S E T U P FO R 1 – 4 P L AY E R S

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Your cards are “pre-shuffled” in the wrapper. Just unwrap and set up! If they
do get shuffled/mixed, don’t worry about it, it won’t harm the game.
— CAUTION: DO NOT SHUFFLE IN ZERO-G —

1 The Game Board

Place the game board on the table along with the 3 dice (1 red, 1 gray, and 1 brown).

2 The Earth Actions/Worker Spaces

New Staff: Place the First Game Overlay over the Earth. This is
excellent for introducing new players to One Small Step.
Veteran Staff: Go to Step 3.

1
3 The Earth Action Upgrade Tokens (x20)

New Staff: Place these tokens in a

pile near the board.
Veteran Agency Staff: Place a
Satellite or Capsule Marker on
every Earth Upgrade space, so

Ev Ev

6
only the basic Actions are visible.

en en
Place Satellite Markers the left side

tC tC
Upgrade Spaces; Capsule Markers

ar ard
d D
on the right. It does not matter which

D r
Team flag is face up in this location.

ra af
ft t
4 The Satellite Bonus Tiles and Media Bonus Tiles (2 locations)
Separately shuffle the brown Satellite Bonus Tiles and the blue
Media Bonus Tiles into their own stacks. Place each stack on its
matching symbol on the board, face down.

5 The Satellite Mission Cards 7

Find the 4 Starting Satellite Mission Cards with S in the upper left
hand corner, and set these aside for now. Place the Satellite card
deck on its matching image on the board, face down.
6 The Event Deck
a. Event Cards have 1, 2, or 3 printed on the back.
Place the 3’s face-down on the Event Deck space on
the board. Place the 2’s face-down next. Place the
1’s face-down on top.
b. Draw 4 Event Cards and place them face up on the
4 Event Card draft spaces. Players start with no cards
in hand.
1 7 The Advancement Deck and Tokens
New Staff: Ignore any in-game references to these.
2
Veteran Staff:
3 a. Place the Advancement Deck on its matching symbol on the
board, face-down.
b. Draw 4 Advancement cards and place them face up on the
Advancements card locations shown on the board.
c. Set the pile of Advancement Tokens beside the board.

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 8 The Hazard Deck 10 Player Resources
Place the Hazard Deck face down on its board space. Each side chooses their nation to play — USSR or USA — and
receives that nation’s:
9 The Moon Path and its Bonus Tiles
2

a. Place the 7 VP Tile on the last space of the Moon Path.
b. Shuffle the Manned Mission Bonus Tiles and place 5 face-
down on the remaining Moon Path spaces, 1 per space.
c. Stack the remaining Manned Mission Bonus Tiles
near the board.
• Control Board
• 2 Engineer and 2 Administrator Workers
• Manned Mission Deck
• VP Marker (place on the start space of the VP Track)
• Media Track Marker (place on the Media Track:
USA on space 0 and the USSR on space 1)

11 Draw Starting Missions

3

Draw 2 random Starting Mission cards from the 4 that were set
aside earlier in Step 6 without looking at them. Place one in the

4
T-Minus 2 slot, and one in the T-Minus 1 slot.

12 Draw Starting Tokens

Set out the Token Tray and have each
side take any 2 Tokens from the leftmost
category on their Control Board (Resource
Tokens). Place them in the slot above your
5

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Control Board. Setup is complete.
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5
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 P L AY I N G O N T E A M S

Teams — Play as the USA team or the USSR Team.
Department — Each Team consists of two Departments, the
Engineering and the Administration Departments.
Workers — Engineering controls a pair of two Engineer
Workers; Administration controls a pair of Administrator
Workers.
Players — A Team can be made up of one or two players:
Two Players — With two players, each player on the
same Team controls one Department and its two
Workers.
One Player — A single player can control both
Departments and all four Workers.

