| Reviewed On | Publisher | Designer | Published In | Rating |
| January 24, 2004 | Vanished Planet Games | Samuel Blanchard and Craig Oliver | 2003 | 7.5 |
| Buy It Now | More Info |
Since then, I’ve come to the conclusion that aside from LOTR, Vanished Planet is the best cooperative game I’ve played, and an excellent game any way you look at it. The components are excellent for an independent publisher, the game is HARD but fun, and it certainly invokes the theme of hopelessness and unity that the designers intended.
The board is laid out in the middle of the table, made up of a large hex grid, itself in the shape of an hex. At each corner of the hex is the starting planet of each alien race (differentiated really only by color), and “resource” planets are scattered throughout the board, as well other space phenomena. The very central hex is earth and is where all the trouble is going to begin. Each player gets 3 large markers (representing their ships), and several smaller tokens (representing resource markers – also known as “tags”). Twenty separate piles of cards – representing resources, personnel, technology, and upgrades – are placed near the board, as well as two decks of cards – goals and events – which are shuffled and placed face down near the board. Depending on how difficult the game is (and it’s hard even on the “easy” level) determines how many “Creature Growth” cards are shuffled into the Event card pile. Each player puts a ship on their home world, and a black token (representing the evil “Creature”) is placed over earth. One player starts, and then turns take place clockwise around the table.
The first thing a player does is turn over an Event card. Most of them are good, giving the player a variety of resources, but some are a real pain in the neck – especially the Creature Growth cards. After this card has been resolved, the player starts their turn, moving their ship(s) on the board up to three spaces. If their ship encounters any resource planet, they may “tag” the planet. At any time during their turn, but only once, a player may collect resources during their turn from all their tagged planets and their home world. Also, during a turn, a player may trade resources either to the bank with a 4:1 ratio, or to other players. If a player lands on a Satellite with their ship, they may take a goal card (of which they may only have one at a time). This goal details something that the player must do, such as visit each of the home planets, build a technology at a certain planet, etc., and reach the amount of victory points needed for a goal.
There are five basic resources: ore, energy, money, research, and colonists. During a turn, these can be traded in for a second level of resources, called personnel: doctors, engineers, diplomats, soldiers, and scientists. (For example, a doctor costs one colonist, one money, and two research). Technologies – dimensional shifters, fusion reactors, harmonic oscillators, meta-translators, and cryo generators, the third level of resources, can be gained by trading in personnel and technologies. (For example, a harmonic oscillator costs 1 soldier, 1 scientist, 1 energy, and 1 ore.) Neither the second nor third level of resources give the player any advantage, except that they are both needed for certain goal cards. The fourth level of building is upgrades and equipment, (Trans-locaters, phase shielding, neutron drives, communication relays, mines), and new ships. Each of these cost a certain amount of resources, but give the player a benefit. For example, the trans-locater, which costs 1 dimensional shifter, 1 fusion reactor, and 1 cryo generator, allows a player to move his ships to anywhere on the board.
After a player has finished their move, the “Creature” grows one spot from the center towards their home world. There are nine spaces between the “Creature” and each home world, limiting the turns of the game. Ships cannot move through the Creature (unless they have built Phase Shielding), and it cannot be slowed except by using mines. The Creature also moves towards planets of home worlds of players who are not playing (if there are less than six). Once the Creature reaches the home world of a player, that player is out of the game, but the game is not over until every home world is dead.
Unless, of course, the players reach their goals and reach the Goal Point Total (which is five points for each player playing). If they do that, all the Creature tokens are removed, Earth is saved, and everybody wins!
Some comments on the game:
1.) Components: The components for this independent game are stellar, and I was very impressed. The board is absolutely beautiful, and very convenient as it shows the costs of all the levels of resources at each corner. The “Creature” tokens are thick round black cardboard tokens. There are piles and piles of cards, and it can be a pain sorting them out into the twenty-two piles at the beginning of the game, but they all look good, and have cartoon space artwork on them. Little plastic ships might have been nice, but the wooden tokens used for tags and ships are quite functional. My only minute problem with them was that they were rounded on the top so that if tipped over, they rolled around quite easily. A pad is provided so that each player could keep track of their resources they gained each turn, but we found that it wasn’t really necessary. Everything came in a very, very sturdy black box with nice artwork all around it. It really looks sharp on my shelf, and often draws visitors eyes when they are viewing my collection.
2.) Rules: The rules are written very basically, almost as if telling a story. What I found more useful then the rules were a “Quick Start and Tutorial” printout included in the box. These full colored, illustrated sheets look like the designers realized the rules were a little unclear (they were) and are very helpful to learn how to play. I played through the tutorial game and then was very easily able to explain it to other players. I think every game should include a tutorial, because it helps understanding of the rules that much more. The game isn’t really that hard to teach, and people don’t usually complain about the rules because the game is cooperative. The quick start rules can be downloaded form the companies website – www.vanishedplanet.com .
3.) Hardness: I cannot stress just how difficult the game is. The first time we played, we played on the easiest level, and we barely won. And that is when we were working together, with absolutely no arguments or dissension. The second time I played, I upped the difficulty one level, and we were destroyed viciously. The designers of the game seem to delight in this, however, for at the end of the rules there are several optional rules – each one making the game even harder to complete! When a player turns over the goal, usually there are gasps from all players as to just how hard that goal is to attain. For example, one goal – worth five points – has the player visiting each other home world. That goal is only possible if the player builds a trans-locator, which takes an obscene amount of resources to accomplish! And even then, the Creature moves so quickly, it’s still difficult to finish the goal.
4.) Fun Factor: Do not let this discourage you from buying the game, however. We found the fact that the game was so difficult to be a lot of fun! It’s fun to try and rise to the challenge, to face overwhelming odds, and be the victor. I’m not sure that I would enjoy “Nightmare” mode as much, but perhaps, after multiple wins, we will feel confident enough to give it a whirl.
5.) Cooperativeness: The game, because it was so hard, inspired a good feeling of teamwork. Everyone worked together to help each person figure out the best way to accomplish their goals. There was no backbiting, fighting, etc., everybody realized that if one person died, hope was that much dimmer! It’s not very often where all the players come together in my groups in such a display of unity, and it’s refreshing every once in a while.
6.) Theme: The theme is certainly not tacked on, but ebbs and flows throughout the entire game. Chapter one of a novel (the rest of this novel will slowly be added to their website) can be found in the rulebook, and it adds a nice backdrop to the game, as do all the pictures and art found throughout the game.
7.) Number of Players and Time: The game takes a bit to play – the authors say about thirty minutes per player, but once players get experienced, this cuts down to 15-20 minutes per player. The game plays fairly well solitaire, but it’s a lot more fun to play with more players. I think four is the optimal number, but five and six don’t seem to slow down the game that much.
So, if you are looking for a challenging, cooperative game, this one certainly fits the description! Vanished Planets is certainly one of the most interesting games I’ve played over the past year, and I look forward to many future playings. The Creature must be stopped, and it’s difficult to do it alone, so gather some friends, buy the game, and work together to defeat him! Seriously, though, if you like puzzle-type games that can be solved in a group, with a small dash of Euro mechanics involved, then this game is for you!
Tom Vasel
