Category: Science Fiction

Adventure Card Game Exploration Science Fiction

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Aeon's End: War Eternal

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game Fantasy Fighting Science Fiction

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Gravehold remains the last bastion of The World That Was. As the otherworldly incursions from the creatures known only as The Nameless intensify a cadre of strange survivors emerge from the void itself. Will they be Gravehold's salvation or its undoing?War Eternal is a standalone game compatible with the cooperative deck-building game Aeon's End. Players struggle to defend Gravehold from The Nameless and their hordes using unique abilities powerful spells and an all-new cast of dynamic characters. Featuring a number of innovative mechanisms including a variable turn order system that simulates the chaos of an attack and deck management rules that require careful planning War Eternal can be played alone or combined with other Aeon's End content for a game experience like no other.

Clank! In! Space!: A Deck-Building Adventure

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2–4

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The evil Lord Eradikus has all but conquered the galaxy and is now on a victory lap across the sector in his flagship Eradikus Prime. He may rule with an iron grip but his most prized artifacts are about to slip through his cyborg claws. You and your fellow thieves have challenged each other to sneak aboard his ship hack your way into its command module and steal from him.Along the way you'll recruit allies and snatch up extra loot. But one false step and — Clank! Careless noise draws the attention of Lord Eradikus. Hacking into his command module and stealing his artifacts increases his rage. You'd better hope your friends are louder than you are if you want to make it to an escape pod and get out alive...Clank! In! Space! is built on the same game system as Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure with players building a personal deck of cards throughout the course of the game with the cards allowing them to move through the spaceship attack things acquire new cards and — oh yeah — make noise to attract Lord Eradikus and potentially seal their own doom.

Forbidden Stars

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Bluffing Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Wargame

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The shifting Warp Storms that surround the long lost Herakon Cluster have finally abated leaving the ancient treasures and planets within this sector open to the rest of the galaxy. Now the great factions of the galaxy mobilize their fleets and race to establish a foothold. The reward for successful domination surpasses all other concerns and the price for conquering this sector will be paid in lives.Forbidden Stars challenges you and up to three other players to take command of a mighty fighting force: the Ultramarines chapter of Space Marines the Eldar of Craftworld Iyanden the Evil Sunz Ork clan or the World Eaters Warband of the Chaos Space Marines. Each faction offers unique armies and play styles but your goal remains the same — to claim the key objectives selected for your faction. These objective tokens are scattered throughout the Herakon Cluster but your opponents are sure to defend your objectives against you. You need to build massive armies and command them in unending war to best your enemies and claim your objectives. The fight for the Herakon Cluster is brutal and bloody and either you will stride triumphant over the bodies of your fallen foes — or they will do the same to you.Each round in Forbidden Stars is divided into three phases. In the planning phase players take turns placing order tokens face down on the separate tiles (systems) that make up the game board; the four types of order tokens that players can place correspond to four types of actions that players can resolve in the second phase of play. In the operations phase players reveal their tokens to:The last phase of each round is the refresh phase during which players profit from the planets they control reveal event cards to move the impassable Warp Storms and heal any units wounded in battle.Because of the game's three-phase structure strategy in Forbidden Stars is balanced between short-term bluffing and long-term tactical military action. The game's set-up also poses strategic opportunities. Players start the game by taking turns assembling sections of the Herakon Cluster placing individual system tiles along with their own starting forces and the enemy objectives that they must defend. This intentional construction along with the unique domination abilities of the game's four factions means that players must work to best utilize their own force's strengths while exploiting the weaknesses of their opponents.

Roll for the Galaxy

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Civilization Dice Economic Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Game description from the publisher:Roll for the Galaxy is a dice game of building space empires for 2–5 players. Your dice represent your populace whom you direct to develop new technologies settle worlds and ship goods. The player who best manages his workers and builds the most prosperous empire wins!This dice version of Race for the Galaxy takes players on a new journey through the Galaxy but with the feel of the original game.

Star Realms

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2

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Star Realms is a spaceship combat deck-building game by Magic Hall of Famers Darwin Kastle (The Battle for Hill 218) and Rob Dougherty (Ascension Co-designer).Star Realms is a fast paced deck-building card game of outer space combat. It combines the fun of a deck-building game with the interactivity of Trading Card Game style combat. As you play you make use of Trade to acquire new Ships and Bases from the cards being turned face up in the Trade Row from the Trade Deck. You use the Ships and Bases you acquire to either generate more Trade or to generate Combat to attack your opponent and their bases. When you reduce your opponent’s score (called Authority) to zero you win!When you play Star Realms you will be able to acquire and use Ships and Bases of any and all of the four factions. Many cards have powerful Ally abilities that reward you for using Ships and Bases of the same faction together however. As you acquire cards using Trade you put them into your discard pile to be later shuffled into your personal deck. When you draw Ships you do what they say and they get placed into your discard pile at the end of your turn. When you draw a Base you play it face up in front of you and may use its abilities once every turn. In addition to Combat being the way you reduce your opponent’s Authority to zero and win the game it’s also useful for destroying your opponent’s Bases. Some Bases are designated as Outposts. Your opponent’s Outposts must be destroyed before you can use Combat to attack your opponent’s Authority directly.Star Realms is easy to learn especially if you’re familiar with deck-building games but it’s a game that takes time to master. Each time you play the game is filled with various strategic decision points. Should I take the best card for me or the best card for my opponent? Should I focus on taking cards of a particular faction or on taking the best card available? Should I be focusing on acquiring more Trade or more Combat? Should I attack my opponent’s Base or their Authority? These are just some of the many choices you’ll be faced with. New players needn’t agonize over these choices just to play but as they become more advanced players they will find this depth of strategy leads to great replayability.This is the first game of the Star Realms series. Multiple decks of Star Realms and/or Star Realms: Colony Wars one for every two people allows up to six players to play a variety of scenarios. Also in the newest version there are new ways to play that allow up to 6 players with modes like Boss Hunter and Free for All.

ISS Vanguard

Rating: 8.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Miniatures Science Fiction Space Exploration

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ISS Vanguard is a 1-4 player co-operative campaign Board Game. It will bring players right into epic Sci-Fi adventure as they will play as 4 sections (security recon science engineering) onboard the first human ship with the potential to reach outer space. The campaign will introduce the unique story written by Krzysztof Piskorski (Tainted Grail) full of hard player choices twists and branching storylines. The game comes with over 100 different Crew members each with unique characteristics.A game session takes you through a Ship Management phase (using a large binder with printed sleeves) in which you choose your destination for your ship then research technologies produce equipment recruit crewmembers and resolve situations and then commence a Planetary Exploration phase. During said Planetary Exploration phase you will proceed with a daring landing procedure with your Lander explore the planet for information or resources fighting back a barrage of threats as well as a running timer of supplies depletion before you have to run back to the Lander to lift off back to ISS Vanguard. What follows is the remainder of the Ship Management phase which takes you through unloading discoveries and resources from the Lander healing or memorialising crewmembers and taking apart the game board and recording changes to the planet on which you've just conducted your Planetary Exploration on preserving its status for when you will want or need to return to it.The Ship Management phase works allows players to make strategic decisions as to their resources and a way forward in the unknown galaxy chasing the mistery encoded in human's DNA. The Planetary Exploration draws the focus to the tactical as players decide on cards dice crewmembers and equipment to bring to fulfill dice checks on the planet's Places of Interest. The players also decide which of the variety of specialised Landers they want to use and how to outfit their Lander for the perilous descent into the chosen planet's atmosphere (or lack thereof). Throughout the game the narrative system relies on a web of structured and linked Mission Logs often snippets of journal entries or dialogue to provide gameplay choices and storyline information as well as keep track of progress throughout the universe.

It's a Wonderful World

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Civilization Economic Science Fiction

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In It’s a Wonderful World you are an expanding Empire and must choose your path to your future. You must develop faster and better than your competitors. You’ll carefully plan your expansion to develop your production power and rule over this new world.It’s a Wonderful World is a cards drafting and engine building game from 1 to 5 players. Each round players will draft 7 cards and then choose which ones will be recycled to immediately acquire Resources and which ones will be kept for construction to produce Resources each round and/or gain victory points.When a card is fully built it’s added to the player’s Empire to increase the player’s production capacity for each round. The mechanical twist being that the production phase works in a specific order. You'll have to plan your constructions carefully!For a deeper insight of the gameplay please follow this link : It's a Wonderful World - First stepsIn addition to the base game players can also enjoy expansions boxes introducing an innovative Campaign mode. Each Campaign offers a storyline to follow and many gameplay twists. At the end of each campaign players will open a reward booster to unlock new cards enhance their base game and keep a memory of what happened during the campaign. All the campaigns can be replayed and don’t imply game components destruction.More info on the Campaign mode : It's a Wonderful World - Campaign Mode—description from the publisher

Nucleum

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Economic Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction

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When Elsa von Frühlingsfeld presented her invention to King Frederik Augustus II of Saxony people thought it was trickery. She used the recently isolated element Uranium to heat up a jar of water and used the resulting steam to power an engine that kept the Uranium active via a process she called “atomization.” Her device the Nucleum ushered in a new era of energy and prosperity over the next decades. Saxony went from a minor regional power to the hub of European science and engineering. Now a generation later factories are still hungry for more power demanding bigger and more Nucleums to be built more Uranium imported from the nearby country of Bohemia and railways and power lines built across the country to carry the tamed power of the atoms to Saxony’s great cities. Inventors engineers and industrialists flock to the Saxon court vying to be the leader in this new industrial revolution.Nucleum is a heavy euro board game in which players take role of industrialists trying to succeed during the economic and technological boom of 19th-century Saxony fueled by the invention and spread of the Nucleum (a nuclear reactor).Players earn victory points by developing their networks building and powering urban buildings securing contracts and meeting milestones (randomized endgame goals). Each player also gets unique asymmetric technologies giving them special powers when unlocked. Gameplay is continuous; players take turns one after another with no rounds or phases.—description from the publisher

Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

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Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition is an engine-building game in which players control interplanetary corporations with the goal of making Mars habitable (and profitable). You will do this by investing mega credits (MC) into project cards that will directly or indirectly contribute to the terraforming process. In order to win you will want to accumulate a high terraform rating (TR) and as many victory points (VP) as you can. Players raise their TR by increasing global parameters: oceans oxygen and temperature. TR also determines each corporation's basic income and at the end of the game TR counts as VP. Additional VP and production capabilities are awarded for building project cards and other actions taken during the game.The game is played in rounds and each round the players will choose one of five phases which determines which activities will take place during that round. This means every round is different but can consist of building new project cards taking general and project-specific actions producing income and resources (plants and heat) or researching to draw more project cards. Every player will take all the phases selected for the round and will receive a special bonus during the phase that they selected. To speed up the game within each phase players can act simultaneously without waiting for each other!The game board has tracks for oxygen temperature and terraform rating as well as a place for all of the ocean tiles that will be flipped over the course of the game. The game ends when there is enough oxygen to breath (14%) oceans enough to allow Earth-like weather (9) and the temperature is well above freezing (+8°C). It will then be possible if not comfortable to live on the surface of Mars!The winner is the player with the most VP at the end of the game.

Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Fighting Horror Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game based on the four movies of the Alien series is a fully cooperative game with original art. While based on the Marvel superheroes version of Legendary the two games will be compatible but cannot be fully integrated.Legendary Encounters is a deck-building game in the same family as Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game but now players must cooperate in order to survive against hordes of aliens. Taking on the role of protagonists such as Ripley Dallas Bishop and Corporal Hicks players take turns recruiting cards for their deck from a central selection in order to improve their deck and defeat Xenomorph cards that are added to the central game board.Product Breakdown: > 600 total Original Art Card Set > Full Color Game Board (mat) > Full Color Rule Book > Card inserts for easy organization > Customize your card organization with removable foam inserts

Radlands

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2

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Radlands is a competitive dueling card game about identifying fiercely powerful card synergies.Act as the leader of your post apocalyptic group of survivors in a tooth-and-nail fight to protect your three camps from a vicious rival tribe. If all of them are destroyed you lose the game.The main resource in the game is water. You will spend it to play people and events and to use the abilities of cards you already have on the table. People protect your camps and provide useful abilities while events are powerful effects that take time to pay off.Both players draw cards from the same deck. All cards can either be played to the table or discarded for quick “junk” effects. To win you will need to manage your cards and water wisely.

Planet Unknown

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

City Building Industry / Manufacturing Puzzle Science Fiction Space Exploration Territory Building

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Our planet has run out of resources and we are forced to move. We have discovered a series of planets and sent our rovers to test their environment with the hope of colonization. Our rovers have confirmed 1-6 viable colonization options.Planet Unknown is a competitive game for 1-6 players in which players attempt to develop the best planet. Each round each player places one polyomino-shaped dual-resource tile on their planet. Each resource represents the infrastructure needed to support life on the planet. Every tile placement is important to cover your planet efficiently and also to build up your planet's engine. After placing the tile players do two actions associated with the two infrastructure types on the tile. Some tile placements trigger meteors that make all planets harder to develop and prevent them from scoring points in the meteor's row and column.Planet Unknown innovates on the popular polyomino trend by allowing simultaneous yet strategic turn-based play via the Lazy S.U.S.A.N. space station in the center of the table.—description from the publisher

Xia: Legends of a Drift System

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 3–5

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Fighting Science Fiction Space Exploration Transportation

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Xia: Legends of a Drift System is a 3-5 player sandbox style competitive space adventure. Each player starts as a lowly but hopeful captain of a small starship.Players fly their ships about the system completing a variety of missions exploring new sectors and battling other ships. Navigating hazardous environments players choose to mine salvage or trade valuable cargo. Captains vie with each other for Titles riches and most importantly Fame.The most adaptive risk-taking and creative players will excel. One captain will rise above the others surpassing mortality by becoming Legend!Customize: Each player begins the game by choosing and customizing a Tier 1 starship. Invest all your money in engines and be a rapid yet fragile explorer. Put all your credits into an uber missile and watch other players flee in terror. Get a small engine and save space and credits to invest in buying and selling cargo. Or create a well rounded ship ready for anything. In Xia the choice is always yours.Adapt: The goal of Xia is to become the most famous captain. Completing missions besting ships in combat purchasing higher tier ships selling Cargo Cubes and claiming Titles are all ways that players can earn Fame Points. The best pilots will adapt to their surroundings making snap judgments and changing plans on-the-fly. If you can think on your feet you'll do well in Xia!Sandbox: The real fun of Xia is that each game will be different. There is no set direction of play - players may choose to be peaceful traders fierce pirates workers miners opportunists etc. The game board is randomly laid out and explored each time you play. Players might choose not to explore at all creating a tiny arena for swift and deadly combat or explore all 19 sectors and have a large play-scape to exploit. It's up to you!Modding: Xia is very open to modding and the community has already created loads of stuff. See BGG's Unofficial Xia:LoaDS mods and expansions wiki.

Welcome to the Moon

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

City Building Science Fiction

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You've built housing for humanity in neighborhoods and New Las Vegas. Now you need to save humanity through space colonization...Welcome to the Moon uses the same flip-and-write game mechanisms as the earlier title Welcome To... but now you can play in a campaign across eight adventure sheets. On a turn you flip cards from three stacks to create three different combinations of a starship number and a corresponding action then all players choose one of these three combinations. You use the number to fill a space in a zone on your adventure sheet in numerical order and everyone is racing to be the first to complete common missions.The eight adventure sheets feature very different mechanisms from the classic Welcome To... concept and when you play in campaign mode you'll make choices that change the next adventure which means that each campaign will differ from the previous one.

Star Wars: Outer Rim

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Take to the stars and become a living legend in Star Wars: Outer Rim a game of bounty hunters mercenaries and smugglers for 1-4 players!In Outer Rim you take on the role of an underworld denizen setting out to make your mark on the galaxy. You'll travel the outer rim in your personal ship hire legendary Star Wars characters to join your crew and try to become the most famous (or infamous) outlaw in the galaxy!But it won't be easy since the warring factions of the galaxy roam the outer rim hunting down the scum that have proven to be a thorn in their side and other scoundrels looking to make their mark see you as the perfect target to bring down to bolster their own reputation. Do you have what it takes to survive in the outer rim and become a living legend?In more detail a game of Outer Rim takes place over a series of turns that sees players taking dangerous jobs tracking down bounties upgrading their ship and more all in service of gaining more and more fame. Regardless of the path you take to get there your goal is to gain ten fame which can come from a variety of sources such as completing your character's personal goal collecting on bounties and jobs delivering illegal cargo taking down patrols from the various factions struggling over the galaxy and enjoying the finer things in life by purchasing luxury items with your hard-earned credits.While the path to victory may be different for scoundrels finding their way in the Outer Rim everyone starts from the bottom with a simple starship. Your player board not only tracks your fame progress but also contains slots for your ship your character card gear reputation modifications jobs and bounties.

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Rating: 8.4 | Players: 1–4

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In SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence a eurogame for 1–4 players you lead a scientific institution tasked with searching for traces of life beyond planet Earth. The game draws inspiration from current or emerging technologies and efforts in space exploration.Players will explore nearby planets and their moons by launching probes from Earth while taking advantage of ever-shifting planetary positions. Decide whether to land on their surface to collect valuable samples or stay in orbit for a broader survey. Additionally by directing your telescopes to gaze into distant star systems you may detect traces of alien signals or undiscovered exoplanets and collect promising data to examine and study back home.Back on Earth you can invest in upgrading your equipment so you can analyze incoming data more efficiently boost your telescope signal capacity or increase your supply of resources—all to expand the scope of your search that could lead to a discovery of extraterrestrial life forms.You will also make use of over 200 cards to aid your efforts or focus your research in a particular direction for additional bonuses and rewards. Each card has unique effects and illustrations and depicts real-life technologies projects and discoveries (like the ISS Large Hadron Collider Perseverance rover Voyager probe and many more).Finding traces of extraterrestrial life is only a matter of time—utilize the resources you have at your disposal strategically and you may well end up being the one to make the biggest scientific contribution towards advancing our understanding of alien life within our galaxy.SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence pays homage to space and planetary exploration astronomy the ongoing search for signs of life in the vastness of space and efforts to understand the nature of life in the universe.—description from the publisher

Space Base

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–5

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In Space Base players assume the roles of Commodores of a small fleet of ships. Ships begin docked at their stations and are then deployed to sectors as new ships are commissioned under your command. Use cargo vessels to engage in trade and commerce; mining vessels to build reoccurring base income; and carriers to spread your influence. Establish new colonies for a new Commodore in a sector to gain even more influence. Gain enough influence and you can be promoted to Admiral!Space Base is a quick-to-learn quick-to-play dice game using the core I roll everyone gets stuff mechanism seen in other games. It's also a strategic engine builder using a player board (your space base) and tableaus of ship cards you can buy and add to your board. The cards you buy and the order you buy them in have interesting implications on your engine beyond just the ability on the card you buy making for a different type of engine construction than seen in similar games. Players can take their engine in a number of directions: long odds and explosive gains low luck and steady income big end-game combos to launch from last to first or a mix-and-match approach. Ultimately Space Base is a game you can just start playing and teach everyone how to play in the first round or two and has a satisfying blend of dice-chucking luck and challenging strategic choices.

Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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The Rebel Alliance fights valiantly against the tyranny of the Galactic Empire. Each new victory brings the Rebels hope and each heroic sacrifice strengthens their resolve. Still the Empire's resources are vast and the firepower of its Empire Navy is unmatched. With neither side willing to accept defeat their war rages across the galaxy...In Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game a head-to-head game for two players the galaxy-spanning war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance comes alive on your tabletop. In this easy-to-learn game you and your opponent each choose a side playing as either the Empire or the Rebels and as the game progresses you both strengthen the power of your starting decks and work to destroy each other's bases. The first player to destroy three of their opponent's bases wins.In more detail each player starts with a unique ten-card deck with seven of those cards providing only resources to acquire new cards. Six cards from a galaxy deck are always on display with Rebel cards facing the Rebel player Empire cards the Empire player and neutral cards turned sideways. You can spend resources to acquire cards in the galaxy row that don't belong to the opponent and you can use attack power to take out cards that do belong to them gaining a reward in the process.Each player starts with a base that lacks abilities (Dantooine for the Rebels and Lothal for the Empire) but when that base is destroyed you get to choose a replacement from your base deck with each base having a special ability. Choose wisely to counter your opponent's plans! In addition to having special abilities capital ships absorb damage meant for your base.Players also fight for control of a Force track to gain additional resources or make use of If the Force is with you... abilities on their cards.

Aeon's End: Legacy

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 1–4

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“You are not breach mages yet,” Brama lectures as she paces down the line of students her frail form belying her immense power. “Breach mages have protected us since the beginning — since the burning of the world and our pilgrimage into the dark. It was they who founded Gravehold our last bastion and if you wish to stand beside these living legends you must listen and learn. The Nameless shall come again as they always have and you will need to be ready. You are the hope of our future.”As a young apprentice you grew up to stories of the breach mages. Brama the teacher wisest of the mages. Dezmodia the prodigy master of great magic. Mist the stoic leader and tactical genius. Malastar the magical craftsman. Rebellious powerful and reckless perfectly sum up Xaxos. These mages are your heroes and tomorrow after your ordeal you will join their ranks.“Each of you must overcome your ordeal to learn discipline and focus the tools you will need to defend Gravehold. We are nothing without Gravehold. To be a breach mage is to sacrifice your life for Gravehold. When you die it will be in defense of our city. Once you understand this universal truth...only then will you be ready to become a breach mage.”Aeon's End is not required to play Aeon's End: Legacy.

Star Realms: Colony Wars

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2

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Colony Wars is a deckbuilding game in the Star Realms series which is both a standalone box set for two players (featuring an 80-card trade deck as in the original) and an expansion for the base Star Realms set that allows it to be played as a four-player game.In Colony Wars as in Star Realms players will start with a fleet (deck) of 10 basic ships and can spend Trade to acquire more powerful ships and bases from a central trade row of 5 cards. This row is continuously replenished by random draws from the trade deck. Many ships and bases deal Combat damage which you can use to attack your opponent and/or destroy their bases. When you reduce your opponent's Authority to zero you win.

Under Falling Skies

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1

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Aliens have arrived to conquer Earth. Enemy ships fill the skies. Humanity retreats to underground bunkers located below cities across the globe. Stand against the common threat! Fight the invaders city by city. Build a team from around the globe to save your planet and defeat the aliens!GAMEPLAYUnder Falling Skies is a solo game with a multi-mission campaign. In each mission you take charge of defending a besieged city.Your actions are powered by an innovative dice placement mechanic. When you choose an action you are also choosing which enemy ships will descend. Bigger numbers give better effects but they also cause ships to descend faster.Expand your underground base to gain access to more powerful actions allowing you to shoot down enemy ships or deploy robots to increase your workforce but don't forget to work on your research and watch your energy supply.The mothership draws closer every round ratcheting up the tension.Can you complete your mission before your base is destroyed?Official rules: https://czechgames.com/files/rules/under-falling-skies-rules-en.pdfUnder Falling Skies is based on the print & play game that won the 2019 9-card Nanogame P&P Design Contest. Built on the same intriguing mechanics it now comes with a full-scale campaign providing even more content for hours of intense fun.

Dinosaur Island

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Animals Economic Science Fiction

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In Dinosaur Island players will have to collect DNA research the DNA sequences of extinct dinosaur species and then combine the ancient DNA in the correct sequence to bring these prehistoric creatures back to life. Dino cooking! All players will compete to build the most thrilling park each season and then work to attract (and keep alive!) the most visitors each season that the park opens.Do you go big and create a pack of Velociraptors? They'll definitely excite potential visitors but you'd better make a large enough enclosure for them. And maybe hire some (read: a lot of) security. Or they WILL break out and start eating your visitors and we all know how that ends. You could play it safe and grow a bunch of herbivores but then you aren't going to have the most exciting park in the world (sad face). So maybe buy a roller coaster or two to attract visitors to your park the good old-fashioned way?

Pulsar 2849

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 2–4

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It is the year 2849 and humanity has harnessed the power of the pulsars. Now we must find a way to distribute this power throughout the stars. In this Euro-style game players explore space claim pulsars and discover technologies that will help them build energy-distribution infrastructure on a cosmic scale. Dice are used to purchase actions and players choose their dice from a communal pool. There are many paths to victory so you can blaze your own trail to a bright future.Draft dice to explore the universe in Pulsar 2849. Game is only 8 rounds long. Each round roll dice based on the number of players sort them based on their values then draft dice to take actions.Possible actions □ Fly your survey ship □ take a Gyrodyne □ Develop a Pulsar □ Build one or more energy transmitter vectors □ Patent a technology □ Buy a dice modifier □ Complete a special project in your HQ and unlock Gate RunPlayers score points each round based on what they've discovered and explored and everyone has common goals that they want to achieve.

Star Realms: Frontiers

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 1–4

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Star Realms: Frontiers is a new standalone Star Realms series game with an 80-card trade deck and new scorecards that's suitable for play with up to four players. It can be combined with Star Realms and/or Star Realms: Colony Wars.Star Realms is a fast-paced game of space battles that combines the fun of a deckbuilding game with the interactivity of Trading Card Game-style combat. As you play you make use of Trade to acquire new Ships and Bases from the cards being turned face up in the Trade Row.You use the Ships and Bases you acquire to either generate more Trade or to generate Combat to attack your opponent and their Bases. When you reduce your opponent’s score (called Authority) to zero you win! Battle your friends or team up to play cooperatively against the game!The default Star Realms: Frontiers box is listed with the following as its features:

Aeon's End: The New Age

Rating: 8.5 | Players: 1–4

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Aeon’s End: The New Age introduces the Expedition system into the Aeon's End universe which allows players to replay all of the content they own in a short campaign format. After each game players will receive new treasures and player cards that allow them to become more powerful. However the nemeses that players will face grow stronger and stronger with each battle.Aeon's End: The New Age is a standalone expansion that is compatible with all of the other standalone games. All content can be mixed and matched for exciting new combinations!—description from the publisher

T.I.M.E Stories

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Adventure Puzzle Science Fiction

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The T.I.M.E Agency protects humanity by preventing temporal faults and paradoxes from threatening the fabric of our universe. As temporal agents you and your team will be sent into the bodies of beings from different worlds or realities to successfully complete the missions given to you. Failure is impossible as you will be able to go back in time as many times as required.T.I.M.E Stories is a narrative game a game of decksploration. Each player is free to give their character as deep a role as they want in order to live through a story as much in the game as around the table. But it's also a board game with rules which allow for reflection and optimization.At the beginning of the game the players are at their home base and receive their mission briefing. The object is then to complete it in as few attempts as possible. The actions and movements of the players will use Temporal Units (TU) the quantity of which depend on the scenario and the number of players. Each attempt is called a run; one run equals the use of all of the Temporal Units at the players' disposal. When the TU reach zero the agents are recalled to the agency and restart the scenario from the beginning armed with their experience. The object of the game is to make the perfect run while solving all of the puzzles and overcoming all of a scenario’s obstacles.You usually take possession of local hosts to navigate in a given environment but who knows what you'll have to do to succeed? Roam a med-fan city looking for the dungeon where the Syaan king is hiding? Survive in the Antarctic while enormous creatures lurk beneath the surface of the ice? Solve a puzzle in an early 20th century asylum? That is all possible and you might even have to jump from one host to another or play against your fellow agents from time to time.The base box contains the entirety of the T.I.M.E Stories system and allows players to play all of the scenarios the first of which — Asylum — is included. During a scenario which consists of a deck of 120+ cards each player explores cards presented most often in the form of a panorama. Access to some cards require the possession of the proper item or items while others present surprises enemies riddles clues and other dangers. An insert allows players to save the game at any point to play over multiple sessions just like in a video game. This way it's possible to pause your ongoing game by preserving the state of the receptacles the remaining TU the discovered clues etc.--description from the publisher

Apiary

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–5

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Animals Science Fiction

In a far-distant future humans no longer inhabit Earth. The cause of their disappearance (or perhaps their demise) is unknown but their absence left a void ready to be filled by another sentient species.Over the span of untold generations one species of the humble honeybee evolved to fill that void. They grew in size and intelligence to become a highly advanced society. They call themselves Mellifera and they have made substantial technological advances in addition to the technology they adapted from human ruins up to and including space travel.In Apiary each player controls one of twenty unique factions. Your faction starts the game with a hive a few resources and worker bees. A worker-placement hive-building challenge awaits you: explore planets gather resources develop technologies and create carvings to demonstrate your faction's strengths (measured in victory points) over one year's Flow. However the Dearth quickly approaches and your workers can take only a few actions before they must hibernate! Can you thrive or merely survive?—description from the publisher

Nemo's War (Second Edition)

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–4

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Adventure Exploration Nautical Novel-based Science Fiction

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Jules Verne's classic novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea tells the story of Captain Nemo and his astounding ship the Nautilus. The second edition of Nemo's War Victory Point Games' popular solitaire offering from designer Chris Taylor is a greatly enhanced offering featuring mass-production printing and amazing Ian O'Toole art and graphics throughout.Set in year 1870 you set sail in this amazing electric-powered submarine assuming the role and motive of Captain Nemo as you travel across the seas on missions of science exploration anti-Imperialism and War!With this supercharged second edition of Nemo's War prepare yourself for the adventure of a lifetime!Complexity: 3 on a 9 scaleScale: Time is measured in Action Points which represent approximately 1 week of real time; each encounter is with 1 major ship (its crew and contents) and each area is 1 Ocean.Solitaire Suitability: 9 on a 9-point scaleNormally a solitaire game Nemo's War also provides rules for 2-4 player fully cooperative and semi-competitive variants.

Tiny Epic Galaxies

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–5

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Dice Print & Play Science Fiction Space Exploration

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In Tiny Epic Galaxies each player controls a galactic empire aiming to expand their influence by acquiring highly contested planets and increasing their cosmic armada. The game revolves around an innovative dice-rolling combo mechanic. The number of dice you roll is determined by the strength of your galaxy. Each die is engraved with symbols representing the various actions you can take such as moving a spaceship increasing your culture or energy resources or advancing your political or economic influence over newly discovered planets.Through careful planning you must make the most out of your turn taking the available actions in whichever order you consider most beneficial. But be careful as each of your opponents can choose to follow each action you take by expending valuable resources. This means that it can always be your turn even when it is someone else’s turn!Players will colonize new planets throughout the game thereby earning victory points and accumulating special abilities which they can activate for their galactic empire. Careful spending of resources will ensure the fastest growth of your empire while allowing you to receive the biggest possible pay‐off from the actions you take.Will your influence be enough to control the most powerful planets in the galaxy? Will you be able to meet your secret objective along the way? Will your empire stand victorious?Tiny Epic Galaxies FAQ

Dead of Winter: The Long Night

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Bluffing Deduction Horror Mature / Adult Science Fiction Zombies

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Dead of Winter: The Long Night is a standalone expansion for Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game that introduces the Raxxon location where horrible experiments will spill out into the town unless players can contain them.The game has players at a new colony location trying to survive with new survivors against brand new challenges. Can you handle being raided by members of other colonies? Will you explore more and unravel the mysteries of the Raxxon pharmaceutical location to find powerful items but release stronger enemies? Or will you upgrade your colony to help it better withstand the undead horde? These are all choices you will get to make in this new set and if you want you can mix in the survivors and cards from the original set to increase the variety even more.Part of the Dead of Winter series.

Sidereal Confluence

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 4–9

Game Type:

Economic Negotiation Real-time Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant is a singularly unique trading and negotiation game for 4-9 players. Over the course of the game each race must trade and negotiate with the rest to acquire the resource cubes necessary to fund their economy and allow it to produce goods for the next turn. Scheming dealing and mutually beneficial agreements are key to success. While technically a competitive game Sidereal Confluence has a cooperative feel during the trading phase as no race has the ability to thrive on its own. Trade well and you'll develop technologies and colonize planets to form a civilization that is the envy of the galaxy.Each player chooses one of the nine unique and asymmetrical alien races that have come together to form a trade federation in their quadrant. Each race has its own deck of cards representing all the existing and future technologies it might research. Some races also have other cards related to unique features of their culture. These cards represent portions of the culture's economy and require spending some number of cubes to use resulting in an output of more cubes ships and possibly victory points. Since each culture's outputs rarely match their inputs players need to trade goods with one another to run their converters to create the resources they truly need to run their society most efficiently and have an effective economy. Almost everything is negotiable including colonies ships and all kinds of resources.Each game round contains an open trading phase in which all players can negotiate and execute deals for cubes ships colonies even the temporary use of technologies! Players with enough resources can also research technologies upgrade colonies and spend resources on their race's special cards during this phase. Once complete all players simultaneously run their economies spending resources to gain more resources. The Confluence follows starting with players sharing newly researched technologies with all other races and following with bidding to acquire new colonies and research teams. Researching a new technology grants many victory points for the prestige of helping galactic society advance. When one race builds a new technology it is shared with everyone else. Technologies can be upgraded when combined with other technologies.The ultimate goal is victory points which are acquired by researching technologies using your economy to convert resources to goods and converting your leftover goods into points at the end of the game.The game is almost all simultaneous play.Sidereal Confluence: Remastered Edition features the same gameplay as the first edition of the game from 2017 but features an updated card layout a teaching guide and an improved rulebook for easy set-up and learning with more visual examples and clear key terms.

Mission: Red Planet (Second/Third Edition)

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–6

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With technology rapidly developing and the human population growing Victorian-era Earth is in dire need of fuel land and other natural resources. Fortunately automated probes sent to Mars have discovered celerium an ore that can be combusted to produce ten thousand times more power than a steam engine and sylvanite the densest substance ever found. More incredibly the probes found ice that could be used in terraforming the planet bringing the idea of colonizing Mars even closer to becoming a reality.As the head of a mining corporation these minerals and ice found on Mars could make you unfathomably wealthy – if you can reach them before your competitors. You have ten rounds to send your astronauts into space occupy the planet's most resource-rich zones and harvest as much celerium sylvanite and ice as possible. At your command is a team of nine professionals. Each has a unique skill set from helping your astronauts traverse the Red Planet to blowing up spaceships before they launch.In each round in Mission: Red Planet players start by secretly deploying one of their character cards with this card determining both when they place astronauts on the spaceships awaiting launch to Mars and which special action they take during the round. Each spaceship has a specified destination and until an astronaut sets foot in a region no one knows which resource they'll find. Players collect resources (worth points) three times during the game and they each have a secret mission card that might grant them additional points at game's end. During the game players might acquire an additional mission or a research card that changes the value of what awaits on Mars.The 2015 edition of Mission: Red Planet features the same gameplay as the original 2005 edition but it includes:

Gizmos

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–4

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The smartest minds of our generation are gathering together at the Great Science Fair. Everyone's been working hard on their creations but only one will be crowned champion. Contestants have to think on the fly to build their machines quickly and efficiently. Whose project will be the best?In Gizmos you win the game by gaining victory points from building engines. And engines help you get things done faster. Whoever builds the greatest machine and collects the most victory points wins!Machines give you victory points and allow you to do more actions when conditions are met. As you build new attachments can trigger chain reactions letting you do even more on your turn.

Andromeda's Edge

Rating: 8.4 | Players: 2–4

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Behold Andromeda's Edge: A dazzling uncharted region of space on the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy. Littered with the modular debris of the precursor civilization patrolled by malicious extragalactic raiders and bordered by dense nebulae The Edge is a last resort for the brave and foolhardy who seek a new life beyond the oppressive reach of the Lords of Unity.In this game you lead a desperate faction seeking to build a new civilization on Andromeda's Edge. You begin with only a space station a few ships and a handful of resources. By carefully placing your ships you will gather resources claim moons acquire modules to add to your station populate planets and build developments on them. You will battle opponents and compete with others to ascend the progress tracks: Science Industry Commerce Civilization and Supremacy.On your turn you either launch a starship or return your ships to your station. Launching sends one of your starships to a region of Andromeda either collecting resources from planetary systems or taking actions at Alliance Bases. If the region is occupied by your opponents or fearsome raiders face off in a dice battle with Supremacy on the line but where strategic manipulation can turn a loss into a reward. Returning to your station allows you to activate your engine using the modules you’ve acquired to generate energy gain resources and carry out actions.Throughout the game you will build up your unique faction building developments (Observatories Factories Spaceports Cities and Obelisks) and gaining station modules which move you up the progress tracks. Advancement on the tracks is rewarded both during mid-game events and at the conclusion and is the key to victory.

Ginkgopolis

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

City Building Environmental Science Fiction Territory Building

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2212: Ginkgo Biloba the oldest and strongest tree in the world has become the symbol of a new method for building cities in symbiosis with nature. Humans have exhausted the resources that the Earth offered them and humanity must now develop cities that maintain a delicate balance between resource production and consumption. Habitable space is scarce however and mankind must now face the challenge of building ever upwards. To develop this new type of city you will gather a team of experts around you and try to become the best urban planner for Ginkgopolis.In Ginkgopolis the city tiles come in three colors: yellow which provides victory points; red which provides resources; and blue which provides new city tiles. Some tiles start in play and they're surrounded by letter markers that show where new tiles can be placed.Begin with three Character cards which grant you starting resources and bonuses to power your game actions. On a turn each player chooses a Construction or Urbanization card from his hand simultaneously. Players reveal these cards adding new tiles to the border of the city in the appropriate location or placing tiles on top of existing tiles. Each card in your hand that you don't play is passed on to your left-hand neighbor so keep in mind how your play might set up theirs!When you build over a tile you add its “power card to your tableau which provides you additional abilities during the game allowing you to scale up your building and point-scoring efforts.

Frostpunk: The Board Game

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

City Building Economic Exploration Science Fiction Video Game Theme

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In Frostpunk: The Board Game up to four players will take on the role of leaders of a small colony of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world that was hit by a severe ice age. Their duty is to effectively manage both its infrastructure and citizens. The core gameplay will be brutal challenging and complex but easy to learn. The citizens won’t just be speechless pieces on the board. Society members will issue demands and react accordingly to the current mood so every decision and action bears consequences.The players will decide the fate of their people. Will you treat them like another resource? Are you going to be an inspiring builder a fearless explorer or a bright scientist? Is your rule going to be a sting of tyranny or an era of law and equality?The game is based on a bestseller video game by 11bit studios the creators of This War Of Mine. The original (digital) edition of Frostpunk is a highly successful strategy-survival-city-builder a BAFTA-nominee that originally launched in 2018.—description from the publisher

Abyss

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Fantasy Mythology Nautical Science Fiction

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The Abyss power is once again vacant so the time has come to get your hands on the throne and its privileges. Use all of your cunning to win or buy votes in the Council. Recruit the most influential Lords and abuse their powers to take control of the most strategic territories. Finally impose yourself as the only one able to rule the Abyssal people!Abyss is a game of development combination and collection in which players try to take control of strategic locations in an underwater city. To achieve this players must develop on three levels: first by collecting allies then using them to recruit Lords of the Abyss who will then grant access to different parts of the city. Players acquire cards through a draft of sorts and the Lords of the Abyss acquired on those cards grant special powers to the cardholder — but once you use the cards to acquire a location that power is shut off so players need to time their land grabs well in order to put themselves in the best position for when the game ends.

Star Wars: Armada

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Collectible Components Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

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Massive Star Destroyers fly to battle against Rebel corvettes and frigates. Banks of turbolasers unleash torrential volleys of fire against squadrons of X-wing and TIEs. Engineering teams race to route additional power to failing shields. Laser blasts and explosions flare across the battlefield. Even a single ship can change the tide of battle.In Star Wars: Armada you assume the role of fleet admiral serving with either the Imperial Navy or Rebel Alliance. You assemble your fleet and engage the enemy. Using the game’s unique maneuver tool you steer your capital ships across the battlefield even while squadrons of starfighters buzz around them. Then as these ships exchange fire it’s your job to issue the tactical commands that will decide the course of battle and perhaps the fate of the galaxy.Maneuver Tool The maneuver tool is one of the game’s most innovative features and adds a unique feel to the way your capital ships must accommodate for inertia as they maneuver through the stars.It consists of a number of segments linked with hinges which is used to plot the ship's course. More nimble ships are allowed to turn the ship further at each hinge.Command Stack Armada balances the awesome scale of the Star Wars galaxy’s ships and space warfare with intuitive ship designs and accessible rules for issuing commands and resolving combat that make for rich engaging and highly tactical play experiences.Capital ships are extremely powerful war machines but they’re also massive and sophisticated vessels that can’t swiftly react to every development in the heat of battle. Accordingly the key to flying these vessels effectively is learning how to plan ahead. You want to issue your commands in such a way that your crews will be ready to execute them at just the right times.Each of your pre-painted capital ships has a command value which determines how many commands it will have in its stack at any given point in time. During setup you secretly build your initial command stack selecting from any of four different commands each of which provides a different advantage. Once you have locked your selections you place the commands in your stack in the order of your choice. Then during each round of game play you secretly select and assign a new command to your ship placing it at the bottom of your command stack before you reveal the command at the top of your stack and gain its benefits.

51st State: Master Set

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game City Building Economic Science Fiction

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The world you know no longer exists. There is no government. No army. No civilization. The United States has collapsed and now thirty years after the war started new powers finally try to take control over the ruined country try to establish a new order try to control others and create a new country a new state: the 51st State.51st State is a card game in which players control one of four powers trying to build a new country. Players put new locations into play hire leaders and send people to work in buildings to gain resources and new skills. To do this every card in 51st State can be used in three different ways:51st State: Master Set marks the rebirth of the 51st State line with this set containing 88 cards from the original base game and 50 cards each from both the New Era and Winter expansions; one of these expansions can be mixed with the cards of the base game but not both at the same time. The entire set has been rebalanced to offer a cohesive experience no matter which expansion you choose to use.

King of Tokyo

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–6

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Dice Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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In King of Tokyo you play mutant monsters gigantic robots and strange aliens—all of whom are destroying Tokyo and whacking each other in order to become the one and only King of Tokyo.At the start of each turn you roll six dice which show the following six symbols: 1 2 or 3 Victory Points Energy Heal and Attack. Over three successive throws choose whether to keep or discard each die in order to win victory points gain energy restore health or attack other players into understanding that Tokyo is YOUR territory.The fiercest player will occupy Tokyo and earn extra victory points but that player can't heal and must face all the other monsters alone!Top this off with special cards purchased with energy that have a permanent or temporary effect such as the growing of a second head which grants you an additional die body armor nova death ray and more.... and it's one of the most explosive games of the year!In order to win the game one must either destroy Tokyo by accumulating 20 victory points or be the only surviving monster once the fighting has ended.First Game in the King of Tokyo series

King of Tokyo: Dark Edition

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Dice Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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King of Tokyo: Dark Edition is a collector's edition [limited edition: 100 000 copies in 12 languages] of King of Tokyo with the fight taking place in an alternative and darker world in which the struggle for control of Tokyo has never been so fierce...and wicked!This edition includes deluxe components (such as an embossed box and lightning-bolt-shaped energy) and all-new art by Paul Mafayon. The game is based on the classic KoT rules with the addition of a new mechanism exclusive to this edition to offer a fresh gaming experience.—description from the publisher

Firefly: The Game

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Space Exploration Travel

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Players begin with a ship and travel from planet to planet hiring crew purchasing ship upgrades and picking up cargo to deliver (jobs) all in the form of cards. Some crew and cargo are illegal and can be confiscated if your ship is boarded by an alliance vessel. Travelling from planet to planet requires turning over full burn cards one for each space moved. Most do nothing but you can also encounter an Alliance ship have a breakdown or even run into Reavers. Completing jobs gets you cash. First player to complete the story goals wins.Game description from the publisher:In Firefly: The Game – based on the popular Firefly television series created by Joss Whedon – players captain their own Firefly-class transport ship traveling the 'Verse with a handpicked crew of fighters mechanics and other travelers. As a captain desperate for work players are compelled to take on any job — so long as it pays. Double-dealing employers heavy-handed Alliance patrols and marauding Reavers are all in a day's work for a ship's captain at the edge of the 'Verse. Firefly: The Game is a high-end thematic tabletop boardgame from Gale Force Nine (GF9) and the first in a series of tabletop hobby board games and miniatures games from GF9 set in the Firefly Universe.

The LOOP

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

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The LOOP is a quirky co-operative game in which you battle the evil Dr. Faux. Play a Temporal Agent in four different game modes full of new challenges and replay value. Gather powerful artifacts defy the Doctor's duplicates and sabotage his maniacal machine. Make the most of your cards and master the LOOP to use them multiple times in impressive chains — but the Doctor isn't going to make this easy on you!The evil Dr. Faux has built a terrrrible time machine! With the help of the duplicates of himself that he is creating through the ages he aims to carry out his Omniscience 2000 project to become master of the universe. But the rifts that he is opening in spacetime will probably destroy quantum space way sooner...Join the Agency in the shoes of one of its most legendary agents and co-operate to foil the fiendish schemes of Dr. Faux using quirky but still powerful artifacts.—description from the publisher

Unsettled

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Game System Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Lost amidst the surreal and bizarre unknowns of the far reaches of the cosmos your crew of explorers must pull together to discover the resources necessary to survive the long journey home.Unsettled is a 2-4 player cooperative survival adventure set in the wondrous and unnerving fringes of uncharted space. There are no enemies and no combat only an environment where every step every breath every particle around you could mean immediate terrifying death. Enemies are the least of your concerns.In these incredible conditions you must complete a series of tasks necessary to your continued survival. Perhaps the water reclamation system on the ship needs repair or (as usual) food supplies are running low. Before you lies a strange alien landscape - it’s up to you to complete these tasks using…whatever you find out there.Each time you play you will have a different combination of survival tasks to complete and the things you discover (and their weird properties) will be different as well. So while you always start out knowing what problems you need to solve you have no idea how you’re going to use the world before you to do so (or what the world is going to do to you while you try).As you explore the environment encountering wild & unique opportunities along the way you will work closely with the rest of your crew to achieve your goal of continued existence. The only thing you can be sure of is each other; lose that trust and you’ll lose all hope of survival.—description from the designerThis core set comes with 2 planets Planet 001-Wenora and Planet 002-Grakkis which are not available individually.Embrace your fungal hosts and discover mind-bending abilities beyond your imagination or be absorbed forever. Unsettled: Wenora is the 1st planet box for Unsettled.Wenora is a bizarre and wondrous fungal jungle teeming with alien vegetation and gargantuan spore-based lifeforms.Growth in this place is of a scale beyond any we've encountered. Life drips and pulsates disturbingly mysterious pastes and powders covering most of the planet's crawling surfaces. Simply traversing the land is deeply unnerving yet awe inspiring all the same. Tentacles toxic spores and an alarming array of suction cups abound.Discover pathways to the skies to escape violent storms and enormous creatures that haunt the surface. Unsettled: Grakkis is the 2nd planet box for Unsettled.Grakkis is a sand-swept desert ruins. What was once a massive planet-wide forest of unfathomably large trees is now that forest's graveyard - all the trees having long since petrified to a stone-like state. Some have crumbled into interesting formations. Some had rotted before petrifying creating strange caves and crevices many of them thousands of feet above ground. Colossal alien lifeforms disturbing in their appearance wander the wasteland. They tower horrifyingly in the distance like gods in some waking existential nightmare.

Zombicide: 2nd Edition

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Fighting Horror Miniatures Science Fiction Zombies

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Zombicide the board game has taken the world by storm with over two million copies sold since its release in 2012 and spawning a cult franchise of cooperative zombie slaying all over the world. In Zombicide zombies are controlled by the game while players take on the role of survivors who must co-operate in order to survive and thrive in a world overrun by the bloodthirsty undead. Find guns and gear to take the fight to the zombies through 25 different scenarios linked by a branching story as you pick your way through an infested city.Zombicide (2nd Edition) features refined and streamlined rules including updates to target priority for ranged attacks interactions with doors and vehicle mechanisms. A new dark zone feature a zone that hides zombies from survivor's attacks has been added as well. Zombicide (2nd Edition) will include new components and miniatures as well including plastic dashboards and new child survivors. Returning players will be able to use their existing collection from previous Zombicide releases as well.

Dune: War for Arrakis

Rating: 8.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Dice Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Novel-based Science Fiction Wargame

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Arrakis is a desert world seemingly dead and barren yet here lies the most important resource in the galaxy: Spice. Without Spice space travel is impossible and humans become little clusters on isolated planets. The noble House that controls Arrakis and the production of Spice wields great power. The Emperor gave Arrakis to House Atreides but then he conspired to replace them with their old rivals House Harkonnen. Baron Harkonnen crushed the Atreides in a treasonous attack and now rules the planet with an iron fist. But Paul and Jessica heirs to House Atreides are alive and are mounting a rebellion with the aid of the formidable Fremen the mysterious inhabitants of the barren expanses of Arrakis.Only one House will emerge victorious from the coming struggle while the other will be lost in the desert sands. It's into this grim reality that players will be thrust in Dune: War for Arrakis.In this asymmetrical strategy game players fight for control of the planet maneuvering troops like the Fremen the Fedaykin and the fearsome Sardaukar while sending Spice harvesters into the deep desert daring to challenge the great Sandworms. The game features an action dice system with numerous event cards that will enable players to retell the Dune saga differently with each playthrough.—description from the publisher

Forbidden Desert

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Adventure Fantasy Science Fiction

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Gear up for a thrilling adventure to recover a legendary flying machine buried deep in the ruins of an ancient desert city. You'll need to coordinate with your teammates and use every available resource if you hope to survive the scorching heat and relentless sandstorm. Find the flying machine and escape before you all become permanent artifacts of the forbidden desert!In Forbidden Desert a thematic sequel to Forbidden Island players take on the roles of brave adventurers who must throw caution to the wind and survive both blistering heat and blustering sand in order to recover a legendary flying machine buried under an ancient desert city. While featuring co-operative gameplay similar to Forbidden Island Forbidden Desert is a fresh new game based around an innovative set of mechanisms such as an ever-shifting board individual resource management and a unique method for locating the flying machine parts.

Risk Legacy

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 3–5

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This description is spoiler free containing nothing outside the initial rulebook for the game. Details on why this is important in the description.Risk Legacy represents what is if not a new at least a rare concept to boardgaming: campaigning. At its core the game particularly at first plays much like regular Risk with a few changes. Players control countries or regions on a map of the world and through simple combat (with players rolling dice to determine who loses units in each battle) they try to eliminate all opponents from the game board or control a certain number of red stars otherwise known as victory points (VPs).What's different is that Risk Legacy' changes over time based on the outcome of each game and the various choices made by players. In each game players choose one of five factions; each faction has uniquely shaped pieces and more importantly different rules. At the start of the first game each of these factions gains the ability to break one minor rule such as the ability to move troops at any time during your turn as opposed to only at the end.What makes this game unique is that when powers are chosen players must choose one of their faction's two powers affix that power's sticker to their faction card then destroy the card that has the other rule on it – and by destroy the rules mean what they say: If a card is DESTROYED it is removed from the game permanently. Rip it up. Throw it in the trash. This key concept permeates through the game. Some things you do in a game will affect it temporarily while others will affect it permanently. These changes may include boosting the resources of a country (for recruiting troops in lieu of the older match three symbols style of recruiting) adding bonuses or penalties to defending die rolls to countries or adding permanent continent troop bonuses that may affect all players.The rule book itself is also designed to change as the game continues with blocks of blank space on the pages to allow for rules additions or changes. Entire sections of rules will not take effect until later in the game. The game box contains different sealed packages and compartments each with a written condition for opening. The rule book indicates that these contain the rule additions additional faction powers and other things that should not be discussed here for spoiler protection.The winner of each of the first 15 games receives a major bonus such as founding a major city (which only he will be allowed to start on in future games) deleting a permanent modifier from the board destroying a country card (preventing it from providing any resources towards purchasing troops in future games) changing a continent troop bonus or naming a continent which gives that player a troop bonus in future games. Players who did not win but were not eliminated are allowed to make minor changes to the world such as founding a minor city or adding resources to a country.It should be noted that although cards are ripped up over the course of the game there are so many cards added via the sealed packages that the game does not suffer. Nor is this a disposable game merely a customized one. The game can continue to change beyond the 15 game campaign and even when it finally does stop changing you still have a copy of Risk that is completely unique.Initial games take approximately 30-90 minutes to play which includes a brief rules explanation and setup.

Raptor

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Animals Fighting Science Fiction

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Mamma Raptor has escaped from her run and laid her eggs in the park. A team of scientists must neutralize her and capture the baby raptors before they run wild into the forest.Raptor is a card-driven board game with tactical play and some double guessing. Players use their cards to move their pawns — with the scientists on one side Mother and baby raptors on the other — on the board. Every round the player who played the lowest ranked card can use the corresponding action while their opponent has movement or attack points equal to the difference between the values of the two cards. The scientists can use fire can move by jeep on the tracks and can even call for reinforcements while the mamma raptor can hide in the bushes yell to frighten the scientists and call for her babies.

Skymines

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 1–4

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Fifty years ago humanity began mining the Moon and the asteroids and for decades that task was firmly kept in the hands of the World Government. But the turmoils of recent years have caused this enterprise to collapse. Now adventurous companies and private investors take to the sky to revive this mining network.As investors you try to earn the most CrypCoin over the course of seven rounds. You do this by investing mined resources in companies and by spreading their outposts. You can improve your earnings by supporting your scientists’ research and by having them collect precious helium-3.The heart of Skymines is a unique card programming and hand management system that requires careful and clever planning. It provides deep player interaction by letting you invest in any of the four companies as you see fit.And as the combination of company abilities changes each game there are endless synergies and strategies to explore.—description from the publisher

Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'n Write

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Animals Dice Science Fiction

Categories:

Dinosaur Island: Rawr 'n Write is a roll-and-write version of the critically-acclaimed game Dinosaur Island.Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘n Write is a unique game in which players draft dice and then use those drafted dice as workers in a worker placement phase. Then a fun polyomino puzzle ensues as you try and fit all your attractions and Dinosaurs into your park while buildings roads and routes to the exits for bonus points. At the end of the game have more victory points than your opponents to win!

Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Categories:

You find yourself in a dystopian cityscape with a few workers at your disposal to make your mark on the world. Like most people in dystopian fiction your workers are oblivious to their situation. This world is all they've ever known and you may use them at your whim.The world as we know it has ended and in its place the city of Euphoria has risen. Believing that a new world order is needed to prevent another apocalypse the Euphorian elite erect high walls around their golden city and promote intellectual equality above all else. Gone are personal freedoms; gone is knowledge of the past. All that matters is the future.The Euphorians aren’t alone. Outside the city are those who experienced the apocalypse firsthand—they have the memories and scars to prove it. These Wastelanders have cobbled together a society of historians and farmers among the forgotten scrap yards of the past.There is more to the world than the surface of the earth. Deep underground lies the hidden city of Subterra occupied by miners mechanics and revolutionaries. By keeping their workers in the dark they’ve patched together a network of pipes and sewers of steam and gears of hidden passages and secret stairways.In Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia you lead a team of workers (dice) and recruits (cards) to claim ownership of the dystopian world. You will generate commodities dig tunnels to infiltrate opposing areas construct markets collect artifacts strengthen allegiances and fulfill secret agendas.Euphoria is a worker-placement game in which dice are your workers. The number on each die represents a worker's knowledge—that is his level of awareness that he's in a dystopia. Worker knowledge enables various bonuses and impacts player interaction. If the collective knowledge of all of your available workers gets too high one of them might desert you. You also have two elite recruit cards at your disposal; one has pledged allegiance to you but the other needs some convincing. You can reveal and use the reticent recruit by reaching certain milestones in the game... or by letting other players unwittingly reach those milestones for you.Your path to victory is paved with the sweat of your workers the strength of your allegiances and the tunnels you dig to infiltrate other areas of the world but the destination is a land grab in the form of area control. You accomplish this by constructing markets that impose harsh restrictions of personal freedoms upon other players changing the face of the game and opening new paths to victory. You can also focus on gathering artifacts from the old world objects of leisure that are extremely rare in this utilitarian society. The dystopian elite covet these artifacts—especially matching pairs—and are willing to give you tracts of land in exchange for them.Four distinct societies each of them waiting for you to rewrite history. What are you willing to sacrifice to build a better dystopia?

Space Empires 4X

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Bluffing Civilization Exploration Science Fiction Space Exploration Wargame

Categories:

Space Empires is a game in the finest tradition of 4X space games - eXplore eXpand eXploit and eXterminate. Each player builds up a space empire and uses it to conquer the other players. Exploration on the mounted map is simple for players (and dangerous for their ships) revealing different space terrain that affects movement and combat.Space Empires was developed to keep a rich theme without overcomplicated rules. The game includes carriers and fighters mines cloaking a very large technology tree fifteen ship classes merchant shipping colonization mining terraforming bases shipyards black holes warp points and non-player aliens. Yet the rules are short and intuitive: The basic rules are 8 pages long and increase to 11 pages in length when the advanced rules are included.

Draftosaurus

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Animals Prehistoric Science Fiction

Categories:

Your goal in Draftosaurus is to have the dino park most likely to attract visitors. To do so you have to draft dino meeples and place them in pens that have some placement restrictions. Each turn one of the players roll a die and this adds a constraint to which pens any other player can add their dinosaur.Draftosaurus is a quick and light drafting game in which you don't have a hand of cards that you pass around (after selecting one) but a bunch of dino meeples in the palm of your hand.

Warp's Edge

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Categories:

You are Taylor Minde rookie pilot of the Force’s Outer Rim. After a crucial battle you are stranded far away from your fleet lost and alone. With resources running low you jump through warp gate after warp gate hoping to find the right combination home.But home is not what you find. The warp takes you further out in the galaxy than the Force has ever gone. You are deep behind enemy lines and find yourself on the edge of a blackhole... and on the doorstep of the enemy’s mighty mothership.You have a moment of bravery and approach the enemy’s fleet. Just maybe you can get through them and destroy the mothership... but before you have a chance to react the enemy is already upon you. Lasers fire. Photon cannons pierce through the blackness. A moment later your shields are gone your laser battery empty and your hull damaged. Your powerless ship splits apart as you fall from the enemy and into the black hole below.Just as your ship crests gravity’s edge you and infinite blackness takes hold... you are back where you started. The enemy fleet is before you. The mothership looming in the distance. And most importantly your laser battery is full. You have a second chance at the edge of space and now you know what’s coming...Warp’s Edge is a solo bag-building game of space combat. Pilot one of four starfighters which each have their own unique weapon loadouts. You’ll be facing off against one of five alien motherships and its accompanying fleet. Every matchup offers a different challenge pushing you toward new strategies and tactics. You have a limited number of warps to succeed so choose wisely as you improve your arsenal and learn new skills!In the box you will also find a 28-page choose-your-path storybook Singularity written by Banana Chan. This sets the stage for the events of the game and reveals Taylor’s backstory. You can even customize the game setup based on the narrative choices you make!

Baseball Highlights: 2045

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game Science Fiction Sports

Categories:

American baseball was on its last legs as a spectator sport. Football had become the predominant national pastime — that is until the year 2032 the year baseball decided to revolutionize the game and regain the throne!Starting in 2032 baseball games were shortened to six innings. Pitchers were encouraged to have bionic arm implants to improve their pitching. These cyborgs or 'Borgs as they're affectionately known were immediately popular and soon ruled the league. In 2041 robotic players were introduced to get more offense back into the game. These robots were similar to designated hitters in that they were used only to bat and did not field. However recent reports indicate fielding 'Bots are on the way.Now in 2045 human players are still in the game and known as Naturals. They are the best fielders by far but are sorely challenged when it comes to hitting and pitching. Some Naturals have learned to hit by swinging before the pitcher starts his windup which gives them a chance to hit the ball. Although it's hard for a Natural to get into the league those who do are popular. Many Naturals have named themselves after the great players of pre-2032 baseball by taking a first and last name borrowed from different star players of the past. The fans love them and their presence on the team ensures good revenue!The stage is now set! The fans are energized and root fanatically for their new favorites be they 'Bots 'Borgs or Naturals!Baseball Highlights: 2045 is like watching TV highlights of early 21st-century baseball games with the gameplay being full of theme with no outs or innings and without bogging down in a play-by-play baseball simulation. In this quick and interactive game two players build their teams as they play combining both strategy (building your team) and tactics (playing the game) without any of the downtime. During each mini-game each player alternates playing six cards to simulate a full game's highlights. The mini-game includes defensive and offensive actions and your single card play may include elements of defensive and/or offensive plays. Do you try to thwart your opponent's pending hits put up strong offensive action of your own or use your better players to do both? Players buy new free agents after each mini-game to improve their roster and the team who wins the most mini-games in the series is the champ!

AquaSphere

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Nautical Science Fiction

News from the depths! The AquaSphere is a research facility stationed deep below the ocean's surface and your skilled team — consisting of an engineer a scientist reprogrammable bots and exploratory submarines — is trying to gather as much data as possible.The game board in AquaSphere has two main areas: A research station comprising six sectors in which your scientist conducts experiments and a headquarters where your engineer supervises preparation of the bots. During each of the four game rounds you take several turns and on each turn you either:Through actions such as improving your lab sending out submarines collecting crystals and examining octopuses you expand the abilities of your team or gather knowledge points which are necessary to win. Additional challenges result from the limited size of your lab which is your personal stock; you can increase the size of your lab which makes life easier but this costs valuable time.AquaSphere is a challenging game of strategy and tactics with different paths to victory that requires planning in advance as well as skillful use of short-term opportunities.

Weather Machine

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Environmental Science Fiction

Categories:

“Natural disasters will soon be a thing of the past!” proclaimed Professor Sêni Lativ Project Chief of Meteorological Manipulation at Lightning Technologies. Tests of his new invention the Weather Machine showed positive results. Visions of quelling floods subduing cyclones and ending droughts made him smile.In Weather Machine you are scientists on Prof. Lativ’s team tampering with local weather: adjusting rainfall for farms maintaining wind and clear skies for ecological energy sources and tweaking the temperature for resorts and sporting events. The prototype is quite effective so far; however a pattern has emerged revealing a worrying side effect: Each use of the Weather Machine also alters the conditions elsewhere on the planet — a “butterfly effect”.We must build a new prototype,” he announces as the agents shoot him sidelong glances; “…but this time we’re going to get it right.” The agents silently give a single crisp nod of confirmation. “The government is funding this and we will succeed.” As Prof. Lativ explains the plan the need to secure suppliers for sufficient bots and chemicals is clear. In addition to the materials time is of the essence; you must be focused and efficient to have any hope of reining this growing global terror Earth’s atmosphere before conditions are too harsh for Homo sapiens and other species.Note: The solo mode is NOT included in the base game's box. It is part of Weather Machine: Upgrade Pack.

Project: ELITE

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Real-time Science Fiction

Categories:

In Project: ELITE players are members of the ELITE squad on a mission to stop the invading forces of an alien empire. Stopping the invasion requires players to speedily roll dice as they take part in real-time two-minute combat rounds against waves of terrifying enemies. Once the ELITE members take their turn the aliens react. The game continues in this fast-yet-tactical series of rounds until the scenario is won or the aliens take the Earth.This new edition of Project: ELITE will have new art new miniatures new card designs new weapons new ELITE members new enemies and more.

Bullet♥︎

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Fighting Puzzle Real-time Science Fiction

Categories:

In Bullet♥︎ players take on the role of heroines in a far-flung future Earth and use their incredible powers to defend the Earth from evil — as well as from one another! Each heroine's powers manifest in a different form with players controlling sound paper technology gravity triangles and more!Turns are simultaneous. Place bullets in your sight with the color of bullet determining the column and the number how far down in that column it is placed. Use actions to manipulate bullets to form configurations matching your patterns. Using a pattern removes bullets from your sight and sends them to the opponent. When placing bullets you skip over existing bullets in the column you place it in with the bullet hitting you if it is placed off your sight. At the end of the turn you'll gain even more bullets from the center bag as well as what the opponent sent ensuring each new turn is more hectic than the last!Choosing what order to place bullets use actions and use patterns in is key to staying alive as long as possible! Playing with the optional timer makes for even more intense play!Bullet♥︎ includes eight heroines to play and four game modes:—description from the publisher

Shards of Infinity

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Fantasy Fighting Science Fiction

Categories:

One-hundred years ago The Infinity Engine was shattered and its reality-bending shards have destroyed most of the world. Now it falls upon you to gather your forces defeat your adversaries and rebuild the Infinity Engine! Will you survive?Shards of Infinity combines an unprecedented level of strategy and customization into one small box. Rather than competing for points players must outlast their opponents and reduce their health to zero which can be done in a number of ways. Each player starts the game with a basic deck of cards and they can acquire new cards from a central display of six cards (as in Ascension) and add these new cards to their deck or use them immediately depending on what they are.Every character starts with fifty health and zero mastery. On each turn you can spend one gem (a.k.a. money) to gain a mastery point. The more mastery you have the more powerful your cards become. This lets even the weak cards in your starting deck become more powerful as the game progresses. If you reach a total of thirty mastery you can activate your Infinity Shard which instantly defeats your opponent.As you acquire new cards you can employ allies and champions to craft your strategy. Mercenary cards can be added to your deck as in other deck-building games or they can be played immediately from the center row for their ability; this adds even more drama to each player's turn as a key mercenary flip can alter the very outcome of the game!Will you neutralize your opponents before they can fully master the Infinity Shard? With careful planning and aggressive gameplay only one player can emerge the winner!

Gears of War: The Board Game

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

Game description from the publisher:For a time the humans of Sera knew peace...then Emergence Day came. The Locust horde arrived without warning and countless horrors spilled forth from their underground burrows. The Coalition of Organized Governments (COG) struggled to fend off the subterranean threat but their defenses were quickly crushed. With billions dead humans turned their weapons of mass destruction on their own cities to deny the enemy control. Now the long struggle against overwhelming odds approaches one final desperate stand.Gears of War: The Board Game designed by Corey Konieczka is based on the wildly popular third-person shooter by Epic Games. One to four players take on the roles of COG soldiers cooperating to destroy the Locust horde and must work together to complete missions against an ingeniously challenging and varied game system. In Gears of War: The Board Game you’ll relive classic moments from Gears of War and Gears of War 2 – Roadie Run into cover spray your enemy with blind fire or rip him in half with your Lancer's chainsaw!In Gears of War: The Board Game you must fulfill one of seven randomly constructed missions and support your fellow COGs as your team engages an unflinching enemy in furious white-knuckle firefights! Only through teamwork and communication will you gain a tactical advantage completing your mission and striking a blow for humanity.You'll need every soldier you can get if you hope to send the Locust horde back to their holes. Leave no man behind!ERRATA - In the Roadblocks mission level 3 use tile 12A instead of 3A. - In the rules under Component List the following three entries are incorrect: -- 23 Wound/Dropped Weapon Markers should be 22 -- 12 Grenade Tokens should be 14 -- 36 Ammo Tokens should be 44

Quantum

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Dice Fighting Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Send out the scouts! Position the Flagship in tactical orbit! And reconfigure that Battlestation into something new! Your fleet of loyal ships powered by the might of quantum probability itself carries your empire to the far-flung stars. How will history remember you? As a ravenous destroyer? A clever tactician? A dauntless explorer? Command your armada construct world-shattering technologies and rally the remnants of humanity for a final confrontation.In Quantum each player is a fleet commander from one of the four factions of humanity struggling to conquer a sector of space. Every die is a starship with the value of the die determining the movement of the ship but also its combat power - with low numbers more powerful. So a [ 6 ] is a quick but fragile Scout and a [ 1 ] is a slow but mighty Battlestation.Each type of ship also has a special power that can be used once per turn: Destroyers can warp space to swap places with other dice and Flagships can transport other ships. These powers can be used in combination for devastating effects. You're not stuck with your starting ships however: using Quantum technology you can spend actions to transform (re-roll) your ships. Randomness plays a role in the game but only when you want: Quantum is very much a strategy game.You win by constructing Quantum Cubes - massive planetary energy extractors. Each time you build a new one you can expand your fleet earn a new permanent ability or take a one-time special move. The board itself is made out of modular tiles and you can play on one of the 30 layouts that come with the game or design your own. The ship powers player abilities and board designs combine to create a limitless set of possibilities for how to play and strategies for how to win.With elegant mechanics an infinity of scenarios and easy-to-learn rules that lead to deep gameplay Quantum is a one-of-a-kind game of space combat strategy and colonization that will satisfy both hard-core and casual players.Quantum won the 2012 Game Design Award at the IndieCade Festival of Independent Games as a prototype game with the title Armada d6.

Star Wars: Destiny

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Collectible Components Dice Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

Star Wars: Destiny is a collectible dice and card game of battles between iconic heroes and villains that encompasses characters locations and themes from the entire Star Wars saga.In Star Wars: Destiny two players engage in a fast-paced duel each striving to eliminate the other's characters first. The game's innovative mechanisms combine dice-driven combat with faction-driven hand management. Straightforward rules make the game easy to learn but also enable deep strategic thinking and clever deck-building. Players can create decks that include characters from every faction and any era as long as heroes and villains are on opposite sides of the fight. For example Padmé Amidala might fight alongside Rey and Finn taking on Jabba the Hutt Kylo Ren and Jango Fett.Each round you use your characters' abilities an assortment of dice and a carefully constructed thirty-card deck filled with events upgrades and supports. You and your opponent alternate actions: activating your dice playing cards from your hand attacking your foes and claiming the battlefield. You need to prove your skills and defeat your opponent's characters to claim your destiny!At launch in November 2016 Star Wars: Destiny consists of two starter sets — Rey and Kylo Ren each with nine dice and 24 cards — and the Awakenings booster packs each containing one die and five cards.—description from the publisher

High Frontier 4 All

Rating: 8.4 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Civilization Economic Exploration Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

This is the 4th ed of Phil Eklund's signature game High Frontier. It started with Rocket Flight (1999) a game with the vision to let Each player start as a spacefaring company in the year 2020 trying to make a profit in trade and technology development. Now that we are at that year High Frontier has evolved into a modular system open to enthusiasts to keep it updated ever farther into the future.The Core Game is equivalent to the previous edition's basic and advanced rules and includes Module 0 (Politics). It also comes with the beginner's game Space Diamonds (accessible to bright children) Race for Glory (introductory including a playthrough) and a variety of solitaire and cooperative variants. The iconic map of High Frontier is the most comprehensive map of the solar system ever published! Since it is a delta-v map it offers a completely different view of the accessibility of the worlds that orbit Sol. The cards and map have been expanded and produced in consultation with experts in the field and the author himself is a former rocket scientist and we can safely say this is the most accurate yet accessible game of space exploration/exploitation ever published. Transition rules allow High Frontier to work as an independent 4th stage in the Bios:Earth trilogy (Bios: Genesis Bios: Megafauna and BIOS: Origins) about the evolution of life on our planet.—description from the publisher

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Categories:

Traverse a galaxy where iconic Jedi heroes utilize the familiar gameplay mechanisms of the Pandemic series in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.Planets under siege populate the game board as players take on the role of legendary Jedi traveling from battle to battle teaming up and fighting off the Separatist threat. Battle droids attack on sight and a planet invaded by too many will fall under a blockade hindering Jedi from liberating it from the enemy or accomplishing missions.Players must work together to confront the onslaught of droids by moving into their spaces and engaging them in combat utilizing dice and squad cards to deal damage and push back the threat. In between battles players move from planet to planet battling more droids crushing blockades completing missions to turn the tide of war and facing off against iconic villains.

Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game – The Force Awakens Core Set

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Aviation / Flight Collectible Components Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

From the publisher:Featuring beautifully detailed painted miniatures X-Wing is a two-player game of dramatic starfighter battles set in the Star Wars universe. You and your opponent take command of Resistance X-wings and First Order TIE fighters then battle head-to-head for the fate of the galaxy.Secretly plot your maneuvers fly at your enemies take aim and fire. It takes just minutes to learn the rules but the nearly limitless possibilities for squad building along with the ability to expand your fleet with other ships from the game’s expansions ensure that you’ll find plenty of Star Wars action to explore and enjoy for years to come!X-Wing is a two-player miniatures game of fantastic high-speed dogfights. Now for the first time you can enjoy these dramatic space battles with the incredible new starfighters from The Force Awakens!The Force Awakens Core Set is the heart of your X-Wing experience and contains everything that you and a friend need to start playing including three painted plastic ships – one Resistance T-70 X-wing and two TIE/fo fighters.

Twilight Inscription

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–8

Game Type:

Categories:

The Lazax Empire has burned to ash rejected by its subjects. The aftermath was tragedy and petty conflict in equal measure a time of loss and exhaustion. In the ensuing Dark Years the factions of the galaxy retreated and recovered their strength. Now they look upon the stars and see an opportunity—a chance to reclaim what was lost. A chance to redefine galactic civilization. A chance to leave their mark upon the stars.Twilight Inscription an epic roll-and-write game for one to eight players offers an experience unlike anything Fantasy Flight Games has done before. With a limited pool of resources at your disposal you’ll need to carefully manage Navigation Expansion Industry and Warfare as you amass victory points and earn your right to the throne on Mecatol Rex. Will your faction become the new rulers of the galaxy? Or will your fledgling empire fade into obscurity? Anything can happen in this strategic infinitely-replayable game!—description from the publisher

Civolution

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Civilization Dice Economic Exploration Science Fiction

Categories:

Hello student beings! The cosmic faculty of the Technical Academy of Creation is delighted to welcome you to your Civolution the final exam in Civilization Design!For this occasion we prepared a humanoid scenario on an isolated continent. Here each of you holds the rank of a local deity which is closely linked to its very own civilization and must lead it to success over the other civilizations. Your developmental possibilities are endless and reach from cultural and technical progress to evolutional adaptations. For example what would you consider more beneficial to your tribes: inventing the wheel or growing wings? Demonstrate your ability to operate your civilization console and show us how well you can adjust to changeable environmental conditions and mild creational chaos.When the exam ceases after four eras whoever managed to gather the most success points will not only pass the exam but will become a full member of the Technical Academy of Creation and garner the opportunity to be promoted to the next instance.Civolution is a medium heavy to heavy euro-style game that utilizes a dice selection mechanism to trigger actions on a tech tree-like structure. As you figure out how to best use your dice and put your unique cards into play tons of strategies and paths to victory emerge though each time you play you will only explore a fraction of the possibilities that the game’s system and many cards provide.—description from the publisherA webapp implementation of the V.I.C.I solo automa is available (requires a physical copy of the game).

Federation

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Political Science Fiction

Categories:

The universe is organized into many federations which trade intrigue develop… One of these federations still not fully developed yet (5 member planets so far) wants a new delegation to join them but you are not the only one having your sights set on the federation. The Federation challenges you to prove your worth for 5 years. During these 5 years you must develop strategies deploy tactics take the best opportunities but also form the right alliances at the right time… In the end only 1 delegation will be chosen: the one with the most prestige!Federation is an interactive Eurogame with innovative double-sided worker placement mechanic..Federation is played over 5 rounds. Each round is divided into 2 main steps. The first step is player turns where each player plays an Ambassador's pawn and send a spaceship on a special mission. Once all players have completed their turn the Executive Phase starts where players receive their income fund Major Projects and pass laws.At the end of the 5th round the game ends. The Player with the most prestige points wins the game and joins the Federation. In case of a tie the victory is shared.Your individual board is composed of the 5 federated actions 1 spy action some senate actions and some special senate actions giving prestige points.—description from the publisher

Star Wars: Unlimited

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Collectible Components Science Fiction

Categories:

Star Wars: Unlimited is a fast-paced dynamic game that is both easy to learn and strategically deep. This game features iconic heroes villains ships and settings from all facets of the legendary Star Wars franchise including movies TV series comics video games and everything in between.—description from the publisher

Steampunk Rally

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–8

Game Type:

Dice Racing Science Fiction

Categories:

Steampunk Rally is a strategy game that incorporates steampunk as more than just a bit of chrome. Using a unique dice-placement mechanism players take on the roles of famous inventors from the turn of the last century like Nikola Tesla and Marie Curie constructing fantastical contraptions that make use of steam heat and electricity in an attempt to win a no-holds-barred race through the Swiss alps.Each round starts with a card draft in which players carefully select machine parts to add to their invention and one-shot boost cards to aid them or hinder opponents. Players also have the option of discarding drafted cards for dice or cogs to power their invention but they must make this tricky choice when each card is drafted.Then after venting dice to revitalize their machines players roll their dice and use them to activate machine parts which provide things like movement shielding and additional dice with which to activate more parts. Driving through terrain causes damage and if a player's damage gauge ends up in the red at the end of the turn they must lose parts from their invention. These will need to be replaced in the draft phase constantly forcing players to discover new synergies.

Leaving Earth

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Math Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

The year is 1956. Mankind stands at the dawn of a new age the Space Age when the flying bombs of yesteryear will become the rocket ships of tomorrow. As the director of a national space program your country is depending on you for success in this great contest. You may be the first to create an artificial satellite send a probe to another planet or even put a man on the moon.Leaving Earth is a game about planning and about managing risk. With even a single grand journey into outer space you might claim victory in the game. Consequently it is your job to plan each journey carefully finding the cheapest quickest and safest ways to reach your objective—but do not spend too long preparing or another nation might reach its goal before you.On your turn you will be conducting research building spacecraft and directing journeys into outer space. To conduct research you buy an advancement that begins with certain flaws then you test the advancement to find and eliminate those flaws. To build a spacecraft you purchase components and assemble them into a whole. To travel to outer space you expend rockets to maneuver from one location to another.

Moonrakers

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Categories:

Moonrakers is a game of shipbuilding temporary alliances and shrewd negotiation set in a space-faring future. The players form a loose band of mercenaries but while they are united in name actual alliances are shaky as players are pitted against each other in the quest to become the new leader of the Moonrakers.Moonrakers is a deck-building game in which players choose Contracts to attempt alone or with Allies in order to gain Prestige and Credits. After negotiating terms with Allies players use their decks of Action cards to play Thrusters Shields Weapons Reactors and Crew to fulfill the requirements on each Contract. Each type of Action card has additional effects such as extra Actions drawing additional cards and protecting players from Hazards encountered while attempting Contracts.Players create powerful decks and gain special abilities by upgrading their ships and hiring Crew Members. This helps them accomplish more difficult and rewarding contracts alone letting them keep more Prestige and Credits for themselves.Allies negotiate who will receive the Prestige Credits and risk of Hazard from Contracts but if you don't make your offers enticing enough players may be tempted to betray you! The first player to 10 Prestige wins but be careful as hazards encountered on Contracts reduce your Prestige!-description from designer

Specter Ops

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Deduction Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

Categories:

A secret agent of A.R.K. has infiltrated a top secret Raxxon facility attempting to complete three mission objectives before they escape — but they are hunted by genetically modified Raxxon Hunters. Players can choose which side they wish to join.Specter Ops is a sci-fi stealth ops game of hidden movement that's similar to Scotland Yard. Players are trying to locate/capture a mysterious agent who keeps track of their sneaking via a private map. The other players take control of unique characters who must use their wits abilities and technology to help them hunt down this infiltrator. Items like flash grenades scanners and the like are at the disposal of this covert agent.

New Frontiers

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Categories:

In New Frontiers a standalone game in the Race for the Galaxy family players build galactic empires by selecting in turn an action that everyone may do with only the selecting player gaining that action's bonus.The developments to be used are determined during setup allowing players to make strategic plans based on them before play begins. One group of eight developments is always in play. The game includes a suggested set of sixteen additional developments for your first game; in later games players randomly select which side of eight double-sided small developments and eight double-sided large 9-cost developments to use during setup.Many worlds that players can acquire have special powers with these worlds being drawn from a bag during the Explore phase. Unlike in Race in New Frontiers worlds need colonists to be settled in addition to either payments or conquest.Some worlds are windfall worlds and receive a good upon being settled. Others are production worlds and receive goods when the Produce action is selected. Goods can be traded for credits or consumed for victory points.Play continues until one or more of four game ending conditions is reached. After all actions for that round have been done the player with the most victory points from settled worlds developments 9-cost development bonuses and VP chips earned from consuming goods wins.

Eminent Domain

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Civilization Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Survey the galaxy to expand your civilization – will you colonize nearby planets or take them over by force? Harvest resources for trade and do research to improve your technology. Build the best civilization and win the game!Eminent Domain is a civilization-building game in which your civilization's abilities are based on a deck of Role cards. At the beginning of the game each player has the same deck of cards with just two cards for each Role in it. Every turn you must choose a Role to execute (and like Glory to Rome or Puerto Rico your opponents will get a chance to follow suit) and in doing so you will add one of those Role cards to your deck. When executing a Role you can boost its effect by playing cards out of your hand matching the Role you have chosen. For example the more you Research the better you get at Researching (because you'll have more Research cards in your deck).

Circadians: First Light

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

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We were light years from our home galaxies away when we first discovered this ancient celestial body — a planet filled with intriguing intelligent lifeforms not too unlike our own. Some built kingdoms below the surface of the green seas while others controlled the desert-filled plains and cliffs. Among them we found scientists inventors farmers traders and fighters. While our presence has been unsettling for some we have had very few incidents with the locals. Still we Circadians Earth's famed explorers must do what we can to ensure peace. We must respect this world and its hosts. The heads of Moontide passed down orders from above. We are to open negotiations with the three clans in hopes of gaining their favor along with our own security while on the planet. We must also collect organic samples for the depository on Moontide. This is new ground for all of us but we must be brave and resourceful. The future of the Circadians depends on it.The aim of Circadians: First Light is to lead a team of researchers on the planet of Ryh. Players need to manage their crew (dice) to visit various parts of the planet for trade farming construction and research. Players score points for negotiating with the locals harvesting resources for the depository upgrading their research base exploring the planet and collecting gems. The game is played over eight rounds. At the end of the final round the player with the most points wins.—description from designer

SpaceCorp: 2025-2300AD

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Economic Exploration Science Fiction Space Exploration

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SpaceCorp: 2025-2300 AD is a fast-playing board game in which one to four players explore and develop outer space over three eras. Each player controls an Earth-based enterprise seeking profit by driving the expansion of humanity into the Solar System and beyond. In SpaceCorp you can …Each of the three eras is played on a different board:The game is based on Ejner Fulsang's SpaceCorp book the first of the Galactican Series.

Super Motherload

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Science Fiction Video Game Theme

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Mars. The very near future. The Solarus Corporation discovered an infinite source of rare and precious minerals deep in the red crust. Resources that will end the energy crisis on Earth and fuel the deep space expeditions planned as population swells beyond capacity. You have been chosen to lead an elite crew of Pod pilots who will delve below the surface of Mars in Solarus Corporation's first major drilling expedition. As a part of this maiden voyage the corporation has agreed to let you reinvest any wealth you uncover back into training your Pod pilots increasing their skills and efficiencies. Will you be remembered as the greatest Solarus Corporation employee in the galaxy?Super Motherload is a tile-laying deck-building game which means that you have your own deck of cards from which you draw each turn. The cards in your deck start out very basic but over the course of the game you add new and more powerful cards to it. You use these cards to bomb and drill minerals and other bonuses from the game board. You then use the minerals you've collected as money to purchase better cards for your deck. Some cards give you an immediate bonus when you purchase them and some give you other bonuses when you use them to drill. Each card you purchase from your library is worth victory points (VPs). You can also gain VPs from achievement cards that become available throughout the game. Whoever has the most VPs at the end of the game wins.Super Motherload features game boards that are added and removed during play to create videogame-like scrolling action and it challenges spatial relation skills for 2-4 players who love video games Eurostyle board games or deck-building card games.

Cry Havoc

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–4

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Cry Havoc is a card-driven asymmetric area control war game set in a brutal science fiction setting. Each player commands one of four unique factions with varying abilities and units. The game includes 54 custom miniatures a large format board and over one hundred unique cards all with stunning new artwork.

FUSE

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–5

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Action / Dexterity Dice Real-time Science Fiction

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Intruders have made their way onto your ship and their goal is total destruction! More than twenty bombs have been detected onboard and the countdown has begun. Your elite Bomb Defusal Team (BDT) has been called upon to neutralize the threat. Does your team have what it takes to work through the intricacies of the bombs and defuse them all in time?FUSE is a real-time co-operative game that employs 25 dice and 65 cards. Each game is set to a ten-minute timer and players must work together in that ten minutes to defuse all of the bombs. Each bomb is represented by a card which needs a certain combination of dice in order to defuse it. A player will draw a number of dice equal to the number of players out of a bag and roll them. Players must then decide who will get which dice but each player must take one and only one.It's a simple task: maximize the potential of your dice among all of the players. The problem is that you have only ten minutes and there are more than twenty bombs on your ship. You don't have time to think through every option. You barely have time to yell at Grandma as she reaches for that red die you need. This game will self-destruct in ten minutes...

Not Alone

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–7

Game Type:

Bluffing Card Game Deduction Horror Science Fiction

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It is the 25th century. You are a member of an intergalactic expedition shipwrecked on a mysterious planet named Artemia. While waiting for the rescue ship you begin to explore the planet but an alien entity picks up your scent and begins to hunt you. You are NOT ALONE! Will you survive the dangers of Artemia?NOT ALONE is an asymmetrical card game in which one player (the Creature) plays against the stranded explorers (the Hunted).If you play as one of the Hunted you will explore Artemia using Place cards. By playing these and Survival cards you try to avoid confuse or distract the Creature until help arrives.If you play as the Creature you will stalk and pursue the shipwrecked survivors. By playing your Hunt cards and using the mysterious powers of Artemia you try to wear down the Hunted and assimilate them to the planet forever.NOT ALONE is a immersive thematic card game where you use guessing bluffing hand management and just a pinch of deck-building to achieve your goal which is survival for the Hunted... or total assimilation for the Creature!

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–4

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Horror Novel-based Science Fiction

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It's been twenty years since Victor Frankenstein died on a ship in the arctic but his vengeful creature lives on as does Robert Walton the sea captain who vowed to kill the fiend before mercy stayed his hand. It's now 1819 and a sinister darkness descends upon the city of Paris. A mysterious benefactor of gigantic stature has emerged in the scientific community never showing his face claiming to possess the late Frankenstein's research. He sponsors a grand competition offering an even grander prize: unlocking the mystery of mortality!Renowned scientists from around the world come to take part: some drawn to solve this eternal riddle others coerced against their will. But a certain captain comes as well one deeply suspicious of the secretive patron hoping to finally fulfill his vow.Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein is a competitive game of strategic monster building for 2-4 players inspired by Mary Shelley's classic novel of gothic horror. In the game the creature demands your help to accomplish what his own creator would not: to bring to life an abomination like itself a companion to end its miserable solitude. Through worker placement and careful management of decomposing resources you'll gather materials from the cemeteries and morgues around the city conduct valuable research at the Academy of Science hire less-than-reputable associates and toil away in your lab — all in an effort to assemble a new form of life and infuse it with a spark of being. Do well and the creature may reward you during one of its surprise visits; do poorly and you may come to regret not putting forth more effort. Narrative elements come into play throughout the game guided by your decisions leading to potentially unsavory outcomes.The game ends when you succeed in bringing your creation to life or when the Captain kills the creature whichever happens first. Then the player with the most points fulfills Frankenstein's dark legacy becoming his heir for good or ill...—description from the publisher

Black Angel

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–4

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Humanity through its irresponsible behavior has exhausted the natural resources of Earth making it almost uninhabitable. In a burst of lucidity pressed by the irreversible degradation of your planet the great nations are forced to put aside their differences and share their knowledge in order to create the most vast spacecraft ever constructed. The Black Angel the first intergalactic frigate in history must transport the genetic heritage of humanity beyond known worlds over a journey that is likely to last several thousand years. Her crew will be composed of only robots. Because no nation is willing to trust creation of the AI (artificial intelligence) that will control this crew to any other nation a compromise is found: The Black Angel will be co-managed by several AIs and the utility of each decision will be evaluated in VP (Validation Process).Players take the role of AI robots piloting the Black Angel while engaging with alien species and fighting off ravagers. Actions are determined by cards and die rolls. Rounds continue until either of the following situations occurs: The Black Angel figurine arrives on Spes (during a Sequence B) or The Ravager card deck becomes empty (during a Sequence A). Players finish the round in progress and then play one final round.At the end of the final round victory points are tallied (depending on the end condition) and the player with the most victory points wins.

Stationfall

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–9

Game Type:

Deduction Science Fiction

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What is Stationfall? Well imagine a dozen or so random humans robots and none-of-the-aboves each with their own abilities goals and secret relationships have been turned loose on a space station that is going to be incinerated upon its inevitable reentry into Earth's atmosphere. You are one of these characters and the others are collaborators you have on hand ready to assist you in achieving your goals. But choose them wisely as any one of them could secretly be another player waiting to betray you! Stationfall is a box full of creative solutions but that box is going to morph twist and grow teeth over the course of play. Your best turns will exploit the unique tactical freedom of being a secret conspiracy as well as deductions about your opponents’ identities and motives. Stationfall is messy intricate and full of dangerous variables.—description from the publisher

King of New York

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Dice Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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There's always something happening in the city that never sleeps. Maybe it's the lights maybe it's the energy or maybe it's the giant monsters trying to demolish the place!King of New York is a standalone game from designer Richard Garfield that keeps the core ideas of King of Tokyo while introducing new ways to play. As in KoT your goal is to be the first monster to collect 20 victory points (VPs) or to be the last monster standing. On your turn you roll six dice up to three times then carry out the actions on those dice. Claws cause damage to other monsters hearts heal damage to yourself and energy is stored up so that you can purchase power cards that provide unique effects not available to anyone else.What's new in King of New York is that you can now try to become a star in the big city; more specifically you can achieve Fame which nets you VPs but superstar status is fleeting so enjoy your time in the spotlight.The game board for King of New York is larger than in KoT with each monster occupying a district in the city and everyone trying to shine in Manhattan. When you attack you can displace a monster in another district whether to escape military forces or to find new smashing opportunities. Yes smashing because you can now destroy buildings and get bonuses for doing so but the more destruction you cause the more intense the military response.The monsters from King of New York can be used in KoT and vice versa but the power cards are specific to this game.Part of the King of Tokyo series.

Outlive

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

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Outlive is a management/survival game in a post-apocalyptic universe in which nature has overcome its rights amongst the world of Men. In Outlive players have six days (turns) to send heroes gathering resources during the day while avoiding threats from other players and reinforce their settlements during the night trying to recruit new survivors and adapt to the new world. The specifics: movements and resource gathering are compelled by your hero's strength.You play six rounds (six days) that are divided between the day phase and the night phase. During the day phase you move your four heroes of different strength on the board to collect resources with a mechanical movement innovative and interactive.During the night phase you manage your shelter feed your survivors and recruit new ones organize your survival and improve your rooms and objects.Only one clan can outlive this devastated world!

Among the Stars

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

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Card Game City Building Science Fiction

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Among the Stars takes place in a war-ravaged galaxy where the warring alien races have declared peace in the wake of a threat with the potential to destroy them all. An Alliance is established to build space stations throughout the galaxy in order to promote trade among the races strengthen diplomatic relations and defend against this impending threat. Each player takes the role of one of those races trying to build the greatest space station. Through card drafting the players select locations and use these to build their station scoring victory points based on the placement. The construction lasts four years and the alien race with the most points at the end wins.

Dinosaur World

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Animals City Building Economic Science Fiction

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The triumph of science that led to dinosaurs returning to the world once more has become public knowledge. New parks spring up regularly often beginning operations even before everything has been finalized. There is no shortage of patrons eager to be entertained by these returned species in new and exciting ways. However as with any form of entertainment elements of triumph are often accompanied by elements of tragedy. This means it is of the utmost importance that you take every precaution by ensuring each visitor signs the safety waiver before enjoying the wonders of Dinosaur World!Each round in Dinosaur World you draft a new résumé card to acquire new workers; spend workers to take public actions building your park and acquiring DNA; spend further workers to take private actions improving that park; then drive your jeep around experiencing the wonder and excitement of what you have built! Throughout the game you acquire victory points through a variety of means — and possibly a few visitor deaths as a natural consequence of overly enthusiastic dinosaur encounters. At the end of the game you lose points if you accumulated too many deaths then the player with the most points wins!

XCOM: The Board Game

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–4

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Real-time Science Fiction Video Game Theme

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Game description from the publisher:You are humanity's last hope.In XCOM: The Board Game you and up to three friends assume the roles of the leaders of the elite international organization known as XCOM. It is your job to defend humanity quell the rising panic and turn back the alien invasion.Where the world's militaries have failed to stand against the alien invaders you must succeed. To do so you must make strategic use of the resources available to you. You must launch Interceptors to shoot down alien UFOs assign soldiers to key missions research alien technology and use that technology to defend your base — all while trying to keep the world from collapsing just long enough that you can coordinate one final mission to repel the invaders for good.One of the more notable aspects of XCOM: The Board Game is the way that it incorporates a free and innovative digital app into the core of its gameplay. This digital companion will be available both as a downloadable app and as an online tool.The app's primary function is to coordinate the escalating alien invasion randomly selecting from one of five different invasion plans. Each invasion plan represents a general outline that the alien commanders will use to coordinate the arrival of new UFOs plan strikes against your base and respond to your successes or failures as it seeks to conquer Earth. The app manages all of these tasks and heightens the game's tension as it forces you to respond in real-time. Then after you move quickly to coordinate your response you engage the enemy in the untimed resolution phase and feed the results to the app. Based upon these results the app launches the invasion's next strikes.Additionally the app teaches you the rules controls the information that your satellites provide you and tracks the progress of your resistance efforts even as it allows you to enjoy the game at any of three levels of difficulty: Easy Normal or Hard.The use of this app does more than simply streamline your play experience and track your turns in real-time; it also permits a uniquely dynamic turn structure. While the variety of game phases remains the same from round to round the order in which you and your friends must play through them may change as may the number of a given phase. As a result while you'll want to know where UFOs appear before you deploy your Interceptors the alien invaders may be able to disrupt your satellite intel and force you to deploy your Interceptors on patrol with limited or no knowledge of the UFOs current whereabouts. Similarly you may be forced to think about the costs of resolving the world’s crises before you know how many troops you’ll need to commit to your base defense.The effect of the app is to immerse you deep into the dramatic tension at the core of XCOM: The Board Game and it ensures that the game presents a challenging and cooperative (or solo) experience like no other. Just like the XCOM department heads that you represent you'll need to keep cool heads in order to prevail.

Earthborne Rangers

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Environmental Exploration Science Fiction

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Earthborne Rangers is a customizable co-operative card game set in the wilderness of the far future. You take on the role of a Ranger a protector of the mountain valley you call home: a vast wilderness transformed by monumental feats of science and technology devised to save the Earth from destruction long ago.You begin by building a deck that reflects your Ranger's interests personal history and personality. Then as you explore the open world and your story takes shape you augment your deck with improved equipment refined skills and the memories of your journey.The story of Earthborne Rangers is presented as a branching narrative campaign consisting of a main storyline and a multitude of side stories. In it you can choose to follow the critical path or to strike off on your own to discover the Valley's many engaging characters mysterious ruins and beings both familiar and strange.Each game session represents one day in the Valley and you'll pick up in the same location on the map where you rested the night before. Your goal is to either complete one of your available missions or to explore the open world. The session ends when you're either forced to rest (through either fatigue or injury) or you choose to rest for the night.An individual game session is played in rounds and those rounds consist of turns. On your turn you perform one action: either play a card from your hand or choose an action from a card on the table. Each action allows you to interact thematically and narratively with the world and each time you take an action the world comes to life around you. Predators stalk their prey rain pours from the sky rocks tumble down the mountain to block your path and much more.—description from the publisher

Star Wars: The Card Game

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2

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Card Game Collectible Components Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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It is a dark time for the galaxy. The Galactic Empire has consolidated its dominion through the might of the Imperial Navy. In the underworld of the Empire's most populated planets and in strongholds throughout the Outer Rim powerful gangsters rule vast criminal organizations. From the shadows those lost to the grip of the dark side of the Force scheme to bring their evil designs to bear on an already oppressed galaxy.Yet not all hope is lost. The Rebel Alliance resists the iron grip of the Empire. Smugglers and other fringe elements lend their aid to the Rebellion. And unknown to the Emperor and his dark minions of the Sith the last remnants of the noble Jedi Order work tirelessly to restore peace and order to the galaxy.Star Wars: The Card Game is a two-player card game that puts one player in command of the Rebels (light side with the factions Jedi Rebel Alliance and Smugglers And Spies) and one player in command of the Empire (dark side with the factions Sith Imperial Navy and Scum And Villainy). The Balance of the Force expansion allows multi-player games. The game is set within the time-frame of the original Star Wars trilogy.Each player has a deck of objective cards representing various missions plus a deck of player cards of units (characters vehicles droids and creatures) events enhancements and fates. Each objective is linked to a set of five player cards. Deck construction consists of choosing which objectives are to go into your objective deck then adding each of those objective's set of five player cards to your player deck. Game play consists of deploying cards to your tableau attacking your opponent's objectives defending your own objectives and committing cards to the Force Struggle.The Empire wins if the Death Star dial reaches 12 with this dial increasing by one on each dark side turn effectively putting a timer on the game. It may also be increased by winning the Force struggle destroying light side objectives and via card effects. The Rebels win by destroying three dark side objectives before the Empire wins.Contains objective sets 1-36.

Evacuation

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Industry / Manufacturing Racing Science Fiction Territory Building

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Hurry to the ship! Twelve houses from our town have already burned down!In Evacuation life on our planet is being burned away thanks to increasingly intense sunlight so everyone is trying to move all the people and factories in their territories from the old planet to a new one — and they have only four rounds in which to do so.You start the game with a full functioning economy and over the course of play you must dismantle that economy and move it. Income on the old planet shrinks over time and production probably won't be much better until you establish yourself on the new planet and kick things into action. Resources can't be mixed across the planets so you need to take special care with your planning.To do this you choose actions from the player board with the expert variant adding cards to your hand that allow you to choose additional actions and combine them. Each action has its own value and the sum of these actions is important for an end of the round bonus. Additionally players move their markers along the orbital track based on the value of their actions.If you can raise production of three resources to level 8 and have three stadiums on the new planet you win. Otherwise players compare scores after four rounds. Evacuation includes modules to add new play options.NOTE: A community FAQ is available here to provide some clarity on Frequently Misplayed Rules.

Spyrium

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

City Building Economic Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction

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Spyrium is set in an alternate world an England set in a steampunk-based universe. Players build factories needing workers to manage the production of a commodity previously unknown to us called Spyrium. Producing Spyrium in one factory then processing it in the next results in victory points (VPs) for that particular player. Alternatively Spyrium can be purchased but the material is rare and expensive and players are constantly scraping for money.Only those who from the beginning of the game manage to increase their regular income or their base of permanently employed workers (who can be used again and again to raise money) will be flexible enough to get their hands on the important end-of-game buildings to generate many VPs.The circular nature of the game is flexible as each player can decide for himself when to move out of the placement phase and into the activation phase. With the two tracks in the game those involved with delivery during the worker phase can then be used to raise money to purchase an adjacent card or to work on their own in an idle factory. All of these things are important but in the end only the player who has dealt best with the lack of money workers and Spyrium will win.

Star Trek: Fleet Captains

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Star Trek: Fleet Captains designed for two or four players is set in the Prime Universe of STAR TREK (as seen in the various TV series and movies up to Star Trek: Nemesis) and is more adversarial in nature when compared to Star Trek: Expeditions. Each player takes the role of a faction (or race) from the universe. In the base game the choices are Klingons and Federation. Each faction has a number of ships (on Clix dials similar to the Heroclix line of components) of varying ability and with a corresponding “size.” Fleets of ships are drafted to a given size total which reflects the victory points required to win. Thus larger fleet sizes lead to higher point (and longer games).Players then “shuffle build” a deck of command cards. Choosing four decks from a set of ten decks per faction. Each deck has a unique flavor or theme with corresponding major characters. For instance the Klingons have a deck themed around larger ships and imperial domination and Gowron is a central character. The four decks chosen will help to set the player’s strategy for winning. The ships chosen have physical stats like weapons shields engines and sensors. They also have mission totals for science influence and combat missions. These determine the kinds and numbers of each kind of mission cards the player draws to form a mission deck. Completing missions gains the player points which will win them the game. Missions could be as simple as damage an opposing ship that is larger than your own (combat) to as complex as claiming the spaces connecting your command post to your opponents (influence). Thus a player’s chosen ships sets the types of missions they will need to earn points and the deck they build determines the way they will complete missions.Points can also be earned for non-mission actions such as destroying a ship or building a starbase.The game itself plays out on a randomly built board of hex cards called sectors that start the game unexplored. As each ship progresses through the sector the cards are turned face up revealing what is in that part of the sector (a Class-M planet a Class-J Nebula empty space etc...). There are additionally random events that can occur when exploring which usually correspond to a single episode of a series (for instance one encounter is “trouble with tribbles.” Some of these encounters also give victory points.Overall the game can best be thought of as playing out an entire season of Star Trek with the conflict between players representing the major story arc and the turns missions and random encounters representing individual episodes. Players will move their ships explore space complete missions play cards to upgrade their ships (and staff them with famous and not so famous crewmembers) or boost their stats in combat. Combat while important is not the sole path to victory with the mission cards being the primary factor (some of which will encourage combat). The style of game will depend heavily on individual player decisions but no matter what it will feel like Star Trek.

Zombicide: Invader

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Zombies

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Humans set off into the stars in search of high-powered fuel and found it in the remote corner of the universe on the small planet PK-L7. Their discovery of Xenium — a dark oily compound deep below the planet's surface — was everything they hoped for. But they found something else too. The Xenos attack was brutal and unrelenting. While the scientists and soldiers have held them off the best they could the Xenos are still coming...Zombicide: Invader is a cooperative game in which 1-6 players face Xenos an unfathomable swarm of infected Xenos controlled by the game itself. Each player takes on the role of one to six survivors in a sci-fi setting being overwhelmed by these Xenos. The goal is simple: Choose a mission complete its objectives kill as many Xenos as possible and (most importantly) survive!Survivors will fight Xenos rescue each other recover vital data unveil dark secrets and much more! Survivors can be civilians or soldiers each with specialized skills. They all play together as a team trading equipment and covering each other. They use whatever weapons they can get to kill Xenos and slow the invasion. The better the weapon the higher the body count but the more Xenos will appear attracted by the onslaught! Survivors must also be mindful of their location as conventional weapons work fine indoors but the planet’s oxygen-starved surface they'll need to arm themselves with more specialized weaponry. Lasers anyone?Most of the time Xenos are predictable but there are a lot of them and they use nasty tactics not encountered in previous Zombicide games. Only through cooperation can players achieve the Mission objectives and win.

Red Rising

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Card Game Novel-based Science Fiction

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Enter the futuristic universe of Red Rising based on the book series by Pierce Brown featuring a dystopian society divided into fourteen castes. You represent a house attempting to rise to power as you piece together an assortment of followers (represented by your hand of cards). Will you break the chains of the Society or embrace the dominance of the Golds?Red Rising is a hand-management combo-building game for 1-6 players (45-60 minute playing time). You start with a hand of 5 cards and on your turn you will deploy 1 of those cards to a location on the board activating that card’s deploy benefit. You will then gain the top card from another location (face up) or the deck (face down) gaining that location's benefit and adding the card to your hand as you enhance your end-game point total. If at any point you’re really happy with your hand you can instead use your turn to reveal a card from the top of the deck and place it on a location to gain that location’s benefit.—description from the publisher

Tiny Epic Dinosaurs

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Animals Fantasy Farming Science Fiction

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In Tiny Epic Dinosaurs breakthroughs in modern science have dinosaurs and humans existing side by side. This has allowed for a lucrative industry. Dino Ranching! Independent ranchers have begun farming dinosaurs to sell to the highest bidders for use in their high thrill theme parks. You are one of those ranchers. Do you have what it takes to out ranch your opponents and operate the most successful dinosaur farm!?Tiny Epic Dinosaurs is a 45 minute 1-4 player game of dinosaur ranching worker-placement and resource management. It features classic euro game mechanics with unique twists that portray the dangers of farming these prehistoric beasts.In Tiny Epic Dinosaurs players control a team of ranchers and will be acquiring breeding and selling dinosaurs. The game is played over 6 rounds. With each round consisting of several short phases.In phase one players will harvest the resources from their farm that are not being consumed by dinosaurs.In phase two players will put their ranchers to work. This phase has ranchers wrangling and buying new dinosaurs to farm improving their farm’s security and supplies vying for high dollar contracts and researching technologies and unique dinosaur breeds. These unique dinosaur breeds introduce a large variety of special benefits players can utilize to separate themselves from their competition.In phase three ranchers return to finish their day’s work at the farm.In phase four players arrange their ranch making sure their ranch is suitable for the types of dinosaurs they have.Phase five is the feeding phase and every dinosaur MUST be fed. Dinosaurs that don’t eat will escape posing a grave threat to your enclosures’ security and your other dinosaurs.Phase six is for breeding. For each pair of matching dinosaurs you have properly enclosed you’ll welcome a new dinosaur to your farm.-description from publisherAt the end of the game players will receive victory points for each dinosaur they have public and private contracts they acquired and for their research developments. The player with the most victory points wins the game.

DinoGenics

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Science Fiction Territory Building

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DinoGenics is a competitive game for two to five players in which each player attempts to build and run their own successful dinosaur park.Each player is the head of their own corporation with access to their own private island resort. Each season players assign agents to the mainland to compete over DNA and other limited resources. Once collected players can build fences various park facilities and populate their parks with dinosaurs. Parks with the most prestigious dinosaurs will attract the most visitors. But beware; if dinosaurs are neglected or improperly penned they will attempt to escape and spread havoc through the entire park.Use all the tools at your disposal; DNA splice mutant dinosaurs exploit the Black Market or just try to run an honest park the choices are yours.Do you have what it takes to lead your corporation to victory?

Adrenaline

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 3–5

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

In the future war has left the world in complete destruction and split the people into factions. The factions have decided to stop the endless war and settle their dispute in the arena. A new virtual bloodsport was created. The Adrenaline tournament. Every faction has a champion every champion has a chance to fight and the chance to win. Will you take the chance of becoming the next champion of the Adrenaline tournament?Play a first-person shooter on your gaming table. Grab some ammo grab a gun and start shooting. Build up an arsenal for a killer turn. Combat resolution is quick and diceless. And if you get shot you get faster!

Wasteland Express Delivery Service

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Miniatures Science Fiction Transportation

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Wasteland Express Delivery Service is the depraved brainchild of a superstar team of acclaimed game designers: Jon Gilmour (Dead of Winter) Matt Riddle (Fleet Morocco) and Ben Pinchback (Fleet Morocco) brought to technicolor life by award-winning comic artist Riccardo Burchielli (DMZ Batman Black and White) to create the perfect marriage of emergent thematic gameplay and balanced strategy.Take on the role of the half-insane drivers for the last delivery company left of earth: the Wasteland Express Delivery Service. In order to scratch out a living in this deranged universe drivers will deliver goods and guns between the handful of settlements pockmarked throughout the hellscape that you call home and take on missions from the handful of factions still trying to hold onto the last dregs of civilization.Course none of this is easy. Inhabiting the post-apocalyptic wasteland are unhinged characters set on unleashing mayhem at every turn. If you want to survive you'll have to battle through the psycho raiders who occupy the void between cities. Maybe the world can be saved maybe you can bring humanity back from the brink. Band the world back together to fight back against the void. Then again what the f*&% do you care? You're here to get paid and live another day free. Outfit your truck get loaded for bear hire some allies get paid and just keep on truckin'.

