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pdu-games · 4 years ago

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Chapter 3: The Consular from Tycho

Marcus Ranieri was seated in the passenger compartment of a Zodiac A200 transporter that was ferrying him from the ASF Aquila, to Covent City, the main surface dome on Io. The Aquila was a Class II Sovereign defense carrier, a beast of ship. It housed an arsenal of artillery and canons, a small fleet of attack ships, and as many as 12,000 crew. It also housed Marcus’s office, which was part of the Office of Consulate General.

Marcus, 29, was an Associate Consular, an extremely prestigious position for a young civil servant in the Sovereign. He was one of only 8 Associate Consulars in Arcturus. Past Associate Consulars had gone on to have illustrious careers in the Sovereign as Consular Generals and Senators; Even Chancellor Bastien had once been an Associate Consular, many years ago.

Competition for the position was fierce, but Marcus had earned the role. He was raised on Tycho, but he was not from one of the old money families. His mother was on the service staff at the Montclair Estate, and he did not know his father, so he could hardly be considered part of the Tycho upper order. Marcus received nothing but top marks in primary school, for which he was rewarded tuition-free admission to the renowned Farring’s College in Gesag, where he continued to excel. After graduating, he served in the Sovereign marines for three years as a junior officer, after which the Office of the Consulate General recruited him.

He was now among the elite, but he knew these were not “his people”, so he couldn’t let his guard down. In the Sovereign, social climbers, or parvenu, did not have a favorable reputation, so Marcus kept his humble roots close to his chest. He had become very talented at convincing others he belonged while deflecting questions about his past. He had grown up on a prominent Tycho estate, after all, so he knew how to talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk. It filled him with shame, though, to think that he might be embarrassed about his mother’s lowly lot in life, especially since she had given him unfaltering love and support throughout his upbringing, and he surly would not have been here without her.

The Office of the Consulate General played a critical role in the political ecosystem in Arcturus. The Sovereign Senate, which was situated in Gesag, the star system’s capital city on Kepler, passed the laws. Given the vast size of the Sovereign’s realm, spanning entirety of Arcturus, the Capitol relied on semi-autonomous local governments to run the day-to-day administration of each of the planets, moons and orbitals in the system. The Office of the Consulate General was the bridge from the Capitol to the rest of the system, overseeing the appointments of local governors and ensuring that the will of the Capitol was carried out fully and to the word.

In his role as Associate Consular, Marcus was responsible for liaising with the governors of Io, Ukemochi, and New Victoria, and he was the first line of defense in sorting any problems that should arise in these territories.

Marcus had been on a near Middle Zone planet, Ukemochi, reviewing tax controls & processes for the upcoming fiscal year, when Terran marauders raided Covent City, the capital of Kafka’s volcanic moon, Io, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of civilian casualties. Given his proximity to Io, he was tasked by the Consular General to deliver an address to Covent’s residents to rally morale. Marcus considered this assignment a huge honor. Given the graveness of the situation, he would have expected the Consular General to make the speech herself, but no, it was Marcus’s show. The speech would surly be watched by Chancellor Bastien and may even be broadcasted to all corners of Arcturus. This exposure was going to light a rocket under Marcus’s political career.

Ahead of the address, the governor of Io, Grant Moser, a 50 year old, a career local politician with jet black hair which he kept slicked back, had traveled from Io to the Aquila to brief Marcus on the state of Covent City following the raid. The meeting had not gone well. What Marcus had expected to be a quick canned briefing turned into two hours of mudslinging. Grant blamed the Capitol’s lack of protection in the region for enabling the raid, and used the tragedy as ammunition to lobby more resources from the Capitol and lower taxes for Io residents. Both sides had become very heated, and nothing was resolved before the pair had to depart for Covent City to start the speech on schedule.

Grant was sitting across from Marcus on the Zodiac A200 en route to the surface. Grant’s gaze was affixed out the transporter’s port windows in quiet introspection. In the other four passenger seats sat four marine guards, who were to accompany Marcus as his security detail during his time on the surface. The entire 22-minute journey passed in tense silence, only broken by the pilot announcing over the cabin loudspeaker that the transporter had touched down on the municipal landing track northeast of Covent City’s Harling Square, where Marcus would be making his address.

Led by Grant, Marcus and the four marines disembarked and made the short walk from the transporter to Harling Square, where a stage and podium had been set up, and where several thousand residents were restlessly waiting for the address. Grant took the stage first, quieted the crowd, and gave Marcus a brief introduction. Marcus then approached the podium to reserved applause, took a moment regard the crowd, and began his speech:

“I am humbled to be standing before you, to have been given the opportunity to address the courageous and indomitable residents of Covent City in your darkest hour. This attack was driven by pure and unqualified evil. Although the great Covent City bore the brunt, this was an attack on all Arcturians, on liberty and on harmony. The culprits wanted to incite fear and dissension, but let’s show the system that we Arcturians stand more united than ever before!”

With that, the crowd applauded dutifully. Great start, Marcus thought to himself, before continuing:

“Ensuring the safety of its citizens is the core mandate of the Sovereign.”

At the mention of the Sovereign, the crowd began to stir with a resentful buzz.

“And the Sovereign is committing…”

At the word ‘Sovereign’, a woman shouted from the crowd: “Blood is on the Sovereign’s hands.”

This caused Marcus to stumble. The crowd, now smelling blood in the water, became louder and more energized.

Marcus swallowed, and resumed: “Committing to tireless…”

More shouts from the crowd: “Villain! Scum!”

