Space Crystal Collector
Designed by:Rachel Houston and Heather Layne
Special thanks to Cathy Layne.
Theme - Duality
Game Format: Physical Card/Board Game
Est time: 15 min
Players: 5
Rules:
Objective:
You and your fellow astronauts have landed on a crystalized moon. Which is perfect for harvesting fuel crystals! Work together to gather 100 crystals to power your ship for the next leg of your adventure. And try not to get caught on the dark side…
Includes:
Magnetized Spherical Board
5 Magnetized Player pieces
Gem Counter
One 6-sided die numbered 1-3
Event card deck
Moon rotation spinner
Setup:
Start player pieces at the topmost center of the board. Tallest person goes first. (They are the closest to space O.O) Adjust all the jem counters to 0. Shuffle and place the Event card deck face down.
How to Play:
First player rolls the die and moves that number of spaces around the board. You must move using open spaces and stop on an open space. If there are no more spaces your piece can move it must stay in it’s spot. After moving, draw an event card from the top of the deck and add or subtract that many gems to your team’s ship.
After everyone has taken a turn, the shortest player spins the moon phase spinner. Rotate the moon that many sections and continue gameplay. If a player ends up on the lower half of the moon i.e. the “dark” side, they are too spooked and no longer able to move until that section of the moon comes up again. Or if they have a flashlight card.
After the moon rotates, it’s the first player’s turn again.
How to win:
All players win once the ship’s gem stash fills to 100 gems. However a solo player can win if they draw the Find a random spacecraft event card. If any players chose to redeem that card roll the die and refer to the chart below to learn your fate.
Find a random spacecraft:
1 - You didn’t get far… Maybe you can signal your friends to pick you up as they fly by.
2 - You took a chance on yourself and now that’s who you get to rely on. :D You have enough fuel to get you to the next Gem Moon. Good luck!
3 - Woooooooooah, what luck! That’s a Super Space Blaster Shuttle! Only a few were ever made and it’s said they can run for galaxies on a single Space Gem! Wonder who left it just lying there? Oh well! :D
The Components
Making the board we used this design and the calculator included to make a 5” radius sphere
https://www.instructables.com/Cardboard-Geodesic-Dome/
Then taped small magnetic strips to the inside of each triangle.
There was a cardboard casing to hold the moon aloft and allow it to be rotated but we did not complete construction. Same with the Moon Phase Spinner.
We didn’t get to making the actual cards, but basically most would give players crystals, some would have them lose them. One or two would allow them to find a random spacecraft and hitch it solo. And one or two would be a flashlight allowing them to move forward even when on the ‘dark’ side of the moon.
Event cards and Moon Phases simulated with http://www.randomnumbergenerator.com/
“Gems received” using RNG -15 to 20
“Moon rotation” decided using RNG 0 to 3, 0 and 3 meaning no turn.