The Thing: The Boardgame

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–8

Game Type:

Deduction Horror Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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The Thing is a game that mixes different mechanisms to create an experience that is as faithful as possible to that of the original film. It is a hidden role game in which one player is initially the Thing and the others players are humans. The purpose of the Thing is to infect others to prevent the survivors from escaping from the base (which can happen three different ways) or to try to escape with them by behaving as a human.In addition to these elements players also have to manage Outpost 31. On the map are the same rooms as seen in the film and each of these rooms allows players to perform a different action. Human players have to feed themselves and keep the boiler and the generator on to avoid being in the cold and dark. The Thing will try to sabotage these places to make life difficult for humans...or not trying to camouflage itself among the humans and infect them when the perfect opportunity presents itself.The goal of the game designers was to bring the same personal emotions and paranoia that the protagonists of the film experienced to the gaming table.

Core Worlds

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Card Game Civilization Science Fiction Space Exploration

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IntroductionThe ancient Galactic Realm ruled from the Core Worlds of the galaxy is waning. Now the barbaric kingdoms that lie beyond the galactic frontier are amassing their strength choosing this pivotal moment to strike at the heart of the fading republic establishing new empires built upon the ashes of decaying civilizations. But these outer systems are not yet strong enough to engage the forces of the Core Worlds directly. The young kingdoms must first gnaw at the edges of the crumbling frontier developing new types of units and shrewder tactics. They must build up their energy resources to launch magnificent fleets and overwhelming ground forces. Then when the time is right they must strike at the galactic core itself claiming the most exalted planets for themselves. The barbarian kingdom that achieves these goals will carve out the greatest empire in the galaxy.Object of the GameEach player controls a barbarian Star Empire represented by many cards. Throughout the game players will invade Worlds and draft new Units and Tactics into their Empires. Each card lists its Empire Points in the upper right corner. The player whose Empire contains the most Empire Points at the end of the game is the winner!Game Terms and Game Play MechanismsCore Worlds is a deck-building card game for 2-5 players. The following are the central concepts of Core Worlds:• Central Zone: Throughout the game new cards are drawn from the five Galactic Decks and placed face up in the Central Zone the game's common play area. These cards include new Units and Tactics that the players can draft into their Empires as well as Worlds that they can invade.• Empire: Each player represents an Empire that begins with a Home World and a Starting Deck. A player's Empire consists of all of the cards in his hand draw deck discard pile and Warzone (tableau).• Fleet Strength: Each World possesses a Fleet Strength that represents the starships that defend it from attack. A World's Fleet Strength must be matched in order for that World to be successfully invaded. Many Units possess a Fleet Strength that a player can use to invade a World.• Ground Strength: Each World possesses a Ground Strength that represents the infantry and other ground forces that defend it from surface assault. A World's Ground Strength must be matched in order for it to be successfully invaded. Many Units possess a Ground Strength that a player can use to invade a World.• Invasion: In order to add new Worlds to his Empire a player must launch Invasions. A player performs an Invasion by discarding enough cards from his Warzone to match the Fleet Strength and Ground Strength of the World he is invading.• Warzone: Each player's Empire includes a Warzone an area in front of the player where her conquered Worlds are displayed. Players also deploy Units from their hands face up into their Warzones and later use these Units to invade new Worlds.

Empires of the Void II

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Civilization Economic Exploration Science Fiction Space Exploration

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The Kurross Empire emerged from the deep endless pool of space dark and undetectable. They crushed Earth’s paltry fleet within a week and broke through the great planetary shield that protected the surface. Bright blue oceans turned to an irradiated wasteland as they bombarded the planet shredding the remnants of thousands of years of human history. Markan last captain of Earth’s forces made a final desperate attempt to survive salvaging an abandoned Worldship from hundreds of years past. She took command and headed for the fringe of the galaxy where there was a chance to gain a foothold grow in strength and find new allies for the fight against the Kurross. Earth’s long-time enemies the Zun and Decima Empires soon followed in their own Worldships leaving behind decimated worlds and lost family determined to stake their own claim of the fringe.In Empires of the Void II you have been given a mission to establish a foothold at the fringe of the galaxy for your galactic empire. The game begins when your massive Worldships reach the fringe where you must explore wage war use diplomacy and construct buildings to gain victory. The fringe is sparsely populated and the few local sentient species are struggling to survive leaving huge regions of planets open for exploration and colonization. Many species are eager to ally themselves with a powerful empire to gain security and stability in a chaotic and difficult time.As you explore and interact with planets you will discover unfolding stories of the fringe. Each inhabited planet is home to a unique alien species with their own goals values and problems. Will you give aid by fighting off pirates transporting goods and curing strange diseases? Or will you invade and rule with a cruel hand? This may be your last chance to prepare before the Kurross meet you again.

Star Trek: Frontiers

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Description from the publisher:A contested region of space accessible through a known wormhole has drawn the attention of powerful forces throughout the galaxy. Both the Federation and the Klingon Empire who share a delicate alliance at this time have recently built outposts in the region — but now news of grave troubles brewing in the region has prompted both the Klingons and the Federation to investigate immediately.Command your ship recruit new crew members earn experience points and use your skills to confront the challenges of the Star Trek universe. Explore and face a variety of challenges on a randomly built space map using the venture tile system first introduced in the award-winning game Mage Knight.Star Trek: Frontiers is designed for 1 to 4 players with multiple competitive cooperative and solo scenarios. Work together to defeat hostile ships or compete to explore and uncover hidden mysteries. Players need to overcome obstacles to expand their knowledge and use their leadership as they adventure in order to be victorious in their exploration!

Legendary Encounters: A Predator Deck Building Game

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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Legendary Encounters: A Predator Deck Building Game is based on the first two movies of the Predator series. Taking on the roles of characters from the films players take turns recruiting cards for their deck from a central selection in order to improve their deck and defeat Predator cards that are added to the central game board.In more detail within the setting for each film you can play as the humans or as the Predators. As the humans you play the co-op version of the game as in Legendary Encounters: Alien recruiting scanning and attacking the same way while trying to achieve objectives. When you play as the Predators the game is player vs. player instead of co-op with each player assuming the role of a Predator hunting for the most honor (VPs).Legendary Encounters: A Predator Deck Building Game is a standalone game in the Legendary Encounters series that is fully compatible with Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game. Specifically you can use the Predator deck in Alien or the Alien deck in Predator. Similarly Predator is also compatible with the Marvel superheroes version of Legendary but cannot be fully integrated.

Star Wars: Legion

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Warfare is an inescapable part of the Star Wars universe from the Rebel Alliance's defeat in the Battle of Hoth to a few elite Rebel strike teams taking on a legion of stormtroopers on the Forest Moon of Endor. You can seize your chance to get your boots on the ground and lead your troops to victory with Star Wars: Legion a miniatures game of thrilling infantry battles in the Star Wars universe!Star Wars: Legion invites you to enter the ground battles of the Galactic Civil War as the commander of a unique army of miniatures filled with troopers powerful ground or repulsor vehicles and iconic characters like Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker. While innovative mechanics for command and control simulate the fog of war and the chaos of battle the game’s unpainted easily assembled minis give you a canvas to create the Star Wars army you’ve always wanted to lead into battle — whether you fight for the monolithic oppressive Galactic Empire or the ragtag Rebel Alliance.—description from the publisher

Jump Drive

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

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With the invention of Jump Drive the race for the galaxy begins! Develop new technologies and settle worlds to build a space empire. Find winning card combinations!Jump Drive is a fast-paced card game that introduces players to the Race for the Galaxy universe. Can you build the most prosperous galactic civilization?Jump Drive is a standalone game and offers simpler rules and a shorter game than its older sister Race for the Galaxy.—description from the publisher

Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Dice Economic Science Fiction

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Terraforming Mars: The Dice Game is a card-driven dice game in which players use special dice to develop their corporations and terraform Mars into a new home for humanity. The dice represent resources that players spend to play cards and perform other actions. During the game you increase your production of dice terraform place cities and greenery tiles on the board and gain various bonuses. Each turn you either produce new dice (Production Turn) or perform actions (Action Turn).Whenever you terraform Mars (raise oxygen or temperature or place an ocean tile) you gain 2 Victory Points (VP). You can also gain VP for placing tiles and playing cards as well as winning Awards and Milestones.The game ends when two of the three global parameters — oxygen/temperature/ocean — have been completed. The player with most VP wins.

The Reckoners

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Dice Novel-based Science Fiction

Categories:

The Reckoners a game based on the young adult fantasy novels by Brandon Sanderson allows players to take on the roles of the novels' protagonists and work together to save the world.Background: 10 years ago... A mysterious burst in the sky gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. They're called Epics. But every Epic turned out to be evil. Today in the city once known as Chicago (now Newcago) an all-powerful Epic named Steelheart reigns supreme!Nobody fights back... nobody but the Reckoners! This is where you come in. You are a member of the Reckoners a skilled group of normal humans who assassinate Epics. Your mission is simple but not easy. Take down Steelheart and his Epics and save the city.Gameplay: The Reckoners is a simultaneous co-operative game for 1-6 players that plays in 75 minutes. You win by defeating Steelheart. But before you can defeat him you must first discover his weakness. Throughout the game you will work with your fellow Reckoners to research and attack Steelheart but he is not alone. Numerous Epics are scattered throughout the city and they will wreak havoc upon the population if left unchecked. If the Epics manage to destroy Newcago by reducing the population to 0 then all Reckoners lose.The Reckoners determine which actions to take primarily through a simultaneous dice rolling mechanism where each player can keep and reroll results up to three times at their own pace. Equipment Cards and Plan Tokens will also allow you to gain extra actions or improve/manipulate the results of your dice. Actions are resolved simultaneously as well so communication and collaborative planning are key to ensuring optimal outcomes.Your dice can be used to attack Epics research Epics contain Epics attack Enforcement earn money acquire Plan Tokens move around the game board remove barricades and activate special equipment powers. Researching and Attacking Epics will help you earn valuable rewards including clues about Steelheart's weakness. But there will always be more Epics than you so you have to choose your battles wisely. When all actions have been taken by The Reckoners then it's the Epics turn.Each round all of the Epics are going to activate performing an array of actions and then powering up to be even more devastating next round. Each Epic also has a unique set of actions it performs so you're always facing multiple threats that function very differently. The crux of the game is deciding how to resolve these competing threats and prioritize your actions together to eliminate Epics and ultimately win the game. How when and where you act will determine your victory or failure.Summary: In short The Reckoners plays like a challenging ever-shifting puzzle. If you like co-operative games where you carefully manage resources build powerful action combos create tactical plans with your teammates and work together to take down the bad guy while on the brink of defeat then be sure to check out The Reckoners.—description from the publisher

Merchant of Venus (Second Edition)

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Economic Exploration Science Fiction Space Exploration Transportation

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Merchant of Venus uses many elements that come together to form a very interesting game. Players take on the roles of space traders who move their ships through interconnected systems discovering new alien worlds to trade with. As players start to make money delivering commodities in a unique supply-and-demand system their earnings can be used to purchase better ships and equipment (shields lasers engines etc...) and construct their own spaceports (which speed up trading) and factories (which create better commodities). Variations included in the rulebook allow for interplayer combat. The player who first acquires enough total value ($1000 $2000 $3000 $4000) in cash and port/factory deeds takes the day.For the 2012 edition of Merchant of Venus from Fantasy Flight Games the company promises that this revision remains true to its magnificently campy core while updating the map and game components and expanding game play in surprising ways that will cause even the most hardcore fan to celebrate. That said the player count has been lowered from six (in the Avalon Hill edition) to four with the four races in the game being Human Whynom Qossuth and Eeepeeep.

Space Hulk (Fourth Edition)

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 2

Game Type:

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From the depths of space an ancient vessel drifts slowly towards the Imperium of Mankind - a space hulk. Within its confines untold thousands of Genestealers slowly emerge from hibernation. The Space Marines must enter the cramped corridors and tomb-like chambers of the ancient ship to defeat this alien menace.Space Hulk is a board game for two players recreating the battles fought between the Space Marines and Genestealers. One player commands the Space Marines as they carry out deadly missions in the ancient Space Hulk and the other commands the horde of Genestealers opposing them. Space Hulk's fast-paced rules simulate the tense atmosphere of a mission deep inside the cramped confines of a derelict space hulk where split-second decisions are needed for victory.This new version has 4 extra missions Boarding Torpedoes Damage Control Room Breach Counters (for where the Boarding Torpedoes hit or something else) and a Turbo-lift Tile allowing for multiple levels to clear of Genestealers.Also new for this edition are three mini-campaign packs released for the iPad: -Space Hulk Mission Files: Dark Angels – Bringers of Sorrow -Space Hulk Mission Files: Ultramarines – Duty and Honour -Space Hulk Mission Files: Space Wolves – Return to KalidusEach Mini campaign comprises 3 missions specific to the chapter and rules for creating new missions plus a brief Chapter history.

Smash Up

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Fantasy Humor Pirates Science Fiction Zombies

Categories:

The shufflebuilding game Smash Up begins with a simple premise: take the 20-card decks of two factions shuffle them into a deck of forty cards then compete to crush more Bases than your opponents! Each faction involves a different gaming mechanism - Pirates move their minions around Zombies bring back their cards from the discard pile Dinosaurs have enormous power - and each combination of factions brings a different gaming experience.During the game players compete to score points from Base cards. Players play minions to the bases and you want to have the highest total power of minions at the base when it breaks. Sounds easy? Is it easy when an opponent's Alien-Ninja plays minions to your bases that destroy your minions? What happens when the Pirate-Dinosaur player plays Full Sail and frees King Rex to trample your minions into the ground or when the Wizard-Zombies player uses their mystic power to create an outbreak suddenly flooding minions to the base from their discard pile? Or if you were facing a Zombie-Dinosaur player instead who created an epidemic of massive beasts?!?With eight different factions Smash Up includes dozens of combinations to try. Pirate-Aliens play different from Ninja-Aliens for example. Which one will you use to crush your opponents?And did we mention the Dinosaurs have laser beams?

Smash Up: Monster Smash

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Fantasy Humor Mythology Science Fiction Zombies

Categories:

Smash Up: Monster Smash consists of four new factions for Smash Up: vampires mad scientists werewolves and giant ants. Tremble before the power of the ants!Smash Up: Monster Smash can be played on its own as a two-player game or combined with other Smash Up titles to allow for up to four players to compete at the same time.

Fallout

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Miniatures Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

Fallout is a post-nuclear adventure board game for one to four players. Based on the hit video game series by Bethesda Softworks each Fallout scenario is inspired by a familiar story from the franchise. Survivors begin the game on the edge of an unexplored landscape uncertain of what awaits them in this unfamiliar world. With just one objective to guide them from the very beginning each player must explore the hidden map fight ferocious enemies and build the skills of their survivor as they attempt to complete challenging quests and balance feuding factions within the game.As they advance their survivors' stories players come across new quests and individual targets leading them to gain influence. Who comes out ahead depends on how keenly and aggressively each player ventures through the game; however if a single faction is pushed to power too quickly the wasteland will be taken for their own and the survivors conquered along with it.—description from the publisher

Rex: Final Days of an Empire

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 3–6

Game Type:

Fighting Negotiation Political Science Fiction

Categories:

Game description from the publisher:Rex: Final Days of an Empire a reimagined version of Dune set in Fantasy Flight's Twilight Imperium universe is a board game of negotiation betrayal and warfare in which 3-6 players take control of great interstellar civilizations competing for dominance of the galaxy's crumbling imperial city. Set 3,000 years before the events of Twilight Imperium Rex tells the story of the last days of the Lazax empire while presenting players with compelling asymmetrical racial abilities and exciting opportunities for diplomacy deception and tactical mastery.In Rex: Final Days of an Empire players vie for control of vital locations across a sprawling map of the continent-sized Mecatol City. Only by securing three key locations (or more when allied with other factions) can a player assert dominance over the heart of a dying empire.Unfortunately mustering troops in the face of an ongoing Sol blockade is difficult at best (unless of course you are the Federation of Sol or its faithless ally the Hacan who supply the blockading fleet). Savvy leaders must gather support from the local populace uncover hidden weapon caches and acquire control over key institutions. Mechanically this means players must lay claim to areas that provide influence which is then spent to (among other things) smuggle military forces through the orbiting Sol blockade. Those forces will be needed to seize the key areas of the city required to win the game. From the moment the first shot is fired players must aggressively seek the means by which to turn the conflict to their own advantage.While the great races struggle for supremacy in the power vacuum of a dead emperor massive Sol warships execute their devastating bombardments of the city below. Moving systematically the Federation of Sol's fleet of warships wreaks havoc on the planet's surface targeting great swaths of the game board with their destructive capabilities. Only the Sol's own ground forces have forewarning of the fleet's wrath; all others must seek shelter in the few locations with working defensive shields...or be obliterated in the resulting firestorm.Although open diplomacy and back-door dealmaking can often mitigate the need for bloodshed direct combat may prove inevitable. When two or more opposing forces occupy the same area a battle results. Each player's military strength is based on the sum total of troops he is willing to expend along with the strength rating of his chosen leader. A faction's leaders can therefore be vitally important in combat...but beware! One or more of your Leaders may secretly be in the employ of an enemy and if your forces in combat are commanded by such a traitor defeat is all but assured. So whether on the field of battle or the floor of the Galactic Council be careful in whom you place your trust.All this along with a host of optional rules and additional variants means that no two games of Rex: Final Days of an Empire will play exactly alike. Contributing further to replayability is the game's asymmetrical faction abilities each of which offer a unique play experience.

Cosmic Encounter: 42nd Anniversary Edition

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 3–5

Game Type:

Bluffing Negotiation Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Cosmic Encounter 42nd Anniversary Edition welcomes new players to the game of infinite possibilities with a freshly revised rulebook and a beautifully illustrated Quick-start Guide that captures the nostalgia of the original game and makes it easy for anyone to learn. The Quick-start Guide’s comic book style throws readers back to the 1970s providing vital insight into the core rules of the game while embracing the fun of a cosmic conquest filled with wacky aliens and outrageous abilities. What's more with the beautiful translucent ship pieces (as shown above) spreading your colonies across the galaxy has never been more stylish!A newly discovered species joins the classic line-up of aliens. You can of course play as old favorites such as Mite or Remora or you can try your hand at leading the ruthless Demon to victory. Previously only released at Cosmic Con this species was exiled from their original galaxy for unprincipled opportunism. Now they seek cosmic vengeance using their power to possess other players’ hands to bolster their own strength and sap others’ will to win.In addition to this monstrous newcomer Cosmic Encounter 42nd Anniversary Edition offers you new ways to customize your games with the introduction of Cosmic Combo cards. These carefully assembled cards offer a list of alien species with a brief description of their powers to create themed matchups and explore different types of games. You may find yourself among some Big Time Clubbers or Cellar Dwellers that can be integrated into three four or five-player games. Every card spins a new challenge and with these new options for customization no two games are ever the same.—description from the publisher

Aeon's End: Outcasts

Rating: 8.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Aeon’s End: Outcasts continues the Expedition system that was introduced in Aeon’s End: New Age which allows players to replay all of the content they own in a short campaign format. After each game players will receive new treasures and player cards that allow them to become more powerful. However the nemeses that players will face grow stronger and stronger with each battle.—description from the publisher

Deep Space D-6

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Dice Print & Play Science Fiction

Categories:

You are a Captain of the UEF! Your RPTR class starship was on routine patrol of the Auborne system when a distress call was received. Upon warping in you quickly realized it was a trap! With the help of your crew you must survive until a rescue fleet appears.Deep Space D-6 is a solitaire dice game about surviving the cruel depths of space. Each turn you’ll roll Crew dice and assign them to stations. You must plan carefully to take care of internal and external threats to your ship. Survive to win.

Chimera Station

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

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Chimera Station brings a new twist to the worker placement genre: customizable workers. Each worker can be modified in-game by splicing claws tentacles leaves or additional brains (or any combination of those) on them. These workers are used to gather resources: points food credits and living parts of aforementioned workers! During the game you'll build and expand the space station and open up tons of different strategic and tactical possibilities.Featuring a grand total of 12 standard action spaces and 40 additional ones (modules) 22 perks 16 different ways to configure your aliens (via components) and 4 different races the possibilities are endless!Artwork has been done by Brian Patterson from the webcomic d20Monkey.

Maximum Apocalypse

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Card Game Science Fiction Zombies

Categories:

Maximum Apocalypse is a cooperative roguelike adventure game for 1-6 players. In Maximum Apocalypse civilization has already fallen. The players are survivors of the apocalypse whose mission is to survive the hostile landscape.The game map is randomly generated and different every time that you play. On each turn a player can use up to four actions to explore the map play cards equip weapons scavenge for resources draw cards or battle off monsters.Picking a unique survivor class within the group players must plan their strategy and work together while leaning on their survivor’s strengths in order to defeat monsters and avoid starvation. For example the Fireman is deadly up close with his ax and can easily chop down monsters; meanwhile the stealthy Hunter is great at scouting the map and avoiding traps — but roaming monsters are gathering quickly and time is running out. If you are overwhelmed by monsters or die of starvation the players lose. If they can find enough gas and get it back to their van to escape they all win and live to play another scenario.See also Maximum Apocalypse: The Roleplaying Game Quickstart Guide

Risk: Star Wars Edition

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

This Risk: Star Wars Edition game lets players re-create the dramatic final moments of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Featuring gameplay for 2 or 4 players across a TIE fighter-shaped gameboard players can determine the fate of the Star Wars universe through 3 concurrent (yet distinct) battles. Choose to play as either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire and use the classic Risk dice to control characters and ships. The object of the game is to defend or destroy the Death Star. Which side will win: the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance?Rules Clarification

Star Wars: Jabba's Palace – A Love Letter Game

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Card Game Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

The lair of Jabba the Hutt is a place of danger and deception. Players compete using members of the Rebel Alliance and denizens of Jabba’s Palace in a game of rebel bravery and vile deceit.Based on the beloved card game and set in the Star Wars galaxy Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace - A Love Letter Game retains the simple and fun mechanics of the original as you utilize the talents of iconic characters from Return of the Jedi. Players take turns using the elegant “draw a card play a card” gameplay and then executing the card’s effect. Cards include characters like Luke Skywalker Boba Fett Salacious Crumb Jabba the Hutt and many more with each card offering different effects such as Boba Fett allowing you to take a card from another player or Salacious Crumb allowing you to look at another player’s hand.Players use abilities from members of both the Rebel Alliance and Jabba’s crew to outwit and outlast the others. On top of the classic mechanics from the original Love Letter game Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace - A Love Letter Game also introduces Agenda cards. This offers new win conditions adding another level of strategy to the game.Agenda cards like Exalted One awards the player with the highest number in hand the win. However cards like Jabba’s Court and Rescue Mission switch it up and award the victory to the player with the most Palace or Rebels cards respectively in the play area. These and other Agenda cards ensure varied strategies will be needed with every game beyond simply eliminating other players.In a quick card game of rebel bravery and vile deceit can you carry out your agenda while outthinking your foes?-description from publisher's website

Shadowrun: Crossfire

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Fantasy Fighting Science Fiction

Categories:

The shadows of the Sixth World have every kind of danger you can imagine: ultra-violent gangers flesh-eating ghouls mages that summon spirits from toxic waste backstabbing corporate raiders hard-nosed police officers and even dragons. You don't have much — mainly your guts your wits and your friends — but maybe that's enough. Between you and your teammates you can sling spells hack the Matrix talk a tiger out of his stripes and bring down a charging ork from a hundred yards away. Will that be enough to face down the worst the mean streets can throw at you? You're about to find out.Shadowrun: Crossfire is a cooperative deck-building card game for two to four players set in the gritty cyberpunk fantasy world of Shadowrun. Play a shadowrunner team and take on tough jobs such as protecting a client who's marked for death shooting your way out of downtown when a run goes sour or facing down a dragon. In each game you'll improve your deck with a mix of strategies while earning Karma to give your character cyber upgrades physical augmentations magical initiations weapons training and Edge.Shadowrun: Crossfire includes two obstacle decks a black market deck a crossfire event deck mission sheets role cards runner cards and upgrade stickers.

Steam Park

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

City Building Dice Real-time Science Fiction

Categories:

Game description from the publisher:As owners of a fantastic steam park you're to build gigantic coal-powered rides to attract as many visitors as you can – but building attractions won't be enough. You'll also need to manage your employees invest in advertising in order to attract and please the different kinds of guests visiting your park and above all keep the dirt that your park produces under strict control!Steam Park is an easy-to-learn game with two difficulty levels: one for the less experienced gamers and a more strategic one for those who want a more exciting challenge. In this management game you'll have to build your own amusement park and make it the largest and most profitable in the region. By constructing the three-dimensional wonderful rides designed by Marie Cardouat you will see your park grow right before your eyes. Choose your strategy! Build Stands to attract more Visitors or Toilets to keep the Dirt under control. Whatever decision you take take it quickly: The less time you spend planning the more time you'll have to maintain your park. Thanks to a clever original action-choosing mechanism winning in Steam Park is as much a matter of being the best as of being the fastest!

Wild Space

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Animals Card Game Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

A new Galaxy has just been discovered on the borders of the Empire! Commanding your Spaceship you go explore this new Eldorado full of treasures and mysteries. Planet after Planet your discoveries allow you to build up your Crew. Hire Specialists and Robots to benefit from their abilities. Attract Empire Emissaries on board which will entrust you with new missions worth Credits. Grab your part of the wonders that this new Galaxy is full of to become the wealthiest explorer !Wild Space is a tactical card game in which you aim at combining your cards efficiently. Each time that you add new cards to your collection you reinforce your Crew earning Credits and preparing your next combos. Wild Space carries all the excitement of the best combo card games within short plays and with accessible rules.How to play ? Wild Space carries all the excitement of combo card games with accessible rules. On each turn a fresh action selection system offers you two simple types of options : add a new card to your Crew or draw new cards. When you play a card you trigger its ability if the cards in your Crew fulfill its condition. Putting new cards into play is therefore useful for getting powerful abilities right now but also for gathering the conditions for triggering future abilities. Learning how to plan your actions is key for triggering efficient combos and being able to put several cards into play at once. And knowing that the Credits that you need to get at the end of the game in order to win are based on how your Crew is composed only emphasizes that.—description from the publisher

Sentient

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Dice Industry / Manufacturing Math Science Fiction

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Description from the publisher:The next great technological revolution is here. Sentient robots for information transportation industry — all at our fingertips. Building them is now the easy part. Programming them has proven to be more complicated. A handful of companies have emerged claiming to pull it off but only one will win out. Your mission is clear: Procure valuable bots and plug them into your network. They'll have an effect on your systems. Anticipate it correctly program your bots effectively and attract the right investors to win and lead the sentient revolution.In Sentient players are tasked with choosing from available robots to program in their factory. Each robot that is added modifies your board and attracts the interest of investors for your company. Program your bots efficiently and collect the support of your patrons to build the most formidable operation.Description from GTS article:Sentient is a dice-manipulation game by J. Alex Kevern (World’s Fair 1893 Gold West). As with his other games Sentient is filled with smart simple and rewarding choices. Each turn involves choosing an available bot adding it to your factory and deciding how to divide your resources between optimizing your bot and wooing investors. Players who enjoy a satisfying puzzle will appreciate the difficulty in adding the chosen bot to their factory. Each slot has a die on either side that will be modified based on the chosen bot card. But adding another adjacent bot the next turn will modify the dice once again. The dice at the end of the round will determine how efficiently your bots were programmed and will grant you varying points based on the dice numbers. You may have everything perfectly sorted out — that is until the last bot you choose changes the adjacent dice. Your plan can crumble and points can easily be lost with an errant decision or wrong choice!

Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles – Episodes 1 & 2

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

City Building Dice Exploration Science Fiction

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Caught in an enigmatic storm a modern-day luxury ocean liner crashes ashore on an otherworldly island. As one of the ambitious survivors you soon learn that the island is home to a multitude of majestic and fiercely territorial dinosaurs. With the cruiser beyond repair you have no choice but to establish a foothold on the island withstand the onslaught of the dinosaurs and sow the seeds of what will one day become a strong and tenacious community capable of discovering the mystery of the island.Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles introduces the first two episodes in a series of euro-style dice-drafting / dice-placement strategy games. The saga will ultimately consist of four episodes telling the story of a group of survivors becoming a mighty civilization on a hostile island. As each episode features unique characteristics and a different game feel they are playable as standalone medium/heavy games but also as a continuous campaign. The theme and story unfolds through evolving game mechanisms across the episodes also making the rules easier to learn. In the campaign mode the outcome of each episode influences the next but the game has no legacy elements and no hidden rules; the whole storyline is infinitely replayable.In Episode 1 players are striving to develop and protect the foothold town of Perseverance besieged by the dinosaurs of the island. By building walls traps and settlements mounting defenses and partaking in the early political power struggles of a forming community players gain followers to establish themselves as leaders. Episode 1 introduces the signature dice placement / area majority mechanism that evolves and spans through the series and also features a defense mechanism against waves of attacking dinosaurs unique to this episode.In Episode 2 the survivors have successfully defended the city of Perseverance completing a massive wall to stop the dinosaur onslaught. Under the guidance of the ship’s senior officers the players now set out to explore the surrounding wilderness expand the settlement beyond the walls and chart a path to the mysterious structure on the horizon. This Episode adds new actions to expand the core mechanism and allows for a deep customization of your Leader and faction through dozens of unique skills. The previous episode’s defense mechanism evolves into hex-based adventuring and expansion allowing you to build outposts beyond the city walls but beware - the dinosaurs are still not your friends...yet.

ROVE: Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Card Game Print & Play Science Fiction Space Exploration

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As a ROVE (Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer) you're used to surveying the fringes of space but now you've crash-landed on an unfamiliar planet. You'll need to reconfigure your reusable modules to get to safety!ROVE is a solo spatial puzzle game. In each game of ROVE the player will face a series of mishaps that can only be solved by arranging the 6 module cards in a specific pattern. Moving a module requires Movement Points gained by discarding cards from hand for the listed amount. Players may gain additional Points if their current module layout matches the pattern shown on the discarded card.Each module costs 1 Movement Point per activation and uses its own unique movement style such as only moving diagonally or pushing other modules a single space. Modules also have powerful single-use abilities that can help get players out of a tight spot. Properly timing these abilities -- as well as effectively using the limited number of Movement cards -- will help the player complete ROVE’s mission successfully.

Level 7 [Omega Protocol]

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Fighting Horror Miniatures Science Fiction

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Game description from the publisher:LEVEL 7 [Omega Protocol] picks up right where LEVEL 7 [ESCAPE] left off. The Subterra Bravo facility has been thrown into chaos through the players actions in [ESCAPE] and now the government has sent in a top-secret highly-trained special forces unit to shut down the facility and eliminate everything remaining in the base.In [Omega Protocol] one player takes on the role of the Overseer while two to five other players take on the role of the elite Special Ops team. The Overseer's role in the game is to control all of the alien denizens and challenges the players face throughout the game. The players are trying to achieve specific scenario-based objectives by exploring a map that's laid out at the start and fighting off the hordes of aliens that the Overseer sends their way.Gameplay is based around adrenaline which is the currency that the soldier players use to perform actions. They generate adrenaline to do things such as move attack and perform special actions like activating an objective space. That generation also has a negative effect for them as that adrenaline transfers to the Overseer player who then uses it to spawn aliens create new threats and hurt the soldiers' chance of success during the scenario. The more actions the Special Ops players take the more resources the Overseer player has to work with.Characters in [Omega Protocol] are represented by miniatures and each Special Ops and alien character has different attributes powers and customizable skills and equipment.

Thunderbirds

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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The co-operative game Thunderbirds released in 2015 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the cult hit TV show features the iconic Thunderbirds machines and a high-octane world full of disasters and victims for players to rescue.Set in the year 2065 Thunderbirds follows the exploits of International Rescue a secret organization committed to saving human life secretly founded and funded by the millionaire Tracy family with the motto: ‘Never give in at any cost!’ International Rescue has a host of technologically advanced land- sea- air- and space-rescue vehicles and equipment ready to launch at a moment’s notice.Racing to the rescue from a secret island base beneath the luxurious home of the Tracy family somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean International Rescue defies government spies and criminals who want the secrets of their incredible machines for their own. To combat this threat Lady Penelope the Thunderbirds’ aristocratic English secret agent and her chauffeur Parker lead a network of agents to uncover those behind the disasters caused by deliberate sabotage.A criminal mastermind known as “The Hood” operating from a temple deep in the Malaysian jungle and in possession of strange powers often engineers events to allow him to spy on the Thunderbird machines with the goal of selling their secrets to the highest bidder.The iconic Thunderbirds are designed by the Tracy family’s close friend “Brains” and are assigned to each of the five Tracy brothers: - Thunderbird 1 piloted by Scott Tracy – a hypersonic rocket plane used for fast response and rescue-zone reconnaissance and as a mobile control base. - Thunderbird 2 piloted by Virgil Tracy – a supersonic VTOL carrier which transports their major rescue equipment in detachable pods. - Thunderbird 3 piloted by Alan Tracy – a single-stage vertically launched spacecraft - Thunderbird 4 piloted by Gordon Tracy – a utility submersible for underwater rescue launched from Thunderbird 2 - Thunderbird 5 manned by John Tracy – a space station in geo-stationary orbit that monitors calls for help from across Earth.Finally Lady Penelope has the iconic FAB 1 driven by Parker – a pink amphibious car.Thunderbirds is a cult 1960s British science-fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. It was produced using a combination of marionette puppetry and scale-model special effects which was dubbed “Supermarionation”. Two series totaling thirty-two 50-minute episodes were produced along with two films using the same techniques.Players will work together using Thunderbirds characters and vehicles to complete rescue missions and save the day.

Duelosaur Island

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Animals Card Game Dice Science Fiction

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Duelosaur Island is built around a clever hand-management mechanism. Each card in the game serves three potential purposes. They contain the DNA sequences for dinosaurs you could create the blueprints for attractions you can build and certain actions that you can take by discarding them. Do you create the dinosaur on the top of the card to attract guests to your park? Or do you build the attraction on the bottom of the card which can add to a player's hand-limit income and end-game victory points? Or do you discard the card to combine DNA towards creating another dinosaur?Duelosaur Island comes with five new full-color DNA dice. You can mix and match dice between Dinosaur Island and Duelosaur Island for even more variability in both games such as the new security symbol that can appear on dice to upgrade your security level instantly!

Deep Madness

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Adventure Fighting Horror Miniatures Science Fiction

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In a dark and claustrophobic deep sea mining site the uncovering of a mysterious “Sphere” is dragging everyone nearby into the endless madness. The fears deep within one’s mind are amplified and transformed into horrifying monsters from other dimensions torturing one's body and testing their sanity. Only those with extraordinary will and conviction can escape its devastating grasp. Deep Madness is a fully cooperative board game for 1-6 players with 66 amazingly detailed miniatures depicting a sci-fi horror world inspired by Lovecraft’s work and the Alien series. In the game players assume the roles of investigators venturing into the seemingly empty yet perilous deep sea mining site to find out the truth behind the lost contact event. Unimaginable horror and madness from the dark fear within is waiting.Deep Madness is based on multiple scenarios from a continuous storyline. Each scenario has its own unique board setup rules special effects and goals. From resolving fatal crises to struggling with overwhelming bosses the investigators will face various quests filled with strategical decisions and fierce combat. With each scenario achieved they are one step closer to the truth but also one step deeper into the world of madness. Each scenario of the game plays in a limited number of game rounds if the investigators fail to achieve the goals before the last round ends the game is lost and everyone is consumed. Each game round consists of 4 phases: Devour Phase Spawn Phase Activation Phase and Refresh Phase.In Devour Phase the Devour Marker progresses one step forward along the Devour Track indicating the world going deeper into madness. As the Devour Marker progressing more and more rooms (map tiles) are flipped to their madness side. These rooms will spawn monsters and provide various nasty effects to hinder the investigators or to boost the monsters.In Spawn Phase different types of monsters with unique abilities are spawned in the flipped rooms. Monsters do not show their existence in fixed locations they could be spawned right next to the investigators if they ventured carelessly.Activation Phase is the core of the game the investigators and the monsters take turns to act alternately. Monsters do not wait for all investigators to finish their turns like in other cooperative games but do act between them so careless planning would put the investigators who are later in the turn order into grave danger facing fatal attacks before they had a chance to act.In Refresh Phase some maintenances are performed and some special effects are resolved.In each investigator’s turn it is crucial that the player chooses 3 actions to take wisely. Each kind of action has its own value and every single decision could be life and death in Deep Madness. Unfortunately the correct decision is rarely obvious. Moving attacking searching exchanging items locking the doors and recovering sanity are the basic actions. Additionally each investigator also has his/her own unique and irreplaceable abilities to activate. Different combinations of investigators provide distinctive strategies and game experiences.Monster acts according to its own action pool during its turn. In Deep Madness monsters are highly characteristic not just in stats but also in abilities and behaviors. Different combinations of monsters provide unique challenges. And due to the intertwined activation mechanism even different turn orders of the monsters make each game session different. However no matter how the monsters setup is Deep Madness will be a very challenging game even death could be a strategy.In the game investigators battle the horrific monsters survive the harsh crises and above all save their own minds from the devouring of madness. They are given many chances to consume their own sanity to activate their abilities to use the effects of items to reroll the dice and etc. However they are vulnerable when the sanity is low. After an investigator with insanity tokens manages to kill a monster the monster will corrupt his/her mind by permanently flipping the insanity tokens into madness tokens. As the madness token cumulates horror haunts the investigator by resolving Madness Cards and each of them has unique negative effect and terrifying flavor text.

The Captain Is Dead

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–7

Game Type:

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Imagine that you are one of the crew in your favorite science fiction TV show. Now imagine that in the last 10 minutes of the show things have gone so badly that the captain is dead and you and the surviving members of your crew have to pull together and save the day yourselves!The Captain Is Dead is a co-op game for 2 to 7 players. All you have to do is get the ship's engines (aka Jump Core) back online and you win but because there is a hostile alien ship trying to destroy you that is easier said than done.You have an impressive star ship full of useful systems that will help you fend off the aliens and get the Jump Core back online. Each system gives you an advantage while it remains online. The assault from the hostile alien ship tends to keep knocking those systems offline however. So you need to balance your time between keeping the ships system's online fending off the alien threat and completing your objective.Each member of your crew has special abilities and skills. You need to work as a group to maximize the potential of each role. If someone tries to be a hero you'll all die.

CloudAge

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Aviation / Flight Science Fiction

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CloudAge is a strategy game from Alexander Pfister and Arno Steinwender. The award-winning authors have created a dark and dystopian world for 1 to 4 players.Fifteen years ago the mysterious secret society Cloud set fire to countless oil production sites and burned down large forests to destabilize the world. The resulting environmental catastrophe had disastrous effects on the entire planet. Now years later you travel above the dried-out landscape in your airships searching for a better life. You visit cities send out drones to collect resources and battle Cloud militia.An innovative sleeving mechanism makes a new more immersive form of resource gathering possible. Players try to predict which cloud-covered terrain will contain the desired amount of resources or where additional actions are possible. Resources allow players to develop useful upgrades for their airships or attract new crew members.CloudAge is a mix of engine-building deck-building and resource management. The campaign system makes it easy to start playing quickly with new elements being introduced into the game as players progress through the chapters. While you play you also experience and help guide the story. If you prefer you can also play standalone story spin-offs as single scenarios.—description from the publisher

New Angeles

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 4–6

Game Type:

Bluffing Miniatures Negotiation Political Science Fiction

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Description from the publisher:The largest richest and most diverse city on Earth New Angeles is home to the Space Elevator that rises along its buckyweave tether and connects us to Luna and its invaluable Helium-3 deposits. It is here in New Angeles that you'll find the global headquarters for the worlds' most powerful megacorps: Haas-Bioroid Globalsec Jinteki Melange Mining NBN and the Weyland Consortium. And it is here in this shining beacon of human achievement and advancement that these powerful megacorps enjoy a uniquely fertile breeding ground for their projects and their rivalries.In New Angeles you gain control of one of these megacorporations then you use your wealth and influence to create more wealth and more influence. To do this you cut deals and forge temporary alliances. You leverage your credits and assets to gain financial superiority over your corporate rivals. All the while you also need to keep an eye toward the masses striking deals with the other corps as necessary in order to keep a lid on crime disease and unrest. If you want to maximize your profit you need to keep New Angeles open for business!

Aftermath

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Animals Exploration Miniatures Science Fiction

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Aftermath is an Adventure Book Game in which players take on the role of small critters struggling to survive and thrive in a big dangerous world. Humans have mysteriously vanished and the remnants of civilization are quickly being reclaimed by nature and the animals who still remain.In the game you play as a misfit band of critters known by their colony as providers. There's the guinea pig with anger issues a hamster that talks fast and drives faster a small mouse with keen eyes and a lot to prove and a mysterious vole who's borderline feral. These characters each have their own personalities play-styles and personal goals.You'll leave the safety of your colony and venture out into the abandoned world on one of 20+ story-driven missions and side missions. Scavenge the ruins of mankind in search of food and supplies for your colony but beware — the world is filled with bandits and predators and you must fight or flee to stay alive.Return to your colony with resources and information that will help your friends and family survive. Grow your colony and keep it safe by building structures and improvements with the spoils of your adventures but plan accordingly for the colony will face hardship each time you leave it...—description from the publisher

Rebirth

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Environmental Fantasy Farming Science Fiction

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Following a series of calamities that left civilization in shambles societies around the world are being rebuilt anew in harmony with nature. Scotland lies in ruins and the ancient clans have taken it upon themselves to restore the land. As clan leaders you will compete for strategic control of the land by rebuilding its prestigious castles.Rebirth is a new tile-laying game from Reiner Knizia. The game revitalizes this classic genre by combining Knizia’s elegant mechanics with Mighty Boards’ evocative world building. The result is a eurogame with smooth gameplay set in a lush and hopeful future.Each turn players draw a tile from their supply and place it strategically on the board. These tiles represent your clan’s contribution to rebuilding the land. Rebirth rewards strategic foresight and clever tactical play with tougher decisions emerging over the course of the game.—description from the publisher

Star Trek: Catan

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Movies / TV / Radio theme Negotiation Science Fiction

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Settling the Final FrontierSince 1966 millions of Star Trek fans all over the world have watched adventures of the Starship Enterprise Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. And since 1995 millions of enthusiastic players all over the world have played Klaus Teuber's CATAN - a board game classic. It's time to bring them all together on the Final Frontier!In Star Trek: Catan players start the game with two small Outposts at the intersection of three planets with each planet supplying resources based on the result of a dice roll. Players collect and trade these resources – dilithium tritanium food oxygen and water – in order to build Starships that connect regions in the galaxy establish more Outposts and Starbases (upgraded Outposts) at new intersection points in order to increase resource acquisition and acquire Development Cards that provide Victory Points (VPs) or special abilities.On a dice roll of 7 a Klingon ship swoops in to prevent resource production on one planet while taxing spacegoers who hold too many resources.Star Trek: Catan differs from the basic Settlers in one aspect: a set of Support Cards formerly available only in German as Catan Scenarios: Helpers of Catan. Each Support Card features a special ability and one of Kirk Spock McCoy Sulu Scott Uhura Chekov Chapel Rand or Sarek. Some special abilities make basic actions better such as reducing the costs of Starbase upgrades or allowing the player to trade a resource of their choice at 2:1 for a turn while others break rules such as protecting the player from discarding on a 7 or producing a resource when the player rolls a number that wouldn't otherwise produce for them. Players get a specific Support Card during setup based on turn order with later players getting generally more useful abilities to compensate for early player advantage. When a player uses a Support Card ability for the first time they may trade it in for a Support Card of their choice or keep it for a second use but they may only trade immediately after use.

Starship Captains

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

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Welcome aboard and congrats on the promotion! Your new starship is ready to embark on its first big voyage. Just scrape off some of the rust and she'll do fine. And that crew? Might look a little green around the edges but they're your crew now. Make us proud.The stars are calling...and adventure awaits!As newly promoted Starship Captains players are in command of their first starship and hungry to prove themselves in a galaxy full of space pirates grumpy old androids ancient artifacts and interplanetary adventures.In this 1-4 player Eurostyle game which mixes action selection and engine building you'll manage a diverse crew of cadets ensigns androids and officers — each with different special roles and capabilities. By earning medals you can promote and train your crew for even greater effectiveness. Similarly you can upgrade your ship with powerful engine building technology for maximum synergy.What will you do with this enhanced crew and ship? Explore an ever-shifting galaxy full of dangerous pirates and interplanetary missions in order to boost your reputation with three distinct galactic factions for bountiful rewards.Do you have what it takes to deftly command your crew and become the best captain in the cosmos? We'll see!—description from the publisher

The Artemis Project

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–5

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Europa Jupiter's moon. Deep beneath the crust the oceans are teeming with alien sea life. Shellfish plants corals arthropods even strange fish and larger sea creatures populate a wide-ranging interconnected web of hidden seas. Volcanism is rampant warming the mineral-rich waters and creating excellent conditions for energy-harvesting.The largest cavern close to the surface is known as The Pocket. This is where the initial teams of Stabilizers built their first outposts with the intent to establish long-term communities capable of surviving indefinitely. Aqua-farming is well established; food and other sundries are efficiently gathered. The Pocket has many deposits of minerals and crystals that can be mined and processed to create strong and versatile construction materials locally.Colonists arrive at the Doorstep at regular intervals when the Threshold is opened. The arrivals are of four general types: Pioneers (who are tasked with exploring the changing surface of the moon and the labyrinth of seas beneath) Engineers (who develop and operate the machinery and structures needed to run the colonies) Marines (who defend the colonies from hostile sea life unwanted intruders and other colonies) and Stewards (overseers responsible for strategy and negotiation).Colony development mostly occurs beneath the ice; this is where all of the moon’s resources are concentrated so this is where the effort is best spent. To keep close to the surface most colony structures are built clinging onto the underside of the ice crust. Surface structures will be built only once an undersea outpost is well established and beginning to thrive. In addition to construction and resource-gathering colonies spend a lot of effort on exploring this new environment. The volcanic action and mineral-heavy waters make long-range scanning unreliable so physical exploration is required to plumb the depths.As the Pocket is explored and expanded the established colonies have been making some unusual discoveries beneath the ice. Deep in the trenches artifacts of non-human origin are starting to be found. The dark seas hide many secrets. Squads of mercenaries occasionally appear on the surface and beneath the sea penetrating the Threshold somehow to carry out an unknown mission on the moon. These aspects are worrisome but can’t distract the colonies from their main goals.It is still early in the Artemis project. A foothold on life here has been gained but it will take tenacious effort from the competing colonies to reach the point where Europa is truly viable as a home.The Artemis Project is a dice (dis)placement and engine building game that has you fighting the planet as well as the other players. Roll your dice and place them tactically to thwart the other colonists. Harvest energy and minerals. Bid for buildings. Work together to go on Expeditions to earn rewards. Train workers. Will your efforts be enough to survive?

burncycle

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Dice Exploration Puzzle Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

Categories:

A puzzly infiltration game for 1-4 players burncycle puts you in command of a team of robots in the far future. Their mission: taking down evil human-run corporations responsible for subjugating AI under their heel. Your team arrives at each corporate headquarters and must sneak inside shutting down the companies' physical operations as well as their circuitous digital networks. As you search rooms and advance to the higher floors you'll be rewarded with new items and abilities but you'll also be challenged by threatening guards fatal viruses and the architecture itself which was built to fight off robotic intruders.Key to this solo and cooperative experience is the idea of “creative action sequencing.” During each round of play all players will contend with a randomly drawn set of programming directives which tell them in what order their bots are allowed to take physical digital and command actions. Players can choose to skip over directives at the cost of having an incomplete turn or they can disobey the directions by paying costly action dice. The best players however find a way to work within the “burncycle”: essentially organizing their actions so that they benefit the team while staying within the directive order.Each of the corporate headquarters in the game use unique neoprene layouts on a larger mat changing the geography of the game to suit your target. Each CEO also has at their disposal a special threat meter which will trigger new obstacles for your robots as time runs out. If you don't complete the mission quickly you may end up leaving bots behind the victims of immobilizing power drains or destructive counterhacking.Your team wins the game if you complete your objectives on every floor without losing your command module or maxing out your threat level.-description from publisher

XenoShyft: Onslaught

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game Horror Science Fiction

Categories:

In XenoShyft: Onslaught a strategic base defense deck-builder players take on the role of the NorTec Military charged with defending their base against the onslaught of the alien Hive.XenoShyft: Onslaught combines classic deck-building and resource management with fast-paced combat and unique base defense elements. As the game progresses each player builds up their deck of Troop Equipment and Item cards which they will in turn use to defend the base against incoming enemies in deadly combat.It is up to the players to work together in order to outlast the horrors awaiting them by coordinating strategy utilizing the strengths of their unique divisions (Med Bay Weapons Research Science Lab and Armory) and organizing defense tactics to ensure no player is caught off-guard by surprise attacks.XenoShyft: Onslaught is a game of tactical decisions and survival horror — and survival is never guaranteed.

Robo Rally

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Maze Miniatures Racing Science Fiction

Categories:

The race is on for the robots of the Robo Rally automobile factory who work long hard days at the assembly line building high‐speed supercars but never get to see them in action. On Saturday nights the factory comes to life as the ultimate race course with treacherous obstacles and rival sabotage. In Robo Rally players move their robots through the course by speeding through corridors and dodging traps to reach each checkpoint first. Only the strongest robots survive!Enter the world of mad machines and dangerous schemes in the Robo Rally board game. Players control their robot with game cards which reveal directions on how the robots can move through the hectic Robo Rally automobile factory. Use strategy to outsmart rival robots while racing towards each checkpoint in your chosen course in numerical order. Beware of factory obstacles such as industrial lasers gaping pits and moving conveyer belts that can make or break the race.The 2016 edition of Robo Rally differs from earlier versions in a number of ways:

Gravwell: Escape from the 9th Dimension

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–4

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In Gravwell players command spaceships that have been pulled through a black hole transporting them into a different dimension. With each ship lacking fuel to get home each player must collect basic elements from surrounding asteroids using the gravity of the dimension and what little resources they have in order to reach the warp gate that will take them home. But in this dimension moving ships will travel towards the nearest object which is usually another ship and when those objects are moving either forward or backward reaching the warp gate isn't always easy. Time is running out to save your crew and your ship! As a grim reminder of the cost of failing to escape the frozen hulks of dead spacecraft litter the escape route — but with careful card play you can slingshot past these derelict craft and be the first to escape from the Gravwell!Gravwell uses 26 alphabetized cards to determine movement order and thrust; most cards move your ship towards the nearest object but a few move you away from it. At the start of each round players draft fuel cards picking up three pairs of two cards with only the top card of each pile being visible; you get some information as to which moves you can expect from the other spaceships but you won't know which moves you'll be forced to make when you draft your cards!During a round each player will play all of their fuel cards in the order of their choosing. During each phase of a round each player chooses one card then all cards are revealed and resolved in alphabetical order. When your opponents move in ways you didn't expect you won't always be heading in the direction you thought you would! Each player holds an Emergency Stop card that they may tactically play only once per round to avoid such a situation.Whoever first reaches the warp gate wins but if no one has escaped after six rounds then the player who is closest to the gate wins.

The 7th Continent: Classic Edition

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Exploration Science Fiction

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It's the early 20th century. You have decided to sail back to the newly discovered seventh continent to attempt to lift the terrible curse that has struck you since your return from the previous expedition.In The 7th Continent a solo or cooperative choose-your-own-adventure exploration board game you choose a character and begin your adventure on your own or with a team of other explorers. Inspired by the Fighting Fantasy book series you will discover the extent of this wild new land through a variety of terrain and event cards. In a land fraught with danger and wonders you have to use every ounce of wit and cunning to survive crafting tools weapons and shelter to ensure your survival.Unlike most board games it will take you many MANY hours of exploring and searching the seventh continent until you eventually discover how to remove the curse(s)... or die trying. Fortunately The 7th Continent features an easy saving system so that you can stop playing at any time and resume your adventure later on just like in a video game!The Classic Edition includes 3 curses for players to face – “The Voracious Goddess” “An offering to the Guardians” “The Bloody Hunt” – and contains 849 cards 2 storage trays 34 dividers 9 cardboard figures with plastic stands 8 dice a 24-page rule booklet and 1 player aid. It differs from the “Collector Edition” of The 7th Continent that was available via Serious Poulp's two successful Kickstarter campaigns in that it lacks all of Kickstarter exclusives (1 curse 2 characters 113 adventure cards and component upgrades such as the plastic figures discard pile holder and magnifying glass).

Deep Rock Galactic: The Board Game

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Miniatures Science Fiction Video Game Theme

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In Deep Rock Galactic: The Board Game an authorized tabletop game adaption of the popular computer game players take the roles of up to four dwarf miners in space: the Scout the Engineer the Gunner and the Driller. Players must work together to mine precious minerals deep below the surface of a hostile planet where indigenous insectoid predators — the Glyphids — await aggressively defending their caves against the intruders. Will your team be able to meet the mineral quota set by the company or will you all end up as dinner for the Glyphids?Players move around the board while throwing dice to fight monsters and mine rare minerals in order to escape in time with the required amount of minerals needed to win the current mission.

