ISS Vanguard

Description

--- <TLDR> ISS Vanguard: 1-4 player co-op sci-fi campaign board game blending ship management, planetary exploration, crew recruitment, and branching narratives. </TLDR> Key mechanics include: - *Co-operative campaign* for 1-4 players managing security, recon, science, engineering sections with branching storylines, twists, and hard choices by Krzysztof Piskorski. - *Ship Management phase* using a large binder: choose destinations, research technologies, produce equipment, recruit from over 100 unique crew members, resolve situations, unload resources, heal/memorialize crew, update planet statuses. - *Planetary Exploration phase*: deploy specialized Landers with custom outfitting for landing, explore Places of Interest via dice checks using cards, crew, equipment; combat threats amid supplies depletion timer before lift-off. - *Strategic resource decisions* in ship management pursuing DNA-encoded galactic mystery. - *Tactical exploration* balancing crew, gear, and Lander choices against planetary perils. - *Narrative system* via interconnected Mission Logs (journal snippets, dialogue) for choices, progress tracking. ISS Vanguard is a 1-4 player co-operative campaign board game immersing players in an epic sci-fi adventure aboard humanity's first interstellar ship, managing four sections—security, recon, science, engineering—to unravel a DNA-encoded galactic mystery. Featuring a unique story by Krzysztof Piskorski (Tainted Grail) with tough choices, twists, and branching narratives delivered through a web of structured Mission Logs like journal entries or dialogue, gameplay cycles between Ship Management phases in a large binder with printed sleeves—selecting destinations, researching technologies, producing equipment, recruiting from over 100 unique crew members, resolving situations, unloading discoveries/resources from Landers, healing or memorializing crew, and recording persistent planet changes—and intense Planetary Exploration phases entailing customized Lander descents into planetary atmospheres, tactical navigation of Places of Interest via dice checks supported by cards, crew, and equipment, fending off threats under a depleting supplies timer, and racing back for lift-off. Ship Management emphasizes strategic resource allocation and long-term planning, while Exploration demands tactical prowess in outfitting Landers and assembling expedition teams. ---