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HOW TO PLAY -
MARS 2020
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GAME RULES
MISSION OBJECTIVE
Choose a spaceship and sign on as your favorite crew member.
Then zoom around the orbital path from Earth to Mars. Repair
malfunctions (breakdowns) by answering questions on science and
technology. If all systems are "go" (your ship has no
malfunctions), be the first to land on Mars to win. It won't be
easy: Mars is a moving target, orbiting swiftly on its path!
Getting Ready to Play
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THE QUESTIONS:
Locate the Spaceport Repair Cards inside the Spaceport Repair Card
Box and place the appropriate card divider between each of the five
categories.
Primary Mission (science)
Technical (engineering)
Life Support (medical)
Propulsion (space flight)
General (all areas of science)
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LEVELS OF PLAY:
Before starting play, each player chooses to play either level 1
(easier) questions or level 2 (more difficult) questions according to
his or her knowledge of space science and technology. For a
greater challenge, players can choose to answer questions in short
answer format, without hearing the three multiple choices.
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CREW MEMBERS:
Locate the eight Crew Member Cards. There are two pilots
(propulsion specialists), two engineers (technical specialists), two
scientist (primary mission specialists), and two doctors (life support
specialists). Players each choose one crew member to portray
during the mission by selecting one of the Crew Member Cards. It
is helpful to place each selected Crew Member Card where it can be seen
throughout the game as a reminder of each player's specialty.
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MISSION CONTROL CARDS:
Locate and shuffle the Mission Control Cards. Place the deck
facedown on the game board.
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MARS:
Place Mars (the red colored marble) on any of the 11 red spaces
(with holes cut out) on the outer path.
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ORDER OF PLAY:
Each player chooses a Spaceship playing piece and puts it on Earth
near the center of the board. The youngest player goes first.
Play continues to his or her left. You're now ready for lift-off!
Basic Play of the Game
Players attempt to be the first to reach
Mars from Earth by racing counter-clockwise along the orbital path.
Rolling the dice prompts each move the white die controls the movement
of your spaceship, the red die controls the movement of Mars along the
outermost orbit. Along the way, players may encounter malfunctions
which can occur when the white die indicates that they draw a Mission
Control Card. Players with malfunctions must remain in their
current orbit (continuously looping around) until they can repair their
malfunction(s). One of the way to fix malfunctions is to land on a
Spaceport and correctly answer space-related questions from the
Spaceport Repair Cards. Once a player is malfunction-free, he or
she may travel freely to the next orbit at the asteroid "jump off"
space. as a strategy, players may stop at Spaceports and answer
questions even though they have no malfunctions. Players then save
the cards that were answered correctly and "bank" them for future use as
malfunctions occur. You win if "all systems are go" and you are
the first to land on Mars!
Rules for Playing
1. TO TAKE A TURN:
To zoom ahead, roll both dice. The red die controls the
movement of Mars; the white die controls the movement of your ship.
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RED DIE: A 1 or 2 roll means to
move Mars ahead in its orbit either one or two spaces. Always move
Mars first and your ship second.
"Boost X 2" means that Mars moves two spaces and your ship moves twice
as far as the number showing on the white die. For example, if the
white die shows 3, move your ship 6 spaces.
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WHITE DIE: A 1, 2, or 3 roll
tells how many spaces your ship can move. (Remember to move Mars
first.)
"Mission Control" means to move Mars as indicated on the red die
and to draw a Mission Control card instead of moving your ship (see rule
2). Even if you roll a "Boost X 2" on the red die and a "Mission
Control," you still can't move.
2. MISSION CONTROL CARDS:
Rolling "Mission Control" on the white die means that your Mission
Control team back on Earth has a message for you -- either good or bad.
Draw the top Mission Control card and read it aloud. A draw from
the Mission Control deck will present one of the following messages:
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SPACEPORT FREE PASS: Each
colored-coded orbital path on the board has a Spaceport. On your
current turn or on any future turn, use this card to zoom directly to
the Spaceport within your orbital path (or to either of the two
Spaceports if you are in Mars' orbital path). Directly after using
the Free Pass card, place it on the bottom of the Mission Control deck.
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BACK-UP FUEL SUPPLY: On your
current turn or on any future turn, use this card to take an extra turn.
After using the card, place it on the bottom of the Mission Control
deck.
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GRAVITY ASSIST: This card
allows you to advance to the next orbit. Place your spaceship on
the first space after the asteroid in the next orbit -- but only if you
have no malfunctions. If you do have malfunctions, move to the
Spaceport in your orbit instead. Answer a question that can fix
your malfunction(s). If you are in Mars' orbit, you can't advance
to a higher orbit buy you can move to the nearest Spaceport -- if you
want to.
