Efemeris preview

The nations of man have claimed the Earth. Now they look to the heavens. Three of these powers board their ships and take to the stars, exploring the cosmos and claiming other worlds for glory and empire.

Recently I spent a little bit of time taking a look at Efemeris, which is designed by DTDA Games, and is currently on Kickstarter. It can have 2-4 players, though anything above two players will require teams. The game revolves around area control and resource management, as players control their ships to explore and conquer. The aim is to claim five planets to win, or knock the other player out by conquering their planets.

Gameplay is straight forward. Players place tiles which contain pathways, factories and planets. They collect resources from factories they occupy, and then move or buy what they can. Purchases include claiming planets and building additional ships. Each player has a Crew and Captain at their disposal, which grant special abilities to use in addition to their regular actions. Additional Crew can be purchased, but Captains are a finite resource.

Efemeris preview

Where things start to heat up is in claiming the planets. There are only eight in the game, so in order for a player to claim five they are more than likely going to need to take one from their opponent. Helpfully players have the means to effect their opponents ships, with abilities that include destroying or moving enemy vessels.

The good stuff about Efemeris. It has a really interesting feel to it, with a mix of motifs from 18th Century expansionism and modern space exploration.  This is all supported by a subdued, almost formal, visual style which is enriched by bold colour choices and interesting iconography. If the Kickstarter images are anything to go by, the game looks like it will have a striking table presence.

While the gameplay itself seems very straight forward, there appears to be a lot of complexity under the surface. For example tile placement can initially seem like it involves little thought. But tactical players will discover they can effect the game board by creating bottlenecks and optimised routes. Similarly, players can only hold a maximum number of resources, so creating a system of collecting and spending can be challenging and rewarding. Elements like this should allow for equal enjoyment by either casual or tactically minded players.

Efemeris preview

There are some odd corners on Efemeris though. The limit to two players, or two teams, is an obvious one. It really feels like, with a little work, the game would scale up to four independent players really well. Also while the artwork and design is fantastic, some of the icons can look very similar. So too the Crew illustrations could probably do with looking more unique. As it is, there isn’t much in the way to visually distinguish between them.

Probably the biggest concern is that the players have to be self motivated to reach the end game state. In theory the two players could capture four planets each and then deadlock the game as they jockey to take the last planet. There are a lot of games which rely on the players drive to win to push the game towards its conclusion, but it seems like Efemeris would benefit from something to give players impetus to take risks and push their luck.

Overall though Efemeris looks like it is a really great, compact game which players could spend a lot of time with as they discover new tactics and little nuances. The Kickstarter is on right now, but you don’t have to go in blind. DTDA Games have put together a handy online digital version you can try out! It isn’t fully functional, but it will give you a great idea what the game is all about.

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