Table of Contents Welcome...............................................................1 Preparing for Play................................................1 Game Equipment.................................................1 Playing the Game.................................................1 Resolving SovietMoon Cards...............................2 History Cards and US Milestones........................2 Locked and Unlocked Level Thresholds...............3 Completing Multiple Missions............................3 Winning the Game...............................................3 Decreasing the Difficulty of the Game................3 The History Behind the Cards.............................3
Welcome
deck at least seven times to fully randomize the cards. This becomes the draw pile. Turn the top card over, this becomes the discard pile.
Welcome to SovietMoon™, an exciting and challenging expansion for Tranquility Base that creates a true US vs. Soviet Space Race! For 1 to 4 players, ages 10 to adult.
4. Continue with the last Game Setup step as directed in the Tranquility Base game manual. 5. After determining the Start Player, give that player the SovietMoon Start Player marker. You are now ready to play the game!
SovietMoon uses the unique History In Action Game AI System to pit the US players against the Soviets as each try to achieve the first manned lunar landing. The game can be considered semi-cooperative but it is still a race to be the first player to land on the moon.
All rules for the 1-Player Solo Simulation Game remain the same except you are now racing against the Soviets instead of a countdown timer.
The AI System provides an opponent that is challenging and difficult to beat. Players may find opportunities to cooperate for overall success, but superior game-play and completion of multiple missions in a single turn will benefit players the most.
Game Equipment • • • • • • •
Preparing for Play Follow the five steps below to setup Tranquility Base and SovietMoon for play. All other rules for Tranquility Base are followed except the placement of US Milestone markers (see History Cards and US Milestones on the next page). 1. Place the Soviet Lunar Track gameboard next to the Tranquility Base gameboard.
1 Game Manual 1 Soviet Lunar Track 12 SovietMoon playing cards 5 Soviet Milestone markers 5 Locked and Unlocked Level markers 1 SovietMoon Start Player marker 1 Soviet LK Lunar Lander
Playing the Game
2. Place the Soviet LK Lunar Lander on the Start space on the Soviet Lunar Track. The path that the LK Lander moves on to reach the moon is the LK Lunar Path.
If a SovietMoon card comes up as the top card of the discard pile during game setup, or if a SovietMoon card is drawn by a player at anytime during the game, it must be shown and resolved immediately following the three steps for Resolving SovietMoon Cards on the next page.
3. Follow the Game Setup steps in the Tranquility Base game manual. After the step “Deal Each Player Eight Cards Face-down,” shuffle the 12 SovietMoon cards into the remaining deck thoroughly. Shuffle the
1
Play then proceeds with the Start Player taking the first turn. After the first complete round of turns, the Start Player moves the LK Lander up one space on the LK Lunar Path at the beginning of their second turn.
card and repeats the process if necessary until a card is drawn that is not a SovietMoon card. Because SovietMoon cards are always shown and resolved immediately, a SovietMoon card should never be in a player’s hand. Also, because SovietMoon cards are either removed from the game or placed on the bottom of the discard pile, a SovietMoon card should never be the top card of the discard pile at the start of a player’s turn.
From that point forward and for the rest of the game, the Start Player moves the LK Lander up one space on the LK Lunar Path at the beginning of their turn. This must be done before performing any other actions. When the bottom of the draw pile is reached, keep the top card of the discard pile in place and reshuffle the discard pile to make a new draw pile.
HISTORY CARDS AND US MILESTONES History cards are played the same as stated in the Tranquility Base game manual with the exception that US Milestone markers are placed on the Soviet Lunar Track instead of on the Tranquility Base gameboard. Remember, when a History card is played that has a US Milestone, it is removed from play for the rest of the game.
RESOLVING SOVIETMOON CARDS 1. Move the LK Lander playing piece up or down the LK Lunar Path the number of spaces indicated on the card except where prevented by locked levels or lack of spaces at the bottom of the LK Lunar Path.
1. When a History card is played that states “Place Milestone,” put the US Milestone marker on the corresponding space on the Soviet Lunar Track.
2. If the card states “Place Milestone,” place the Soviet Milestone marker on the corresponding space on the Soviet Lunar Track gameboard. The card is then removed from play for the rest the game. If the corresponding US Milestone marker for that level is not in place, put a Locked Level marker in place for that level.
2. If the Soviet Milestone marker for that level is not already in place, put an Unlocked Level marker in place for that level. 3. If the Soviet Milestone marker has already been put on the board for that level, an Unlocked Level marker cannot be put on the board (because a Locked Level marker should already be in place).
3. If the card does not state “Place Milestone,” place the card on the bottom of the discard pile face-up. Another card is then drawn and the process repeated until a card is drawn that is not a SovietMoon card.
In other words, if a US Milestone marker is placed on a level first, put an Unlocked Level marker on the board for that level. If a Soviet Milestone marker is placed on a level first, put a Locked Level marker on the board for that level. Once a Locked or Unlocked Level marker has been put on the board, it cannot be changed or removed.
For example; if a player is drawing six cards to refill their hand and on the forth card they draw a SovietMoon card, they must immediately show the card and resolve its game effect. The player then draws another card for their fourth
2
Winning the Game
LOCKED AND UNLOCKED LEVEL THRESHOLDS When a Locked Level marker is in place, it benefits the Soviets by preventing the LK Lander from being moved down the LK Lunar Path below that threshold for the rest of the game.
If a US player completes all of their required missions and lands on the moon before the Soviet LK Lander reaches the moon, that player wins the game and the US wins the Space Race! If the LK Lander reaches the moon first, the Soviets land on the moon and win the Space Race!
