This is the FAQ page for each individual base in Science Fiction Double Feature.
Questions on Faceless City
Q: When I play my first minion there, do I have to search a copy of that minion in my deck? What if I know that that minion is "unique"?
A: Yes, it doesn't say you may, so you have to do it. If that minion is unique, the only thing you must do is shuffle your deck.
A: No, The Bigger Geekier Box rulebook clarifies that Faceless City's ability is now optional.
Rule: Check Faceless City's clarification.
Q: If the minion I searched for is one I don't own, what happens?
A: It goes to its owner's hand. That's because the other players can see who owns the card and the card changes location.
Q: An opponent plays a minion on Faceless City and gets to use its ability. On the same turn, I manage to play a minion there (e.g. Hidden Ninja, Shinobi). Can I also use the ability? Or only one player can use it per turn?
A: You can use it. The "once per turn" is actually a once per player per turn, i.e. each player gets to use it once on each turn if they manage to play a minion there.
Q: I use Faceless City's ability and search my deck. What happens if I have no eligible duplicate minion there? Am I then allowed to search my hand or discard pile?
A: Then its ability fails, you won't get a minion and will still have to shuffle your deck. You do not go through your discard pile or hand as a compensation, otherwise the card would have said so.
Q: I already have 10 cards in hand. I play a Tenacious Z there from my discard pile as a Special and therefore search a copy of it in my deck and place it in my hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards.
Q: If I play an Argonaut instead of an action on Faceless City, can I still retrieve an Argonaut from my deck?
A: Yes. Playing an Argonaut, whether as a minion or instead of an action, still counts as playing a minion. It IS a minion after all.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't be able to search for a copy minion when you play a minion there.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on ISI’s Swingin’ Pad
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: If you aren't the winner, nothing and you can't prevent the winner from rearranging their deck. If you are the winner, you won't rearrange your deck.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Monkey Lab
Q: Does a minion on Monkey Lab get +1 power from actions that target it without being attached to it? (e.g. Augmentation, Genetic Shift, The Base Is Not Enough)
A: No. Only actions that say "Play on a minion" (or a similar wording) give it +1 power.
Rule: Only "play on a minion" actions are played on a minion.
Q: Does a minion on Monkey Lab keep its power boost after the end of the turn?
A: It keeps the power boost as long as the actions are attached to it.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: Your minions there (only your minions there, not all minions) won't be affected by Monkey Lab and so won't get the +1 power bonus for their play-on-minion actions.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Portal Room
Q: What if two or more players tie for winner on Portal Room?
A: They both take extra turns in clockwise order from the current player before the normal turn order resumes. See Whose Turn is Next?.
Q: Portal Room scores and there's a player that managed to get 15+ VPs. Do we stop the game or is the base winner allowed to play the extra turn granted by Portal Room?
A: The current turn still ends and at the end of it, if that player is the clear winner of the game, you stop playing, so Portal Room's winner will lose their extra turn.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: If you aren't the winner, nothing and you can't prevent the winner from playing an extra turn. If you are the winner, you won't play an extra turn.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Primate Park
Q: On Primate Park, an opponent has a minion and one of their actions played on it. If I take control of that minion and win Primate Park, I can place that action into my hand, right?
A: No. You place into your hand your actions (i.e. actions that you control) played on minions on Primate Park. Taking control of a minion DOES NOT grant you control of any of the actions played on it. So, in this case, Primate Park does nothing to the action, because it's not controlled by you.
Rule: When you take control of a minion, you don't take control of the actions played on it.
Q: I played another player's action, e.g. with Mass Enchantment, on a minion on Primate Park. I win the base when it scores, is the action placed into my hand?
A: Primate Park says "you may", so you have a choice whether to use it or not. If you use it, it does indeed target the actions that you control but don't own, so you can place it into your hand. However, it will actually go into its rightful owner's hand, not yours.
Q: I already have 10 cards in hand. After this base scored, I am the winner, place my actions on minions there to my hand and end up with more than 10 cards in hand, do I immediately discard down to 10?
