Who goes first?
From the source rules

Who goes first in Nucleum?

Board&Dice base game · ©2023 (English)

For two to four players, choose the first player at random and give them the First Player marker. That player takes the opening turn, and play continues clockwise.

If your rules call for a random choice, use the player picker.

Rule details

During multiplayer setup, the last player chooses an Experiment first, followed by the others counterclockwise. Main turns begin with the designated first player and proceed clockwise.

In solo play against Baron von Automat, the human takes the First Player marker and begins. The solo setup lets you choose your own Experiment and assigns a random Experiment to the Baron.

The base-game setup strongly recommends starting with three Workers instead of two for your first few games; that recommendation does not change the designated starter.

Source & edition

  • Nucleum English base-game rulebook (©2023)Board&Dice · Main Board setup step 11: random first player and marker (page 5); Player Board setup step 13: counterclockwise Experiment selection and first turn (page 6); Gameplay and Turn Structure: clockwise main turns (page 8); player-count setup (page 4); cover and ©2023 credits (PDF pages 1 and 27) · Checked 2026-09-26Cited PDF pages: 5, 6, 8, 4, 1, 27
  • Nucleum: Baron von Automat English solo rulesBoard&Dice · Setup steps 1 and 6: Experiment selection and human First Player marker (page 2); one or two Baron opponents (page 1); Your Turns and General Gameplay (page 4) · Checked 2026-09-26Cited PDF pages: 2, 1, 4
All 7 Board & Dice starting rules

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Games with a similar starting rule

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  • PlanesThe player who most recently traveled by plane starts. The reference sheet also permits a random choice.
  • Point SaladChoose the starting player at random.
  • Power GridAt the start of the game, player order is set randomly by placing one house from each player on the player order track. Order is re-determined once after the first round's power plant auction and at the start of every later round: the player with the most connected cities goes first.
More starting rules about choosing at random

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