Marcus’s heart started to race, and he was conscious he was starting to sweat. He found it difficult to focus his eyes on the teleprompter, so he briefly looked up and scanned the maddening crowd until his gaze settle on a news crew that was likely broadcasting the speech live. This made him more nervous. Marcus looked back down at the teleprompter, when suddenly there was a loud thud on the front of the podium. A shoe had been thrown from the crowd at Marcus, falling just short of hitting him, hitting the podium in front of him instead. He scanned the crowd again. He spotted a scuffle 30 feet to his to his front left. Apparently, the person who threw the shoe was trying to push through the crowd toward the rear to make an escape, while three police officers were in pursuit. Another scuffle to the right: five teens, no older than 15 or 16, were pushing their way through the crowd, but this time they were heading towards the stage. One of the teens, a male with blonde hair wearing a beige jacket, stopped, cocked his right arm back, and hurled a bottle at Marcus. Marcus instinctively ducked, and the bottle narrowly missed the top of his head. When he looked back up, the other teens had reached the front of the crowd were beginning to climb the barricade separating the audience from the stage.

A hand grabbed Marcus’s shoulder, causing him to turn jerk his head around. He was relieved to see it was, Sgt. Aimes, one of the marines on security detail. While the other marines took a defensive position towards the front of the stage, Sgt. Aimes led Marcus down the stairs off the back of the stage, through the narrow Covent streets, back to the landing track where the Zodiac A200 was waiting.

On the transporter, en route back to the Aquila, now alone in the passenger cabin, He was replaying the events in his mind, trying to understand what had happened. While the events were now hazy in his mind, what was very clear to Marcus was that his career was over. In an instant, everything he had spent his life building, was had crumbled. The embarrassment of being chased off of stage by some thuggish teens would surly mean he could never work in politics again. Marcus keeled over in physical pain from the thought his shame. How long until he was fired? He figured his desk would already be cleaned out for him on the Aquila. No, he couldn’t go there just yet. He needed to lick his wounds and recompose himself before heading back. He used the intercom to redirect the pilot to Ukemochi City.

As the transporter changed its vector towards Ukemochi, and with distance between Marcus and his office growing, the Associate Counselor General found himself with a new mental clarity. He had been set up! Well… maybe not set up, but certainly the Consular General had known the citizens of Io would detest the presence of the Sovereign. The Sovereign had ruled over its people with an iron first for hundreds of years, and now, only six years after the defeat of Goshen’s trade rebellion, its people have had enough.

These are not your people, are they? Not any more at least. Do you really think you’re still in control? Do you think sending Associate Consolers to make rounds once a month will placate these people?

The ineffectual plutocrats on Kepler and old money heirs and heiresses on Tycho have no idea what’s happening just outside their comfortable little edens. How many of them have even set foot off world? Not many, excluding lavish vacations to Honos. Their bellies have been weakened from generations of living the good life, pillaging their people to fill their bank accounts. They think the season of surplus will last forever, but it won’t. Just look at Io, a stone’s throw from Kepler. And even here the Sovereign’s grip is loosening. Corruption and gangsters abound barely beneath the surface. This is not your moon anymore.

Head past the Goshen belt, and it’s a completely different system. That station all the way out in the Erebos Belt (or what do the maniacal cults call it? “Blackstar”?). You can’t even set foot there anymore.

And did you think this Terran raid was ugly? That’s nothing compared to what these marauders do in the Exo. They have dozens of ships, an armada, roaming openly and ransacking trade vessels and private citizens, killing hundreds in the last few years. You won’t see that broadcasted on the news.

And of course, Cora, once a vibrant trading hub, has now been hijacked by the system’s worst criminals. Those mobsters no longer even attempt to keep a low profile. They’re so brazen they’ve openly rebranded the planet “Capone” to taunt you. The absolute gall. What a disgrace.

But you won’t be sending a fleet to take the planet back, will you? You just don’t have the resources anymore. You’ve spread yourself too thin. But you never really were as powerful as you claimed. Your might has always been a bit of a mirage, hasn’t it. You control through fear and misinformation. Your loyal subjects just didn’t know how weak you really were, so they stayed in line.

Well, they know now. This is only the beginning.

Marcus was distracted from this of train of thought by a buzz on his comband. The Office of the Consular General.

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pdu-games · 5 years ago

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Chapter 2: An Offer Arthur Could Not Refuse

Arthur was business wunderkind. He was shrewd negotiator, and he had preternatural ability to sniff out weaknesses in counterparts and competitors. He attracted millions of Sovereign Credits (Sc) in capital investments (something his father was too modest to ever do), and used the proceeds to buy-out one competitor after another. Those that would not sell to Fidge & Co., would be outcompeted into bankruptcy.

In only 11 years, Arthur grew his father’s small operation into the largest gas and mineral miner on Koss, employing over 300,000 people. Arthur’s meteoric rise as a mining tycoon made him a minor celebrity in the business world. Twice in the last year alone he had been featured in system wide Sovereign news broadcasts praising his achievements. Twice! No question, he was a titan of industry.

With Fidge & Co.’s operations concentrated on Koss, Arthur could not run his empire remotely from its moon. He had to be planet side. But Koss City’s residential zones didn’t offer the same quality of life, access to schools, and proximity to culture and entertainment that New Victoria did, so Arthur and Ada agreed to maintain a primary residence on New Victoria, currently in a luxury high-rise in Central Arma, as well as a modest studio apartment in Koss City’s Flatiron Resi District, which Arthur used as a pied-a-tier while working. (Flatiron was generally regarded as the best of Koss City’s four major resi districts, but Arthur still found it dreary and industrially sterile.)

At first, the couple agreed that Arthur would work 3 Sovereign Standard Days (SSDs) out of Fidge & Co.’s Arma satellite office for every 4 days he worked out of Koss City, but over the following decade, this ratio had slipped from 3:4 to 2:5, and more recently, due to Fidge & Co. acquiring and integrating Eltech Industries, Arthur hardly spent 1 day on New Victoria out of every 14.

