Fantasy Flight Games

The Airship Has Arrived

Published 29 July 2013 | Planet Steam

The Airship Has Arrived

Planet Steam is Now On Sale

The airship voyage over the Boiling Sea was difficult, but eventually, the trip ended. The passengers disembarked, bearing their hopes and dreams of riches out of the sky, onto the soil of the Colonies. Now that they’re here, nothing can stop their dreams of grandeur and wealth. Most of them set out to stake their claims the same day they arrived. They knew that nothing could stand in their way…except their fellow travelers.

Planet Steam, a board game of strategic commerce and resource manipulation for two to five players, is now available via our webstore, and your local retailer! Players will strive to gather more resources than their opponents, and to use those resources with greater efficiency. By using the abilities of influential characters in the Colonies, players will be able to gain a distinct advantage while harvesting, transporting, buying, and selling resources. The credits that each player gains can be used to upgrade their own equipment, but players must be cautious. Too much expenditure will result in beggary, whereas shrewd investment can lead to possessing the most credits, and the ultimate victory over the competition on Planet Steam.

Stake Claims and Spread Influence

Time is short in Planet Steam, and players have a limited number of rounds to make their fortune. In every round, players must first work to expand their business and lay claim to new zones that can be worked for resources. Players have the opportunity both to bid for the influence of an powerful character in the Colonies, and to lay claim to new areas.

The influence of the mighty characters in Planet Steam can provide the deciding difference for many aspiring prospectors. The Airship Captain allows players to gain the benefit of the supporting airship, the Venturer provides a monetary benefit to players when auctioning a new zone, and Lady Steam allows one player the benefit of going first in every action for the rest of the round.

Manipulate the Flow of Resources

As we examined in a previous preview, much of the action in Planet Steam comes when players are dealing with the tanks used to produce resources. Players that want to upgrade their tanks must spend the resources that they are trying to produce, creating a balancing act between production and demand. Standard tanks only produce water, to be used for steam, but players can buy converters or superchargers to change the types of resources tanks produce, as well as increasing their production capabilities. Tanks can also be shuffled around between zones as players try to create the optimal arrangement for their resource production.

When players are finished tinkering with their tanks, they can move on to extracting resources and taking them to market, as illustrated by another preview. Players use energy to make their tanks produce resources, but when those resources are taken to the market, the back-and-forth buying and selling can quickly devalue one resource, while causing the cost of another to sky rocket. By using a quick market intuition, players can know exactly what to ship to the resource terminal in order to intake the maximum amount of credits for their trouble. Players must work quickly to make their fortune, since they only have a few short rounds in which to do so. In Planet Steam fortunes are made and lost almost as quickly as the resource terminal changes.

If you want more details on the intertwined ebb and flow between the market and resource miner, head on over to the support page to read the rules for Planet Steam. It’s a hard life on the other side of the Boiling Sea. The ground is rough with untapped resources, and the air is noxious with steam and exhaust. But quick upgrades and clever fiddling with resources can build an unmatched fortune. Planet Steam is all about ruthless and cutthroat market competition, and it’s now available in our webstore, and at your local retailer!

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Extract Vital Information

Published 15 July 2013 | Planet Steam

Extract Vital Information

The Rules for Planet Steam Are Now Online!

Power tanks rise over the land, their hulking, chugging masses working at drawing resources straight from the earth. Airships fly through the steamy air, transporting men, parts, and resources to and from the big cities. At the resource terminal, prices flutter back and forth as quartz and energy are bought and sold and bought again. Above it all, certain figures loom: the Airship Captain, the Bank Agent, and Lady Steam herself. Everyone’s out for credits, but in the end, only one prospector is going to be king of Planet Steam…

Gather the Resources You Need

In a steampunk future, everything can hinge on the investment of a few credits. In Planet Steam, two to five players become eager prospectors, hoping to make their fortunes in a land rich with resources. Players must place their tanks skillfully, and attach the appropriate converters in order to gather the resources they need from the land. By buying and selling quartz, ore, energy, and water, and carefully monitoring the resource terminal, one player can rise supreme over the boomtown that has sprung up on Planet Steam.

In our previews, we’ve been able to examine the mechanics of claiming zones and placing power tanks, as well as the complex interplay between supply and demand on the resource terminal. We've also taken a look at the experts available for hire. Now, any remaining questions you may have can be answered. Curious about superchargers? Want to know how airships function? Look no further; step right up! The rules for Planet Steam (pdf, 4.4 MB) are now posted on the support page.

