Designers: Tom Jolly (Battle for Rokugan, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, Wiz-War 8th Edition), Luke Laurie (Dwellings of Eldervale, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, Stones of Fate)

Artists: Josh Cappel (1960: The Making of the President, Belfort, Endeavor, Endeavor: Age of Sail, Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, Pandemic, Scoville, Wasteland Express Delivery Service), Jeffrey Edwards (Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire), Scott Hartman (Aeon’s End, Aeon’s End: War Eternal, At the Gates of Loyang, Kodama: The Tree Spirits, Wasteland Express Delivery Service)

Publisher: Minion Games (Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Manhattan Project, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire)

Genre/Mechanisms: civilization, dice rolling, economic, resource management, tableau building, take that, worker placement

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire: Cold War expansion is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total more than 10x the initial funding goal.

Player Count: 1-5

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-low

What It’s About: A worker placement game where players are nations struggling for power in the late 20th century, building up industry, commerce, resources, structures, and energy sources. The new Cold War expansion adds in new Nations cards, new Megastructures, new Espionage cards, new Global Impact cards, new Structures, The Doomsday Clock & Cold War cards module, and the new Clash of Nations solo decks with 48 cards.

How It Works:  On their turn, players choose from taking either a Work Turn, or a Generate Turn. On a Work Turn, the player places a worker on the board, then activates their structures and/or a Nation card. On a Generate Turn, players 1) may claim an Achievement, 2) Return all of their workers and discard Energy, 3) Refine Oil to gain Petroleum dice, 4) Roll Energy Dice and Gain Energy, and lastly, 5) Pollute. When the last token is removed from the Global Impact track, each player takes one more turn, including the player who triggered end-game. At the end of the game, players score VP for owned Structures, Energy Dice on their player mat, their place on the United Nations Track, Acievements, and 1 VP for each unpolluted space in their Environment.

Comparisons: Vita Lacerda’s CO2: Second Chance is another worker placement game themed around pollution and the environment.

What Should I Pledge?:
$25 TMP:EE Cold War expansion: just the new Cold War expansion.
$65 TMP:EE Cold War + Energy Empire: the Cold War expansion with a copy of the base game, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire.
$65 TMP:EE Cold War + Energy Empire: the Cold War expansion with a copy of the standalone sister game, The Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight.
$99 War Chest Bundle: the Cold War expansion with a copy of the base game, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, as well as a copy of the standalone sister game, The Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight.

Add-Ons:
None listed. But the FAQ states that some games, such as The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, The Manhattan Project 2: Minutes to Midnight, and a few others, will be available via the Pledge Manager.

KS Exclusives:
None.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S., you’re looking at $98 for the Emperor’s Edition. Shipping has only been estimated for the core game at $15. If we assume another $10 for the 5 & 6 player expansion and the 30 modular board tiles (which could be heavy), that would provide a total estimate of $123.

Manhattan Project: Energy Empire completes its Kickstarter on Thursday, May 30th and tentatively ships in November 2019.