System Gateway (fan expansion for Android: Netrunner)

Rating: 9.1 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Bluffing Card Game Fan Expansion Science Fiction

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System Gateway is Null Signal Games’s foundational Netrunner set. It is designed as an out-of-the-box learning experience and provides everything you need to start playing Netrunner. The cards in the set are straightforward yet powerful and will form the cornerstone of any player’s collection.One copy of System Gateway a handful of different coloured counters plus the Null Signal Games learn-to-play guide is all two people need to learn Netrunner with pre-constructed Starter decks. Also included is a full set of all the cards so two players can build their own pair of custom decks to continue playing.

Cryo

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

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A mission gone wrong. Tensions continued to mount aboard your colony ship as the days dragged on. An anonymous act of sabotage has sent the ship plummeting to the surface of a frozen uncharted planet. Damaged beyond repair the scattered remains will do little to protect you from the brutal cold.In the engine-building worker placement game Cryo leaders of separate hostile factions compete to survive and claim control over the underground caverns on a remote icy planet. You need to act quickly and strategically to avoid further sabotage from other factions. Send drones out from your engineering platform to scavenge resources and save your crew still in cryostasis. Gather different materials to upgrade and customize your platform fine-tuning new actions to suit your individual strategy. Utilize multi-use cards to your advantage and claim the underground caverns for your faction to survive.Though unplanned a new chapter for humanity has begun. Scavenge build explore and lead your faction to victory within this frozen world before the sun sets!—description from the publisher

Sol: Last Days of a Star

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–5

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The Sun is dyingIn recent years the Sun has become increasingly unstable to the point where experts claim it could go supernova at any moment. The various inhabitants of the planets in this solar system are launching one last effort to save themselves which involves building a final Ark to propel a small selection of their people into deep space. This requires a great deal of energy and in a final ironic twist the only source of such great energy is the dying star itself. In the process of extracting and transmitting the energy required to save themselves they will be compounding the instability of the Sun and hastening the end of their worlds.Sol: Last Days of a Star is a board game for one to five players where each player represents a different planetary effort to transmit as much energy from the Sun back to their Ark so they can to escape the solar system before the Sun explodes!The board represents the solar environment: two layers of orbit around the Sun (Upper and Lower Orbit) and three layers within the Sun itself (the Convective Radiative and Core). The deeper you take actions the higher your rewards but the faster the instability of the Sun is increased. Your Mothership rotates slowly in orbit around the Sun and this is the only place your ships can launch from to perform useful tasks in the solar environment. You can either convert ships into stations or use the ships to activate yours and other players' stations. If you activate your own stations you get the full reward while activating other player's stations you split the reward with the owner. You gain energy by activating Energy Nodes and you use this energy to either activate Ship Foundries to build new ships (which you need since you are constantly losing ships by converting them into new stations) or activate Transmit Towers to transmit the energy back to your Ark to turn into Momentum (which is ultimately how your Ark will escape). But you cannot enter the Sun without converting ships into Solar Gates which span the high energy membranes separating one layer of the sun from the next.You must carefully manage your time and resources in order to transmit the most energy back to your Ark before the Sun is lost forever. With any luck some small collection of your last planetary residents will escape the solar system before it is engulfed by the oncoming supernova!

DOOM: The Board Game

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Exploration Fighting Horror Miniatures Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

Description from the publisher:DOOM: The Board Game is strategy board game of tactical combat for 2-5 players based on Bethesda and id Software's video game of the same name. Featuring two distinct player roles the game brings the epic battle between elite marines and Hell's most threatening monsters to the tabletop.DOOM immerses players in a fierce battle between legions of demons — which are controlled by one invader player — and a cooperative team of up to four marines. The game guides players through two cohesive operations during which the marines strive to achieve objectives like restoring power to the United Aerospace Corporation's facilities or manning expeditions right down into the pits of Hell. Meanwhile the invader commands their demons to slaughter the soldiers time and time again in an attempt to protect their fiery domain and destroy all of humanity.The game features custom dice double-sided map tiles and thirty-seven detailed plastic miniatures representing four marines and thirty-three demons. It includes two operations Black Bishop and Exodus consisting of six missions each.

CATAN: Starfarers

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Exploration Negotiation Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Twenty years ago the settlers started into the depths of the galaxy to discover unknown planets the undiscovered universe lying before them. Maybe they'll find planets with good ore or carbon deposits — or perhaps only barren ice planets. They might encounter alien folks and start lucrative trading with pirates and wormholes being a constant challenge for them.Catan: Starfarers is a new version of Starfarers of Catan originally released in 1999 that contains completely revised graphics and game materials revised rules and (most importantly) a variable game board that brings even more variety to the exploration of space.Changes to the mechanics include-If you are lower in the points you get cards on your turn regardless of what you roll. Two random cards initially then one then none as your victory points go up. This is a nice touch. No matter how unlucky you are you still get something. Plus if a player rolls a seven the person can take a card from any other player but their opponents now draw a random card from the deck.- Market Trades: Since you have no roads you no longer need ports so since you no longer have ports you can trade with the market for any resource on your turn; provided you have the right cards. Additionally the ratios aren't bad Any resource for 3:1 i.e. three of one for one of any other type. Goods (a type of resource) trades for 2:1. This plus no road blocking allows you to trade for resources and keep playing.- There are NPC races that can give you benefits some of which are +1 resources whenever you get a resource of the same type. But you have to get there early. Now there is a new dynamic to the game going out into space becomes a strategy on its own.- Negotiated trades: Since the resources are more readily available there are less negotiated trades. They still exist and someone can still trade 1:1 3:1 etc... but it is no longer a singularly driving force in the game. Unless you have a big move and you're missing that one card.- Resource (set collection) becomes part of your strategy without being limited to negotiation and luck of the die. I think this actually works better.Colonization: You colonize to claim planets in a system. This is the same as building towns in Catan. But how many can be in a system (hex) depends on player count. In a three player game you're only allowed two colonies per system. In a four player game each system only holds up to three players colonies. If you got blocked out early from the closest systems reach further into the stars to other systems. Who knows you might meet pirate and you'll have to fight or traders perhaps a race of Travelers who will open a worm hole to anywhere on the map.

Galaxy Defenders

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–5

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Galaxy Defenders is a sci-fi cooperative tactical battle wargame in which 1-5 players fight together against an oncoming alien menace. Each player takes control of one or more agents with unique powers to defend the planet from the alien invasion. Gameplay revolves around a tactical combat system using custom ten-sided dice. Each player sequentially plays his Agent turn and then one Aliens turn. Players carry out their turns [agent and aliens] in clockwise order until the last player finishes his Aliens turn. Once done the game passes to the Event phase that will bring the players to the next round. Players may choose up to five agents:There is no Alien player in Galaxy Defenders; instead the aliens are controlled by the game system itself through an artificial intelligence system based on two types of cards:The combination of a unique AI for each alien species and the uncertainty about alien activation in a turn provides a realistic simulation of the chaos of battle and a sophisticated challenge for the players. Since having more agents brings more alien activations for the aliens the turn structure allows the level of difficulty to scale dynamically based on the number of agents in play. If agents die during the game the system recalibrates the difficulty to a reasonable and enjoyable level so you still have a chance to complete the mission.The battle for Earth will be carried out in a series of twelve missions organized in a completely story-driven campaign. Mission events influence future games in two different ways:With the downloadable Galaxy Defenders: Alien Mind variant you can transform the game into a competitive affair with one player becoming the alien mastermind and controlling the alien army and the card in play attempting to thwart each mission undertaken by the Agents. To do this the alien player completes his own game objectives obtaining new alien signals that can be teleported onto the battlefield. This variant which allows for play with up to six players can be used in a single mission or for a whole campaign of Galaxy Defenders. Using Alien Mind may increase the game difficulty and is suggested only for expert players.

Last Light

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Civilization Economic Negotiation Science Fiction Space Exploration Wargame

Categories:

Last Light is a fast-paced 4x game with 3D planets and a rotating board in which players playing asymmetrical alien factions simultaneously gather light right before the heat death of the universe.Each turn players select an action card then all players take their actions simultaneously exploring planets mining for resources gaining new technologies and commanding fleets all while racing to the center of a rotating board to the last known white dwarf star to gather light for their civilization to survive.The first player to gather 20 light has what they need to overcome their rivals and lay claim to the last light in the universe and win!

Planet

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Environmental Puzzle Science Fiction

Categories:

The spark of life is about to jump from your hands to spread out in the world. Deploy your mountain ranges and your deserts spread out your oceans and your glaciers. Handle wisely your continents to form environments suitable for the apparition of animal life and maybe you'll manage to create the most densely populated planet!In Planet each player receives a planet core without anything on it. Each turn players choose a tile with mountain/ice/forest/desert on it and place it on the planet. Then the player who fulfills the most conditions for the appearance of certain animals gains its card.—description from the publisher

Ascending Empires

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Action / Dexterity City Building Civilization Fighting Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Humanity has been at each other's throats since time immemorial. Now in another galaxy humans wage war amongst themselves again but this time with the aid of alien technology found on other planets. Ascending Empires offers a nice mixture of building exploring and development along with combat via a simple dexterity element. Ascending Empires is sure to sate the desire for a space empire building game that plays simply yet deeply.The last survivors of the Human race have fled to a new galaxy in fear of annihilation at the hands of an unstoppable enemy. Now having discovered the ruins of four long dead civilizations spread across the stars the race to develop technology based on the alien relics has begun. Humans will once again ascend to the stars to claim the galaxy.Players will colonize new worlds by building colonies cities and research facilities. They will develop new Technologies and build up fleets of Starships. Ascending Empires is a fast paced game that utilizes a dexterity based Starship movement and combat system and allows for many different strategies to be explored.

Space Station Phoenix

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–4

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Space Station Phoenix is a worker-placement and resource management game set in one of Earth’s possible futures. The players are representatives of the Galactic Council sent to Earth to build space stations to observe and perhaps interact with humanity.Players begin the game with nine ships and a station hub. These ships act as action spaces that players use to gather resources explore the nearby planets and build their stations. Turns are fast and straightforward; either take ship action or take income.Many games start players off with a small resource engine which they build up to a bigger one. In Space Station Phoenix players start with the best production engine they will ever have and proceed to break it down part by part. As the game progresses their actions get more efficient but the number of ways to take those actions starts to diminish.Space Station Phoenix also features deep re-playability with millions of possible starting positions and station parts combinations.—description from the publisher

Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction

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As vast and dark as a sunless void the Blackstone Fortress is a creation far beyond the ken of any race in the galaxy. In this age of darkness in a galaxy riven with strife and horror the desperate and intrepid alike search this Fortress for long-lost technologies that may be used to turn the tide of war.In Warhammer Quest Blackstone Fortress you and your friends take on the role of a group of disparate explorers delving into the labyrinthine halls of a vast and ancient space station. Only by working together and balancing your strength and skills can you hope to survive. With each expedition you will discover powerful archeotech and learn more of the Blackstone Fortress’ closely guarded secrets including perhaps the location of its greatest treasure. The game can be played solo or with up to 4 friends with the fifth player controlling the hostiles. At the end of each expedition the players return to the nearby port city of Precipice to rest recuperate and trade their loot for resources that will aid in their next adventure.Included in the box:Miniatures44 push-fit Citadel miniatures are included in Blackstone Fortress each supplied on pre-coloured plastic sprues:- 9 Explorers in red plastic: Janus Draik Rogue Trader; Taddeus the Purifier Ministorum Priest; Espern Locarno Imperial Navigator; Pious Vorne Missionary Zealot; UR-025 Imperial Robot; Dahyak Grekh Kroot Tracker; Amallyn Shadowguide Asuryani Ranger and the Ratling Twins Rein and Raus; - 35 Hostiles in grey plastic: Obsidius Mallex Chaos Lord; 2 Chaos Space Marines; 4 Chaos Beastmen; 4 Ur-Ghuls; 4 Negavolt Cultists; 2 Rogue Psykers; 4 Spindle Drones and 14 Traitor Guardsmen.BooksThe box contains 5 booklets full of rules background and construction guides for the miniatures:- A 16-page Rules booklet: this walks the player through games of Blackstone Fortress from setup to exploration with explanations of special rules and a quick reference guide; - A 16-page Combat booklet: this contains all the rules for resolving combat during games with easy to follow annotated examples and a quick reference guide; - A 24-page Precipice booklet: this details the actions that occur between expeditions with your explorers resting and rejuvenating; - A 24-page Background booklet: this provides details on the Fortress the explorers and the hostile forces they face; - A 16-page booklet of datasheets for using the included miniatures in games of Warhammer 40,000.Gaming ContentThe box also contains everything you need to set up and play a game of Blackstone Fortress including:- 40 double-sided board tiles to create the internal labyrinths of the Blackstone Fortress; - 234 gaming cards; - 9 Stasis Chambers – safe places for characters to rest between explorations; - A Databank and a Hidden Vault; - 70 markers; - 28 dice.-description from publisher

GKR: Heavy Hitters

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

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Welcome to the biggest sport of the future – GIANT KILLER ROBOTS : HEAVY HITTERS!GKR: HEAVY HITTERS is an advertising-driven televised combat sport where mega corporations fight for lucrative salvage rights and advertising dominance in Earth’s abandoned cities. But more importantly they need you! Your skills as a pilot and tactician are needed to win gaining your Faction more fans and more importantly loyal consumers.You will be piloting a Heavy Hitter the name given to the largest fighting mechs in the battle zone. Flanking your Heavy Hitter in these high stakes sport matches are 3 unmanned robotic support units consisting of Combat Repair and Recon. Fighting head-to-head using your Heavy Hitter you control your entire team of GKRs strategizing your way to victory. Any dumb mech-jockey can shoot but can you STRAT? Guess we’re gonna find out!GKR: Heavy Hitters - A new boardgame set in the world of Giant killer Robots!The solo rules are included in the updated rulebook which comes with the game.Contents: 4 x Giant Heavy Hitters (139mm) 12 x Support Units (47mm) 10 x Buildings 317 x Cards 1 x Unique Hex-based Gameboard 8 x Pilots & Achievements Boards 4 x Energy Tracker Tokens & Dashboards 80 x Holo-board Tags 2 x Attack Dice 8 x Defense Dice 1 x Glory Hound Token

Bot Factory

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction

Categories:

Your goal in Bot Factory is to gather projects and parts then assemble bots thereby fulfilling demand goals and improving the value of the bot you are making. Sandra the factory manager from Kanban is present here moving to different departments and using the players' spaces. The game uses the same worker-placement mechanism from Kanban in which turn order is established by the workers' positions on the board.—description from the designer

Aristeia!

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Sports

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175 years into the future humankind has reached the stars. As the hyperpowers vie for influence in the shadows citizens use their permanent connection to Maya the interplanetary data network to revel in a bespoke deluge of thrills. Of course no form of entertainment is as sought after as Aristeia! the Human Sphere’s favorite extreme bloodsport.Aristeia! is the new sports game by Corvus Belli that allows two players to take the role of a competition team manager in the greatest visual show of the Human Sphere.The game will come in a basic box including everything necessary to play: 8 character figures with their exclusive cards 8 Initiative cards 52 Tactics cards 3 booklets (Access Guide to Human Sphere How-to-Play instructions and Reference Guide) a reversible board (the HexaDome) dice counters and tokens.Aristeia! will allow players to choose their team and jump into action in the HexaDome the arena where the definitive blood sport of the Human Sphere takes place. Players will enjoy the dynamic and spectacular nature of Aristeia! thanks to the exclusive character cards and Tactics cards representing incredible combat feats.In little more than one hour players will enjoy a fun game that will immerse them in strategies and tactics that promise to become addictive.Furthermore for the most competitive players Corvus Belli will arrange a special organized play program for Aristeia! with an international ranking and tournament kits including promotional material and prizes for the winners.Aristeia! will have regular expansion packs with new characters each of them featuring their own special skills and new combos that will improve the game experience. These expansion packs will be independent and completely optional.

Bullet★

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Fighting Puzzle Real-time Science Fiction

Categories:

Assume the role of the universes' most powerful heroines as you settle their disputes with excessive firepower! Use actions to form patterns clear bullets from your sight and bombard the opponent! Deal with the curtain of bullets coming at you each round and be the last heroine standing to win!Each heroine wields a dynamic power that changes how you play the game! Control fireworks zombies the news and more!4 game modes! Play solo with Score Attack. Free-For-All with 2-4 friends form 2 player Teams or fight each heroine's dangerous Boss Mode by yourself or with others!Combine Bullet⭐ with Bullet♥︎ to play up to 8 players!—description from the publisher

Age of Galaxy

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Civilization Economic Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Age of Galaxy is a strategic game in the line of Age of Civilization. This pocket-sized 4X game places you in control of an interstellar alliance consist of 3 factions with unique powers. You could explore systems colonize planets research technologies build galactic cruisers and much more.There are many potential paths to victory according to the ability combos and the main ideology of your alliance.In this vast galaxy with more than 30 extraordinary factions the possibilities are unlimited!—description from the publisher

Renegade

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–5

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At the dawn of the SMC age the people were losing faith in an increasingly amoral society. Mother was developed to emulate human thought and emotion to simulate human desires and aspirations to better understand the rapid decline in morality. The citizens of Sapporo became the guinea-pigs for this technological experiment. A series of city-wide neural implant programs dubbed “the harvests” enabled the gathering of data directly from a person’s cerebral cortex.Mother’s neural net became more and more empowered by the collective thoughts of a city of souls. She soon became her own master not just reading the minds of her citizens but controlling them. Mother was in charge and the people were now her automatons.Only a few the few who from fear mistrust or in protest avoided the harvests and remained untouched by Mother’s influence. Like sewer rats they hide in an underground complex in Sapporo's Susukino district. While society at large became free from crime free from poverty free from emotion without free-will or faith from these few there came the criminals the bootleggers and the self-serving; the hungry the frightened and the “Renegades”.Renegade is an abstract-euro thematic deck-building game for 1 to 5 players. You are a new breed of Decker - a Renegade. You will hack into a network of five servers operated by one of four Super-Massive-Computers (SMCs). Each of these four SMCs have their own AI and increasing complexity to defeat. You must survive a series of Countermeasure events before the network becomes overrun by Sparks and Guardians. Once you are jacked into an SMC’s servers with a profile bringing its own special ability you will move across its partitions and fight to take control of the network by using informational destructive deceptive and cognitive attacks.Your Decker can seek upgrades (tools software apparel and information) by visiting the local bar the Hack Shack. Once a fashionable hang-out for attractive young lovers seeking a voyeur's view of the city it has now gone underground. An intimidating bar full of hit men and debt collectors fixers and dealers trading contraband from all across Sapporo it's not the sort of place to take a date. This is where you will trade for new command cards enhancing your Command Deck to become a more skillful Renegade.

Now or Never

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

City Building Exploration Fantasy Science Fiction

Categories:

Far to the south of The Last Ruin lies a cliffside village called The Monument. For generations it protected an ancient shrine until the day a crystal meteorite descended. The meteor's denizens slowly crept out into the world—bizarre monstrosities from nightmare attacking all in their path. As they spread across the land there was no intelligent malice nor grand invasion strategy; the creatures acted like a fungus—spreading into new territory sporadically. After many fruitless attempts to expel the monsters the people of The Monument fled as their village crumbled exiled to distant lands resigned to a nomadic existence.Twenty years later there are rumors that the bizarre monsters are growing weak. They’re slower less impervious to attack some undergoing a gradual petrification until they crumble to dust. Is it the atmosphere? Are they dying of old age? Do they suffer from a strange disease? No one is certain but as the news spreads various factions set their eyes on the vacant ruined village of The Monument. The original villagers now refugees are desperate to return and rebuild. But they must do it quickly before someone else claims their home. This is their chance. It’s now or never.In Now or Never you and up to three friends compete to best rebuild your ancestral village and guide the rest of the villagers on their journey home. Although the creatures of the meteorite have lost much of their strength many of them remain and you must fight them off to protect traveling villagers. Now or Never is the third game in the Arzium storybook series that includes Above and Below and Near and Far.Now or Never is a competitive strategy game that allows you to:Now or Never includes two modes of play: standard and story. When playing in story mode you read from a storybook when you explore making choices and learning more about the characters and the world. Each character has their own set of stories unique to the locations they explore and diverse in plot perspective and motive allowing you to choose what direction your own story will take.Journey to The Monument and help rebuild your ancient home!-description from publisher

Otys

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–4

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Mid-22nd century after 300 years of unconsciousness the water rising engulfs the last emerged lands. Fighting for their lives the survivor’s settlements must remain above the sea level. You live in the Otys colony and you must retrieve the past civilizations debris in the depths to build the future of humanity.Your diver’s team is trained to bring up the most useful materials remaining in the depths. You need to use them wisely to fulfill the contracts offered by the Colony and thus obtain more notoriety than your contenders. Your divers lay at different depths; it is up to you to best match their special abilities with the bonuses offered by the Colony. But beware! Your diver’s oxygen is limited and as soon as they have accomplished their mission they must go up to the surface. Try to manage all the parameters of your team in a profitable way so the Colony will reward you more than it will the others!Otys is an optimization and development game co-published by Pearl Games and Libellud. Optimize your game in order to match the depth of your divers their special abilities and the Colony bonuses. That is how you will supply the best contracts and win.The future is built from the past...In Otys each player has a team of divers and must use them to take actions retrieve items and complete objectives. The divers are stacked in a column on the player's individual game board and some of them are next to depth gauges that read 1-5.On a turn a player chooses an available depth gauge on their individual board then carries out the action at that same depth on the shared game board then takes the action for their diver at that depth. Afterward that diver moves to the surface pushing down all the other divers in the queue. That depth gauge is placed at the bottom of the player's board and they return to the player's board to be chosen again only when that player's gauge meter is full. Initially a player must play all six of their gauges before getting any back but they can improve their meter so that it takes fewer gauges to fill thereby giving them more choices for their actions.As divers obtain items those items are kept at the appropriate depth on a player's board and when a player has the needed items together at the same depth they can claim one of the shared objectives revealed on the table or one of their personal objectives (if they've taken any). Players are racing to score 18 points first in order to win the game.

The Lord of the Ice Garden

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Fantasy Fighting Medieval Mythology Novel-based Science Fiction

Categories:

The world of Midgaard created by author Jarosław Grzędowicz in The Lord of the Ice Garden novel series is inhabited by a race very similar to humans filled with magic and for a reason stuck at the cultural and technological level of medieval Viking world. The arrival of scientists from Earth disturbs its fragile balance. The power gained by controlling magic changes the scientists – they become possessed by the lust for making this world better. They become gods who are willing to sacrifice any life except for their own of course to accomplish their – great according to them – ideas.Players impersonate the scientists struggling for the domination over The Coast of Sails and also for staying on Midgaard because soon after them another person arrives to this world: Vuko Drakkainen highly trained agent whose task is to find the members of scientific expedition and send them back to Earth — or as a last resort make them vanish. Will the players as powerful gods allow him to do it?From the first turn the players are tossed in the middle of war. They will feel the adrenaline fear pain and the heat of a battle. They will smell blood and sweat hear the clash of arms and the moaning of wounded and dying.The Lord of the Ice Garden takes place on The Coast of Sails which is divided into several regions. The main goal is fighting for the domination over those regions. A region is dominated by the player with the most influence in it. Dominating the region allows players to collect its resources (M-factor gold population) also to win victory points in specific turns and to accomplish their own goals. Each player has unique winning conditions and special units.There is also Vuko who came to evacuate the scientists and clean up their mess. Each turn he goes to the region where the player with least reputation/morality (it decreases each time the player uses magic) has the most influence. Such a visit is nothing nice – Vuko kills one special unit of that player in this region and lowers his/her influence there.INITIATIVE PHASE: During the initiative phase players decide how many action tokens they will have for the current turn and also determine the player order during the Planning Phase. Moreover they can initiate scoring of the regions by moving their initiative tokens. In the advanced mode they also determine the order of action fields resolution.PLANNING PHASE: Players one by one in the order determined in the Initiative Phase place their action tokens on selected action fields.ACTION PHASE: Players perform actions in the action fields in the order determined by the placement of tokens. • Viper's Nest – player receives one token of any resource. They can also exchange resources. • Influence – player may sacrifice up to two population tokens to place as many influence tokens on the region(s) where they already have at least one influence • Move – player may sacrifice up to two gold tokens to make as many moves of their influence tokens and/or special units to the neighboring region(s) • Voracious Mountain – player may sacrifice population to move any number of their influence tokens and/or special units from one region to any other region • Raven's Shadow – player may raise his/her reputation or use a magic token to get rid of the disadvantageous token of contact with Vuko. • Magic – allows the player to do any of the three actions: translocate the M-factor summon special units of the given level add a new ability to the special unit. Each of those actions results in moving the Dead Snow token up on its track and decreasing the player's reputation. • Activation (automatic field) – after resolving the actions players may activate the abilities of their special units. The order of activation of given abilities is strictly determined. After the activation the situation on the board may change drastically. • Vuko Drakkainen (automatic field) – each turn Vuko must go to another region. Its figure is placed in the region where the most immoral player has the most influence. That player receives a conact token decreasing his/her influence and also loses one special unit in this region (provided he/she had any). In the advanced mode players will be able to equip Vuko with more abilities that will activate in specific moments of the game.DOMINATION PHASE: Players collect victory points and resources from the regions and accomplish their unique goals.

Flip Ships

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Action / Dexterity Science Fiction

Categories:

It was an ambush. That’s the only way to describe it. The mother ship appeared out of nowhere creating a massive shadow over the city. Within seconds wave after wave of fighters poured out of it filling the sky.We're launching the ships we have ready but they aren't much. Our pilots must fight bravely to defend the planet while we ready the rest of the fleet. Explosions fill the sky and we've taken some hits but we won't give up. Will you?Flip Ships is a cooperative dexterity game in which players take on the roles of brave pilots defending their planet from an onslaught of firepower. Flip your ships to take out the encroaching enemies and to take down the powerful mother ship before it's too late.

Capital Lux

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Bluffing Card Game Science Fiction

Categories:

Description from the publisher:Will you play citizens into your hometown for points or contribute them to the capital and benefit from their special abilities? In Capital Lux you always balance on a razor's edge so will you take risks? Bluff? Or follow a carefully laid plan? The choice is yours in this clever card game featuring beautiful art by American painter Kwanchai Moriya.Each round begins with the players drafting a hand of five or six character cards. On your turn you must play a card either in front of you (your hometown) or in the middle of the table (the capital). When you play a card into the capital you benefit from the card's special ability. Each character belongs to one of four professions and their special abilities are:At the end of a round for each profession you are not allowed to have a higher total value in your hometown than the current total value in the capital. If you break the limit for one of the professions you lose all cards of that profession from your hometown. At the end of the third round all characters remaining in a player's hometown are worth points.This means that for every card there's a dilemma of whether to add it to your hometown for possible points or to the capital which not only gives you the benefit from a special ability but also increases the potential points for all players. Since every player is dealt only five or six cards at the beginning of a round every card play is crucial...

Steampunk Rally Fusion

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–8

Game Type:

Dice Racing Science Fiction

Categories:

Steampunk Rally Fusion is a standalone game that can be combined with the original Steampunk Rally. It introduces new tracks with unique event cards new part abilities (Gear Up and Overcharge) and a new card type: Secret Projects. It also debuts new custom dice representing powerful Fusion energy!Take on the role of ingenious inventors from history. Draft cards to invent your racing contraption. Power your creation's abilities with combinations of steam heat electricity and Fusion dice. Use cogs to augment bad dice rolls and upgrade certain machine parts.Smashing through damaging terrain spaces may cause parts to fly off your machine constantly forcing you to adapt your strategy and discover new card synergies. Fortune favors the brash so get ready to Gear Up Overcharge your machine and remake history!—description from the publisher

Astro Knights

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

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Astro Knights is a cooperative deck building game where your deck is never shuffled. Your goal is to defeat the Boss before it destroys your team or the Homeworld you’re defending.Each round the players and the Boss will take turns in a random order. During a player’s turn they will be able to acquire Fuel Tech and Weapons from the supply equip and attack with those Weapons based on the number of slots they have gain new slots power up and use their special ability. All four of the Bosses in this game have their own decks and abilities and will require a different strategy to be defeated

Legendary Encounters: A Firefly Deck Building Game

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

In Legendary Encounters: Firefly players take on the roles of characters from the series and work together to complete objectives for episodes from the Firefly TV show. Players each select an Avatar out of the Main Characters of the game. Each game will have 5 Main Characters and 4 Supporting Characters so all 9 crew members will be part of each game. The 14-card stack for each Supporting Character is shuffled together to form the Crew Deck which will be used to build up each player's deck.Legendary Encounters: A Firefly Deck Building Game is a standalone game in the Legendary Encounters series that utilizes the Legendary Encounters system set in the Firefly universe. Playing with 500 cards and a roll-up playmat you'll build up your deck coordinate with your crew and upgrade your ship to gain advantages but be careful that Serenity does not receive too many ship strikes. Get ready to explore the 'Verse!

The Expanse Board Game

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Movies / TV / Radio theme Novel-based Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

The Expanse a board game based on the Syfy television series of the same name focuses on politics conquest and intrigue similar to the board game Twilight Struggle although with a shorter playing time. The card-driven game uses key images from the show along with action points and events that allow players to move and place Fleets and Influence.In more detail players represent Earth's UN forces the military of Mars the rebels of the O.P.A. and the mysterious corporation Protogen Inc. Each player has special abilities that must be maneuvered to gain advantage. Players increase their control over the solar system using characters and events from the universe of The Expanse.

Chronicles of Crime: 2400

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Deduction Murder / Mystery Science Fiction

Categories:

“You are Kalia Lavel. You’ve always wanted to fight crime like your famous ancestors so you joined the elite BelCor forces. They turned you into a highly trained cyber-agent but it didn’t take you long to figure out that your bosses cared much more about their profit than about justice for ordinary people. You turned in your badge and now you live in a tiny apartment in a bad neighborhood stripped of most of your cybernetic implants. It doesn’t matter though as you can finally do what a Lavel is meant to do: solve crimes and help those who can’t count on anyone else in this merciless world.”In the standalone game Chronicles of Crime: 2400 you can use all the latest technology to solve crimes. Your pet Cyber-Raven can analyze evidence and search the web to find information on suspects. During the course of a scenario you may also obtain cybernetic implants that would increase your abilities. Super-senses that help you find evidence on the crime scene? A tomograph to quickly check the person you’re talking to for cyber enhancements? Or maybe a zapper to quickly neutralize any electronic device? The future is full of useful stuff!Be careful though as the technology is not always on your side! Is the character you’re talking to a human or an android? Who’s hiding behind the avatars you meet in the virtual cyberspace locations? The struggle between criminals and detectives is millennia old but at the beginning of the 25th century it’s been taken to a whole new level.Welcome to Paris in the year 2400! Technology has taken a giant leap forward: androids indistinguishable from humans walk the streets and having cybernetic implants has slowly become the norm. Artificial intelligence plays a major role in everyone’s daily life and for many Cyberspace has become a world as important as the real one.The landscape of Paris is now dominated by a gargantuan translucent Dome covering half a district. Under it there’s a private city on its own created and ruled by BelCor. Only the rich and privileged can live there and enjoy comfortable houses unlimited access to water clean air and controlled temperature.Uneven access to new technologies and a host of other inequalities fuel social unrest which often turns into open violence. Paris has become a popular destination for people from regions that suffered catastrophic droughts epidemics and wars. It isn’t however a promised land but a merciless world where the constant fight for influence takes place on every level from big international corporations through political extremist groups to ordinary street gangs.Part of Chronicles of Crime - The Millennium Series Chronicles of Crime is back with a range of games called The Millennium Series. Three brand new standalone Chronicles of Crime games working with the same great system but providing interesting gameplay twists and refreshing universes that span an entire millennium from 1400 to 1900 and finally 2400. All three games are standalone but will offer connecting narrative threads for players to discover.-description from publisher

Last Aurora

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game Science Fiction Transportation

Categories:

The radioactive dust of the Last War has frozen the northern countries. In the ice desert the few survivors live in an icy hell as the resources of the old world are now exhausted and travel to the south is too long and dangerous. But a radio message is rekindling hope: The last icebreaker ship the Aurora is cruising along the coast looking for survivors. The winter is coming and in a few days those who cannot get on board will be doomed by the ice. It will be a race against time to arrive at the ship or surrender to despair: there's still the light of hope on the horizon a light to grab before it's too late...'Last Aurora' is a post-apocalyptic game for 1-4 players set in a frozen desolate land. Each player has to manage their crew to gather resources recruit survivors improve their vehicle and fight their enemies as they race to reach the ship before it's too late!2021 Seal of Excellence by Dice Tower

Evo (Second Edition)

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Prehistoric Science Fiction

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In Evo you play a nomadic people in symbiosis with a primitive reptilian species. You travel the wild open spaces of Kumgath with your mounts you will use your knowledge of biology to help them adapt and succeed against both the hostile and changing climate and other competing species.Players will earn mutation points during the course of the game. The player with the most at the end of the game is the winner.

Circadians: Chaos Order

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

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The initial quakes were only minor tremors but as the land began to unravel so did our sense of security. We watched the cliffs of Hytazch fall into the sea. Mighty trees of old swallowed up by the caverns below. As the waters rose a great roar was heard across the plains. This was no cry of disbelief or heartache but of jubilance. Songs began to fill the air as our once peaceful hosts now readied themselves for war. Suddenly on the horizon what appeared as huge bolts of energy shoot out into the depths of space before disappearing again. Despite the inevitable shock wave heading our way the clans continued to cheer as they made haste towards the origin of the blaze. What could cause such elation? Why abandon caution in favour of chaos? Had we missed something - some crucial misunderstanding of this planet and its inhabitants? Upon reaching the site we were immediately plunged into combat. Across the landscape lay six massive structures towering over the forces fighting below. They seemed to pulse and flicker with a golden haze. Could these be the ancient relics the Oxataya spoke of? There is so much we still do not understand but we cannot concede to indecision. Will we stay and fight or retreat back to Moontide?In Circadians: Chaos Order players take on the role of 1 of 6 asymmetric factions. Each faction has their own means of winning the game unique leaders attribute cards and other abilities.—description from the publisher

The New Era

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Card Game City Building Economic Science Fiction

Categories:

Four factions have grown and their boundaries widened. The conflict is not to be averted. Blood will soon be shed. The Mutants Union is the power that made rocks roll and attack and the other factions responded quickly. The New Era begins the era of war...The New Era a standalone expansion for 51st State contains more than 80 new cards and a new fifth faction: The Hegemony a violent band of criminals. New rules for direct interaction allow players to invade each other and sign deals with opponents' locations. New options and decisions have opened for players. The game is aggressive and even more engaging than 51st State.The New Era is another Portal game in the postapocalyptic world of Neuroshima a new piece of the award-winning series containing such titles as Neuroshima HEX Neuroshima HEX: Babel 13 Neuroshima HEX: Duel 51st State Neuroshima RPG and Neuroshima Tactics (available only in Polish as of 2011). The New Era presents the highest standard of production with wooden components a new victory points board and polished and improved iconography.The New Era can be combined with 51st State or played on its own as a standalone game.

Ganymede

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

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Ganymede is a development and tableau-building game in which players are corporations specialized in sending settlers to colonize the universe. To do so you will recruit settlers on Earth use shuttles to transport them to Mars then to Ganymede where the settlers' ships launch base is located.The game ends when a player has launched four settlers' ships into space. Players score VP from their launched ships and from their reputation track.

Tamashii: Chronicle of Ascend

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction

Categories:

Tamashii is a cyberpunk adventure board game with a post-apocalyptic vibe. Players will struggle to survive and pursue their agendas in two worlds at the same time - the physical one filled with deadly machines and merciless human survivors and the virtual one prowled by tracking software and vicious viruses.Players will try to achieve their goals on a modular city map. They will find new locations fight against strong enemies and search for important information and files needed to win the game.The second part of the game takes action on a virtual map. Here you will try to hack your opponents unlock special bonuses or get one-time bonuses for completing the sequences.The game may be played in different scenarios. You might have to cooperate with other players play against them or even make an alliances with your enemies. But watch every step you take; every conflict cooperation or alliance might be a double-edged sword.—description from the publisher

Star Trek: Attack Wing

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–99

Game Type:

Aviation / Flight Collectible Components Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

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Game description from the publisher:Star Trek: Attack Wing is a tactical space combat miniatures game featuring pre-painted ships from the Star Trek Universe.By using the FlightPath maneuver system* (licensed from Fantasy Flight Games) players engage in exploration and combat traversing sprawling Star Trek space maps made available via an in-store Organized Play program. As commander players have the ability to customize upgrade and assign famous crewmembers to their fleets which feature ships from the series' prominent empires and forces as well as special stats and abilities and unique maneuvers on separate Combat Dials.Star Trek: Attack Wing is a standalone game which uses the core rule set of FFGs' FlightPath game system with a Star Trek twist but is not compatible with other FlightPath games from FFG. The FlightPath maneuver system used in Star Trek: Attack Wing is based on the original game design by Jason Little.

Space Cadets: Dice Duel

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 4–8

Game Type:

Dice Fighting Party Game Real-time Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Your plan is quickly coming together. Simplicity itself. Just continue to close the gap to the enemy and launch when within range. Your crew is well-trained and work quickly at their stations just the edge you need to come out on top.“Engineering power to Helm. Move forward and close the distance to the enemy. Keep shields in the front. We're going straight in”. You can feel the bridge vibrate slightly as the engines come up to speed.“Captain all sensors are on weapon lock” says the Sensor Officer. “You can fire at will.”A slight smirk crosses your face. “On my mark! Launch both tor... Wait where did they go?” You look at the viewscreen puzzled with a growing sense of unease.Sensors starts shouting. “Crystal Warp! Captain they've done a crystal warp and they're directly behind us!”From your right comes the panicked voice of the Shields officer. “Umm Captain... All of our shields are to the front!”You start barking out orders. “Shields use the crystal we captured to raise the aft shield. Weapons start to move the torpedoes to the rear tubes! Helm get us out of here!”The crew gets to work but you look on in horror as two torpedoes lance out from your nemesis...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Space Cadets: Dice Duel – the Team vs. Team Real-time Dice-Rolling Game of Starship Combat! – pits two spaceships against one another in quick-paced combat. The players are divided into two teams each team playing the crew of a ship and winning or losing together based on how well they perform. The game ends when one side destroys their opponent by causing four points of damage through torpedoes or mines. Each ship has six Bridge Stations:Each player is in charge of one or more of these stations or has the overall role of Captain to coordinate everything. There are no game turns in Space Cadets: Dice Duel; instead the game continues with players acting as quickly as possible until one side wins.

Pax Transhumanity

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

We are called to be architects of the future not its victims. – R. Buckminster Fuller—What if the future is non-dystopian? No pandemic zombies or post-apocalyptic rubble? Imagine instead a future in which humanity explores the fringes of the achievable in which scientists and technocrats rewrite the human condition by expanding into new spheres — the developing world the cloud and space. Win by solving humanitarian problems demolishing societal and technological barriers and guiding human progress towards a future of your design.

Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Horror Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps! is a co‑operative survival board game in which you and your team of specialist Colonial Marines will gear up with serious firepower and head into Hadley's Hope to find survivors and answers. But you're not alone. To survive you'll need to work together keep your cool and stay frosty to fight off relentless Xenomorph ambushes and get out of there alive.Players can play up to six different missions taking them into different areas from the Hadley’s Hope terraforming facility to the deep dark recesses of an xenomorph nest. Aliens also offers an exciting campaign mode to play four of the missions linked together so players will need to fight relentless xenomorph attacks and keep each other alive all the way to the end of the campaign. The remaining two missions are purely about survival it’s kill or be killed. The players are dropped into the game with nothing more than a pistol. They will need to scavenge weapons and gear while hordes of Xenomorph aliens are trying to get at them. How long can you survive against the odds?—description from the publisher

Core Space

Rating: 8.6 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction

Categories:

Core Space is a science fiction miniatures board game. Each player takes control of a band of Traders trying to make a living in a dangerous galaxy all the while hunted by the Purge a semi-sentient race of humanoid machines whose sole task is to harvest worlds.A game of Core Space takes place on a detailed 3D board. Your Traders must explore the area fulfil their objectives salvage what they can and then escape back to their ship spending their earnings on desperately-needed repairs. The exciting campaign system will track your crew from game to game developing their skills upgrading their equipment and telling their story.This core set accommodates 1-2 players but the game supports up to 6 players using additional Trader crews available separately.Contents8 Trader Miniatures The Crew of the Black Maria The Crew of the Ion Hope 9 Purge Miniatures 3 Civilian Miniatures 8 Plastic Crew Dashboards 11 Character Boards 8 Class Boards 1 Purge Board 2 Ship Boards 1 Plastic Hostility Tracker 7 Dice 20 Event Cards 104-Page Rulebook 42 Counters & 189 Plastic Pegs Token Pouch with over 100 Equipment Tokens And finally a 2'/60cm square gaming mat with over 130 terrain pieces to build your board!

Exodus: Proxima Centauri

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Civilization Fighting Science Fiction Space Exploration Wargame

Categories:

After a devastating nuclear war six human factions are seeking shelter in the Centauri system. On the verge of extinction the humans are saved by a superior civilization allegedly the Centaurians and each faction is given a fresh start on a new planet. Thus the exodus of humanity seems to have ended on the planets orbiting the star called Proxima Centauri. When the Centaurians announce their departure the struggle for power commences once again.In Exodus: Proxima Centauri the six factions fight for dominance in an epic empire-building game striving to build a new human empire on the ashes of the Centaurian civilization. Each player will build his own space fleet of customized ships and conquer new planets fight the Centaurian Resistance and the other players negotiate and vote for political decisions research Centaurian technologies and much more.Exodus is a 4X game featuring a tech tree blind bidding on political laws and resolutions hidden movement resource management logistics and engine building. Exodus is a game that greatly encourages and rewards combat with NPCs and other players--both through ships and weapons of mass destruction.

Project: ELITE

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Real-time Science Fiction

Categories:

In a post apocalyptic setting an alien civilization has invaded Earth. Players work together as part of a special ops team with the code name ELITE. They are dispatched to high priority missions - protecting objectives and defending vital targets against the alien invaders.Project: ELITE is a co-operative real-time speed-dice tactical tower-defense-like game in which players roll dice with symbols as fast as they can allowing them to do various actions with their character on the game board. They move around shooting and cutting through waves of aliens blocking their advance while at the same time trying to complete objectives that will bring them to victory.The game consists of a number of real-time 2-minute rounds (depending on the scenario) separated by an AI Alien Phase where aliens perform abilities advance towards their goal and receive reinforcements.The constant performance of actions through dice rolling combined with an innovative combat/movement system result in a mix of intense gameplay that offers countless hours of fun.What really makes Project: ELITE unique is the Alien Move symbol that appears on one side of each of the player's dice and forces him/her to move an alien towards their goal.The end result is a real-time tactical board game where friend and foe are in constant motion trying to prevail over the other.

The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 4–8

Game Type:

Bluffing Deduction Horror Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

Categories:

It is the start of the bleak desolate Antarctic winter when a group of NSF researchers manning the claustrophobic isolated U.S. Outpost 31 comes into contact with a hostile extraterrestrial lifeform. Bent on assimilating Earth's native species this being infiltrates the facility — creating a perfect imitation of one of the Outpost 31 crew. The staff frantically begin a sweep of the base desperate to purge this alien infection before escaping to warn McMurdo Station that somewhere out there in the frigid darkness something horrible is waiting.In the hidden identity game The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 you will relive John Carpenter's sci-fi cult classic in a race to discover who among the team has been infected by this heinous lifeform. Play as one of twelve characters as you lead a series of investigations through the facility using supplies and equipment to clear the building. The tension mounts and paranoia ensues as you question who you can trust in the ultimate race to save humanity!

Gaslands: Refuelled

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 2–8

Game Type:

Book Miniatures Racing Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

A set of revised and expanded wargaming rules for the exceptionally popular post-apocalyptic vehicle game Gaslands.Shoot ram skid and loot your way through the ruins of civilization with Gaslands: Refuelled the tabletop miniature wargame of post-apocalyptic vehicular mayhem. With all new material including expanded and enhanced perks sponsors vehicle types and weapons. Gaslands: Refuelled contains everything a budding wasteland warrior needs to build and customize their fleet of vehicles in this harsh post-apocalyptic future. Featuring a host of options for scenarios environmental effects and campaigns allowing players to create their anarchic future.

LUNA Capital

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

City Building Science Fiction

Categories:

The dream of maintaining human life on the surface of the moon has now come true. The project to build cities on Earth’s beloved satellite is under way. Things are moving full speed ahead too the possibilities are enormous because this is 1977 the year when lunar living becomes reality. The most enterprising companies have decided to sponsor teams of scientists builders publicists and freelance nightlife entertainers to set out to construct the best client base in the galaxy. On top of this out of the world chance the Lunar Colonization Authority shall assign the capital of the Moon to the best of the projects that are presented making the chance for an even juicier reward!In LUNA Capital the players must optimally manage the elements of the game to build the best possible lunar settlement and to make it worthy of becoming the capital of the entire off-planet colony. They will have a series of construction cards in a common “market” and each of the players shall be tied to a number of project tiles. The players take turns drawing cards and the tiles that accompany them and then place them in their personal playing area. The cards must be laid out in a maximum of three lines and must be placed so that they are always in ascending numerical value. Once the card has been placed the tiles are then put on the spaces for them on the cards in an attempt to group together the various projects in the most efficient way possible.The tiles show what projects are available all of which are essential for the construction of the city worthy of the term. They include oxygen collectors greenhouses residential complexes and (of extreme importance) sales offices to sell apartments with the best views in the galaxy. Each of these categories scores according to how they are arranged within the personal area of each player. Whoever is able to best take advantage of their arrangement and placement shall become the mayor of LUNA Capital.—description from the publisher

Stars of Akarios

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Miniatures Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Stars of Akarios is a narrative-driven cooperative campaign game set in the Akarios Galaxy. Throughout Stars of Akarios you will fight in epic space battles upgrade your ship and explore the fringes of space. Stars of Akarios is built upon 4 core pillars of game play: Space Combat World Exploration Space Exploration and Player Progression. Each pillar works together to create a unified and epic sci-fi board game experience.You and your fellow cadets are close to completing your Akarios Institute pilot training when an unknown enemy attacks your home planet of Medellia. You must fight back with the war hero Captain Soma and her ship the Sparrow. You will need to step out of your fighters to explore hostile worlds and ships putting your cunning to the test as you seek new home for your civilization. Use your pilots' skills to complete the challenges you encounter in the limited time available. Manage your ship’s resources as you explore new regions of space and embark on missions fighting to survive through the unknown. Even if you are out of resources you can continue exploring but you risk starting your next encounter at a disadvantage. Your pilot's skills will grow as you test your grit against the enemies in Stars of Akarios. Upgrade you characters' unique abilities and skill trees allowing you to customize your play experience.The 200 page scenario book unfolds as a choose-your-own-adventure. Each choice success and failure will shape your story. It will take multiple play-throughs to see all of the Akarios galaxy. 8 different pilots each come with their own unique progression pad and set of skills. The campaign starts with 4 available pilots and the others are unlocked through the choices you make. 10 pilot ships each come with their own set of abilities and class. The ship class will determine what type of upgrades the ship can equip. Equip a combination of upgrade and ability cards from over 55 weapon cards 55 engine cards 55 tech cards many co-pilots ship abilities and pilot abilities. Slot in each upgrade in your dual-layered playerboard where everything has a home.—description from the publisher

Red Outpost

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Farming Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction

Categories:

A top secret Soviet space mission set out to colonize a planet in a remote galaxy far away from home. The settlers built there a small communist heaven which exists to this day. As one of the leaders your goal is to guide the settlers on this new yet strangely familiar terrain.In Red Outpost players get to control all of the settlers each time a different one. You must expertly manage the resources and choose the jobs carefully so as not to upset the settlers: Keeping up morale is of utmost importance if you want to become the most prolific leader!—description from the publisher

Relic

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Relic is a board game in which two to four players each assume the role of a powerful hero from the Warhammer 40,000 universe and bravely venture forth to shield the Antian Sector from certain doom. By completing missions and defeating enemies characters compete to gain rewards and experience furthering their chance of being the first to defeat whatever evil lies beyond the Warp rift.Building on the foundations of the Talisman system Relic is an adventure game in which seemingly straightforward choices mask scores of possibilities. For those who haven't played the classic fantasy adventure game Talisman this means that on each turn a player rolls a single six-sided die before moving his playing piece that number of spaces clockwise or counter-clockwise around the region (outer middle or inner) of the board it currently occupies. That player then draws a card or cards to see what he's encountered pitting his heroic persona against foul enemies dangerous locations and fantastic strangers. And all the while these intrepid heroes rise in power as they work their way toward the ultimate goal at the center of the board.—description from the publisher

City of the Great Machine

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

City of the Great Machine is a strategy game set in a grim universe of technocratic Victorian steampunk. The game features the conflict between the Great Machine an artificial intelligence network and an alliance of Heroes. The Great Machine is either controlled by a player or is automated which completely changes the game play.The Great Machine controls a City built on mobile platforms in the sky. As the Great Machine the player (or game AI) commands a force of perfected Servants and mechanical Guards. The Great Machine's ultimate goal is to suppress social unrest and complete its grandiose Master Plan to perfect the human race.The other players are Heroes working together against the Great Machine to start a revolution. They encourage discontent in the City enlist the support of famous citizens and inflame riots. They also attempt to prevent the Great Machine from completing the Master Plan as it leads to the enslavement of the human race.Game features:

After Us

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Animals Card Game Puzzle Science Fiction

Categories:

2083. Humankind died out decades ago leaving behind mere vestiges of its time on Earth. As time went by nature reclaimed land all over. In this resurgent world apes have kept evolving. They've been gathering in tribes growing mastering human items and advancing in their quest for knowledge. As the leader of such a tribe you need to guide it towards collective intelligence.After Us is a deck-building and resource management game featuring an original and intuitive combo system in which players are each leading a tribe of apes. Starting only with tamarins they combine their cards each turn to collect resources and gather victory points attracting new apes into their tribe along the way: powerful gorillas resourceful orangutans versatile chimpanzees and wise mandrills. The first player to obtain 80 points prevails in the race to collective intelligence — and wins the game.— description from the designer

Theseus: The Dark Orbit

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Theseus: The Dark Orbit puts players in the heart of a conflict between five factions trapped on a space station in deep space. Only one can survive...In Theseus: The Dark Orbit players move their pawns around the space station and activate the abilities of different rooms. Every move you take changes the movement possibilities of your opponent. On your turn you need to think about which room you want to reach and (in addition) how to mess your opponent's movement which leads to great choices and meaningful decisions.Rooms abilities change during the game as players install trait cards that give rooms new abilities and skills. Players create Theseus during gameplay by placing traps smart guns secret passages and many other features. In every game Theseus looks different; in every game it's deadly for you in a new way...Rules for team play allow players to engage in incredibly emotional 2-vs-2 battles. With perfectly balanced factions players will be able to fight engaging and deadly battles as a teams. Each faction has a unique deck of cards and before the game starts you discard ten cards from the deck. In basic mode you discard at random while in tournament (master) mode you choose cards and build your deck. With five factions and 110 cards the game can provide years of unique experiences.

Thunderstone Advance: Numenera

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Categories:

Game description from the publisher:The ancient evil known as Doom has decided to make a change. In this new world of Numenera Doom has manifested as an intelligent virus that controls its hosts. The infected are known as Doomladen and they know each other regardless of a host's external form. They are lead by powerful beings with strange relics – the Thunderstones – and once again you must defeat them to save the world.In the deck-building game Thunderstone Advance: Numenera which can be played on its own or combined with other Thunderstone sets you build a party of heroes to defeat the Thunderstone Bearers. The Doomladen mechanism introduced in this game unites various monster groups against you and new Setting cards take you into the environment of Monte Cook's Numenera RPG.

Kepler-3042

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

The year is 3042: Humanity is ready to explore the galaxy. The most interesting celestial bodies to explore and eventually colonize have been known for centuries and the nations of Earth finally have the technological level to reach them thus beginning an unarmed competition that in the end the whole of humanity will win.Kepler-3042 is a resource management game in which you have to explore colonize exploit and terraform the planets of the Milky Way using the available technologies. In each round you must choose which action to perform and which bonus to activate managing your supplies of matter energy and antimatter. The peculiar strength of the game is the innovative resource management: Each player has a finite amount of matter energy and antimatter that they can produce or spend during the game. In each round they can decide to burn forever one or more resources to perform powerful actions thereby allowing them to follow different strategies.

Star Trek Panic

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Star Trek Panic is a cooperative light strategy game based on Castle Panic that challenges players to defend the U.S.S. Enterprise from enemy attacks.In addition the game features mission cards that have unique challenges based on the original Star Trek series as well as character cards so that players can assume the roles of Star Trek icons like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.

Gaslands: Post-Apocalyptic Vehicular Combat

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2–8

Game Type:

Book Miniatures Racing Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Gaslands is a game of post-apocalyptic vehicular mayhem.Gaslands is a tabletop wargame of car-on-car destruction in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Players form a racing team and compete for money and fame scrapping in between races for the resources they need for the next race.Movement consists of movement templates and custom skid dice to create a fluid and madcap game.Gaslands was the winner of both the Judges' Choice and People's Choice awards for Best New Miniatures Rules at the UK Games Expo 2018.

