Nova Solis (2018)

Nova Solis... The legendary home of the Ancients...

A tiny pocket reality containing untold treasures untouched since the Ancients’ departure from our universe.

When a functioning gate was first discovered it became a race for the great races of the galaxy to be the first to mount an expedition and claim the riches of Nova Solis. In our greed we did not stop to consider why the Ancients abandoned Nova Solis until we encountered the Entity...

Its attacks came from out of nowhere and decimated our defenses... Great fleets of ships made from shadow pouring out of enormous tears in the fabric of space.

Its power is growing and the black hole is becoming more active... Even worse, many of the stars near the Nova Solis gate are becoming unstable... We have to get out of here but we can’t let this thing enter into our universe... Our only hope is to recover the ancient knowledge and to seal it inside!

Nova Solis is a 4X (eXpand, eXplore, eXploit, eXterminate) space and resource management game for 1 to 6 players. The game is a hybrid blend of thematic gameplay with Euro mechanics and may be played in the following modes:

Survival - Where the players must work together to flee the entity or be destroyed.

• Standard - The player who gains the most victory points is the overall winner.
• Co-Op - Players work together as a group and no player combat is allowed.
• Solo - A single player controlling 2-6 races against the entity.

Exploration - Where the players compete against each another to claim the most victory points

Players choose 1 of 6 asymmetrical empires to lead their expedition each with their own unique technology focuses and secret objectives. During the game the players will scan and explore stars placing them onto the modular board to obtain empire bonuses and strategic resources. These in turn are used to power the various technologies.

Throughout the game, the players will be attacked by the AI controlled Entity which grows stronger as the game proceeds. Left unchecked it will eventually consume the players in a supernova explosion. To defeat the Entity, the players must obtain enough victory points and ancient artifacts while combating its forces. Combat makes use of a highly strategic dice face-building mechanic allowing players to customize their forces over time.

Because in survival games each player accumulates their own set of victory points while contributing to the overall total required to defeat the Entity, Nova Solis gives each player a reason to play independently of the group-think that plagues other games with cooperative mechanics. Of course the players can still play cooperatively if desired or settle into exploration mode for a more standard 4X romp.

—description from the designer

Awards

• Finalist at UKGE 2018 Wyvern's lair competition
• Finalist Board Game Design Lab - Design Challenge!