Planet Steam, a game of cutthroat commerce and resource management in a steampunk future, will be flying into local retailers and our webstore soon!

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Hire a Team of Experts

Published 8 July 2013 | Planet Steam

Hire a Team of Experts

A Preview of the Upcoming Planet Steam

Board your airships for the journey across the Boiling Sea, and head to the new settlement to seek your fortune! In Planet Steam, two to five players take the roles of entrepreneurs, racing to assemble equipment, claim plots of land, extract resources, and accumulate riches. After harvesting resources using tanks and converters, players must buy and sell those resources in a volatile and ever-shifting market. The one who amasses the greatest pile of credits by the end of the game will be victorious. However, only through shrewd resource management and clever manipulation of supply and demand can a player reign supreme!

Previously, we discussed staking claims, extracting resources, and manipulating the resource terminal. In today’s preview, we will look at the crack team of extraction experts available for hire as you work toward becoming the next entrepreneurial titan in Planet Steam.

Outbid Your Opponent to Hire an Expert

As a fledgling entrepreneur, new to life in the field, it can definitely benefit you to add the knowledge of a specialist to your efforts. Fortunately, there are many experts who will offer their services…to the highest bidder, of course. Though their allegiance is directly tied to your ability to pay, getting a specialist on your side will give you an edge over the competition, one that just might be enough to turn the tide of economic supremacy in your favor.

Each round, players bid to select specialist cards, representing experts who will aid them for the remainder of the round. The first player must bid at least one credit. Subsequent players may choose to bid or pass. The winner gets to choose his specialist card for the round first. Then, auctioning continues until each player has recruited a specialist for the round.

Bidding is a tense, cutthroat endeavor, as it is vital to recruit the specialist who will bring needed skills to your team that turn. While each specialist card has powerful effects, not all of them will be relevant to your team each turn, so hiring a specialist who can’t give you a needed boost that round will cost you valuable credits and set you that much farther behind your opponents.

Meet the Specialists

Let’s take a closer look at the experts available to be added to your team. First is Lady Steam, a no-nonsense businesswoman who will make sure you and your associates make it to the front of the pack. Specialist cards determine turn order for the round, and Lady Steam is always first player, which means first crack at claiming zones, purchasing tanks, and buying and selling resources. With Lady Steam on your side, you won’t have to wait in line. Plus, being the first to buy and sell resources means you won’t be subject to the whims of the opposition, or the shifting market prices.

Next is the Venturer, who is in charge of auctioning claim zones each turn. One of the first to land in this now-booming town, the Venturer laid claim to prime plots of real estate on behalf of the now-thriving companies, looking to make a profit by selling them off later. Each turn, the player with the Venturer specialist card chooses an unclaimed zone to auction. If the Venturer has been recruited to your team for the round, he’ll negotiate you a better deal with the company, so you only have to pay half of your bid.

The Airship Captain pilots a support airship, which can power up your tanks to give extraction a boost. If recruited, you can direct him to moor his support airship at any of the points along the claim zones as shown here. All tanks in the row where the airship is docked extract an additional resource during bonus extraction.

The Engineer’s mechanical know-how grants you either a building license or fifteen credits from the reserve each time he comes to work for you. The building license allows you to claim a zone during the expansion phase, without having to roll a die to determine placement. Use of a building license also grants you the option of claiming a zone that already has a neutral claim marker on it.

Finally, when on your team, the Bank Agent (only used in a five player game) allows you to immediately upgrade one of your resource carriers, or take a resource from the reserve. Upgrading carriers is crucial, since you must have space for the resources you extract. The more upgraded a carrier is, the higher capacity it has to hold resources, which means more credits for you. Gaining free resources may help offset the cost of purchasing superchargers or importing tanks.

Now that we’ve become acquainted with the experts available for hire, you can determine how they will fit into your plans to become a top entrepreneur. Meanwhile, keep checking here for more news about the upcoming Planet Steam!

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Risk and Reward

Published 7 June 2013 | Planet Steam

Risk and Reward

A Preview of the Upcoming Planet Steam

The discovery of valuable ores and other resources has led to the founding of a new colony, hidden away in an untouched corner of a steam-powered world. It won’t stay untouched for long, however; prospectors from all over are boarding their airships and then risking a trip across the Boiling Sea to stake their claim. Can you outbid and outbuy your rivals to acquire the most wealth?

