Star Trek Captain's Chair reference sheet

Overview

• Asymmetric deck-building game for 1–2 players, 60–120 min [p.1 — Contents]
• Each player is a famous captain with a unique Crew deck and Crew board [p.1 — Contents]
• Core loop: recruit cards from the Market, advance Specialty tracks, control Locations, complete Missions [p.1 — Contents]
• Three resources: Dilithium, Latinum, Glory — Glory can substitute for either [p.8 — Gaining Resources]
• Game ends via Resolution (last Stardate empties) or the Burn (Incident deck empties) [p.8 — Game Structure]
• Most VP wins after Resolution; fewest INCIDENT cards wins the Burn [p.8 — Game Structure]

Setup

Central Setup

1. Place Market strip in the center between players [p.4]
2. Separate common cards into 7 decks by suit; shuffle all except Location [p.4]
3. Place PERSON, CARGO, SHIP, ALLY decks facedown above Market strip; reveal one of each below [p.4]
4. Place Encounter deck sideways above; Incident deck to one side; leave space for Junk pile [p.4]
5. Separate Locations into Starting/Advanced; shuffle Advanced; place one Starting on top (hidden) = Location deck [p.4]
6. Reveal 3 more Starting Locations as the Neutral Zone; return remaining Starting Locations to box [p.4]
7. Sort 2-player Stardate cards by sequence number (#1 on top); place faceup near Market [p.4]
8. Place Glory tokens on the visible Stardate card as indicated [p.4]
9. Each player chooses a Crew deck; create Ship token supply for chosen decks only [p.4]
10. Give each player 3 Action tokens and 3 Mission Completion tokens [p.4]

Player Setup (each player)

11. Place Crew board left; choose Basic or Advanced side; place 3 Specialty markers on zero [p.6]
12. Separate Crew deck by position indicator: AVAILABLE → Draw deck (shuffle); RESERVE → Reserve deck (shuffle, sideways on Development pile); DEVELOPMENT → Development pile (faceup) [p.6]
13. Place Captain card right of Crew board; Status card above board (if any) [p.6]
14. Place CONTROLLED LOCATION cards in Location Area; DEPLOYED cards in Fleet Area [p.6]
15. Take 1 Dilithium, 1 Latinum, 1 Glory from supply as starting resources [p.6]
16. Place Away Team tokens on Captain card; draw 5 cards as starting hand [p.6]

Turn structure

Each turn resolves all four steps fully before passing to opponent [p.8 — Game Structure]

1. RESUPPLY — Trigger every RESUPPLY operation you have in play (not beamed cards), in any order [p.9]
2. CONTROL — If you have a secured neutral Location (3+ tokens, 2+ more than opponent), you may take control of one [p.9]
3. ACTION — Play cards, use ACTIVATION/REACTION operations, complete Missions; limited to 3 actions (⚡) [p.10]
4. CLEAN-UP — Resolve CLEAN-UP operations → Stardate Resolution → Glory Placement → Discard Staging Area → Draw to hand size (5) → Refresh all exhausted cards → Reset to 3 action tokens [p.12–13]

Actions

You have 3 actions (⚡) per turn. Operations marked ⚡ cost one action; others are free.

• PASSIVE operations are always in effect; no action or exhaust needed [p.11]
• Unused actions are lost at end of turn [p.11]
• Gain extra actions via card effects; take token from supply [p.31]

Scoring

• 1 VP per Glory token in your pool [p.24]
• 1 VP per Away Team or Ship token on neutral Locations [p.24]
• ENDGAME operations on in-play cards (Captain, controlled Locations) [p.24]
• Printed VP on every card you own (hand, deck, log, beamed, discard — not Reserve or Development) [p.24]
• Focus icons × Specialty multiplier: each card's Focus icon is worth the highest-reached multiplier on its matching Specialty track — only if you completed at least one Mission (else 0) [p.24]
• Advanced mode only: printed VP for each completed Mission [p.24]
• WILDCARD traits do NOT count as any trait during final scoring [p.24]

End of game

Resolution (normal end): Last Stardate card empties → both players finish current turns → each plays one more turn → final scoring [p.8]

The Burn (sudden end): Incident deck empties → game ends immediately → player with fewer INCIDENT cards (hand + Discard + Draw deck + Captain's Log; NOT Reserve) wins [p.8]

• Burn takes priority even during final Resolution turns [p.8]
• Burn tie → proceed to final scoring [p.8]
• Before scoring: remove all cards in Reserve deck and Development pile [p.24]

Glossary

• Secured: neutral Location where you have 3+ tokens AND 2+ more than opponent [p.32 — Secured]
• Deploy: move card from Staging Area to Fleet Area; place matching Ship token on it [p.29 — Deploy]
• Dismiss: move in-play card to Discard pile; beamed cards go too; Ship token returns to supply [p.29 — Dismiss]
• Recall: move in-play card back to hand; beamed cards recalled too [p.32 — Recall]
• Beam: tuck a card under another (usually a SHIP) so only suit/traits are visible; still in play but no table operations [p.29 — Beam]
• Log: place card under Captain card (Captain's Log); out of play but still scores VP [p.31 — Log]
• Enlist: place top of Reserve deck (or chosen Development) on top of Draw deck when reshuffling [p.14 — Deck Cycling]
• Gain: take a card from Market to top of Draw deck or Discard pile (your choice) [p.30 — Gain]
• Scan: look at top # cards of a Market deck, then gain one of them or the faceup Market card [p.32 — Scan]
• Find: search hand, Discard, Draw deck, and Reserve for a matching card; add it to hand [p.30 — Find]
• Warp: move a deployed Ship's token to your controlled Location or a Neutral Zone Location [p.33 — Warp]
• Focus icon: bottom-right of card; VP value = Specialty track multiplier × number of matching Focus cards (requires 1+ mission completed) [p.17 — Specialties]
• WILDCARD trait: counts as any one trait for one operation or goal (not during final scoring) [p.15 — Traits]

FAQ

• Q: Can Glory substitute for other resources? — A: Yes: 1 Glory = 1 Dilithium OR 2 Glory = 1 Latinum (no change given); cannot convert Dilithium ↔ Latinum otherwise [p.8 — Spending Resources]
• Q: Do table operations work on cards in the Staging Area? — A: No. ACTIVATION/REACTION/PASSIVE table operations only work on deployed SHIPs, controlled LOCATIONs, Duty Officers, and your CAPTAIN [p.11 — Table Operations]
• Q: What happens if my Draw deck is empty when I need to draw? — A: Shuffle Discard pile into new deck, then enlist top of Reserve deck (or optionally a Development if Reserve is empty) on top [p.14 — Deck Cycling]
• Q: Can I place Away Teams on a Location where I have no Ship token? — A: Yes, unless your opponent has MORE Ship tokens there than you [p.19 — Away Teams]
• Q: If a self-logging card is played, can its traits count toward a mission? — A: No. The card moves to the Log after its operation resolves, so it is never simultaneously in play for mission evaluation [p.21 — Self-Logging Cards]
• Q: Does 'Keywords in Detail' override earlier rulebook sections? — A: Yes, if there is any contradiction, 'Keywords in Detail' (p.29+) is correct [p.8 — Game Overview]