
- BGG rank
- BGG #168
- BGG rating
- 7.8
Planet Unknown
- 1–6 players
- 60–80 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2022

2016
Rules assistance for Kepler-3042
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Kepler-3042 is a board game released in 2016 for 1–4 players, 60–120 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Simone Cerruti Sola and its main mechanics are Grid Movement, Hexagon Grid, and Solo / Solitaire Game.
The year is 3042: Humanity is ready to explore the galaxy. The most interesting celestial bodies to explore, and eventually colonize, have been known for centuries, and the nations of Earth finally have the technological level to reach them, thus beginning an unarmed competition that in the end the whole of humanity will win. Kepler-3042 is a resource management game in which you have to explore, colonize, exploit, and terraform the planets of the Milky Way using the available technologies. In each round, you must choose which action to perform and which bonus to activate, managing your supplies of matter, energy, and antimatter. The peculiar strength of the game is the innovative resource management: Each player has a finite amount of matter, energy, and antimatter that they can produce or spend during the game. In each round, they can decide to burn forever one or more resources to perform powerful actions, thereby allowing them to follow different strategies.
Kepler-3042 supports 1–4 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 Kepler-3042 is 60–120 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 Kepler-3042 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.
Kepler-3042 has a complexity rating of 3.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight 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.
Kepler-3042 belongs to these categories: Economic, Science Fiction, and Space Exploration. Its main mechanics are Grid Movement, Hexagon Grid, and Solo / Solitaire Game. 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 Kepler-3042 are: Simone Cerruti Sola. 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 Kepler-3042 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.