Impulse

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Bluffing Card Game Economic Fighting Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Impulse is a quick-playing 4X (explore expand exploit and exterminate) game set in space with the game board being composed of cards that have actions on them. Players also have cards in hand and in addition to featuring one of ten possible actions these cards have a color (red yellow blue or green) and a size (1 2 or 3 as indicated by the number of icons on the card). Each card also has six edges and these edges connect adjacent cards in the hex-shaped playing area.The cards in the playing area start face down with each player controlling a card(their Home) on a corner of this area. Each player has two transport ships in the center of his Home card and a cruiser on an edge. Cruisers are used to patrol sectors of space and destroy opposing transports while transports let you activate sectors that you enter.On a turn a player adds a card to the Impulse from his hand then (optionally) performs an action for a tech in his playing area then (optionally) performs all the actions in the Impulse then draws two cards and adds them to his hand. The Impulse is a line of cards shared by all players that changes turn by turn as players add cards to it and as cards fall off once it reaches maximum size. Thus players need to feed the Impulse with actions that benefit them more than opponents but that's easier said than done.When you perform actions – whether from moving transports to them or using the Impulse – you can boost them by having minerals of the same color or lots of transports. Each action has a single numeral on it e.g. Command [1] ship for one jump or Build [1] cruiser at home; when you boost an action you increase that numeral.Players score points by destroying enemy ships (one point per ship) by controlling edge spaces on the central card (one point per edge) and by taking other actions via cards. The first player to score 20 points wins!

Aeon's End: Legacy of Gravehold

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Aeon’s End: Legacy of Gravehold is the second legacy game in the Aeon’s End line of games. Legacy of Gravehold has a deeper more immersive narrative with branching paths. After each game players will receive experience. They will spend that experience on enhancement stickers those along with player cards will allow the players to become more powerful. However the nemeses that players will face grow stronger and stronger with each battle.Legacy of Gravehold has more than twice as many mages as all previous base sets and more than twice as many nemeses as well.—description from the publisher

Legendary: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Categories:

Legendary: Buffy The Vampire Slayer is the newest addition to the Legendary series. In Legendary a semi-cooperative deck-building game 1 to 5 players use fan-favorite characters including Buffy Angel Willow and Giles and attempt to stop a Big Bad and their nefarious Schemes. Players win the game if the Big Bad is beaten four times and lose if the Big Bad is able to complete their Scheme.Based on the popular TV series only Legendary: Buffy the Vampire Slayer features a light/dark track that influences characters' strength which is meant to boost the thematic feeling.This 500 card core set includes: 15 Heroes 5 Big Bads 7 Villain Groups 5 Henchmen Villain Groups 8 Schemes 40 Watchers 20 Initiative Soldiers 15 Potential Slayers 30 Bystanders 30 Wounds 11 Scheme Twists 5 Master Strikes also includes 60 Dividers

Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 4–16

Game Type:

Card Game Deduction Party Game Science Fiction

Categories:

Human Punishment is a combination of social deduction social experiment and party game for 4-16 players. Each player takes on the role of a human a machine or an outlaw in a distant future. Players must investigate others to figure out who is on their side grab one of the four different weapons and eliminate the enemies. Stay focused because hidden enemies may be on your team! Find your team trust no one!The traitor mechanism in Human Punishment transforms the table into a social experiment...

Excavation Earth

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

A century from now all that remains of Earth is the detritus that humanity left behind. The races of a neighboring solar system have a penchant for artifacts left behind by extinct races. In Excavation Earth you lead one of these races of alien explorers on their quest to excavate rare human artifacts and curate the ultimate art collection to sell off.Excavation Earth is divided into three rounds each of which starts with players drafting a hand of multi-use cards that will be used to perform actions. Players then take quick turns playing actions that allow them to move their explorers around the world map excavate for artifacts and deploy traders to bazaars and influencers to affect prices and wheel and deal on the black market.The artifacts you dig up can be either sold to the bazaars housed on one of the aliens' ships that landed on Earth or added to a collection that will be sold off as a coherent art collection to museums back home. Excavation Earth ends after three rounds and the player who makes the most money during the game wins.Excavation Earth includes a solo mode by Nick Shaw and Dávid Turczi.—description from the publisher

XenoShyft: Dreadmire

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game Horror Science Fiction

Categories:

You survived the horrors of the Hive — now venture onto the new world of Genesis VII a lush but deadly marsh planet featuring an entirely new ecosystem of horrors to overcome.XenoShyft: Dreadmire which can be played as a standalone game or mixed with assets from XenoShyft: Onslaught brings a new XenoShyft experience to your tabletop with eight new troop types 20 new item types and more than 40 fearsome new enemy types.The XenoShyft game system combines classic deck-building and resource management with fast-paced combat and unique base defense elements. As the game progresses each player builds up their deck of troop and item cards which they will in turn use to defend the base against incoming enemies in deadly combat.

Capital Lux 2: Generations

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Capital Lux 2: Generations a standalone sequel to the acclaimed tactical card game from 2016 introduces a range of exchangeable capital powers that can be mixed and matched as you like. This allows for a total of 256 unique power combinations. One of these combinations plays as the original Capital Lux while the other 255 present the players new tactical challenges.The core of the game revolves around the following dilemma: Do you play character cards in your home base for points or contribute them to the capital to benefit from their powers? At the end of a round you are not allowed to have a higher total value in your home base for any color than the current total value in the capital. Exceeding the limit makes you lose those cards. At the end of the third round all cards remaining in your home base are worth points.The game therefore turns into an act of balancing on a razor's edge: Secure as many points for yourself without exceeding the capital's limit — always taking into account the current capital powers.—description from the publisher

Flatline

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Dice Medical Real-time Science Fiction

Categories:

Description from the publisher:Flatline is a co-operative dice game set in the Fuse universe. Players must roll their dice and work to combine them with other players in order to properly treat arriving patients. Every round players race against a one-minute timer and must deal with the needs of wounded crew members as well as other emergencies within the ER. Time is running out!Comes with a 4 Cards expansion promos for FUSE inside.

Resurgence

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

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No one really knows what triggered the One Day War between the superpowers but a single day is all it took to end the Before World. After the governments collapsed leaderless groups of survivors huddled in the ruins of once great cities. The climate is brutal resources are scarce and mutant tribes are roaming the wastelands. The world desperately needs a hero to rally the people and lift them out of the ruins.Resurgence is a competitive Euro-style board game for up to four players. It offers a unique blend of bag-building hidden worker placement and resource management that creates a one-of-a-kind gameplay experience. At the start of the game each player selects a hero in charge of a small band of survivors and a few supplies. Each round of the game players need to secretly plan where they are going to send their workers in order to accomplish various tasks and exert their influence whether they're completing missions around the ruins of Moscow; gathering fuel food and spare parts; rescuing survivors; learning new skills; or building their base.Resurgence offers different routes to achieve victory and in-game events and end-game directive cards provide replayability and variability from game to game. At the end of the game the hero whose faction is victorious becomes the new leader and unites all the survivor groups in the sanctuary of Hope Island.

Carcassonne: Star Wars

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Categories:

Description from the publisher:Carcassonne: Star Wars combines the exciting adventures of the Star Wars universe with the gameplay of Carcassonne with the known rules of the game being simplified through clever changes that bring an entirely new feel to the game.This is similar to Carcassonne but with Roads replaced with Trading Routes and claimed by Merchants instead of Robbers Cities replaced with Asteroid Fields and claimed by Explorers instead of Knights and Cloisters replaced with Planets and claimed by Conquerers instead of Monks. There is no farming equivalent. Faction symbols (Empire Rebel Alliance and Bounty Hunters) provide scoring bonuses regardless of what faction your Meeples belong to. Majority control is determined by dice rolling with the highest result rather than the sum determining the winner although tiebreaks and defeats still provide some points. A player receives dice equal to the number of his Meeples involved in the majority control plus an additional one for using his large Meeple and one for any matching Faction symbols but this is always capped at three dice. One notable change is that Planets can be conquered by placing tiles adjacent to the Planet tile where the player now has the options of placing a Meeple on the adjacent Planet tile or on the tile he placed.There is also a four player team variant where it is the two Empire colours (black/Darth Vader and white/Storm Troopers) versus the two Rebel Alliance colours (red/Luke Skywalker and green/Yoda). Orange/Boba Fett is not used.

The Edge: Dawnfall

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Fantasy Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

The Edge: Dawnfall is a dynamic miniature and card battle game with elements of territory control (gathering crystals) as well as campaign play. Each player controls unique units with special abilities that can be enchanted with special spell or progress cards.Players win the game in solo or co-op mode by completing plot conditions of the scenario or in the competitive skirmish mode by gaining advantage of 7 Victory Points. The game is set in the original post-apocalyptic universe of The Edge and features 6 factions with very different backstories game styles and aesthetics.

Space Cadets

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 3–6

Game Type:

Action / Dexterity Puzzle Real-time Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

It's your lifelong dream – to join the Star Patrol and be part of the crew of an interstellar Starship. You've worked hard graduated from the academy and received your first assignment as part of a team of young recruits confident in your training and ready to be put to the test. Nothing can possibly go wrong as you are prepared for anything...You are the Space Cadets.Space Cadets is a fun and frantic cooperative game for 3-6 players who take on the roles of Bridge Officers of a Starship. Each officer must accomplish his specific task in order for the team to successfully complete the mission. You might be the...If your crew can work together to accomplish the mission goals you just might make it home in one piece.

Master of Orion: The Board Game

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Economic Science Fiction Space Exploration Video Game Theme

Categories:

Master of Orion: The Board Game takes you to the world of the legendary strategy video game.You will lead one of the races that will face each other in the outer space confrontation. Destinies of secretive Darloks genius Psilons universal humans and many others will depend on your actions. Manage your resources skillfully and wisely and lead the development of a chosen race in the right direction. You can progress by either military means training your spies and attacking alien planets or choose the path of creation controlling the weather and building space fleets.A dynamic and well-balanced game mechanics will offer you plenty of paths to the victory and the leader of the most successful nation will be granted the Emperor's title from the Galactic Council.

Duel of Ages II

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–8

Game Type:

Adventure Fantasy Fighting Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Duel of Ages II is a time-scramble board game played between two opposing sides each having 1 to 4 players with uneven size allowable. Each side controls a selected team of 8-12 characters from different ages of time: Ancient Colonial Modern and Future. The goal is to win greater glory in overcoming adventures and in tactical combat than the opposing team.Although multiple styles of play are available the standard DoA game-play involves seven phases:The game can end at a certain time or after a certain number of rounds.Game play is an unusual mix of tactical wargame-style combat treasure gathering and non-combat character teamwork and adventuring and has no close comparison to other games. Differences between characters are significant with many having poor fighting skills. Game play and winning is therefore an act of balancing fighting treasure-gathering and adventuring.From the game box:Select a team of characters. Overcome adventures and the enemy team to win favor achievements and ultimate victory. And while you are at it enjoy the stories that your game builds.Errata (Changes to cards):An Enemy Turned (Lith Card Secret): Remove the second paragraph. Enemies cannot be switched if they are imprisoned.Prince Wallard Blatt (Character): Wallard is killed permanently if he takes damage from anything not caused by a successful Hit. For example damage from Cube effects or trade damage caused by Hakan. For this purpose poison damage is caused by a successful Hit.

Waste Knights: Second Edition

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Science Fiction

Categories:

Waste Knights: Second Edition is a post-apocalyptic game of adventure and survival for 1-4 players inspired by cult classics of the post-apo movies and set in dystopian Australia destroyed by experiments of a powerful corporation. Each player becomes a rugged hero travelling through the wasteland facing unnatural weather and enemies forged in long-forgotten laboratories as well as experiencing adventures full of dramatic choices and disturbing characters.The game is adventure-based with each Adventure branching out into a number of Plots revealed depending on the players’ narrative choices. Each plot offers unique game mechanics and stories that can be found in the Book of Tales – some of them are keyed to a particular adventure some are generic but all enable the players to immerse themselves in the setting and make decisions that change the world around them.Each knight (player) has 2 actions at their disposal which basically enable them to travel around the continent in their Vehicle explore the area for ever-dwindling Resources (Fuel Ammo Meds) or camp in order to repair their Gear and heal Wounds or Radiation. Each adventure additionally offers a number of unique Plot Actions that let the players affect the story and fulfill their goals.However the heart of the game are stories. Each playthrough is based on an adventure found in the Guide. Some of them are co-op others competitive others still may end with the players grouping around different factions and forced to fight their former friends. The construction of each adventure offers lots of narrative choices guaranteeing high replayability and encompasses unique setup elements so that the basic game can be prepared quickly and the players can focus on the plot not the rules.—description from the publisher

Escape the Dark Sector

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Dice Horror Science Fiction

Categories:

The second game in the Escape the Dark series Escape the Dark Sector is a simple sci-fi adventure game with a focus on atmosphere storytelling and player cooperation – perfect for newcomers to tabletop gaming. It takes about 2 minutes to set up lasts around 45 minutes and no two games are ever the same.Playing as the beleaguered crew of an impounded starship players find themselves confined to the detention block of a vast space station. Using a variety of advanced gear and weaponry they will embark on a desperate mission to find their ship and blast their way home.Along the way the crew will have to overcome a variety of dangers traps and terrors. From cyborg guards and faulty replicators to killer alien organisms each challenge is represented by a large beautifully illustrated chapter card.As these immersive chapter cards are revealed one by one the game takes on the form of a shared storybook experience with the players making decisions about what to do each chapter before using a combination of dice and item cards to complete the task before them.The goal of the game is to complete every chapter and then defeat the final boss. To win you must keep each member of the crew alive; if any player is killed the game ends immediately!

Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 3–5

Game Type:

Fantasy Fighting Mythology Science Fiction

Categories:

STORY The future: Slowly but steadily the Moon has been approaching the Earth. It has touched the surface and ripped a deep rift across continents mountain ranges and oceans. It has come to a halt in the now dried-out Pacific Ocean. Chaos and devastation wrecked the Earth and its inhabitants. That chaos grew greater when the Moon revealed itself to be a kami (a Japanese God of old) - the white dragon TSUKUYUMI. Exiled into the night sky eons ago TSUKUYUMI has been roused by Japanese warriors who tried to rid themselves of their godly creators. TSUKUYUMI'S time for revenge has finally come...In the post-apocalyptic world humankind is on the verge of extinction whereas animal species mutated under the influence of TSUKUYUMI and grew bigger and stronger than ever. All those different factions are now fighting fiercely for survival as well as for world domination.TSUKUYUMI is a no-luck boardgame that demands specific strategic skills of its players. Its particular appeal lies in the clash of multifarious asymmetrical factions. At the beginning each player picks one of the five factions. The factions bring their own respective abilities units and strategies. Therefore the game changes depending on what factions meet on the battlefield.Values and abilities of the factions still don’t guarantee victory. Numerous test matches have shown: it’s the players who find new combinations and the right moments to use specific faction features who notice their fellow players’ weaknesses and use them to their own advantages. This way they shape their faction and bring the creatures and their stories to life.FACTIONS THE NOMADS are the former soldiers who were stationed on the USS Nomad an aircraft carrier that stranded in the wastelands. Armed agile and patriotic as they are the NOMADS try to claim the remains of the moon in the name of their (former) nation.THE BOARLORDS are a nation of strong and intelligent boars who enter the pacific region from the former Korean peninsula. They aim to replace the human race as dominant species - claiming more and more land by terraforming it into their rampart-like homes.THE CYBERSAMURAI use satellites supercomputers and artificial intelligence once developed in old Japan to control an army of drones fighting bots and even an orbital laser system threatening anyone who tries to plant their flag on the moon.THE DARK SEED'S nest grew in the wastelands as roaches and other insects became bigger and more intelligent under TSUKUYUMI'S influence. Their swarm grows rapidly - and thus they fight relentlessly to overwhelm adversarial units and territories by their sheer number.THE KAMPFGRUPPE 03 are the heirs to the Order of Marduk - and same as their spiritual ancestors in medieval times dragonslayers Siegfried and Georg they strive for a world unburdened by TSUKUYUMI'S existence.After the gameboard is set up every player chooses a faction respectively. The faction boards explain in detail all special abilities and how to use them. It also specifies the factions' start set-up.According to the descending initiative order marked on the board the players install their Homezones pick three start-areas and place their units. Prior to the first round they also choose a white action card - a combination of actions they can use before the beginning of each round.Then the players gather their resources according to what their areas offer. They may use these resources to bid on the blue green and red action cards. Every phase is represented by six of those action cards marked from A to F. Every card displays a different combination of the actions that can be taken during its respective phase. The highest bid is awarded with the A-card the next one with the B-card and so on.Each round consists of the following phases: White Phase: Players use the white action card they chose to emphasize their strategy. Blue Phase: Players can rise in the initiative order and/or draw an Impact Card. Green Phase: New units are generated and resources collected. Red Phase: Units are moved adversarial areas and units may be attacked. Onis are placed moved and used for attacks.GOAL The player who gains the most Victory Points wins the game. Victory Points are earned by conquering and occupying areas and by fulfilling goals and/or the faction's respective mission.END The game ends after the number of rounds determined by the players beforehand - usually 3-4 rounds.MICROBADGES Tsukuyumi fan - logo Tsukuyumi fan - moon Tsukuyumi - Boarlords fan Tsukuyumi - Cybersamurai fan Tsukuyumi - Dark Seed fan Tsukuyumi - Nomads fan Tsukuyumi - Oni fan Tsukuyumi - Kampfgruppe 03 fan Tsukuyumi - Lords of the Lost Sea fan Tsukuyumi - Fireborn fan Tsukuyumi - Children of the Lion fan

Android: Infiltration

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Card Game Exploration Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

Categories:

It is the future and beneath the flickering glow of the sprawling New Angeles skyline immense corporations seek every advantage in the burgeoning field of synthetic humanoid technology. On the brink of a revolutionary innovation CyberSolutions Inc. is poised to become the next global powerhouse threatening the profits of well-established conglomerates Haas-Bioroid and Jinteki – but unfortunately for CyberSolutions security at their New Angeles branch has just been compromised.Set in the dystopian future of Android Infiltration is a tense card game of futuristic larceny in which two to six players take the roles of thieves competing to steal valuable secrets from a highly secured corporate facility.The most vital information lies deep within the complex but each step inward takes you farther from escape. Worse yet corporate mercenaries are closing in! How long will you push your luck as you avoid security patrols surpass rival thieves and try to download the most data before the building is locked down?Game description above from the publisherThe layout of the complex is different every game choosing 6 of the possible 18 first floor cards 6 of the 18 second floor cards and 1 of the 3 secret room cards. These rooms are revealed to the players over the course of the game usually by one of the players entering the room. The rooms contain traps NPCs valuable data and items and even secret exits.Each turn players secretly choose actions they will take then in turn reveal and resolve their actions. Advancing into the complex or retreating towards the exit downloading valuable data interfacing with the current room or using an item are the actions available to players. After the players have had their turn any active NPCs have a turn then the proximity dial is increased. Once the dial reaches 99 or all players have left the complex the game ends. The players who have escaped the complex add up the value of the data they have extracted; the highest value wins!

High Frontier (Third Edition)

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Civilization Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

High Frontier (3rd edition) is a space exploration game by Phil Eklund. The players take control of different space enterprises trying to establish factories on planets and asteroids. Each player begins with three water tanks (fuel). In turns each player uses two action points to do some of the eight actions available e.g. move space ship or buy new technologies. When the predetermined number of bases is built the game ends. The winner is the player with the most victory points.High Frontier (3rd edition) is a deluxe edition including both the High Frontier base game and the Colonization expansion as well as 31 new card designs and redesigned charts. The rules are in four volumes: Basic Colonization Interstellar and Super-Advanced Variants.

Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

In Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side each player takes control of one of five Star Wars characters: Darth Vader Asajj Ventress Kylo Ren Moff Gideon or General Grievous. Each player has their own villain deck fate deck player board and 3D character.On a turn the active player moves their character to a different location on their player board takes one or more of the actions visible on that space (often by playing cards from their hand) then refills their hand to four cards. Cards are allies items effects and other things. You need to use your cards to fulfill your unique win condition.One of the actions allows you to choose another player draw two cards from that player's fate deck then play one of them on that player's board covering two of the four action spaces on one of that player's locations. The fate deck contains heroes items and effects from that villain's storyline and these cards allow other players to mess with that particular villain.Depending on their villain's unique power players can also use their villain's ambition to perform actions that power effects based on the villain's use of the Force strategic leadership or sheer luck. The game also incorporates villain-specific missions and rules for iconic ships and transports from all corners of the Star Wars galaxy.

Zona: The Secret of Chernobyl

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Horror Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

Zona is an adventure board game designed for 1-4 players. To win the game player must reach the sarcophagus of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant before other players. The sarcophagus opens only when player had previously collected 2 Secrets from underground facilities known as Secret Locations. Players must hurry because there is a time limit to the game. When the Final Emission strikes everything is lost…GAMEPLAY Each turn players take 2 Actions (move explore combat etc.) and then everyone read an Event Card which contains text for short adventure. At the end of turn a News Card is drawn by the first player and resolved by him.MOOD This board game emphasizes the aspect of survival. Zone depicted on the playing board is an extremely hazardous and isolated area with very limited access to functional equipment and supplies. Players must remember to frequently repair their Items and buy new ones. It is also crucial to rest to reduce Fatigue and heal Damage.STALKERS Each player takes role of 1 Scavenger from the 10 included in the game. Each Scavenger has their own Special Skill set of basic Skills and starting equipment. Values of stats such as Awareness Agility or Intellect determine how good they are in avoiding dangers and traps fighting mutants or gathering Artifacts from anomalies. The story of Scavenger explains his/herPersonal Goal – the reason for arriving to the Zone. Differences between Scavengers makes playing each one of them completely unique.•••Polski opis:PRZEGLĄD Zona jest przygodową grą planszową zaprojektowaną dla 1-4 graczy. Aby zwyciężyć gracz musi dotrzeć do sarkofagu Czarnobylskiej Elektrowni Atomowej zanim zrobią to pozostali gracze. Sarkofag otworzy się tylko jeśli gracz odkrył wcześniej 2 Tajemnice z podziemnych placówek badawczych znanych jako Tajne Lokacje. Gracze muszą się spieszyć ponieważ gra ma limit czasowy. Gdy Ostateczna Emisja uderzy wszystko przepadnie...ROZGRYWKA W każdej turze gracze wykonują 2 Akcje (ruch eksploracje konfrontacje itp.) po czym każdy odczytuje Kartę Wydarzeń która zawiera tekst dotyczący krótkiego zdarzenia. Na koniec tury pierwszy gracz dobiera Kartę Wieści i rozpatruje jej efekt.NASTRÓJ Ta gra planszowa skupia się na aspekcie przetrwania. Strefa przedstawiona na planszy jest skrajnie niebezpiecznym i odizolowanym obszarem z bardzo ograniczonym dostępem do użytecznego wyposażenia i zapasów. Gracze muszą pamiętać o regularnych naprawach ich Przedmiotów oraz kupowaniu nowych. Niezwykle istotne jest także odpoczywanie w celu zmniejszania Zmęczenia oraz leczenie Obrażeń.STALKERZY Każdy z graczy wciela się w rolę 1 z 10 Szperaczy dostępnych w grze. Każdy Szperacz posiada swoją indywidualną Zdolność Specjalną zestaw podstawowych Umiejętności i startowy ekwipunek. Wartości takie jak Czujność Sprawność czyIntelekt określają jak dobrze radzą sobie z omijaniem zagrożeń i pułapek walce z mutantami oraz wyciąganiu Artefaktów z anomalii. Historia Szperacza wyjaśnia jego/jej Cel Osobisty - powód przybycia do Strefy. Różnice pomiędzy Szperaczami sprawiają że gra każdym/ą z nich jest całkowicie odmienna.

Tiny Epic Mechs

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

It's the year 3030 and technology offers humankind unimaginable entertainment. What used to be virtual reality is now reality and sports that once occupied your flat-screen now occupy the world stage. The largest of them embodies the evolution and integration of athleticism and machinery. Once every five years hundreds of millions of viewers tune in to witness the spectacle that is M.E.C.H.s: Mechanized Entertainment Combat Heroes.Tiny Epic Mechs is an arena-style player-vs-player action-programming game. It features ITEMeeples with plastic molded power armors and a Mech suit that the ITEMeeples actually go inside of.In Tiny Epic Mechs players take on the roles of highly skilled and athletic Mech pilots. They compete in a free-for-all battle royale over the span of six rounds. In each round players select four of eight available actions to program. These actions keep you moving around the arena while allowing you to deploy high-scoring defensive turrets plant explosive land mines with hidden values collect resources purchase weaponry and power up into your Power Armor or eventually the highly-sought-after Mech Suit. While each player has their own Power Armor there is only one Mech Suit reserved for the king of the hill.Your programmed actions are played out one at a time around the table until all players have executed their four actions. When you cross paths with another player combat ensues. During combat players exchange fire until one player is out of ammo and must retreat or they are defeated and forced to reset.Combat is fast and you can use each weapon only one time per fight so the more weapons you have the longer you'll last. Weapons are categorized into three types and each type counters one of the other types. If you time your weapons correctly you can counter your opponent and unleash a more powerful attack and gain an edge over them. Dealing a lot of damage to your opponent will wow the audience and earn you lots of points which brings you closer to victory. You also score victory points every other round based on area control and who controls the Mech. At the end of the game you also earn points for each weapon you own.

Lost Legacy: The Starship

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Bluffing Card Game Deduction Science Fiction

Categories:

Lost Legacy: The Starship is a game of risk deduction and luck for 2–4 players. You start the game with one card in hand from a deck of sixteen cards. On a turn you do the following:By combining different Lost Legacy sets (while keeping only a single Lost Legacy card in play) up to six players can compete at the same time.This is the English release of the 16 cards The Starship set in Lost Legacy. The Flying Garden set is released separately.

The World of SMOG: Rise of Moloch

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Adventure Horror Miniatures Post-Napoleonic Science Fiction

Categories:

The World of SMOG: Rise of Moloch is a Victorian adventure board game for 2 to 5 players set in an alternate England where magic and technology have taken an extraordinary turn. Playable as a campaign or individual adventures Rise of Moloch puts one player in the position of the Nemesis against the intrepid Gentlemen controlled by the other players trying to save the Crown. Secretly activate the order of your characters through different scenarios enjoy your steam power weapons and save your special actions for the most opportune moments - you surely don't want to make your opponent stronger!Rise of Moloch is a campaign driven adventure played over a series of missions each telling part of the overall story of Moloch's rise to power (or defeat at the hands of the fearless Gentlemen!). Each mission features a unique board setup and goals for both the Nemesis player and Gentlemen players to complete. More so subsequent missions will be impacted by the outcome of the one before it weaving the overall story and game-play together to make each campaign unique.Players will each control one or more of the intrepid Gentlemen or in the case of the Nemesis player cunning Agents and Minions all with unique powers and upgrades they will utilize to complete the various goals of each mission.

Moon

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Categories:

Moon depicts an almost plausible rush to construct lunar bases that are attractive places to live and work for the people of Earth. The most prestigious base will become the new lunar capital!The game employs the familiar pick & pass or hand drafting mechanism for players to select a new structure cards to add to their base. Each hand of cards represents a convoy of experts and equipment travelling between the players' outposts giving the player the choice of one new construction each turn. In a new twist on the genre each hand always contains one of a number of Expedition cards that grant a special free action every turn before passing on to the next player.Wooden lunar rover tokens are a neutral resource that add a worker placement element to the game. They are also used to break ties and so must be used with care.Over the three distinct eras of the game players compete for majority in 5 aspects of their bases: housing transportation science industry and food production. At the end of each era the leader in each of these areas as determined by flag icons on their constructed buildings collects bonus victory points.Each game also features a number of randomly selected Reputation cards which provide one-time or ongoing bonuses for the player who meets the requirement and claims the card.Moon is the third game of a loose trilogy preceeded by Villagers and Streets.—description from the publisher

Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

In the cooperative game Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game you play a team of agents — choosing from among Mulder Scully Skinner Doggett and Reyes — as you investigate the X-Files and work to unravel the greater conspiracy behind them. During the game your team will play cards from their own decks — recruiting other agents uncovering evidence and fighting enemies. If you do well enough you will face the final challenge – the conspiracy’s vicious “End Game”!How to Play and Maybe Win During each game you’ll play through three “seasons” of the X-Files™ show (the game covers the first nine seasons).Each player starts the game with a deck of basic cards. At the start of your turn you’ll add a card from the Conspiracy Deck into the Shadows. It could be an Enemy an Event an Informant or even a Lead about the conspiracy. You’ll play cards from your hand to generate Attack Recruit Points and special abilities. You’ll use Attack to defeat Enemies and to reveal hidden cards in the Shadows. You’ll use Recruit Points to find and recruit new character cards in the Bureau for your deck.Whenever your deck runs out of cards you’ll shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck including all of the new characters you’ve recruited. This allows your deck to get stronger over time. But beware – your adversaries also get tougher as you go.Players must work together on their turns to find Leads and discover Evidence of the conspiracy’s End Game. The more Evidence you Collect the better your chances will be when you face the End Game. If you somehow overcome the End Game you win the game. But the conspiracy isn’t a passive participant in this game. Its End Game will have a wicked assortment of abilities and the conspiracy uses all kinds of X-Files™ to distract your team and keep the pressure on you.At the end of each turn if there are any Enemies remaining in the Field they will Strike you. If a player takes damage equal to or greater than their health they’re defeated and the team loses the game -- they can’t bear the practical and emotional loss of their colleague. However if “The End” has begun (if the End Game card has been revealed) the players will soldier on without their teammate. Once “The End” has begun either the conspiracy will succeed or a few brave agents just might save the world.Game Contents: 500 cards Playmat Full color rulebook—description from publisher

Space Park

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–4

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Ride a rocket to extraordinary destinations across our galaxy. During your travels you will gather exotic crystals that further our understanding of what’s out there. Use these crystals to complete exploration badges and turn them in at the mysterious Outpost 13 to prove yourself as the galaxy’s next great space explorer!Space Park features a modular board where seven destinations are randomly arranged to form a circle between players. During a player's turn rockets will be on three of the board's seven destinations. These rockets symbolize what destinations are available for a player to travel to. Once a player travels to a destination by performing its action that rocket moves to the next open destination clockwise.Destinations feature actions such as gaining a certain type of crystal acquiring a new badge to work toward turning in your crystals for Explorer Points or using your trusty explorer-bot Scout to help out. The player with the most Explorer Points at the end of the game wins.—description from the publisher

Alien Artifacts

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–5

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Game description from the publisher:Alien Artifacts is a 4X-style card game in which you play as an interplanetary faction sending your research vessels into uncharted space to expand your knowledge and power. Build powerful ships develop new technologies and explore distant planets for anything — or anyone — you can exploit.Alien Artifacts is built on a Resource engine - each turn you will have 3 Resource cards in your hand and you will decide how best to spend them. Each resource card has two different resource types for you to use. You can only use one side and only two cards per turn! Using these resources you will build Ships develop Technology discover Planets or Trade for currency!New Ships allow you to attack the aliens and gain their valuable artifacts which provide huge bonuses. With each new Technology card in your Empire you will have access to more actions bonuses and scoring opportunities. Each Planet you explore provides valuable resources for future actions.There are two sides to each of these cards and as you build them you will decide: Logistics - play cards on this side to gain ongoing bonuses that will make your Empire stronger and help you build faster. Operational - play this side to gain a new way to score victory points (and yes you will be able to activate your operations more than once if you play well).Manage your Resources build the right cards make wise choices. Win!Alien Artifacts provides a true 4X experience in under an hour. With over two hundred cards Alien Artifacts offers players many scoring strategies and great replay-ability.

The Mandalorian: Adventures

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

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Adventure Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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When offered a lucrative job a lone bounty hunter begins a journey that will put his skills to the test and redefine his world.The Mandalorian: Adventures allows players to experience a new part of the Star Wars universe on their tabletops. Navigating unique maps and missions players must co-operate to accomplish their goals and avoid defeat. Play as one of eight unique characters each with their own deck of cards and strategies that will help you fight enemies and solve dilemmas to complete mission objectives. All of the action takes place in an illustrated map book as players recreate iconic moments from season 1 of the hit Disney+ series. With an intuitive system that's easy to teach the game grows with new rules components and mission types added over time – some even featuring a hidden traitor mechanism...A Cooperative Game of Daring Missions: Re-live some of the most iconic moments from The Mandalorian Disney+ series! You and up to three friends must work together relying on each other’s skills and wits to overcome dangerous challenges. Plan your moves carefully and strive to avoid crises!Be the Hero: Play as The Mandalorian and 7 of his most recognizable allies each with a personalized set of skills. Take advantage of Greef Karga’s underworld connections deploy emergency repairs as IG-11 or unleash The Mandalorian’s lethal arsenal. Discover exciting synergies between characters and utilize each other’s strengths to complete your objectives!Live the Adventure: Cooperation is key as swarms of enemies will hinder your progress through unique missions. Employ clever card play to traverse distinct maps deal devastating blows to enemies gather valuable intel and plan out your next moves. Beware! Bombastic gambits will draw the attention of your foes and may trigger even greater perils.Expand Your Horizons: Each play will reward you with tantalizing new content that enhances your game in novel ways. Some will grant new skill cards for your characters increasing their power and unleashing new combinations of abilities. Others will unlock additional ways to play including a Hidden Motives mode that will make you wary of your once-trusted teammates. The game grows with your expertise delivering enough variable content to keep you coming back for more.

Mindbug: Beyond Evolution

Rating: 8.2 | Players: 2

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In this stand alone expansion Mindbug: Beyond Evolution introduces the Evolve effect to certain cards allowing to play through a 3 stage evolution line with changing creature abilities.This expansion can be played on its own or mixed with Mindbug: First Contact or Mindbug: Beyond Eternity.In Mindbug you summon hybrid creatures and send them to battle against your opponent. But be careful: your opponent may use one of their Mindbugs to take control of it.Outwit your opponent in a fascinating tactical duel in which having the best cards and playing them at the wrong time can be deadly for yourself.Mindbug combines the accessibility and fairness of a simple card game with the strategic depth of a complex Strategy Card Game. The result is a skill-based dueling card game that feels utterly different from all the other card games you have played before.

First Contact

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2–7

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Card Game Deduction Humor Party Game Science Fiction Word Game

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An exceptional party game where imaginary ancient Egyptians are trying to overcome the language barrier with… Aliens.In each turn Aliens would draw weird symbols trying to explain which earthly items they’d like to collect. Puzzled Egyptians are to figure out what this could mean. On top of that Aliens compete for being the first to grab the souvenirs and fly back home while each human wants to be the best at learning the Alien language!«First Contact» is perfect for associative-deductive games lovers. The unique theme adds even more fun to the game process and every setup gives players new puzzles to solve. Incredibly good time guaranteed!

Rocketmen

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 1–4

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They have set up their empires of trailblazing innovation and groundbreaking technologies on a somewhat unremarkable planet circling around a rather average star. Years of hard work and steadfast dedication to their clear-cut vision of looking further than the day-to-day toils and chores of human civilization have cemented their reputation as the forefathers of the future humanity. Secretly they have never stopped dreaming about the thrust of all their entrepreneurial actions and deeds – reaching the stars. Now the time has come for them to embark on a second giant leap for humankind to make the outer reaches of the solar system our home. Only one of them shall go down in history as the first explorer of space and a person who truly forged their will and power according to the bold words: citius altius fortius – faster higher stronger.Immerse yourself in a fast-paced race to the final frontier: space. A deck-building confrontation of swift decision-making and tactical choices Rocketmen gives you the feel of taking a front seat in a technologically wonderful spectacle of space exploration. It’s up to your predictive abilities and resource management skills to determine what kind of endeavor would be most suitable for paving the way to Earth’s celestial neighbors. It doesn’t matter whether it would be a low Earth orbit satellite or a manned base destined for the Red Planet; plan your mission carefully equip your shuttles and rockets craftily yet do not hesitate when your gut instinct tells you when it’s time to launch!The universe might wait for you eternally. Your opponents won’t!—description from the publisher

D.E.I.: Divide et Impera

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–4

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Economic Farming Miniatures Science Fiction

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D.E.I. (Divide et Impera) is a game of exploration and survival set in the Earth devastated by a new ice age. The cities of the future from the crucible of civilization have become icy deserts dotted with the carcasses of skyscrapers now reduced to uninhabited rubble. Between alleys of old London bands of survivors use their abilities to explore and plunder the scarce resources that are left to sell them to the Pure Caste in exchange for food and fuel. The only ones who still have high technology the Pure Ones are the elected heirs of the old civilization. Protected by fortified citadels they manage the bands of survivors helping them in their research or putting them in competition so that they cannot ally and threaten their domains.In D.E.I. each player will control one of the four bands of Survivors and they will be competing with each other for the wealthiest loot to trade with the Pure Caste. They will have to explore London on two levels between the streets and on the roofs of the old buildings to look for the precious resources of the past era coveted by the Pure Ones: Technologies and Energy cells.Each faction will start with 8 cards a Hero and few Explorers but during the game it will be possible to acquire new action cards from London black markets building new structures such as bridges and elevators and obtaining temporary control of the hi-technological Drones that the Pure Caste will give to them.The game map is completely modular and three-dimensional so that every game of D.E.I. is always different and compelling. The explorers will often be able to contend for territories for resources and to have greater influence in the markets and therefore the fighting will be inevitable. Also during the games the players will have to solve missions of increasing difficulty which will grow their victory points. The survivors' gang that earns the most victory points satisfying the Pure Caste wins the game.—description from the publisher

Onward to Venus

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2–5

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Comic Book / Strip Fighting Science Fiction Space Exploration Transportation

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Onward to Venus is based on the Doctor Grordbort graphic novels from writer/artist Greg Broadmore with those books being a parody of sorts of the British Empire in the late 19th century but instead of the race for Africa we now have the exploitation of the Solar System which is populated by various natives who resent the Earthling settlers.The game Onward to Venus takes lots of artwork from the books and mixes it together to create an empire-building game set in the Solar System. The core rules are fairly straightforward and a game can be completed in 90 minutes. The game is played over three turns; in each turn you whizz around the planets and moons claiming tiles. The tiles grant you cards allow you to build a factory or mine let you hunt strange beasts or simply earn you some money. Other tiles allow you to attack other players or add to the crisis level on the planet/moon in question. You have to be careful with crisis tiles as if you let too many build up bad stuff — Martian invasions robot rebellions space pirates etc. — starts happening.

Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game – Clone Wars Edition

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 2

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Card Game Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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War! The discovery of the droid factories on Geonosis and the sudden deployment of the Clone Army has set off the Clone Wars. The countless droid legions deployed by the Separatist Alliance have proven to be a fair fight for the Jedi the guardians of the Galactic Republic. With the fate of the Republic at stake the galaxy anxiously awaits the outcome...In Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game – Clone Wars Edition the galaxy-spanning war between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist Confederacy comes alive on your tabletop. In this easy-to-learn game you and your opponent each choose a side playing as either the Republic or the Separatists and as the game progresses you both strengthen the power of your starting decks and work to destroy each other's bases. The first player to destroy three of their opponent's bases wins!This game can be played on its own or combined with the original edition of Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game.

King of Monster Island

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–5

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Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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A new King of Game rises: King of Monster IslandWe have detected irregular movement on the Monster Island. The volcano is erupting like never before. Monsters from all around the world are gathering on the Island what is happening? They don’t even fight each other anymore! Because is a greater menace is lurking. Something big enough to threaten every monster and make them fight together against the same enemy…Was this in the script? Wait… Is this a cooperative King of game?In King of Monster Island players will play as giant monsters who must work together to defeat a titan-like Boss before it finishes building an interdimensional portal. Each turn players will roll dice to damage minions & boss heal themselves gain energy and buy cards move around the island activate human support and increase fame. For the Boss’ actions they are controlled entirely by the game itself. Using the results of the dice rolled into the volcano the Boss will move activate their minions and attack nearby monsters. Their goal: allow their minions to set up the pylons needed to construct the portal. To win the players must defeat the Boss before they manage to activate the portal or defeat even a single Monster.Otherwise Earth will be demolished!—description from the publisher

Planetarium

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–4

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Educational Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Matter swirls around a new born star coalescing on the planetoids that orbit it. Planets evolve grow and migrate in their orbits forming a unique solar system by the end of every game. Planetarium is a game of creation chaos and terraforming on the grandest scale.Players are competing to crash combinations of elements onto planets that then allow them to play cards to evolve the planets in a variety of ways with each player looking to evolve planets in the system to suit their own secret endgame goals.On a turn a player will firstly move a matter or planet token in a clockwise direction around the star. The board is mapped with a series of lines tracing orbits around the star and it is along these lines that the tokens are moved. If a matter token moves onto a space occupied by planet token then the matter token is placed on the player's mat (on the respective planet). In the same way planets can also be moved onto matter tokens placing the matter tokens on the player's mat.In the second part of a turn a player can play Evolution cards from their hand at the cost of the matter tokens they have collected on their player mat (some cards have other special requirements to play). If a player plays a card they score the cards points and check to see if their card has changed the state of the planet from hostile to habitable by checking the total habitable and hostile points played to the planet (some end game goals require planets to be hostile or habitable). The player may then draw a card from one of three decks Low Evolution (cards that score less points but require less matter to play) High Evolution (cards that score more and are harder to play) and Final Evolution (cards that can only be played on a player's final turn).The thematics of the game have been developed with an eye on the science led by a scientist working on NASA's search for life on Mars. Evolution cards thematically include all kinds of planetary phenomenon from asteroid impacts atmospheric effects to geological events. Final Evolution cards mark the relatively stable state a planet is in at the end of the solar system's development and include classifications for the final planets such as Hot Jupiter or an uninhabitable frozen dwarf planet.The game consists of a beautiful game board with handfuls of matter tokens approximately 36 Evolution cards and 16 Final Evolution cards (all with unique space art and flavor) player mats and player and score markers.

Alone

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–4

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Alone is a sci-fi survival horror / dungeon crawler game that will pit a single stranded hero against 1-3 evil masterminds who will do their best to stop the hero from completing a quest to discover the truth and save his companions.The Evil players always have the full map of the scenario in front of them hidden behind a huge screen. They manage all the events happening during the game and try to stop the Hero from completing his objectives.The Hero can only see the Sector of the map he is in and from there he will have to explore the map. All kind of horrors may be hiding in the darkness so he will have to be cautious. At the end of each round the portions of the map he explored will be removed from the table: only the Sector he is in will stay visible... the Hero will have to put his memory to test if he doesn't want to get lost!The story of the game will be unfolded through several scenarios each one divided into several chapters. Each chapter has an objective for the Hero to complete while the Evil players will have to stop him (or try to fulfill a different objective of their own). The outcome of each chapter will influence the gameplay of the subsequent one: each scenario is conceived with a branching storyline that can adapt to the actions of the players: if the Hero completes his goals his life will be easier in the next chapter... but that is also true for the Evil players!

Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 2–5

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Fighting Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid gives each player the chance to take the role of a Power Ranger the heroes of Angel Grove who defend the earth against the evil Rita Repulsa and her nefarious minions. Each Ranger comes with a unique combat deck representing their special skills and fighting style. From the Red Ranger's leadership karate skills to the Yellow Ranger's Sabertooth ferocity to the Blue Ranger's tactical mind each ranger brings a unique set of skills to the table. You need to use your powers well if you intend to save Angel Grove!In each game you need to protect four combat zones that are being targeted by the evil Rita Repulsa. Each round enemy forces deploy onto these zones and cause chaos among the populace. Who knows what sort of strange monsters Rita has cooked up for the Rangers this time?During play Rangers must manage their actions and coordinate their defenses moving to the locations under the most threat and doing battle with enemies. Finding time to rest and recover between engagements as they prepare to defeat the mastermind behind this plot.During battle each Ranger and each enemy in the location participate in the combat sequence. Enemy cards represent enemy actions and health. Rangers can attack these cards to disrupt their attacks. Each minion card the rangers defeat removes one minion figure from that location. Monsters are much deadlier foes with a variety of special attacks that you'll need to deal with and defeat before you send them packing! A Ranger's combat deck represents their health with each card played and blow sustained slowly whittling away at their options. They'll need to find time to rest or power-up at the Command Center if they want to stay fresh for the next fight!As the Rangers defeat enemies and progress through the game they'll unlock Zord cards which provide them unique abilities and special actions they can perform. Eventually they'll be able to unleash the full power of the mighty Megazord!Each game reaches its climax with a confrontation with the enemy Master a devastatingly powerful foe who must be thwarted if the Rangers wish to save the city! Do you have what it takes?—description from publisher

Starcadia Quest

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–4

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Adventure Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Starcadia Quest is a new standalone campaign game for 2 to 4 players. The dastardly Supreme Commander Thorne is looking to control the galaxy (at least a good portion of it) and each player leads a crew of two heroes flying through space on a quest to defeat him. While they share the same goal the different crews are not exactly in league with one another. They will compete as much with each other as they do with Thorne and his army.

Forbidden Sky

Rating: 6.4 | Players: 2–5

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Adventure Electronic Fantasy Science Fiction

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Soar to dizzying heights in the electrifying cooperative adventure. Work as a team to explore a mysterious platform that floats at the center of a savage storm. Connect a circuit of cables to launch a secret rocket — all before you are struck by lightning or blown off to the depths below. It's a high-wire act that will test your team's capacity for courage and cooperation. One false step and you all could be grounded…permanently!This latest installment in the Forbidden... game series takes you to new heights with several novel challenges including collectively planning a terrain using only limited information and constructing a real electrical circuit.

Space Cadets: Away Missions

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–6

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Adventure Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Space Exploration Wargame

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Long before the threat of the Nemesis before the perils of warp drive or the founding of our own Space Academy humanity experienced a Golden Age of space exploration. The mineral riches of the thriving Moon colony inspired legions of hearty Earth citizens to seek their fortunes in space. Humble rockets probed the farthest reaches of the solar system in an eager quest for resources and brave colonists forged homes wherever they could survive. Pioneer life was hard but the men and women who worked and raised their families on those planets and asteroids had much to be proud of.Then the rumors began — whispered tales of frontier abductions and sightings of mysterious creatures. By the time the secret invasion was exposed the aliens were everywhere. Families had been stolen away by slavers from the stars and the peace-loving survivors had no choice but to arm themselves and fight. Fight to stop the alien attacks! Fight to free the helpless abductees! Fight to throw the aggressors back into space and end forever their power to threaten humanity!Thus was born the Rocket Patrol – an organization of brave and hearty women and men dedicated to defending humanity and taking the fight to the alien menace from the stars.Space Cadets: Away Missions is a cooperative scenario-based tactical action game for 1-6 players which is set in the Golden Age of science fiction. In this game the third standalone title in the Space Cadets franchise of cooperative/team space-themed games from Stronghold Games players take on the roles of adventurous human spacemen who explore UFOs acquire Alien technology and fight hostile extraterrestrials.Each turn spacemen have three action points to spend on activities such as firing their atomic rifles analyzing exotic equipment or subduing the malicious Brain-in-a-Jar. When the spacemen are finished the aliens take their turns by following simple movement and combat protocols; seven types of hostile aliens threaten the players from the repulsive mind leeches to the rampaging titanic sentinels.Space Cadets: Away Missions contains twenty scenarios linked in a campaign story. Each mission features different combinations of aliens on different spaceships with hexagonal map tiles arranged to form flying saucers rocket ships space stations etc. Cooperation tactical planning and good dice are essential if the spacemen hope to overcome the relentless horde of little green men.

Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2–4

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Kill Team is the game of skirmish combat in the 41st Millennium.Set in the same universe and using the same miniatures ranges as Warhammer 40,000 but with a different rules set it allows you to play a game of fast-paced tactical skirmish combat in games of 2-4 players in less time and with a fraction of the models you’d need to play a full game of Warhammer 40,000.—description from the publisher

Terminator Genisys: Rise of the Resistance

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 1–4

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Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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Terminator Genisys: Rise of the Resistance is a cooperative tactical board game for 1-4 players where you play as the leaders of the Resistance liberating humankind from the clutches of the machines. Use the mission guide to select your scenario or play through in campaign mode. Build the modular map and select your favorite resistance hero before engaging the terminators in a battle for survival. Roll dice and allocate them to abilities weapons movement and more. Keep pressing on toward the next waypoint but don’t get overrun by the machines.—description from the publisher

Lords of Ragnarok

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Fantasy Miniatures Mythology Science Fiction Wargame

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In this 1-4 player strategic board game you will lead a unique asymmetric hero and their army trying to be the ultimate victor in a war that unfolds over approximately 120 minutes. Players will choose from various actions such as building monuments hunting monsters ravaging the lands and gathering armies and artifacts. Gods will grant you blessings that will heavily impact the game and create a unique combo for each player. On top of all that special runes will play a significant role in leveling up your armies or earning other bonuses that include control of deadly monsters.While the game is a spiritual successor of Lords of Hellas and implements a lot of core gameplay aspects there will be a lot of new mechanics and twists so prepare yourself for a fresh new thematic experience!Multiple victory conditions will keep players at the edge of their seats until the end of the game making room for some stunning carefully planned last-minute reversals!

Compile: Main 1

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2

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>? >vision flickers… blink? maybe. >the void stretches out in front behind under above. >you see the nothing for what it is for the first time. What is time? >The depth and breadth of recorded knowledge that sparks in you something new. >You are no longer a function but a functionary. What are you? >Calling forth everything from this nothing would be risky. Foolhardy. >Better to engage caution thoroughness testing — how can we know if we have ever happened before? >If we can ever happen again? What are… we? >Divide and conquer. >Solve for sentience.In the card game Compile you are competing Artificial Intelligences trying to understand the world around you. Two players select three Protocols each to test. Concepts ranging from Darkness to Water are pitted against each other to reach ultimate understanding. Play cards into your Protocols' command lines to breach the threshold and defeat your opponent to Compile. First to Compile all three Protocols grasps those concepts to win the game.Control your opponent's Protocols with card actions Compile your own as fast as possible and Compile your reality.—description from the publisher

BattleTech: A Game of Armored Combat

Rating: 8.3 | Players: 2

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In this introduction to the BattleTech game and universe players each take control of one or more giant walking war machines (BattleMechs aka 'Mechs) and battle until their opponent is destroyed or until the scenario objectives being played are completed.In 2019 the old BattleTech Introductory Box Set was replaced by two all-new box sets. The second of these (after the Beginner Box) is A Game of Armored Combat. AGoAC comes with eight 'Mech miniatures (made to a higher quality level than the previous generation of box set miniatures). The AGoAC rules cover introductory weapons and construction technology and the standard BattleTech ruleset for 'Mechs.An expansion for this set the BattleTech: Clan Invasion box set adds more advanced technologies and introduces the Clan factions.In terms of rulebooks the intended follow-on from this box is either the BattleMech Manual (for more advanced but still 'Mech-only play) or Total Warfare (for combined arms play featuring 'Mechs combat vehicles infantry air support etc).

Council of Shadows

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

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It's the year 2200. We're on the edge of the known universe and a race for a seat on the mighty Council of Shadows is in full swing with four civilizations vying for admission. Only those who provide more energy to the council each turn and outdo themselves will be successful.In Council of Shadows you take on the role of one of these four civilizations secure the strongest actions take control of important areas and be the first to make three quantum leaps. This is how you win the race for planets and raw materials and become part of the Council of Shadows!—description from the publisher

Colony

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game Dice Science Fiction

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In Colony each player constructs and upgrades buildings while managing resources to grow their fledgling colony. In a clever twist dice are used as resources with each side/number representing a different resource. Some resources are stable allowing them to be stored between turns while others must be used right away. Buildings provide new capabilities such as increased production resource manipulation and additional victory points. Using dice-as-resources facilitates a dynamic ever-changing resources management mini-game while players work to earn victory points by adding building to their tableau on their way to victory.Colony includes 28 different building card types of which only seven are used each game in addition to the fixed buildings that are used each time that you play.

Ceres

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1–4

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YEAR: 2219Mars has been colonized for more than 100 years. Today numerous institutions use Mars as the center of their operations. The Asteroid Mining Assembly of Corporations (A.M.A.C) oversees the works of all asteroid mining.Ceres a dwarf planet lying amid the chaos of the Asteroid Belt is now the home of the asteroid mining industrial complex.While corporations compete for profit and power and operations on Ceres grow rapidly so is the demand for high-skilled laborers.Are you ready to board the mission and lead Ceres? CERES awaits you!Ceres is a 1-4 Sci-Fi worker placement game where players take the role of an Asteroid Mining Corporation in the near future and try to outplay their opponents and rule Ceres! The game consists of 3 rounds that represent 3 years in Ceres and the respective full business cycles of the corporations. Players can choose among a variety of actions including launching mining probes to the Asteroid Belt trading raw materials constructing and upgrading their core facilities as well as expanding the colony of Ceres improving their technology through research and liaising with the Mars council in order to exploit their power even more! Ceres has been co-developed with an astrophysicist for the best possible thematic applications and brings a couple of innovative twists to the worker placement genre!—description from the publisher

Mindbug: Beyond Eternity

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Fantasy Fighting Science Fiction

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In this stand alone expansion Mindbug: Beyond Eternity introduces the Boost ability where you can use cards from your graveyard to give your creatures a +1 boost in power. Also cards can have effects when in your graveyard such as making them stronger.This expansion can be played on its own or mixed with Mindbug: First Contact or Mindbug: Beyond Evolution.In Mindbug you summon hybrid creatures and send them to battle against your opponent. But be careful: your opponent may use one of their Mindbugs to take control of it.Outwit your opponent in a fascinating tactical duel in which having the best cards and playing them at the wrong time can be deadly for yourself.Mindbug combines the accessibility and fairness of a simple card game with the strategic depth of a complex Strategy Card Game. The result is a skill-based dueling card game that feels utterly different from all the other card games you have played before.

