The battle for the Shadowstar Expanse has begun!
A game of starships, ground troops, politics, and technology on Kickstarter through March 24th, 2015.
Ryan Wolfe, creator of the popular Future Armada line of starship designs, uses his well-established ships and setting as the foundation for a rich and exciting boardgame. Short-term tactical combat combines with long-term strategy decisions to create an immersive and unforgettable experience.
The playing pieces include detailed starship miniatures as well as small solider-like crew figures and a huge variety of tokens, cards, and cubes. The modular board represents the Shadowstar Expanse laid out in a 3×3 arrangement of sectors. In addition to ship movement and combat mechanics, there are strong area control & resource management elements. It’s like Firefly, Xia, or Merchants & Marauders in space, if you could own multiple ships and had troops to secure and hold ports and planets.
About the game:
Long independent, the colonies of the Shadowstar Expanse have served as a buffer zone and natural barrier between the human ConFederation and the alien Umbral Empire. Now, however, the Expanse has been invaded and threatens to become a beachhead for invasion. To forestall this, the beleaguered ConFed navy has called upon ambitious civilian starship captains to secure the area. Granted letters of marque, these modern corsairs must prove themselves by marshaling their forces, taming lawless outposts, and fending off both alien incursions and rival captains. Though many may gain fame and riches, only one will be granted the governorship of this lucrative ConFederation territory.
Shadowstar Corsairs provides a variety of ships to support different strategies. Mix and match to fit your goals. Each can be customized and loaded with crew, cargo, and heavy ordinance. Crew can also hold resource-generating locations on the board. The resources buy ships, supplies, and cards with powerful effects. Demonstrating technical saavy and political clout through the use of these cards and contracts increases the reputation of the Corsair and earns eventual victory.
Though a Corsair enters the Expanse with but a single old ship and a handful of loyal crew, they may eventually command up to three customized ships, a trio of cargo shuttles, and more than a dozen squads of seasoned soldiers. Ships can be upgraded, territory claimed, and rivals fought both in space and on the ground. Conflict with other Corsairs is likely but combat is just one path to victory. Political maneuvering and private contracts allow for less confrontational options. Whatever path is chosen, in the end, only one can rule the Expanse.
Players : 2-4 (5th player stretch goal)
Time : 2 hrs
Ages : 13+
Info : 0-hr.com (and BoardGameGeek)
Kickstarter Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2031135231/shadowstar-corsairs