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MALFUNCTION: Something is
wrong with your ship! You need to fix it because you can't leave
your current orbit if you have a malfunction. There are two ways
to fix a malfunction: by making an automatic repair or by using a
Spaceport Repair Card.
Automatic Repairs
If a malfunction is in your field of expertise (e.g., you're a
doctor and it's a Life Support Malfunction), you're in luck. You
can make an automatic repair. As soon as you get a malfunction,
simply put the Malfunction Card on the bottom of the Mission Control
deck and end your turn. Here are the four experts and the
automatic repairs that each one can make:
Pilot: Propulsion Repairs
Engineer: Technical Repairs
Scientist: Primary Mission Repairs
Doctor: Life Support Repairs
Using Spaceport Repair Cards To Fix
Malfunctions
What if the malfunction is not in your field of expertise? To
fix it, you need to get to a Spaceport and correctly answer a matching
Spaceport Repair Card question (e.g., a Life Support Repair Card fixes a
Life Support Malfunction) or a General Repair Card question, which can
fix all categories of malfunctions.
If you don't already have a matching
Spaceport Repair Card, you'll have to earn one. Keep the
Malfunction Card in front of you. On your next turn, try to travel
to the Spaceport in your current orbital path and earn a Spaceport
Repair Card. (See Rule 3.)
If you already have collected a usable
Spaceport Repair Card (because you chose to stop at a Spaceport and earn
a Repair Card before you had a malfunction), discard it and put the
Malfunction Card on the bottom of the Mission Control deck. Then
end your turn.
3. SPACEPORTS:
Each color-coded orbital path has a Spaceport. (The outer path
- the orbit of Mars - has two Spaceports.) On any Spaceport, you
can earn Spaceport Repair Cards by answering questions correctly.
How do you get to s Spaceport? There are four ways. 1) Land
on one with an exact roll. 2) Stop on a Spaceport and give up any
remaining moves on the white die. 3) Use a Spaceport Free Pass - a
bonus card in the Mission Control deck. (See Rule 2.) 4)
If you start your turn on a Spaceport, simply stay there instead of
rolling the white die. (You must still roll the red die and move
Mars.)
While in Mars' orbit, a player is not
required to travel tot the two Spaceports located outside the orbit.
If malfunctions occur, however, the player may want to detour to a
Spaceport for repairs unless an automatic repair (a malfunction within
the player's specialty) can be made or the player can use previously
earned Spaceport Repair Cards.
In any case, while you are on a Spaceport
(and whether or not you have a malfunction), you can use your turn to
earn a Spaceport Repair Card as follows:
- CHOOSE A CATEGORY. Four
repair categories match the four types of malfunctions. (Remember:
You don't need a Spaceport Repair Card for your field of expertise.
So pick one of the other categories.) A General Repair Card can
repair any and all of your current malfunctions. However, the
questions are harder. For example, if you have a Propulsion and a
Life Support malfunction, a correct answer to a General question will
repair both of them.
- ANSWER A QUESTION. The
player on your left (or a designated reader) draws a card in your chosen
category. He or she reads the easier level 1 or harder level 2
question. (See "Getting Ready to Player." page 1.) If your
answer is incorrect, the reader discards the card; your turn is over.
If your answer is correct, put the Spaceport Repair Card in front of
you.
Note: Many answers include an explanation in italic type inside
parenthesis. Don't read this part when stating the multiple
choices, unless you want to give hints.
- USE IT, SAVE IT, OR LOSE IT.
As soon as you earn a Spaceport Repair Card, you can use it right
away to repair a malfunction and then end your turn. Simply
discard the Spaceport Repair Card and put all matching Malfunction Cards
on the bottom of the Mission Control deck. For example, a
Propulsion Repair Card will fix all Propulsion Malfunctions. A
General Repair Card will fix all malfunctions of any kind.
If you don't have a matching malfunction,
keep your Spaceport Repair Card for a later turn. However, the
longer you keep a card, the greater the risk that another player will
take it from you (see rule 5).
4. ASTEROIDS:
The asteroids on the board are the dividing points between orbital
paths. Each path is a different color. When your spaceship
reaches an asteroid, check to see if you have any Malfunction Cards.
If you don't have any Malfunction Cards, your ship is "all systems go."
That means you can proceed on course to the next highest orbital path -
called an "orbital insertion maneuver" in space lingo.
If you have a malfunction, you must
loop back around and stay in the same orbital path. Your goal is
to reach the Spaceport in that path and earn a matching Spaceport Repair
Card as soon as possible (see rule 3).
5. DOCKING WITH OTHERS:
If you land on a space that is occupied by another spacecraft and is
not a Spaceport, you can "dock with" the other ship. This means
you can take any one of the player's cards. If the player has no
desirable cards, you're out of luck. Just shake hands and end your
turn.
