In a future of perfect harmony, where technology exists solely to serve humanity, the Council of Humanity oversees the expansion of human civilization across every solar system through a cold and methodical Bureaucratic Protocol.
Each player takes on the role of an Expedition Captain, a member of the highly respected elite of the Explorer Pioneers. Entrusted with humanity's most prestigious honor and duty, Captains venture to decaying, supposedly uninhabited worlds to extract the Resources required to fuel the terraforming efforts that extend civilization's reach.
To succeed, players must lead their Expedition Crew through the Planet's Layers, removing Terrain Tiles to clear the path toward its Core. The game ends when a player extracts the Planet Core, but victory belongs to the Captain who has earned the highest Reputation.
No Captain can survive the unknown alone. By completing Assignments and increasing their Reputation, players can recruit specialized Pioneers, each bringing unique abilities to the Expedition. Success depends on assembling and managing a well-balanced Crew, combining the strengths of the four Specialties: Excavator, Fighter, Healer, and Surveyor.
The Planet's depths hold far more than valuable Resources. Towering mineral formations, deadly Monsters, and countless hidden Hazards stand between the expedition and its objective. To overcome these Threats, players must use the Resources they extract to craft increasingly advanced equipment, improving their Crew's excavation and combat capabilities while further enhancing their standing in the eyes of the Council.
Every step deeper into the Planet comes at a cost. As players trigger key events, the Threat Track advances inexorably, changing the fate of the expedition. The ecosystem grows more hostile, the Council's expectations become harsher, and increasingly advanced Tools and more experienced Pioneers become available to those who can keep pace.
However, ambition has its limits. If the Threat reaches its final level, the Planet becomes unstable and collapses, causing the expedition to be abandoned. Should this happen, every Captain fails, and all players lose the game.
—description from the publisher
Adventure, Exploration, Science Fiction, Space Exploration · Critical Hits and Failures, Dice Rolling, Events, Grid Movement, Hand Management, Hexagon Grid, Map Reduction, Take That, Tech Trees / Tech Tracks, Variable Player Powers
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Space Base
2018
28
