Ion Games’ Dawn on Titan Kickstarter Preview

Dawn on Titan is a 5X board game – Explore, Explode, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate

In a not very distant future, you lead a big corporation that fights for control over the resources on the moons around Saturn, just as they are about to be exploited.

Setup

1. Place the game board between all player
2. Randomly draw and place on the board according to the table below:

• • the He-3 clouds (face up)
  • the Moons (face down)
  • the Moonlets (face down)

3. Each player randomly takes an HQ board along with (in your player color):

• • 7 Industries, placed on your HQ board.
  • 5 Spaceships, placed on your HQ board.
  • 4 Upgraded battle cards, placed face down next to your HQ board where indicated. Keep them face down, Other players aren’t allowed to check your pile during the game.
  • 4 Basic battle cards, held in your hand. Other players aren’t allowed to look at your hand during the game.

4. Randomly choose a starting player. The player order is clockwise. In player order, each player:

• • Flip one of the Norse moons
  • On this moon, place one factory and the Ship on its silver side.

Playing the game

On each turn choose and perform 3 actions, any combination of:

• Ship,
• Industry and
• Combat actions.

Ship Actions

Fly: Move 1 Spaceship from one location to another, entering a new location is 1 step. Follow these rules:

• The distance the Spaceship can move depends on the Location it is in before the first step of the Fly action.
• The Spaceship has to be moved along Orbits according to its Direction. Movement between Orbits can be done anywhere regardless of the Spaceship’s Direction

Immelmann: Change the Direction of 1 Spaceship: Flip the spaceship to show its new Direction.

Explore: Flip an unexplored Moon or Moonlet that has the same Direction as your Spaceship. If it is a Moonlet: Immediately resolve its effect (effects are described under “Moonlets” in the key concepts) and then discarded it.

Build Industry: Place 1 industry on an explored moon or on a cloud.

Industry Actions

Choose one of your Industries. At this you can:

• Build Spaceship: Pay the resources required to build 1 ship. Place the ship in the same Location as the Industry and with the same Direction as the Industry (equals its moon’s Direction). Observe that each ship can only be built in a specific industry.
• Build Card: Pay the resources required to build 1 card taken from your card pile next to your HQ. If you take an upgraded weapon card, you have to return the non-upgraded variant to the pile from your hand. Observe that cards can only be built in a specific industry, which one is shown on the card with an icon.
• Produce: Take 2 resources of the same type as the Industry and place them on free locations on your HQ. If you have no free spaces for all, surplus have to be discarded.
• Resupply from Earth: Use 3 actions to get 1 resource of any type.

Combat Action

Combat Sequence:

• Choose a Location. You may attack enemy Units in this location, if you have at least 1 Spaceships or 1 Industry there, that has the same Direction as the unit you attack.
• Both players choose 1 card from their hand and place it face down on the table. “Industry Action” and “Security” cards can only be played if there is an Industry at the Location.
• Simultaneously reveal the chosen cards and check the result.
• Unless Stealth was played, the losing player chooses and removes 1 Unit of their choice, that has the same Direction as the attacking Unit, and puts it back on their HQ.
• If Stealth was played and the defender did not play Security, the attacker takes 1 free Industry action using the opponent’s Industry.
• If Stealth was played and the defender played Security, the attacker chooses and removes 1 Unit of their choice, that has the same Direction as the Industry.
• As the last step of a Combat action, both players choose if they want to retreat. This is declared by the defending player first. A retreating player has to move all ships they have left in the Location, that has the same Direction as the attacker, one step following the movement rules. A player may not retreat into a Location controlled by an enemy. All retreating ships has to move to the same Location

End of Game

The game ends immediately when one player has built all their 7 industries.  That player immediately wins the game.

First Thoughts

I love 4x games, so I was excited for Dawn of Titan as I was ready for the in-depth gameplay over long statistic rounds; played over a couple of hours plus it came witth an extra ‘x.’

Yet according to the media pack, Dawn of Titan is a family game played within 30 minutes. How can with get the excitement & depth from a 4x game in 30 minutes?  Will this dawn bring delight or will the Titans bring the pain?

Gameplay

After a quick read of the rules, it was weird. I was so torn.

As everything, I’d expect from a 4x game has been simplified, yet not dumbed down. It was like a beautiful Jus, that has had stock added to keep the depth of flavor but allow for it to be enjoyed by more people. Sorry I used to be a chef, so everything is described using food examples.

I sat down to play with 2 of my friends, one that had recently reviewed another 4x game with me & one that had no idea what a 4x game was. So, I wanted to get their take on Dawn of Titan. Like me, my experienced 4x player was shock and impressed. It was the same feelings, the same style, the same statistic gameplay yet handled in a way they were more palatable for all players. Whereas my beginner friend, really enjoyed the complexity of it. Liked that they had to think, plan but didn’t feel stoopid or get punished for not knowing or making the wrong choice. She enjoyed it so much, we even convinced her to played a 2.5 hour 4x game after our 5^th playthrough of Dawn of Titan….. and in all honesty, that 2.5hour game wasn’t enjoyed as much as Dawn of Titan.

Dawn of Titan delivers everything I didn’t expect could be delivered from a simplified version of a thinking person game.

Ok, so you’ve heard me talk about 4x a lot & probably thinking “I thought this was a 5x game.” Well, it is & the 5^th X is for Exterminate & that is what makes Dawn of Titan something special. Something I never thought need to be added to a 4x game, as it didn’t need it…… or so I thought

As anyone that has read my reviews, you know I’m not always a big fan of battling directly with other players. But Dawn of Titan does it in a way that feels so organic, it can be helpful & annoying but is never a hindrance or game-breaking. Because of this, it allows it to blend perfectly with the other 4x’s without making it feel overpowers or cumbersome. It is yet another magical stroke from ION Games.

Art

Dawn of Titan art is like the game. It is simple, elegant & does everything it needs to without going overboard. The Map is both functional, understated, and has depth. The ship’s meeples are simple & unique & very on-brand to their captains. Who is amazingly designed to give them a sense of their characters & their ideas for Saturn, but keeping them relatable and human.

Maybe it is because it is space or maybe it is just, I don’t know what. But less is more is truly what this art is. It just feels bigger, has more depth, and feels bolder than what it truly is. Whatever it is, it just works & feels grand.

Final Thoughts

I was afraid that Dawn of Titan was going to be a watered-down, oversimplified game posing as a 4x game or forgetting all the X’s and focusing on the 5^th X only.

But what I got, was a beautifully designed game that elegantly embraced the 4x genre added an extra X, and made it accessible for all.

If you have ever played a 4x game or new to board games or just want to play a game that is cleverly designed, then Dawn of Titan is a must add to your collection.

If you want your own copy of Dawn of Titan, you can find the Kickstarter here