Alien Artifacts

Alien Artifacts is a 4X-style card game designed by Marcin Senior Ropka and Viola Kijowska, published by Portal Games. In this game, players assume the roles of interplanetary factions aiming to expand their influence and power across the galaxy. The game emphasizes exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination, encapsulating the core elements of the 4X genre within a streamlined card-based system.

Game Overview:

• Theme: Set in a futuristic universe, players lead their factions to explore uncharted space, develop advanced technologies, build powerful ships, and colonize distant planets. The objective is to amass the most victory points by the end of the game through strategic planning and resource management.
• Objective: Accumulate victory points by constructing ships, researching technologies, discovering planets, and utilizing alien artifacts. Each player's strategy will vary based on their chosen faction and the opportunities presented during gameplay.

Gameplay Mechanics:

• Resource Management: Each turn, players draw three resource cards, each offering two different resource types. Deciding how to allocate these resources is crucial for building ships, researching technologies, or exploring planets.
• Dual-Purpose Cards: Cards can be utilized in multiple ways, allowing players to choose between immediate benefits or long-term advantages. For example, a ship card can be used for its construction cost or its combat ability.
• Alien Artifacts: Throughout the game, players may encounter alien artifacts that provide unique abilities or bonuses, adding depth and variability to strategies.

Components:

• Over 200 cards, including ships, technologies, planets, and alien artifacts.
• Faction boards representing different interplanetary factions, each with unique abilities.
• Resource tokens and markers to track various in-game elements.

Game Information:

• Players: 2-5
• Playtime: 60 minutes
• Recommended Age: 10+

Why Choose Alien Artifacts?

Alien Artifacts offers a condensed 4X experience, delivering the depth and strategic complexity of traditional 4X games within a shorter playtime. Its card-driven mechanics provide a fresh take on the genre, emphasizing tactical decisions and resource management. The game's variability, driven by the diverse cards and faction abilities, ensures high replayability. Whether you're a seasoned strategist or new to 4X games, Alien Artifacts provides an engaging and accessible experience.