Published by Ludodelire
Translation by Mark Green
Scanned and Edited by Mike Siggins
Distributed from The Rules Bank by Mike Siggins
Version 1.0, 12th August 96
Players land their Astronef (Mother Ship) on Full Metal Planet for a mining expedition which will last 21 or 25 turns. Each player is limited to 3 minutes per turn, and will also be restricted by the number of action-points available. Possible actions will include:
The area of Full Metal Planet shown on the gameboard has 851 hexagons, half hexes along the long edge do not count. The dotted lines delimit landing zones for the Astronefs. The sea is blue, the land is ochre, marshes are ochre dotted with blue, mountains are grey and reefs are blue with ochre islands.
The mineral pieces are scattered across the gameboard, one piece every 3 hexes. Minerals can be embarked on the Astronef for points, or turned into equipment by the Converter. A mineral piece occupies a hex and is therefore an obstacle to movement. At low tide,.minerals can be picked up anywhere. At normal tide minerals are impossible to reach on reefs. At high tide minerals are impossible to reach on reefs and marshes.
Each turn of the game incurs a tide. The 15 Tide cards contain 5 of each tide type, Low, Normal and High. Tides effect certain terrain types:
| REEFS | MARSHES | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Craft | Land Craft | Sea Craft | Land Craft | |
| Low Tide | Grounded | May Move | Grounded | May Move |
| Normal Tide | May Move | Stuck | Grounded | May Move |
| High Tide | May Move | Stuck | May Move | Stuck |
Pieces caught out of their element are neutralised and may do nothing until the tide becomes favourable again. It is possible to voluntarily neutralise a piece, it becoming stuck/grounded on the first impassable hex it enters.
Each turn a player starts with a base credit of fifteen action- points. These are spent in moving, combat and other activities. It is possible to increase available action points by either saving up action-points from a previous turn or capturing another Astronef. If a player only spends 10 action-points on a turn, 5 are saved and a cube is taken to show that the extra five are available for a subsequent turn. If a player subsequently only spends 10 on a turn, or else spends only 5 on one turn, two cubes are taken to show 10 reserve action-points. A player may only ever have a maximum of 10 points in reserve.
Each captured Astronef adds 5 points to the base credit of the capturing player. Thus a player who has captured 2 enemy Astronefs, and saved the maximum action-points from previous. turns, would have 15+5+5+10=35 action-points available.
| Movement | each hex moved by a piece costs 1 point |
|---|---|
| Loading | each mineral or equipment piece loaded onto a transporter costs 1 point. |
| Unloading | each piece unloaded costs 1 point |
| Building | each piece created by the Converter costs 1 point |
| Enter or Exiting |
each piece entering or exiting the Astronef costs Astronef 1 point. Note that the Barge exits for 1 point but immediately occupies 2 hexes. |
| Combat | To destroy an enemy piece costs 2 points (2 shots) |
| Rebuild | To rebuild a tower (only on a captured Astronef) a Tower costs 2 points. |
| Take Off | It costs 1-4 points for an Astronef to take off, depending on its condition. |
Each action or move is definitive, and may not be revoked.Impossible actions are only revoked as far as the last legal action/move. Pieces exiting the Astronef occupy a space. Two or more pieces may not occupy the same space (exception - if one piece is transporting the others.
Each player has 3 minutes to complete his turn. This should be timed by another player who will call out elapsed time at suitable moments. The player's turn ends after this time, pieces in the process of moving stop on their current hex. This timing is an important aspect of Full Metal Planet, putting pressure on the players and adding spice.
There are two sorts of transporter pieces; the Barge which has 4 spaces and the Crab which has 2 spaces. Things which can be carried are: Minerals, Tanks, Supertanks, Bridges which each take up one space and Convertors, Crabs which each take up two spaces.
The Convertor is unique in that it may build new equipment from mineral pieces. This is done by picking up a mineral, converting the mineral into equipment, unloading the equipment. This would cost 2 action points, 1 to pick up the mineral and 1 to unload the equipment. A Convertor does not have to create the equipment immediately. It could pick up the mineral, move, and create the new equipment on another turn. The Convertor may create two new pieces per turn. It may not build two Crabs or Bridges per turn. When not building new equipment, the Convertor acts very much like a Crab.
When tides change at the beginning of each turn, players possessing a Convertor may look at the next tide card. The Convertors provide their owners with a prediction of the future tide. Should a player have captured another Convertor, he may look at the next two tide cards. Convertors which have been lost, or are in the Astronef, on a Barge, under enemy fire, or stuck by tides, may not predict future tides.
Bridges are inert pieces of equipment which serve to bridge water hexes or render secure reef/marsh hexes. A Bridge is laid or picked up by a transporter, regardless of the tide in the hex. A Bridge makes the hex a land hex and prevents Barges and Motor Boats using it. A Bridge must connect to a land hex or to another bridge hex. A Bridge may be neither laid or picked up under enemy fire. Should a connecting Bridge hex be destroyed, or the connecting land hex be submerged by tides, the rest of the Bridge is destroyed. When a Bridge is destroyed, all pieces standing on the bridge are likewise destroyed. A Bridge is neutral. Once laid it can be used by any vehicle. A Bridge laid by one player could be picked up by another!
The Combat vehicles can destroy any piece, mineral or vehicle, except the Astronef and its contents. There are four combat units; Tanks, Super Tanks, Motor Boats and Astronef Towers.
