Board Game Night: Moon

We played Moon again at the latest MEGAforce board/card game night.

Moon is from Sinister Fish, and is the third in a loose series by designer Haakon Hoel Gaardner, all based around the idea of developing a settlement.

How it plays 

In Moon the idea is to build the most popular moonbase over three eras. At the end of the game the base with the most 'hearts' (likes?) becomes the lunar capital.

Each player starts with a base which grants one resource and one flag, or specialism. Structure cards are added which grant extra resources (blue structures) or flags (yellow structures). 

There are also a few pink structures which can be 'flipped' once each era to gain some extra boost, often bonus hearts dependant on the number of certain resources currently owned, but there are other effects, such as unflipping another card or gaining access to the discard deck. 

Black cards are structures that usually add bonus hearts at the very end of the game.

There are a small number of Reputation cards that grant assorted bonuses and are claimed on meeting certain requirements.

Building structures usually requires spending resources and having access to flags.

The game uses a 'pick and pass' mechanic; each hand represents a travelling expedition of settlers, scientists and technicians. They travel from base to base, offering their services to each base in turn, allowing the building of structures. Each hand includes an expedition card, giving a special rule that can be accessed, such as trading in one resource for an extra heart.

When the structure cards in each hand are exhausted the current era ends and various bonus hearts are awarded, such as for the player with the most of each flag.

The game then plays through again, using the next era's deck of structure cards and new Expedition cards.

There's a more, I haven't mentioned the rovers or assimilation, but hopefully I've given some idea of how the game plays.

What's good about Moon 

The different eras give a feel of progression. Era 1 structures are the basics of lunar living; basic accommodation, roads, solar panels and even toilets. Era 2 has more exciting stuff, such as ice mines and elevated roads and Era 3 includes museums, opera houses and trades unions.

The Expedition and Reputation cards are drawn randomly vary from game to game, and the hands draw from much bigger decks, so there's something new each time, so far we have seen several new ones each game (and I've managed to miss collecting Reputation cards I've earned just about every game).

The artwork is appealing, and there are fun quotes, such as 'they dug too deeply' on the mine. 

We are all starting to develop strategies now, though with the random nature of the cards, these are not always a sure bet. I'm gaining a reputation as the Water Baron of the moon, though it doesn't always pay off.

In Conclusion 

I really enjoy this game, this is the third or fourth time I've played, and the large number of cards leads to a different experience each time. 

I'll place it firmly in S tier, just ahead of Era! 

The winning moonbase 125 heats at the game's end

If you like the sound of this, Moon can be purchased from various online retailers, though stocks do fluctuate. Certainly Sinister Fish usually have it in stock, along with a deluxe version and teh Valkyrie expansion.