E M I S S A R Y

T H E R E D F R O N T I E R

Game Overview
Game Design by Oliver Kiley (Rules v15e)

On distant Mars, beyond the reach of common Earth-dwellers, the Interspace Guilds vie for control of
the Martian frontier. The Guilds orchestrate the movements and machinations of the nomadic colonists,
necessary to securing critical resources and laying claim to fresh regions of Mars. The conductors of
this activity are the Emissaries of the Guilds, freelance agents with a knack for subterfuge. As an
Emissary, you are tasked with influencing the activities of colonists in a bid to fulfill a set of Guild
contracts. The first such Emissary able to complete their contracts will secure control of the region in
the name of their patron Guild.

Game Flow: In Emissary: The Red Planet, players will explore a grid of location cards that represent
a map of a region of Mars. Players will collect and spend resources to build up influence on cards. Each
game will have a random set of three contract cards that determine the specific victory condition in play
for that game. Contracts objectives are based on controlling certain types and/or arrangements of
cards. Players will compete through managing their hand of cards, modifying the cards in the map, and
positioning their influence to secure control of the region.

Components

• 69 Rank & Suit Cards: 12 Contract Cards (“Φ” symbol), 6 Aces (“Δ” symbol), 6 Crowns
(“Ж” symbol), and 45 Tier Cards in 3 Tiers (“I, II, and III” symbols)
• 2 Reshuffle Cards
• 1 First Player Card
• Resource Tokens: 24 cube tokens (four of each of the six resource types)
• Influence Tokens: 60 circular tokens (15 in each of the four player colors)
• 4 Resource Tracker Boards
• 2 Reference Cards

Setup

1. Shuffle the Aces, Crowns, and Tier rank cards (Δ, I, II, III, and Ж) into a deck. For a 2-player
game, remove the cards marked for 3- or 4-player only (3-triangle or 4-square icons in the bottom
left corner of the card). For a 3-player game, remove 4-player only cards.

2. Build out the “Map” by dealing cards face down from the draw pile into a series of offset lines as
illustrated below. The number of cards in the map depends on the number of players in the game.

[222] [222] [333] [444]

[222] [222] [222] [333] [444]
[222] [222] [222] [222] [333] [444]
[222] [222] [222] [333] [444]
[222] [222] [333] [444]

3. Deal four (4) cards from the deck to each player. The remaining cards form a draw pile. Leave
space for a discard pile next to the draw pile.
4. Each player takes the supply of Influence tokens in one color, a resource tracker, and one
resource token of each color. Place resource tokens next to each players resource tracker.

5. Take the “Standard Victory” contract card and place it face up next to the map. Shuffle the
remaining Contract cards and deal 3 face up next to the Standard Victory Card. These Contract
Cards are the objectives players are competing to complete.

6. Take the remaining Contract cards and deal one (1) to each player. Any un-dealt Contract Cards
are set aside and are not used.

7. Choose a player to go first and give them the First Player card.

8. Starting with the First player and proceeding clockwise, each player places their Contract card at
the edge of map such that it is adjacent to two other cards and not within two cards distance of
another player’s already placed Contract Card. This card is a player’s starting origin card.

9. Each player places an Influence on their starting origin card and then gains 1 resource in each
of the suits shown on their starting origin card.

10. Finally, Players seated in 2nd/3rd/4th in turn order take 1/2/3 total resources (respectively) in any
combination of suit.

Key Concepts

Card Ranks & Suits

All cards in the game have a rank, denoted by the text symbols in the corner (Φ, Δ, Ж, I, II, or III).
Additionally, all cards have one, two, or three suits, denoted by the colored resource symbols in the
corner (Blue = Water, Brown = Clay, Green = Carbon, Orange = Iron, White = Oxygen, and Yellow =
Silica).

Hand Limit
The hand limit in the game is four (4) cards.

Open Locations & Full Cards

Cards in the map contain circles that are locations where players’ influence tokens are placed. An
open location is a circled spot on the card with no influence tokens on it.

