Pegasus North America

Strategic Mining

OPPORTUNITIES IN SPACE

By Beth Erikson Marketing Manager – Pegasus Spiele North America

Originally published in 2015, Mombasa challenged players to strategically acquire shares of companies and spread their trading posts. Now, award-winning designer Alexander Pfister has partnered with Viktor Kobilke to take the core gameplay of that strategic game and give it new life in space with Skymines!

For decades, the World Government and its contractors mined the Moon and the surrounding asteroid belt. Recent unrest collapsed this enterprise, leaving an open opportunity for adventurous companies and private investors willing to take the risk and revive the mining network to claim the profit.

In Skymines, a 1-4 player Euro game, players will need to plan ahead and carefully program cards into an action system. Four different company tracks will be available to invest in, each with different abilities. With five double-sided tracks to choose from during setup, each game can present different strategic choices. All players can invest in any of the four companies, spreading outposts from the stations out across the Moon to increase the value of shares. Players will need to be strategic with their funds, diversifying their investments for maximum profit.

Over the course of 7 rounds, players will program their plans and activate their actions. During the planning phase, players will simultaneously choose cards from their hands and place them face down in the action spaces on their own player board. Only three actions slots are open at the beginning of the game, but more can be unlocked later. Once everyone has placed their planned actions, the cards are flipped and players will activate one action at a time on their turn, going clockwise until all actions have been completed.

There are multiple actions players can choose to activate. Resource cards played to the action area can be added up for a total value to purchase new cards from the display on the main game board. The resource value can also be used to advance on company tracks. Units can be divided among multiple companies, but each resource unit spent will move that player’s track marker forward. Energy cards enable company expansion, spreading outposts in different sectors of the Moon. The 24 sectors on the Moon are separated with single or double lines, indicating the energy cost to enter. Adding up all the energy cards placed in the action area gives a total expansion value. Once the full value has been spent spreading the outposts, that player will receive rewards from any sectors entered that turn.

Activating research and field scientists will affect the research and tank tracks on a player’s personal board. Advancing along the research track will complete research plans and give rewards. Activating the field scientist will store up helium-3, advancing the marker on the tank track and paying out CrypCoin. Placing a bonus marker will allow a player to claim a special ability or reward from one of the open bonus spaces. Once a bonus marker is placed, it stays on that space and blocks it for the rest of the round, enabling some key strategic choices to block opponents and get ahead.

Use your resources wisely, expand and invest strategically, and earn the most CrypCoin to win! In addition to the brand-new theme, Skymines also features a double-sided game board, variable gameplay content, a campaign mode, and two special modules, making it an exciting new challenge for players to add to their game night.