Designer: Ryan Lambert, Adam Rehberg
Publisher: Adam’s Apple Games, LLC
In Planet Unknown, players have discovered a new set of planets and they hope to be the most successful explorer and settler on the new planet of their choice. To do so, they’ll have to acquire resources, try to fill out complete rows and columns on the planet, content with the planet’s unique layout, and watch out for the regular meteor strikes. Placing tiles, building rovers, and scoring points are key to becoming the most intrepid adventurer in the system!
Planet Unknown got the Committee’s attention with a grab bag of interesting features and gameplay, ranging from the simultaneous play to the engine-building that occurs as players place tiles and try to build out the best planet. There’s a lot going on in Planet Unknown, but the Committee found that it’s very much the complete package for our Strategy Games winner, this year.
What Our Committee Is Saying
You know a game is good when you want to play again, despite never managing to pull out the win. That’s exactly what Planet Unknown is for me. The puzzle-like nature and multiple paths toward victory give it a lot of replay value.
Nicole Brady
While dropping large blocks of terrain from space may be a terrible way to terraform a planet, it makes for an intriguing puzzle of a game, and the simultaneous play keeps everyone engaged.
Jonathan Liu
[Sooo] satisfying! My brain is properly melted.
Theo Strempel
Photos courtesy of What’s Eric Playing?. All rights reserved.
The American Tabletop Awards 