A: You don't discard any card until your next Draw 2 Cards phase (so not any Draw 2 Cards phase!). At that point, you will indeed need to draw two cards and discard down to 10 if you have more than 10. That's the only moment where you must discard down to 10. At any other time, you keep your hand of cards. So if this scored on another player's turn, you keep your cards and can play your next turn with more than ten cards.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: If you aren't the winner, nothing and you can't prevent the winner from retrieving their actions either. If you are the winner, you won't retrieve your actions.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on Secret Volcano Headquarters
Q: If I reveal a minion, do I have to play it?
A: No, playing a card is always optional. If you don't want to play it, it is returned to the top of your deck.
Rule: If not specified, cards that are merely revealed or looked at return to where they came from.
Rule: Check Secret Volcano Headquarters's clarification.
Q: If I reveal an action, what happens?
A: It is returned to the top of your deck.
Rule: If not specified, cards that are merely revealed or looked at return to where they came from.
Rule: Check Secret Volcano Headquarters's clarification.
Q: If I reveal a card I don't own, what happens?
A: There are two different paths for the revealed card:
- If it's a minion and you choose to play it, then you control it like any card you play.
- Otherwise, it goes to the top of your deck, that's because, while the other players can see who owns the card, the card is merely revealed and doesn't change location.
Rule: Cards you don’t own that are merely revealed in your hand or deck stay there.
Rule: When a player plays a card, they become the card's controller.
Q: I'm currently in the lead on that base. Before it scores, my opponent reveals a minion but not me, and they get ahead of me as a result. Does that change anything? Don't I still get the winner VPs because I was winning at the start of the scoring?
A: Be careful, the amount of VPs each player gets is determined by the power each player currently has when you are handing out VPs, so any before-scoring abilities (including this one) that affect how much power you have on the base will affect the amount of VPs you'll eventually get.
Rule: VPs are awarded according to the current power totals.
Q: What comes first: Secret Volcano Headquarters or Shinobi?
A: You cannot play a Shinobi before the base's ability triggers, because Secret Volcano Headquarters is in play and has a mandatory ability, which means it must be resolved first.
Q: I have a Special "before a base scores" card to play. Can I play it before Secret Volcano Headquarters is activated?
A: No. Before a base scores, you must first resolve all cards in play with mandatory abilities that are triggered by the before-scoring step before anyone can activate their Special before-scoring cards in hand (and invoke optional abilities of triggered cards in play).
Q: Secret Volcano Headquarters makes me play a minion that grants me an extra action/minion to play. Can I play it?
A: Yes, and you must immediately decide if you want to play it or not; it cannot be saved for later. If you want to play it, it is done immediately.
Rule: Extra cards gained outside of your Play Cards phase must be played immediately or not at all.
Q: In which order are the minions played? It may have some importance with minions like Hatchling or Leprechaun.
A: The minions are played in clockwise order from the current player. Moreover, the cards are actually revealed and played in clockwise order, according to Moon Dumpster's clarification.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) won't reveal the top card of your deck and therefore won't play a minion there.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on The Nexus
Q: Time is Fleeting lets you choose a new base from the discard pile. The Nexus lets the winner choose the next base. Which one takes precedence?
A: The current player decides which method will be used to choose the next base. That method will be the one that will take precedence and the other is ignored.
Q: If there's a tie for winner when The Nexus is scored, who gets to pick the next base?
A: All the players in the winner position get the reward and resolve it in clockwise order from the current player. However, once the first player resolves it, the next base would have already been chosen and the next players can't choose another base because one has already been chosen.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: If you aren't the winner, nothing and you can't prevent the winner from choosing the next base either. If you are the winner, you won't choose the next base from the base discard pile and so the base will be replaced normally.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
Questions on The Vats
Q: If I play a minion on The Vats, can I still move a minion with the same name to there?
A: Yes. The restriction is on playing the minion, not on moving a minion there.
Rule: Specific words are not synonymous no matter how similar they seem.
Q: If I move a minion to The Vats, can I still play a minion with the same name there?
A: No. When you want to play a minion, you must respect The Vats's restriction, and there already is a minion with that name there, so you cannot do it.
Q: I have Infiltrate on this base. What happens if I choose to ignore this base's ability?
A: You (and only you, not all players) can ignore the base's restriction and play a minion there that has the same name as another minion there.
Rule: Definition of "ignore".
