Asteroid Miners
Mine the ore, upgrade your Control Panel, and fulfill your orders as the asteroid disintegrates around you.
2–5p · 30–45min · Age 10+ · Medium · Active 2019–present
Categories: Science Fiction
Mechanisms: Modular Board, Pick-up and Deliver, Push Your Luck, Set Collection, Variable Player Powers
You and your opponents are racing to collect as many sets of ore (Cobalt, Iron, and Nickel) from an asteroid as it breaks apart from under you: every time you draw an Unstable Ore token from the bag, that zone of the asteroid is closer to destruction.
Each set of ore you form into a stack earns you a card which can be used either to redeem an order for the ore in that stack, or can be installed into your Control Panel to enhance your abilities to move ore around. These abilities alter the basic actions of your Control Panel, enabling more flexible movement so you can gather what you need or they can be used to score collected ore, but not both at the same time.
Fly your ship in, move stacks around, load your ship, fly home, and score! After every turn, draw ore from the bag to replenish then explode any zones that are mined out. When the last zone goes, the game is over. Every turn is a puzzle, and every explosion is a relief for some and a disaster for others.