Moonrise 2025

Moonrise is played in 4 phases: Phases I and II portray the creation and population of moons around a gas giant. Phase III consists of 7 rounds of preparation for the tipping point, round 8, when Phase IV begins and the safety catches on the interlunary missiles are disengaged.

Victory in Moonrise can be declared via three primary avenues. One of you might be branded a tyrant, whose presence prevents anyone else from winning in any way and whose goal is to go the distance to round 13. In the absence of tyranny, an alliance victory can be declared by the leader of a coalition of moons whose empires have compatible philosophies. To take the third road, that of enlightenment, is to claim spiritual leadership before any such philosophical alliance can be reached. On top of all of that, other, less conventional means of victory may arise. (For example, if you are eliminated, you become an asymmetric identity who can quickly steal a win.)

Fair warnings: Moonrise culminates in nigh-unavoidable warfare. Feel free to pursue conquest by the method that seems most appropriate to you, but if you neglect your own protection or your own lunar climate and/or make yourself an obvious target, then your species could be wiped out in a single round of attacks. If you must abandon your Plan A for reasons of poor foresight or of self-preservation, remember that the best Plan B usually requires that you had been diplomatic before the launch codes were keyed.

Good luck, you spores and molds and amœbae and energy wisps, you slimes and twinkles and filaments, on your journey from the cradle to the crown.

—description from the designer