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Supernova

Supernova

2021·Zach Horton

2 - 5 players
60 - 90 min
Heavy weight: Expect a long teach

From BoardGameGeek

Command an elite group of death-defying spaceships desperately harvesting energy from a dying star before it explodes in this game of orbital mechanics. Utilizing a unique spiral gameboard inspired by the ancient Egyptian game of Mehen (previously reconstructed and released by the same game designer, Zach Horton), Supernova requires you to make tough choices, as all of your ships must share the same energy allotment, and it is never enough to power them all at once. The more you power, the fewer Boost Points each one receives, restricting its maneuverability. This is a high-stakes tradeoff, as the star's gravity pulls all of your ships ever closer. You'll need to boost your orbits to keep from burning up. Ships move in a counterclockwise spiral toward the star at the center, while the star releases energy bursts (cubes) that travel clockwise toward the edges of the board. The core of the game lies in the interactions between the energy cubes and ships as they collide. Different types of cubes behave differently, but all are dangerous and all are valuable if you can capture them. Clear and yellow cubes can be stored and used as energy to perform special actions, while yellow and red cubes count as victory points at the end of the game. These energy cubes serve as your primary obstacles, primary goal, in-game currency, and victory points. Players take turns deciding how many ships to power and then moving each one according to both gravity and Boost Points. Ships can form special formations to help protect them, block your opponents, and collect energy cubes. After players have taken their turns, each round ends with a "star action" that moves the cubes on the board and releases new ones. The sequence of star actions is determined by randomly drawing cards when you set up the game. Thus every game is completely different. Players can only see the star cards for the current and next rounds, and therefore have limited information about future conditions. Despite this element of long-term uncertainty, however, there is no other luck in the game. Players have complete control over the outcomes of their actions. Supernova is relatively easy to play, but exceptionally difficult to master, as it asks you to think in spiral rather than linear geometry. The game's mechanics offer many possible ways to achieve your goals, but far more options become available when you begin to work with rather than against the spiral: sometimes the most efficient path from A to B is the long way around... -description from the publisher

Supernova

Which Supernova video should I watch?

Supernova has 2 videos from 2 creators: 1 review and 1 unboxing. They date from June to September 2022.

If you like it, try Stroganov, Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan, Yucatan or Coffee Traders, which share several of its mechanics.

All videos

Supernova - Kylie's Pick of the WeekReview3:55

Supernova - Kylie's Pick of the Week

Games Unlimited

Games Unlimited

GGG Unboxing of SupernovaUnboxing10:21

GGG Unboxing of Supernova

Glorified Gutsy Gaming

Glorified Gutsy Gaming

Creators who cover this

All channels
Games Unlimited
Games Unlimited
1 video of this game
Glorified Gutsy Gaming
Glorified Gutsy Gaming
1 video of this game

Games like this

All games

Stroganov

2021·Andreas Steding

Videos
54
Creators
43
Mainly reviews

1 - 4 players·90 min·Heavy weight

Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan

2011·Matt Calkins

Videos
63
Creators
27
Mainly reviews

2 players·180 min·Medium weight

Yucatan

2023·Guillaume Montiage

Videos
24
Creators
17
Mainly reviews and unboxings

2 - 4 players·90 min·Heavy weight

Coffee Traders

2021·Rolf Sagel, André Spil

Videos
46
Creators
40
Mostly reviews and how-to-play

2 - 5 players·120 - 150 min·Very heavy weight

About Supernova

From BoardGameGeek:

Command an elite group of death-defying spaceships desperately harvesting energy from a dying star before it explodes in this game of orbital mechanics. Utilizing a unique spiral gameboard inspired by the ancient Egyptian game of Mehen (previously reconstructed and released by the same game designer, Zach Horton), Supernova requires you to make tough choices, as all of your ships must share the same energy allotment, and it is never enough to power them all at once. The more you power, the fewer Boost Points each one receives, restricting its maneuverability. This is a high-stakes tradeoff, as the star's gravity pulls all of your ships ever closer. You'll need to boost your orbits to keep from burning up. Ships move in a counterclockwise spiral toward the star at the center, while the star releases energy bursts (cubes) that travel clockwise toward the edges of the board. The core of the game lies in the interactions between the energy cubes and ships as they collide. Different types of cubes behave differently, but all are dangerous and all are valuable if you can capture them. Clear and yellow cubes can be stored and used as energy to perform special actions, while yellow and red cubes count as victory points at the end of the game. These energy cubes serve as your primary obstacles, primary goal, in-game currency, and victory points. Players take turns deciding how many ships to power and then moving each one according to both gravity and Boost Points. Ships can form special formations to help protect them, block your opponents, and collect energy cubes. After players have taken their turns, each round ends with a "star action" that moves the cubes on the board and releases new ones. The sequence of star actions is determined by randomly drawing cards when you set up the game. Thus every game is completely different. Players can only see the star cards for the current and next rounds, and therefore have limited information about future conditions. Despite this element of long-term uncertainty, however, there is no other luck in the game. Players have complete control over the outcomes of their actions. Supernova is relatively easy to play, but exceptionally difficult to master, as it asks you to think in spiral rather than linear geometry. The game's mechanics offer many possible ways to achieve your goals, but far more options become available when you begin to work with rather than against the spiral: sometimes the most efficient path from A to B is the long way around... -description from the publisher

Designer

Zach Horton

Artist

Jin Jin Wu

Publisher

Pandora Games

Categories

Aviation / FlightScience Fiction

Mechanics

Action PointsArea MovementTurn Order Manipulation
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