His laser focus on building his mining empire had certainly taken its toll on Arthur’s relationship with his family, in particular Ada, who hadn’t shared Arthur’s ambitions for empire building, and who in their courtship and early marriage had grown accustomed to a certain balance of work and life. Arthur knew Ada felt blindsided by how quickly he pivoted (following his father’s untimely death) from family man to titan of industry.

And his beautiful children, the centers of his universe, how he missed them dearly. Clark and Astrid never really knew the family-man Arthur, as Clark was very young when Arthur began running the business (and Astrid wouldn’t be born for a few years), so they were fully accustomed to seldomly seeing their father. This fact did not assuage Arthur’s pangs of loneliness and guilt.

Honos was Arthur’s idea; a gift to his wife and children. After the Eltech integration was under control, he was able to spend two weeks providing his family undivided attention in a luxurious resort on the tropical paradise Inner moon. A resort that he could never have dreamed of affording as a young man on a world he could never dreamed of visiting. Now, look at him. All told, the vacation cost him a small fortune, but he loved spoiling his family, so he didn’t think twice about spending the money.

His lovely wife, though, was still upset with him.

What more could I do? he thought to himself, still gazing out of his window over the swirling sea of gases. Arthur decided he would surprise his wife by sending some extravagant jewelry (a necklace perhaps?) to her at her office today. He knew the jealousy from her coworkers as she opened her gift would cheer her up, at least for a bit. He figured he would need to include a little note, which he started to outline in his mind. Dearest Ada, you are my cosmic anchor…no…cosmic pillar…hmm, not right either.

Content with his plan, and with his guilt subsiding, Arthur resolved to head to the office. He would sort out the message to Ada later.

***

Arthur arrived at the Fidge & Co.’s headquarters, which occupied the top 20 floors of the Centri Tower in Koss City’s business district along the southeast edge of the city, slightly past 0700 SG (Standard Gesag Time). (Even though the planetary rotations of Koss were very different than those of Gesag, Fidge & Co. operated on Standard Gesag Time, as did most large corporations throughout Arcturus, as mandated by the Sovereign to facilitate inter-connectivity and trade.)

He was one of the first to arrive, so the halls, which generally buzzed with activity, were eerily calm. In fact, from the time Arthur’s private shuttle dropped him at the main entrance to when he arrived at his office on the 54th floor, he only counted precisely two human faces (and of course a handful of security androids).

Arthur’s corner office was the top floor of the Centri Tower, which provided him unobstructed views of Koss City to the north and the vibrant sea of gases to the east. On days with good visibility, Arthur could look out eastward over the horizon and faintly make out a series of his rigs (the Alpha 88-900 cluster).

Arthur sat at his metallic desk, turned on his computer, and reviewed his schedule for the day: back-to-back meetings with his senior managers beginning at 0800 with no break until 1300. At 1330 he had a lunch meeting with a competitor to discuss preliminary merger prospects, and from 1500 through the early evening, he reserved time to visit a few newly operating rigs.

With a few moments to spare before his hectic morning began, Arthur then opened a news app. The top headline read “Terrans raid Io’s Covent City; 38 civilians dead and 200 more injured.” Those goddamn mongrels, Arthur thought to himself. And Io, of all places. What were they doing all the way in there? Right under the nose of the Sovereign. What is the Sovereign going to do about these pirates? And frak, I know people on Io. Alsaad. And who was his wife? Shira, or was it Li?

Arthur was interrupted in this train of thought by a buzz on his haptic comband. Surprised by a call so early in the day, he looked at his left wrist, which revealed he was receiving a call from Mila Lockett.

Frak! Arthur’s heart started to race as he considered his options. He had been dodging calls from Mila for the last two weeks. He could continue to ignore her now, but this would only aggravate her further. Of course, when he was on Honos, billions of miles from New Victoria, he didn’t have to worry about Mila tracking him down. Now, how long until she would show up in person, with her goons, at his apartment (or worse, at his office)? A couple hours, perhaps. No, evasion was out of the question.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

Arthur knew he needed answer, so he frantically tidied his desk, took a deep breath, and used the controls on his haptic comband to transfer the call to his office hologram.

The Penrose hologram coil above his desk came to life, whirling mechanically for an instant while it calibrated its position vis-à-vis Arthur and the nearby furniture before projecting a life-size, three-dimensional image of Mila sitting in a chair across the desk from Arthur. Mila was a handsome woman in her mid-to-late 70s with Smokey-grey hair, lightly wrinkled skin, and piercing blue eyes. Mila had a stern business-like expression on her face, and Arthur could tell instantly she was furious. Arthur had to figure out how to diffuse the tension quickly. He put on a big smile and enthusiastically greeted the hologram. “Mila! How are you?” Arthur knew how to dial up the charm when he needed to.

Mila’s stern expression did not change. She took paused for a second to regard Arthur before speaking, “Mr. Fidge. I assume you have now had sufficient time to consider our proposal. What are your thoughts?”

“Always straight to business! No bullshit. That’s why I like you, Mila. Well, the proposal,” Arthur swallowed hard and took a moment to choose his words wisely. “It’s an interesting proposal, to say the least. I’m just not sure now’s the right time. We’re still digesting the Eltech acquisition, and we have a very robust pipeline of new mining contracts we’re chewing on.”

The proposal in question was an offer by the Lockett family to invest Sc. 30 million in Fidge & Co. to fund the acquisition of a nanometals factory on the distant planet, Ukemochi. The proposal made no business sense to Arthur. There was no business case to justify Fidge & Co. spreading itself thin by entering a new industry Arthur knew little about on a planet Arthur had never been to. Of course, the Lockett family had its own business reasons for wanting access to that operation, but Arthur did not know what for certain. He did speculate, though. Perhaps a front for money-laundering or smuggling of some sort. That’s what these people were always after, wasn’t it?

