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Gaia Project
#13BGG8.3RATING
Updated Sep 7
1–4
PLAYERS
60–150
MINUTES
?
BEST WITH
4.4
EXPERT
ERRATA4
Page 19 variable game board setup says "after" but must read "before"publisher
- RULING
- "An error has been discovered in the English rule book regarding the custom setup of the board. Page 19, Variable Game Board, correct text: Do not assemble the board as normal. Instead, before players have chosen their factions, the last player in turn order assembles the game board. Alternatively, players can agree to assemble the game board together. The rules read 'after' which makes no sense because the last player could then set up the board in his/her favor."
AUTHOR: nan3000 (Frank Heeren, publisher — Feuerland Spiele)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(26 replies)DATE: 2017-11-10Official order of an advanced setupdesigner
- RULING
- "Proper order of an advanced setup: place tech tiles and advanced tech tiles (and federation token) on research board; place round scoring tiles and final scoring tiles on scoring board; place boosters; assemble the map; faction selection. EDIT: This is official, since the Errata from the English version seems to be flawed or confusing."
Second federation example in the rulebook is misleadingdesigner
- RULING
- "If you choose the bottom one, the federation is legal. But if you choose to take the top route, which connects the laboratory, the federation would not be legal, since you could remove the rightmost trading post and the second satellite leading there. I will suggest to Frank to change that example for future printings to make it clearer."
AUTHOR: zlorfik (Bastian Winkelhaus, designer — author of the rulebook)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(161 replies)DATE: 2017-12-25Power charge table lists a 4-power step that cannot occurdesigner
- RULING
- Charging is based only on the single highest-power structure adjacent to the new build, and no structure exceeds power value 3, so the maximum real charge is 3 power for 2 VP. The 1/2/3/4-power-for-0/1/2/3-VP table in the English rulebook is an artifact of Z-Man's rephrasing. Designer response: "Good catch, thanks for finding this! ... the english rules have not only been translated, but also rephrased by Z-Man Games. An Errata/FAQ has been published, which contains all clarifications needed so far but it seems you found another one and if/when there will be an update to version 1.0, this clarification should be part of it."
DESIGNER CLARIFICATIONS9
Correct order of the federation-forming algorithmdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Players disputed whether the "fewest satellites" requirement applies to the whole board or only to the planets already chosen.
- RULING
- "This algorithm is the correct one in the correct order... you would first select the 4 planets, then build the shortest route of satellites and then find out that you could remove the topmost mine and the planet leading to it, which causes you to either remove that mine and satellite from your federation or start the whole process again with another selection of planets." You are never required to search the whole board for the planet combination that would need the fewest satellites; you pick the planets you want, then take the shortest route among those.
AUTHOR: zlorfik (Bastian Winkelhaus, designer — author of the rulebook)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(161 replies)DATE: 2017-12-25Shortest satellite route may not touch your existing federationsdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Asked what happens when a planet that would shorten the route is already part of another federation.
- RULING
- "In that case, forming federation A is perfectly legal, since the shortest route to build satellites must be a route that does not touch on other federations."
AUTHOR: zlorfik (Bastian Winkelhaus, designer)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(161 replies)DATE: 2017-12-25Ivits expanding an existing federationdesignersticky
- CONTEXT
- Bokken's sticky Official Federation FAQ posted this ruling for designer validation; Helge Ostertag replied "This is correct."
- RULING
- No, an Ivit may not freely add extra planets. When choosing planets you must select ALL planets and space stations currently in your federation cluster, then may add any additional planets you want. Link the chosen planets to the cluster using the route that requires the fewest satellites (satellites cost QIC instead of power). Finally, confirm you could not remove one of the newly placed satellites and a newly added planet cluster and still reach the next federation threshold. Satellites from a previous threshold are never moved nor changed.
AUTHOR: Horologiom (Helge Ostertag, designer)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(105 replies, 40 thumbs)DATE: 2019-01-31Lantids may only build on opponent planets within rangedesigner
- CONTEXT
- Asked whether the Lantids' faction ability lets them place a mine on any opponent-occupied planet on the map, or only ones they can reach.
- RULING
- "Only in range." The Lantids' ability removes the need to own or terraform the planet, but not the navigation range requirement.
Lantids mines do not satisfy "per planet type" or "per Gaia planet" conditionsdesigner
- RULING
- "If you build on a Gaia planet the answer to the question 'how many Gaia planets did you just colonize?' is still zero and not one. If you look at the very last page, Appendix VI, the special mines of the Lantida do not count when checking for the two leftmost conditions 'per planet type' or 'per Gaia planet'. It does not matter what, when or how often you would get something." Helge Ostertag confirmed in the same thread: "They don't score for placing mines on Gaia planets."
AUTHOR: zlorfik (Bastian Winkelhaus, designer), confirmed by Horologiom (Helge Ostertag, designer)SOURCE: boardgamegeek.com(58 replies)DATE: 2017-11-03Lantids mines do count for "mines on the board" and "sectors colonized"designer
- RULING
- "They are still mines on the board, so they do count for mines on the board if it does not matter on what kind of planet they are located. They also count for the number of sectors you have colonized, because that one does also not care for the kind of planet they are on. And that is definitely the official interpretation."
Lantids pay no QIC to build on an opponent's Gaia planetdesigner
- CONTEXT
- Asked whether the Lantids still owe the QIC normally required to settle a Gaia planet when the planet is already colonized by an opponent.
- RULING
- No QIC is required. The QIC is the price for terraforming a Gaia planet, and the Lantids do not pay for terraforming when building on an opponent's planet. Helge Ostertag endorsed this reading with "Exactly as DocCool says."
Taklons choose whether the extra power token arrives before or after chargingdesigner
- RULING
- "As the Taklons' ability is a flexible one, they are allowed to gain a power token and then charge power with their PI ability... They can gain the power token before or after they charge power." Confirmed against the German rulebook, which states explicitly that the token may be taken before or after receiving the power. The player chooses.
Taklons at full power can still leech, up to 2 powerdesigner
- CONTEXT
- A Taklon player with no tokens in bowls I and II would normally be unable to charge anything from an opponent's build.
- RULING
- "They can leech/charge power, if they decide to gain a new power token (which will go into bowl I), so they can leech/charge up to 2 power!" Because the new token enters bowl I, it creates the room needed to charge.
Last researched: 2026-08-09
CATEGORIES
Civilization·Economic·Science Fiction·Space Exploration·Territory Building
MECHANICS
End Game BonusesHexagon GridIncomeModular BoardNetwork and Route BuildingSolo / Solitaire GameTagsTech Trees / Tech TracksTurn Order: Pass Order
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