In Planet Steam, two to five players take the roles of entrepreneurs, racing to assemble equipment, claim plots of land, extract resources, and accumulate riches. After harvesting resources using tanks and converters, players must buy and sell those resources in a volatile and ever-shifting market. The one who amasses the greatest pile of credits by the end of the game will be victorious. However, only through shrewd resource management and clever manipulation of supply and demand can a player reign supreme!

In our last preview, we took a look at plots of land up for grabs on the board’s claim map. We also covered extraction of all-important resources. Today, we will look at the resource terminal, and talk about manipulating the market to help build your fortune, while ruining your opponents.

Buy and Sell Valuable Resources

Once players have filled their carriers with precious resources and are ready to make a profit, they may use the board’s resource terminal to make their sales. The resource terminal, which tracks the supply of resources and their prices, fluctuates with each sale. The fluidity of the market means that players must be clever when buying and selling, using this volatility to their advantage.

The resource terminal, shown below (set up for a five-player game), has supply and price tracks for each of the four resources. On the left side of each column on the resource terminal is the price track, which lists the current cost of one resource in credits. The right column is the supply track, which displays how many of each resource is available in the reserve. The supply track is color coordinated with the price adjustment track, shown on the far right. This determines how a resource's price is adjusted. The gold circle at the bottom of each column depicts which resource the given tracks represent. Resources are always bought and sold in the order dictated by the number in the gold circle at the top of each column, beginning with quartz and ending with energy.

Let’s look at some examples to get a better idea of how the Resource Terminal works, and how supply and price adjustment impact the game.

During the Resource Phase, players have used their equipment to harvest resources and place them on their respective carriers. Now it is time to buy and sell resources at the Resource Terminal.

The first player elects to buy one quartz at 6 credits. He puts his credits into the reserve and takes one quartz, placing it on his resource carrier.

Now, he adjusts the quartz supply track, lowering it from 7 to 6. Then, he compares the color of the supply track to the Price Adjustment track. 6 is on a green space, and is 0 on the Price Adjustment track, so the price of quartz stays the same.

The next player decides to pass.

The third player chooses to sell quartz, at 6 credits each. He takes 12 credits from the reserve, and places two quartz from his carrier into the reserve. Now, he adjusts the supply track from 6 to 8. 8 is a yellow space on the supply track, which is -1 on the Price Adjustment track, so the price of quartz is reduced by 1 credit.

This continues until each player has had the opportunity to buy or sell quartz. Then, beginning with the first player again, each person has the opportunity to buy or sell ore, then water, and finally, energy.

Use Market Shifts to Your Advantage

Prices can shift rapidly as each player buys or sells, so it is important to carefully consider turn order when deciding whether to purchase or sell resources (we will discuss how to establish turn order via Specialist cards in a later preview). Buying and selling to impact the market, in order to affect the choices of your opponent is a valuable strategy to embrace. After all, you can’t get ahead without putting people behind!

For example, let’s say that both you and one of your opponents have an abundance of ore. If you are first in the turn order for the round, it makes sense to weigh your options, and sell enough to drive the price down far enough that your opponent may decide not to sell, or sell at a much lower rate. However, if your opponent is able to buy or sell first, this may put you at a similar disadvantage. That being said, having your turn to buy/sell following your competitors may also provide the opportunity to capitalize on buying resources at low prices, and selling them at high prices after your opponents have induced a market fluctuation with their transactions.

In this example, during a five player game, players are buying and selling energy. To begin the round, energy is priced at 5 credits, and the energy supply is at 5 as well. The first player elects to sell 4 energy, so he places those into the reserve, and adjusts the supply track from 5 to 9. According to the Price Adjustment track, the cost decreases by 1 credit, so the price track is moved down one. The price stays the same at 5 credits.

The second player also elects to sell his energy. He places 3 energy into the reserve. The supply is increased from 9 to 12, and the price is adjusted from 5 to 3, as per the Price Adjustment track.

Due to the price decrease, the third player decides to sell just 2 energy this turn. Again, the supply track is adjusted from 12 to 14. The supply is now in the red, and the Price Adjustment track requires a price decrease of 3 credits. However, since the price track is already at 3 credits, and it cannot go below 1, the price is adjusted to 1 credit.

Unfortunately for the fourth player, who has a full energy carrier, energy is now selling at an extremely low price. Unwilling to part with his resources for such a low return, the fourth player decides not to sell this turn.