The Lockett family and connected organizations were Arthur’s main financial backers. In the early months of Arthur’s tenure as President of Fidge & Co., he was seeking to raise capital to fund some his basic growth initiatives. Traditional investors turned him down, not wanting to back a greenhorn with little experience. Mila, on the other hand, embraced Arthur and made him feel like he was part of her family. Mila invested Sc. 50 million in Arthur, much more money than Fidge & Co. had earned in its collectively 30 year history to date. In exchange, Arthur would just have to turn a blind eye to the Lockett family occasionally smuggling contraband on Fidge & Co. transport shuttles. It all seemed so simple back then. The Lockett family continued to invest millions into Fidge & Co., and with each investment, the family’s tentacles sunk deeper into Arthur’s business.

Sensing Mila was not convinced, Arthur continued, “Look, Mila. It’s all hands-on-deck right now, and I don’t think…”

Mila cut in, “Listen closely, Mr. Fidge. I don’t think you understand the nature of our proposal or for that matter, the nature of our relationship. You owe the Lockett family everything, and you’ll want to consider closely the consequences of turning us down.”

Arthur was shocked. I owe them everything? He thought to himself. The nerve of her to suggest I owe them ANYTHING after I’ve made them an absolute fortune.

Arthur leaned forward towards Mila, a vein now starting to bulge in his forehead, and burst out, “How exactly do you figure I owe you anything? Sure, you saw potential in me when no one else did, and for that I am eternally grateful, but you must agree that your faith in me has been repaid many times over. I’ve already returned your investment five-fold, cash-on-cash, and I’m really just getting started. This is a prodigious return I’ve created for you. You can’t argue with that, so how exactly do you figure I owe you ‘everything’?”

For the first time in this conversation, Mila cracked a smile. It was very subtle, barely detectable to Arthur, but he was certain he saw it, and this deeply unnerved him. Mila answered, “Have you ever reflected on to what you owe your success? Do you think it was your wit that allowed you to outmaneuver some of the most sophisticated enterprises in Arcturus? Do you think seasoned business leaders with decades of experience were intimidated by a 20-something-year-old kid? We have been there at every major decision point to make sure you were in the right place at the right time. We made your competitors play ball and stay out of your way, and if they did not want to cooperate, we made them disappear. In no uncertain terms, we put you where you are now, and if you’re not cut out for the next phase of the company’s growth, we’ll replace you with someone that is. I’ve been very patient with you, but my patience is running thin, so please let me know if you’re in or you’re out”

Arthur, deflated and stunned, quietly acquiesced,

“Excellent. My lieutenants are already en route.”

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pdu-games · 5 years ago

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Chapter 1: Adrift on the Phosphorescent Sea

Arthur Fidge felt a faint buzz radiating from his left wrist. His first instinct was to sleep through it, but the longer he ignored it, the more intense the buzz became until it felt as if someone was shaking him by the wrist. Finally, the intensity was enough to wake him, and Arthur lifted his left wrist towards his face and slide his right thumb down the middle of the haptic comband wrapped around his wrist to deactivate the alarm. He then reached his left arm up and across the bed, expecting it to bump into Ada, his wife, but he felt only flat, empty blankets. Startled, Arthur opened his eyes and he was suddenly aware he was back in his spartanly decorated studio on Koss, alone.

By degrees, Arthur hoisted himself off his bed and moved across the room to a set of floor-to-ceiling windows, which were electronically tinted, giving the impression it was dark outside. Although Koss was quite far from the star, Arcturus, – hence the solar light reaching the surface was somewhat muted even during daylight hours – the atmosphere of Koss was composed of a dense layer of mixed gases that, due varying pressure from strong lunar tidal forces, emitted a constant phosphorescence glow.

Koss City, the primary commercial and residential hub on the planet, was composed of a cluster of platforms that hovered at a geostationary point on the very outer the edge of the planet’s atmosphere. Arthur’s studio was on 6th floor of an apartment complex in a resi district at the edge of Koss City, giving him a great view overlooking the vast radiant atmosphere.

Arthur used a panel to the left of the windows to deactivate the tint, revealing a vibrant swirl of intermixing shades of rich blues, pierced by a luminous white streak. From space Koss looked like a brilliant blue star sapphire floating in the abyss. From Arthur’s atmospheric perspective, the dominating blue and white was occasionally disrupted by eruptions of purple and green gases, highlighted by streaks of brilliant yellow and orange, which gave away the presence of the planet’s high energy and rich diversity of elements hidden in its depths. Arthur gazed out over the technicolor sea and began to mentally compose himself for the day.

It was his first day back from a 2-week vacation with his wife and twelve and eight-year old children, Clark and Astrid, on Honos.

Honos had been a wonderful trip. He and his family had stayed at one of Honos’s premier luxury beach resorts. He spent days with his children on the beach or swimming in the warm calm ocean, and he spent evenings sampling the extraordinary offering of restaurants and bars throughout the city, or gambling in one of the iconic casinos. The trip had been divine.

Well, mostly divine. The only black mark had been at the very end, when Ada, perhaps bored by leisure that that point, had decided to rehash an old painful fight about Arthur’s commitment to his work.

How dare she? Arthur thought to himself. She doesn’t complain when she’s spending our money. Spending MY money, really, and faster than I can earn it. Has she become so disconnected with reality that she thinks I could provide this lifestyle for her without having worked like a dog to become a titan of industry? And at only 39! How dare she, that ungrateful…

Arthur suddenly felt a wave of guilt radiating from his gut. He knew was being too hard on Ada, his loving wife and most trusted companion for 14 years. More, she had given him two beautiful children, the absolute joys of his life. Sure, she gave him a hard time for working too much and not spending enough time with Clark and Astrid, but could he really blame her?

When they got married, Arthur had been a freshly minted junior director at his father’s mining services and maintenance business, Fidge & Co. In this role, Arthur worked reasonable hours and being principally responsible for client relationship management, was able to work out of Fidge & Co.’s New Victoiria office on the fringe of the Koss moon’s bustling capitol city, Arma. Arthur had not been rich, by any stretch, but his income combined with Ada’s income as a civil engineer in the Office of New Victoria’s Municipal Governor, provided the young couple a lifestyle with which they were both content.

Arthur’s father, Jost Fidge, was a humble and honorable man who believed there were no shortcuts in life. He built Fidge & Co. over 30 years from nothing into a thriving business with 33 employees primarily providing maintenance work to the three large mining corporations on Koss. Jost was only modestly ambitious, and to him, strong relationships with his family, employees and clients were more important than material wealth.

When Arthur was only 28, his father died unexpectedly while servicing a harvesting rig. Strauss Dampeners, which protected the rig’s crew and equipment from the extreme pressure and temperature fluctuations in Koss’s lower atmosphere, failed. The dampeners were weakened only for a moment before the back up systems turned on, but a moment in the hostile lower stratos is all it took to extinguish his father’s existence.

Until that point, Arthur had not expected or endeavored to be at the helm of Fidge & Co., but his father’s untimely death had awakened something in Arthur. His desire to honor his father’s legacy made Arthur dive headfirst into the role of President of Fidge & Co.

Later in his life, Arthur would look back to the events of the harvesting rig accident and think about how much pain that one fatal moment had caused. Not just for himself, but for his family and the family of the men and women he would come to kill.

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pdu-games · 5 years ago

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4 of the Best Space-focused Sci-fi Board Games (or Least 4 of Our Favorites)

Space and science fiction – some of the best board games we know fall into that stellar combination! So naturally we created SYNDICATE, which explores a slice of humanity tens of lightyears away from Earth. But we are not here to learn about that amazing game right now; there is a whole website you can click through for that. We are here to tell you about some of the space science fiction games that inspired us here at PDU Games.

#4 Space Alert (2008)

Space Alert published by Czech Games and designed by Vlaad Chvatil (designer of one of the best party games Code Names) is a cooperative team survival game. Players become crew members of a small spaceship scanning dangerous sectors of the galaxy. Nothing can bring a group of friends together better than a challenging co-op game, and Space Alert certainly does the trick.

In less than 10 minutes this space game packs in the action! We have heard gamers say they feel like they are on the bridge of the Enterprise from one of the greatest science fiction worlds of all time, Star Trek. One of the best game components that make this true is the voice instruction from the “AI Computer.”

One downside is the learning curve. With so many moving parts this and be a difficult for new board gamers to pick up. But many of the best board games out there require stepping up the learning challenge.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Space Alert: 7.5/10)

#3 Eclipse (2011)

A sci-fi board game with space exploration, area control and fighting… um yeah we love it. Eclipse is a game of space empires. It places you in control of a vast interstellar civilization, competing for success with its rivals. You will explore new star systems, research technologies, and build spaceships with which to wage war. There are many potential paths to victory, so you need to plan your strategy according to the strengths and weaknesses of your species, while paying attention to the other civilizations' endeavors.

The game narrative forms a strong story arc, which really feels like developing your civilization from humble beginnings into a powerful empire of epic proportions. Eclipse has a huge number of pieces and might look pretty intimidating at first glance; however, the components are gorgeously made and is quite and intuitive game.

We think it is one of the best space sci-fi board games and defines what a great 4X game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) is.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Space Alert: 7.9/10)

#2 Xia: Legends of a Drift System (2014)

This delectable collectible is not for the faint of heart. If you are a hard core gamer and you manage to get your hands on a copy of this space Sci-Fi board game, then you are in for a great ride.

Xia: Legends of a Drift System is a 3 to 5 player sandbox style competitive space board game. Each player starts as a lowly but hopeful captain of a small starship (reminds us of that great show Fire Fly… oh Nathan Fillion). Players fly their space ships about the system, completing a variety of missions, exploring new sectors and battling other ships. In the treacherous void of space, players choose to mine, salvage, or trade valuable cargo. Captains vie with each other for titles, riches, and most importantly Fame.

The amount of freedom and room to play in this fantastic world brings massive replayablity. It is a must have for any board game enthusiast, especially one who likes space Sci-Fi board games.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Xia: Legends of a Drift System: 7.9/10) #1 SpaceCorp: 2025 - 2300 AD (2018)

A scifi board game with space exploration, area control and fighting… um yeah we love it. Eclipse is a game of space empires. It places you in control of a vast interstellar civilization, competing for success with its rivals. You will explore new star systems, research technologies, and build spaceships with which to wage war. There are many potential paths to victory, so you need to plan your strategy according to the strengths and weaknesses of your species, while paying attention to the other civilizations' endeavors.

We think it is one of the best space Sci-Fi board games and defines what a great 4X game (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) is.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Space Alert: 7.9/10)

If you’re into sci-fi or space-themed board games, be sure to check out SYNDICATE, a new board game (2019) by PDU Games, and be sure to check out the rest of our BLOG.

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pdu-games · 6 years ago

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4 of the Best Sci-fi Board Games (or Least 4 of Our Favorites)

What’s better than science fiction? Probably nothing. (Certainly not actual science…progress is too slow…where’s our damn jetpacks?)

So naturally, we love sci-fi board games. Here is our take of 4 of the best sci-fi board games:

#4 Star Wars: Rebellion

Star Wars: Rebellion (by Fantasy Flight Games) is a behemoth of a game, both in terms of scope and physical size of the game. The game has hundreds of pieces and cards, so set up is no joke, and expect gameplay itself to take 4+ hours. (This is a full-day Saturday type of game.)

Game length aside, Star Wars: Rebellion is insanely fun (whether you’re a fan of Star Wars, or just sci fi board games). What is amazing about this game (besides the production quality, which you can always count on from Fantasy Flight) is how different the different roles are. You play as either the Rebels or the Empire, and objectives and play style are vastly different between the two, and hence the immersion into the Star Wars universe is incredible. Whereas the Empire is mighty and combat driven, the rebels need to scrappy and stay under-the-radar. Despite the different feel of each side, the game nevertheless stays balanced throughout. And with c. 70 mission cards, there’s plenty of optionality and ways to play, so despite the time commitment, this game is very re-playable.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Star Wars: Rebellion : 8.4/10)

#3 Anachrony

Set on the Earth in the late 26th century, Anachrony is a sci-fi, time-travel, post-apocalyptic board game by Mind Clash Games.

Anachrony is a classic worker-placement style game, with some interesting sci-fi twists. In fact, it is the sci-fi world building that makes Anachrony truly amazing is the sci-fi world building behind the game (the story, the factions, the thoughtful history).

In Anachrony, you request resources first, and then have to go back in time to supply the resources in the future, or else risk creating a space-time anomaly (at the expense of your score).

The game is not overly complex, and a relatively quick play. A must play for fans of work placement and sci-fi board games.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Anachrony: 8.1/10)

#2 Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game

“Though in war, you can only get killed once. In politics it can happen over and over.” – President Roslin. Really politics AND board games.

Another board game in our list based on a classic sci-fi series (a tv show this time instead of a movie) and also another board game by Fantasy Flight Games (the masters of capturing the essence of great shows and movies in board game formats).

Battlestar Galactica is a hidden identity / betrayal game at its core. Players are assigned the roles of humans or cylons at the beginning of the game, and throughout the game, cylons are trying to sabotage the humans’ efforts to keep the Galactica humming. Eventually the cylons reveal themselves and launch an open assault on the Galactica. If the humans can get the Galactica to Kobol before the cylons destroy it, they win.

The game is relatively straightforward, and as with Star Wars, Fantasy Flight nails the art and immersion.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Battlestar Galactica 7.7/10)

#1 Scythe

Scythe is alt-history sci-fi board game by Stonemaier Games, set in a 1920’s run rampant with heavily armored mechs. The name of game is simple: enlarge your territory, recruit, harvest resources, and finally, launch your mechs.

Each faction has different abilities, and you start the game with a different secret objective, so the game stays interesting from play to play. Further, the art work and sci-fi world building is really incredible, creating one of the most immersive sci-fi board games on the list.

The game gives players a lot of optionality on where and how to invest, with the abilities to upgrade actions, build new structures, enlist recruits, and activate mechs.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Scythe 8.3/10)

If you’re into sci-fi board games, be sure to check out SYNDICATE, a new board game (2019) by PDU Games, and be sure to check out the rest of our BLOG.

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pdu-games · 6 years ago

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4 Recent Innovations That Border on Science Fiction

PDU Games loves futurism and science. In fact, if we were smarter, we would probably be scientists, but unfortunately, the best we can do is write science fiction and design sci-fi board games and space-exploration board games. As sci-fi writers, we like to keep a close eye on the latest innovations and headlines in world of science, since we try to keep our stories and board games somewhat grounded in realm of possibility. (Emphasis on the word “somewhat”.)

Increasingly, we feel like the line between science fiction and science reality is getting blurred…here’s our list of (just some) the coolest recent innovations that feel more like sci-fi:

#4 Meat That’s Not Meat

“It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future,” – baseball legend, Yogi Berra.

We can’t argue with Yogi here, but there are two predictions we feel comfortable standing behind: (1) people will never stop loving burgers, and (2) when humanity becomes an interstellar space exploring species, we will probably not lug cows along with us during our conquest of the stars. (You don’t want to be trapped on an airtight ship with a bunch of farting cows, trust us.)

Thankfully, conquering interstellar space no longer comes at the expense of giving up one of our favorite foods. Two companies, Beyond Meat and Impossible Burgers, have already begun to commercialize a synthetic burger that tastes like a real burger and in fact bleeds, made from pea proteins and other plant extracts.

Producing a pound of plant-based synthetic meat takes 25x less water and 17x less land to produce compared to a pound of real meat, meaning future space explorers will probably never eat meat that wasn’t made in a lab.

# 3 Flying Cars

Flying cars are probably one of the most iconic and recurring elements of science fiction. Blade Runner (1982) – one our all time sci-fi films of all time – promised us interplanetary colonization, replicants and flying cars by 2019 (now!), but we’ve been completely let down (although in fairness, we still have 6 or so months left for Blade Runner to deliver, so time will tell.)

At least now it seems a future with flying cars is getting closer. At the CES Conference in January of this year, Bell unveiled it’s Bell Nexus, a flying taxi that shuttles a pilot and four passengers from destination to destination in the air. Bell expects to roll our the Bell Nexus by the mid-2020s, and may in fact be forming a partnership with Uber in the process. Now’s the time to start getting your Uber rating back up.

#2 Power armor

If you’ve played Fallout, you know being equipped with solid power armor is must if have any chance fighting off raiders and deathclaws. In SYNDICATE, all soldiers are equipped with bionic-synthetic-enhancements (as are any criminals that can get their hand on the tech)…they need it to stand a chance combatting the marauders in the Arcturus exo space.

In the real world, we’re still a few years from something resembling the tech in Fallout or SYNDICATE; however, Lockheed Martin has already started selling ONYX, a bionic augmentation exoskeleton, to the U.S. army to enhance strength and endurance of soldiers. I put my name on the waiting list for one of the exoskeletons so next time I flip a table after losing a board game I won’t blow out my knees.

#1 Hyperspeed Rockets

Parker Solar Probe, built by NASA to study the Sun, will soon become the fastest rocket every built, reaching a whopping 430,000 MPH. For reference, the Parker Solar Probe will be 11x faster than Voyager 1. At these speeds, we’d be able to travel from NYC to Los Angeles in 20 seconds.

While this is a major leap forward for science and space exploration, on a cosmic scale this still a snails pace. 430,000 MPH translates into roughly 0.06% the speed of light, and at that speed, it would still take more than 5,000 years to travel to our next-door neighbor star system, Proxima Centauri.

(For comparison, in SYNDICATE, PDU Game’s upcoming space / sci-fi conquest board game, interstellar colonist travel to Arcturus on ships traveling 25% the speed of light, or 167 million MPH. NASA’s really got to step up its game or it’s going to make our History of Arcturus read like science fiction, when it’s really a future history of humanities early space exploration. C’mon NASA, we need a win here.)

REFERENCES:

Bartels, Meghan. (August 10, 2018). “NASA Is About to Launch the Fastest Spacecraft in History. Target: The Sun!” (space.com)

Thomas, Mark. (February 16, 2019). “5 of the Coolest Innovations of 2018.” (Science 101)

Rovito, Markkus. (February 27, 2019). “The Cow-free Burger.” (MIT Technology Review)

Bindley, Katherine and Pierce, David. (January 8, 2019). “The Craziest and Coolest New Technologies That Might Even Matter.” (Wallstreet Journal)

#4 Recent Innovations That Border on Science Fiction

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pdu-games · 6 years ago

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Star Systems that May Be (Real Life) Interstellar Colonization Candidates

“Space is for everybody. It's not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts. That's our new frontier out there,” astronaut and pioneer space explorer, Christa McAuliffe.

Space exploration and conquest is the final frontier for humanity. While interstellar space travel may seem like science fiction today (relegated to the realm of movies and board games), the day will come when humanity breaks the shackles of our sun and we enter the age of space conquest.

We’re making our bet: humanity will begin interstellar exploration in the 2400s, or at least that’s the story in SYNDICATE, our upcoming space exploration and conquest board game, which takes place in Arcturus, a star system 37 light-years from Earth. (You can learn more about the future history of humanity’s exploration of space and colonization of Arcturus as told in SYNDICATE here.)

Although SYNDICATE is science fiction, there are many real star systems (besides Arcturus) that would exciting interstellar colonization candidates:

#3 Proxima Centauri

Proxima Centauri is the low-mass star in the constellation of Centaurus, and it is the closest-know star to Earth, which makes it a likely candidate for humanity’s early interstellar exploration. At 4.2 lightyears from Earth, Proxima Centauri is practically our sun’s neighbor (in cosmic terms); however, with our current fastest rockets (aboard the New Horizon, which travels at c. 52,000 MPH), a journey to Proxima Centauri would take roughly 54,000 years.

When we get there, we will have the benefit of Proxima Centauri b, a rocky exoplanet slightly bigger than Earth located in Proxima Centauri’s habitable zone.

Colonizing Proxima Centauri b will come with its challenges (beyond the everyday challenges of interstellar space exploration). Due to fierce stellar wind pressure (2,000x that experienced by Earth), Proxima Centauri b likely has no atmosphere. Further, the planet is speculated to be tidally locked, causing a permanent dayside and nightside, leaving only a narrow temperate band (a “terminator line”, in astronomer parlance).

Challenges aside, the proximity of Proxima Centauri makes it a nice testing ground for one of humanity’s first conquests of interstellar space.

#2 Luyten’s Star

Luyten’s Star is red dwarf, 12 light-years away from Earth. Luyten took the spotlight in the space exploration community in 2017 when an exoplanet, “Luyten b”, a super Earth with 3x Earth’s mass, was discovered firmly in Luyten’s habitable zone. Further, Luyten b is estimated to receive a similar amount of stellar light and have similar temperature, making it one of the most likely exoplanets to support life (discovered to date).

In fact in 2017/2018, to check for extraterrestrial life, the nonprofit organization METI sent a series of messages to Luyten. We’ll find out in 24 years whether intelligent life is waiting for us (in which case our early space colonist should be equipped for space combat…just kidding).

Distance to Luyten is an obvious barrier and with current technology, a journey to Luyten would take roughly ~150,000 years, so humanity will have to make leaps in its space travel technology before it endeavors to explore and colonize Luyten.

#1 TRAPPIST-1

TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool red dwarf 40 light-years from Earth, is the furthest star system on this list, but it is perhaps the most exciting because astronomers announced in 2017 that TRAPPIST-1 has 7 temperate terrestrial planets (similar in size to Earth or slightly smaller), 3 of which are in TRAPPIST-1’s habitable zone (TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g).

TRAPPIST-1 is exciting because it could support a complex interplanetary trade system (as we imagine in our board game, SYNDICATE) given the large number Earth-like planets in the system, but moreover, because TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool red dwarf and it is expected to burn for 4 – 5 trillion years (or 400 – 500x longer than our sun). In fact, TRAPPIST-1 will be one of the last remaining stars still burning in the universe when the gas needed to form new stars has been exhausted.

As such, TRAPPIST-1 will almost certainly become home to humans (or our evolved decedents), at some point in our future.

Of course, all interstellar space exploration is sci-fi for now, but so was any sort of space travel 100 years ago. Since you may not be alive when we start colonizing the stars, you can get your fill of space exploration and conquest through our board game, SYNDICATE.

REFERENCES:

Anglada-Escudé, Guillem; et al. (2016). "A terrestrial planet candidate in a temperate orbit around Proxima Centauri". Nature.

N. Astudillo-Defru (March 17, 2017), “The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets.”

Delrez, Laetitia, et al. (9 January 2018). "Early 2017 observations of TRAPPIST-1 with Spitzer”

Grimm, Simon L., et al. (5 February 2018). "The nature of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets"

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pdu-games · 6 years ago

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We, at PDU Games, love board games, but I guess that’s obvious since we started a board game company. Collectively, in our lives we’ve played easily over 1,000 board and card games, many of which were inspirations for us while designing SYNDICATE, our upcoming board game.

