Shackleton Base : A Journey to the Moon (EN)

In the very near future, mankind is setting up a base in the center of the Shackleton crater at the Moon’s South Pole. Players lead space agencies working together to expand the human presence on the Moon. The mission is sponsored by 3 major corporations, each pursuing its own goals.

Shackleton Base is based on several key concepts:

• Worker Placement: Use your Engineers, Scientists and Technicians in the various areas of the board to achieve your objectives. You’ll be in constant tension with the other players, who will be looking to grab the best – and, of course, limited – slots!
• Modularity: Thanks to the 7 Corporations in the box, there are a total of 35 different combinations of Corporations! This gives each game its own unique flavor. Naturally, the game provides a starting configuration for your first game. Thereafter, you can choose the combination of Corporations or leave it to chance.
• Sandbox: Shackleton Base is designed as a sandbox. You’re free to choose which direction to take, and the possibilities are endless. Build structures, fund projects, improve your reputation, get involved with Corporations…

Solo players can play against an Automa, entirely designed by authors Fabio Lopiano and Nestore Mangone.

A game of Shackleton Base lasts 3 rounds, during which players go through various phases:

• Choice of Space Agency: before starting the first round, you can choose your agency. Each agency has a different ability.
• Shuttle draft: during this draft, you’ll choose your Shuttle tile from among those on offer. Each Shuttle tile details the types of astronauts and resources you will receive for that round.
• Action phase: on your turn, deploy one of your astronauts on the Moon to collect resources, build structures or fund projects.
• Maintenance: astronauts deployed on the crater populate players’ bases according to majority criteria (who has the most structures in each line of the crater). Players then collect their income and pay their maintenance costs.

Depending on the Corporations involved in the game, special skills can be activated during the various stages of the game. The space agency with the most victory points at the end of the game will be declared the winner!