The fifth player, however, was counting on his competitors to sell off their energy this turn, and takes this opportunity to snatch up energy at this rock-bottom price. He purchases 5 energy at the price of 1 credit each. He places the newly-acquired energy onto his resource carrier, and 5 credits into the reserve. Then, the supply track is adjusted from 14 to 9. Since the supply track is now in the yellow (a -1 price adjustment), and the price is already at 1 credit, the price track is not adjusted.

Another important aspect of the resource terminal is using it to predict which resources are going to be worth more credits in the following round, thus determining which resources you should try to extract on your turn. The more effectively a player can determine which resources to focus on in the coming turn, the better chance he will have to amass credits and ultimately win the game.

For example, in let’s say in a previous turn, a player noticed that energy prices were sky-high, while water prices were very low. He buys energy converters for his basic tanks this round, and doesn’t produce any water. Then, he is able to sell energy for a premium. Other players, who didn’t modify their tanks in reaction to the shifting market are stuck selling other, less valuable resources for far less of a profit.

So, there you have it! Planet Steam’s resource terminal is an invaluable tool to maximize your profits, while derailing your opponent’s money-making opportunities. In the next preview, we will discuss Specialist Cards, the auctioning process, and how their turn order and abilities influence the game. It takes a cutthroat attitude and clever decision-making to become a top entrepreneur. Do you have what it takes? Find out in the upcoming Planet Steam.

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Race to Riches

Published 6 May 2013 | Planet Steam

Race to Riches

A Preview of Planet Steam, a Board Game of Cutthroat Commerce

Board your airships, because business is booming! Since the discovery of valuable resources like quartz and ore, people are lining up to seek their fortune by wheeling and dealing in the steam-powered, steampunk boomtown in Planet Steam!

In today’s preview of this exciting game of enterprise and economics, we will take a look at the plots up for grabs on the game’s Claim Map. We will also check out the equipment available to acquire and upgrade as players try to make a name for themselves as top entrepreneurs.

Stake Your Claim

The Claim Map is the area where land is divided into zones to be claimed by fledgling entrepreneurs on their quest to make a fortune. Players will later set up their extraction equipment in these zones, gaining resources to sell on the open market. What’s more, each zone a player has claimed is worth 25 credits at the end of the game, and the more zones a player holds, the more resources he is able to extract. Get your hands on as many as you can, because they’re going fast!

Planet Steam features a clever system to scale for the number of players, which means the game’s Claim Map is set up differently depending on how many people are playing. In a four player game, the Claim Map is set up as follows:

Claim zones are becoming increasingly scarce as more and more prospectors snatch them up in their attempt to strike it rich. Many of the claim zones have already been bought up by greedy companies, hoping to sell them off to eager, wannabe tycoons such as yourself. Each player begins the game with two claim zones, represented on the image above by the colored claim markers. The empty spaces are available to be claimed by any player, either by outbidding your opponent at auction, or by trusting the roll of the die. Zones covered by gray markers are not available to be claimed until the unclaimed zones are staked out.

Purchase and Upgrade Equipment

Once you have laid claim to a zone – or several – the next step is to stock up on extraction equipment. During the Tank Phase of the game, players may import tanks or purchase them from the local tank market. Importing tanks is done at a fixed price, while the cost of buying local varies depending on the supply. After purchasing a tank from the local market, players decrease the tank supply marker by one, adjusting the price for the next tank that is purchased. The more tanks you buy, the less there are for your opponents – and the more pricy they’ll become.

Players can buy as many tanks as they wish to each turn, provided they have enough credits and zones to accommodate their equipment. Tanks are worth 25 credits each at the end of the game, so stock up!

Standard tanks (those without a converter attached) extract water, but players can purchase converters to diversify the type of resources they can extract. With all of that energy, ore, and quartz to extract, a converter will help you get your hands on your share!

Typically, tanks can only extract one resource per turn, but players who wish to boost their extraction ability can purchase superchargers. Players must choose wisely, however, since each tank can only hold one supercharger. Along with extracting an additional resource each turn, superchargers are worth 50 credits each at the end of the game, making them incredibly valuable investments.

Extract Valuable Resources

Now it’s time to start harvesting those resources – after all, that’s where the credits are!

Of course, in order to dredge up valuable resources, energy must be expended. Players must spend one energy per tank to gain one resource during extraction. After resources are extracted, they are loaded onto a player’s respective resource carrier card to be sold on the open market.

