat this turn: she spends 5 to destroy the Outpost, then the other 6 on Jake, who drops to 7 − 6 = 1. Next turn, a single point of Combat will do.

Common mistakes

• Attacking a player with an Outpost in play: you must destroy all their Outposts first.
• Saving Combat or Trade for next turn: whatever isn’t spent is lost.
• Leaving damage on a Base from one turn to the next: you must destroy it in a single turn.
• Thinking Authority is capped at 50: it can go higher.

How to set up Star Realms

Setup takes two minutes. For three or more players, choose the format first. The first player is chosen at random.