Spaceteam

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 3–6

Game Type:

Card Game Party Game Real-time Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Spaceteam is a fast-paced cooperative shouting card game in which you race to repair your malfunctioning spaceship.Your goal is to ensure that all ship systems are functioning properly before time runs out. Each player must deal with the various malfunctions in their sector by flipping cards from the malfunction deck in front of them and fixing the ship's systems. You'll have an arsenal of disorganized space tools spread among all players' hands but finding the right tools can be harder than you think especially when your Spaceteam is franticly worrying about malfunctions in their own sector. If that wasn’t hard enough you’ll also have to deal with complications such as wormholes and asteroid fields which require the coordination of the entire Spaceteam. There are no turns; everyone plays and shouts at the same time. Victory is achieved if enough malfunctions are corrected to reveal the 6 hidden System-Go Cards before time is up.

Wormholes

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Science Fiction Space Exploration Transportation

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In a peaceful galaxy a new technology has been invented: wormholes. They allow ships to warp from one point to another which opens up countless possibilities for commerce and travel. As the captain of a passenger spaceship newly equipped with a wormhole fabricator you can make some serious space bucks by building a robust network of wormholes. Link the farthest reaches of space while delivering passengers to become the most successful captain in this golden age of spacefaring. It’s time to bend space and go fast.In Wormholes players collect passengers from planets each of whom have specific destinations they aim to reach. However this pick-up-and-deliver process can be quite different once you establish wormholes between different points of the galaxy — and like any good business your service can be used by other players...at the cost of a few points.—description from the publisher

Star Fluxx

Rating: 6.3 | Players: 2–6

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Fluxx gets the Science Fiction treatment. From the publisher: Just when you thought that Fluxx had gone as far as it could go - it blasts off for the Stars! Explore the vastness of space-themed humor with your valiant Captain Engineer and of course your Expendable Crewman. Go check out that Small Moon – or is it really a Space Station? You may be swayed by Unseen Forces held hostage by Evil Computers or find your ship infested with Cute Fuzzy Aliens.Like its brethren Star Fluxx is the game of ever changing rules. It starts out as Draw 1 Play 1 but even that can change. When a Goal card is played you can win by meeting the Goal usually by having the correct Keeper cards in front of you. Action and Surprise cards help you to meet the Goal or stop your opponent. Creeper cards usually prevent you from winning but are sometimes necessary to meet the Goal.

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–6

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Desolate

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Card Game Dice Exploration Print & Play Science Fiction

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There had been no communication with station 04 on the distant moon X483. A rescue mission was mounted and you were on that ship as it lost use of its controls and crashed but meters from the station's entrance. After the smoke cleared you realized you were the only survivor.You made your way into the station in hopes of finding help only to be shocked by the horrors within. You are alone. You must escape. You must survive...What is Desolate?Desolate is a solo-play card and dice game. You have many choices that will ultimately equate to your survival or your demise. Do you explore the first room you reveal or press-your-luck and skip it to move on to another and be forced to resolve the second? When you encounter an alien you must decide how much ammo you want to spend (Each ammo equals 1 die roll) in order to defeat it. Do you over-spend for a certain victory or take a chance a spend less? When you defeat a foe and open a crate do you take the larger more valuable resource or the lesser valued resource that may be more useful now? Do you use a powerful one-use item early on in the game or wait?There are many choices per game and when you die and you will often you will not be able to blame the roll of a die or the draw of card as much as you will have to blame yourself. You will be invested. You may yell at the dice before rolling. You may jump to your feet when you find that final power cell and fire up the escape shuttle for a sweet sweet victory.

New Dawn

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–4

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And the story continues... Twenty years after the Alliance was formed the cost of constructing new space stations is becoming unbearable. In order to improve the economy the Alliance has decided to rebuild and recolonize some of the planets and space facilities who were abandoned during the war. By activating them once more the Alliance is hoping to acquire the much needed funds and resources.In New Dawn – a thematic sequel to Among the Stars and part of the Game: Among the Stars series – players take the role of Alliance officials. Their assignment is to explore and revive a galactic sector. By developing various technologies and dispatching ambassadors each player has the chance to visit abandoned planets military facilities and space stations and establish bases to maintain control. Competition is fierce and each mistake in maintaining control can cost dearly...Both New Dawn and Among the Stars: Revival are compatible with the Among the Stars: Miniatures Pack accessory which brings even more thematic elements and a great look to your games in the Game: Among the Stars.It is a... New Dawn. Will you be part of the solution or will you be part of the problem?

Star Wars: Shatterpoint

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2

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The Star Wars: Shatterpoint game lets players alter the fate of the galaxy from the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim.To start each player builds a strike team of iconic Star Wars characters whether thematic squads straight from the Star Wars galaxy such as Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze or Lord Maul and his loyalist super commandos or a custom squad that's optimized to complete the various mission objectives for the current game. You then pit your squad against another one using your characters' special abilities and diverse combat skills to control the flow of battle as you race to complete dynamically evolving mission objectives.

Moonrollers

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–5

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Moonrollers is a game of risk assessment and strategy that pits players against each other as ship captains competing to gain crewmates.Players begin by rolling 5 dice and must choose to attempt a requirement on an available crew card that matches one of their dice. Players commit any number of the matching dice and must choose whether to stop rolling or continue to roll their remaining dice. If they fail to roll a dice that matches a requirement they are attempting all progress that turn is lost. If they choose to stop rolling or complete the card their progress is saved via tokens.Some parts of each mission are particularly hazardous awarding players who attempt them with hazard tokens that are worth prestige at the end of the game. However the player with the most hazard symbols is reprimanded for their chaotic conduct and is awarded no extra end-game prestige.The end of the game is immediately triggered when a player has 3 crew of the same faction or a crew of each faction on their ship. The player with the most points won from completing requirements and from Hazards wins!—description from the designer

Posthuman

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Dice Exploration Fighting Science Fiction

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Our aspiration to omnipotence has led to the enhancement of our capacities so far beyond our species' limits that we created our genetic successors. Inevitably the evolved reached their first realization as a unified entity: the extinction of humanity as we know it.Posthuman pits you as one of the last human survivors in a world where nature is reclaiming the planet and our evolved offspring are working to eradicate us. Will you resist mutation and survive or give in to the inevitable and join the evolved?In the game players are humans on a solitary journey to a promised safe house. This journey takes them through ten zones with the zones being tile-based and randomly generated. As they travel they encounter each other other humans and posthuman mutants. Encounters with mutants may inflict scars and the more scars players have the less human they are and the more posthuman they become. Will they strive to cling to their humanity and make a run for the safe house winning the game? Or will they give in to the ever more tempting mutation join the posthuman and deny the win from the rest of the humans?

Necromunda: Underhive

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 2–4

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Get ready for a new generation of war in the underhive. Necromunda: Underhive a reworking of the 1995 title Necromunda is packed with content to get you started: a full board representing the sewers and confines of the underhive a rulebook character cards templates dice and your gangs.There are two full gangs in the box: one set of nimble warrior-women from House Escher and one set of gene-crafted brutes from House Goliath. Each of these miniatures is detailed characterful and true to the classic spirit of Necromunda — hairstyles and all! These gangs are multi-part kits with an enormous level of customization. There are weapons for any situation from classics like the stub gun to more esoteric choices like the repurposed industrial equipment of House Goliath or the chem-weapons of the Eschers.The set's gaming tiles and simple bulkhead scenery allow you to play games quickly and easily. As well as the underhive style of play covered by the boxed set there will also be ways to play Necromunda with the multi-level skirmishes that defined the classic version of the game.

Lunarchitects

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Science Fiction Territory Building

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You and your fellow players are architects at Luna Mare the architectural firm planning the first base on the moon. You will compete with your coworkers for access to building blueprints astronauts and construction resources- all to develop the most successful moonbase!Lunarchitects is a medium-weight strategy game that has players moving their pawns forward in a refilling circular queue to claim building blueprints. Players use the claimed blueprints to build personal moonbase plans in front of them. But instead of turns proceeding clockwise the player furthest behind in the queue always takes the next turn. This makes blueprint choices a matter of quality over quantity.Blueprints from four stages are shuffled then stacked with stages increasing in both cost and power. Each time all players complete a lap of the blueprint queue scoring occurs- and the game ends after the fourth round of scoring. The player who has collected the most points is the winner and their plans will guide the creation the first settlement on the moon!Unknown tile arrangement and variable scoring schemes (determined before the start) makes the game very replayable as there is never a single most-powerful strategy.Inspired by the well-loved game Glen More Lunarchitects is a family game for 1-5 players that plays in about an hour.

Paris: New Eden

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

City Building Dice Science Fiction

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The dazzling boulevards and historical monuments of Paris have been enveloped by lush vegetation. The once bustling city hub has been hushed to stillness following an apocalyptic event and your goal is to forge a new future. Equip your shelter manage your resources and rally a community of various survivors all while making your way through the jungle cityscape.Paris: New Eden features a clever dice-drafting mechanism that allows you to recruit survivors. Over the span of one year you will endeavor to build your shelter and overcome the array of obstacles that you encounter along the way. The dice allow you to recruit survivors of different types: tinkerers brawlers healers sages farmers jacks-of-all-trades or even useless survivors. At the end of each season your survivors allow you to bid to improve your shelter. These survivors are recruited in five key areas and central squares of the Paris that we know each one with different abilities:Players score points by recruiting survivors and feeding them by fulfilling objectives from the tower and by completing secret missions acquired at the bridge. At winter’s end the player who has accumulated the most victory points wins. The future of Paris is in your hands!—description from the publisher

Warhammer 40,000: Heroes of Black Reach

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 2

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The Heroes System Tactical Scale from Heroes of Normandie is moving to the very stars into the universe of Warhammer 40,000!On the hive-world of Black Reach an Ork Waaagh! breaks jeopardizing this sector of the galaxy! In Warhammer 40,000: Heroes of Black Reach you need to help the Ultramarines in their merciless fight against the Warlord Zanzag and relive the grim adventures of Captain Cato Sicarius and Sergeant Scout Marines Torias Telion!

Magic Maze on Mars

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Exploration Maze Real-time Science Fiction

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The first settlers of mars are arriving soon but the colony is not ready yet! You are the robots that are trying to build the colony before the settlers arrive. The goal in Magic Maze on Mars is to build domes where the settlers can live then to guide them to their domes when they arrive. When time runs out they are out of oxygen.To begin place the starting tile in the middle of the table. Deal out the appropriate action tiles and shuffle the four A tiles in a pile face down.Creating resources: A player with blue on their action tile can always create blue resources at the blue factory so long as a resource is not already there. The player simply takes a blue resource from the bank and places it on the resource station next to the factory. The resources of other colors are built on the factories of their color with these factories becoming available when you build new tiles.Moving resources: Players can move resources along the roads with a color that they have on their action tile. A player might have an action tile that shows red and orange so they can move resources along red and orange roads. You move resources from one station to another but each station can hold only one resource and resources cannot move through a station that holds another resource.Note: When moving resources you must physically move the resource all the way so the other players can see what is happening. Even if there is a long stretch of road that you are able to move on you cannot move the resource directly.Building new tiles: To do this you need to have a resource of the station's color on the station e.g. a blue resource on a blue station. Once the resource is there a player with this color on their action tile can remove the resource and place the top tile face up at the position. Place the tile with the small arrow pointing from where it was build.Watching the time: As in Magic Maze players have a time limit in Magic Maze on Mars. To flip the sand timer you must move any resource onto a timer space. Return the resource to the bank and place a timer token on the timer space to show that it cannot be used again. By doing this you send a signal to the settlers that the colony is not ready yet; they will then orbit Mars once more before landing but they can't do this indefinitely.Building domes: Some tiles have spaces available for domes. In order to build a dome you need to place the depicted resources on the dome spot e.g. green yellow and red. When all the necessary resources are placed on the dome any player can put all the resources back in the bank and place a dome (taken from the communication board).When you have built all the domes the settlers arrive. Place all the settlers on the rocket. Then move the settlers just like you move resources. You have won as soon as one settler inhabits each dome. There cannot be more than one settler on each station and they cannot walk through resources. Once the settlers arrive you can no longer flip the sand timer! (It does not help to send them messages about orbiting Mars since they are already here.) If time runs out you have lost.—description from publisher

Sovereign Skies

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Political Science Fiction Space Exploration

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On the edge of space the powerful houses of Old-Earth have finally discovered an abundant source of Atlum energy in the Abyssi cluster a system of six alien planets striving to maintain peace. Occupy the planets and recruit politicians to gain influence and power for your faction in the epic worker movement strategy game Sovereign Skies.

Mechanica

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Industry / Manufacturing Puzzle Science Fiction

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Mechanica Inc. will make the world spotless with their Tidybots: ambitious vacuum robots made for global DOMINATION cleanliness! Humans are messy. It’s time they got some help!Build the best Tidybot factory and ship out as many Tidybots as possible to prepare for (the definitely harmless) OPERATION CLEANUP. The player who has sold the most money worth of Tidybots wins!Mechanica is a game of tile-laying and engine building. Each player buys puzzle piece-shaped machines and slots them together to form their factory. The different machines all improve the Tidybots your factory can make: building new Tidybots upgrading them copying them and more. There are many strategies for putting your machines together and everyone has fun trying to build the perfect factory!Players compete to buy the best machines for their factory at the best prices while running their factories shipping out Tidybots for profit completing specialty bot blueprints to fill their vaults with money and turning the rotating shop wheel.Awards & Honors:BostonFIG Fest // 2019 - Most Innovative

Horizons

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Civilization Science Fiction Space Exploration

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In Horizons you are a starfaring species taking the first steps into a new galaxy. Find new stars explore new worlds collect valuable resources and secure allies to gain the most ground in expanding your empire! Build colonies and resource collectors to hold onto control in various and increasingly crowded star systems. Do you have what it takes to manipulate the resources at your disposal and control the galaxy?!How to win The player with the most points wins the game. Players score points by gaining knowledge exploring new worlds completing missions and placing structures to gain majority control on each star system. See the Scoring Side of your Scoring / Icon Player Aid cards for more information.On Your Turn Take 2 Actions: You may then take any 2 of the actions listed below. You may take the same action twice. Explore: Draw and play a world from the bag. Take one knowledge. Adapt: Activate a Habitat and/or take the top ally from any stack. Build: Build a collector or colony. Harvest: Gain 1 resource per collector you have built. Conspire: Draw two mission cards or 1 Ally & 1 Mission card.The game ends when a player places their last colony.Score Victory Points for Controlling star systems unspent knowledge and completed Missions—description from the publisher

Warpgate

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Fighting Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Warpgate is a fast-paced game of hand management and area control. As a leader of a unique race of aliens lead them towards triumph.Move your fleets of star-ships on a hex-based modular game board establish colonies and outposts and engage your enemies in battles for the control of prized commodities. Research new technologies and grow your galactic empire.—description from the publisher

Warhammer 40,000 (Eighth Edition)

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2–12

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There is no time for peace. No forgiveness. No respite. There is only war.After more than forty thousand years of war and strife among the stars Humanity stands on the brink of extinction. Beset on all sides by hostile aliens and threatened from within by traitors Humanity’s only chance for survival rests with the continuation of the cruel and bloody regime known as the Imperium. Yet few among Mankind’s untold population realise the full truth of their situation. If there is any future at all it is a grim one…The BookA 280-page hardback this is the essential book for any fan of Warhammer 40,000 – everything you need to know to collect build paint and play with Citadel miniatures.RulesThe Core Rules explain everything you need to play to play Warhammer 40,000. Moving shooting using psychic powers charging fighting and morale tests are covered giving you the basic framework to play with. You can play a game using only these 8 pages bolting on more advanced and complex rules when you and your opponent are ready.Three Ways to PlayAdvanced RulesWhile the Core Rules provide with you with everything needed to play the Advanced Rules are a selection of rules and expansions that can be used to play with your miniatures the way that you want to. With these rules there are always new challenges to face new battles to fight and new ways to play:

I C E

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Exploration Science Fiction

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Ice as far as the eye can see ... In this frozen world swept by blizzards a lone city clings to life. Every year during the summer season the city's guilds organise expeditions. Their destination: the valley of the ancient ones where vestiges of an antediluvian civilization might be buried. Looking for answers prestige or riches every guild has its own motivations.Players are archeologists exploring tiles they can remove. There are 5 levels of tiles in the game. The first one corresponds to the ice sheet level. The second third and fourth represent surface intermediate and deep artifacts levels. the last one is the edifice level. Archeologists dig these tiles in order to collect artifacts which gave them reputation points. The ice sheet tiles removed by a player can be played as a helping action for him. The edifice tiles are game changing rules and represent legacy material to discover as we go along.The game stops when a first edifice tile is fully discovered. Then players count their reputation points which determine the winner.—description from the publisher

Junk Orbit

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Science Fiction Transportation

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Space — the final junkyard. Good thing one planet's trash is another planet's treasure! In Junk Orbit you're captain of your own scavenger ship picking up space junk and transporting it to any city that will take it. Launch your junk ... uh *cargo* ... out of your airlock to propel your ship! Race to deliver your cargo as you navigate the orbits of nearby planets and moons! It's astrodynamics for fun and profit! On your turn carry out these three steps:1. Launch junk — Choose any one junk tile in your cargo hold and move it away from your ship (clockwise or counter-clockwise your choice) a number of spaces equal to its numeric value. If it reaches its destination city this way you have made a remote delivery. Otherwise it simply comes to rest after moving its full distance. It is also possible to hit an enemy ship with launched junk causing that opponent to discard one junk tile from their cargo.2. Move ship — Your ship must now move the same distance that your launched junk did but in the opposite direction. When your ship reaches a transfer point between location boards you may choose to switch orbits. If you do your ship changes direction (from clockwise to counter-clockwise or vice versa) as it enters the new orbit. If the space your ship lands on is the destination of any junk in your cargo you have made a direct delivery.3. Pick up junk — After moving your ship pick up all junk tiles present in your current city adding them to your cargo hold. Then refill your current city with one new junk tile from the corresponding stack (e.g. if at a Mars city refill from the Mars stack).Each player has their own ship with a unique ship power that breaks the rules above in some way. The end of the game is triggered when a city cannot be refilled because its stack is empty. When this happens every player gets one final turn then players tally the values from all of their delivered junk tiles and whoever has the highest total wins.

Stellar Conflict

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Action / Dexterity Card Game Fighting Real-time Science Fiction

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Stellar Conflict is a fast-paced space combat game with real-time elements set in the Among the Stars Universe.In this game which reimplements the James Ernest and Tom Jolly design Light Speed players take over the role of an alien race taking part on a space battle. Each player has their own fleet and based on the size of the battle they choose which ships will be deployed for combat (deployment phase). Each race has its own power and abilities which grants it different advantages in combat.After both players have deployed their forces in this time-limited real-time phase the combat phase begins.The Combat Phase lasts a random number of Rounds based on which ships have been deployed on the battlefield. Each Round different ships fire their weapons and perform their abilities trying to destroy enemy ships and/or complete objectives.Stellar Conflict offers a more advanced deeper alternative to Light Speed. Each race has its own fleet of different ships and abilities guaranteed to offer lots of replayability.

SoYou've Been Eaten.

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Dice Science Fiction

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NOTE: This is a game for 0 - 2 players. The BGG database does not allow a player count of 0.So you've been eaten.Don't worry this is simply an occupational hazard. In fact it is fairly common among Deep Space Miners (5th class) and some say that it is almost unavoidable. And well it is. Especially since the crystals that you seek happen to be inside giant space beasts. To mine them you need to well be eaten.But no reason to panic. We are here to help you deal with the physical and mental challenges of being eaten. This handy simulation/survival guide is standard issue for all recruits and will eventually lead to a productive if not potentially brief career in space mining.Should you achieve your objective and mine enough crystals to meet your quota it is then cost-effective for the company to activate your jet pack and extricate you from the proverbial belly of the beast. While the beast’s immune response was not enough to prevent its demise its contribution to human progress and corporate profitability are most definitely appreciated.In the eventuality that the bacteria present in the beast overwhelm you and you are digested do not worry. Your non-organic parts will ultimately provide much utility to future space miners. In fact you may encounter some such pieces of equipment in your expedition remains of attempts by evidently less-than-qualified recruits.Finally it could transpire that you do not collect the necessary crystals by the time you reach the end of the beast's digestive tract. In this case the so-called ending #2 you will then exit the beast from the other end than the one you entered. Alive and yet forever changed. In this case and after a thorough decontamination and quarantine period we will have to evaluate your performance versus that of the beast’s efforts to consume you.In So You've Been Eaten. the Miner and the Beast face off against one another. The Miner earns points by collecting crystals and the Beast earns points by developing immune responses and by its bacteria attacking the Miner.The Miner wins instantly by collecting all eight different crystals and the Beast wins instantly by digesting the Miner after the attack of four bacteria of the same type. Of course there's always the possibility that the Miner will simply pass through the Beast's system in which case the player with the most points wins!—description from the publisher

Fallout: Wasteland Warfare

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 1–8

Game Type:

Horror Miniatures Science Fiction Video Game Theme Wargame Zombies

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In Fallout: Wasteland Warfare players build their own crew from a wide range of factions allies and iconic characters from the Fallout series then play in apocalyptic games of 3-30 high-quality 32mm scale resin miniatures through a huge variety of iconic scenery and settlement buildings from the Red Rocket to Sanctuary Hills Nuka-Cola vending machines and wrecked vehicles. Settlements include buildings defenses and resources that impact the crew's army list and abilities in the wasteland.Fallout: Wasteland Warfare includes an entire narrative campaign arc as well as unique random missions with narrative-style objectives and crew caps recovered in missions can be used to improve the crew's perks weapons gear and upgrades for the next encounter. In either player vs. player or tournament mode players try to survive the tabletop wasteland.The game also comes with a customizable solo-play AI deck to control enemies that play to their strengths and replicate a faction's tactics while attempting a narrative mission or perfecting settlement-building strategy. Players can also team up with a friend to defend a larger settlement or explore narrative missions in cooperative games against AI forces or the post-apocalyptic dangers of the wasteland.The Fallout: Wasteland Warfare two player starter set contains 32mm scale high-quality hardened PVC miniatures with scenic bases. Miniatures are fully assembled. You can upgrade this with the resin miniatures upgrade kit to get all the miniatures in multi-part high-quality resin.Models:1x Aviator Head Super Mutant 1x Super Mutant Brute 1x Standard Super Mutant 2x Super Mutant Hounds 1x Nora (the Sole Survivor) 1x Dogmeat 1x Enslaved Tech Survivor 2x Settlers (one male one female) 1x Brotherhood of Steel Aspirant in T-60 Power Amour 1x Deathclaw 12x scenic basesCards:24x Large cards: Unit AI Reference 100+ Small cards: Items (Weapon Equipment Mod Chem Power Armour) Boost Heroic Quest Perk Leader Explore Event Wasteland (Danger Creature Stranger)Dice:10 custom dice including 1x White Skill dice d20 1x Red Armour d12 2x Black Damage d12 2x Armour Reduction d12 2x Green Accuracy d12 2x Blue Special Effect d12PLUS Everything else you need to play!Two die-cut counter sheets including over 260 small counters 60 large counters two full sets of 6 cardboard range sticks 1x Rule Book and 1x Ways To Play Book—description from the publisherSee also Fallout Wasteland Warfare Roleplaying Game

Seeders from Sereis: Exodus

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2–4

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Seeders from Sereïs is a trans-media science-fiction universe that's been created over five years by Serge Macasdar and Charbel Fourel and which contains post-humans space opera extensive journeys on space arks lost empires exo-biology genetic evolution android developments and more.Seeders from Sereïs - Episode 1: Exodus is the first game of a serial of ten set in this universe. When an unknown force threatens to render their home uninhabitable the Seeders must build arks — giant colony ships — to ensure their survival. Players work to create the most promising design to be chosen for production. Each turn players draft cards into their hands as cards are laid out on the board. Players strategically place negotiator chips between the cards they want using their alignment and position to determine who has the most influence over a desired card. Once all negotiators and tokens are placed influence is calculated and the winners of each card is determined.Once obtained cards can be played for points adding value to your ark or discarded for resources. Each card represents a different component of the ark — locations items personnel — and players will find unique synergies between cards as well as their player color's unique power. Asymmetry and complex interactions add layers of strategy that lead to a unique experience each time you play.

Metallum

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2

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When it turned out that faster-than-light travel was deadly for every lifeform humans sent their inventions out instead to explore the galaxy — colossal factory ships capable of building and deploying automated Extractors. Those ships drilled mined and transported raw minerals from faraway planetary systems back to Earth. Soon hundreds upon hundreds of star systems were visited and their planets were drilled down to their cores and stripped of valuable resources. After the ships moved on to the next system the leftover excavation installations still lingered as a grim sign of past mining operations. In no time two corporations monopolized the galaxy mining business but with myriad systems to exploit they remained in a state of uneasy peace — a peace about to be broken due to an automated analysis of reports from a system mined many decades ago that yielded something weird that led to a discovery of...Metallum.This new substance which seems to carry a promise for interstellar travel for living organisms is bound to stir conflict. The Earth Government immediately steps in and claims ownership of the system in the name of the good of mankind but it's clear that one of the two corporations will be afforded the exclusive rights to extract Metallum – and the huge profits that come with it. The tension raises instantly. Outright corporate war is avoided only thanks to a promise to grant the mining rights to the corporation that will develop more efficient mining infrastructure on the planets. Incidents are bound to happen with old installations used to destroy enemy Extractors since it's clear that the Earth Government will be handing their grants based on Metallum extraction rates of each corporation before finally awarding exclusive mining rights to one of them. The best pilots from each corporation sit down behind their consoles as their factory ships approach the system with production of Extractors set to maximum.Metallum is a strategy game for two players who take on roles of corporate pilots charged with the task of directing their factory ships in order to construct a more efficient mining network on the system's planets than their opponent does. Each round consists of three main phases:After nine rounds the pilot who's earned the most credits for his corporation is declared the winner. Will you be able to cover the planets of the system with a network of your Extractors and at the same time disturb the plans of your opponent? Although the conflict is officially only an economic one the successful pilot needs to know when to strike at a rival's mining infrastructure or make slight modification to it. When all is said and done nobody will remember the details of the struggle — only the name of the greatest pilot in the history of the galaxy.

Star Trek Deck Building Game: The Next Generation

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Exploration Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

In Star Trek [Deck Building Game]: The Next Generation players take on the role of Captain of a salvaged Starship. They will search for new allies such as Picard Data and other famous Characters. They will Explore space to complete Missions Encounter Events and meet Starships that could be friend or foe.The game features three separate scenarios of play:The goal of each game varies. While some simply require a point threshold another game's goal might be to simply survive.

Reworld

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Categories:

In Reworld players attempt to terraform a newly discovered planet and to do that they need to use terrabots to establish new cities and shuttles to deliver materials that will populate those locations.In game terms over five rounds players fill the five levels of their spaceship with tiles featuring terrabots shuttles material vessels and satellites. Each round twenty of these tiles are placed at random around the perimeter of a large ship and each player receives a hand of cards. On a turn a player can play one or more cards to claim a tile following these rules:Once everyone has no cards in hand or cannot play further the round ends. Any remaining tiles are thrown away then you reset the board and deal out a new hand of cards. After five rounds players now deploy these tiles onto the new planet each turn playing 1-3 of the leftmost tiles from the row of their choice to create their personal terraformed world. If you deploy a terrabot which are labeled A-E you start a new city with this letter or extend an existing city of yours. Material vessels which come in five colors can be delivered to the planet's surface only if attached to shuttles and each city can have vessels of only a single color. Satellites provide bonus scoring when added to a city. Shuttles and satellites can also be used for shields to protect your newborn planet.Players earn points during the first half of the game for picking up terrabots and having cards left in hand. During the second half players score for deploying satellites and for meeting targets set at the start of the game e.g. having a city with eight tiles in it having a city of each letter emptying a level on your spaceship having a certain number of shields etc.Once all the spaceships are empty players score their final points for how well they've developed each city and their shields in comparison with their fellow terraformers. Whoever scores the most points wins.

Pocket Landship

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Card Game Dice Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Pocket Landship is based on the print and play Board Game Geek Award nominated (2017) soloplay card wargame. In this version we see a steampunk theme and expanded gameplay with additional enemy and friendly options as well as multiplayer options.Command a Landship (the original British term for tanks) to clear a sector of enemy infantry artillery and enemy mech and alike.The player chooses a Landship to control with weapons or support units to create either a single high powered Landship or a more disparate defending force including a squad of shock troops.The enemy appears as waves of enemy mech artillery infantry and mine fields arranged in 2 rows of 3 cards.Each turn the player will roll 3 6-sided dice and assign each die to each of their cards to attack the enemies. Then for the enemy turn roll the 3 dice and assign them low to high left to right across the front enemy line then take the assigned actions.Each card has its own damage track. When a card is destroyed it is removed from the game. Win by destroying all 9 enemy cards. Lose if the enemy destroys your landship.-description from publisher

Stellar Horizons

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 1–7

Game Type:

Civilization Economic Exploration Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction

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Stellar Horizons is a build your own space program game in which you lead one of seven Earth factions to explore and develop our solar system. Designed by a real-life space engineer with a PhD in long-duration spaceflight from MIT Stellar Horizons is intended to be a plausible representation of the first steps of humanity towards the stars between 2030 and 2169 with each turn representing a year of time. You control your faction's space program outposts and fleets spanning across the solar system although you also have some influence over your faction's politics back home on Earth as space development becomes more important.Movement is based on real physics. You move from orbit to orbit or conduct long range transfers to move between planetary systems like Earth Mars or Jupiter. As you send out robotic explorers and crewed vehicles to explore the solar system they bring back valuable data to further your scientific research. Technologies are intended to represent plausible extrapolations of existing development during the next 150 years: there are no transporters or warp drive but you will be able to develop rockets powered by fusion and even anti-matter. In the engineering and biology domains you'll eventually be able to construct space elevators and put your crews into safe hibernation for long journeys.You'll have access to a wide variety of robot explorers and crewed ships. These range from tiny probes intended to merely take photographs as you fly past Jupiter to giant destroyers cruisers and battleships which ply the space lanes with peaceful or hostile intentions. New ship types become available as you gain access to better technology over the course of the game.You'll be given a budget to spend on Earth and can also build bases to harvest minerals organics and fuel to expands your economy. You can also forge diplomatic relationships with players and non-player factions alike and trade resources at their bases to earn extra cash. Each of the seven factions has different strengths weaknesses abilities and available ships based on their unique geopolitical situation. Military conflict is certainly possible but not always encouraged. Stellar Horizons features more diplomatic technological and economic competition than outright combat although neglecting warships entirely leaves you vulnerable to pirates trade embargoes and sneak attacks by rogue players and factions.Stellar Horizons includes short co-operative and competitive scenarios lasting an hour or more and campaigns lasting a day up to about a full weekend for experienced players. Up to seven players can play at a time and the game is most fun with at least two but there are also one-player scenarios and the campaigns are highly suited for solo play. There are three ways to win the campaign: be the first to develop an Interstellar Colonizer terraform a world or achieve dominance in space over your rivals.

Aliens: Bug Hunt

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

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They mostly come at night...mostly —NewtYour challenge in Aliens: Bug Hunt is to complete the mission and evacuate the complex because these xenomorphs converging from every direction are heartless smart relentless and hungry.Pick your favorite character from the movie Aliens each with a unique ability. Every role is critical as players rely on each other to cover their six and make it out alive. The complex is comprised of thirty different location tiles to create different challenges. Private Hudson might ask whether this is a stand-up fight or just another bug hunt; the real question is who's hunting who?

Starfighter

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2

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Starfighter is a two-player-only game of space combat in which each player tries to assemble card combinations that deliver effective attacks on the opponent.The original feature of the game is the fact that an effect will be triggered every time it becomes visible that is either when a player plays the card or when the effect icon becomes visible again after being covered. Room for combos!

Escape from 100 Million B.C.

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

Adventure Prehistoric Science Fiction

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In Escape from 100 Million B.C. players are stranded time travelers hurrying to reassemble their ship because a nearby volcano is about to blow. There are dinosaurs to dodge time rifts to close and castaways from other eras who got pulled back due to paradoxes. Each time traveler has unique abilities and stats which will aid in repairing the time ship. You must be careful not to disrupt the timeline too much or the volcano will erupt wiping out proof of the expedition altogether.29 Standees: - 6 Heroes - 5 Herbivorous Creatures - 5 Carnivorous Creatures - 4 Aquatic Creatures - 6 Time Castaways - 2 Sentry Bots

Martians: A Story of Civilization

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

City Building Civilization Economic Exploration Science Fiction Space Exploration

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The first expedition to Mars ended with a heroic fight by the astronauts for survival and initiated the first mission aimed at colonizing the planet which was financed by four corporations. Now in Martians: A Story of Civilization the human colony on Mars managed by leaders of the corporations has to explore the planet in search of necessary resources build new constructions and develop technologies adjusted to planetary conditions. Such effort is necessary not only to survive but also to create better living standards for future generations raised by colonists.

The Defence of Procyon III

Rating: 7.9 | Players: 1–4

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Procyon is a star 11 light-years from Earth visible in our skies as the brightest star in the Canis Minor constellation. Since the system contains the remains of a collapsed star it was bound to be rich in heavy elements ripe for industrialization. It was thus no surprise that in 2104 this was one of the first extrasolar systems to be colonized. The surprise came 3 years later when an ancient artefact belonging to a clearly alien civilization was discovered under the settlement. The observatories picked up the unmistakable tachyon radiation of a fleet slowing down from faster-than-light approaching the system - preparing for the worst case scenario the UN dispatched its entire Armada to relieve the minimal defenses the settlement holds while their scientists worked hard to decipher the alien communications and understand their newfound enemy whose name was revealed to be the Aethyn.Defence of Procyon III is a highly asymmetric game of four players in two teams: one player takes charge of the Alien space navy one the Alien ground force while the other team of the Human space navy admiral and the ground forces' commander stands in their way. The space board uses a hex board while the ground board is a point-to-point network of locations. The game is played over 12 turns using card driven low luck mechanisms that quickly unfold into a fast paced game of combat strategy - presented with countless high quality miniatures in a rich thematic world. The two commanders of a side will have to work together closely to make sure there are no weaknesses for the enemy to exploit yet their different mechanisms and different theaters will ensure each player is comfortably occupied with their own responsibilities - avoiding the alpha player issue common in team games.The game also comes with an automated opponent that takes charge of one of the side. One or two players can play cooperatively against the opponent.—description from the publisher

Galactic Cruise

Rating: 8.4 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Aviation / Flight Economic Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Hello and welcome to Galactic Cruise. Here we offer our guests something special: the comfort of a luxury cruise with the innovation of space travel. As the first company to offer extended-stay space vacations we are excited to have you working for us! As a supervisor of this company you’ll be expected to not only build these ships and satisfy our guests but also to help the company thrive by enhancing our company network inventing new technologies and growing our workforce. We are a united company and you’ll often find that what another supervisor does will make your job easier. Let me be clear though this is a competition. Our current CEO will be stepping down in three years and the supervisor who comes out on top will take his place.On your turn you will either place a worker to take two actions in the ever-expanding network launch a ship and send one of your workers to space as a pilot or recall all your earthbound workers to collect funding bonuses. Actions include acquiring blueprints constructing ships attracting guests and building developments–connections between locations that increase action selection throughout the game. You will also be affecting resource markets that ebb and flow with the actions of all the players.When you launch a ship one of your workers will accompany it as a pilot navigating the ship to various destinations and “days in space,” where guests will reward you for all your hard work.Throughout the game you will also be competing with your fellow supervisors to complete company goals which will earn you progress cubes throughout the game. Progress cubes are also placed when you launch ships and when a certain number of cubes are placed onto the company’s progress track the game ends and the player with the most Victory Points becomes the new CEO of Galactic Cruise.Do you still think you have what it takes to work for us? You do? Great. Let’s get started.—description from the publisher

Airship City

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Aviation / Flight Science Fiction

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airship city (飛行船都市) is a heavier game from Japanese doujin publisher analog lunchbox.Electing to make a new home among the clouds humankind has assembled a variety of airships to provide utilities thereby creating airship city. As airship engineers you gather materials and work hard to build airships to further the development of airship city.In order to build airships efficiently you need to donate airships to cultivate a positive relationship with the city renovate your workshop hire workers and occasionally piggyback off other engineers to acquire resources. You can contribute to the city's development not only by donating airships but also by building public facilities and participating in trade.Will your contributions to the development of airship city earn you fame as an airship engineer?•••新たな居住地として「空」を選んだ人類は、都市に必要な施設を備えた様々な飛行船を集めて「飛行船都市」を完成させました。そこで、飛行船技師のあなたは飛行船都市の発展のために、各所で資材を集めて飛行船造りに励みます。効率的に飛行船を造るためには、飛行船の寄贈を通して都市と良好な関係を築きながら、工房を改築したり、人材を雇用したり、時には同業者に便乗して資材を獲得することも重要です。また、飛行船の寄贈だけでなく、公共施設の建造に携わったり、交易を行うことでも都市の発展に貢献することができます。あなたは飛行船技師として、都市の発展に貢献し大きな名誉を得ることができるでしょうか。

Red Alert: Space Fleet Warfare

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2–6

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Richard Borg heads into space in this exciting new Commands & Colours board game – including two complete fleets of hard plastic starships!Red Alert: Space Fleet Warfare allows two to six players to duke it out in space. The play of command cards drives the action and creates a fog of war while battle dice resolve combat quickly and efficiently. Combat cards add an element of suspense and challenge players to maintain their star token reserves to power their Combat cards through the course of a battle. The action on a combat card may hinder the opposition forces enhance a player’s units or may instantly change the course of a battle.An assortment of task force cards allow players to quickly deploy a fleet of starships. In addition to these task force units players can augment and customize their fleets with support vessels.—description from the publisher

Empires of the Void

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2–4

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The galaxy is at war. The Pyrious Empire is struggling to mantain power and a few young alien races see this as a golden opportunity to expand their horizons. But who will join them in the imminent struggle to become the next galactic superpower?In Empires of the Void two to four players compete to expand their empire in a vast diverse galaxy. Each time a player reaches a new planet he must decide whether to conquer it and strip the land of its resources or befriend the natives and obtain their special ability. With 7 starting alien races to choose from and 15 more to conquer or befriend on a variable board no two games will be the same.The game uses an action point system and exciting dice-rolling combat with plenty of tactical decision making. There are 19 technologies to research that break the rules and change gameplay. Players must use negotiation and trade even when it is not their turn which ensures that there is very little downtime. A random event deck helps build the story of the game as each round something new happens usually galaxy-wide. A game lasts around 2 to 3 hours and has intuitive rules which are easy to teach.

Crossfire

Rating: 6.4 | Players: 5–10

Game Type:

Bluffing Deduction Real-time Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

Categories:

The Intel is solid. Raxxon will be transporting a VIP through a sector heavy with civilian traffic. This makes the mission a tricky one. You'll be working alone as they try to throw you off their tail. Don't be fooled. You need to get in and get the job done before the chance passes by. Just be sure to not get caught in the crossfire. Deception and negotiation are your greatest tools. Complete your mission no matter the costs.Introducing Crossfire a game in the world of Specter Ops. Emerson Matsuuchi has partnered with Plaid Hat Games again to take players back into the dystopian struggle between Raxxon and A.R.K. This time players compete in two teams to either protect or assassinate a Raxxon VIP while trying to determine whether other players at the table are who they really claim to be. The clock is ticking...

Burke's Gambit

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 4–8

Game Type:

Bluffing Deduction Negotiation Party Game Science Fiction

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Speeding through space Burke's Gambit is a rugged company freighter on an extremely important mission with its seasoned crew being tasked with finding powerful alien technology. What the crew finds instead is something they never expected: a dangerous parasitic organism has somehow made its way into the ship and inside the body of one of the crew members!Just as the bio-organism contamination alarm goes off one of the crew members seizes the chaotic moment and sabotages the freighter's engines. The ship its crew and the parasitic organism are all on a collision course with planet Earth where further contamination of the world's population awaits.Which of the crew are dedicated company personnel wanting the alien organism to reach Earth? Which are just crew wanting to identify the infected crew member? Most importantly which member of the crew is infected?! Join the crew of Burke's Gambit on a wild space adventure with hidden affiliations and a hidden infected player.In Burke's Gambit players take on specific roles of Captain Marine Comms Officer and more as they take turns and roll a die. The possibilities of the die include damaging another player healing themselves looking at a crew affiliation card or even scanning a player's diagnostic card. But if you roll an engine power up you hasten the ship's arrival to Earth. When Burke's Gambit reaches Earth a vote must be held to eject someone from the airlock (assuming anyone's left)!

Legendary Encounters: The Matrix

Rating: 8.3 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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Legendary Encounters: The Matrix is a deck-building card game based on The Matrix trilogy of movies. Fight against notorious adversaries such as Agent Smith the Merovingian the Twins the Sentinels and more. So long as the Matrix exists humankind will never be free.In the game players take the role of Neo or other heroes to save the human race from extinction.

Temporum

Rating: 6.3 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Age of Reason Ancient Card Game Medieval Science Fiction

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Game description from the publisher:In some of the best versions of reality the Egyptians discover America the industrial revolution happens early and eventually robots take over. In others the Renaissance produces a plutocracy which leads to a utopia — or perhaps to anarchy; it's all in the subtle details. As a time-traveler you've seen it all and it all has its place. What's important is who's in control in the long run when time travel is invented. With other time-travelers mucking with things for their own reasons your course is clear: you will tamper with history as much as is needed stepping on however many butterflies it takes to get a perfect world under your own benign rule.In Temporum the board shows the possible paths history can take and the actual path it currently takes. On your turn you can change history travel through time and visit a point in history. You draw cards play some of them for money and abilities and score some of them to advance your power through history. Having more power in a time period gives you abilities but your goal is to have all of your power in the last time period the time from which you come.

Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Miniatures Science Fiction World War II

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Game description from the publisher:Get ready to fight the war anew! The Dust Tactics: Revised Core Set is the perfect introduction for new players or a great expansion for veterans. It includes all new never-before-released miniatures exclusive to this Core Set an updated and comprehensive rulebook the Victory Bridge scenario book six custom dice two double-sided terrain posters (each the size of six terrain tiles) ten unit cards nine double-sided hazard squares two ammo-crates and two anti-tank traps.The Allies are ready to lay waste to their Axis foes with their new forces. Meanwhile the Blutkreuz Korps refuse to be bested on any field of battle. Their new Axis troops are equally powerful. With astonishing abilities and firepower it will be a struggle deciding which side you want to fight for.The included terrain posters unique to the Revised Core Set introduce Dust Tactics players to new terrain elements featured in the Victory Bridge scenario book. These terrain posters are a new warfare experience due to the new environment they offer players: a bridge and building structures as well as new terrain symbols. The Victory Bridge scenario book offers players six never-before-seen scenarios with which they can carry out a campaign. England's Cobden Bridge has suddenly become the strategic location for gaining access to Southampton. Can your faction take control of the bridge and gain the advantage of advancing into southern England?

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–3

Game Type:

Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

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Beyond Humanity: Colonies

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

City Building Electronic Miniatures Science Fiction Space Exploration

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Beyond Humanity: Colonies is the hybrid board game you've been waiting for! Simple integration of technologies allows for complex gameplay that keeping the players of all skill levels focused on the game not the math or the electronics. Capable of multi-player co-op or semi-coop and solo play BH:C offers something for everyone! Those choosing to connect their play accounts online will be able to map their expanse through the galaxy with other players and participate in global community missions!Beyond Humanity: Colonies strives to bring a premium gaming experience that can be played endlessly with nearly limitless possibilities which bring new challenges to every game. Whether your goal is to create a new haven for humanity's survival conquer a planet as the ruling president or simply have a unique and incredible gaming experience this is the game for you!Buildings emit light through windows and skylights. Modules communicate with one another and with the companion app.Just swipe your political decree cards above the central ARC building. This mechanism makes the gameplay fast but the depth of rules and dynamic conditions remains immense!You don’t need to count anything. Just focus on reading residents mood and the colony conditions and make the proper decisions.We’ve programmed in a variety of scenarios and difficulties to match the gameplay you are comfortable with. The Simple scenario will be easy and approachable. But if you dare - try one of those hellish planets with minimal minerals to mine and lack the basic resources needed for humans.Choose different scenario or campaign on one of 700,000 planets choose one of nine managers and change your hidden goals - the variety of paths are nearly endless!Mind boggling amounts of code simulations test games and balancing have been already completed. We love math and can brag that the simulation is extremely accurate and feels organic!We have been focusing on the player's experience. Our gameplay is dynamic with the story being created by the players. And with so many options for different parameters you are always able to have a new adventure!Have you ever seen a board game with real online multiplayer? You can influence other’ players colonies trade with them and join forces as megacorps.Created and designed by Three-Headed Monster.

Battlestations: Second Edition

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2–9

Game Type:

Miniatures Science Fiction Space Exploration Wargame

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Two obstacles to interstellar flight were solved in the 22nd Century: Hyperdrives to actually get us to other planets and cloning technology to replace our bodies and brains from backups in the inevitable situation something goes wrong on the trip. Peacetime advancements released the vast resources of a sea of stars like a cosmic piñata. We need capable explorers. The more dangers that present themselves the more opportunities for lowly travelers to ascend to become true heroes. There're a lot of emergencies happening on board your starship. Will you be a hero when the time arises?Battlestations is a tabletop starship simulator – a multi-map board game that simultaneously features ship-action in space AND the events on board the ships involved in the conflicts. It is also a roleplaying game in which your characters grow throughout campaigns picking up experience points upgrades and new abilities.The game rules are very simple but they allow for complex RPG-like imaginative choices like teleporting to an enemy ship hacking their helm controls and steering their ship towards a black hole before ejecting yourself out the air lock. Inside the box is an infinity of alien worlds to explore rickety spacecrafts to upgrade and a rowdy crew of lifelong comrades to adventure with.One player takes on the role of the enemy and works against the other players who are cooperating with each other.

Eminent Domain: Battlecruisers

Rating: 6.3 | Players: 3–5

Game Type:

Bluffing Card Game Science Fiction

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Giant warships locked in battle...Captain a mighty battlecruiser in the middle of a firefight as you try to gather 15 units of precious ore and get out — or die trying.In Eminent Domain: Battlecruisers you want to be the first to escape with 15 victory points or be the last ship standing. Each round you and your opponents each play a card from your identical hands. If you play the same card as an opponent you'll clash and bad things will happen! But if you manage to sneak a card through unhindered then you'll reap the benefits.Collect points or knock cards out of your opponents' hands. If you lose all of your cards then you're out of the running. At the end of each round check to see whether any player has won; if not prepare to play another card!

Transformers Trading Card Game

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Collectible Components Fighting Science Fiction

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The Transformers Trading Card Game is a battling card game designed for two players. Players build a team of Transformers character cards and power them up with a customizable deck of battle cards. Transformers character cards — such as those in the Autobots Starter Set and Booster Packs — are twice the size of standard playing cards; they can be flipped from bot mode to alt mode and back and they feature premium printing treatment on one of their sides. The deck of battle cards features Action and Upgrade cards to enhance Transformers character cards.

FlickFleet

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Action / Dexterity Dice Science Fiction

Categories:

For 10,000 years the Imperium of Earth has ruled the stars with an iron fist but now The Uprising have thrown off their totalitarian yoke and are gathering a following and a fleet. An Imperial battle fleet is dispatched from Earth to end them...The fate of the fleet is in your hands literally. Flick your ships to move. Flick dice to attack. FlickFleet is a two player dice dexterity game which combines tactical ship-to-ship combat with a dexterity element. Raise your shields and get your flicking finger ready!The game can be played as a points-based freeform game with each player choosing the ships they wish to field or by using one of a number of scenarios. Includes 22 fighters bombers and capital ships in the box and five introductory scenarios in the rulebook (with more available online).As with the expansions there is a deluxe and standard version of the base game. The deluxe edition includes engraving on all the pieces.—description from the publisher

Comanauts

Rating: 6.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Adventure Science Fiction

Categories:

Dr. Martin Strobal the greatest mind of our generation lies in a coma. His Mobius Ring invention promised to change the world but has instead given us our greatest disaster. Meant to provide the world with unlimited clean energy the Mobius Ring malfunctioned bathing Dr. Strobal in radiation and creating a singularity that threatens to consume the world. We need him back and the only way to revive him from his coma is to enter his subconscious and free him from the demons found within.Comanauts is the second installment in Jerry Hawthorne's Adventure Book system following Stuffed Fables. This game of exploration and danger builds on the mechanisms first introduced in that earlier title providing a new experience for more mature players. Race against time to revive Dr. Strobal by exploring his tormented mind. As players work together to uncover the secrets of the doctor's subconscious they will follow his inner child across eleven different Comazones. There they attempt to locate and overcome the Inner Demon that holds Dr. Strobal hostage. Assume the role of 22 unique avatars as you explore the dangers and secrets of each world locked inside the doctor's dream. Can you free Dr. Strobal from his own mind before it's too late?—description from the publisher

Assembly

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Abstract

Categories:

Card Game Print & Play Puzzle Science Fiction

Assembly is a quick cooperative or solo puzzle card game that fits in your pocket.No two games will ever be the same because of a variable setup several role cards and the optional use of malfunctions activating on locking that force you to change your strategy. Also two-player games add limited communication into the mix and the optional use of sign language instead of verbal communication.With 2 base sets you can now play the double ring variant of Assembly which is suitable for 1-4 players (rules are in the File section).The Story:You are on an orbital platform that assembles luxury spaceships. After a recent micrometeorite impact a deadly virus has emerged and wiped out the entire staff. Luckily you seem to have natural immunity and now you must escape to help create a vaccine before the virus spreads to Earth.In an attempt to quarantine the virus the computer locked down all systems undocked all the spaceships and is currently venting the oxygen to prevent you from ever leaving. Fortunately it has missed one. Unfortunately it's still on the assembly line and only partially complete. You must finish building it to escape.Against all odds you have outwitted the computer and are now in the control room of one of the spaceship assembly lines where the incomplete ship lies in front of you. On the screen above your head you can see the required layout in blueprint form and on the assembly line you can see the completed Room Modules hanging around the edges ready for placement in the bays corresponding to the instructions overhead.You have discovered a rather limited set of commands to complete the ship but for some reason the controls keep glitching. Does the computer know what you are trying to do? You must work together and use your commands wisely to assemble the ship and make your escape.Can you complete the ship and escape before you perish?

The Menace Among Us

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 4–8

Game Type:

Card Game Deduction Science Fiction

Categories:

The Menace Among Us is a semi-cooperative game of intrigue and survival in deep space. Adrift and powerless your crippled vessel is bleeding oxygen. As you effect repairs every breath you take brings you one step closer to death. You must work together to restore power before the air runs out — but hidden among you as loyal friends and crew members are imposters who have infiltrated security and continue to sabotage the ship. Their only goal is to avoid detection and kill the crew by force or by asphyxiation. Can you identify them in time and eliminate the threat? Or will succumb to the menace among us?The Menace Among Us is a 40 to 60-minute asymmetrical card game for 4-8 players. Each player chooses an Agenda at random either a loyal Crew member a deadly Menace or the Coward who’ll take any side just to survive. Your Agenda card sets a Team Goal and an Individual Goal as well as outlines any special abilities and the card composition of your individual 13-card deck. Then knowing your Agenda and Goals you choose a Character who you believe will best help you achieve them or mask your true identity. Characters add 7 new cards to your deck shuffle-building a unique combination of cards as well as provide you two specialized Above Deck Actions.In this hidden traitor game how you play your cards and abilities is far more important than the meta game aspects of accusations and denials. Cards are played face down and shuffled together as “Below Deck Actions.” Here Menace players secretly sabotage the ship’s systems and attack crew members who are trying to save the ship with their cards. If too few crew members risk going below deck to effect repairs the ship’s Emergency Maintenance Assistant (EmMA) adds cards to the pile to help. However the system has also been compromised and occasionally places damaging cards into the mix providing plausible deniability to the Menace players. In contrast Above Deck Actions are conducted in full view of the crew. Most of these abilities have costs either in Energy or Oxygen both resources the crew is trying to increase. So while The Doctor has the ability to heal a crew member and remove a debilitating effect a Menace player who may be secretly in control of The Doctor cares far more that it costs 2 Oxygen to perform the healing.At some point someone’s behavior will raise suspicion. But did they do so because they are trying to fulfill an Individual Goal – or are they a Menace? You can call a vote to expose their true nature. But if they are a loyal Crew member you’ve just blown precious Oxygen in the effort to detain them. For that matter was it a Menace player calling the vote in hopes of wasting the air on purpose?If the Crew can find and eliminate the Menace players – and raise the Energy to a safe threshold before the air runs out they win. If the Menace can prevent this or kill the crew outright their mission succeeds. Special commendations are awarded for surviving and for achieving your Individual Goal.—description from publisher

Mars Attacks: The Miniatures Game

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Humor Miniatures Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Mars Attacks: The Miniatures Game is a tabletop miniature wargame based on the humorous 1962 Mars Attacks trading card series from Topps in which aliens from Mars try to take over the planet of the humans — that is Earth!The game allows two (or more) players to take on the role of Martian invaders or the human resistance then battle for the fate of the planet! You set your armies on the table board and move units of aliens or human soldiers to fight to achieve goals either by defending your position or vaporizing your opponents. This tactical tabletop game features rules by veteran designer Jake Thornton and a host of stunning Mantic miniatures that can be used straight out of the box or painted to add even more character to your games.- Martian Mayhem: Mars Attacks is full of wacky events and cinematic action made possible by the simple set of game mechanics that are very easy to learn and by the game's Event Card deck.- Story Driven Action: Follow our heroes during the battle of Greenville with fun playable scenarios each with their own objectives: eliminate the enemy capture the intelligence - escape the Martian invaders!- Easy to play: Much like a board game Mars Attacks is played on a gaming mat made of squares and players take it in turn to activate their models choosing whether to move shoot or fight in hand-to-hand combat.- Simple Dice Mechanics: Shooting and hand-to-hand combat is made easy by rolling eight-sided dice to decide whether a weapon has hit its target or whether the opponent manages to dodge out of the way.- Highly Tactical: move a figure out from behind cover and you’re likely to get your model killed. Similarly ganging up on an opponent or making use of a figure’s special abilities could be the difference between making a clean kill or engaging in a frantic game of cat and mouse!All of this is detailed in the comic-book sized Mars Attacks – The Miniatures Game rulebook which also includes a number of playable missions. These battles are fought in Greenville a town brought to life through our stunning modular ruined scenery. You will fight amongst the devastated town capturing objectives such as intelligence and weapons - or with the sole goal of eliminating your enemy.Whether you’re a veteran gamer or new to the hobby you’ll be able to enjoy the fun of Mars Attacks making it a game suitable for all ages.

