Lander is a competitive space-themed strategy game where players assume the role of corporations, competing to complete missions. The game includes three distinct game styles with the following victory conditions:
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Basic Simulation – the first player to reach 7 Mission Stars wins.
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Early Arrival – the last year is triggered when a player reaches 10 Mission Stars. The player with the most stars at the end of that year wins.
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Planned Arrival – the player with the most Mission Stars after 5 years wins
To earn Mission Stars, players must grow their resource base and develop their crew with specific combinations of traits and classes.
This might sound like your typical Euro-style game where players focus on their own playing area with minimal interaction, however in Lander, players directly impact each other's strategies through various game mechanics.
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Negotiation provides a framework for trading resources and Activity cards between corporations. Leadership Abilities and Action cards can be used to pull back a rival or further your own interests, while Event cards force players to make difficult choices that can impact themselves or the entire colony.
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Lander is like life. You will experience highs and lows and be faced with challenges that will force you to solve problems and pivot your strategy.
Once you've played several times, you may realize that Lander is more than what you initially see. Beneath the surface, there is a multi-dimensional, game within the game, whereby the study of your opponent(s)' actions is crucial for developing your own strategy.
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Observations give players the ability to 'do nothing' as their Official Order so they can wait and see what orders their opponents perform. Similar to poker, players can study their opponents' hands, crew and orders to predict what they might be trying do.
The interplay between reading your opponents, using your Observations, bluffing and playing your Action cards becomes the game within the game. Knowing how and when to employ these different tactics is for you to master...
Your story begins here!