Hello

• The large central board is assembled around the solar system, consisting of several rotating discs representing the movements of the various celestial bodies.
• Each player receives their personal board and takes charge of their own scientific institution. They have resources, probes, and markers that will allow them to develop their research during the game.
• Of the 5 alien speciesin the box, only 2 are secretly selectedfor the game. Their identity remains unknown until players accumulate enough life traces to discover them.
• Project cards, technologies, data, and various objectives are then prepared before starting the first of the five rounds.

A game of SETI takes place over 5 rounds.

On your turn, you perform a main action. Several options are available to you, each contributing differently to your research program.

You can, for example, launch a probe, move a probe to reach a planet or moon, enter orbit, land on a celestial body, scan nearby stars, analyze collected data, or play a Project card to benefit from its effect.

Players alternate their actions until they decide to pass. When all participants have passed, the round ends, and the solar system evolves before the next one.

Explore a moving solar system

One of SETI's main distinctive features is its board representing the movements of the solar system.

Planets gradually change position throughout the game. A destination that is relatively close in one round can therefore become much more difficult to reach a few turns later.

Moving your probes thus requires real planning. You will need to take into account the current position of the planets, but also anticipate their next movements to optimize your space missions.

A correctly positioned probe can be placed in orbit around a celestial body or land directly on a planet or moon to bring back valuable rewards and traces of life.

Scan the stars and analyze your data

Not all research involves sending probes.

You can also use your instruments to scan nearby starsand search for signals that might indicate the presence of an extraterrestrial civilization.

These observations allow you to collect data.

Once enough data has been collected, you can analyze it to obtain various rewards, progress in your research, and potentially discover new traces of life.

You will therefore need to find a balance between physical exploration of the solar system and observation of more distant regions of space.

Discover extraterrestrial species

Two alien species are secretly present in each game.

To reveal a species, players must accumulate enough traces of lifecoming mainly from exploring planets, scanning stars, or analyzing data.

When the necessary conditions are met, the species is finally revealed.

This discovery then changes the game: each extraterrestrial civilization has its own rules, abilities, and specific cards. New research possibilities emerge, and players must adapt their strategy to this discovery.

Since only two species out of five are used in each game, you never know beforehand what you will encounter.

Use Project cards

SETI offers a large deck of Project cardsinspired by real scientific technologies, missions, and discoveries.

These cards are particularly versatile.

Depending on the situation, the same card can be used for its main effect, to perform certain actions, or to contribute to the development of your resource engine.

It is therefore rarely obvious how to exploit a card. A very interesting technology can sometimes be sacrificed because you immediately need its other effect.

This card management is one of the main strategic elements of the game.

• The game ends after the fifth round.
• Players then proceed to the final scoring by adding to the points already earned those coming notably from their different objectives and scientific accomplishments.
• The explorations carried out, the data analyzed, the technologies developed and your contribution to the discovery of alien species can all contribute to your success.
• The player with the highest number of victory pointsat the end of the final count wins the game and becomes the institution that has contributed the most to the search for extraterrestrial life.