W H O H A S I N I T I AT I V E

Media Points = Initiative — The Team with the highest value

on the Media Track has Initiative for the Phase.
If both Teams have the same Media value, the Team who
moved their Media cube last always places their cube on top
of the other Team’s cube. The cube on top will have Initiative.
Phase Initiative — Initiative can change from Phase to Phase
during a Round.
Round One, Phase One — At the beginning of the game, the
Soviets have one Media Point. They start Phase 1 with the
Initiative.

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 CONTROL BOARD AND STORAGE LIMITS

Control Board — Each Team has one Control Board for

managing Workers, Tokens, and Cards.
Unlimited Tokens — There is no limit to the number of
Temporary and Permanent Tokens you may have and store
(Resource Tokens, Satellite Tokens, Manned Mission Tokens,
Advancement Tokens).

Resource Token Satellite Token Manned Mission Token

storage storage storage TEAM DISCARD AREA
Advancement
Event Cards
Tokens
Personnel Cards
Averted Hazard Cards
Worker
Successful Missions
storage
Spent Bonus Tiles

Purchased
Personnel
Adcvancement Personnel Personnel
Card 3
Cards Card 1 Card 2
(Maximum)
(Unlimited)

Unspent
Bonus Tiles

Launch Stage
(Unlimited)

Mission Slot 2 Mission Slot 1

(Unlimited) (Unlimited)

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 Sequence of Play
One Small Step is played over a number of Rounds.
• Each Round is made up of 7 Phases.
• Teams alternate taking Turns in each Phase.
• After both Teams complete their Turns in a Phase, the next Phase starts.
The following pages detail each Phase of the game.

PHASE 1: COUNTDOWN

Advance All Missions — Move each of the Missions on your Control Board one space closer to the Launch stage.

 

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 PHASE 2: REPLENISH

Skip This Phase in Round 1 — In Round 1 there is no need

to Replenish Event Cards or Refresh Tokens since there
was no previous Round.
Replenish Event Cards — Discard all face-up Event Cards
left over from the prior Round. Draw four new Event Cards
and place them face up on the board.
Refresh Tokens — Refresh your Permanent Tokens
(square) used in the previous Round by flipping them from
the spent side (gray) to the fresh side (black).
Permanent Tokens — These are dark, square Tokens
Temporary Tokens — These round, light gray,
double-sided Tokens are acquired and spent
throughout the game. When you recieve any, store
them by type above your Control Board. When you
spend any, return them to the Token Tray.
When you recieve any, store them by type above your
Control Board. When you spend any, return them to
the Token Tray.

Spent Fresh

9
9
 PHASE 3: DRAW CARDS

Available Cards — There are three different types of cards available to draw in this Gaining Green Event Cards (Development) — Add these to your Team’s hand. All
Phase. players on a Team share the same hand.

Hand Limit — Unlimited. You may hold as many Development Cards as you wish.

Satellite Mission Card Manned Mission Card Event Card Gaining Blue Event Cards (Personnel) — Place these by the Personnel symbol on
the right side of the Control Board.
Draw Cards — Each Team draws two cards, in Initiative order.

1. Draw a Mission — For your first card, draw either:

• a Satellite Mission Card from the shared Satellite Mission Deck
• a Manned Mission Card from your Team’s deck
Personnel Limit — Three Personnel Cards, maximum. If you gain a fourth, you
may choose which three to keep and place the remaining card in your Team’s
discard pile.

Gaining Mission Cards — Place Satellite and/or Manned Mission Cards in either the
T-Minus 1 or T-Minus 2 stage on your Control Board.

Mission Card Limit — Unlimited. You may have as many Mission Cards below your
Control Board as you wish.

2. Draw Your Choice — For your second card, draw either:

• an Event Card (green back, blue or green front)
• a Satellite Mission Card
• a Manned Mission Card

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 PHASE 4: PLACE AND RETRIEVE WORKERS

Placing Workers — Teams place Workers (called “taking an Action”) to claim

immediate benefits called rewards, which include the types of assets you need to
launch Missions.
Earth Spaces — Each Earth Space displays from two to as many as six Actions

Event Card Personnel Card

Earth Space

Unlimited-Use
Worker Space
or tell the Teams what benefit they gain, and what tpye of Worker is required, by
placing a Worker there.

