Mission Planet Red

I've been waiting for the english language version of Mission Red Planet every since I saw it demoed at BGG.CON in 2005. It's been almost a year but the English language version of the game is in my hands at last!

The game is easy to teach and play:

• Fill launch pad with new spaceships
• Each player selects and plays a Role card.
• Any ships that launched during the 2nd phase now land on Mars. The astronauts occupy the destination location.
• End of turn. Pass the First Player marker to the player who played last in the 2nd phase.

The game last Ten turns. Score victory points after the Fifth, Eighth and Tenth turns. After Turn Ten scoring has been completed, the player with the most victory points wins.

The only real complexity comes in during the 2nd phase of the game when players are choosing Roles and then carrying out the Roles. This will slow the game down a little bit until everyone is familar and comfortable with the Role Cards.

It's like El Grande combined with Citadels. The game is less heavy than El Grande and (for me anyway) more fun than Citadels.

While it adds nothing to the game except color and ambiance, I'm a sucker for the "Steampunk" theme. I just love the concept. One example of this concept is the novel The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. The Graphic Novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is another good example of the genre.

There are a few games that utilize this theme. Space: 1889, a role-playing game (RPG) published by GDW in 1988 is one example. GDW also published a boardgame based on Space: 1889 idea, Sky Galleons of Mars. I'd really like to see more new games using this theme. It's such an interesting idea.

Thanks for reading.