LEO (400-800km)
An 18 card PnP game for 1-4 players about competitively operating a Low Earth Orbit spacecraft to obtain the most science.
Files for playing:
Rules:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/itm3f4oihqpabkj/leo_rules_01.pdf/file
Cards:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/4csz9lhfgcsx33b/leo_cards_01.pdf/file
Additional resources needed:
1 Pawn/player
4 Cubes/player (score, fuel & battery tracking)
2 Black Cubes/player (defects)
3 Black Cubes (eclipse markers)
3 Green Cubes/player (science)
3 Orange Cubes/player (images)
Game play:
In LEO (400-800km) players take control of a spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit as it orbits the Earth. Each turn they move their spacecraft to the next orbit card and resolve the events on that card (discharge battery, damage memory, use thrusters to maintain orbit, place new orbit card).
After the events, the player can then take one of the following actions:
• Adjust orbit (either moving up to a higher orbit, or down to a lower orbit),
• Recharge battery,
• Activate instruments (storing science or image data in their memory area)
• Downlink data (remove science & image data from the memory area and score points on the science and image track)
As the game progresses players will be eliminated as they run out of fuel and can no longer maintain their orbit.
Once all players have been eliminated, the player with highest, lowest scoring track is the winner.
Reflection:
I changed the theme for this game after seeing the selected theme for Ludum Dare 47 “stuck in a loop”. I really liked the theme and it triggered a few ideas for a game. I eventually settled on doing a game about earth orbiting spacecraft; partly because they’re actually stuck in a loop going around the globe every90 minutes, and partly because my career has made me part of the European space industry and it was a joy to make a game about a topic I love.
The core mechanics settled fairly quickly, but the tweaking of the events and available actions to give the correct feel took the majority of the time. I also really wanted a solo mode for this one and made sure the solo mode played well from the start.
This was my 10th game in my little challenge and it made me realise how differently this felt to develop compared to the first few games. This one was a lot more natural and I felt a lot more confident about what would work in the game, what wouldn’t and what was missing when I tested it. The closest I can get to explaining how it feels is when you’re learning to play an instrument and there’s that moment when you’re not concentrating on what your hands are doing any more and you’re still managing to hit the right notes.
Anyway, I'd love to hear how others feel it plays.
If you're curious, here's the link to the other game so far:
Game#9: “Reactor No.4”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/324067/reactor-no4
cards: http://www.mediafire.com/file/n4ix01j0ljqdno0/reactor_no4_cards_01.pdf/file
rules: http://www.mediafire.com/file/2lwaadn3qpxel9s/reactpr_no4_rules_01.pdf/file
Game#8: “Rendezvous over Triton”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/322141/rendezvous-over-triton
cards: http://www.mediafire.com/file/73q8xcji257m6vc/rendezvous_over_triton_car...
rules: http://www.mediafire.com/file/8l116378h1ywv1h/rendezvous_over_triton_rul...
Game#7: “Hand2Hand”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/322140/hand2hand
cards: http://www.mediafire.com/file/0bjs2mylwjw3zgr/hand2hand_cards_01.pdf/file
rules: http://www.mediafire.com/file/jc1tl6ih1dd0w76/hand2hand_rules_01.pdf/file
Game#6: “The Skurge”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/319429/skurge
cards: https://www.mediafire.com/file/tin84rd8qcgrjfd/the_skurge_cards_01.pdf/file
rules: https://www.mediafire.com/file/kqradtyxjv8oc61/the_skurge_rules_01.pdf/file
Game#5: “Green, Chems & Steel”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/319032/green-chems-steel
cards: https://www.mediafire.com/file/5g4t1pz6084v80b/money_drugs+guns_cards_03...
rules: https://www.mediafire.com/file/5u9ezmwc877ftto/money_drugs+guns_rules_02...
Game#4: “Those Magnificent Men”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/318760/those-magnificent-men
cards: https://www.mediafire.com/file/q2bptjpkqgx2r34/those_magnificent_men_car...
rules: https://www.mediafire.com/file/62ifvf6ihzlv3ui/those_magnificent_men_rul...
Game#3: “Anisoptera”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/318713/anisoptera
cards: https://www.mediafire.com/file/3eznffiwsg6la9d/anisoptera_cards_01.pdf/file
rules: https://www.mediafire.com/file/yltl0cu438mtzc1/anisoptera_rules_02.pdf/file
Game#2: “Dyadic”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/318565/dyadic
cards: https://www.mediafire.com/file/bhceed33r1za0d5/dyadic_cards_01.pdf/file
rules: https://www.mediafire.com/file/xevx4z5jll69ae2/dyadic_rules_01.pdf/file
Game#1: “Gene Dreams”
BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/318089/gene-dreams
cards: https://www.mediafire.com/file/gnoyog6ylt5qtrz/gene_dreams_cards_05.pdf/...
rules: https://www.mediafire.com/file/opo9fv2mda5nuid/gene_dreams_rules_04.pdf/...