Draw Cards — Each Team draws two cards, in Initiative order.

Action Spaces — Each Action Space displays symbols showing the reward a Team
will receive from choosing that space. Symbols are explained on the back cover.

Where to Place Workers

Place Workers —Teams place Workers matching the Engineer or Administrator

symbol on any unoccupied Worker Action.
• G
ain Reward Immediately and place it in its appropriate storage (*symbols
shown on back cover)
• Temp Tokens, Perm Tokens, Cards, VP, Media Points, Bonus Tiles
Retrieve Workers — After all Workers have been placed, the Phase ends and
Teams retrieve their Workers .
Collect Drafted Cards — When retrieving Workers from a face-up Event or
Match Worker to Action — When placing a Worker, Teams must use the matching Personnel card, the Team gains the card.
Worker type.

that Teams may assign to their Workers to gain rewards.
Most Earth Spaces contain six smaller Action Spaces: two large Action spaces, and
four smaller Action paces.
Placement Locations — Teams may place Workers on Earth spaces, the Face-up
Event Card spaces, and Personnel Card spaces.
Authorized Personnel Only — Match the type of worker (Engineer or
Administrator) to the Action you choose. An Engineer can only be assigned a task

Rewards — The symbol or symbols in each space show either the Team’s reward,

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that displays the Engineer symbol, for example.
Workers Block Other Workers — All other Actions on a space are blocked when a Worker is placed. This applies to Earth Spaces and Card Spaces.
Unlimited Use Earth Action — This space is not blocked when a Worker is placed on it. Any number of Workers may be placed here, of any type.
Turns
Team Turns
Locations earth or worker
Earth space
Card space
Autho Only
Space show E or A
Place worker to use that action
INTRO LEAD-IN SENTENCE
in this pahse TEams will be palcing their workers on sp[aces and card
Retrieve Workers Rules
All Workers Return — Workers must return to their Team’s Control Board.
By the Control Board — Place drafted Personnel-type Event Cards to the right side of your Control Board.
Personnel Remain Out — Personnel Tokens are retrieved at the end of the Personnel Phase, not now.
Earth Space Rules
Starting Actions — The two New Staff Earth Actions are available at the start of the game. The outer four Veteran Staff Upgraded Actions are covered by
Upgrade Tokens.
Worker In, Reward Out — Place the matching Worker on an Earth Action and gain its reward immediately.

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13
 PHASE 5: PERSONNEL

Place Personnel — Place Personnel Tokens on an unoccupied

Personnel Card Actions. Collect the reward shown.
Dispatch Used Temporary Personnel — Return to the tray any
Temporary Personnel Tokens that were used in this Phase.
Personnel Token

Reward

Personnel Placement Rules

Personnel Cards Only — Personnel
Tokens may only be played on a
Personnel Card.
Blocked Spaces — Once a Personnel
Token is placed, the space is occupied
and no other Personnel may be placed
there
No Workers Allowed — Workers and
spaces marked with Engineering or
Administrator symbols may not be not
used in this Phase.
Permanent Personnel Tokens — All
Permanent Personnel Tokens that were
used (showing the gray side) must
return to the storage area above the
Team’s Control Board still displaying
their used side.

14

Play Event Cards — Play up to two Event cards from your
hand and collect the reward shown.
Rules for Play Cards
Pay to Play — You must pay for each
Card you play. The cost is appears in the
upper right hand corner, in red.
P H A S E 6 : P L AY C A R D S
Cost to play this card
from your hand.
Discards — Keep two discard piles: one
for most all your used Cards and Tokens;
and one just for Failed Mission Cards.
Reward
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 P H A S E 8 : L A U N C H M I S S I O N ST H E G O A L O F T H E G A M E