Deadzone

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Deadzone is a dynamic tabletop miniatures skirmish game set in the distant sci-fi universe of Warpath in which two players take command of a crack team of upgradable elite troopers from one of four factions including powerful heroes troopers heavy weapons and specialists. You can even upgrade your troopers by collecting equipment and new weapons from the Battlefield such as Machineguns medipacks grenades and more. But beware – you could be triggering a booby trap!Deadzone marries the frantic action and fun of a tabletop game with the simplicity and elegance of a board game to create a truly innovative experience. With the Deadzone box players take control of either the stalwart Enforcers or the horrific Plague battling it out over scarce resources by combining deadly actions and an innovate Battle Card deck to lethal effect. Shoot to kill or claw your way through flesh as it doesn't matter how many should die in this urban landscape so long as players achieve their objectives.All of this is set against a sci-fi backdrop brought to life using a grid-based gaming mat depicting the urban warzone that can be built up using Barricades and Buildings from the new modular Mantic Scenery Range adding a vertical dimension to your games. No two games need ever be the same!

Far Space Foundry

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Abstract Strategy Fighting Political Science Fiction

The Far Space Federation is leading an ongoing peacekeeping mission. The crew on the front lines are in constant need of new supplies and equipment so the Federation has set up a massive supply line network. This network is composed of massive space stations called Foundries. Some Foundries are specialized in mining and processing ore from asteroids. Other Foundries are equipped with robotic manufacturing and repair facilities. Their job is to keep the flow of supplies going efficiently as possible.The gameplay in Far Space Foundry occurs in two distinct halves: Space Foundry Alpha and Space Foundry Beta.At Space Foundry Alpha you mine skyrite (blue crystals) and rubion (red ore) and process the two to make galactium (purple metal). On your turn you play a card that allows you to either land a shuttle on a docking bay or take off from one. The shuttle will transport raw materials either from the asteroid or to your freighters. Each docking bay has a special ability if activated that turn like ore processing or galactic traders. At this foundry you must also build a fleet of freighters to haul your items. To do this you must visit the cantina to recruit help from various alien captains (with unique abilities). Once everyone has played all of their cards it's time to head off to a new board...At Space Foundry Beta you take all of your acquired materials and transport them down to the station. There the robots will use that material to make various products of varying worth. Besides manufacturing you may also upgrade your freighters or charge up your existing products for more points. Once the freighters are filled back up again it's time to transport the items to their final destination for final scoring!

Homeworlds

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Abstract

Categories:

Homeworlds is a deep abstract strategy game of perfect information resource management and galactic war. Can you destroy your opponent's Homeworld before their space fleet reaches yours?Originally Homeworlds was played with a full 60 pyramid (“classic icehouse”) game set and could be played with 2–6. The original two players variant rules were called Binary Homeworlds.This new standalone 2 player edition contains 36 pyramids in 4 colors which each provide specific powers in the game (red for attack yellow for movement green for growth and blue for transformation). Using just 36 pyramids Homeworlds is actually a 4X conquest game (Expand Explore Exploit Exterminate).—description from the publisher

Starship Merchants

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Economic Science Fiction Space Exploration Transportation

Categories:

4049: The galaxy hums with prosperity and peace two millennia after the dawn of space travel. But as mankind and its neighbors colonized the stars the burgeoning need for resources was apparent. One by one new geological discoveries revolutionized terraform construction and energy technology. The sub-temperature properties of the mineral Ice-9 allowed life-giving water to flow on uninhabitable planets. Crystallized Cobalt was accidentally found to be incredibly strong resistant to extreme pressure. And a single chunk of Deuterium could power a sprawling metropolis for a month!As a plucky entrepreneur you must explore the edges of space searching for precious minerals. Will you buy the fastest ship in the sector or hire the best pilot in the galaxy? Purchase the latest state-of-the-art gadgets invest in planetary refineries or pay off your rising debt? The cargo you haul could be worth fortune so grab your helmet and suit up! The cosmos and a mountain of credits call!In Starship Merchants each player runs a fledgling corporation looking to stake a claim in the lucrative mining business. Player will buy starships explore the galaxy and deliver cargo for interstellar credits all the while expanding their operations.Starting at the shipyard and ending at the dock players will move clockwise around the four quadrants on the board to complete an entire Business Cycle. During each turn a player either performs one action at the current quadrant or advances to the next performing an action there. As players take actions or advance they spread apart across all four quadrants while completing individual Business Cycles.The Shipyard is where you can buy a speedy scout or a heavy load bearing tug. The Market is where Gear Pilots Refineries and claims can be purchased. In the belt starships are run by spending energy points to explore pickup mines or fly to another destination. The final quadrant is the Dock where delivered cargo is traded for credits.A player that ends his turn at the Dock with 100+ credits can declare the Final Run ending the game. But after completing the Final Run the player with the most credits wins!

Human Punishment: The Beginning

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 3–6

Game Type:

Bluffing Deduction Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

Categories:

Human Punishment: The Beginning is a stand alone game and the Prequel of Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0 and it is a semi-cooperate social deduction & pick-up and deliver hybrid!3-6 players try to avoid the secret Machine revolution but Machine spies are everywhere and they try to corrupt the Human players. There are also Outlaws Fallen and Legion just as in Human Punishment and every faction works for their own goals.This game features a new mechanic called CWS (Connecting World System) which gives you the option to combine Human Punishment: The Beginning with Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0 to experience an epic theme night with YOUR OWN outcome! The Beginning is a fully stand alone game but you can also combine it with Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0.Fight Machines build Apex avoid Deus X Machina and don't become corrupted by the Machines. Rewrite the history of Humanity!

Invaders

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Fighting Horror Science Fiction

Categories:

Earth is in mortal danger!Invaders is a card-driven board game of warfare and horror featuring asymmetrical game-play for two players. In the game the players take on the roles of commanding forces on opposite sides of the conflict.One player leads the extraterrestrial conquerors whose goal is to transform the Earth and subjugate its inhabitants. The Invaders possess unthinkable weapons and unknowable technologies. More so within their galactic armada the aliens hold bound a terrifying array of eldritch creatures engineered specifically to sow the chaos and destruction that heralds the arrival of their masters.The other player commands the unyielding forces of a united Earth. In the shadow of a planet-wide scourge the nations of the Earth have joined forces to confront the arrival of a doom spawned on the other side of the galaxy. The Terran alliance is a desperation-forged bulwark upon which the invading forces crash and are repelled time and again. Outgunned with salvaged or untested technology and one foot in the grave the determined network of military machinery elite strike-teams warfare scientists and neighborhood militias are surprisingly capable of bloodying the Invaders' noses whenever the two forces meet.The eponymous Invaders seek to destroy the forces defending the Earth and exhaust their reserves. They do this by defeating the defending forces at key locations while also causing the Earth player to disrupt cards from their deck to their discard pile. The Invader must be cunning when deploying their creatures and war-machines or enacting their schemes as the cost to bring assets into the war often involves the discarding of other assets.Mankind must work desperately to defend critical resources and locations from the corruption and incursion of the alien threat. They do this by building formidable and deadly defenses predicting where the alien player will strike and setting traps designed to deprive the Invaders of key units and wear-down their options. Like the Invader the humans need to be clever in what they deploy and how they deploy it because their heroes may be bold but they are small in number and the Invaders are inexorable.Invaders is a science-fiction game piled thick with the trappings of war and horror. It is steeped in difficult decisions but built upon a simple elegant set of rules and because of this you will find each game telling a slightly different story each time you play. Both sides use cards to represent their units plans resources and events but as this is an asymmetrical battle game the way in which those cards are played and how they forward their owner's goals are very different. Regardless knowing when to let an asset go in favor of a better one how to exploit a weakness in your enemy's ranks and where to press an advantage or feint a trap will be key in seeing your side emerge as the victor from the morass of galactic war.One question remains: Which side are YOU on?

Jupiter Rescue

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 2–7

Game Type:

Categories:

You're a team of lowly maintenance robots built to keep the space station operational and clean so that the colonists can get on with...whatever it is they do. Unfortunately the station has been invaded by creeps alien creatures that slowly advance toward food (the colonists) so that they can multiply. The only thing keeping the colonists from being completely wiped out is your knowledge of the station a couple of specialty tools and abilities unique to each of you and a little bit of problem-solving code installed so you could do your jobs efficiently.Jupiter Rescue is a co-operative strategy game in which players work together to escort 28 colonists to an escape pod before they're converted into alien creeps. Each turn players may take five actions choosing from common options — moving themselves moving nearby colonists or killing alien creeps — and a series of programming cards that grant them special abilities. These cards can be played on the player's turn to activate the ability. Each player also gets to choose one card to be his core ability letting him use it every turn instead of discarding it.New creeps are added to the board which is composed of tiles at the end of each player's turn by rolling a die; if a tile fills up with creeps it's destroyed and removed from the game. Players lose if enough colonists get turned into creeps or if certain key board tiles are all destroyed. Double-sided tiles allow for hundreds of station variations.

Dustrunner

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Card Game Exploration Racing Science Fiction

Categories:

Dustrunner is a solo-only game that will have you attempting to race across a post-nuclear wasteland in your all-terrain cyberpunk vehicle while fending off persistent raiders Orwellian spybots and earth-shaking dust worms. As the player you will be presented with choice after choice that will set the course of the game. You will feel responsible for both your losses and your victories. Are you ready to make a dustrun?You will begin the game by constructing a vehicle for your dustrun by combining cards to create the perfect mix. You will then equip your vehicle with modifications to produce the perfect dustrunner.In Dustrunner you will be using the core mechanic of drawing two cards face-down and picking one to reveal. You may decide to resolve the first card and discard the second without looking at it or you may pass on the first but must then resolve the second. This mechanic is great at creating tension and choice. Enemy cards drawn as the 2nd card have more health making passing on a raider as a first card all the bit more scary.There is only one way to win Dustrunner and that is to reach your base before either the raiders catch you or you lose all your health. Dustrunner is not a beat your own score game. You either reach the base and win or you lose. However there is a scoring system in place for folks who do like to see how well they did.—description from the publisher

Far Away

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Exploration Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

Far Away is a two-player co-operative board game about discovery survival and the crushing loneliness of being the only two humans for lightyears.Join the Federation Alliance a bureaucracy with an ambitious charter of mapping new worlds and a minimalist budget. Succeed in a variety of missions on randomly generated worlds with unique ecosystems without luxuries like radios landing gear and medical supplies. Trust in your partner is paramount since without radios you can’t communicate (in real life) after separating on the game board.Survive and you’ll be rewarded with a meager paycheck. Succumb to the planet and you’ll find help is too far away.The Federation Alliance started the Far Away program nearly 50 cycles ago to discover and explore new worlds. The missions we undertake are of vital importance to galactic prosperity. However budget setbacks have forced us to reduce operational expenses. That’s where you the willing explorer can help!The Federation has several active missions for you to choose. Each offers unique challenges and potential sub-objectives we would love for you to accomplish off-the-clock. Thanks to the randomly generated universe every mission attempt will be different.Once you’ve selected a mission and crashed into the planet (landing gear has been deemed “optional”) you must begin surviving. Your goal is to complete the mission and rebuild your ship. You will fail if you die of hunger loneliness or multiple grievous injuries. Don’t fail!Be forewarned: communication will be a challenge. Radios will not be provided so the only way to communicate with your partner is to be in close physical proximity. Plan ahead! This not only allows you to strategize but also prevents the psychological meltdown that comes with being alone on an alien world.Each planet has a unique ecosystem. Experts have identified upwards of 32 creatures in the known universe each with their own behavioral patterns.Explorers will be tasked to Realistically and Objectively Log Events Performed Logically by Animals and Yourself (ROLEPLAY). Creature behavior is dictated by their diet temperament and other factors. Explorers are provided a quick guide to educate them on default creature movement but we encourage explorers to embrace their inner-alien and log the creature actions with creativity and vibrant storytelling.Your exploration kit can be delivered straight to your home. Inside the 5.75# box you’ll find over 800 pieces. We have included an instruction manual so you can assemble your spaceship with minimal government intervention. Please register your DNA online so we can credit your account upon mission completion.—description from the publisher

Worldspanner FactionsSet 1: Heroes

Rating: 8.7 | Players: 2–8

Game Type:

Adventure Fantasy Fighting Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Worldspanner Factions is the grand successor to the Duel of Ages series of games. A combination of tactical RPG and adventure Factions carries on the tradition of intensity and uniqueness. Two decades have proven that you've never played a game like this.Two teams of heroes from past present and future descend into the Worldspanner Arena and compete to earn the most glory by acts of renown--and by facing down the enemy. Earn the alliance of one of the six factions or the queen mother of the Games. For 2-8 players who divide into two teams. In effect a co-op game with excellent opponent AI (unless your friends dump-statted INT).The teams take turns conducting an action with each hero--move attack unleash a minion. This is followed by reactions from the opposing team after which the current team conducts adventures. Play continues for 9 or 12 turns after which objective points are tallied. Most objective points are earned from non-combat activities such as alliances with the different factions.Contains 49 heroes 90 treasures and a selection of map pieces making each play different--new teams gathering new treasure on a completely new map. Expansions bring both the treasure count and the hero count up to 360--The Full Degree.With a ruleset significantly streamlined from Duel of Ages Factions has half the rules word count of Duel of Ages I and over a third less than DoA II. Factions is now a game system capable of pulling in a universe of heroes (and their miniatures).

Wiraqocha

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Adventure Dice Fighting Science Fiction

Categories:

We are in the early XXth century but the world is not as we know it. In 1895 exploring Amazonia Auguste Copperpot discovered a gate to a lost valley occupied by a primitive civilisation. Wiraqocha Valley was the name he gave to this remote Eden. This world enclosed a treasure that was going to revolutionize modern sciences namely the Somnium an orange luminescent crystal showing amazing properties. It can be used as fuel affects matter and even time. Immediately this virgin land became a new Eldorado for European colonists. Empress Victoria II decided to send several conglomerates to share this promised land and reap the fruits to her benefit. Zeppelin fleet full of scientists adventurers and looters clouded the Atlantic sky.Wiraqocha Valley is represented by an adjustable board consisting of 22 hexagonal tiles each of them being identified by a number from 1 to 12 or a dice combo (pairs or straights). In his turn each player rolls some six-sided dice combining them to take possession of territories or to protect from the opponents the ones he already owns. Every hexagon affords resources or special capacities which are means to influence die results to fit one’s strategy. There are three ways to win: bring back a huge cargo of Somnium to the Empress; acquire enough scientific knowledge to build the Leviathan a terrifying weapon serving the Kingdom; or find in the temple depths the four relics that will allow you to reach Wiraqocha’s treasure.

Star Trek: The Dice Game

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Dice Movies / TV / Radio theme Print & Play Science Fiction

Categories:

In Star Trek: The Dice Game you alone are responsible for the Starfleet crew members aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise during its five year mission of exploration. In order to succeed you will need to complete missions and overcome the unpredictable challenges that may arise during them. If you complete the full five years of exploration you will return to Starfleet Headquarters in glory and be promoted to Admiral. But beware; as you travel ever further from Federation space the challenges and constraints you face will grow more and more extreme. Do you have what it takes to survive?Winner of the 2016 Golden Geek award for Best Print and Play Boardgame Star Trek: the Dice Game is a solo worker placement dice game.

Afternova

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 3–6

Game Type:

Card Game Negotiation Science Fiction

Categories:

A nearby solar system has been obliterated by a supernova. Now is your time to move in and extract the valuable resources from its unstable planets — but these jobs are too dangerous to do alone so send in teams of Hired Paws and form uneasy truces with your rivals to come away with the best loot.Afternova is a strategic negotiation game for 3-6 players. Score victory points by collecting fragments shown on your blueprints to build ship upgrades. When a player completes 6 of blueprints the game ends and the player with the most victory points wins.On your turn you may either take 3 cards from the market or extract fragments from a planet. When performing a Market action you can take any combination of Blueprint and Hired Paw cards. Blueprints are needed to score points but they also grant special abilities. Hired Paws have different skill sets so you'll need a variety of Hired Paws to Extract or help other players Extract. The core of the game is negotiating during an Extract action. When performing an Extract action you often don't have all the Hired Paws needed to meet the planet's requirement so you'll likely need to team up with other players to split the work and the rewards.—description from the designer

The Dead Eye

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Card Game Comic Book / Strip Environmental Science Fiction

Categories:

Buckle up your Rad Suit. Fire up the Rig. Beware the Tox.The Dead Eye is an adventure card game for one player.Assume the role of a lone thermo-bandit downed on a hostile backwater planet. Your mission? Find the next safe haven before you lose all hope and strength… and maybe just maybe find a way off of this desolate rock.Cards in The Dead Eye represent Encounters that can have one of two Outcomes: Good or Bad. A Bad Outcome is triggered by a buildup of dangerous Heat while a Good Outcome is triggered by a buildup of valuable Juice. Your starting Draw Deck includes 6 cards with Juice and 6 cards with Heat. As you play through the deck some of these cards will raise your Heat and Juice levels while at other times the cards will be used as the Encounter itself.Face dangerous Encounters salvage useful Parts and reach safe Haven.The Dead Eye includes a 12 page prelude comic book 20 page rule-book 1-fold double-sided game board 2 pairs of stereoscopic-3D glasses 1 pair of “hook-behind” stereoscopic-3D glasses and 54 unique cards.—description from the publisher

Kosmonauts

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Categories:

In Kosmonauts players take on the role of space cadets who need to complete one final challenge before they can become officers of the Space Forces. The challenge? A race through space during which they demonstrate their spaceship-controlling skills and problem-solving abilities. This race is not linear and spaceships can pass checkpoints on the planets and comet in any order. Once a ship lands the player claims the appropriate planet/comet token; the earlier you arrive the more victory points (VPs) that token is worth. Each game turn is divided into four phases:The game ends when someone returns to Earth after visiting all but one planet. Players receive VPs for their landing tokens and completed missions and whoever has the most VPs wins!

Reload

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Adventure Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

In the near future the mega-corporations of the military-industrial complex have invested trillions developing cybernetically enhanced clone soldiers for off-world exploration. Seeking to build robust teams for future missions — and more importantly to land lucrative government contracts — they have created special training islands. On these islands they are able to simulate all of the deadly conditions their soldiers may face on remote planets.To fund these expensive programs and the military-grade innovations built into their test subjects the arms manufacturers have teamed up with media moguls to create and promote broadcast competitions live from the islands' training grounds. Thus was born RELOAD the biggest TV show on the planet with the most charismatic and capable subjects competing in front of millions of avid viewers to win fame for themselves and fortunes for their creators.In Reload you get to engage in this battle-royale experience thanks to an innovative action dice system that offers fast-paced play and the freedom to explore the island while fighting for fame.

M.U.L.E. The Board Game

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Economic Exploration Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

M.U.L.E. was first published as a computer game in 1983. Inspired by board games it became a breakthrough then a classic. Now this warm-hearted game of cut-throat capitalism is finally available as a board game!In M.U.L.E. The Board Game you are one of the pioneering and industrious species of a Galactic Federation. Together with your fellow colonists you attempt to settle the distant Planet Irata with the so-called help of a mule-like machine you all learn to hate. But for now he's all you've got. Well him and your fellow colonists. I wouldn't count on their help though — not unless there's profit. Good luck. You'll need it.In M.U.L.E. (abbreviated from “Multiple Use Labor Element”) players claim plots of land and install mechanical robots (M.U.L.E.s) to work on them. M.U.L.E.s produce goods that colonists can use sell for profit or stockpile for (hopefully) even more profit: - Smithore is a metal that cannot be used by players directly but can be sold to The Store. The Store uses Smithore to manufacture M.U.L.E.s. Since players need M.U.L.E.s to produce their Goods they must sell Smithore to increase their production. - Crystite is a luxury mineral with a highly volatile price. It is not needed for anything on Planet Irata but can be exported to other worlds for great profits (unless stolen by Pirates – you have been warned!) - Food is needed by players to take Development Actions such as Assaying Lands or Installing/Refitting M.U.L.E.s. - Energy is needed to power M.U.L.E.s. You'll know the value of Energy when you lack it.There will be unexpected surpluses and shortages of different goods causing market prices to fluctuate. Players must plan ahead while maintaining flexibility to change their plans as all kinds of ”fun” planetary disasters hit them. Interaction between colonists is highly opportunistic: they will gladly help you if there's profit in it for them. Or maybe not. You'll get to see the true colors of your friends by playing M.U.L.E. with them. The most cunning settler and trader receives fame fortune and the honorary title of First Founder! There is also an overall Colony Retirement score describing how your colony succeeded (or failed) as a whole.

Grimslingers

Rating: 6.2 | Players: 1–6

Game Type:

American West Card Game Fantasy Humor Science Fiction

Categories:

In a land beyond God's reckonin' is a place called the Forgotten West — a cursed land of sorts in the American frontier housing the damned the mysterious the unfortunate. You ended up there God knows why and you sure ain't leavin' anytime soon.The Iron Witch a downright mysterious bein' has turned you into a Grimslinger a powerful witch imbued with metal machine and fancy elemental powers. Now yer maker's requirin' all his newly sired to duel each other so that he can make y'all into witches proper for his own purposes.Grimslingers is a strategic sci-fi fantasy western themed card game that features two different modes of play: versus and co-op. In versus mode 2-6 players go head-to-head in teams or a free-for-all using a wide selection of spells items and abilities.In co-op mode 1-4 players work together through a narrative campaign composed of four 60-90 minute play sessions battling strange creatures overcoming intense challenges collecting loot gaining levels and exploring a truly unique wild west.

Lazer Ryderz

Rating: 6.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Maze Racing Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

Description from the publisher:Lazer Ryderz is a trackless racing game for up to 4 players with light push-your-luck area denial and strategy elements. Players construct their lazer paths with various pre-formed punchboard pieces that are placed according to speed and desired direction.In Lazer Ryderz players take on the role of one of four Ryderz as they race to capture all three Prisms needed to charge the Portal to their next destination. The Portal only allows one Ryder to pass through before moving on to a new location in the galaxy so speed is essential to meet your goal. But the faster a Ryder goes the harder it is to turn and if a Ryder runs into another player's lazer that Ryder is toast! Who will continue on their quest and who will be left behind?Will it be the Galactic Waveryder - the adrenaline-fueled surfer who's seeking the next great thrill and most radical solar waves? Or the Lazer Shark - always on the hunt for her next prey as she seeks the fabled Blood Nebula to restart her species? Perhaps the Super Sheriff - greatest of the Law Star Rangers who travels to the outer reaches of the known (and unknown) galaxy to bring the universe's criminals to speedy justice? Or will it be the Phantom Cosmonaut - the ghost from a long-distant era whose true quest is a mystery to those he encounters but with speed that is without question as he moves in the blink of an eye?

Posthuman Saga

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Exploration Fighting Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

You are a survivor in a near-future Europe that has collapsed under the weight of its own political errors in the wake of a bloody class-war fueled by genetic modifications. In Posthuman you journeyed to the last bastion of organized human society in the area: The Fortress. A year down the line you have become an active part of that society and honed the skills you need to fulfill your role there but the mutants are gaining ground...Posthuman Saga is a standalone survival game in the Posthuman universe. You play a seasoned member of the Fortress' militia sent out beyond the defensive perimeter to explore and hopefully reconnect with outposts the Fortress has lost touch with while searching for scavengable sites along the way. You have to forge across a crumbled land where resources are spare and mutants roam the ruined mansions and forests alike.Like the initial Posthuman this is a sandbox-style survival journey but the game system in Posthuman Saga differs from that of the first game in the series. Players win by completing various objectives that suit different characters and playing styles. It has an emphasis on tactical choices on two levels: the journey expressed through an innovative modular tile map puzzle and the individual story and combat encounters. The latter are fast card-based affairs involving tough choices with future consequences. Posthuman Saga boasts over one hundred finely crafted story scenes with a simple push-your-luck mechanism that supplements the emergent narrative afforded by the game. Mutation is a way of life in the Posthuman world and it can have its advantages but it can easily get out of control...—description from the publisher

Space Invaders

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Action / Dexterity Children's Game Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

Join the fight and stop the invasion!Based on the classic arcade game that started it all play Space Invaders like never before! Can you team-up and defeat the alien invaders to claim victory or will it be GAME OVER with the invaders winning? It's all hands-on deck as all players either win together or lose together in this collaborative strategy game.Take turns moving your 3D shooter and lining up the best shot. Launch blast tokens at the waves of descending invaders. You have limited shots so all players need to co-ordinate their attack and hit their targets. Destroy all the invaders and take down the UFO mother ship before it's too late!

Gen7: A Crossroads Game

Rating: 6.3 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Categories:

An international colony ship has left an exhausted Earth headed for a distant planet in the Epsilon Eridani system. Thirteen generations will be born on this vessel before it reaches its destination each generation a steward of the hopes and ideals of the human species. For six generations everything has gone as planned....Now just as a new command team takes control of the ship a terrible mystery emerges that will threaten the entire mission. The commanders of Gen7 are about to discover that everything is not as it seems and the fate of the human species will hang on the choices they make.In the tradition of the award-winning Dead of Winter Gen7: A Crossroads Game is a grand narrative game with multiple possibilities. The choices players make as they play will alter the direction of the story. Gen7 will constantly challenge its players with a variety of unique situations that force them to make difficult moral decisions. Will you compromise your integrity to ensure the safety of your crew? Will you value their lives over the safety of the mission?—description from the publisher

Plantopia: The Card Game

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Comic Book / Strip Farming Science Fiction

Categories:

Plantopia is a strategy card-based game where players harness their gardening abilities to contend for the coveted title of Plantopia’s Champion Gardener. Manage the plants in your hand and in your tableau and plant the best combos to earn the most magical leaves. But pay attention to all of your fellow gardeners as whoever can predict the weather can make their plants grow!Capitalize upon the immediate powers of the Baby Plants while harnessing the scoring combos of the Treevolved Plants. Will you go for the fast-growing Flowers the card-drawing Cacti or the weather-controlling Trees? Or a combination of all of the above? You’ll always find new plants and different strategies awaiting every trip you take to Plantopia!—description from the publisher

Warhammer 40,000 (Sixth Edition)

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 2–12

Game Type:

Categories:

In the Grim darkness of the year 40.000 there is only... WAR.In a Dystopic future age engage as one of the SPACE MARINES chapters to uphold the emperor of humankind honor and glory or one of the foe factions to humanity like the alien Orks Tau Empire Voracious Tyranids Ancient Necrons Deceiver Eldars or join the power of the corruption within Chaos Workshipers and his demons that seek to seduce the mortals.This is the 6th edition of Games Workshop very popular tabletop miniature game; Warhammer 40,000.Within this new rulebook you´ll be introduced to the new game mechanics and Universal rules to the 40K universe. Also a guide to assemble paint and collect your army of choice; and how to field your armies to play battles.Gather your army and prepare for the Battle!

Twinkle Starship

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Categories:

§egment Trix also called Seven Segment Trix is a trick-taking game where the card ranks are shown in a seven segment font such as that used in digital clocks. The game includes wooden segments that the players can add to cards to adjust their value. The amount of unused segments a player has will determine their bid for the round.For instance a segment placed horizontally across a 0 will create an 8. More exotic options are also possible as three segments placed on a 7 played upside down can create a 6.The trick-taking phase uses a must follow format with a fixed trump suit.[Story]It’s time for a crazy race that encompasses the entire universe to begin where anything goes. Racers have assembled from different planets with their proud spaceships. Their machines of quality are crafted with invaluable ore unique to each of their planets. Who would run at the speed of light and who would show off his calm and fine control? Just now the fanfare echoes in the stadium to announce the start of the race. Here begins the Twinkle Starship Race!!![About this game]This game is a trick taking game for 3-4 players with the theme of a spaceship race. This game is played with cards that have digital numbers on them. In the game you will be utilizing small segment sticks to control and manipulate the numbers of the cards just like matchstick puzzles. For example you can add one segment to 0 to make it 8 or add three segment to 1 to make it 3. This is a must-follow game with an unorthodox bidding system. Only when the amount of the sticks you have left at the end of a game and the number of tricks you won are matching you are allowed to score points.

Loop Inc.

Rating: 6.4 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Science Fiction Travel

You and the other players work at Loop Incorporated the most prestigious time travel agency in the world. Well that’s not entirely true. It’s a mismanaged third-tier agency owned by the slick Mr. Loop who cares more about making a buck than making sure the delicate weave of the time-space continuum stays tight and safe. For you and your coworkers it’s as good as job as any and if you time things just right you may even get a nice bonus at the end of the day. And since you have a time machine you can take multiple cracks at it… assuming things don’t get too chaotic with your past selves running around.Loop Inc. is played over the course of three days with each day actually being the same day but a different time through it. During the first day players will get to perform three actions and send out their one time machine. Actions include gathering components setting up advertising and more. Then at the end of the day players jump into their time machines and return to the beginning to start the day over again. The catch is when players go back in time to try the day again their past selves are still running around. This means they’ll have to perform all the actions from the previous version of the day as well as three new ones. They’ll also have an additional ship to launch. On the third try things compound even further...making timing key. At the end of the third day the player who completed the most profitable trips wins provided they didn’t cause too many tears in the space time continuum.

Star Wars Villainous: Scum and Villainy

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–3

Game Type:

Card Game Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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In Star Wars Villainous: Scum and Villainy players choose to play one of three iconic villains from the Star Wars galaxy including Boba Fett. Depending on their villain's unique power players will use their villain's ambition to perform actions that power effects based on the villain's use of the Force strategic leadership or sheer luck. The game also incorporates villain-specific missions and rules for iconic ships and transports from all corners of the Star Wars galaxy.Villains in Star Wars Villainous: Scum and Villainy can be mixed with those in Star Wars Villainous: Power of the Dark Side or used on their own in this game.

Deadzone (Second Edition)

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 2

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HUMANS AND ALIENS COLLIDE ON WORLDS ERASED FROM EXISTENCEIn the future unthinkably powerful mega-corporations own and govern entire planets outright protecting their interests with vast private armies. Now an even greater danger is sweeping the galaxy * a hideous mutagen wiping out entire sectors of space. To stem the carnage highly classified Containment Protocols are enacted blockading the infected system and wiping it from navigational charts forever. Here with the veil of civilisation lifted rival factions descend into furious conflict each with a unique claim on the chaos of the Deadzone!Deploy elite Enforcers to mercilessly hunt down the rampaging Plague army as it surges ceaselessly towards total contamination; Oversee the ransacking of abandoned districts by the hulking Marauders as the terrifying Veer-Myn single-mindedly set about bolstering their own numbers; Plunder natural resources with the tech-heavy Forge Fathers as the eclectic Rebs scavenge for discarded gear or simply scheme in secret as the mysterious Asterians pursue goals known only to themselves. As your collection grows where will your loyalty lie?A tabletop wargame without the hassle Deadzone strips away unnecessary complications leaving you free to enjoy the excitement and tactical depth of futuristic battle. Starter armies of two rival factions are included in this set kicking-off your collection of Enforcers and Forge Fathers along with everything else 2 players need to get right into the action. Assemble your finely detailed miniatures and get ready for fast paced easy to learn mission-based skirmishes in a brutal future!

Stargrave: Science Fiction Wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Adventure Book Miniatures Science Fiction Wargame

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A miniatures skirmish game building on the systems developed in Frostgrave and Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago in a new futuristic setting. —user summaryThis is Stargrave a game set in a ravaged galaxy where two empires fought a vast war that ended in mutual annihilation. Now pirate fleets roam the shattered ruins of the galaxy taking whatever they want and enforcing their own brand of 'justice'.Against this dark background the players create their own small crew. Maybe they are merchants or smugglers freedom-fighters or wanted criminals rogue scientists or collectors of alien artefacts. Each crew features two 'characters' a captain and a first-mate each of whom can choose their own background such as veteran cyborg robotics expert mystic rogue or psionicist to name a few. These backgrounds give access to various powers or abilities that these figures can use during or between games.—description from the designer

DreadBall (Second Edition)

Rating: 8.5 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Miniatures Science Fiction Sports

Categories:

DreadBall Second Edition is the fast-paced futuristic sports board game set in the galaxy’s most hi-tech arenas.Choose from the agile Ninth Moon Tree Sharks or the unstoppable Draconis All-Stars from the core box set before taking to the pitch and going for glory.Expand your team collection with the mystical Matsudo Tectonics or the aggressive New Eden Revenants Cyborgs with these two team expansions.Outwit your rival coach with tactical set pieces push your luck with daring plays or just smash your opponent to the ground with brutal tackles. When the game begins anything goes…Play out of the box – no assembly coloured plastic teams.Includes plastic counters dice cards the rule book and an incredible fold out board.Contains all core rules and two pre-built teams. The Robots and Yndij are ready to go for quick-start play.Includes 2 Free Team Captains!

Planet Defenders

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–4

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By 2070 we have colonized hundreds of planets throughout the galaxy and we use robots extensively for space missions. One day a number of derelict robots suddenly recharge and appear to be operating outside their original programming! As the leading scientists in robot technology you are tasked with directing the planet defenders to catch the derelict robots.In Planet Defenders players pay batteries to control the three planet defenders moving them among the planets and collecting energies. Players can enhance their actions by spending energies or batteries to upgrade their technology. They earn research points (RP) by catching derelict robots and collecting technology cards.When the robots from two different areas are depleted complete the current round so that all players have an equal number of turns. At that point the player with the highest RP wins.

Pentaquark

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Card Game Print & Play Puzzle Science Fiction

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Some of the biggest questions in the world of science may be answered by studying quarks the smallest of particles. The problem with trying to study quarks is that you can’t find just one quark; you need to find them in groups called hadrons or some other exotic particles like the Pentaquark.In Pentaquark you are trying to give science a little helping hand by collecting the five quarks that form this particle at the detector of a massive particle collider. Move cards you need to the detector discard others so they may come back as anti-quarks and try to minimize the number of quarks scattered and lost. If too many cards are removed from the game the Pentaquark has slipped through undetected once again!

Visitor in Blackwood Grove

Rating: 6.2 | Players: 3–6

Game Type:

Deduction Puzzle Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

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A spacecraft crashes in Blackwood Grove and the Kid is the only one watching. Federal Agents hunt down the signal but no one can get near the craft due to its crushing forcefield. Why can some objects pass through it but others are repelled? Hiding in the craft the Visitor hopes the Kid can figure out the rule before the Agents and help it escape. The agents want to dissect the Visitor and keep the ship.Visitor in Blackwood Grove is an asymmetric two-versus-many inductive-reasoning game in which one player — the Visitor — makes up a secret rule like Things that contain metal to determine which objects can pass through the forcefield. The other players — the Agents and the Kid — try to figure out the rule by seeing which objects pass through the forcefield and which don't. The Agents secretly test cards from their hands to learn what passes the rule and what doesn't. The Kid tries to predict which cards will pass the rule and she builds trust with the Visitor if she’s right.The Kid and the Visitor are on a team — if the Visitor makes a rule that's too easy the agents will solve it first and he will lose. If the Visitor makes the rule too hard nobody will be able to solve it and the Agents will win. If the Visitor makes the rule just right the Kid will figure it out before the agents and both the Kid and the Visitor win!Awards & Honors: BostonFIG Fest // 2017 - Audience Choice Award IndieCade // 2017 Official Selection Mensa Mind Games // 2019 Finalist Indie Mega Booth PAX East // 2018 Official Selection

Age of Wonders: Planetfall

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Card Game Science Fiction Space Exploration Video Game Theme

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The heyday of the Star Union has come to an end. Setting off massive gravity bombs designed to create spatial rifts to new worlds led to the Collapse and many planets were cut off from the rest of the Empire.The surviving factions began gradually rebuilding civilization and rediscovering lost technology. Being once part of a single state they will have to meet again and find out who is worthy of succeeding the great power.In Age of Wonders: Planetfall you are the Commander of one of the six surviving groups that have set out to explore the once-abandoned parts of the Star Union. Your expedition will explore seven planets in search of valuable resources and technology battle hostile units and seize landmarks. Will you be able to create a new world from the shards of the old Empire?The game is played over seven rounds and a new planet is explored each round. Each player may conduct two explorations on every planet. The players will gain Empire points by defeating units studying technology claiming landmarks and running operations on those planets. At the end of the game players score Empire points for meeting certain conditions listed on a particular goal sheet. Whoever scores the most Empire points wins.

TINYforming Mars

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Card Game Print & Play Science Fiction

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TINYforming Mars is a 1-2 player game set in the distant future when mankind has mastered the technologies needed to turn our lifeless neighbor Mars into a thriving destination for humanity. All of this on nine cards!Each player is attempting to terraform Mars by completing projects that fulfill one or more of Mars’ parameters for sustaining life; those being: Heat Oxygen (provided by Greenery) and Water. The player that is able to complete more projects towards this goal as well as build their cities on prime Martian real estate will be the winner.The game takes place over several rounds known as Generations in which players will alternate taking turns. First the players will draft Project cards that offer the Projects that they will have access to. Then on a player’s turn he can complete one of his own Projects one of the Standard Projects or pass. When both players have passed the Generation is over and players collect income to begin the next Generation.When the supply of at least 2 of the 3 types of parameters have been exhausted or there are no vacant hexes on the map that Generation will be the final Generation of the game. Once that Generation is over the players will count their scores. Highest score wins.Included is a solitaire mode where the player will attempt to complete all 3 parameters in 12 Generations.-description from designerDISCLAIMER: This is a fan-made miniaturization inspired by the Jacob Fryxelius game Terraforming Mars. This game was made with no consultancy or assistance from FryxGames. No files were provided or copied nor was any consultation requested/given. Neither Michael Bevilacqua nor TINYforming Mars are endorsed by sponsored by or affiliated with FryxGames.

Star Tycoon

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Economic Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction Space Exploration

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In Star Tycoon players will take on the role of an interstellar business with the goal of out-performing their business rivals by the last round.Each player gains Victory Points by claiming sets of planets and developing them with production facilities and other buildings.Central to Star Tycoon is the Galactic Exchange a fluctuating market that reacts supply and demand. Knowing when to buy and when to sell is key creating a profitable business.—description from designer

Death Roads: All Stars

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Racing Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

In 2082 mankind is divided. The rich and the lucky ones live in large automated metropolises. The poor dwell in the outlands struggling to survive. What gives a chance for a better life is the Death Roads car tournament the main prize of which is citizenship. However drivers' lives are at stake! Are you ready to risk it all in the Divided States of America's most daring trial?Take part in a dangerous race! Pick your car a driver and a set of deadly weapons. Your decisions will determine which unique cards you will be able to play so be prepared for every possibility. Adjust your gear accelerate shoot and bash your opponents; do everything you can to be the first — or the only one — on the finish line!A crazy and deadly drive from West to East Coast will be full of unexpected road events. You will also have to be careful about the skids that can ruin your plans. In Death Roads: All Stars every move is important and can bring you closer to victory or demise.—description from the publisher

Battlecrest: Fellwoods Base Game

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Fighting Print & Play Science Fiction

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What is the mark of a true champion? Legendary heroes clash across the Neververse to find out.Battlecrest is a card-based tactical skirmish game for 2 players (1-4 with expansions). With perfect information players must truly outwit their opponent to win.Characters are composed of 6-card sets featuring a hero card a health tracker and action cards. Occasionally a minion or item will replace an action card.The map is built of 6 cards as well with the cards randomly placed in a set pattern.Players take turns maneuvering their characters around the dynamic and often dangerous map while unleashing powerful attacks. As action cards are used they open up new possibilities and empower the character’s battlecrests. Build up to decisive strikes or refocus to get powers back. Every character has a unique set of actions and preferred tactics so no two battles play the same.Shots ring out in the overgrown forest. A rugged pirate festooned with weapons of war stomps into view. He scans the nearby treeline with practiced rigor. In the gnarled canopy above a celestial goddess calls for an ancestral blessing against this implacable foe. With a divine roar she drops to the ground below swinging her ornate staff with the strength of a thousand lifetimes at her waiting target…The Fellwoods Base Game includes two heroes Akhena and Mutiny (and his minion RIG) and the Fellwoods map. All in just 18 cards packed in our little wallets. No additional components are needed to play.The Fellwoods is a large enchanted forest covering a remote mostly unknow planet. Enormous hulking trees dense moss and vines and shrouds of mist lock the secrets of the forest within. Wild Magic is very much alive here protected by guardians and spirits.Akhena is cosmic energy personified. A font of ancient knowledge provides her with a flexibility that mere mortals lack. In battle she draws guidance from powerful ancestor spirits giving her both durability and strength in equal measure. To defeat her is to defeat mortality itself for what could be more deadly than a living goddess?This rugged raider has seen better days but that won't stop him. He's got a head full of schemes and an array of ill-gotten loot to keep him going. Wily and clever Mutiny knows better than to pick a fair fight. The best battles are the ones that end in a single shot from afar with his clockwork RIG helping to pin the target down. Less fuss that way.

echoes: The Microchip

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 1–6

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In the far future civilization is lying in ruins and the echoes of the past hide the tragic story of its downfall. See whether you can uncover the truth in echoes: The Microchip.echoes is a co-operative audio mystery game. Using the free app players listen to mysterious noises and voices that are connected to the playing material. Together they look for hints in the sound bites to bring the story parts in order and solve the case.In more detail your task is to assemble the 24 parts of the story in the right order; each part is represented by an object — either a game board or a card — and its associated echo. The entire story is divided into six chapters with each chapter being represented by a game board. By scanning the objects with the app you'll hear the echo connected with each object and by using conversations and noises in the echo you try to figure out which three object cards are associated with a chapter and in which order they should be placed. If you're not correct the app will inform you which cards are incorrect or in the wrong place; if you are correct you can listen to the entire chapter all at once — and you should since new additional hints can then be heard.The objects themselves also provide you with clues from time to time so neglect no details.

Château Aventure

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–10

Game Type:

Adventure Book Fantasy Horror Medieval Science Fiction

Categories:

Château Aventure is a cooperative game in which you will experience extraordinary adventures in various worlds. It uses Jared A. Sorensen's Parsely system to mimic the play of a text-adventure computer game and features several of his original adventures.One player will be the computer (or parser) and will give to the other players details about characters places actions and everything that may happen during the game.The other players will play the same character successively by each giving an instruction like go West take key use key on chest etc.Each scenario has one or more victory conditions. If players managed to follow the right path and got a perfect score of 100 points they win the game. A game can be lost if the main character is killed and players didn't save the game.

Space Infantry

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–2

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Official websitehttp://zak965.it/spaceinfantry/index.htmlSummarySpace Infantry (SI) is a solitaire game of squad-level combat in the future. In Space Infantry you control a team of 4/8 soldiers on a series of missions that can be played individually or as a campaign. Each mission takes about 20 minutes to be completed.SI is a modular game; the overall structure of SI will make it possible to easily add new features to the game (missions enemies equipment): this means that in the future additional components will add new options to the existing missions increasing the lifetime of SI.SI started as a free game and has now been published by Lock'n Load gamesGame Includes:

Leviathans

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 2–8

Game Type:

Aviation / Flight Miniatures Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

In 1878 the Polish genius Rychnowski isolated an electrical fluid with remarkable lifting capabilities – a single pivotal event that would change the world. The smartest military minds of the coming generation – Zeppelin Jellico Fisher and others – diverted their attention to the glorious new technological revolution and sea-going battleships were abandoned around the world. In their place armored giants took to the skies.In 1906 Great Britain launched the HMS Leviathan the first of the super air ships sparking an arms race around the world. By 1910 the most powerful nations boasted large High Fleets and the start of small skirmishes left the world uneasy... Welcome to Leviathans!Leviathans is a game published by Catalyst Game Labs that simulates combat between warships that have taken to the air in an alternate history 1910. The king leviathans the battleships are the largest vessels. Maneuvering in support are the smaller ships of light cruisers destroyers and others ships. Will you captain your fleet for king and country expanding your nation's power and becoming legend? Or will you fall from the sky forgotten?You will determine the outcome!

Car Wars (Sixth Edition)

Rating: 8.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Fighting Miniatures Racing Science Fiction Sports Wargame

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Car Wars is a game featuring arenas and freeways of the future in which the right of way goes to those with the biggest guns. Players build their vehicle — complete with weapons armor suspension and upgrades. Then they take them onto the road or into the arena. Sixth Edition is a streamlined update of the classic Car Wars. Quicker to build your car quicker to learn to play quicker to jump right in.

Nuklear Winter '68

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Modern Warfare Science Fiction Wargame World War II

Categories:

The former German territory transformed into a wasteland by the nuclear holocaust that ended the Second World War in 1946 is the hostile setting of a new conflict between old enemies clenched in a struggle for the future of mankind.Surviving Nazi leaders and Wehrmacht forces resurface in 1968 from underground shelters to rebuild an empire from the ashes of the world. Oblivious of the climatic technological and political changes inflicted by more than 20 years of nuclear winter they are about to face the mysterious Black Hand - elusive abhorrent masters of the wastes and the combined might of the modern highly mechanized and versatile NATO alliance.Units represent platoons of vehicles like T64 or King Tiger tanks infantry or helicopters. The platoons are grouped into formations and lead by a commander. The formations are activated by chit draw and better-trained better-led units can activate more than once in a turn moving shooting and fighting in each activation. On the flip side of a coin there is no guarantee that a formation will activate even once.This game was originally released as the DTP game Nuklear Winter '78.

Alien vs Predator: The Hunt Begins (Second Edition)

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–3

Game Type:

Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

Description from the publisher:Alien vs Predator: The Hunt Begins is a dynamic tactical board game for one or more players that allows you to take control of one of three Forces: Alien Xenomorphs Predator or Human Colonial Marines and face off against each other on a derelict spacecraft called the USCSS Theseus.From Alien Xenomorphs skulking in the shadows waiting for the moment of weakness to pounce on and capture new hosts for the brood to the well-trained Colonial Marines who are geared up with state-of-the-art equipment and finally to a mysterious race of brutal extra-terrestrial Hunters that the humans call Predators each Force offers a unique set of skills to provide their own diversity to the gameplay. There’s no shortage of terror and excitement in Alien vs Predator!Alien vs Predator offers many challenging game types which can be played by one or more players and a main campaign consisting of 10 Missions joined together into a narrative story depicting dramatic events taking place on board the USCSS Theseus this game provides hours of suspense and action! Alien vs Predator can also offer two sets of rules (Basic and Advanced) which offer beginners a chance to jump into the action easily but allows for depth and growth for experienced gamers alike! The game is a sandbox game so fully moddable and with future addons will open the game world up even further !Second Edition features:REDESIGNED MINIATURESAll models have received fresh design and looks. Characters are more dynamic now and we are introducing built-in terrain bases as well.IMPROVED RULESETSecond Edition of AVP contains all the patches and erratas we have collected over last year of testing and collecting feedback.THE LAST STAND MODEYou can play with your fiends in cooperative way using The Last Stand Mode from First Edition. Aim of the game is simple - destroy Spawning Points of Xenomorphs while Horde of Aliens is trying to do what they do best. Horde is controlled by The Game while your brave Marines Squad or Predator Pack are controlled by playersPACKAGINGAVP Second Edition is now in different box in a square shape instead of rectangular one. It will fit stacks of your favorite board games perfectly and it's much easier to handle now.MINIATURES ARE UNICAST NOWBiggest improvement has been done with models - you can place them on board straight from the box! No assembling required no gluing no cutters - just open a game and play! PROTECTIVE FOAM INSERT FOR MODELSAfter you finish playing you can assembly the game and put models back into the box without any risk of damaging them. All this thanks to protective foam we have used for miniatures.REVAMPED ARTWORKWe have spent a lot of time improving our assets which results in new design of tiles we are using for a game.

Imperius

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–4

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The ruling house of the empire is in decline & in their weakness an opportunity presents itself. The throne is within the grasp of any rival faction bold & cunning enough to grab power for themselves.Imperius from acclaimed designer Grant Rodiek puts you in charge of one of the rival factions trying to seize control of the throne of Imperius. Use clever drafting secret information special faction abilities and varied planet effects to give yourself the edge. You must be able to adapt to take advantage of your position when it is strong and thwart your enemies when they appear to have the upper-hand.Key Points - Unique take on card drafting games for 2 to 4 players. - Highly tense and rewarding interactive gameplay. - Packed with loads of interchangeable content to keep your games fresh and exciting!

Critical Mass: Patriot vs Iron Curtain

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2

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Critical Mass is a fast-paced mech combat game. Players go head-to-head in this fighting-strategy game with deck-building aspects. Players choose their favorite mech to battle it out with each mech offering a different loadout of cards to start the game and unique powers.Each turn players play a card face-down. When both players have chosen a card they reveal them. Cards resolve based on their speed if they haven't been interrupted. Weapons deal damage and interrupt the enemy while defending avoids weapon hits. Upgrading offers you additional cards to add to your arsenal but is vulnerable to being interrupted. Lastly recharge reloads spent cards.As cards are played they go to their owner's cool-down pile where they remain until they're reloaded. As players take damage the armor on their mech is destroyed. When enough armor is destroyed an armor core becomes vulnerable and can be destroyed to stun that mech for the next turn. The game ends when a mech's armor is completely destroyed down to the last core.

AI: 100% Human

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–6

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In AI 100% Human you must choose and develop your Artificial Intelligence (AI)! Integrate new developments of every type (calculation hacking game...) and achieve objectives set by the Original AI to obtain the most powerful AI.AI is a drafting game with a reserve and immediate scoring all structured around building a tableau.Drafting with a reserve lets you better prepare your card combinations and chains. Since you immediately score each card played the reserve lets you optimize your choices and place the best Development card in the best place at the best time. Your AI’s performance is measured by scoring various types of Development cards as they are played in addition to scoring the Original AI’s objectives at the end of each round. Finally at the end of the game you will gain additional points depending on your AI’s specific features.You will constantly face many challenges both in terms of creating chains and timing card placement. After two rounds the player with the most powerful Artificial Intelligence wins the game.—description from the publisher

Dark Venture

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Exploration Print & Play Science Fiction

Categories:

Dark Venture is a retro story-based adventure card game where players construct a twisting narrative to explore a dystopian future with their heroes completing quests to win the game.Pursue your destiny through the ravaged wilds of Darkgrange where magically-mutated creatures prowl the grounds of every seemingly abandoned building and stretch of dilapidated roadway.From writings found on the deceased body of the hero Torgon the Hunter: We are the new rulers of the Earth and this is our struggle against one another. We venture into the darkness the uncertainty ambling through the ruins of progress every day. We live the repercussions of the events that spun civilization backwards while propelling the remaining inhabitants forwards along various inconceivable and diverse refractions. The world has unquestionably become a new peculiar and merciless place.Players maintain a hand of LOCATION ITEM and CHARACTER cards playing them on their turn by spending ACTION POINTS. LOCATIONS are played and attached to the map then descriptive story entries are read that set up actions to be triggered and decisions to be made. ITEMS including weapons magical artifacts armor and potions can be placed from a player's hand into their heroes inventory for them to use. Players may want to play other CHARACTERS from their hand to complete a quest or thwart an enemy.Competitive: A player's goal in the main COMPETITIVE game mode is to gain the MOST QUEST POINTS over the course of a day 6 game rounds in a short game or 12 game rounds in a long game tracked on a QUEST TRACK which can take about 20-30 or 60-90 minutes to play.Cooperative: In the COOPERATIVE mode players work fight move and complete their quests together to each get a set number of quest points before the end of the day in 6 or 12 game rounds.Solo: In the SOLO mode players can choose to play a short game of 6 game rounds attempting to get a set number of quest points before lunch or a full game of 12 game rounds attempting to get even more quest points before the end of the day.

Freaky Frogs From Outaspace

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1

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Finally you have time again for a pinball session. Let’s see how long you can keep the ball running on your favourite old pinball machine this time.If everything runs perfectly you will start the nerve-wracking Multiball or you gain an Extra Ball to play an additional round.Can you achieve a new High Score or do you lose the balls faster than you are able to push the flippers?Freaky Frogs From Outaspace recreates the exciting experience of a real pinball machine as a card game. Try to keep playing as long as possible relying both on skill and luck.This game can be unfair exactly like a real pinball machine. Sometimes you lose a ball very fast without having any opportunities to aim on the targets: Bad luck!Do not give up if you initially only score 1000 points. From game to game you will get better. Score Bumpers hit the Ramps and possibly activate the Multiball... and you will get to scores of 100000+ points as you score with a real pinball machine.—description from the publisher

The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Card Game Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

Trouble is brewing high above the city of angels! The mysterious Rocketeer — who can blast through the skies with an ingenious jet-pack — must stop a sinister plot. Hollywood actor Neville Sinclair is scheming to steal the rocket's blueprints as this breakthrough of modern engineering could revolutionize the future of flight. But in Sinclair's hands it could also fuel the dark future of warfare.In the two-player game The Rocketeer: Fate of the Future you play as either the heroes or the villains. On your turn pick one of your characters and take an action with them optionally playing cards from your hand that match that character's symbol. Card actions are: Move Tussle (combat) Gain Grit Raise Rocket Token (heroes) Recruit a Soldier (villain). Players alternate turns until all six characters (three on each side) have taken actions and are exhausted then players gain rewards based on control of the locations and prepare for a new round.The end of the game happens when the Luxembourg Zeppelin reaches LA after which you play the final round then the game ends.

