Science Fiction

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. Thus, the BLACK ANGEL project is launched.

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).

At the completion of this long and perilous voyage, when a new inhabitable planet has been reached, the AI that has earned the most VP will be entrusted with reawakening Humanity, and overseeing its new start….

All the reports are in agreement: The Black Angel is approaching Spes, a planet with the highest probability for habitability by the human species. Take advantage of our approach to maintain the good relations you have gradually woven with the benevolent Alien species populating the galaxy, and watch out for the dreaded Ravagers, who would do anything to prevent you from reaching Spes.

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?

Lander is coming to Kickstarter March 3, 2020 but why wait until then to try it? We've sent demo copies to over 130 cafes and FLGS around the world so you can go into your 'local' shop and #PlayBeforeYouPledge. You can see a list/map of all our PBYP partners here: https://www.landerthegame.com/play-before-you-pledge.

Lander is a 2-4 player, space-themed strategy game that emphasises area control (resource collection), tableau building (crew development) and set collection (missions). You and your friends will assume the roles of corporations, competing to prepare Kaimas-2 (the first planet outside of our solar system capable of supporting human life) for a large-scale colonization effort. The corporation that contributes the most will become the market leader going forward!

The game includes three distinct game styles with the following victory conditions:
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Basic Simulation – the first player to reach 7 Mission Stars wins.
Early Arrival – the last year is triggered when a player reaches 10 Mission Stars. The player with the most stars at the end of that year wins.
Planned Arrival – the player with the most Mission Stars after 5 years wins.

To earn Mission Stars, you must expand your resource base and develop your crew with specific combinations of traits and classes. Unlike many euro style games where players focus on their own playing area and can only affect each other indirectly, Lander enables players to directly impact each other's strategies through various game mechanics, such as take that and variable player powers.

At it's core, Lander is a game of options. On any given turn, you'll have many potential directions to go in, which gives you a lot of flexibility in how you plan your strategy. It also enables you to pivot when something unanticipated happens (e.g. acid rain reduces the colony's food production, a rival corporation relocates one of your structures, the mission you were working towards gets completed just before you can grab it!). This means that no matter how bleak things may seem, there's almost always a way back in!

Unique leadership abilities and action cards can be used to pull back your opponents or further your own interests, while event cards will force you to make difficult choices that can impact yourself or the entire colony. Lander is like life. You will experience highs and lows and be faced with a series of challenges that will force you to solve problems and pivot your strategy. It's not meant to be easy (think Matt Damon in the Martian). You are self-interested corporations, struggling to survive on a foreign planet - don't be surprised if the planetary conditions change or your colleagues put something toxic in your soup.

While some orders in the game are commonly used across game styles and player counts, others are more situational. For example, negotiation provides a novel framework for trading resources and cards between corporations with the use of a timer and collateral. Typically, a 2-player game won't see any negotiation, but it can become very common in a 3 or 4-player game, especially if one player starts to pull away. Observations are often used sparingly in the first couple years, but can become quite strategic in later years, as you study your opponents' actions and try to time your moves just right.

Lander is a game that often requires a few plays for you to really start appreciating its depth. As you get familiar with the mechanics and cards, you'll start to see there is a game within a game, whereby the study of your opponents' actions is crucial for developing your own strategy. Similar to poker, players can study their opponents' hands, crew and orders to predict what they might be trying do. The interplay between reading your opponents, using your observations, bluffing and playing your action cards becomes the game within the game. Knowing how and when to employ these different tactics is of course, up to you to master...

Your story begins here!

—description from the publisher

You've done it! You've cracked the code to unlock time travel! Your breakthrough invention has the potential to revolutionize the world as we know it, and undoubtedly your genius will be celebrated across the globe. However, it appears that some of your scientific colleagues within the laboratory are trying to use your invention to travel back in time and claim the credit for themselves. You must stop them and claim your rightful place in history!

Time Chase is a trick-taking game with a twist. You are allowed to travel back in time to previous tricks, known as events, and change their outcome. The first player to control three events in the timeline wins!

—description from the publisher

In Mole Rats in Space, you and your teammates are mole rats on a research station that has been invaded by snakes. You need to collect your equipment and escape the station before you're bit or time runs out.

On a turn, you carry out the instructions on the card in front of you, perhaps moving yourself or your teammates, moving one or more snakes, or adding a new snake to the board. Land on the bottom of a ladder, and the character (or snake) advances one level toward the escape pod; land on a chute, and you descend a level — or are shot out into the vast reaches of space where you die slowly of asphyxiation. Make sure that only snakes suffer this fate or you lose the game!

If you land on a snake, you're bit and must return to your starting location; get bit a second time, and you die. Run out of cards, you die. Let a snake board the escape pod, you die. In case that threat of death isn't enough for you, the game includes a pack of cards to add to the deck once you've triumphed a few times so that you can increase the challenge.

Designer: Matt Leacock
Artist: Jim Paillot