Cosmic Conquest - a Board Game That Obeys the Physics of the Universe

I recently started playing a lot of board games. And I always had this idea to develop a space themed board game that would need you to use the physics of outer space. There are cool stuff that happen in outer space. Like a moving object keeps moving at the same speed (until there is additional force on it) and the concept of gravity assist where a planet's gravitational force and momentum can be used to change the direction and speed of a spacecraft without spending much fuel. And don't get me started on things like black holes and wormholes!

So I spent a couple of weeks researching, designing (and playing :p) board games and finally created my very own board game called Cosmic Conquest. This game will take you through an adventure in space and is fascinating to play. In this Instructable, I will show the entire process of research, and design from start to finish that I followed to develop this board game. Let's get started!

Pen and paper.

A design software (like Canva or Inkscape).

Time and patience.

And a couple bucks (for printing your game)

Brainstorm Ideas

• Think about what kind of game you want to create. I was sure that for me, it will be a space themed game where each player is looking for habitable planets using their spaceship.
• Consider themes that interest you. In my case, it is science fiction. This is important to tell a story through the game.
• Identify the target audience. My game requires fairly mature audience (Above 12 years, for understanding the scientific principles)

Define the Objective

• Decide what the aim of the game will be. In my case, it is to colonize maximum number of habitable planets.
• How does a player win? For me, it would be the player with the maximum habitable planets.
• How will the game end? In this game, it will be when all habitable planets are colonized.

Does your game tell a story? If so, what is it, and how will the players be a part of the story? Here is mine:

'By the dawn of the 30th century, Earth had reached its breaking point. Overpopulation strained every resource, but humanity's technological leaps offered a beacon of hope: the stars. Four forces set out on a remarkable journey, colonizing the planets Zorv, Cyra, Nexar, and Vora. Yet, as these new worlds thrived, the need for expansion became inevitable again.

Now, these four groups race to conquer the remaining eight habitable planets within their reach. Intelligence and strategy will determine who emerges victorious in this interstellar struggle. But beware, the path to victory is littered with grave dangers and deadly obstacles.

Who will rise above and claim their place among the stars in this ultimate Cosmic Conquest?'

Design Game Components

• Determine what components are needed (board, cards, tokens, dice, etc.). I will have a board called spacetime with hexagonal sections, and hexagonal cards that players will use.
• Sketch a rough layout of the game board and design prototypes of the components.

Choose Core Mechanics

• Decide on the fundamental mechanics of the game (In other words, what happens in each turn? Do you roll a die? Do you draw a card?). Since this is a space themed game, for me, it will follow the mechanics of empty space. If a player has his ship already moving, it will continue moving at the same velocity. If not, the player must exhaust fuel to gain speed.
• Consider how players will interact with each other and the game board. In my game, the players place an assistance or obstacle card on the board. Assistance cards will provide support to spacecraft motion. For example, a planet card will help in gravity assist by increasing or decreasing velocity, or provide a direction change to the spacecraft. Obstacle cards make it difficult for ships to move past them. For example, black holes.

Write the Rules

• Clearly define the rules of the game.
• Maybe include an instruction manual.
• Make sure the rules are easy to understand and follow.

The board: The board represents spacetime. This is where the ships move with influence from surrounding objects. Spacetime in the game is divided into hexagonal sections.

Aim: Colonize the maximum number of habitable planets. Habitable planets have a colored border around the hexagons.

End of game: When all habitable planets are colonized.

Basic rules:

• In each turn, the player must move their ship. Choosing to place an assistance or obstacle card is optional.
• A player can place only one card on the board in each turn.
• If a ship reaches the end of the board, it continues from the horizontally or vertically opposite end and keeps its velocity and direction intact.
• Maximum velocity a ship can have is 5.

I have provided detailed rules in further steps.

Create a Prototype

• Use basic materials (paper, cardboard, markers) to create a physical prototype of your game.
• Include all the components you designed in the previous steps.

Playtest

• Playtest the game with friends or family to see how it works in practice.
• Take notes on any issues or areas of confusion.

I realized, players couldn't remember their velocity (number of hexagons their ship moves at each turn of the player) and direction of travel.

Gather Feedback

• Ask testers for their feedback on the game.
• What did they like? What did they find confusing or frustrating?
• Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement.

Make Adjustments

• Revise the game based on the feedback you received.
• Adjust the rules, mechanics, and components as needed to improve gameplay.

I added a velocity bar along with the fuel bar. Players can use an additional piece to indicate their velocity on the bar every time there is a change in velocity in their ships.

