Designers: Chris Cervantes (Into the Dead), Adam Poirer (Into the Dead), Rob Stoddard (Grind, Hordes, Warmachine Prime Mk II)

Artists: Leri Greer (GKR: Heavy Hitters), Gary Hunt, Christian Pearce (GKR: Heavy Hitters, Ugg-tect)

Publisher: Weta Workshop (GKR: Heavy Hitters)

Genre/Mechanisms: action point allowance system, area movement, campaign/battle card driven, hand management, miniatures, modular board, pick up & deliver, take that

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, District 9: The Boardgame is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total almost 2x the initial funding goal with 5 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 2-6

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: high

What It’s About:  The re-launch of Weta’s miniatures-heavy, dudes-on-a-map District 9 board game adaptation. 

How It Works: District 9 plays over the course of 3 days. On Day 1, players scour the district for Alien Tech while Wikus searches for the elusive canister. On Day 2, players can return to their base or outpost to bank some of their tech; Day 2 ends when Wikus meets CJ. On Day 3, the drop ship crash lands and the Mech emerges; players must defeat it to stop its path of destruction and end the day.

On their turn, players do the following, in order: Gain Influence from bonuses, Spend Influence to Issue Orders and Take Actions, Resolve an Event Card, and Refresh their Hands (discarding and redrawing up to the 5-card hand limit).

At the end of Day 3, players will score the Tech & Mech Tiles they’ve collected, as well as VP’s from District Booths still under they’re control. The player with the most VP’s wins.

Comparisons:  District 9 is basically a dudes on a map game, one that pairs some of the major storytelling beats from the movie with a sandbox-type environment and general engine-building. It’s not a straight 4x game or civilization builder, but a game that uses some of those mechanics, along with a slew of miniatures, to create a Euro-like hybrid. Think along the lines of Vindication, Waste Lands, Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down, or even Scythe to some extent.

What Should I Pledge?:
$99 Popcorn Pledge: the core game and all applicable stretch goals.
$129 Sweetie Man Pledge: the Popcorn Pledge rewards, plus the 5-6 player expansion.
$169 Mothership Pledge: the Sweetie Man Pledge rewards, plus all add-ons.
$229 Prawn Stars Pledge: the Mothership Pledge rewards, plus extra set of 79 core game miniatures.

Add-Ons:
$40 5-6 Player Expansion
$30 District Boost Ally Deployable Pack: includes 10 unique sculpts with 2 corresponding cards each
$9 Token Upgrade: upgrades cardboard Mech Tokens & Tech Tiles to plastic
$20 Puddi Can + Mech
$20 Sleeve Pack: includes 510 sleeves

KS Exclusives:
The entire game is a KS exclusive and will not be available at retail.

All-In Total: Assuming the extra set of 79 core game miniatures is unnecessary, then in the continental U.S. you’re looking at $169 for the Mothership Pledge plus $30 in shipping for a total of $199.

District 9: The Boardgame completes its Kickstarter on Wednesday, September 25th and tentatively ships in August 2020.