Designers: Matthew O’Malley (Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Between Two Cities, Diner), Ben Rosset (Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Between Two Cities, Brew Crafters)

Artist: Michael Pedro

Publisher: Foxtrot Games (The Fox in the Forest, Lanterns: The Harvest Festival, Worlds Fair 1893)

Genre/Mechanisms: action points, app support, deduction

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, The Search for Planet X is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total more than 1.6x the initial funding goal with 7 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 2-4

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-light

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About:  A space-themed, app-supported deduction game that almost plays like a roll & write.

How It Works: Players take on the roles of astronomers trying to deduce the location of Planet X in this competitive logic puzzle. Score points for locating Planet X and for publishing correct theories about other objects in the solar system to win the game. The game includes two modes: Standard and Expert, with Expert including more sectors, making the game more challenging. What follows is a description of gameplay in Standard Mode.

The Search for Planet X uses a time track, with the player whose pawn is the furthest behind on the time track taking on the role of active player. That player keeps taking turns until their pawn is no longer in the last position, with the player now furthest behind on the time track taking on the role of active player. On their turn, the active player does the following: Takes One Action, Advances Their Pawn, and Rotates the Sun Board. The available actions in the Take One Action Phase include: Scan for an Object, Target a Sector, Locate Planet X, and and Research. During Scan for an Object, the player selects an object type and range of consecutive visible sectors using the game’s app. The app will tell the player how many objects of that type are located in that range. During Target a Sector, the player selects one visible sector. The app will tell the player which object is located in that sector (or that the sector is empty). During Locat Planet X, the player selects the sector they think contains Planet X, as well as selecting objects they think are located in two adjacent sectors. The app will tell the player whether they are correct or incorrect. And finally, in the Research Phase, the player selects one of six available research items in the app. Each item contains a logic rule that applies to the particular game being played. Whatever action the player has chosen, they will make notations on their player sheet hidden behind their player screen. The player sheets operate very similar to those in Clue and those found in logic puzzles.

After performing one of the aforementioned 4 actions, the player will Advance their Pawn on the time track corresponding to the time required for the action. Researching takes 1 unit of time, Scanning in Sectors 7-9 takes 2 units of time, Scanning in Sectors 4-6 takes 3 units of time, Scanning in Sectors 1-3 takes 4 units of time, Targeting takes 4 units of time, and Locating Planet X takes 5 units of time. Once a player successfully locates Planet X, they immediately trigger end game. If that has not happened, the player proceeds to Rotate the Sun Board so that the arrow on the Sun Board points at the sector containing the next player’s pawn.

If the Sun Board reaches either a Theory Icon or a Conference Icon, it triggers a Theory Phase or Conference Phase. During a Theory Phase each player selects up to one Theory, placing it face down on the table outside of their player screen, but covered. Once all players have committed to a Theory, the players reveal their Theories in player order. Face-down theories are then advanced on the Solar System Board. If any Theory Tokens reach the inner space, a Peer Review is conducted. The app will confirm whether the Theory is correct or not. If it’s correct, other correct Theory Tokens in the same sector are turned face up while incorrect Theory Tokens are removed from the board, with their owners paying a 1-unit penalty on the Time Track. Correct Theory Tokens that have been revealed can no longer advance, and stay locked in place for the rest of the game. During a Conference Phase, all players receive a clue about the location of Planet X from the game’s app.

Once a player has successfully located Planet X and end-game has been triggered, players 1-3 spaces behind that player on the Time Track can submit up to 1 Theory, and players 4+ spaces behind that player can submit up to 2 Theories. Instead of submitting Theories, each player can also attempt to Locate Planet X. If successful, they’ll score 2 points for each space they’re behind the player who initially located Planet X, up to a maximum of 10 points. Players will score end-game points based on the following: 1 point for each sector where a player first successfully submitted a correct theory; 2 points for each Asteroid Field Theory; 4 points for each Dwarf Planet Theory; 3 points for each Comet Theory; 4 points for each Gas Cloud Theory; 10 points for the first player to locate Planet X; and 2-10 points for any other players who successfully located Planet X, dependent on time track position, as described above. The player with the most points wins the game.

Comparisons:  It’s basically Clue in space. With an app, and without any of the murder mystery theming. It’s also sort of a space-themed logic puzzle (with an app) using some additional mechanics to give the game deeper gameplay, almost roll & write-style.

What Should I Pledge?:
$34 Deep Space Level: a copy of the game plus all unlocked stretch goal rewards.
$44 New Horizon Level: the Deep Space Level pledge rewards, plus Game Trayz and component upgrades.

Add-Ons:
$9 Challenge Coin: only for backers who are also members of The Planetary Society

KS Exclusives:
The additional rewards in the New Horizon pledge level, the Game Trayz and component upgrades, are KS-exclusives.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S. you’re looking at $44 for the New Horizon Level plus $5 in shipping for a total of $49.

The Search for Planet X completes its Kickstarter on Wednesday, October 30th and tentatively ships in May 2020.