This time Res Publica travels to space. In Res Publica: 2230AD, the players travel to the future when races migrate through space searching for new areas in which to settle. Intensive trading brings together strong races, encourages new settlements, and promotes the development and the progress of civilization.
Each turn is divided into three phases: Trade, Use card effects, Display and draw cards. Thanks to some changes from MAGE Company, the game now includes some new cards with special abilities that can be triggered during the "use card effects" phase.
Each player on their turn can make a trade offer, and each player in turn responds in kind. Using the cards through trading and drawing, players work to acquire five identical race cards in order to build a Space Station (which increases the number of cards you can draw each turn) or five identical technology cards in order to build a City (which gives victory points).
Aside from the set collection and trading mechanisms, you will discover some extra cards in the game. New buildings with different abilities that either allow you to build a City displaying four technology cards or give you extra victory points. At the end of the game, players total their points and the highest score wins.
A variant playing format has been created for this game in which each player owns a planet divided into four different missions. If a mission is accomplished, more victory points are added to that player's sum, and if a player completes all missions, the game ends. That's a new and alternative game ending from the original publication in which the game ends when the last Technology card is drawn. Res Publica: 2230AD includes both game endings, giving players more choices.
Whichever way you play, the ending works somewhat differently from before. When the last Technology card is drawn or a player completes their missions, the game ends at the end of the turn of that player — then all players in order start playing any remaining cards they have in hand. They may build a Space Station, or a City, or another building, or even find a way to complete another mission. This way all players have fair chances to win the game, and each card in their hand is significant. However the game ends, the player with the highest score wins!