A card on the map is full when there are no more open locations or if the card is a Crown (Ж) with one
player’s influence on it (only one player can have influence on a Crown).

Adjacency
Cards in the Map are considered adjacent if they share any partially or fully coincident edges.

Regions + Card Suits

A region is any grouping or sequence of two or more cards that are adjacent and share a common
suit. Two suited cards may belong to two different regions, one for each suit. A card that is not adjacent
to one or more cards sharing a suit does not constitute a region (i.e. Regions of only 1 card in size do
not exist).

Tracking Resources
As players gain and spend resources in the six suits, use the resource tracker boards.
Collection Value of Cards
Each card has a Collection Value based by the card’s rank, as follows:

• Aces (Δ) 3 resources; all matching the card’s suit

• Tier I 1 Resource matching one of the card’s suits.
• Tier II 2 Resources; one from each suit.
• Tier III 3 Resource; one from each suit and a third from either suit
• Crowns (Ж) 2 Resources in the card’s suit.
• Contract (Φ) 1 Resource for each suit on the Contract Card.

Influence Tokens
Each player will have 15 influence tokens. Players are limited to these 15 influence tokens over the
course of the game. If a player wishes to place an influence token and has no unplaced tokens
remaining, they may remove one of their tokens that is already in play, freeing it up for use. Players
may not remove the Influence token from their Contract Card.

Resource Exchange
Players may freely exchange 3 of one kind of resource for one resource of another kind however many
times they wish during their turn.

Contract Cards
Contract cards are NEVER considered to be part of a region and cannot have actions targeted on them
by other players.

Turn Sequence & Actions

The game begins with the First Player taking a turn and proceeding clockwise in a series of Rounds. A
Round is completed once all players have taken a turn as the active player. On a player’s turn, that
player may perform the following:

• Up to Two Normal Actions (Survey, Influence, Collect, Reengineer, Move, Discover, Oust)
• Up to One Recycle Action

Most actions have a cost in resources that must be paid. A player may take the same normal action
twice during their turn, and all actions may be taken in any order.

NORMAL Actions

SURVEY Action
Allows you to uncover cards in the map and alter the map’s layout.

To Survey, pay one (1) resource of any type, and then choose a face down card on the map, flip it over,
and do one of the following:

A. Keep the card in place on the map

OR…
B. Put the explored card into your hand, and then put a different card from your hand face up
onto the map in the same position on the map.
INFLUENCE Action
Allows you to expand your influence over the cards in the map.

To Influence, pay Resources to place one or more influence on a single face-up card with an open
location(s) adjacent to where you have influence OR that is on the edge of the map. The resource
cost to place influence depends on the Rank of the card where the Influence is placed, as follows:

• Aces (Δ) + Tier I Pay 1 Resource matching one of the card’s suits.
• Tier II Pay 2 Resources; one from each suit.
• Tier III Pay 3 Resource; one from each suit and a third from either suit
• Crowns (Ж) Pay 2 Resources in the card’s suit.

Influence is placed onto open locations (circles) indicated on the cards. Multiple players can have
influence on a single, with the exception of crowns, which can only contain influence belonging to a
single player.

COLLECT Action
Allows you to extract resources from adjacent cards of the same rank where you have influence.

To Collect, select a card where you have influence. You then collect resources from that card and
from each adjacent card the same rank (i.e. ΦΔ, Ж, I, II, or III) where you also have influence.
The amount of resources collected from a card depends on the card’s Collection Value (see “Collection
Value of Cards” above)

Collecting from Crown Cards (Ж)

While the normal Collection value of a crown is 2 Resources, when collecting resources from a Crown
using this action, you collect 2 Resources for each of your influence on the Crown.

The Trade Rule

When you collect resources from a card where another player has at least one influence token on that
card as well, that player also collects one single Resource from that card matching one of its suits (not
the full Collection Value).

MOVE Action
Allows you to transfer an already placed Influence onto an adjacent card.

