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Pop Rocket Board Game: Rules for How to Play

Pop Rocket Board Game: Rules for How to Play

Are you looking for a specific Pop Rocket rule?  |  Setup  | Playing the Game | Launched Stars | Winning the Game | FAQ | Components |

Objective

The objective of Pop Rocket is to be the first player to fill in your constellation board with stars.

Setup

  • Each player picks a color. They will take all three star-catchers of their color and place them facedown in front of themselves.
  • Take the constellation board that matches the color you chose.
  • Attach the lid to the top of the rocket and snap it in place. Snap the left and right hands into the sides of the rocket.
  • Take the large star and insert it into the top of the rocket so the face is visible. You should press down on the star until you hear a click.
  • Place all of the small stars on top of the large star. Then close the lid.
  • The player who can jump the highest starts the game. They will pull the fuse as far it goes. The game begins when they let go of the fuse.
Setup for Pop Rocket

How to Play Pop Rocket

To begin your turn you will roll the die. The symbol you roll on the die determines what you will do on the rest of your turn.

Single Star-Catcher

Rolling a single star catcher on the die

Should you roll the side that shows a single star-catcher, you will take one of your facedown star-catchers and place it on the table anywhere you want. There are no restrictions on where you can place it. You should pick a location where you think the stars will land when they shoot out of the rocket. You can even choose to place your star-catcher on top of another player’s. Once you place a star-catcher, you can’t move it unless you roll the corresponding symbol.

Placing a star-catcher on the table
After rolling the die and getting the symbol allowing them to place a star-catcher, the green player has decided to place their star-catcher in the position shown.

If you have already placed all three of your star-catchers on the table, you will skip your turn.

Multiple Star-Catchers

Rolling multiple star-catchers on the die

When you roll the side of the die that shows two star-catchers and an arrow, you have the ability to move one of your star-catchers that you have already placed on the table. You can move your star-catcher to a new location, you can place it on top of another player’s star-catcher, or you can move your star-catcher to the top of the pile that it is already in. 

Placing a star-catcher on top of another star-catcher
After rolling the symbol allowing them to move one of their star-catchers, the red player has decided to move one of their star-catchers on top of one of the blue star-catchers.

If you haven’t placed a star-catcher yet, you will skip your turn.

Star

Rolling the star side on the die

Should you roll the star side of the die, choose a star from another player’s constellation board. You will add the star to your own constellation board.

Stealing a star after rolling the star symbol
The yellow player has rolled the star symbol on the die. They have decided to steal a star from the green player. They will move one of the stars to their own constellation board.

End of Turn

After you have taken the action corresponding to the symbol you rolled, your turn ends. Play passes to the next player in a clockwise direction.

Launched Stars

The timer on the rocket has around a 60 second timer. Once the timer runs out, the small stars will be launched out of the rocket.

The stars have been launched out of the rocket
The top has come off the rocket launching the stars into the air. Each of the players will look to see how many stars fell into their star-catchers.

Players will look in their star-catchers to see if they caught any stars. Any stars that land in your star-catchers are added to your constellation board. The color of the stars you catch don’t matter.

Placing stars on your constellation board
The yellow player caught three stars in their star catchers. They will place the stars on their constellation board.

Should you catch the large star, you get to choose two stars (that didn’t land in a star-catcher) and add them to your constellation board.

Catching the large star in a star-catcher
The red player has caught the large star in one of their star-catchers. They will get to pick up two of the stars that landed on the table, and place them on their constellation board.

If none of the players have completed their constellation card, you will play another round. Setup the rocket in the same way as the beginning of the game.

Winning the Game

The game ends when one or more players fill in their constellation board. Whoever fills in their constellation board wins the game. If multiple players do it in the same round, all of the players who fill in their constellation win the game.

Winning Pop Rocket
The yellow player has filled in their constellation board. They have won the game.

Pop Rocket FAQ

If you have any questions about how to play the game, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.

Components for Pop Rocket

Components

  • Rocket (Base, Lid, 2 Hands)
  • Large Star
  • 40 Small Stars
  • 12 Star-Catchers (3 of each color)
  • 4 Constellations
  • Die
  • Instructions

Year: 2018 | Publisher: Goliath Games

Genres: Action, Children’s

Ages: 4+ | Number of Players: 2-4 | Length of Game: 15 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High


For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.