Games - Solarquest

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	Games - Solarquest

Solarquest is a space-age real estate trading game published in 1985. Patterned after Monopoly, the game replaces pewter tokens with rocketships and hotels with metallic fuel stations. Players travel around the sun acquiring monopolies and fending off attacks. They seek to knock their opponents out of the game through a combination of bankruptcy, laser blasts, and dwindling fuel supplies.

Renowned for its playability and appealing design, this board game developed a devoted fan base before going out of print in the late 1990s. The company that introduced it, Golden Press/Western Publishing Company, is now a part of Hasbro. Solarquest has attracted a renewed following in recent years due to its availability on eBay and other auction sites.

Gameplay

Mission

Players travel through the solar system acquiring properties, charging rent, and building fuel stations within individual planetary systems. The player who builds the greatest financial empire and survives the perils of space travel to become the last player on the board, wins the game, according to the 1986 Solarquest rules.

Game board

A journey around the Sun encompasses:

34 moons
9 planets
9 federation stations
6 research labs
5 space docks.

Players roll dice and travel along a blue flight path from planet to planet. There are also Red Shift cards directing players to specific destinations (e.g. Advance to Mars).

Players can buy planets and moons, and trade with one another to acquire monopolies. They can also build fuel stations on these bodies, and charge fees for refueling. Each planet has a deed card with instructions on rent and fuel costs.

Research labs and space docks are similar to the utilities in Monopoly. Federation stations cannot be owned, but offer an opportunity to collect cash and purchase spare fuel stations.

The remaining spaces are blue dots, indicating drifting in space, and black dots representing the gravitational pull of a planet.

The board has a total of 91 spaces (compared to Monopoly's 38).

Color groups

The color groups are:

Orange (Jupiter's moons): Callisto, Ganymede, Io, Europa, Amalthea, Himalia, Elara, Thebe, Metis, Adrastea, Sinope.
Yellow (Saturn's moons): Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, Mimas, Hyperion, Phoebe, Janus.
Turquoise (Uranus' moons): Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Miranda, 1985 U1.
Red: Mars, Phobos, Deimos.
Pink: Pluto, Charon.
Blue (Neptune's moons): Triton, Nereid.
Purple: Venus.
Gold: Mercury.
Green: Moon.
Grey: Earth Research Lab, Neptune Research Lab, Uranus Research Lab, Venus Research Lab, Jupiter Research Lab, Saturn Research Lab.
White: Solar Space Dock, Neptune Space Dock, Saturn Space Dock, Uranus Space Dock, Jupiter Space Dock.

Rule books

1986 Solarquest rules

Fuel

Players have to watch their fuel level carefully since getting stranded with no way to refuel means the loss of the game. Fuel is only used when leaving a planet or moon. According to the rules, "This occurs because the ship must escape the gravitational pull of the planet or moon." Thus, fuel is not used when leaving a manmade satellite or an empty space.

It is always good to have spare fuel stations on hand. If a player runs out of fuel after landing on a planet that has no fuel station, he can force the sale of the property, build a fuel station, and replenish his fuel tank.

Laser battles

A suggested variation is that players who are close enough to each other can fire lasers. A roll of doubles damages the ship, allowing the aggressor to charge for repairs. A roll of double sixes completely destroys the opposing ship, knocking them out of the game.

Strategy hints:

A player on the verge of bankruptcy can turn around the game with lasers, since in the event of total destruction, all the eliminated player's money and property are forfeited to the victor.
Since laser blasts can consume large amounts of fuel, it is best to fire from one's own property, where refueling is free.
Lasers must be fired before paying rent, so it is possible to land on a planet with a four-figure rent and then destroy the owner before he can force bankruptcy.

Red shift

Basic Solarquest

A Red Shift card is drawn when a player rolls doubles. These are similar to the Chance or Community Chest cards in Monopoly. The 36 Red Shift cards consist of:

25 cards directing the player to a specific destination (e.g. Advance to Federation Station II orbiting Jupiter – Use 1 hydron of fuel)
3 cards in the Red Shift series (e.g. Red Shift 4 – Roll dice – Move 4 times the number rolled – Use 4 hydrons of fuel)
5 cards awarding or taking away property (e.g. You WIN a dispute with the Federation League – Choose any unowned property and assume ownership from the Federation)
3 miscellaneous cards (e.g. Discover new comet – Collect $400 (Roll Again)).

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Solarquest ]

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