To Move, select a card containing one of your influence and pay one (1) resource matching a suit on
that card. You may then move one influence token from that card to an open location on an adjacent
card.

REENGINEER Action
Allows you to exchange a card on the map with a card in your hand.

To Reengineer, perform the following steps:

(1) Select a target card on the map. This card must contain at least one of your influence or be
adjacent to a card with your influence. The target card cannot contain influence
belonging to another player.
(2) Pay the target card's collection cost (see Collection Action above).
(3) Switch the target card with one from your hand, removing all your influence from the card
and returning them to your supply.
DISCOVER Action
Allows you to discard and draw new cards into your hand.

To Discover, discard any number of cards from your hand and then draw the same number of cards
as discarded from the draw deck into your hand.

OUST! Action
Oust attempts are used to remove an opponent’s influence from a card and, if successful, allows the
attacker to perform an extra follow-up action. Oust! actions are resolved as follows:

1. Identify Conflict Card: The active player choses a card containing or adjacent to where
they have influence to be the conflict card where the Oust attempt will take place. A
player’s starting origin card can never be targeted.

2. Determine Attacker & Defender: The player triggering the Oust attempt is the attacker.
The attacker chooses one player with influence on the target card to be the defender. If
there are multiple players with influence, the attacker must only choose one player.

3. Pay Oust Cost: The attacker may target any or all of the defender’s influence. The attacker
pays one (1) resource, of any suit, for each defending influence on the conflict card that
the attacker is attempting to remove.

4. Determine Initial Strength: The attacker and defender count how much they influence they
have on the target card and all adjacent cards. This is each players’ initial strength. The
player with more initial strength has an advantage and the player with less initial strength
has a disadvantage. In the case of a tie, neither player has the advantage or disadvantage.

5. Boost Strength: Both players simultaneously select and then revel one card from their hand
to boost their strength, and then discard the revealed cards. Cards boost strength as follows:

Tier I, II, III: +X strength. “X” is the number printed to the right of the card’s rank.
Crowns (Ж): Automatic win – unless opponent plays an Ace (in which case the
Ace wins!). If both players reveal a Crown, the player with the
advantage wins.
Aces (Δ): Automatic win – but ONLY if opponent plays a Crown. Otherwise
Aces provide zero strength. If both players reveal an Ace, the player
with the disadvantage wins.
Note: If neither player has the advantage or the disadvantage and
both players reveal Crowns or both players reveal Aces, then players
simultaneously select and reveal another card.
6. Determine Results: The winner is the player that that had the highest total power (initial
strength plus boosted strength) or the player that achieved an automatic win (from playing
an Ace or Crown that wasn’t canceled).

If the defender wins or a tie results, the Oust attempt has failed. The attacking player
consumes one of their normal actions in the attempt and nothing further happens.

If the attacker wins, the defender’s influence that was targeted is removed. For each
ousted influence token, the defender does one of the following:
 A. Move the influence token to an adjacent card with an open location, so long as that
card shares none of the same suits as the target card.
OR …
B. Remove the influence token from the board, putting it back in their supply. The
defender then collects one resource in a suit of their choice.

7. Follow-up Action. If the attacker won, they may immediately perform an extra Influence,
Move (moving influence onto the Conflict card), or Reengineer action on the conflict card.
All resource costs and restrictions for follow-up actions apply as normal. This extra action
does not count towards the limit of two normal actions.

RECYCLE Action
To Recycle, discard a card from your hand and then immediately collect resources equal to that card's
Collection value.

Ending a Player’s Turn & Redrawing

A player may declare they are ending their turn after completing any or all of the allowed actions.

However, if at the end of a player’s turn their hand of cards is still at the hand limit, they must perform
a Recycle Action (discarding a card and collecting resources from it) first.

At the end of each player's turn, all players redraw back up to the hand limit, starting with the active
player and proceeding clockwise.