Launch Missions — Teams evaluate each Mission in the
Launch stage to determine its level of success, then pay for
the Mission, and gain the reward (or pay the penalty).
See opposite page for Launch Sequence Details.
Rules for Launch
Required: Minor Success or Failure —
Teams must be able to achieve a Minor
Success, or the Mission is a Failure.
Optional: Major Success — Teams that
achieve a Minor Success may optionally
spend the additional Tokens to achieve the
Major Success also, provided they have the
Tokens to do so.

big launch picture here

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 LAUNCH SEQUENCE
team take turnschooisng mission to launch. until all launched.
to launch a mission compelte the follwiogin thsteps.
1.CHOOSE THE MISSION
If you have multiple Missions, choose the first to launch.
2 . AT T E M P T M I N O R S U C C E S S
If the Mission has any Hazard Cards, reveal them now and add
the Hazard Card cost to the Minor Mission cost . Collect the rewards shown on the Satellite Mission Card for
Evaluate the success level the Team can afford:
• Not enough Tokens for any level: the Mission will fail.
• Minor Success level (and any Hazard costs): the Mission
will be a Minor Success.
• (Optional) Minor Success level and any Hazard costs,
PLUS the Major Success level: the Mission will be a Major
Success.
3 . AT T E M P T M A J O R S U C C E S S
For a Successful Mission
Temporary Tokens: Return used Tokens to the Token Tray cost
. “Hazard Cards” (PAGE #) .
Permanent Tokens: Flip these from the black unspent side to
the gray spent side to show they have been used.
Overcome Hazards: Add the VP amount on the card to your
Victory Points Track.
For a Failed Mission
The Team pays the Penalty Cost only (on the bottom of the
Mission card). Tokens that would have paid for the Mission
remain with the Team. If no penalty is shown, there is no
penalty to pay.
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Discard failed Mission Cards and any unmet Hazard Cards to a
separate pile from your Team’s other discards.
4. REWARDS
Gain the rewards for the Mission type described here. You
may collect rewards in any order (see back cover for Symbol
chart).
S AT E L L I T E M I S S I O N R E WA R D S
the level of success you achieved.
Resolve an Earth Upgrade “Upgrading Earth Actions” (PAGE#).
If you have a Hazard icon on the Satellite Bonus Tile, see
“Hazard Cards” (PAGE#).
MANNED MISSION REWARDS
Collect the Manned Mission rewards shown for the success
level you achieved. Most rewards require the following step:
Resolve an Earth Upgrade “Upgrading Earth Actions” (PAGE#).
Some rewards may require additional steps. If you Advance
on the Moon Path:
Draw the Hazard Card for the Manned Mission Bonus Tile, see
Gain an Advancement Token “Gaining and Spending Bonuses”
(PAGE #).
5. CLEAN UP
Discard any overcome Hazard Card(s) and successful Mission
cards to your Team’s discard pile.
If you have further Missions to launch, return above to step 1
and repeat this sequence until all Missions have launched.
 UPGRADING EARTH ACTIONS

Earth Spaces — The six large blue rectangles that cover the
planet Earth are Earth Spaces.
Earth Actions — Earth Spaces are divided into smaller
rectangles with symbols indicating an action. (One Earth
Space, the Unlimited Use Earth Space, offers only one Earth
Action.)
Primary Earth Actions — The Earth Actions in the center of
every Earth Space are available to all players at the start of
the game.
Upgraded Earth Actions — The outer four Earth Actions
on Earth Spaces are “Earth Action Upgrades.” These are
covered by Upgrade Tokens at the beginning of the game, and
unavailable until revealed.
Upgrade Tokens — Upgrade Tokens block Earth Action
Upgrades from being available until the Tokens are removed
by a reward from a successful launch.
Upgrading an Earth Action — A Team removes any one
Upgrade Token that matches the successful launch type:
• Satellite Launch Upgrade Reward — A Satellite
Mission reward of lets the Team upgrade any
Earth Action with a Satellite Upgrade Token. Place the
selected Upgrade Token anywhere on the satellite orbit
ring around the Earth.
• Manned Launch Upgrade Reward — A Manned
Mission reward of lets the Team upgrade any Earth
Action with a Manned Mission Upgrade Token. Place
the selected Upgrade Token on the next available
Moon Path space in the Team’s color (unless is also
part of the Mission reward; see below). If a Manned
Mission Bonus Tile is there, the Team may take it and
immediately gain its rewards.
One Step Further — If the reward for a Manned Mission
includes the symbol, the Upgrade Token SKIPS the first
available Moon Path space to the NEXT Moon Path space. If a
Manned Mission Bonus Tile is skipped, do not pick it up. Gain
a Manned Mission Bonus Tile only if it resides on the space
where the Team places the Upgrade Token.

