Solaria

It is the “Year of Unification” 01 in the star system Solaria, and aliens from all planets celebrate the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity! From the neophyte interplanetary capital on Luna, moon of Prime, to the local governments on the five planets, the newly united races of the Solaria system seek to spread their influence and control the fragile system-wide bureaucracy. As the leader of your race, can you build support on the planets, wisely assign your Councilors, and seize power as the Emperor of Solaria? Solaria features area control, limited actions and resource management. The main action plays out on the five planets that rotate around the sun in different orbits. The ever changing rotation of the planets can dramatically affect game play, as planet position determines travel costs (the greater the distance between planets, the more fuel it takes to get there), scoring (elections only take place when a planet is in the same sector as the capital), and deep space exploration. By winning elections, players appoint their Councilors to positions in the Solarian government that can best serve their own race (different assignments reap game-altering benefits). Competition for privileges is fierce. Choosing where to increase your power base on the planets, where to move your Planetary Base, whether to mine asteroids or the best method to explore deep space (and other options) is a careful balance of managing money, Councilors, and your rivals’ best-laid plans. After six rounds, all planets hold their final elections. The player who exerts the most influence in the government becomes the Emperor of Solaria and wins the game! Actual playing time is 90-150 minutes. Note: The game was selected for participation in the 2008 Hippodice international game design competition. It is currently unpublished.