Introduction

On the distant Ice-moon Arktia, an outpost is to be erected far from civilisation. Players must try to place their futuristic habitation and science modules - called moogloos - on adjacent ice tiles in such a way that they control as much of the ice as possible.
But be warned! Moogloos which are separated from the main group of the same colour cannot survive in this hostile climate and will be removed.
During the course of the game the climate starts warming, which puts limits on the expansion of the settlement: players who have already placed all their moogloos can start to remove ice tiles from the ice continent.
At the end of the game the players count their points which they receive for each

• ice tile they control
• moogloo that they have removed
• ice tile that they have removed

The one who survives these arctic challenges, by the smartest placement of moogloos, will score the most points and win the game!

Game Material

36 ice tiles

Globus 3 small moogloos in 4 colours

Diskus 3 medium moogloos in 4 colours

Torus 3 large moogloos in 4 colours

Game Preparation

• Each player receives all 9 moogloos of one colour.

• Depending on the number of players the ice continent (=game board) will be set up according to the following table.
  

• In the two player game, each player receives a small, medium and large moogloo of a neutral colour. These are placed by turns at the beginning of the game, on adjacent ice tiles of the continent (see example in table above). These neutral moogloos will not be moved individually by any player, however they can be part of towers and removed from the game like players' pieces.

Start of the Game, the first two Turns

1st Turn: One player starts by placing the first moogloo on an empty ice tile of the ice continent. The next players clockwise will place one of their moogloos on an empty ice tile adjacent to any occupied ice tile.
In the two player game, the first moogloos will be placed on empty ice tiles adjacent to an ice tile occupied by a neutral moogloo or the opponent's moogloo.

2nd Turn: In the second turn, players have to place their moogloos on empty ice tiles adjacent to an ice tile occupied with a moogloo of their own colour.

Game Sequence

In the following turns, players have two options: either to place further moogloos or move their own moogloos or towers.

Placing of Moogloos

Moogloos can only be placed on empty ice tiles which are adjacent to ice tiles which contain at least one moogloo of the same colour. It does not matter whether these adjacent ice tiles also contain moogloos of other colours or which player controls these ice tiles.

Moving of Moogloos and Towers

• Moogloos may move in a straight line and by any number of ice tiles on the ice continent.
  They may also jump over other game pieces.
  

• Moogloos may move onto an empty ice tile or onto ice tiles with any other moogloos (whether of same or different colours) and form a tower.
  

• Moves which would have as a consequence the removal of your own moogloos are not allowed.

• Towers move just as individual moogloos do.

Forming of Towers

• When several moogloos are placed on one ice tile, only the following tower variants are allowed. The colour of the individual elements is not relevant.
  

• Tower (C) can only result from moving a Torus onto a Globus. Moving a Globus onto a Torus is not allowed. Elements may only be placed on an empty Torus, no further moogloos may be placed on tower (C).

• Tower (D) can result either from moving tower (A) on top of an empty Torus or from moving a Globus on top of tower (B).

• Towers may also be disassembled by moving only parts of the tower. In the tower variants of figure 3, the topmost moogloos (green) may be moved alone to other ice tiles. In the case of tower (D), the two topmost moogloos may be moved together. The Globus of tower (C) cannot move as long as it is blocked by the Torus on the same ice tile.

Control of Ice Tiles

• The control of ice tiles is relevant for the movement and the scoring at the end of the game. In case there is only one moogloo on an ice tile, then it controls that ice tile. Ice tiles which are occupied by towers are controlled by the topmost moogloo. In the examples of figure 3, the green moogloos are considered the topmost ones.

• Only the player who owns the topmost moogloo can move the tower or parts of it.

Removal of Moogloos

• After each move of a player it is checked whether all moogloos of the same colour are located on adjacent ice tiles of the ice continent. It is not relevant whether any moogloos of other colours are also present on these ice tiles.

• In case there are individual moogloos or groups of moogloos which are disconnected from the largest group of moogloos of the same colour, then the player who completed the last move must take these moogloos out of the game and keep them until the end of the game. These removed moogloos are considered in the final scoring. (For the evaluation, the actual number of moogloos is counted, not the ice tiles they occupy.)
  

• In case the number of moogloos in disjoint groups of the same colour is equal, then the active player decides which groups will be removed.

• Through the removing of moogloos it can occur that the control of an ice tile swaps. In figure 4 the control swaps from the green Globus to the yellow Torus.

Melting of Ice Tiles

• Towards the end of the game, the climate warms and ice tiles begin to melt. If players have placed all their moogloos then they must remove one ice tile from the ice continent after every subsequent move. These molten ice tiles are kept until the end of the game, they are points in the final scoring.

• Important for the melting of ice tiles:

  • Only empty ice tiles at the border of the ice continent may be removed.

  • No islands may be created, the game board must remain in one piece.

  • Moving moogloos or towers across holes in the ice continent resulting from the melting of the ice tiles is not allowed.

• Players who have not yet placed all of their moogloos on the ice continent are not yet allowed to melt ice tiles!

End of the Game

• The game ends for a player if they ...

  • ... can neither place a moogloo nor move a moogloo or tower.

  • ... must remove an ice tile but there is no empty ice tile at the border of the ice continent.

  • ... have only one moogloo left on the ice continent in the course of the game. In this case it is not relevant, whether this player still could place new moogloos.

  • ... do not want to carry out further moves.

• The other players continue playing until the game ends for them individually according to the conditions mentioned above.

The Winner is ...

... the player who scores the most points at the end. They receive one point for

• each ice tile they control at the end of the game
• each moogloo they have removed from the board during the game
• each molten ice tile they have removed from the board during the game

Options to the Game Rules

• The initial setup for three players can include nine neutral moogloos in analogy to the two players game. Before the start of the game players place these neutral moogloos on empty adjacent ice tiles. The game is then played according to the normal rules. The first moogloos are placed adjacent to ice tiles occupied by neutral or opponents' moogloos.

• When setting up the ice continent at the start, other shapes can be selected. The number of ice tiles should be equal to the total number of all players' moogloos in the game.