Upgrade Earth Actions for Engineer Workers

Starting Starting
Engineer Admin
Action Action

A successful Satellite A successful Manned

Mission reward allows Mission reward allows
a Team to remove an a Team to remove an
Upgrade Token and make Upgrade Token and
one of these Upgraded make one of these
Actions available. Upgraded Actions
available.

Upgrade Earth Actions for Admin Workers

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A forward slash (/) = The Team
chooses either the center Action or
the Upgraded Action.

A minus sign (-) = The Team pays

less for the cost of the reward than
the amount shown for the center
Action.

A plus sign (+) = The Team gains

the Upgraded Action in addition to
the center Action.

Unlimited Use = Any number of

Admin or an Engineer Workers may
use this Earth Action.
The reward for this Earth Action is
one Token (either one) from a roll
of the gray Resource Die.

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 G A I N , R E S O LV E A N D S P E N D B O N U S E S

Types of Bonuses — Bonus opportunities occur throughout One Small Step. You may a receive bonus from an Event Card, from
several types of Bonus Tiles, or from the purchase of an Advancement Card.
When to Use a Bonus — Most Bonus Tiles have symbols that mean “immediate bonus” or “immediate Action.” Some may have text
that offers a future “anytime” use.

BONUS TILES USING THE MEDIA TRACK

Media Bonus Tile — Teams gain Media Bonus Tiles
automatically or voluntarily (see “Using the Media Track” (PAGE
#) for details). Media Bonus Tiles offer immediate rewards.
Some offer an “anytime” bonus to be used when the Team
chooses. After spending an anytime bonus, place the Bonus
Tile in your Team’s discard pile.
Satellite Bonus Tile — A Satellite Bonus Tile is awarded for a
successful Satellite Mission. Tiles contain both rewards and/
or Actions which the Team resolves immediately. All Satellite
Bonus Tiles include an upgrade of one Earth Action on the
board. See “Upgrading Earth Actions” (PAGE #) for details.
Manned Mission Bonus Tile — These contain both benefits
(Victory Points, an Advancement Token) and drawbacks (a
Hazard card).
The Manned Mission Bonus Tile is handled differently based on
how to you obtain it:
Via an Earth Action — Gain the Victory Point(s) only. DO NOT
draw a Hazard Card or receive an Advancement Token.
Via a Successful Manned Mission Launch — Receive the Hazard
Card, the Advancement Token, and the Victory Points.
The number of Media Bonus Tiles is the only limit to gaining Media Bonuses.
Automatic Media Bonus — Whenever a Team’s Media Marker passes 8 Points
on the Media Track, it automatically moves down to 3 and the Team gains a
Media Bonus Tile immediately. If there are further points to count, continue
counting after moving the Marker down to 3.
3 1 2
Reduction is not counted
Example: How to Treat the Media Track Return Point. The USA has 6 Media
Points and gains 3 more. They count their first two points, going to 7 and then 8.
At 8, the Marker automatically slides down to 3. The Team then counts their third
point, going to 4. The USA Team draws a Media Bonus Tile.
Voluntary Media Bonus — As long a Team Media Point Marker is on 5, 6, 7,
or 8 on the Media Track they can choose reduce their Points by 5 and draw
a Media Bonus Tile. The Voluntary Media Bonus may be claimed at any time
during a Turn, does not count as an Action, and does not require a Worker or
Personnel Token.

