HOMEWORLDS 

OBJECTIVE OF HOMEWORLDS: The objective of Homeworlds is to overtake or destroy the homeworld of your opponent.   

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 Players 

MATERIALS: 3 Rainbow Stashes and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Abstract Strategy Board Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 10 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF HOMEWORLDS 

Players control an interstellar fleet that is bound and determined to destroy the worlds of their opponents. Throughout the game, players will accumulate fleets of ships and large colonies that are found in various star systems. Players attempt to overtake or destroy their enemy’s homeworld, all while protecting their own from the same fate. 

SETUP 

The players will choose two stars and one large ship to begin the setup. The player can choose whatever color they wish to represent them throughout the game. The two upright pyramids, which represent the stars, are then stacked on top of one another to form a binary star.  

The players should ensure that they think their choices through well when they choose their ship and stars. This will affect the rest of the game heavily. 

GAMEPLAY 

Once the players have chosen their pieces, the game can begin! During their turn, a player can perform one action, or they may choose to return a ship to the bank. Players may also choose to invoke catastrophe at any point in their turn.  

The players can perform an action in any system where they have a ship located, and they are able to use whatever power they can from that ship. When players choose to return their ship to the bank, they get a certain number of sacrifice actions. The number of sacrifice actions is determined by the pip count of the ship that they returned.  

Each color provides a different action that the player is permitted to take. If it is a star the player is using, the action is determined by the color of the star found within the system. If they are using a ship, the action is determined by the color of a ship that the player has in that system. Finally, if they are using a sacrifice action, the action is determined by the color of the ship that they returned.  

Green allows the player to construct, meaning that the player can build a new ship in their chosen system, but it must match the color of the other ships fond within that system. The ship chosen must be the smallest size available at the bank in that color. If the color is blue, then the player is able to trade one of their ships with a different colored piece of matching size found at the bank. If the color is yellow, the player can move their ship from that system to another. Red means that the player can choose to attack an enemy’s ship, pointing it away from them. 

The players can only attack ships if they have a larger one. Too many ships in one location may lead to a disaster, meaning that four or more pieces of the same color cannot be found within a system at the same time. The game will continue between players until a winner is determined. 

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end if both stars in a player’s homeworld are destroyed, or if the player has no ships in their own homeworld. At this point, the other player is determined to be the winner, and the player with no homeworld perishes. 

Ellie Phillips
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