When an Unlocked Level marker is in place, it benefits the US players by allowing them to be able to move the LK Lander down the LK Lunar Path below that threshold for the rest of the game.
Players may still compete to be the first US player on the moon, but the Soviets have stunned the world once again by being the first to plant their flag on the lunar surface.
The LK Lander can always pass through the threshold of a locked level if it is moving up the LK Lunar Path. Once the LK Lander passes above a level that is locked, it can never be moved back down the LK Lunar Path below that threshold for the rest of the game.
DECREASING THE DIFFICULTY OF THE GAME To decrease the difficulty of the game, remove the Luna 3 card. For the easiest game, remove the Voskhod 1 card also.
For example; if the LK Lander is on the space above a locked threshold and a US player draws a SovietMoon card that says “-2 on the Soviet Lunar Track,” the card is resolved without moving the LK Lander. If the LK lander is two spaces above a locked threshold, it is moved down one space and must stop at the space above the locked threshold.
The History Behind the Cards Sputnik 1 World’s First Satellite On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the world with the launch of the first satellite Sputnik 1. The 23-inch (58cm) diameter satellite completed 1,440 orbits and travelled approximately 43 million miles (70 million km) before burning up during reentry on Jan. 4, 1958. Its success marked the beginning of the Space Race and the Soviet Union’s dominant lead in it.
The LK Lander can always be moved down the LK Lunar Path through unlocked level thresholds. COMPLETING MULTIPLE MISSIONS Whenever a player completes more than one mission in a single turn, they can move the Soviet LK lander down one space on the Soviet Lunar Track for each additional mission completed except where prevented by locked levels or lack of spaces at the bottom of the LK Lunar Path.
Luna 3 1st Photos of Far Side of Moon Launched Oct. 4, 1959, Luna 3 became the first spacecraft to photograph the far side of the moon. The photos showed mountainous terrain very different from the near side. Two dark regions were named Mare Moscoviense (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire). Mare Desiderii was later found to be composed of a smaller mare and dark craters.
For example; if a player completes three missions in a single turn, they can move the Soviet LK lander back one space for the second mission they completed, and then another space for the third mission they completed.
3
Vostok 1 First Man in Space Launched aboard Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. The one-orbit flight lasted 108 minutes and reached an altitude of 91 nautical miles (169km). Gagarin parachuted safely to the ground separately from his capsule after ejecting at 23,000 feet (7km).
his plans for a Soviet manned Moon landing before 1969. Luna 9 First Soft Landing on Moon On Feb. 3, 1966, the unmanned Soviet Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. Approx. 16 feet (5m) above the lunar surface, a contact sensor triggered the landing capsule to be ejected. Using a landing bag, it bounced and came to rest in Oceanus Procellarum.
Vostok 3 & 4 1st Dual Orbiting Missions Launched Aug. 11 and 12, 1962, Vostok 3 and 4 were placed in orbital trajectories that brought the two spacecraft within approx. 4 miles (6.5km) of one another. The cosmonauts aboard the two capsules established radio contact, the first ship-to-ship communications in space.
Soyuz 1 Failure on Landing Launched on April 24, 1967, Soyuz 1 was plagued with technical problems during orbit. After reentry the parachute failed to open causing the death Vladimir Kamarov. This was the first in-flight fatality in the history of spaceflight. Yuri Gagarin was the backup pilot for Soyuz 1.
Vostok 6 1st Woman in Space On June 16, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Her 3-day flight aboard Vostok 6 travelled approx. 1,242,800 miles (2 million km) and completed 48 orbits. During the mission, live video was televised and Tereshkova spoke via radio with Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
N1 Launch #1 Fails after Liftoff The first test launch of the Soviet N1 moon rocket was carried out on Feb. 21, 1969. Destined for a lunar flyby, the launch vehicle failed 68.7 seconds after liftoff. Carrying an unmanned Zond L1S-1 spacecraft, the launch escape system functioned properly saving the spacecraft mockup.
Voskhod 1 First 3-Member Crew On Oct. 12, 1964, the Soviet Union scored another first by launching the first 3-member crew aboard Voskhod 1, a modified Vostok orbiter designed for a crew of two. Soviet politicians pushed the Soviet space program into squeezing three cosmonauts into the spacecraft without spacesuits.
N1 Launch #2 Explodes at Liftoff On July 3, 1969, the second test launch of the N1 rocket failed at liftoff. Just after clearing the tower, all engines shut down except one. This caused the N-1 to drop back onto the launch pad. The nearly 2300 tons of fuel on board triggered one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
Voskhod 2 World’s 1st Spacewalk On March 18, 1965, Alexei Leonov performed the world’s first spacewalk. At the end of the first orbit Leonov put on a spacesuit and exited the spacecraft via an inflatable airlock while cosmonaut Pavel Belyayev remained inside. The 12minute EVA began over Africa and ended over east Siberia.
Game design and graphic design – Van Overbay. N1 Rocket illustration by Maciej Rebisz. ©Copyright 2018 by Van Overbay. The History In Action Game, Tranquility Base, and SovietMoon logos, graphics and game mechanics are trademarks of Van Overbay in the US and other countries. All rights reserved. Tranquility Base and SovietMoon are licensed and distributed by Worthington Publishing. www.WorthingtonPublishing.com.
Sergei Korolev Soviet Chief Designer Dies On Jan. 14, 1966, Sergei Korolev, the Soviet Union’s chief designer died after routine surgery. The driving force behind Soviet accomplishments in space, his untimely death was a tremendous setback and interrupted implementation of
4