"Starship Catan Light" is a simplified, slimmed-down version of the board and of the PC game "Starship Catan."

Brief Description

You are the Commander of a starship, stranded in an alien galaxy. You have 18 game turns to perform various tasks as you seek to gain fame and honor among the alien races of the galaxy:

Rid the 4 sectors assigned to you (card stacks with 8 cards each) of Pirates, supply the planets Hades, Poseidon, Picasso, and Pallas with Science Points, and earn as many astros as possible.

You start out with 25 astros and can increase this amount through skillful purchase and sale of resources.
Fulfilled tasks and astros will earn you Fame Points.

If you don't want to read the rest of the game description, you can start to play right now. Marlene and Siegfried will guide you through the game. If you have questions, you can come back here later and read through the details.

The Details

The 4 Sectors

Each of the 4 sectors has 8 cards. When you have selected a Sector, you fly into it, as it were: One by one, the cards of this sector are revealed. After each turn, the sector cards are shuffled, meaning that the sequence of cards of a sector changes after each visit. These following cards are available:

Trade Planets

When a trade planet is revealed, you can buy or sell resources. The prices for resources range from 1 Astro to 4 Astro. You can make a small fortune by buying and selling shrewdly. Each Astro counts as a Fame Point. You can buy a maximum of 2 Resources and store them in the corresponding cargo bay.

Galactic Library

Here you can buy "Science Points", once per turn.

The Adventure Planets Hades, Poseidon, Picasso, and Pallas

Each of these planets needs 1 Science Point. In exchange, you receive a Trade Good worth 15 Fame Points.

Flight Speed

The number of cards revealed depends on the Flight Speed of your starship. At the beginning of each turn, the Flight Speed is determined by rolling a die with the numbers 1, 2, and 3. The number of Boosters is added to the number rolled.

Actions

Buying resources or Science Points, or trading Science Points for Trade Goods on a Adventure Planet counts a an action. You are entitled to 2 actions per turn. Your turn ends immediately after performing 2 actions, even if your speed would have allowed you to explore more cards of the sector.

Pirates

When you meet one of the 7 pirates, he will demand a toll from you. You can accede to the Pirate's demands and pay, or fight him. Most pirate ships have 2 or 3 Cannons, but Theo the Terrible, leader of the Pirates, has 4 Cannons. Before venturing into a fight, you should have armed your ship with 2 or 3 Cannons. If you defeat a normal Pirate, you will receive a medal worth 5 Fame Points. Victory over "Theo the Terrible" earns you 3 medals - that's 15 Fame Points. If you lose a battle, you lose 2 actions (it may also be an action of the next turn). For defeating all 7 pirates you receive a bonus of 20 Fame Points.

Upgrading Your Ship

Before the first turn, and after finishing the first turn, each time you have completed 3 more turns, you can upgrade your ship with another Cannon or Booster. You have the additional possibility to expand your starship by adding an Command Module and a Logistics Module, except during the first two expansions and the last one. The Command Module lets you perform 3 actions per turn. The Logistics Module improves your storage capacity: you can buy and store up to 3 of each resource, instead of 2.

The Game

You must maintain your Internet connection while you are playing. With some practice, a game won't take longer than five to ten minutes.

The spinning globe indicates Internet activity. If you should lose your Internet connection while playing, you have to log into the game again.

You can always conclude your unfinished game, even hours later and from a different computer.

The Adobe Flash Player Version 5 or newer is required to play the game. You can download this browser plugin for free from the Adobe website.