A Guide to the Star Trek Customizable Card Game – Rules, Cards & Playing Instructions

Introduction

The Star Trek Customizable Card Game is a CCG with elements of strategy, knowledge, and a bit of luck. It’s based on the Star Trek universe, and it’s pretty cool if you ask me. The game was first released back in 1994 by Decipher, Inc. It’s not just about battles but also about missions, diplomacy, and exploration, just like in the Star Trek shows and movies.

Players get to build their own decks with characters, ships, and events from the Star Trek universe and then go head-to-head to outsmart each other. The game has a bunch of expansions that add new cards and strategies. But here’s the thing, the game isn’t in print anymore. Decipher lost the license in 2007, so no new official cards have been made since then. However, there’s a dedicated community that keeps the game alive with virtual expansions and organized play events.

Rules for playing Star Trek Customizable Card Game

Alright, let’s get into the rules. The game is played with two players, each with their own deck. The goal is to score 100 points first, and you do this by completing missions with your personnel and ships. Each player has an outpost where they play their cards from. You’ve got to manage your resources, like energy and crew members, to play cards and use abilities.

During your turn, you can do a bunch of things like playing cards, attempting missions, engaging in combat, and more. Missions are the core of the game. They have requirements you need to meet with your personnel, like having certain skills or attributes. If you complete a mission, you get points. But watch out, your opponent can mess with your missions using dilemmas, which are like traps or challenges you have to overcome.

There’s also combat. You can battle your opponent’s ships to stop them from completing missions or to defend your own space. The game has a lot of depth, with different strategies and card interactions to explore. It’s a good idea to read the full rulebook to get all the details.

Card Types for Star Trek Customizable Card Game

Now, let’s talk about card types. There are several kinds of cards in the game:

1. Personnel: These are your crew members and characters from the Star Trek universe.
2. Ships: These are used to travel to missions and engage in combat.
3. Events: Special one-time effects that can change the game.
4. Interrupts: Cards that can be played at almost any time to surprise your opponent.
5. Equipment: Items that can help your personnel.
6. Dilemmas: Challenges that are placed on missions to stop your opponent.
7. Missions: The objectives you’re trying to complete to win the game.
8. Outposts: Your base of operations where you play your cards from.

When you’re starting out, you might want to get a starter set. These come with a pre-made deck and everything you need to learn the game.

How to Play Star Trek Customizable Card Game and Game Mechanics

When setting up for the Star Trek CCG, arrange your five mission cards face up in any order in front of you. Put your shuffled dilemma pile to the left and your shuffled deck to the right.

To decide who goes first, use a random method like a coin toss or another fair method. The player determined to go first draws seven cards from their deck to create their starting hand.

Remember the player who takes the first turn, as this order might have significance during the game.

Playing the game involves a few key steps:

1. Play and Draw Cards: At the start of your turn, you have the chance to play cards from your hand and draw from your deck. You’re provided with seven counters to spend – these can be used for playing cards, drawing new ones, or a mix of both. However, it’s crucial to use all seven counters each turn unless your deck is empty. This segment sets up your strategy by building your resources or enacting immediate actions.
2. Execute Orders: In this phase, you use cards already in play to execute various orders. These orders include beaming personnel, moving ships, or attempting missions. You can perform multiple orders in any sequence, allowing for flexible strategy planning and execution. However, you can only execute one order at a time, and if an interrupt specifies an “Order,” it can’t be played while executing another order. Stopped cards due to game text or rules cannot perform orders.
3. Discard Excess Cards: Towards the end of your turn, you must manage your hand size. If you’re holding more than seven cards, you need to discard until you’re left with just seven. This ensures you maintain a strategic hand without excess or unnecessary cards, preparing you for the next turn.

At the conclusion of your turn, previously stopped cards become active again, and the Range of ships is fully restored. Victory in the game is achieved by reaching 100 points or more while commanding at least one completed planet and space mission. The game ends when these conditions align for a player or if all players deplete their decks. In case of a tie, the winner is determined based on mission completions and score, possibly leading to shared victories among multiple players.

How to Win at Star Trek Customizable Card Game

Winning the game is all about strategy. Beginners should focus on understanding how different cards work together and how to complete missions efficiently. As you get better, you’ll start to see more advanced strategies, like using dilemmas to mess with your opponent or setting up powerful combos with your cards.

Intermediate players should pay attention to their opponent’s moves and adapt their strategy accordingly. It’s also important to balance your resources and not overextend yourself.

Advanced players will be all about predicting their opponent’s strategy and disrupting it while optimizing their own deck to execute their game plan flawlessly.

Best Strategies for playing Star Trek Customizable Card Game

To excel at STCCG, players should focus on several key strategies. First and foremost, deck building is crucial; players should construct their decks to have a solid balance of mission-solving personnel, ships, and events, tailored to their chosen affiliation’s strengths. It’s important to have a clear win condition in mind, whether that’s through completing missions efficiently or interfering with your opponent’s plans. Players should also adapt to the meta-game, understanding popular strategies and building their deck to counter them.