Let’s look at an example of resource extraction. In our example, during a four person game, the claim map is set up as follows:

Players have claimed zones, then positioned their extraction equipment as shown above. During the extraction phase, the yellow player, who has Lady Steam this round, goes first (we’ll talk more about these characters and their relation to turn order in a future preview). He spends one energy, to extract one quartz, and two water. Since two of his tanks are located on a river zone, he is able to extract water without the use of energy. The orange player extracts next, and spends one energy to extract one energy and two water. Since he has an energy converter, he may extract one energy without expending any. Because of he has one tank in a river zone, he does not need to spend energy to extract water there. Purple player is next, and spends two energy to extract two water. Green player is last, and spends two energy to extract one ore and one water.

Now that basic extraction is complete, it is time for bonus extraction! The yellow player is able to extract an additional water during this phase, because one tank has a supercharger. He also receives an additional water because of the Synergy bonus. Two (or more) of a player’s tanks positioned next to each other orthogonally, extracting the same resource, extract bonus resources equal to the number of tanks in a row minus one. Since the yellow player has two tanks next to each other, both extracting water, he receives one additional water. The orange player receives no bonus resources this turn. The purple player also extracts two additional water (one for the supercharger, and one for his Synergy bonus). Finally, the green player extracts one additional ore with the help of his supercharger, and bonus extraction is completed.

Now, carriers whisk these newly extracted resources to town to be sold, fetching a tidy profit for our budding industrialists.

In the next preview, we will look at the Resource Terminal, which tracks supply and allows players to manipulate the market to fix the best prices for themselves, while gouging their opponents. The person who best uses the ever-fluid nature of the market to their advantage is slated to become an economic kingpin, in the highly competitive world of Planet Steam.

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Cutthroat Commerce in a Steam-Powered Future

Published 11 March 2013 | Planet Steam

Cutthroat Commerce in a Steam-Powered Future

Announcing Planet Steam, a Board Game of Production and Trade

Fantasy Flight Games is pleased to announce the upcoming release of Planet Steam, a board game of production and commerce in a steam-powered future!

In Planet Steam, two to five players take the roles of entrepreneurs in a steampunk boomtown, racing to assemble equipment, claim plots of land, extract resources, and accumulate riches. After harvesting resources using tanks and converters, players must buy and sell their newfound materials in a volatile and ever-shifting market. The one who earns the most income will, in the end, be victorious. However, only through shrewd resource management and clever manipulation of supply and demand can any player reign supreme!

An engaging economic and bidding game, Planet Steam stands apart due to its stunningly illustrated steampunk setting. Massive airships, mechanical wonders of their time, patrol the sky over a steam-gray landscape that’s dotted with massive extraction tanks. During the course of a game, players will bid on this resource-rich territory, purchase and upgrade their extraction equipment, manage the storage of their newly acquired resources, and buy and sell their resources on the open market.

Hire the Right Agents, Harvest the Right Resources

Another of the key ways in which Planet Steam differs from other auction and economic games is through its specialist cards. During each round, a player will hire a different character, and this hired agent will establish that player’s turn order and special abilities. Players must bid on specialist cards at the start of each round, resulting in tense one-upmanship as everyone clamors to grab the card effects most vital to them. The character each player chooses has important consequences throughout his turn...as well as to his overall game strategy.

Equally important, the collection of the game’s four key resources (water, ore, quartz, and energy) is accomplished by building or purchasing extraction tanks, then customizing them to harvest exactly the resource you want. Represented by detailed plastic figures with interchangeable attachments, these massive tanks cover the land, belching steam into the air and as they draw riches from the ground. Of course, harvesting resources is only half the job. Will you use them to build more tanks and storage ships, reinvesting in your infrastructure? Or will you carry your raw materials to the open market, skillfully manipulating prices to turn a profit? Only with a firm grasp of both processes – as well as a bit of luck – will you earn your fortune.

With tense bidding, challenging resource management, and compelling decisions, Planet Steam is sure to become a quick favorite among fans of economic games. And best of all, its well-crafted and engaging mechanics fit perfectly alongside its beautifully imagined steampunk setting. Outwit and outmaneuver your rivals! Create shortages or flood the market with resources to stymie your opponents! Are you canny enough to turn a handful of credits into a fortune?

Visit our Planet Steam website to learn more, then check back for more in the coming weeks. Planet Steam is flying into your local retailer this summer!

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