There is one rule of combat : any piece which falls under the simultaneous fire of two combat vehicles of an enemy player is removed from the game. It costs one action point for each of the two shots. Combat consists of moving two vehicles into position and then firing on the target. Astronef Tower, Tank and Motor Boat have a range of two hexes. The Super Tank can hit targets up to 3 hexes away. A normal Tank in position on.a mountain hex can shoot 3 hexes, even to another mountain hex. The Super Tank may never enter a mountain hex, even if transported. Between two turns, two Tanks may not move onto two adjacent mountain hexes.
Combat vehicles may shoot over any obstacle, including minerals, other vehicles, mountains. A Combat Vehicles may shoot only twice per player turn, but other actions may come between shots.
A Combat Vehicle may not shoot at his own pieces. When two Combat Vehicles shoot at a hex, all pieces in that hex are destroyed.
Between turns it can be advantageous to have hexes "under fire" in order to interdict enemy actions. A hex is under fire when it is within range of two or more Combat Vehicles of the same player.
A piece may never move into a hex under fire except when it is the second Combat Vehicle moving into position to shoot and eliminate the enemy so that it is no longer under fire. A piece may never be unloaded from a transporter into a hex under fire.
Two Combat Vehicles may capture an enemy by moving adjacent to that enemy vehicle. Capture costs one action point. The piece immediately changes colour and can be used by its new owner. Capture can only take place if all vehicles are free from enemy fire; thus vulnerable pieces can be protected from capture by placing them under fire. The contents of a Transporter are captured with it. Combat Vehicles may still capture units even if they have fired twice that turn.
It is possible for units to come under fire without the player bothering to use action points to destroy them. In this case, the menaced player may retreat such pieces one hex at the beginning of his turn to escape the fire. A piece incapable of this is neutralised, and may do nothing else the rest of its turn. It can only escape if other Combat Vehicles come to its rescue. It is not possible to neutralise an Astronef Tower. Even under fire, the Tower may shoot back.
The Astronef consists of a central body and three podes. It occupies four hexes. Apart from its turrets, an Astronef and its cargo are indestructible. Everything in the Astronef should be placed in front of the player, visible to all. The Astronef may occupy only plain and marsh hexes, and it does not suffer from tides.
Vehicles enter and leave the Astronef by its podes. To enter or leave the Astronef costs one action point, even for the Barge. Once mineral has been taken into the Astronef, it may not be converted or taken out again. It costs nothing to load/unload transporters inside the Astronef, except time.
A vehicle can enter/leave a pode under enemy fire, as long as the outside hex used is not under fire. It is not possible to leave by a pode whose turret has been destroyed. It is possible to enter via such a pode.
When an Astronef's three turrets have been destroyed, it becomes vulnerable to capture. The first player to enter the Astronef with a hostile Combat Vehicle captures it and all that player's pieces. When an astronef is captured, that player gains an extra 5 action points per turn. All the pieces retain their original colour, that player then has a mixed force. This is so that if one of his Astronefs is captured, it is possible to tell which pieces belong to which Astronef. Only a player who captures/recaptures an Astronef may rebuild the turrets. Each turret costs 2 action points to rebuild. Turrets may not be rebuilt if under enemy fire.
It should be noted that even when the three turrets are destroyed, the Astronef remains the property of its original player until captured. The capture of an Astronef is the only time an enemy piece may penetrate an Astronef. A piece may enter to capture an Astronef via a turret under fire.
Place the minerals out across the board on plain/marsh/reef hexes, spacing them every three hexes. Each player takes an Astronef, a set of coloured markers, and a force pool of 1 Barge, 1 Crab, 1 Convertor, 2 Motor Boats, 4 Tanks, 1 Super Tank and 1 Bridge. The remaining pieces of equipment are placed to one side, available to players who build with their Convertor. Shuffle the 15 Tide cards, place nine in the "Future Tides" tray and discard the remaining six.
Place the Turn marker on Turn 1, and decide the order of play. Each player in turn has three minutes to decide on a landing zone and place his Astronef on Full Metal Planet. Astronefs may land on the islands, or straddling the border of two zones. An Astronef may not land in a zone adjacent to one already occupied (islands are not adjacent to any zone). An Astronef occupies four hexes, which must be plain or marsh. The Astronef must have means to exit its pieces!
Turn marker advances one space. All players together then have 3 minutes to deploy all or some of their forces from their Astronef, into their arrival zone. Boats may only move onto adjacent sea hexes touching the coast. Transporters may be deployed carrying equipment. The Tide is considered normal this turn.
Randomly chose a first player for the game, turns passing clockwise. Turn over the first Tide card and place it in the Current Tide tray. Players with a Convertor operational may look at the next hidden Tide card. Players in turn have 3 minutes and 5 action points to utilise.
As for Turn 3 except players now have 10 action points.
As for Turns 3 & 4 except players now have 15 action points from now on.
When the Tide cards run out, add in the discarded ones, shuffle, and select a new batch of nine.
Each player secretly writes down whether his Astronef will lift off this turn or remain on Full Metal Planet until Turn 25. Those taking off leave immediately with the contents of their Astronef. A player with several Astronefs may lift of with some, but loses the extra action points for each one.
Remaining Astronefs lift off, paying one action point to take off plus an extra point for each destroyed turret. If this proves impossible, the Astronef stays stranded on Full metal Planet to the end of time!
Each mineral point removed from Full Metal Planet is worth 2 points, each piece of equipment 1 point, each turret intact 1 point.