New Game Round-up: Manage Pipelines, Prepare for Stellar Horizons, and Fight Aliens Again in Project: ELITE

• Capstone Games, which to date has released new versions of games from European publishers, has announced its first original title, with Pipeline being a 2-4 player game with a 120-minute playing time from first-timer Ryan Courtney. Here's an overview of the game, which currently bears only a broad 2018 release date:

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The refinement of oil has long been part of the government-controlled energy sector. Amassed with an incredibly complex and inefficient system of refineries, the government has felt the severe pressures of worldwide demand and the ever-increasing global standards for refinement. Unable to keep up with demand, the government has only one option: privatizing the oil industry.

This is where you come in. Seeking to capitalize on this new opportunity, in Pipeline you start a company in the oil business. You will focus on building a much more efficient pipeline network in your refinery, hiring experts that provide valuable benefits over your competitors, and managing the logistics of purchasing and selling your refined oil in the various markets. You will need more than strong economic skills – carefully crafting an interweaving network of pipelines just might ensure your victory!

• In the final week of preparation prior to Gen Con 2018, CMON Limited has announced two new upcoming titles that will likely (possibly?) be teased or shown during that convention.

One title is a new edition of Konstantinos Kokkinis and Sotirios Tsantilas' Project: ELITE, which Artipia Games released in 2016. The original Project: ELITE is well-rated on BGG, but the game did collect numerous questions about the rules and complaints about the miniatures, so CMON has developed this new edition "based on community feedback from the initial release", according to its press release, with new art, new miniatures from Studio McVey, new card designs, new weapons, new ELITE members, new enemies, and more being incorporated into its version of the game, which will hit Kickstarter in Q4 2018 ahead of a 2019 release. The press release notes that CMON "will also introduce expansions and more" during the Kickstarter campaign, but that's kind of a given at this point, yes?

As for its second title, in November 2017, CMON had announced a partnership with Steve Jackson Games in which CMON would "publish board games based on SJG's Munchkin franchise, starting in Q4 2018 with a board game inspired by CMON's Arcadia Quest."

CMON has now dropped details on the first title coming from its relationship with SJG, and Munchkin Dungeon — an Andrea Chiarvesio and Eric M. Lang that accommodates 3-6 players — sounds like a synthesis of the two companies, especially given that John Kovalic is handling the artwork and the game will include "highly-detailed miniature figures" based on his illustrations. As for the gameplay:

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In Munchkin Dungeon, players enter a dungeon and attempt to collect the most treasure and achieve the highest character level. They have to push their luck if they want to succeed in their adventure, but if they come across a foe that's a little too big to face, they can always run away. If players choose to take the cowardly (albeit occasionally logical) route of avoiding danger, they earn shame, which will be counted against them at the end of the game. You can't be a hero without exhibiting a little bravery!

• Compass Games has released what appears to be the final look of Andrew Rader's Stellar Horizons, a huge design with a playing time that ranges between 60 and 1,200 minutes depending on how much of the solar system and our future you want to explore. Here's an overview of this design, which Compass currently lists with a Q3 2019 release date:

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Stellar Horizons is a "build your own space program" game in which you lead one of five Earth factions to explore and develop our solar system. Designed by a real-life space engineer with a PhD in long-duration spaceflight from MIT, Stellar Horizons is intended to be a plausible representation of the first steps of humanity towards the stars between 2030 and 2169, with each turn representing a year of time. You control your faction's space program, outposts, and fleets spanning across the solar system, although you also have some influence over your faction's politics back home on Earth as space development becomes more important.

Movement is based on real physics. You move from orbit to orbit, or conduct long range transfers to move between planetary systems like Earth, Mars, or Jupiter. As you send out robotic explorers and crewed vehicles to explore the solar system, they bring back valuable data to further your scientific research. Technologies are intended to represent plausible extrapolations of existing development during the next 150 years: there are no transporters or warp drive, but you will be able to develop rockets powered by fusion and even anti-matter. In the engineering and biology domains, you'll eventually be able to construct space elevators and put your crews into safe hibernation for long journeys.

You'll design your own ships using over fifty different component types based on your level of technology on the tech tree. These range from tiny probes intended to merely take photographs as you fly past Jupiter, to giant destroyers, cruisers, and battleships which ply the space lanes with peaceful or hostile intentions. The policies you choose determine your focus (robotic, crewed, economic, diplomatic, settlement, or military), allowing you to draw new ship and base components you'll use to design and construct your ships and bases. These range from ship components like engine rooms, medical bays, airlocks, and command centers, to weapons and defenses like lasers, rail guns, and stealth systems, to base facilities like mining stations, research labs, or spaceports.

You'll be given a budget to spend on Earth and can also build bases to harvest minerals, organics, and fuel to expands your economy. You can also forge diplomatic relationships with players and non-player factions alike, and trade resources at their bases to earn extra cash. Each of the five factions has different strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and available ships based on their unique geopolitical situation. Military conflict is certainly possible but not always encouraged. Stellar Horizons features more diplomatic, technological, and economic competition than outright combat, although neglecting warships entirely leaves you vulnerable to pirates, trade embargoes, and sneak attacks by rogue players and factions.

Stellar Horizons includes short co-operative and competitive scenarios lasting an hour or more, and campaigns lasting a day up to about a full weekend for experienced players. Up to seven players can play at a time and the game is most fun with at least two, but there are also one-player scenarios, and the campaigns are highly suited for solo play. There are three ways to win the campaign: be the first to develop an Interstellar Colonizer, terraform a world, or achieve dominance in space over your rivals.