6. LAND ON MARS - WIN THE GAME!:
When you reach the outer ellipse, you are in the orbital path of
Mars. If all systems are go (no malfunctions), you can attempt a
landing on Mars. It's not easy! Mars is always in motion.
But luckily, you don't need an exact roll. You just need enough
moves to reach Mars.
Another way to win is to let Mars catch up
with you. In this case, Mars must "land on" you with an exact roll
of the red die. This could happen on your turn or on someone
else's turn.
If you get a malfunction while in the
outer orbit, you must repair the problem as usual before you can attempt
a landing. If you need a Spaceport Repair Card, take a detour to
one of the two Spaceports. Since these Spaceports are not on Mars'
orbital path, you'll have to make your repair and return to Mars'
orbital path in order to win. If you have no malfunctions, it is
not necessary to travel to the Spaceports unless you choose to stockpile
Spaceport Repair Cards.
Strategy Tips
TAKE A CHANCE:
Some players may choose to
speed ahead, using all the moves on the white die to take the lead
instead of stopping on Spaceports to collect Spaceport Repair Cards.
This is a risky strategy because malfunctions can happen at any time.
But with a little luck, players may get close to Mars before
encountering too many malfunctions. The more confident you are
that you can repair malfunctions by answering questions correctly, the
more risk you can afford to take.
PLAY IT SAFE:
A safer but slower strategy is to go to a Spaceport early in the
game and stockpile Spaceport Repair Cards. You can save up any
number of Spaceport Repair Cards to use against future malfunctions.
Remember, however, that other players can steal unused cards by docking
with you (landing on your space). Also, you only earn Spaceport
Repair Cards if you answer question correctly. Answering
incorrectly is like losing a turn.
TIME YOUR LANDING:
If Mars is far away when you reach the outer orbit, you can hang out
at a Spaceport and wait for Mars to catch up to you. Answer
questions and stockpile Spaceport Repair Cards while you are on the
Spaceport. Then zoom back onto the orbital path when Mars draws
near.
Game Variations
EASIER AND FASTER (NO QUESTIONS):
Non-readers or those looking
for a fast game can zoom from Earth to Mars without answering questions.
You won't need the box of Spaceport Repair Cards, but you do need the
shuffled deck of Mission Control Cards.
To begin, each player chooses a Crew
Member Card and places his or her ship on Earth as usual. (See
"Getting Ready to Play," page 1.) To begin each turn, roll both
dice and move Mars (red die) and your ship (white die).
"Mission Control" on the white die means
to draw a Mission Control Card instead of moving your ship. (Move
Mars as usual.) If you draw a Malfunction Card in your area of
expertise (e.g., you draw a Malfunction Card and your Crew Member Card
says you are a doctor), make an automatic repair. Simply put the
Malfunction Card on the bottom of the Mission Control deck and end your
turn.
To fix any other malfunction, you have to
get to a Spaceport. On your next turn(s), roll the dice and try to
get to the Spaceport in your orbital path. As soon as you're on
the Spaceport, discard any and all Malfunction Cards and end your turn.
Once all systems are go (you have no
malfunctions), roll the dice and zoom off the Spaceport on your next
turn. You might roll a "Mission Control" while on a Spaceport.
If you then draw a Malfunction Card, simply discard the card and wait
for your next turn.
To win, land on Mars or allow Mars to land
on you as usual.
CHALLENGE QUESTION:
Once you land on Mars, you must answer a question in your field of
expertise in order to win the game. If you answer incorrectly, go
to either Spaceport in the outer orbit and attempt another landing on a
future turn.
LONGER GAME:
For a longer game, players must land on Mars and then race back to
Earth! As soon as you land on Mars, go back to the nearest
asteroid. Then move backwards along the game track. All
other rules still apply. You can't move down to an orbital path
closer to Earth unless all systems are go.
EXTRA STRATEGY:
If you dock with another player, you can either take a Spaceport
Repair Card or send the player back to the nearest asteroid.
Players can willingly trade cards at any time. The actual trades
are up to the players.
COOPERATIVE PLAY:
The goal is for all spaceships to land safely on Mars before Mars
lands on you!
Whenever you dock with (land directly on)
another player who is not on a Spaceport, you join spaceships.
Two, three, or all four players can join together in this way.
Each player still takes a turn, but
players move their joined spaceships together on the board. Both
(or all) ships must be "all systems go" before moving up to the next
orbital path. Players can use their Spaceport Repair Cards (or
their areas of expertise) to repair either ship. For example, a
doctor and a pilot can repair any Life support or Propulsion
Malfunctions that happen to either joined ship. Both players
answer questions together.
If Mars lands on any ship during the game,
everyone loses.
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