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How to play Race for the Galaxy (2026): Race for the Galaxy is Tom Lehmann’s card game of building a space empire, for two to four players. Each round everyone secretly picks an action card, and only the phases someone chose actually happen. You use cards three ways: as worlds and developments in your tableau, as money to pay for them, and as goods on your worlds. This guide follows the official Rio Grande Games second-edition rules.
The box you need: Race for the Galaxy
The box holds 5 start worlds, 109 game cards, four sets of seven action cards, extra action cards for advanced two-player games, summary sheets and 28 victory point chips.
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Setting up Race for the Galaxy
- Give each player a set of seven action cards.
- Set out 12 victory point chips per player in 1s and 5s. Keep the 10-point chips aside for the final round.
- Shuffle the five start worlds and deal one face up to each player. It begins your tableau.
- Shuffle the unused start worlds into the game cards. Deal six cards to each player; everyone discards two.
- For a first game, use the preset start worlds and hands described in the rulebook instead.
A round of Race for the Galaxy
All players choose one action card in secret and reveal them together. Then the chosen phases happen in order: Explore, Develop, Settle, Consume and Produce. Every player performs each chosen phase, but whoever picked it also gets a bonus. A phase nobody picked is skipped. At the end of the round, discard down to ten cards and take back your action card.
The five phases and their bonuses
Explore
Everyone draws two cards and keeps one. The Explore +5 bonus lets you draw seven and keep one; the +1,+1 bonus lets you draw three and keep two.
Develop
Everyone may place one development face down, then reveal and pay its cost by discarding cards. The bonus is paying one card less. Each development can appear only once in your tableau.
Settle
Everyone may place one world. Normal worlds are paid for with cards. Military worlds, marked in red, cannot be bought; your total Military must equal or exceed their defense to conquer them. Worlds with a colored halo arrive with a windfall good. The bonus is drawing a card after you settle.
Consume
Players use consume powers to discard goods for victory point chips or cards. Choosing Trade lets you sell one good first for cards: five for alien technology, four for genes, three for rare elements and two for novelty goods. Choosing 2x VPs doubles the chips your consume powers earn.
Produce
Every production world without a good gets one. The bonus lets you place a good on one windfall world that is empty.
Card powers in Race for the Galaxy
Developments and most worlds carry powers shown as icons on the left side of the card, arranged in phase order. Powers apply only in their phase and start working the phase after the card is placed. Unless a power says “may,” you must use it.
When the game ends
- Twelve cards. The game ends at the end of the round in which someone has 12 or more cards in their tableau.
- No more chips. It also ends at the end of the round in which the last victory point chip is handed out. Use the 10-point chips to make change.
Final scoring in Race for the Galaxy
Add the victory points printed on your worlds and developments, your chips, and the variable points from your 6-cost developments. The highest total wins. If tied, the player with the most goods plus cards in hand wins; if still tied, all tied players share the win.
Tips for your first empires
- Pick a direction. Military conquest and production-and-consume are the two classic paths.
- Read the table. If you know a neighbor will choose Settle, you can piggyback on it and choose something else.
- Mind your hand. Cards are money, so a big development may cost most of your hand.
Want a quicker version? See our best space board games and best engine-building board games. For more depth, browse games like Terraforming Mars.
Race for the Galaxy rules questions
Can two players choose the same phase in Race for the Galaxy?
Yes. The phase happens once, and every player who chose it gets the bonus.
How many cards can you keep in Race for the Galaxy?
You discard down to ten cards at the end of each round.
How do military worlds work in Race for the Galaxy?
You conquer them for free if your total Military is at least the world’s defense. You cannot simply pay for them unless a card power allows it.
How long does Race for the Galaxy take?
About 30 to 60 minutes once everyone knows the icons.