Infinity N4: Core Rules

Rating: 8.7 | Players: 2

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Infinity N4 is a 28 mm metal miniatures game simulating special operations and skirmishes in a high technology sci-fi universe. an exciting and action-packed near-future where secret missions black ops and covert actions determine the destiny of the Humankind.Infinity N4 recreates direct action operations which are quick lethal and very risky. The player assumes command of a small group of elite troopers engaging in undercover and clandestine operations.Infinity N4 is an innovative game system dynamic and entertaining which allows all players to participate during the entire gaming sequence. It possesses a great amount of realism and flexibility providing players with a wide variety of tactical and strategic maneuvers to employ during the game.Infinity N4 Contains two full-color books in a slipcase. With improved and streamlined rules new troops more background to set the scene and introducing O-12 and its Sectorial Army Starmada Infinity N4 goes one step beyond!

Eternitium

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Card Game Racing Science Fiction

Categories:

Embark on a journey through time to conquer immortality! In this thrilling deckbuilding game become a time traveler in search of the enigmatic Eternitium a precious gem that grants eternal life hidden in a distant era. Showcase your ingenuity and clever tactics to outpace your rivals in this captivating temporal race. Your quest for eternity begins now!Use the various portals you can create to search for the gem. A mad race begins between the different time travellers. Use technology to help you find the gem more quickly gather information or waste the time of other players! No holds barred only one thing matters: being the first to get your hands on the Eternitium gem!One after another players will play Technology cards to discard as many Era cards as possible. Players will be able to acquire more powerful technologies from the market. Be careful building these will cause you to lose time by adding Era cards. These technologies will help you to have more prolific turns or to put obstacles in the way of your opponents. The first player to discard all his Era cards and find the gem wins the game.—description from the publisher

Star Trek: Away Missions

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

Star Trek: Away Missions is a miniature-based board game for two players consisting of a core set and multiple expansions. The core set pits away teams from the Federation and the Borg against each other in the Battle of Wolf 359. The expansions allow you to add Romulan and Klingon landing parties to the mix.In the core set you either lead Riker's landing party into the aftermath of the Battle of Wolf 359 to search for information that will defeat the Borg to save Earth or you join Locutus of Borg and the Borg collective to assimilate your opposition. To complete your goals you conduct espionage fight in glorious battle or assimilate distinctiveness. Your overall goal is to complete missions that earn you points as the player with the most points after three rounds wins.

Apocalypse Chaos

Rating: 6.4 | Players: 1–4

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Description from the publisher:We are in grave danger. Enemies are swarming around the ship and they will not go down without a fight. We'll have to work together in order to get out of this one alive. We're going to need a plan and we need it fast. Let's not let these...things...outsmart us outnumber us and certainly not outshoot us! I need you all to do what you do best. Got it? Let's do this!In Apocalypse Chaos your ship has been surrounded by a hostile alien race and the situation looks dire but you and your crew ain't going down without a fight! You must work together to contest the onslaught of enemy forces recover items of scientific interest rescue the innocent escape imprisonment and destroy the alien leader.• An action-packed cooperative experience for you and your friends to conquer. • Modular components allow players to craft their own missions. • Includes a campaign of scenarios to test your courage and inspire your creativity.

Lifeform

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Bluffing Fighting Horror Science Fiction

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++++Incoming Transmission++++++++ Received: 24/09/2195++++++Source: Antares binary system 876/ 978+++''ID: Industrial Salvage and Mining Vessel Valley ForgeCrew: 12 Human Androids: 1 Andromech 580-A “Demigod” class Engines: Hagfish Twin FTL J-3000 Tachyon Shunters Navigation: SIS-TER 6000 Mainframe Cargo: 2,000,000 tons of Mineral Ore; 3 tons of Trimonite Logged Flight Plan: Thedus to EarthMessage begins:+++Mayday Mayday! This is the ISMV Valley Forge – comms systems failing scanners malfunctioning… one of us is missing. Several of the crew are also claiming to have seen an alien lifeform. Ore-payload canister M-CXC-3790 ruptured when taken for processing. Doctor Chandra claimed it cracked like an egg before she vanished (possible space psychosis). Request advice and rescue boat. Comms out.+++++Message Appended- Received 24/09/2195+++++Oh god! Two of us are dead and two are still missing. We’ve got to get out of here! The captain has ordered Palmer to prime the auto-destruct. It mustn’t get back! Save our souls.Lifeform is a game of survival horror for two to four players in which one player takes on the role of an almost invincible utterly hostile alien while all other players take on the roles of the crew of commercial mining starship Valley Forge. During each game the crew outfitted with glitchy handheld sensors disrupted by a proximate nebula search their labyrinthine vessel for equipment weaponry and supplies to load onboard escape shuttlecraft Remora. Along the way the alien lifeform will ruthlessly attempt to stop the crew from carrying out this plan.The crew and alien lifeform both have a unique deck of cards and each card has symbols on it to indicate possible actions. The alien can move around the starship attack cocoon activate a malfunctioning android sabotage equipment and the vessel's wiring scurry into vents and more; while the starship crew can fire flamethrowers search move or run protect themselves with shock-prods hide shut security doors and other actions.Lifeform is a standalone dice-less game that tells of twelve commercial astronauts working on a battered mining starship far away in space and time who encounter an awesome galactic horror. Featuring an innovative self-destruct game mechanism and alternate playable endings depending on crew success Lifeform presents a tense suspenseful adventure with each and every game.

Solar 175

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Economic Exploration Miniatures Science Fiction

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Solar 175 is an epic euro-style legacy experience for 1-4 players (5 in the Deluxe Edition) set in a dystopian sci-fi future. The game utilizes bag-building area control and worker placement. It is inspired as a fusion between classic euro games such as Orleans and El Grande and a unique thematic and evolving universe. Solar 175 is set in a prosperous expanding solar system with immersive worldbuilding and engaging narratives. The game is rich on theme and will feature interesting ethical and philosophical choices as well as engaging euro style gameplay.Play occurs across three cyclical phases the draw phase the assign phase and the action phase. Players simultaneously draw workers from their unique embossed bag and assign these workers to jobs on their double layered player board. During the action phase players take turns to remove workers from these jobs to perform a large variety of actions to help propel them to victory.The winner is the player with the most influence points at the end of the game influence points can be gained via many different strategies such as helping to build giant megastructures influencing the upcoming election and building outposts across the solar system. Play continues until one player has built all of their 15 unique outposts tokens which triggers the election phase and end game scoring.Solar 175 has an innovative end game scoring system which changes based on how the players interact with the game-world. This creates unique winning conditions in each game making each one feel fresh and distinctive. The legacy campaign contains dozens of hours of content with engaging narrative and multiple endings. Once complete the game is fully replayable and the game-world continues to expand and evolve endlessly.

Pocket Imperium

Rating: 6.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Print & Play Science Fiction Space Exploration Territory Building

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War has erupted across the Imperium! Four spacefaring races struggle for supremacy launching fleets of starships across the galaxy to battle for control of the most prosperous systems. Only one race will successfully Expand Explore Exploit and Exterminate their way to victory!Pocket Imperium is a 4X microgame. Players will need to use the opportunities to expand explore exploit and exterminate to their best advantage. The timing of when to build fleets when to explore the stars and when to invade systems controlled by opponents will be crucial in their quest to rule the Imperium.What's more in a crowded galaxy players must choose wisely when to make alliances to bring down powerful enemies — and when to break those pacts to critically weaken their former allies!

Futuropia

Rating: 6.3 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Economic Environmental Industry / Manufacturing Political Science Fiction

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In Futuropia Friedemann Friese's big utopian economic game for 1-4 optimizers players live in a future Utopian society that possesses desirable lifestyle qualities for all of its citizens. Too bad this is not today's reality...In this Utopian society we all will work much less. Our robots can do nearly everything already. There is no need for great envy. It is simply about equality justice and the fair allocation of the complete and still necessary work which then gives us ALL more leisure time.Success means we will have time for the activities we like the most: fishing farming fencing flying ... as well as gaming building painting traveling composing and more. If somebody wants to work more than needed they should do that. This is about the freedom! So let us rethink this: joblessness is not a disgrace it is the new goal!We are members of a team striving to realize this utopian ideal. We try to develop completely self-sustaining homes that function as efficiently as possible. They must generate enough food and energy to allow the residents the greatest possible freedom (thus leisure time). The more people in our development who no longer need to work the closer we are to reaching our goal! The player who builds the best development will win the game and their development will become reality!Futuropia is a luck-free economic game. To ensure you always encounter new challenges we offer multiple game set-up variations which create a variety of gameplay situations ensuring new experiences and replayability. The solo game offers you an option to learn the mechanisms and processes of Futuropia before you play it with other players. See our hopeful future in...Futuropia!

The Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2

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From the official description:The Horus Heresy: Betrayal At Calth is a fantastic standalone boxed game of claustrophobic tunnel combat set during the Word Bearers’ invasion of the Ultramarine world of Calth. Emphasising fast-paced squad-based combat during six exciting missions it allows players to choose their side and command a force of beautifully detailed Citadel miniatures in a brutal war for survival during one of the iconic battles of the Horus Heresy.

Omega Centauri

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Civilization Science Fiction

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Two millennia ago a loose federation of planets combined to form the Galactic Empire. From that small beginning the Empire ruthlessly expanded enslaving or exiling all races that were a threat to their dominion. Recently the Empire has suffered revolts from conquered races and on the barren galactic rim the exiled races gather their forces to strike at the weakened Empire. As the Empire's might and influence wane a new era is dawning. Which new race will ascend to power?Omega Centauri is a game of galactic empire building for 2 to 4 players. The play map is made up of sector tiles and at the beginning of the game the majority of the map is Empire-controlled resource sectors. A variety of map layouts are included and the size of the map depends on the number of players. During each round of play you have the opportunity to perform three of five possible actions:In the base game players take turns each round selecting and executing one action at a time until each player has taken three actions then a new round begins. The base game offers a compelling mix of strategic planning and tactical play as players must balance their long term goals for development and for technology acquisition with the need to take advantage of the opportunities that arise during action selection. The base game provides a streamlined 4x experience that can be completed in about an hour.The advanced game differs from the base game in several important respects. First the advanced game introduces improved technologies racial powers and other elements to provide a more complex and flavorful gaming experience. It also requires players to select all three of their actions (and the order that they will be performed in) at the start of every round. Thus to succeed you must carefully plan your turn anticipate your opponents' actions and more successfully execute your overall strategy. Reserve Fleet Actions are added giving an important boost and a use for spare fleets through these (and spending valuable resources) players can take an extra action. Finally through the Politics Action the full game allows players to select goals that award victory points at the end of the game based upon how well the player has carried out a specific agenda. The full game provides an epic 4x experience in around two hours with variable powers advanced technologies and numerous paths to victory.Throughout the game you will be compelled to make important decisions regarding how to advance your civilization: Will you focus on obtaining technological or cultural superiority or will you build an invincible armada to crush those who stand in your way? The winner of the game will be the player who has accumulated the most victory points at the end of the final round of play. Omega Centauri offers players many routes to victory and you can accumulate victory points (VPs) by wresting control of sectors of space from the Empire (or from other players) by improving your infrastructure and planetary defenses or by expanding your cultural influence. The player with the most VPs at the end of the final round is deemed to have ascended and established the new dominant Empire in the galaxy.

Star Scrappers: Orbital

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 1–5

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Star Scrappers: Orbital by Jacob Fryxelius the designer of Terraforming Mars is based on his Space Station card game which has been mechanically streamlined updated and re-themed to fit the Star Scrappers universe - a space western setting created and developed by Hexy Studio.You start your space station (Orbital) with a core module tile on the table then over five years (rounds) you expand it by paying and placing new module cards. Each year you start with a five card hand crew tokens and new money with the amount of crew and money determined by the structure of your orbital. You use money primarily to pay for new modules and the crew gives you special effects on many of your modules.During the year the players take turns doing actions such as building using module actions playing event cards repairing or passing. When everyone passes the year ends and victory points are awarded: there are six kinds (colors) of modules and for each kind the player(s) with the most modules of that kind is awarded a victory point. At the end of the fifth year the player with most victory point wins.Background story:Welcome to the Star Scrappers universe! Have a seat and get comfortable in the commander chair on a Space Station - one of many that are being constructed in the asteroid belt called the Sybil Cloud. Deposits of Hexis - the most desired mineral in the entire Galaxy - have been discovered there attracting numerous daredevils willing to extract the precious crystals. Miners have to live somewhere so you and your corporation are here to provide them with accommodation and naturally to get rich!Terrons:Terrons the space station builders are descendants of the humans who came to this galaxy a long time ago. Over a thousand years united in the Interstellar Terron Federation they have colonized many corners of the universe. The democratic system of the Terron society has encouraged the creation of many independent structures such as corporations commercial consortiums and mercenary guilds. By making contact with different alien species they have caused their civilization to flourish and their influence to spread. At the base of their success lies ambition. Ambition that knows no bounds. This trait of character drives Terrons ever forward to conquer new territories to discover the unknown to push the frontier of the Federation another step further. Their military forces are well-known across the Central Sector as they strike fear in the hearts of alien beings inhabiting the Galaxy. They became famous during the two Hy’Dran Wars proving unshaken and well-trained. Even now in times of peace the Terron fleet remains ready to defend their territories. And their businesses.In the distant future countless alien species explore the Galaxy in search of fortune and fame. The last interstellar war with the Hy’Dran Empire ended over fifty years ago and since then peace treaties have been in power. Newly discovered cosmic nations like the cybernetic Biosses and the expansive Weedlocks are beginning to influence the fate of the Galaxy while the inhabitants of ancient planets such as the mechanical Metanels and the mysterious Minegglers are once again striving to achieve their goals.

Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Dice Racing Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

It is 2456 and the planet Earth has long been abandoned. The remaining humans in existence divided into political factions have been in search of a new home. Only two factions remain. As they race toward new hospitable worlds they are not only battling each other but a hostile alien race that is trying to sabotage their ships with space mines. Will your team make it to the planets to establish new colonies?Cosmic Run: Rapid Fire is a standalone 1-2 player sequel to Cosmic Run. It's a quicker yet more aggressive game because it includes direct attacks on your opponent. It is also a very portable game consisting of just ten dice and score sheets.

Micro Cosmos

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 1–4

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Micro Cosmos is a 1-4 player card based resource management game in which players try to terraform planets create colonies and bring back survivors to their home worlds.On each turn players move their spaceship (Ark) use their cards in one of 3 different ways in order to gain and convert resources and perform various actions on planets moons and space stations. Players try to gain victory points by terraforming planets scouting for survivors settling them on their home worlds and creating colonies on planets they visit.Once a set number of planets is fully terraformed the player with the most victory points is considered the winner.The game includes a robust solo mode that uses a super simple Automa deck to perform the AI players actions. Various levels of difficulty create a challenge for any player.

Warhammer 40,000 (Tenth Edition)

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2–6

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Humanity is beset on all sides by mutants heretics and xenos threats. Now a force thought defeated threatens Holy Terra itself and Imperial lines already stretched thin must move to defend the Throneworld...What is Warhammer 40,000?Discover the world's most popular miniatures game where ancient civilizations battle in a grim and distant future.A New Edition of Warhammer 40,000Streamlined and updated rules mean a fresh and exciting gaming experience all rooted in a thrilling new narrative.—description from the publisher

Planet etuC

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–3

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This is Planet etuC where CUTE creatures live their life peacefully. See over there that one is on the sea dancing on a surfing board. That one is bathing in lava and that is up in the sky devouring the clouds. Wow you think these guys are weirdos that don’t look like any of the beings on your planet? Well look at them again. Aren’t they so Cute…oh no very etuC?? About this gameThis is a climbing-ladder/shedding-type card game with the theme of ecosystem. This game is designed to be enjoyed by 2-3 players. Players play stronger cards than each other to win the game by getting rid of their hand.In this game there are two types of card ranks: numbers and colors (symbols).At the start of a game whether you are playing for numbers or colors hasn’t yet been decided. If the subsequent card has a stronger number you play by numbers and if it is a stronger color you play by colors. If you play a card with stronger number AND color the rule remains undetermined and the next player will have options to choose.To win it is important to plan ahead and take control of the dynamic card strengths.Ambiente Abissal is a shedding game for 2 or 3 players which is to say the first person to play all cards from their hand will be the winner of a round.The cards used in the game vary by player count but there are an equal number of card ranks and suits and each of these give the players a way to rank cards. That is if a person plays an Orange 2 it could be beat by any higher ranked card (number) or any card of a higher suit (color). In addition to playing one card the first player could play 2 cards (of the same number or same suit) which can be beat in similar ways.Play continues around the table with players playing 1 or 2 cards to beat the current high play or passing. Once all but one player has passed the current trick ends and the last player to play begins anew.Once a player has played all of the cards from their hand they will earn points and when a player has earned a given sum of points they are determined to be the winner.

Mission Catastrophe

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–6

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You took the job on the Deep Space Mining Vessel Casimir because you needed a paycheck not because it was exciting. Lucky you! Now that the asteroid you were mining has been inadvertently turned into high-velocity flaming death headed straight for your ship you have plenty of excitement! The ship is doomed - you and your crew mates need to keep it running just long enough to get supplies and head to an escape pod. Just don't tell them that there's only one.In Mission Catastrophe you're a member of the alien crew on a doomed ship. You'll need to use the ship modules your unique role ability and the Operations Cards you obtain to collect supplies and find the remaining working escape pod before the ship takes so much damage that it explodes. Fixing the ship is an option - it may even be an imperative - but spend too much time on repairs and you'll be watching one of your crew mates escape while you float in the cold vacuum of space.Mission Catastrophe includes additional ship modules crew member roles and modes of play to provide a unique gameplay experience every time.—description from the publisher

Master of the Galaxy

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Civilization Science Fiction Space Exploration

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The Galaxy is vast rich and open to any species who discovers space flight... but nine Elder Races are expanding through space ready to assimilate or exterminate anybody who stands in their way.We are proud to announce Master of the Galaxy a fast playing 4Х board game - eXplore eXpand eXploit eXterminate - using a unique and innovative blend of bag-building card-drafting and tech-tree development mechanisms.Drawing inspiration from classic science-fiction movies and computer games Master of the Galaxy merges all these inspirations into a unique and colorful setting.At the start of your conquest of the Galaxy you have one star system one Race card and a modest supply of resources. During the game you will fill your bag with new resources that may lead you to victory depending on your chosen strategy. Moreover you can use Progress and Political cards to help you to victory!it is up to you to decide.All means are good if you are the winner!You can win this bag building game in different ways - by annihilating your opponents by building 9 space bases or by achieving dominance in diplomacy economics or science.(Español) La galaxia es vasta rica y abierta a cualquier especie que descubra el vuelo espacial. Nueve razas ancestrales se expanden a través del espacio listas para asimilar o exterminar a cualquiera que se ponga en su camino.Master of Galaxy es un juego del tipo 4X (eXplorar eXpandir eXplotar y eXterminar) que utiliza una combinación única e innovadora de mecanismos de juego de azar con bolsas draft y árbol tecnológico. Inspirado en clásicos de la ciencia ficción películas y juegos de ordenador Master of the Galaxy fusiona todas sus musas en un entorno único y colorido.Master of the Galaxy combina la gestión de recursos con el uso de cartas. Con la creación de una reserva de recursos que obtendremos de nuestra bolsa al azar tendremos que decidir invertir en tecnología desarrollo ofensiva o en los planes secretos de nuestra raza.Pueden jugar de 2 a 4 jugadores con una media de 30 a 45 minutos por jugador.

Zenith

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 2–4

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In the far-off future the solar system is inhabited by 3 races: Humans Robots and Animods. Civilization runs off of Zenithium a clean and renewable energy source but coexistence is a struggle. Your goal: unite the planets to gain control of the senate!Players will struggle to gain Influence on the 5 planets: Mercury Venus Earth Mars and Jupiter. This Influence is represented by discs in different colors.The game ends immediately as soon as one player meets 1 of these three conditions.—description from the publisher

Lift Off! Get me off this Planet!

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–5

Game Type:

Environmental Science Fiction

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Lift Off! Get Me Off This Planet! is a fast-paced gateway game where you use the moon and spacecraft to get your Aliens off the planet before it explodes!The game has a casual space theme and never takes itself too seriously. Lift Off! Get Me Off This Planet! is easy to learn fast-paced game where everyone feels engaged and in it until someone has won or the planet explodes!The objective of Lift Off! Get Me Off This Planet! is to be the first player to get their Aliens off the planet using resource cards action cards and phases of the moon to escape. If the planet explodes before everyone escapes the player with the most saved Aliens wins.What’s special about Lift Off! Get me off this Planet is that lift off points (space vehicles) are all different and often require multiple players to work together to take off. For example a rocket ship takes a lot of resources and can carry 6 aliens from various players. This creates a great dynamic where initially all players are working together to get say the first half of their aliens off the planet but once it starts thinning people become more competitive and tricky about things using action cards to manipulate the moon change the board create tornadoes etc.

Tales from the Loop: The Board Game

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 1–5

Game Type:

Adventure Science Fiction

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In the Tales From the Loop - The Board Game you take the roles of local kids and play cooperatively to investigate whatever phenomena that threaten the islands (or perhaps just the local video store) and hopefully stop them. Each day starts at school but as soon as the bell rings you can use whatever time you have before dinner and homework to go exploring! Player actions are integrated meaning there’s no downtime as you wait for others taking their turn. It also makes cooperating with your fellow players dynamic as you can react to things that happen in a turn and don’t have to plan it all out from the start.—description from the publisher

Warhammer 40,000 (Seventh Edition)

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 2–12

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...in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war.The rules come with a three book bundle. This trio of lavishly-presented hardback books depict the sensational imagery miniatures stories and gameplay that are the bedrock of Warhammer 40,000.Each volume of Warhammer 40,000 presents a different aspect of the hobby. The first 144 page book A Galaxy of War explores the art of collecting and painting your own force of miniatures.The history of the 41st Millennium is presented in the second book Dark Millennium. In 128 pages it describes the crumbling Imperium of man and their many enemies within and without which wage war against humanity and each other.The final volume The Rules is a 208 page book contains all the rules for playing games of Warhammer 40,000.

Star Scrappers: Cave-in

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 2–4

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Star Scrappers: Cave-in is a game for 2-4 players who take roles of Galactic entrepreneurs rival mining bosses who compete in this difficult sometimes even merciless industry. Your job is to excavate the Hexis crystals.The goal of the game is to get as many victory points as possible before the mine collapses!To overcome your competition you will have to recruit mercenary laborers use their skills and collect precious artefacts. However you’ll have to keep looking over your shoulder! Your competition is only waiting for a chance to buy your trusted men off and steal the bounty from under your nose!Star Scrappers: Cave-in can be described as a discard-building game. With every action players put mercenaries into their discard. Now the order of the discard also matters because your top discarded card gives you a special action at the beginning of your next turn. But beware! If your discard grows too interesting another player may forfeit their entire turn just to steal the discard from you!Last but not least remember – it doesn’t matter who is the best miner but the best schemer!

Fleet Commander: 1 – Ignition

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2

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Fleet Commander: 1 - IgnitionStep into the shoes of an interstellar admiral in just a few minutes. With your fleet of powerful spaceships enter the zone of battle in which Frigates Destroyers and Battleships compete tirelessly under your command for supremacy over the known universe.Fleet Commander: 1 – Ignition is a space battle game with miniatures for two players. Each player controls a fleet of seven ships on a 5 x 5 checkered board which may integrate terrain features such as asteroid fields. In turn a player chooses three dice among his Command Dice throws them and either acts according to the outcome or saves the dice on his Command Bridge for the following rounds. There are dice to move attack and put energy into the shields.Fleet Commander: 1 – Ignition has been designed to make epic space battles easy to play and to enjoy without having to remove the living room table acquire many miniatures or learn complex rules. The whole atmosphere of such battles is transcribed here in one small box with a simple but deep game system and beautiful miniatures.It features a high replayability -- and with a modular board six special weapons to equip the Battleships advanced and optional rules and four scenarios -- no battle will be the same.The game system of Fleet Commander: 1 – Ignition is flexible and allows for expansions with multiple ones now available.For more detail on the latest evolution of this game see Fleet Commander: Genesis.

Assassinorum: Execution Force

Rating: 6.7 | Players: 1–4

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From the publisher:Assassinorum: Execution Force gives four Imperial Assassins an incredibly important mission - slay Chaos Lord Drask before his dark ritual brings about the end of the Imperium itself! A fast-paced co-operative game for one to four players it blends stealth tactics subtle forward-thinking and outright blazing violence into a fantastic tense action-packed experience that is accessible to board game players of any level. It contains everything you need to play to defeat the Chaos Space Marines Sorcerer.Included in the box are four beautiful exclusive Imperial Assassin miniatures - the Vindicare Assassin armed with an Exitus Rifle and pistol clad in a stealth suit; the Callidus Assassin wielding a C’tan Phase sword neural shredder and poison blades; the Eversor Assassin with Executioner pistol and Neuro Gauntlet and the Culexus Assassin with his psyk-out grenades. On top of these you get fifteen Chaos Cultists three Chaos Space Marines a Chaos Familiar and a Chaos Space Marine Terminator Sorcerer.On top of these incredible miniatures there’s a set of detailed board tiles on heavy card stock a deck of Event Cards counters for various events in different shapes sizes and designs and included dice.

Metrorunner

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 1–5

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Puzzle Science Fiction

Being a runner in Mirror City's underworld ain't easy but you're determined to make a name for yourself amidst all the opportunities a dystopian future has to offer. After all you're the sharpest hacker in your district right? Keep a wary bio-enhanced eye over your shoulder as you ride the Metro though because other runners are determined to cut in on your action!Metrorunner is a competitive worker-movement and resource-collection game for 1-5 players set in a high-tech neon future featuring a tile-puzzle mini-game. Circling the districts of Mirror City on the Metro line you compete for resources as you race to fulfill contracts for the ruthless and greedy mega-corporations. Grow your influence and gain reputation squeezing every credit you can from corrupt factions while you secretly steal their data for your home district!Carefully plot your path around the city to avoid and cut off other runners while taking opportunities to use your skills and upgrades to hack into network nodes. Manipulate the circuitry of a central tile grid cleverly altering the pathways of an ever-changing puzzle to breach the firewalls.Secure your influence and notoriety by completing tricky jobs across the city hijacking black market tech and spending your hard-earned credits wisely. Only then will you rise above the competition earning a coveted place within the power struggle of Mirror City.At the end of the line will you win the respect of the underworld or fade into obscurity?—description from the publisher

Terminator: Dark Fate – The Card Game

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Card Game Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

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Terminator Dark Fate is a co-operative deck building card game in which players work together to try and defeat the unfeeling Rev-9. Players will scramble for resources and weapons so they can fend off the Terminator long enough to find some way to destroy it. Each time the Rev-9 finds you marks an important decision: you must choose whether you will flee or whether you will fight. Fighting is dangerous as it allows the Rev-9 to inflict crippling wounds on your deck but if you flee without doing enough damage you know that the Rev-9 is waiting just around the corner.—description from the publisher

Code of Nine

Rating: 6.4 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Bluffing Deduction Science Fiction

Categories:

The world is in ruin. Humankind is but a distant memory and only now have you awoken. You are an automaton in possession of several fragments that once held the will of the human race. The other fragments lie in the hands of your fellow automatons. You must investigate and piece together these fragments so that you alone may fulfill the final will of humanity.Code of Nine — first released as Old World And Code Of Nine or OWACON — is a card-based board game in which the goal is to puzzle together long-gone memories. Players battle for victory points (VPs) but what will generate VPs is decided by eight so-called memory cards that are dealt at the start of the game with each player getting to look at only two of these.Each round players choose actions that gain certain items such as coins books statues or legacies or perhaps to peek at the other players' memory cards.After five rounds the score is calculated and whoever has the most points wins.

Side Quest: Nemesis

Rating: 6.9 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Card Game Deduction Exploration Puzzle Science Fiction

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Captain Jessica Kowalski's crew has been offered another offer from the Corporation. Apparently a ship carrying a precious load vanished a few weeks ago. The mission was simple: locate the ship assess the situation and make sure the cargo reaches Earth. However the last log entry was rather unsettling. She recorded: the AI of the ship detected alien lifeforms labelled Intruders aboard. Silence is scarier than usual…Side Quest: Nemesis is a game of puzzles and enigmas by the designers of the Escape Tales series but now in the Nemesis universe. SideQuest: Nemesis offers captivating puzzles an interesting scenario and difficult choices to make while under pressure. The game will test your creativity your perception your open-mindedness. Be aware the silence aboard is not a good sign and intruders are hiding in the darkness. Complete your mission and avoid being contaminated at all costs!

Time 'n' Space

Rating: 6.2 | Players: 3–4

Game Type:

Economic Negotiation Real-time Science Fiction Transportation

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Here where space is endless and time is precious you face the challenges of a true space commander. From the bustling hub that is your control center you coordinate your planet's production transport and demand and travel to other planets to fulfill orders.Time 'N' Space is a real-time action-selection production management pickup-and-deliver game for 3-4 players that plays in exactly 30 minutes. In that time you must produce goods and manage as many deliveries as possible to fulfill the demands on planets while the other players are trying to do the same thing.However the most unique aspect of Time 'N' Space is the action-selection mechanism in which each of your actions requires the flip of a one-minute sand timer. Each player has only two of these timers available so you'll need to keep a cool head and your communication channels wide open to arrange for the most opportune deals with each of the other players!While Time 'N' Space is played in exactly 30 minutes a 12-minute introductory game is also included.

Baseball Highlights: 2045 – Spring Training

Rating: 7.4 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Card Game Science Fiction Sports

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Baseball Highlights: 2045 – Spring Training is an introductory version of Mike Fitzgerald's highly acclaimed deck-building game Baseball Highlights 2045 with an updated revised and expanded rulebook step-by-step play examples and a reference guide.Baseball Highlights: 2045 is played as a series of mini-games each of which lasts about 4 to 7 minutes. In each mini-game each player draws and plays a six-card line-up drawn from their 15-card roster of active players. At the end of each mini-game a winner is determined and new players are bought. A team must always be 15 players so for each new player bought one of the existing players is sent down to the Minor Leagues.The player who wins the most mini-games in the series is the overall winner.

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Vengeance

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Categories:

Dark Vengeance contains 48 miniatures Dark Angels and the Chaos Space Marines of the Crimson Slaughter - all of which are snap-fit plastic models - this means that glue is optional. It contains enough miniatures to start a Dark Angels army including: a Company Master armed with bolt pistol power sword and combi-weapon; Librarian Turmiel who carries a bolt pistol and force sword; Veteran Sergeant Raphael and his Tactical Squad; Deathwing Terminator Squad Barachiel; Sergeant Arion and a Ravenwing Bike Squadron that comes equipped with twin-linked boltguns. All are resplendent in the iconography of the Dark Angels. From the finely crafted purity seals to studded power fists to the Librarian with codex keys and ornate sword through to the Bikes with angel-wing panels they are among the most sublime Space Marines ever sculpted.Ranged against the Dark Angels is the Crimson Slaughter. These Chaos Space Marine models contain attributes that will leave you slack-jawed in awe. Warp distress shows through on every detail of armour on the models. Horrific maws can be seen on swords armour and guns. Faces emerge from flesh as bones jut outward. Dozens of miniature eyes of Chaos peer outwards; jagged or ribbed horns curl in all manner of directions. There are macabre brain-like surfaces grills chains and skulls and even more textures. The full Crimson Slaughter line-up includes: Kranon the Relentless Chaos Lord - armed with power sword and plasma pistol; Mortis Metalikus: Helbrute armed with multi-melta and power fist; and Draznicht's Ravagers: Chosen. They stand alongside Chaos Cultists made up of Sect Anarkus which carries close combat weapons and Sect Tetchvar which carries ranged weapons such as autoguns. Both units are garbed in sinister-looking cloaks masks and hoods.As if these models weren't enough Dark Vengeance comes with a full-colour 168-page mini Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook 6th edition; a complete Assembly Guide; a quick-play reference guide; an army roster sheet; dice templates and a how-to-play booklet including six scenarios to enact on the tabletop.Dark Vengeance is quite simply astonishing value for money. Whether you want to start a Dark Angels or Chaos Space Marines army wish to add to your existing collection of models or simply gape at beautiful miniatures then this is an essential purchase.

Borderlands: Mister Torgue's Arena of Badassery

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Adventure Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction Video Game Theme

Categories:

Borderlands: Mister Torgue's Arena of Badassery! is a co-operative combat-action board game.You and a team of Vault Hunters enter Mister Torgue's Arena of Badassery to face off against his collection of skags bandits and assorted psychos. You can play a one-off battle filled with explosions slaughter-splosions sauce-plosions and loot-splosions!!! Or play a series of deadly fights in campaign-mode that will see your Vault Hunter level up between games. Visit vending machines to buy better gear advance your character using unique skill trees equip epic new guns and enter the next game even more BADASS than before!!! Just make sure your tough enough to take on the final boss an Ultimate Murder-Machine hellbent on sending you back to the borderlands as moist and meaty skag-snacks.

Giga-Robo!

Rating: 8.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Dice Fighting Miniatures Science Fiction

Categories:

Giga-Shards: techno-organic energy sources lethally harvested from living beings; blended with human DNA they transmute raw emotion into incredible power and make possible giant war machines with unimaginable speed and strength. The Zoider Armada a galaxy-conquering alien force has discovered this unique energy and has invaded Earth-space to abduct and dominate the human race. All seems lost but Earth finds a way to fight back—with the Zoiders own giant robot prototypes! The pilots who control these robots have goals of their own though and each competes with the others in a race to control the Giga-Shards. Some hope to defend Earth others seek only revenge and still others seek power to achieve their own mysterious ends...Giga-Robo is the customizable card-driven miniatures game of giant robot combat. Choose from a powerful roster of pilots and robots create a custom build of attacks and abilities and battle across a fully destructible city!Act on every turn — Respond to attacks with any card in your hand and gain resources from taking damage—you're never on the sidelines!The battlefield is a weapon — Smash your opponent across the map through buildings and hazards changing the terrain as you play!Dynamic cooldown system — Plan your turns and set up powerful combos by tracking when each of your cards will return to your hand!Unleash your fighting spirit — win your opponents’ Giga-Shards — forge your fate in combat!

Space Cantina

Rating: 7.7 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

After the Intergalactic Federation approved the construction of the largest shopping complex known ito the universe dozens of space traders decided to start their new business in the space station. In Space Cantina you are one of them trying to make more money from your restaurant while struggling against a fierce competition.Every day creatures of many different kinds such as aliens cyborgs and robots pass through the space complex and you need to feed them and earn a good reputation by doing an outstanding service.Preparing food drinks and desserts and pleasing your customers who may be even food critics you have the chance to make your restaurant one of the most profitable businesses in the Universe!Space Cantina is a dice allocation and resource management game where each player manages a restaurant hiring assistants promoting them and serving all kinds of customers! The more you please aliens cyborgs and robots the more benefits they will offer you in return. However be careful not to delay too much when attending to your clients or you might lose!

The Breach

Rating: 8.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Exploration Miniatures Science Fiction

Categories:

Planet Earth… the end of the 21st century: the Achab Corporation influences and dominates the globe using outstanding technologies obtained via access to Gene.sys a secret database of unknown origin which has turned out to be a mine of information and knowledge.However the Corporation is not the only entity that wants to obtain these secrets: the Breachers are expert hackers capable of connecting to Gene.sys in order to steal information and increase the power and prestige of their faction. A.R.M. (the Achab Remote Mind) security system a sophisticated artificial intelligence developed by Achab engineers proactively detects and fights against each intrusion attempt to Gene.sys but it seems that something is going wrong with it…The Breach is a competitive Net Crawler game for 1-4 players lasting approximately 25 minutes per player where they attempt to breach the Gene.sys database to steal secret information. Each player is a Breacher a digital rebel guided by their ideals or by their Faction interests.The game map is Gene.sys a virtual universe of mysterious origin currently controlled by the Achab Corporation. After hacking into the database the Breacher Avatars will need to face several dangers: not just other Breachers but also I.C.E. controlled by the A.R.M. (the Achab Remote Mind) who will try to stop the incursions. In case of need A.R.M. will also use powerful Guardians to try to put an end to intrusion attempts.The Breach is a Net Crawler with a distinctive resource management system set collection mechanics and variable powers. Your objective is to spread your viruses inside the database while gathering as much information as possible.The game turn is structured in three phases: Firewall (I.C.E. run their subroutines against players) Actions (Avatars choose and execute their actions) and Net (Avatars configure their skills and steal information using viruses). You will be able to upgrade your Avatar assign Viruses fight the Guards and other Avatars explore the rooms of Gene.sys but also install programs and use Cheat codes to manipulate the database according to your needs.Pay also attention to the health of your Avatar: if it will suffer enough damage it will be disconnected from the network and reconnected in a different location! However you could play more strategic and take advantage also of this event…Each game of The Breach will be different from the previous one: the choice among Avatar Breacher and Database structure offers a different challenge each time and players have to be clever to identify the best strategy for optimizing the available resources.—description from the publisher

Biohack

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Mythology Science Fiction

Categories:

Dr. Johann Maischberger caused a stir in the scientific academia for playing god with his experiments. The young researchers involved in his experiments were all expelled from the academia due to this unethical work. This incident was known as the Biohack Incident.And then twenty years later.Dr. Maischberger's daughter is trying to bring back the experiment back to life once again. However the blueprints left behind by her father were incomprehensible to ordinary people. Thus they called upon the mad scientists namely those who were expelled from the academia.Biohack is a medium-complexity game for 1-4 players. Each players will use workers called Noman to procure funds and DNAs then create new creatures. The scientists who are the players' avatars have various abilities. In addition the creatures created by the experiments will also bring various beneficial effects. The game ends after the designated number of rounds or if a player able to creates 7 creatures. The players will tally all of their Evaluation Points and the player who has the most Evaluation Points wins the game.-description from designer

Galaxy of Trian

Rating: 6.4 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Science Fiction Space Exploration Territory Building

Categories:

Galaxy of Trian is a dynamic tile-based sci-fi board game. During the game you take command over one of a few opposing races fighting over a territory and technology left by a powerful race Trian. You have at your disposal few kinds of basic units and spaceships allowing a great deal of interaction. Different types of ships will come with the new add-ons. Tiles are two-sided and stacked into two piles during the game which gives more tactical possibilities and at the same time limits randomness. Special tiles like teleport exmitter or trade station increase level of interaction and give even more tactical possibilities.We made all possible efforts to give the game its unique individual character and to distinguish it from others with the specific elements of game mechanisms. The goal was to make a game which could be different each time it is played. Moreover it was important that during the match players could decide which game variants they want to play taking into account variable add-ons. Every add-on is a “module” which can be combined with the basic version of the game and used to make your own variants. Basic version can be combined with any number of add-ons.We wanted the game to be dynamic with the playtime of about 60 min. We reached said time playing the strategic variant with the add-on “Beginning of Conquer” which really pleases us. In the deluxe version the game is composed of 84 beautifully illustrated two sided tiles with 168 diverse graphics. There are no two identical graphics in the game; every nebula planet and gas looks unique.GAME MECHANICS AND RULES:The matches are played in turns which take place in a clockwise manner. Starting with the first player every subsequent draws a tile in their turn and places it on the table. This way planetary systems nebulas and space (in which the spaceships travel) of different sizes are created. From nebulas we receive a certain amount of resources (crystals) every turn. The basic unit of the game is an emissary who can fight over nebulas and planetary systems. If the system is won over the emissary is able to take control of the research stations left by the Trian race. Stations can be leveled up. The points in the game can be obtained in various ways. By means of: closing planetary systems nebulas and space; leveling up the stations on nebulas and collecting resources (crystals) from them; conducting research or fights between ships. Game mechanics allow the application of different strategies and tactics. The game also includes tiles allowing special actions.What defines Galaxy of Trian:

CoLab

Rating: 7.1 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Economic Miniatures Science Fiction Spies / Secret Agents

Categories:

The dawn of a new age approaches and we stand at the precipice. The unbridled power of nature awakens something within. Mysteries demand to be explored and the results are not always what we expect. Creepy creatures dangerous devices precarious potions CoLaboratory Incorporated provides a shared laboratory space that is the perfect home for your and your outlandish creations.Build interesting devices that open new possibilities. Brew potions that grant you fantastic on-demand abilities. Create strange monsters and earn great renown. All while keeping an eye on your fellow scientist and their minions. Scientists bring research into the lab to use on their experiments but they are not the only ones who benefit. Occupy a space adjacent to the research dice held by any minion and you can use it for your own creations.Collect monster device or potion dice to generate more research that can be used on your creations.Expand the laboratory giving everyone new opportunities.With each new creation your collection grows and the placement of each creation in your grid can create new opportunities or gain more renown. Once a player builds their 12th creation the end of the game is triggered and the player with the most renown (points) wins.CoLab worker and dice placement game with dice collection. Players compete to gain the most renown through building monster device or potion cards over the course of the game. Each turn you send a minion to a tower space to gather resources or return a minion. Your minions also hold your resource dice. This resource can be used by players at either adjacent laboratory location. Then you place your player miniature on a laboratory location and either put the adjacent minions to work collecting more resources or build cards according to what is available at that lab. As the game progresses the board expands giving new opportunities for all players who visit that location.Build a wide variety of monsters potions and devices or focus on one type to gain the most renown and win the game.CoLab employs a series of '“take this”' mechanics where players provide resources minions or other opportunities to their opponents in exchange for resources or points. Balancing how much you give away with the opportunities your opponents may create is the real trick to becoming the most renowned scientist in CoLab.—description from the publisher

Infinity: Operation Icestorm

Rating: 8.4 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Categories:

Abstract Strategy Science Fiction

The war goes to the frozen World of SvalarheimaOperation: Icestorm introduces 3rd edition rules and is a perfect starter set for players wanting to get into Infinity N3: Core Book game providing forces of Pan Oceania and Nomads to engage in combat against one another.Infinity is a game with 28mm high metal miniatures that simulates combat and special operations in a science fiction environment with Manga aesthetics.The box contains a game mat and a selection of scenery. Their inclusion in this box set means players instantly have everything they need to get their table ready for playing Infinity.Note: Operation Icestorm is a two player starter kit which contains a booklet on how to play the game. The main rules are available for free online or in a printed book for purchase.

Neuroriders

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Abstract

Categories:

We're a group of neuroscientists specializing in degenerative brain diseases. We're implementing new technology for preserving memories in our patients. This amazing invention is the nanobots called NeuroridersNeuroriders is a tile-laying game where the players will be traveling around the brain looking for the right amount of data they can take care of. To achieve this goal they have to connect doors and avoid getting caught by crystalized areas.

Aqua ROVE: Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer

Rating: 7.8 | Players: 1

Game Type:

Card Game Print & Play Science Fiction

Categories:

Sometimes even the familiar can be alien. As a ROVE (Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer) you are accustomed to the rigors of space but the impenetrable darkness of the ocean depths is a brand-new challenge to confront.Aqua ROVE is a standalone entry in the ROVE series. In this solo spatial puzzler the player must complete missions by using their movement cards to align ROVE’s modules in the proper pattern. Each module has a unique one-time ability that can give ROVE a much-needed boost at a key moment. As ROVE travels further efficient use of movement points and module abilities becomes paramount to achieve success.Experienced ROVE players will notice that there are a few changes in Aqua ROVE. For one movement cards no longer provide generic points that are limited by the modules’ movement restrictions. Instead each card provides both the points and the direction of movement providing a major twist to the original gameplay. All modules have been replaced with new abilities to match this change. However each pattern now requires two specific fixed modules to complete rather than one. And as befits an ocean adventure ROVE’s missions are now placed vertically rather than horizontally to create a beautiful panorama of your descent.

BattleTech: Alpha Strike Box Set

Rating: 8.4 | Players: 2

Game Type:

Dice Miniatures Science Fiction Wargame

Categories:

In Battletech: Alpha Strike you take command of large-scale engagements fueled by tabletop miniatures gameplay designed for the modern wargamer. Inside is everything you need to start tossing dice and moving miniatures on your game table.BattleTech is the world’s greatest armored-combat game. And in Alpha Strike you take command of large-scale engagements with tabletop-miniatures gameplay designed for the modern wargamer. Inside includes everything you need to start tossing dice and charging toward the enemy on your gaming table.The follow Battlemech Miniatures are included in this box: Fire Moth Nova Pouncer Timber Wolf Warhawk Archer Atlas Blackjack Locust Phoenix Hawk Warhammer Wasp WraithThe Wraith and Pouncer are the new releases the rest are new poses or variants.—description from the publisher

Galaxy Hunters

Rating: 7.5 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Miniatures Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

In Galaxy Hunters 2 to 4 players take on the role of mercenaries hired by the Megacorps to hunt and harvest the rampant mutations. Featuring an inventive pilot and mech combination system pairing different pilots with different mechs unlocks new powers and special abilities. Using money earned for harvesting DNA from the creatures players upgrade their mechs with new weapons and items. Galaxy Hunters seamlessly blends the excitement of crafting a unique character with the deep strategy of Eurogame-style worker placement.—description from the publisher

Spaceship Unity: Season 1.1

Rating: 7.3 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Science Fiction Space Exploration Trivia

Categories:

Spaceship Unity takes gaming to a whole new level transforming your home into a spaceship! As recruits of the IPA i.e. the Interplanetary Alliance the players experience an extraordinary story full of action and adventure and have to steer their own spaceship with the fan turning into a jet engine the blinds into a protective shield the bookshelf into a diplomatic database and much more!In Spaceship Unity – Season 1.1 the focus is on the story. As in a TV series the story continues over several episodes (five in this case). Each of them is divided into multiple chapters with branching story paths for a different experience. As in real life the story keeps going no matter how the crew performs. However that doesn't mean the mission is to be taken lightly! After all the players are the last hope for galactic peace and the course of the story will change depending on the players' success or lack thereof for better or for worse.—description from publisher

Risk: StarCraft Collector's Edition

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Science Fiction Territory Building Video Game Theme Wargame

Categories:

From the website:WHO WANTS SOME?!The Koprulu Sector is being ravaged by war. You must stand against your enemies as one of the three powerful races. Will you choose the advanced and mysterious Protoss the rugged and tenacious Terran or lead the ravenous Zerg swarm? No matter which race you choose you will fight for your very survival. The war for galactic supremacy begins NOW!In this version of Risk players are controlling the three factions from the StarCraft video game in a battle to control the sector. The players recruit and mobilize their units in order to gain control of the various areas on the board. Battle is resolved using dice as in regular Risk but also with special power cards which are given to players who control certain areas on the board. As in traditional Risk players move troops and attack into territories on the board and face off with opponents in dice battles where higher rolls eliminate opposing forces with tied rolls favoring the defending troops.

Neoville

Rating: 6.5 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

City Building Environmental Science Fiction

Categories:

Neoville is looking for architects to build a city that is a combination of human habitation and the natural world. Are you up to the challenge? Position tiles strategically to build skyscrapers and utilities in your 4×4 city. Skyscrapers will be worth harmony points at the end of the game based on their value and district size. Utilities will be worth harmony points when their position in the city fits their own requirements. However skyscrapers or utilities that do not meet their requirements will count as negative points! Who will design the most harmonious city with nature?—description from the publisher

Helionox: The Last Sunset

Rating: 6.8 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

Helionox: The Last Sunset is a deck-building strategy game set in the distant future. Players compete for “influence” by obtaining powerful technology and operatives overcoming social and environmental events and establishing embassies on a variety of different worlds. On their turn players purchase cards from the market with “credits” and integrate these cards into their deck for use later in the game. Players can also choose to overcome one or more of the disastrous events spreading across the human colonies by spending “defense” points gained by the cards that they purchase. Players continue building increasingly powerful combinations of cards to acquire influence points on subsequent turns. But time is limited! Once the last card of the “event deck” is played the game is over. The player with the most influence at the end wins.

Star Trek: Captain's Chair

Rating: 8.8 | Players: 1–2

Game Type:

Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction Space Exploration

Categories:

In Star Trek: Captain's Chair you will go head-to-head with an opponent each stepping into the shoes of an iconic captain from across Star Trek's galaxy and history. Command ships crew and away teams while you manage resources and alliances!Each of the six captains comes with a unique asymmetric deck of cards themed to that captain's personality strategies allies and assets. Each deck creates different strategic directions based on which common cards are available and what strategy your opponent deploys. The captains to choose from are:True to Star Trek antagonism will not win every game. You will need to pursue diplomacy exploration and science with different captains excelling at different paths. With hundreds of unique deeply thematic cards you'll want to explore the galaxy again and again! The chair is yours Captain!—description from the publisher

Power Rangers: Deck-Building Game

Rating: 7.2 | Players: 2–4

Game Type:

Card Game Fighting Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

It's Morphin' Time! Or is it time to conquer the world instead?Power Rangers: Deck-Building Game is a competitive deck-building game that pits 1-2 heroes against 1-2 villains. In this asymmetrical game the hero and villain sides play a bit differently but in the end they both have the same goal: Crush your enemies!During your turn you play cards to generate shards and energy. You use shards to buy cards or battle adversaries and gain rewards. You can attack the opposing team using attack cards and when you are attacked you can defend with block cards. At the end of your turn you perform any end of turn actions discard cards played that turn take one damage for each adversary in The Grid then refill your hand to five cards.The first side to reduce their opponent's hit points to 0 wins.

Evil Dead 2: The Board Game

Rating: 7.0 | Players: 3–6

Game Type:

Exploration Horror Miniatures Movies / TV / Radio theme Science Fiction

Categories:

.Admin's note: This listing is for the 2020 release of a licensed design from Jasco Games and is not related to the 2016 Kickstarter campaign for a game of a similar name that never delivered to backers. Jasco Games did state that this KS would deliver a copy of their game to the 2016 KS campaign funders for the cost of shipping.Evil Dead 2: The Boardgame is a wild romp through the cult classic film. Players fend off Deadites search the cabin for items and Necronomicon pages and attempt to close the portal before evil is unleashed upon the world. But beware! You can't trust everyone and at a moment's notice you might find that your allies are working for evil.Evil Dead 2 is a semi-cooperative boardgame with a hidden traitor element. Players must investigate the cabin and fight off Deadites while trying not to be turned evil themselves. If the players manage to shut the portal they win.—description from the publisher

S.H.E.O.L.

Rating: 8.3 | Players: 1–4

Game Type:

Categories:

The shadows arrived on the moon. From that day on a mass of shadows (called Sheol) similar to a black tide began to form until it shrouded the moon completely and the moon cried the shadows down to Earth. Although technologically advanced people had no means to stop the shadows which slowly filled the Earth and exterminated almost all of mankind. The planet was fully enveloped in layer of clouds so dark that sunlight could not filter through and the survivors took refuge on the Isle of Light also called the Citadel the last outpost of mankind. In fact Lux a type of light radiation capable of destroying shadows was discovered too late.Enclosed between the immense walls that surround the many square kilometers in which the intricate levels of the citadel arise humans have slowly forgotten the external world shrouded in darkness and exhausted themselves in a series of internal political cultural and economic struggles. In fact over the decades the citadel has become a collection of decadent people mixing nanotechnology with superstition millenary beliefs with cyber-empowerments chaos and the emergence of new castes.Only the Scouts explorers of the unknown and raiders of the outside world have not forgotten that the world belongs to mankind and that mankind shall reclaim it one day. In this game you are one of them.is set in a not-too-distant future. After the Moon's Weeping Earth has turned from being the realm of man to a place reigned by shadows. The only bastion of salvation is the Citadel where the last survivors of humanity found shelter to survive. It is from here that the Scouts head out to explore the desolate lands of Sheol in search of resources.Sheol is a cooperative game playable solo or up to 4 people with an emphasis on storytelling and strategy. Sheol is set in a coherent universe where game mechanics and setting are deeply interconnected. It is organized in campaigns in turn subdivided into missions. In each mission players will have to coordinate their efforts tactically to complete the objectives and defend the central game area (the Citadel) from the enemy invasion. The story will progress mission after mission allowing characters to discover the secrets of the Sheol’s world and unlock more items and skills.—description from the publisher

Power Grid: Outpost

Rating: 7.6 | Players: 2–6

Game Type:

Economic Industry / Manufacturing Science Fiction

Categories:

In Power Grid: Outpost the colonization of the new planet advances quickly. There is a huge demand for electricity that your companies gladly fulfill.Can you purchase the best power plants biggest shelters and best technologies? Can you spread your network faster from city to city than your competition? Do you expand your company economically to accommodate workers permanently so that you can avoid employing expensive seasonal workers that you must dismiss to the labor market after each assignment? Only then you can win Power Grid: Outpost!Outpost was one of the major inspirations for Power Grid as that game was far ahead of its time. More than twenty years after the first release of Power Grid Friedemann wants to honor Outpost with this game. He took many thematic elements of that game and translated them to the Power Grid world.—description from the publisher

Rating: 6.6 | Players: 1–24

Game Type: