Age of the Moon

In Aleksandra Kozawkska's Age of the Moon, the 2-4 players are acquiring assets, buying rocket ships and launching them to deliver their payloads into lunar orbit and/or the surface of the moon, with the the ultimate aim of being the first to complete a habitable four-module lunar base.

It's a tense strategic resource management game where the assets you build earn you the resources for subsequent expansion. Resources are tight, and with a punishing 4:1 conversion rate! The standout feature of Age of the Moon, however, is its focus on diplomacy and negotiation. Tho' it's a competitive game, players are incentivised to trade and make deals with each other, earning International Community Points (ICP) through cooperation or, at least, making shared 'Prisoner's Dilemma'-style choices. The ICP aren't victory points but there are rewards for advancing up the track and penalties for slipping back; and if two or more players complete their fully-operational lunar bases in the same turn, it's position on the ICP track that becomes the tie-breaker.

Tho' it's not rocket science, Age of the Moon has a definite feel of scientific verisimilitude. And tho' it's primarily a game of skill and diplomacy, there's an element of luck that adds to the excitement of play. As Events are revealed they can shake up play - usually for all players, but in some cases just for players with a specific specialty. And as space-going entrepreneurs have found to their cost, rocket launches don't always go to plan... In Age of the Moon, rocket launches are subject to a d6 die roll: roll a 1 and the launch is so successful, you gain a bonus; a roll of 2 puts your lunar landing at risk if you don't have the resources to supplement your mission; rolls of 3, 4 or 5 are successes; however, if you roll a 6, your mission is a critical failure...

For us, Age of the Moon is at its interactive best with a full complement of four players, but even at four players our plays at Board's Eye View have usually come in at around 90 minutes - just provided there aren't too many of those critical rocket malfunctions!

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