New Game Round-up: Pictomania in North America, Spiel Previews from Lookout & Mining at a Far Space Foundry

The Far Space Federation is leading an ongoing peacekeeping mission. The crew on the front lines are in constant need of new supplies and equipment, so the Federation has set up a massive supply line network. This network is composed of massive space stations called Foundries. Some Foundries are specialized in mining and processing ore from asteroids. Other Foundries are equipped with robotic manufacturing and repair facilities. Their job is to keep the flow of supplies going efficiently as possible.

The gameplay in Far Space Foundry occurs in two distinct halves: Space Foundry Alpha and Space Foundry Beta.

At Space Foundry Alpha, you mine skyrite (blue crystals) and rubion (red ore) and process the two to make galactium (purple metal). On your turn, you play a card that allows you to either land a shuttle on a docking bay or take off from one. The shuttle will transport raw materials either from the asteroid or to your freighters. Each docking bay has a special ability if activated that turn, like ore processing or galactic traders. At this foundry, you must also build a fleet of freighters to haul your items. To do this, you must visit the cantina to recruit help from various alien captains (with unique abilities). Once everyone has played all of their cards, it's time to head off to a new board...

At Space Foundry Beta, you take all of your acquired materials and transport them down to the station. There the robots will use that material to make various products of varying worth. Besides manufacturing, you may also upgrade your freighters or charge up your existing products for more points. Once the freighters are filled back up again, it's time to transport the items to their final destination for final scoring!