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“I.T. Department, this is Ai speaking, how can I help you?”
“Yea, My engine keeps breaking down...”
“Have you tried feeding it more humans?”
“Of course I have tried turning it off and on again...wait, what?”
Moon Colony Bloodbath: Building the Moon Colony is the engine building part of the game. Bloodbath is the engine demolishing portion. I just love the idea of a engine building/engine losing tableau game, especially one where the player themselves have to take their beloved engine apart piece by painful piece.
Moon Colony Bloodbath was everything I wanted from it and more. It doesn't have a central board because it doesn't need it. It accomplishes everything with a deck that builds itself over the course of the game. The deck starts with four work cards, two twist cards and two trouble cards. Work cards let you take the actions on your player board, Twists cards are plot twists and trouble cards...I don't actually have to say it, do I? Cards will be added in but the key ones are called “Events” which are added at a regular interval as you cycle though the deck. They are always added in the same order which means you learn what is coming with repeat plays, which may sound sort of boring but it lets the game keep a balanced challenge and ensures you aren't overwhelmed in early rounds. So, you always know Hunger is coming as your first event which is going to require you to have one food for each building you have. And if you are hungry, you are probably thirsty so, let's hear from our sponsor: MoonBucks Coffee.
MoonBucks Coffee. Ah, the sun is rising, the Earth hangs in the sky in much the same way bricks don't. *sips coffee* What kind of fresh hell awaits us today?
Now back to our program!
One of the examples of how utterly smooth MCB are the actions you can take when a work card comes out. Mine (Money) Farm (Food) Research (Draw Building Cards) and Build (Play Building Cards). Restock (Crates) is the only one that gives pause and it organically makes sense the moment the buildings that use Crates come out. Building Cards are what power your engine, giving you benefits: Some when you play them and some, later, when you activate them. But they also have a number of Colonists they are worth when you rip them out of your would-be engine because you ran out of citizens.
But why would you do that? Because the goal of the game to have the most Colonist left at the end of the game. And this is not exactly a hospitable environment. There will be accidents...lots of accidents. And despite what the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation Marketing Department insists, the Robots sent with you to the moon are not “Your plastic pal who's fun to be with!” and more like ED-209 from Robocop. So, when your population plummets and you have no options left, you have to destroy a building in order to get the Colonists you need to carry on. Soylent Grease: The lubricant of all fine engines. Ask for it by name!
There are four Action tokens that you place every time you take a work action. They don't end up on a specific action but on the little slots on your board that say 1,2,3,4. You can look at those little work action tokens and go “Were these really needed?” And then you'll play the game and KNOW they are not only needed, they are a key part of both game and the story. This is so you can look down and realize that all four work cards have been revealed for this round of the game, and then glance at the remaining six or so cards and go “Dad! Dad! We're Dead Meat!” (You may also use “We may have a problem” “I've got a bad feeling about this” or the old standby “Game Over, Man!”)
Speaking of story, the 50's Science Fiction aesthetic with a proper helping of diverse representation is pitch perfect. But wait, you may be thinking, what about that Ganja-fueled Rastafarian Hippie Doctor Dibson? Well, it's obvious, isn't it? He's a time-traveler from the 60's who came back to avert the moon colony tragedy. He got the where and when right but just can't quite remember why he's here.
Your first few games will more than likely play like a co-op. You'll be like “Are you sure you want to play that building? Sure, it's worth a lot of colonists, but it adds a Robot to the deck.” After a few games, it becomes like that old joke “Two friends are out hiking, and they see a black bear Robot on the trail in front of them. One guy takes off his pack, takes off his hiking boots, and puts on running shoes. His friend says, “What are you doing? You can’t outrun that bear Robot!” The first guy says, “I don’t have to outrun the bear Robot. I just have to outrun you!” Since the player with the most colonists left when another player reaches zero colonists is the winner. I never thought I would be celebrating by making two little remaining colonists tokens dance at the end of game but here we are.
I adore the wit of Moon Colony Bloodbath. But I'm not going to sit here and tell you why something is funny. I'll just show you the Player Board for Dr. White.
And, The single card that you need to add to play this as a solo game.
On the gameplay front, everything is blissfully seamless. For instance, when you add a card to the deck, you don't reveal it immediately but you put it on the top of the deck and it comes out the next turn. This alleviates any timing questions, as you know you need to complete everything on the previous card and finish that turn before the new card kicks in. A very subtle but smooth choice. And with all players able to do Simultaneous Actions, the game moves along at a great clip no matter the player count. Wipe out a entire lunar colony in less than an hour!
So, head on up to the Moon Colony. What could probably...errr...possibly go wrong? If super slick gameplay, dead-on theme/art, and a wholly entertaining overall experience is the price of a Moon Colony Bloodbath. I, for one, welcome our robot overlords.
A review copy of this release was provided by the publisher. Therewillbe.games would like to thank them for their support.
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