Reshuffling the Draw Pile

If the draw deck is depleted during the game and a player needs to refill their hand, reshuffle the
discard pile to form a new draw pile and adjust the draw pile reminder cards. Depleting the draw deck
may also trigger the end of the game (see Ending Conditions later in the rules).

End Game & Winning Conditions

Ending The Game

The game ends immediately if a player can claim two or more objectives listed on the contract
cards at the same time (see “Contract Victory” below).

Otherwise, the game continues and will finish at the end of round (i.e. after all players have taken an
equal numbers of turns) if either of the following conditions are met at any point during the round (and
even if it is later unmet).

1. One or more players have placed all of their influence tokens.

2. The deck has been reshuffled a number of times equal to the number of players.
3. All cards on the map are full of influence at any time during the round. A card is full if either:
• The card has influence placed on every open location
• The card is a Crown with at least one influence on it.
Contract Victory
The game is won immediately by a player if, on their turn, can demonstrate that they meet the
objectives listed on two (or more) of the three non-standard contract cards.

• Might – Have the most influence in a region that is five or more cards in size and that
matches any one suit on the scoring Contract card. Remember that a players home Contract
card does not count as part of region.
• Economize – Have influence on a card matching any one suit on the scoring Contract card
and that is adjacent to three other cards of the same rank and also containing at least one
your influence.
• Authority – Have at least four total influence on Crowns, one of which must match a suit on
the scoring Contract card and have the most total influence on Crowns compared to all other
players.
• Trade – Have influence on five or more cards that also contain influence belonging to
another player.
• Blockade – Have the most influence in a region with at least four cards in a continuous
sequence along the edge of the map.
• Monopolize – Be able to produce at least six (6) resources of three different types. To do
this, you must have influence on cards where the combined collection values are six or more
for three different types of resources.
Note: Cards that provide a choice of resources in the collection value (i.e. Tier 1 and Tier 3
cards) can only provide one type of resource at a time towards meeting this contract.
• Diversify – Be able to produce at least three (3) resources of all six types. As with
Monopolize above, cards with a choice of resources to provide can only provide one type of
resource.
• Centralize – Have the most influence on each card of an “interior diamond” shape grouping
of adjacent cards. These cards do not need to be the same rank or suit.
• Concentrate – Have influence on three or more Aces.
• Polarize – Have influence on each card in a region that connects from “pole to pole” in the
map (i.e. the top row of cards and the bottom row of cards that are 5-cards apart).
• Rush – Have the most influence on seven or more cards.

Important! You must claim both contract objectives at the same time to win.

Important! A set of cards used to meet an objective cannot completely overlap with the set of cards
used to complete the other objective. There can be some shared cards between the two objectives, but
neither set of cards can be completely contained within the other set.
Standard Victory
If the end game conditions are met with no players having accomplished a Contract Win, then a score
for each player is determined for the standard victory contract card as follows:

1. Identify the largest region of each suit, based on the number of cards in the region. These are
treated as a scoring region. If there is a tie for largest region within a suit, the tied regions will all
be counted for scoring.

2. For each scoring region, player earn points equal to the number of influence they have in that
region.

3. Players total up their points earned across all the scoring regions. The player with the highest total
wins. In the case of a tie, the player that last took their turn is the winner.

Acknowledgements

Design: Oliver Kiley

PD Magnus for creation and use of the Decktet that inspired the original incarnation of Emissary
(www.decktet.com).

Credit for Mars surface images: “ESA/DLR/FU Berlin - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO”
Images collected via ESA’s “Space in Images” program: http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images
The applicable Creative Commons License can be viewed here:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/

Mars full planet image credit: “NASA / USGS” Public Domain

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mars_Valles_Marineris.jpeg

Witch Head Nebula Image Credit: “NASA Witch Head Nebula Digitized Sky Survey” Public Domain
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_Witch_Head_Nebula_Digitized_Sky_Survey.jpg

All credited images were cropped, color balanced, and/or overlaid with other imagery as part of the
game components’ graphic design.