
- BGG rank
- BGG #9,373
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Galactic Era
- 1–6 players
- 180 min
- Complexity 3.8/5
- 2021

2017
Rules assistance for Bureaunauts
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Bureaunauts is a board game released in 2017 for 2–6 players, 45–60 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Allison Markello, Todd Markello, and Brian Heasley and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Modular Board.
Put on your best space suit and tie! Players will race to the top of the galactic corporate ladder. Each player uses their spaceship token to hyper jump around the section of space to make their mark in the most powerful corporation in the galaxy. The section of space is comprised of 80 cards setup in an 8 x 10 grid. When a player lands on an unexplored card, they flip it over to reveal what is there. Before the game begins, each player is given 5 Career Goal cards they must complete. The progression of game play is divided into Fiscal Periods and each fiscal period is done in steps: Step 1. Solar Jellies Move and Spawn Step 2. Players receive their budgets Step 3. Players spend 1 photon to File Paperwork to the corporation. Step 4. Players choose ** to do an action or enter a coordinate on their dual dials. Then, dials are revealed. Actions happen before movements. Step 5. Players repeat by Filing Paperwork and moving/doing actions (Step 3-4) until all players run out of Photons or choose not to File Paperwork. Players File Paperwork in order to complete Career Goals that allow them to influence five departments. When a player completes a goal, they flip that card over next to their Player Board and put in the appropriate amount of influence cards to the Department Heads Board. The players use what they find as they reveal the section of space (grid of cards) to fulfill career goal conditions: 1. Destroy 1 space pirate 2. Upgrade your spaceship to level 3 (if you have 2 of this goal, the second goal is completed by upgrading to a level 4) 3. Find 2 relics (to complete the goal subsequent times, you only need 1 relic for each Career Goal card) 4. Give 3 photons to the Accounting Department 5. Destroy 5 Space Jellies (to complete the goal subsequent times, you only need to destroy 2 more Space Jellies for each Career Goal card) When one player completes their fifth and final Career Goal, a vote is triggered. The player that completes their final Career Goal stops playing and all other players are allowed to spend their remaining Photons for that fiscal period (unless they also complete their final career goal, at which point they stop as well). Each of the five department piles of influence cards are shuffled separately. One card is drawn from each department pile. A player wins by having a majority (3 out of 5 departments) of their cards drawn. If no hard majority exists, the player who gets 2 soft majorities (2 out of 5 departments, twice) wins. The player with the most votes wins the job of Galactic CEO!
Bureaunauts supports 2–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Bureaunauts is 45–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Bureaunauts for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Bureaunauts has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Bureaunauts belongs to these categories: Humor, Exploration, and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Simultaneous Action Selection, and Modular Board. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Bureaunauts are: Allison Markello, Todd Markello, and Brian Heasley. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Bureaunauts as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.