During gameplay, resource management is essential, as is positioning; players need to deploy their ships and personnel effectively to both advance their own objectives and thwart their opponents. A deep understanding of the game’s rules and card interactions is a significant advantage, as is the ability to anticipate an opponent’s moves.

Lastly, remaining adaptable and making tactical in-game decisions based on the state of play can turn the tide of a match. By combining these strategies with a dose of creativity and a strong knowledge of the Star Trek universe, players can boldly go where no one has gone before, achieving victory in the Star Trek Customizable Card Game.

Some of the best strategies involve:

• Deck synergy: Making sure your cards work well together.
• Resource management: Not running out of energy or crew members.
• Adaptability: Being able to change your plan based on what your opponent does.
• Knowledge: Knowing what cards are in your deck and what your opponent might be playing.

And don’t forget about sneaky tactics like bluffing or using decoys to throw your opponent off.

Deck Building and Best Cards in Star Trek Customizable Card Game

Building a good deck is key. You want a mix of personnel with different skills, some strong ships, and a variety of other cards to handle different situations.

When constructing a deck each player needs a minimum of 60 cards:

1. Missions: At least 5 different missions, including a minimum of 2 non-headquarters missions. These missions form the objectives for players to accomplish during the game.
2. Dilemma Pile: A collection of at least 20 dilemmas. Dilemmas present challenges or obstacles to opposing players attempting missions, adding strategic depth to gameplay.
3. Deck: A deck containing a minimum of 35 cards. This deck comprises the various personnel, ships, equipment, and events you’ll use to navigate missions and overcome dilemmas.

A key rule is the limitation on card copies: You’re allowed a maximum of three copies of each card title, excluding subtitles. For instance, you can have three copies of “Jean-Luc Picard, Explorer” or a combination like two copies of “Jean-Luc Picard, Explorer” and one copy of “Jean-Luc Picard, Argo Pilot.” However, you can’t have three copies of both cards since they share the same title.

This deck-building restriction encourages players to strategize and diversify their decks while allowing room for customization and personalization within the game’s parameters.

In the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, the uniqueness of certain cards, particularly personnel and ships, is denoted by a dot (•) before their title. Here’s how uniqueness works:

• Unique Cards: Marked with a dot (•) before the card title. You can command only one card with that title at any given time. For example, •Jean-Luc Picard allows only one of that specific card to be under your command. Other players can also have their own •Jean-Luc Picard in play, but each player is limited to one.
• Subtitles: Even if two cards have different subtitles but the same card title, they’re considered identical and are subject to uniqueness rules. You can’t replace a card in play with another one that shares the same card title or represents the same thing.
• Taking Command: If you already command a unique card, you can’t take command of an opponent’s identical unique card. Uniqueness prevents duplication or ownership of the same unique card by a single player.
• Non-Unique Cards: Cards without the dot (•) before their title are non-unique. This means players can have multiple copies of these cards in play simultaneously. Events usually fall into this category, and their effects can stack or accumulate when multiple copies are in play.

Best Cards in Star Trek Customizable Card Game

Some of the best cards include powerful characters like Captain Picard or ships like the U.S.S. Enterprise. Events like “Q’s Tent” can be game-changers, and dilemmas like “The Clown: Bitter Medicine” can really mess with your opponent.

In terms of card rarity, mostly the cards from the 1st Edition are considered ‘Ultra-rares’ in the Star Trek CCG. Here’s a list of them:

Ultra Rare (Star Trek CCG 1E) Cards
Borg Queen (Reflections)
Dixon Hill (HA)
Dr. McCoy (TTWT)
Elim (BoG) (Foil)
First Officer Spock (MM)
Future Enterprise (AU)
Future Enterprise (Reflections)
Jadzia Dax (BoG) (Foil)
James T. Kirk (TMP)
Jean-Luc Picard (Reflections)
Locutus’ Borg Cube (BoG) (Foil)
Reginald Barclay (TB)
Riker Wil (BoG) (Foil)
The Pendari Champion (VOY)
U.S.S. Defiant (Reflections)

Scenarios

Common scenarios include being stuck with a hand full of dilemmas when you need personnel or facing a powerful ship without enough firepower to defend yourself. In these cases, it’s important to stay calm and use what you have to slowly turn the situation around.

Frequently Asked Questions about playing Star Trek Customizable Card Game

Here are some common questions:

Q: How many cards can I have in my hand? A: You can have up to seven cards in your hand at the end of your turn.

Q: Can I play more than one ship? A: Yes, you can have multiple ships in play.

Q: What happens if I run out of cards in my deck? A: You reshuffle your discard pile to form a new deck.

Q: Can I change my deck between games? A: Yes, as long as it follows the deck building rules.

Q: How do I stop my opponent’s strategy? A: Use dilemmas, battles, and interrupts to disrupt their plans.

Additional Tips

Here are some extra tips:

• Practice makes perfect. Play as much as you can to get better.
• Join online communities to learn from other players and find virtual expansions.
• Keep your deck updated with new strategies and cards you discover.

External Links

For more info, check out these links:

• Continuing Committee (Fan-run organization)
• 2nd Edition Rulebook [PDF]