Designer: Adam Kwapiński (InBetween, Lords of Hellas, Nemesis)

Artist: Krzysztof “Klema” Klemiński

Publisher:  Glass Cannon Unplugged

Genre/Mechanisms: action/event; city building; cooperative game; cube tower; economic; exploration; modular board; scenario/mission/campaign game; worker placement, different worker types

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Frostpunk: The Board Game is already fully-funded. Pledges currently total more than 9x the initial funding goal with 2 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 1-4

Solo Mode: yes

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: medium-high

What It’s About: “Take on the roles of leaders of a small colony of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world that was hit by a severe ice age. Their duty is to effectively manage both its infrastructure and citizens. The core gameplay will be brutal, challenging, and complex, but easy to learn. The citizens won’t just be speechless pieces on the board. Society members will issue demands and react accordingly to the current mood, so every decision and action bears consequences.”

How It Works: “Frostpunk is a cooperative game set in a cold, post-apocalyptic 19th Century world. Survival is only possible in small cities built around heat generators. As the leaders of a small city, your main objective in Frostpunk is to survive a certain number of rounds, as determined by the scenario. In addition to this, each scenario has its own objectives that you must fulfill in order to win the game. However, the world of Frostpunk is a hostile and dangerous place, and if you are unable to manage your city well, you will lose.”

“A game of Frostpunk is divided into Rounds, with each Round divided into 9 Phases which are carried out in order (Phases 1-5 are skipped in the first round of the game and it starts with Phase 6: Action Phase):
1. Dawn Phase: Advance the round and trigger any events.
2. Morning Phase: Resolve the top card from the Morning deck.
3. Generator Phase: Citizens may become sick, then check for Generator malfunction.
4. Weather Phase: Resolve the top Weather card (Storm moves closer, Heat Range tokens advance, Hunter’s Huts provide food, and Expeditions progress).
5. Preparation Phase: Resolve Sickness markers.
6. Action Phase: Perform actions with meeples.
7. Dusk Phase: Resolve the top card of the Dusk deck.
8. Hunger Phase: Resolve Hunger from the previous round and then feed Citizens.
9. Night Phase: Place Citizens in Heated Shelters.”

“If you survive until the end of the last Round and/or have met all the Scenario conditions, you win the game. You can check on the last Scenario card how well your society is prepared after those difficult times. To achieve a particular Victory level, you must fulfill all requirements shown on that Scenario card.”

“If one or more of the following conditions are met, you immediately lose the game: People Banish You From the City (if you place a sixth Discontent token onto the Discontent track; People Lose Their Will to Survive (if your last Hope token is removed from the Hope track); Explosion of the Generator (if the Generator breaks down for a second time, it explodes); Overwhelming Deaths (if the Death track is full and another Citizen dies– 11th body token to be added); Overwhelming Sickness (if any of the Citizen Sickness Markers is moved beyond space 29, a plague of Sickness wipes out your settlement); Overwhelming Hunger (if your Hunger level is 30 or more after feeding your people in the Hunger phase).

Comparisons: Here are several games that also use a worker placement mechanic with different worker-types: Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery, Argent: The Consortium, Anachrony, Belfort, Chimera Station, Empires: Age of Discovery, The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire, Keyflower, Lancaster, Legacy: The Testament of Duke de Crecy, The Manhattan Project, The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire, Obsession, Ora et Labora, Paladins of the West Kingdom, The Pillars of the Earth, Raiders of the North Sea, Railroad Revolution, Three Kingdoms Redux, Troyes, Village, Viticulture Essential Edition, and Yokohama.

And here are some cooperative games that also feature multiple scenarios, missions, or a campaign: The 7th Continent, Arkham Horror, Arkham Horror: The Card Game, Chronicles of Crime, The City of Kings, The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine, Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Gloomhaven, Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, Legends of Andor, The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth, Mansions of Madness, Marvel Champions: The Card Game, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords – Base Set, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull and Shackles – Base Set, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Zombicide, and Zombicide: Invader.

What Should I Pledge?:
$89 Core Pledge: includes Frostpunk: The Board Game, the Frostlander Expansion, pre-shading for the Generator Tower, and all unlocked stretch goals.
$148 Deluxe Pledge: includes everything in the Core Pledge, plus the Miniatures Expansion and pre-shading for the Miniatures Expansion.
$202 Gamer All-In Pledge: includes everything in the Deluxe Pledge plus the Resources Expansion, Dreadnought Expansion, Playing Mat, and pre-shading on all miniatures.
$296 Collector’s Edition All-In Pledge: includes everything in the Gamer All-In Pledge plus the New London poster and The Edge of Kinship Resin miniature.

Add-Ons:
$24 Neoprene Playing Mat
$24 Dreadnought Expansion
$30 Resource Expansion: includes 98 pre-shaded plastic miniatures plus a plastic component tray
$30 New London poster
$71 The Edge of Kinship Resin miniature

KS Exclusives
All of the pre-shading options are Kickstarter-exclusives, and so is the Frostlander Expansion that is included with every full pledge level (Core, Deluxe, and above).

All-In Total: If you’re not interested in the non-gameplay extras like the poster and Resin miniature, then in the continental U.S., you’re looking at $202 for the Gamer All-In Pledge plus $24 in shipping for a total of $226.

Frostpunk: The Board Game completes its Kickstarter on Wednesday, October 28th and tentatively ships in October 2021.