Designer: Alan Emrich (Axis Empires: Totaler Krieg!, A House Divided: Ware Between the States 1861-65, Totaler Krieg!), Chris Taylor (Astra Titanus, Legions of Darkness, Pillars of Eternity: Lords of the Eastern Reach)

Artist: Ian O’Toole (Age of Steam, Black Angel, CO2: Second Chance, Escape Plan, The Gallerist, Lisboa, On Mars, Pipeline, The Reckoners, Stockpile, Vinhos Deluxe Edition)

Publisher:  Victory Point Games (Dawn of the Zeds, Renegade, Zulus on the Ramparts!: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, adventure, area majority/influence, area movement, cooperative game, dice rolling, expansion, exploration, nautical, novel-based, push your luck, science fiction, simulation, solo/solitaire game, time track, travel, wargame

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Nemo’s War: Journey’s End Expansion & Ultimate Edition is already fully-funded. Pledges currently total almost 14x the initial funding goal with 3 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About: “The second edition of Nemo’s War, Victory Point Games’ popular solitaire offering from designer Chris Taylor, is a greatly enhanced offering featuring mass-production printing and amazing Ian O’Toole art and graphics throughout. Set in year 1870, you set sail in this amazing electric-powered submarine, assuming the role and motive of Captain Nemo as you travel across the seas on missions of science, exploration, anti-Imperialism, and War.”

How It Works: “Nemo’s War is a single-player game of underwater exploration and combat circa 1870. You are Captain Nemo, commander of the Nautilus. You will search the oceans, fight vessels of all nations, brave the hazards of the seas, find mysterious treasures, behold and chronicle amazing wonders, and travel around the world in your quest for knowledge and vengeance. Nemo’s War is based on the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne.”

“Begin each turn with an Event Phase by revealing the top card of the Draw Pile and resolving that card’s Event, TEST, or other instructions. Most turns (excluding the Prologue and Act cards) continue with a Placement Phase, followed by your Action Phase.”

“During the Placement Phase, you roll the dice indicated for the game’s current Act (plus one additional black die when you are at a very high Notoriety level). The dice results indicate the Oceans for Ship token placement that turn. If the two (selected) white dice roll doubles, a Lull Turn takes place. Finally, you receive the result of the Differential Roll of the two white dice in Action Points.”

“During the Action Phase, you spend the Action Points received from the differential of the two white dice rolled to advance Nemo’s goals (e.g., Move, Attack, etc.).”

“Repeat these three Phases (Event, Placement, and Action) until the game ends with your early defeat or you reveal the Finalé card that ultimately instructs you: ‘The game ends!’ When the game is over thus, check your score.”

“You calculate your success in Nemo’s War in Victory Points (VPs). You earn VPs in several ways, such as sinking Ships, finding Treasures, and passing TESTS. If you are defeated due to the complete loss of a Ship Resource, becoming a Pariah, or from an Imperialist Powers Victory, don’t bother scoring; simply read the Defeat section of the Epilogue booklet. Before scoring, place all of the Adventure cards in your Tableau in the PASS or FAIL Piles as instructed on each, and add your equipped Nautilus Upgrade cards to the PASS Pile. You will be scoring points only for the cards in your PASS Pile.”

“When the game ends due to a Finalé card, your score is determined by counting how many Victory Points (VPs), both positive and negative, you have earned on that voyage. Greatly affecting your VP earnings is Nemo’s Motive, which adjusts the values of seven key scoring areas.”

Comparisons: Some other exploration & puzzle-solving games that are considered to play best as solo games include The 7th Continent, Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Mage Knight, Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island,

What Should I Pledge?:
$29 The Journey’s End: just a copy of the new Nemo’s War: Journey’s End Expansion.
$89 The Ultimate Edition: includes a copy of Nemo’s War: 2nd Edition, Nemo’s War Expansion 1: Nautilus Upgrades, Nemo’s War Expansion 2: Bold & Caring, Nemo’s War Expansion 3: Dramatis Personae, and the new Nemo’s War: Journey’s End Expansion.

Add-Ons:
$9 Nemo’s War Expansion 1: Nautilus Upgrades
$9 Nemo’s War Expansion 2: Bold & Caring
$9 Nemo’s War Expansion 3: Dramatis Personae
$5 Nemo’s War Enamel Pin
$9 Nemo’s War Cloth Bundle: includes 2 Cloth Bags (already included in the Ultimate Edition pledge level) and a Cloth Board

KS Exclusives
None.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S., you’re looking at $89 for The Ultimate Edition, state sales tax, and $13 in shipping for a total of $102+.

Nemo’s War: Journey’s End Expansion & Ultimate Edition completes its Kickstarter on Thursday, December 10th and tentatively ships in December 2021.