For direction, I added arrows to the cards that represent their ships. Players can rotate the cards to face the direction of motion every time there is a change in direction.

Repeat Playtesting

• Playtest the revised version of the game.
• Continue to gather feedback and make adjustments until the game feels balanced and enjoyable.

Final Design

• Once the game is polished, create a final version of the game components.
• Consider using graphic design software to create professional-looking cards, board, and rulebooks. I have used a combination of Inkscape and Canva to design my game.
• Get them printed professionally from a good service.

Here's how my game works:

The board: The board represents spacetime. This is where the ships move with influence from surrounding objects. Spacetime in the game is divided into hexagonal sections.

Aim: Colonize the maximum number of habitable planets. Habitable planets have a colored border around the hexagons.

End of game: When all habitable planets are colonized.

Start of game:

• There are four home planets: Zorv, Cyra, Nexar, Vora. Each player chooses one planet and receives two ships of the respective planet.
• The four home planet cards and eight habitable planet cards are arranged into one set. All cards are placed upside down to hide their contents, and both the sets are shuffled. The twelve planet cards are randomly placed on the spacetime board.
• The remaining cards are equally distributed among the players. Players may see their own card but don’t reveal them to others.
• The twelve cards on the board are revealed. Each player places their two ships on their planets.

The game can now begin.

Basic rules:

• In each turn, the player must move their ship. Choosing to place an assistance or obstacle card is optional.
• A player can place only one card on the board in each turn.
• If a ship reaches the end of the board, it continues from the horizontally or vertically opposite end and keeps its velocity and direction intact.
• Maximum velocity a ship can have is 5.

Types of cards:

Main cards

• Two types of main cards: Planets and Ships.
• Planet cards cannot be moved throughout the game.
• Each ship has two characteristics: Direction and Velocity.
• Direction: Ships move in the direction in which the arrow is pointing. While leaving the home planet, the player can choose any direction to start with.
• Velocity: It is the number of hexagons a ship can move during each turn of the player. All ships exit the home planet with a velocity of 1. The velocity is indicated by the velocity bar on the left of the board.
• If the velocity of a ship goes to 0, and there is no fuel to gain velocity, the ship is stranded.
• If velocity goes negative, and there is no fuel, the ship falls into the planet and is lost.
• The only ways to change direction or velocity are by using gravity assist maneuver or exhausting fuel.
• At least one ship of each planet needs to return to the home planet to end the game.
• If a home planet is colonized by an opponent, the only way to recover it is to colonize the opponent’s planet and negotiate to return each other’s planets.
• The home planets can only be colonized if there are no ships on the planet. Each home planet is worth 2 habitable planets.

Assistance cards

• These cards can be placed anywhere on spacetime. But they cannot be moved/removed once placed. Any ship encountering these cards will be influenced by their effects.
• Three types of assistance cards: Uninhabitable planets, Wormholes, Spacetime Curvature.
• Uninhabitable planets: They provide gravity assist. They have a number and an arrow A positive number adds velocity (acceleration), a negative number reduces velocity (deceleration), and the direction of the arrow changes the ship’s direction.
• These planets can be placed in any favorable direction. But once placed, cannot be changed.
• Wormholes: They are a portal to a different point in spacetime.
• When a ship encounters a wormhole, it can exit through any of the other wormholes in spacetime. If there are no other wormholes, it has no effect. The first player can place two wormholes.
• Wormholes cannot be placed next to a planet.
• Spacetime Curvature: They help to change the direction of the ship in any desired direction. They do not alter the velocity.

Obstacle cards

• These cards can be placed anywhere on spacetime. But they cannot be moved/removed once placed (same as assistance cards).
• Black holes: If a ship enters a black hole, it is lost and cannot be recovered.
• Black holes cannot be placed next to a planet.

Fuel:

• To change direction, accelerate, or decelerate, a spacecraft exhausts fuel.
• Fuel reserve is indicated on the fuel bar on the right of the spacetime board.
• Only exception is while using gravity assist. During this, fuel is not exhausted.
• All ships start the game with 10 fuel units.
• To change velocity by 1 unit, 1 unit of fuel is exhausted.
• To change direction of a ship, 1 unit of fuel is exhausted (except 180 degree direction reversal)
• To stop a ship that has a velocity v, v units of fuel are exhausted.
• If fuel reserve drops to 0, the ship is purely dependent on gravity assist for maneuvers.
• A spacecraft can be refueled when it is on a habitable planet (including home). However, if a player chooses to refuel, they cannot play that turn. 1 unit of fuel is gained in each turn of the player.