Space Lab

Space Lab plunges players into the heart of an interstellar scientific race.

At the head of a modular space station, each player must recruit the best specialists from the four major global agencies to carry out ambitious projects.

Between hand management, placement optimization, and secret objectives, Space Lab offers a tense and evolving experience where every decision counts. Easy to learn but strategic, it's the perfect game for fans of development games.

Gameplay

Setup

Each player receives a station consisting of three capsules, around which up to ten Lab cards will be placed. Three objectives are also assigned to each capsule. Two decks are placed in the center: the Lab cards and the Project cards. Validation tiles will also be available for each capsule.

Objective

Score the most victory points using Lab cards, Validation tiles, and Projects. The game ends when a player has placed ten Lab cards or validated three objectives.

How to play

Each player, in turn, chooses one of the following three actions:

• Reveal 3 Lab cards from the draw pile and keep all those from the same agency. The others are sent to the Recruitment Center.
• Recruit at the Center: take all cards from a single agency already present in the Recruitment Center.
• Place Lab cards around the capsules, paying their cost with cards from your hand. This action becomes mandatory if your hand contains 5 or more cards.

Placement and validation

Each Lab card has a specialty (Doctor, Pilot, Researcher, or Technician) and belongs to an agency. Their position around the capsules can trigger immediate bonuses or contribute to the validation of objectives.

Once an objective is completed, the player validates it by taking an associated score tile, which can offer points and immediate bonuses.

End of the game

The game ends immediately when a player plays their 10th Lab card or validates their 3rd objective. The other players take one last turn to play their cards. Then, points are counted based on:

• the effects of the Lab cards,
• the Validation tiles,
• the Project cards.

The player with the most points is declared the winner. In the event of a tie, the number of Project cards breaks the tie.

Contents:

- 12 Capsule tiles

- 12 Objective tiles

- 12 Validation tiles

- 60 Lab cards

- 24 Project cards

- 1 score pad