We also love science fiction, especially sci-fi that centers on space exploration and conquest (which is why sci-fi and space exploration/conquest themes are heavily central to SYNDICATE’s narrative).

Check out our blog: https://www.pdu-games.com/blog

This is where we share what we’re paying attention to in the board game, space exploration, science, and science fiction communities.

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pdu-games · 6 years ago

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4 of the Best Space Exploration and Space Conquest Board Games (or Least 4 of Our Favorites)

While we would love to include SYNDICATE as one of the best space exploration and conquest board games, we’ll try to be uncharacteristically humble and refrain (for now), especially since SYNDICATE has not yet been widely released, so odds are you haven’t played it. Instead we’ll focus on our favorite other board games in the space exploration and conquest genre, all of which inspired us (at least a bit) while designing SYNDICATE.

#4 Terraforming Mars

Terraforming Mars is a modern space / sci-fi classic by Stronghold Games. The objective is simple: terraform mars. (You might have guessed that from the name.) What’s not simple is you are competing against players (each controlling a futuristic space corporation) and racing against time (as measured by the temperature and oxygen on Mars) to complete terraforming projects and accumulate victory points.

What makes this one of our favorite games (not just in the space / sci fi genre) is that the game is very easy to learn (certainly relative to some of the other heavier strategy games on this list) but it still manages to have complex nuances in its game play and strategy that keep the game interesting and replayable. It’s nuanced simplicity is why Terraforming Mars is one of the most commercially successful and popular board games of the last 3 years.

We also commend Stronghold Games on creating a rich universe of sequels, prequels and expansions that keep the game even fresher. The latest in the series, Terraforming Mars: Turmoil, which looks amazing, recently closed its Kickstarter campaign at $1.4 million (with 26,000 backers). Terraforming Mars: Turmoil promises to be “the biggest & most strategic expansion to Terraforming Mars.” We can’t wait…bring on the space politics!

(By the way, if you’ve read the History of Arcturus, you know before colonozing other star systems, humanity starts by terraforming and colonizing Mars, so in a sense, Terraforming Mars is a spiritual prequel to SYNDICATE.)

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Terraforming Mars: 8.4/10)

#3 Exodus: Proxima Centauri

Exodus: Proxima Centauri (by NSKN Games) is perhaps the board game on our list that has least space exploration but makes up for that with a lot of juicy space combat.

You control one of six human factions in the Proxima Centauri star system building your empire, researching advanced sci-fi technologies, upgrading you’re your weapons, building ships, and combating other players (and/or the Resistance).

This is a long-game, to say the least (around 3 hours, depending on how focused the players are), but the game is kept interesting by having multiple phases and mixing space politics with heavy sci-fi military action / combat. This game certainly isn’t for the faint of heart…be prepare for a lot of combat.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Exodus: Proxima Centauri: 7.2/10)

#2 Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy is a sci-fi / space-themed heavy strategy board game by Lautapelit.fi, which puts in control an interstellar civilization warring with other players for control of planets, which you need to control to generate resource income. Heavy on both space exploration and space combat, this game is intensely gripping.

There’s a lot to love in this game, but the highlights for us are the custom spaceship / fleet construction or the great research element, which allows you to play with a ton of different cool sci-fi technologies that augment your strategies in wild ways.

This is also a game that will test your friendships. To win, you’ll likely need to enter some shaky alliances with other players, who could (and likely will) double cross you at anytime. Space is no place for friendships.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Eclipse: 7.9/10)

#1 Gaia Project

In Gaia Project (by Z-Man Games), is one of our favorite space / conquest / sci-fi board games because of the interconnectedness / responsiveness of different strategies. There are many things to do and research, but ultimately you need to adjust your strategy based on the strategies of others since this is not a game about brute force. It’s not the easiest game to learn – you’ll need to be patient with the rule book – but once you get it, you’ll want to play and replay over-and-over again.

Gaia Project is a follow-up to Z-Man Games’s 2012 hit, Terra Mystica (another great game), and if you’ve never played Terra Mystica, we’d highly recommend it before jumping into Gaia Project. In many ways, Z-Man Games remade and expanded Terra Mystica when it made Gaia Project. Play style and the objectives are largely the same between the two games, with the key difference being Terra Mystica is in the fantasy-realm whereas Gaia Project is a sci-fi game focused on space exploration and conquest.

(If you want to play Terra Mystica, but don’t want to run out and buy another board game just to play Gaia Project, we highly recommend checking out the video game adaptation of Terra Mystica on Steam.)

If you’ve played SYNDICATE, you’d probably also notice Gaia Project has similarities to SYNDICATE. In both games, you play as different faction – in SYNDICATE, you play as different “syndicates”, but it’s conceptually the same – with each faction imbued with special abilities. Both games also have a similar objective: spread through space, colonizing / conquering different planets and allow players to invest in different sci-fi skills to enhance their ability to complete their objectives.

Where Gaia Project and SYNDICATE really depart are in two areas: (1) how you colonize planets, and (2) secondary-themes of the board games. In Gaia Project, you are terraforming planets, while in SYNDICATE, you are colonizing but also combating other players to grow and protect your space criminal empire. Related, in Gaia Project you are principally scientist, whereas in SYNDICATE, the game centers around organized space crime and interplanetary gangsters, so while both games are sci-fi themed, the games feel very different.

Nevertheless, we’ll forgive Gaia Project for lack of space crime, and it remains one of our all-time favorite board games. But hey, if space crime is your thing, check out SYNDICATE.

(BoardGameGeek average review / rating for Gaia Project: 8.5/10)

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