Advancement Token — Advancement Tokens are gained from

successful Manned Mission launches, and may be spent to
purchase an Advancement Card. See “Advancements” (PAGE
#) for details on purchasing Advancement Cards.
Advancement Tokens and Cards are not used in the New Staff
Example: Voluntary Media Bonus
The USSR has 7 Media Points and wants to gain a Media Bonus. They choose to
lower their Media Track score from 7 Points down to 2. They then draw a Media
Bonus Tile.

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 ADVANCEMENTS
Veteran Game Only — Advancement Tokens and Cards are not used in the
New Staff introductory version of the game.
Gain an Advancement Token — when your Team launches a successful
Manned Mission.
Purchase an Advancement Card — from one of the four lying face up on the
board.
Purchase
Cost
Play in this
Phase
Cost to Purchase — The cost of an Advancement Card is shown along the
top of the card itself: one Advancement Token plus the red Tokens that
appear beside it. A Team may purchase an Advancement Card at the end
of any Phase, before going to the next. When a card is purchased, another
Advancement Card immediately takes its place on the board.
You may only purchase one Advancement Card per Round.
Using the Advancement — Each card’s bonus may be claimed once every
Round. In the lower left corner of the card there will be a reference indicating
when the Advancement may be used during the Round (Which Phase, Any
Phase, or at the End of the game).
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HAZARD CARDS
The Hazards of Space Travel
Hazard Cards represent an additional and unknown cost added to the launch
cost of the Mission at launch time.
Play a Hazard — A Team may be directed to draw a Hazard and
play it on an opposing Mission. The Team drawing the Hazard
may look at it and choose the opposing Mission to target.
When a Team places a Hazard card on a Mission Card, it is placed face-down.
The Team that owns the Mission may not look at the Hazard Card.
Draw a Hazard — If a Team draws a Hazard Card for one of its
own Missions, it may not look at the card. Draw the card and place
it face-down as instructed.
Look at a Hazard — This symbol allows you to look at a Hazard
Card on one of your Missions. After looking, return the Hazard
Card to its face down position.
Unlimited Hazards — There is no limit to the number of Hazard Cards that
may be placed on a Mission.
Hazards Move with Missions — When a Mission moves (Phase 1:
Countdown), any attached Hazard Cards move with it.
Hazard Reveal at Launch — In Phase 8: Launch, Hazards are revealed.
 SYMBOLS

Resource Tokens Satellite Mission Tokens Manned Mission Tokens

Administrator
Temporary Tokens

Raw Satellite Life Engineer

Personnel Funding Boosters Sensors Navigation Capsule
Materials Tech Support

Permanent Tokens Personnel

Draw any
Temporary Token Draw the Temporary Token shown Manned Mission

Satellite Mission

Draw an Event Card Purchase an Event Discard an Event Card

into your hand. Card from your Hand. from your hand. Media Point

Draw any Card Victory Point

Spend Token shown
(Satellite, Manned, or Media)

Card Purchase Cost Spend the Temporary Advancement Token

Cost = 1 less
(Red Token) Token Shown

Draw a Hazard Card. Place Play a Hazard Card on an Look at one a Hazard Card Upgrade an Earth Space
it on one of your Missions. opposing Team Mission. on one of your Missions.

Advance on the Moon Path

Spend any
Any Permanent Token
Permanent Token Upgrade any Temporary
Token to a Permanent
Any Temporary OR Spend any Temporary Token Token
Permanent Token OR any Permanent Token

Exchange the number Temporary

Draw the Bonus Tile shown
Tokens shown for a Permanent Token.
(Satellite, Manned, or Media)
All Tokens must be the same type.

Minor Success Level Major Success Level Failed Mission Penalty

Roll the dice color shown, and gain
In addition to the center Subtract the symbol(s) Choose either the center the Temporary Token ( ) or the
reward, gain the added from the cost of the reward or the upgraded Permanent Token ( ) rolled.
reward shown center reward reward (either/or)

22