1.0 Components:

6 sets of 16 tokens (one colour per player)
The 6 Billion™ playing board
The Discovery Track
The Hidden Agenda & Discovery cards
(you do not use the remaining cards, the Distance Chart, nor the 6 Billion™ rules)
Background Information

2.0 Game Set-up

Terminology: Hidden Agenda cards and Discovery cards for planets are destination cards. Dollar, Smiley & Leaf cards are good deed cards. The board displays 10 fame tracks (ignore holding boxes). The Discovery Track displays 3 good deed tracks.

Once Around The Sun can be played by 3-6 players. Each player selects 1 set of tokens. Each player places 1 token into a cup, and 1 token on the Start space of the score track. Shuffle the Discovery and Hidden Agenda cards together, taking care that a Hidden Agenda card does not appear on the top after shuffling. From this deck, deal 3 cards face-up next to the deck.

One player removes the tokens, one at a time, from the cup and places them - in the order drawn - onto the Turn Order track.

3.0 Game Turn

A game turn consists of each player having their own player turn, as determined by the tokens on the turn order track.

Each player, during his / her turn, can normally perform 2 actions:

• Go on a trip
• Perform a good deed

A player can perform either action twice, or both actions once. Use the dividing line on the Turn Order track to indicate when a player's turn is over.

Before each action by a player:

• Remove any face-up cards for out-of-play destinations - these cards are out-of-play . Continue until none of the 3 face-up cards are out-of-play destinations.
• If all 3 face-up cards are good deed cards then place them in the discard pile and replace them from the deck. They are still in play.
• If both Hidden Agenda destination cards for one fame track are displayed, place them both in the discard pile and replace them from the deck.They are still in play.
• If only 2 face-up cards remain and the deck is exhausted, shuffle the discard pile (do not include the 2 face-up cards) to form a new deck taking care that a Hidden Agenda card does not appear on the top after shuffling.

Once all players have had their turn, put all the tokens back into the cup, and start another turn.

4.0 Trips

Design Note: Trips are great opportunities to increase your own fame. Your fans will adore you for your early trips. Successive visits from your competitors and yourself will only serve to increase the fame of  each of you as the paparazzi give chase, the fans make comparisons between you, bigger and bigger audiences watch the next interview, the Web Press publish retrospectives ... and so on.  You are the rock stars of the future!

The destination for each trip is determined by selecting 1 of the face-up cards, and immediately drawing a replacement face-up card from the deck (so that there are always 3 face-up cards).

Having determined the destination, the player places one of his / her tokens onto the fame track (1 2 4 8 etc) for that destination. The  following rules must be followed in order:

• If active player is out of tokens before making a trip, he / she may remove any one of his /her tokens from any fame track.
• If the destination fame track is unoccupied then place the token on the 1 space.
• If the fame track is already in use then place the token in the space after the highest numbered, occupied space.
• If the active player now has 2 or 3 tokens on that fame track then move the newly placed token up to the next space. A token on the last space is not moved.
• If the active player now has exactly 3 tokens on that fame track, the player removes his / her token from the lowest numbered of the 3 occupied spaces.
• If the active player's token ends up on the last space for that fame track then remove the destination card from the game. This card is considered out-of-play. For Hidden Agendas, the 2nd card is also considered out-of-play (it is removed now if face-up, or as soon as it is turned over).
• If the active player's token was the first token on, or above, the 8 space then owning player(s) immediately score 1 point for each of their own tokens on the 8 space or below. This means that the triggering token may not score (e.g. you place your token on the 8 space, then - because of step 4 above - your token is moved onto the 16 space, and so you do not score).
• If the active player's token was the first token on, or above, the 32 space then active player must offer a deal to one other player who has a token below the 32 space. Having selected the opposing player, both players now decide whether to co-operate or not. Each player takes any spare token and secretly decides whether to hold the token in their fist (co-operate), or whether to present an empty fist (renege). Fists are opened simultaneously. If the players co-operate, both immediately score 1 point. If one reneges, that player immediately scores 2 points. If both renege, both score nothing. If the active player is alone on that fame track then no deal is offered. Design Note: Sometimes you get praise for praising others, sometimes you get nothing! This rule is an attempt to incorporate a type of game from the Game Theory branch of mathematics called Prisoner's Dilemma.
• If the player's token was the first token on, or above, the space with the red circle then this action counts as a free action.
• The first time the active player's tokens are present on each of the inner solar system fame tracks, immediately score 5 bonus points.
• The first time the active player's tokens are present on each of the outer solar system fame tracks, immediately score 5 bonus points.

5.0 Good Deeds.

The Discovery Track is used to record your philanthropic and humane actions. Give a little money to charity here (Dollar), make a heart-warming speech there (Smiley), and save the occasional space monkey, Asteroid tree or Mercury mole (Leaf)! And in an effort to sweeten the perception of your actions even more, you give credit to one of your competitors!

The particular good deed to be performed is determined by selecting 1 of the face-up Dollar, Smiley or Leaf cards, and immediately drawing a replacement face-up card from the deck (so that there are always 3 face-up cards).

Having determined the good deed, the  following rules must be followed in order:

• If the active player already has a token on that track, the player moves his / her token up to the next space.
• If the active player does not have a token on that track, place a token on the 1 space.
• If the track is already in use by another player, move a token belonging to a player in last place on that track (your choice if last place is tied) up to the next space. You immediately score points equal to the number of the space to which their token was moved.
• If the active player's token ends up on the last space for that track then remove that good deed card from the game. This card is considered out-of-play. The 2nd card for this good deed is also considered out-of-play (it is removed now if face-up, or as soon as it is turned over).

6.0 Game End and Scoring

The game ends immediately when no more destination cards remain in play, or no more good deed cards remain in play. This is easy to tell from the out-of-play cards. It should take no more than an hour per game.

Once the game has ended, score each track on the Discovery Track and each fame track on the board. The scores for 1st, 2nd and 3rd are listed on the Discovery Track.

Score each fame track as follows:

Note the first 3 colours on the track. Only tokens of these colours score - remove any differently coloured tokens. The player receives points for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place (note that tied positions are not possible). These points are doubled if the player has 2 tokens on that fame track. Remove all tokens from each track as it is scored.

Score each good deed track as follows:

Each player notes the highest numbered good deed space for one of their tokens. Each player notes how many of the 3 tracks they have tokens on. Multiply these numbers together and add the result to your score.

Keep track of points in excess of 50 by placing a token for that colour on the 50 space.

Guess what - the highest score wins. 

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