Race for the Galaxy Setup Guide

It’s generally pretty easy to set up the Race for the Galaxy card game, but here’s a video to help you through it. All bets are off when you start adding expansions, though (see below).

(click to view transcript)

HI! It’s Ryan from Nights Around a Table. Here’s how you set up Race for the Galaxy.

You shuffle these five special start worlds, and deal one to face-up each player. The rest go back into the draw deck. These start worlds might give you an idea of what sort of strategy to pursue. For example, this start world gives you a head start on military, while this one gives you a few bonuses in the Consume phase.

Everyone’s tableau starts with a start world. Then, you deal 6 cards to each player. Everyone discards 2 of those cards into the messy discard pile, for a starting hand of 4 cards.

And now you’re ready to play! If you’d like to know more about how to play, click the link at the end of this video or in the description below to watch my complete How to Play video, which includes the setup segment you just watched. And if you like what i’m doing, click the badge to subscribe, and the bell to get notifications. And now, we danc

Race for the Galaxy is a great game, but setting it up can be a real challenge – especially when you integrate its first three expansions: The Gathering Storm, Rebel vs. Imperium, and The Brink of War.

Figuring out setup with these expansions (especially after a long absence) requires you to thumb through four different instruction manuals. We’ve consolidated all of the setup rules for Race for the Galaxy in this handy, printable Race for the Galaxy Setup Guide, which prints at the perfect size to fit in your base game box. Enjoy!

Nights Around a Table Race for the Galaxy setup guide

Note: Race for the Galaxy and its expansions are ®Rio Grande Games. This player aid is offered free of charge, as a goodwill gesture by Nights Around a Table.

Get Your Own Copy of Race for the Galaxy

You won’t need this printable guide until you own Race for the Galaxy, and perhaps one or two expansions for it! Get that ball rolling by following the link below; if you buy your copy on Amazon, we’ll earn a small commission.