Aphelion 2025

The Aphelia; expanses of deep space, out of reach of the long-arm of the Union, reachable only through mysterious warpgates. The aphelia are the new frontier for individuals looking to make a new life and corporations looking to expand their wealth. They are the backwaters of the civilized universe, populated by outlaws, anarchists, traitors, and runaways. Scenarios have players hunting down exotic creatures and discovering the source of a mysterious signal, but exploring the frontier doesn’t come without risk. How you deal with the beings in your way is up to you - will you use diplomacy, bribes, and deception, or put ‘em down the old fashioned way?

In Aphelion you’ll play as Grims - those who have set out to the aphelia to make a name for themselves. Aphelion is fully co-operative, and players take turns simultaneously. Each turn players gain actions by activating the tech on their ship or suit, calling on their crew’s talents, and using unique Grim abilities. Based on their adventures and exploits, players gain credits and notoriety allowing them to purchase and unlock powerful abilities and tech. Aphelion is designed to be extremely replayable; each of the 5 grims has a unique deck of asset and milestone cards, there are hundreds of different cards to add to your tableau, the board is modular and has a random configuration each game, and there are endless strategies to pursue.

Each time you play Aphelion you choose from a variety of scenarios with a range of playtimes from 60-240 minutes. Since each scenario has different goals and challenges, your win condition changes from game to game.

—description from the publisher