Rules & How to Play
Neutronium: Parallel Wars does not require reading a rulebook before your first game. The Recovered Memories system introduces mechanics progressively — 5 mechanics in Universe 1, building to 47 by Universe 13. This page covers the rules overview, quick setup, and links to detailed mechanic guides.
Quick Setup
Universe 1 setup takes under five minutes. The starting configuration uses 7 hex tiles — the map expands naturally to 18 hexes at Universe 6 as sessions progress.
- Place the modular hex board for Universe 1.
- Each player picks a race and takes its starting components.
- Seed the starting artifacts and resource tokens.
- Reveal the first Recovered Memory to unlock the opening mechanic.
- Take your first action - the game teaches the rest as you play.
Setup takes about 5 minutes. There is no rulebook to read first.
Core Rules Summary (Universe 1-3)
Five mechanics are active in Universe 1. Each is introduced at session start with a brief in-game prompt. Here is the complete set:
Roll the custom D6 at the start of your turn. Move your Hero that many segments across the galaxy. Segments connect across hex edges and through wormhole symbols printed on the tiles.
When you stop movement on an unoccupied segment, place one of your army tokens there. You now control that segment. Controlled segments generate income and provide build sites for future construction.
At the start of each round, gain Raw Neutronium (Nn) equal to your controlled segments multiplied by the base income rate. Raw Nn must be enriched at Alpha Core before it can be spent. Enriched Nn is the game's spendable currency.
When you land on a segment containing an artifact token, take the artifact card from the deck. Three artifact types are critical: Paradox X artifacts (trigger universe collapse when three are gathered), income artifacts (+10 Nn), and movement artifacts.
When 3 Paradox X artifacts have been collected by any combination of players, the universe collapses. The cycle ends. All players advance to the next universe, carrying only their Enriched Nn forward. The player who collected the most Paradox X artifacts wins the cycle.
How Recovered Memories Works
Instead of a rulebook, Neutronium uses Recovered Memories: each universe your race remembers a lost technology, unlocking one new mechanic at a time.
This turns the rules into gameplay. You never read 40 pages up front; you learn each system the moment it becomes relevant.
By Universe 13 the full 47-mechanic system is in play, but you arrived there one understandable step at a time.
Mechanic Reference by Universe
| Phase | What You Do |
|---|---|
| U1 | Movement, territory claiming, artifact collection, Paradox X, wormhole system |
| U2 | Deposit looting, Foresight reroll (pay 5 Nn), Progress Journal handicap, Cycle End Bonuses |
| U3 | Base building, tribute collection, race territory legacy markers |
| U4 | Navigation Points, hex rotation using NP |
| U5 | Artifact event powers, Alpha Core enrichment, Nuclear Port construction |
| U6 | 18-hex map expansion, Galactic Decrees, territory purchasing, combat variants, full diplomacy |
| U7 | Colony building (up to 3 per Base), territory trading, Fate's Choice Paradox X control |
| U8 | Full combat system, army creation via Recruit artifacts, building destruction |
| U9 | Diplomatic capture (claim territory with buildings intact by occupying long enough) |
| U10 | Stations/Nexuses final building tier, Sector A/B/C income and resource bonuses |
| U11 | Sector D/E/F revealed as Mega-Structure territorial requirements |
| U12 | Mega-Structure victory condition active (400 Nn + 4 Stations + D/E/F control) |
| U13 | All 47 mechanics simultaneously active. No Paradox X collapse — game ends at Mega-Structure completion. |
Early playtest versions of Neutronium: Parallel Wars used a traditional rulebook. Playtest sessions revealed a consistent pattern: games where rules were discovered in context had significantly higher return-session rates. The Recovered Memories system was developed specifically to eliminate the entry barrier without reducing strategic depth at later universes.
Detailed Mechanic Guides
Each of the following pages covers a specific mechanic in full — strategic analysis, race interactions, and universe-by-universe evolution.
- Territory Control
- Nuclear Port Scaling
- Recovered Memories
- Race Asymmetry
- Paradox X
- Combat Resolution
- Colony Building
- Army Movement
- Diplomacy
- Tech Tree