Game Title : Rebel Moon Defense
Publisher : Nestor Games
Game Designer : Cameron Browne
Game Thema : The critical bomb attack and the defense system against it
Map : space areas between the stargate and the rebel moon
Units : Chaos bomb, asteroids and rebel installations
Game Components
one soft map
1 Chaos bomb with 3 colored shields
15 asteroids
15 rebel installations
3 6-sided die
Characteristic game mechanics
Imperial player must move his chaos bomb from the stargate to the rebel moon.
Rebel player must eliminate the bomb before it reaches the moon.
The game is divided into 2 stages.
First, each player setup asteroids and installations on the map alternatively.
Imperial player plays first and he places one asteroid at a time. Though asteroid blocks the movement of the bomb, it is very useful to block rebel installations’ attack.
Rebel player plays second and places one of his installations. There are several types of installations each has different ability to attack the bomb.
Each player alternatively places one unit until both players pass consecutively.
Then the game enters the latter half. Imperial player plays first, again. He can move his bomb by changing its direction and move one space. Then rebel player activate one of his installation to attack the bomb.
Basically the installation attacks the bomb if it has clear line of sight. Contact mine can only attack to adjacent hexes. Laser can attack along one hex grid without range limitation but it cannot penetrate the asteroids. Asteroid killer cannot attack the bomb, but eliminates all asteroids in its sight and clear the line of sight for future attacks.
Since every installation is setup with reverse side up, imperial player cannot know what it is until it is revealed by rebel player to attack.
Challenge for players
Though the game system is simple and there are only several variations, the game is really interesting. You must utilize each type of installation carefully. And combination attack is really important.
Also, for imperial player, it is really challenging to presume what the rebel player’s idea is. Sometimes taking a risk is important. But, you must think twice before taking the risk.
In addition to these fascinating features, I really love the portable components.
