Mining resources will allow you to replenish your supplies and earn money. There are several ways to get resources: buy, find or mine. Fuel and Provisions are considered to be the main resources and there is a special place for these resources in your terminal. Basic resources are resources that are always needed for your ship and crew. Without fuel, you can’t move around the playing field, and without provisions, you’ll end up losing the game, even if you have enough fuel. To get to the next level, you need to have enough fuel and provisions.
Extractable resources (can be mined on asteroids, bought or found in debris):
- Ice
- Graphite
- Lithium
Purchasable resources (can be bought or found in debris):
- Food
- Medicine
- Polymer
Created resources (can be bought/exchanged/borrowed from players):
- Water
1un. Water = 1un. Ice
(can be created on any player ship or peace station). - Energy Cell
1item. Energy cells (fuel)5 = 1 item. Graphite + 1ed. Lithium + 1ed. Polymer
(can be created on a large ship or peace station). - Provisions
1item. Provisions (for crew)5 = 1 item. Water + 1 unit. Food + 1 unit. Medicine
(can be created on any ship).
You can buy resources at stations or from other players. You can only buy at the station with credits, and there is an exchange available between players, depends on how you negotiate. Find resources in shipwrecks or abandoned stations. The type and amount of the resource is determined by the dice rolled. One dice indicate the type of resource, the other dice indicate the quantity. If you find ship wreckage in an open area, roll dice. If the resources found do not fit in the hold, you take as much as you can fit, and the wreckage remains on the field. If you take all resources, the area with the ship wreckage is taken from the playing field. The area with the abandoned station is not taken from the playing field and always brings resources6.
Some resources are mined in areas with asteroids or on planets. The area with the scooped asteroid is taken from the game board and this area is not returned to the game board until the end of the game. Asteroids come in two classes: class I, class II.
For example: a class “II” asteroid can be dug twice. Once per turn. With each dig, the asteroid is reduced by one class. The scooped asteroid is removed from the field and returned to play at the start of the next level.
Resource extraction on asteroids is only possible by ship, and drilling equipment must be installed. To transfer resources to a player or for sale, you have to be in the same area with the object.