MOONFORGE

2 - 4 players
90 - 120 minutes (play time)
Ages 11+
Engine building
Deck building
Puzzle elements
Partial simultaneous play

INTRODUCTION

Monnforge is a space mining game in which players operate huge facilities that extract minerals from asteroids. The facility is built from different types of modules and is manipulated by a deck of function cards. Players develop their facility by buying new modules and improve their deck by competing for better function cards. The minerals extracted from the asteroid and the leftover rock material can be sold and the earnings determine the winner.

EXTRACTION

Each round players will choose one of two random asteroids and run it through the facility. The asteroid moves on the conveyor belt in an automated cycle. The extractor modules only extract a specific type of mineral and only from the side of the asteroid that they are adjacent to. That’s why players have to use function cards to move and rotate the asteroid as well as rearranging the modules, to extract as many minerals as possible.

FUNCTION CARDS

5 cards drawn from their deck each round
Used to manipulate the asteroid and the medules
Every card has a default “rotate asteroid” function

MODULES

Two types of modules:
- focused on extraction
- focused on operation
1 of each type can be build each round
Spend minerals and protocols to buy

TWO TYPES OF RESOURCES

Minerals
- sold for currency that is the end game score
- necessary to build modules
- used to buy new function cards
Protocols
- required to build additional modules
- collected from the cards in players hand that have not been used in the current round

RANDOMIZED SETUP

Each game starts by drawing a market condition card (that determines the value of each mineral) and a moon contract (that determines the value of “cleared” asteroids and game length). This ensures that the balance of the game is slightly different each time.

BALANCE AND EFFICIENCY

Players will have to consider the balance between maximum extraction and efficiency.

The less cards a player used the better the efficiency which determines who gets to choose upgrade function cards first. Additionally cards leftover in hand determine what protocols are available to spend on upgrade modules.

Moonforge is a space extraction game with deck building elements and an engine that requires spatial awareness to operate efficiently. The game requires flexibility and adaptiveness each round to make the most of the drawn cards and drawn shape of the asteroid, but at the same time an end game strategy to determine which elements of the game to invest in.

GALLERY