space – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com The best place on earth for nerds. Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:18:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-nerds_head_thumb2-100x100.png space – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com 32 32 All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, under one umbrella. We create short run podcasts for nerds, covering D&D, Marvel, Starfinder, and more! You vote for your favorite shows and they just might get a second season. space – Nerds on Earth false episodic space – Nerds on Earth jason.sansbury@nerdsonearth.com podcast All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, the best place on Earth for nerds. space – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/noe-podcast-logo.png https://nerdsonearth.com/blog/ Nerds in Space: Spinning Space Stations https://nerdsonearth.com/2021/01/nerds-in-space-spinning-space-stations/ Thu, 28 Jan 2021 13:00:00 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=34113

Let's talk space stations. You might be surprised by their robust history and variety of design concepts! Plus we'll need one or two between us and Mars.

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Only highly trained and carefully selected astronauts go to space, with few exclusions. Yet space settlement needs economical, safe launch systems to deliver thousands, perhaps millions, of people into orbit.

If this seems impractical and idealistic, note that a hundred and fifty years ago nobody had ever flown in an airplane, but today nearly 500 million people fly each year. If we can build an economy that flies a million people into space each year, we can build an economy that attracts thousands to live in space each year.

Nerds on Earth need to become Nerds in Space because an orbiting space habitat creates an important next step in ultimately creating a sustainable habitat on Mars, making humans a multi-planet species.

The Sensational Spinning Space Station

Kalpana One is an orbital space settlement designed for 5,000 residents. Its shape is a cylinder with a radius equally about 2 1/2 football fields and a length of about 5 football fields, the longest length possible while still ensuring rotational stability.

What’s this about rotation? The radius is the minimum necessary to provide 1g of artificial gravity (approximate to Earth) when rotating at 2 revolutions per minute. And the axis of rotation is aligned with the solar system’s north-south axis to provide continuous natural light through transparent end caps.

In other words, the best of Earth without having a foot on Earth.

Orbiting Space Colonies of the Future Past

Before we go any further, some history.

Kalpana One was designed to learn from and improve upon the space colony designs of the mid-1970s that had names like the Bernal Sphere, Stanford Torus, Lewis One, and O’Neill Cylinder.

In the 1970s, it was Princeton physicist Gerard O’Neill who led two Stanford/NASA studies that supported the feasibility of kilometer-scale orbital cities. But these studies assumed that the NASA space shuttle would operate as expected, a flight every week or two that carried supplies into orbit at $500/lb, while only having one failure per 100,000 flights. Further, the studies assumed an even heavier launcher would soon follow.

As us space Nerds know, the shuttle missed its design goals by an order of magnitude and stunned the country when the Challenger exploded in 1986. When it became clear that there was no transportation system capable of supporting those 70s settlement designs, they quickly fell out of favor.

Looking back, they had some wonderful things going for them. They rotated to provide psuedo-gravity and they featured natural sunlight, even if was often through the use of mirrors.

But the earlier designs had a number of serious problems:

  1. Those with spherical shapes required an excessive amount of radiation shielding.
  2. The large mirrors required to bring in natural sunlight weren’t ideal.
  3. They often suffered from rotational instability or poor wobble control.
  4. Rotating hulls combined with non-rotating shield mass could lead to catastrophic failure modes, and the word “catastrophic” is never a word you want in research literature associated with space colonization.

A New Day for Orbiting Space Colonies

Earth’s Moon and Mars are usually considered better locations for future space colonies, mainly because us Earth Nerds are accustomed to living on the outside of a large solid sphere that conveniently provides easy access to construction materials.

But interest been renewed in an orbiting colony for substantial reasons:

Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay 
  1. 1g pseudo-gravity levels are possible on orbital colonies versus the 1/3g gravity of Mars and the 1/6g of the Moon. 1g is critical for raising strong children, as fans of The Expanse know.
  2. An orbital colony allows rapid re-suppply from Earth and communication with the Earth would be more robust.
  3. Continuous, ample, reliable solar energy is right there.
  4. You don’t want the 1g near the hull? Well, you’d have weightless and low-g recreation possibilities near the axis of rotation and easy 0g construction along the outside hull, although construction would largely be via robotics.
  5. An orbital colony can service Earth’s tourist markets more easily than the Moon or Mars, and if America has taught us anything, it’s that if there is a way for a large corporation to make money off it, there is a desire to get it done.

Hull

The primary point of space colonization is to provide high quality living area for human beings. The problem is an unprotected human in high orbit (above the Van Allen Belts) can’t survive naturally occurring radiation for long periods of time, and death by radiation is not what anyone would call “high quality living.”

Not only will periodic solar events generate sufficient radiation to kill in a few hours, ubiquitous radiation of cosmic origin degrades biological tissue continuously. It also possibly turns you into the Fantastic Four maybe.

Image by NASA-Imagery from Pixabay 

Adequate radiation protection, outside of solar flare events, can be provided by approximately ten tons of material per square meter of hull surface. Pause and let the heft of that marinade over you for a bit.

So, radiation shielding thus dominates the material requirements of an orbital space colony. And where to get all those raw materials, having learning the space shuttle won’t just fly to them to you?

The materials supply problems can be overcome, with some difficulty, by transporting materials from the Moon and Near Earth Objects (NEOs) like asteroids. No one location on the Moon will have everything required, but multiple materials sourcing could allow us to piece together the radiation shielding required, despite the substantial materials transport hurdles.

Shape

Robotics would supply the majority of the construction of the cylinder in unshielded space. The cylinder rotates in perpetuity in the frictionless vacuum of space. But wobble control is provided by weights attached to cables on motorized winches under computer control. No one wants to tumble around end over end.

The shield doesn’t rotate, always staying between the inhabitants and those pesky solar flares. The habitat does rotate and interior shielding doubles as soil for plants.

The 1g living area in the hull is supplemented by internal chambers at lower g-levels for industry, storage, agriculture, retirement communities and recreation.

Power

Solar satellites power the thing and emergency power is provided by body-mounted solar cells, which calms inhabitants nerves. We’ve seen the bad things that happen in science fiction movies.

But primary power comes from solar power satellites that beam energy to a body-mounted rectenna. Solar also powers exterior maintenance via teleoperated autonomous robots that keep systems a go, including wobble control, navigation, and rotation.

Honestly, what could go wrong?

I didn’t even go into tailored force fielding, so if that interests you, click through to the source material below. Be sure to read the rest of our series as well. We’re putting a Nerd on Mars, guaranteed.

Read More of our “Nerds in Space” Series

  1. Intro
  2. Establishing a Budget and Timeline
  3. The Stepping Stones that Will Take Us to Mars
  4. Traveling far.
  5. Establishing an outpost.
  6. Terraforming a home.

Sources

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Nerds in Space: The Stepping Stones that Will Take Us to Mars https://nerdsonearth.com/2021/01/nerds-in-space-the-stepping-stones-that-will-take-us-to-mars/ Thu, 21 Jan 2021 13:00:00 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=34048

One does not just simply walk onto Mars. A few waypoints between here and there would go a long way towards ensuring a successful colonization.

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It will take 75 launches of the NASA Space Launch System or 184 launches of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to get the necessary payloads into space to support a permanent self-sustaining settlement on Mars – this according to the research of Human Spaceflight: Mission Analysis and Design. The transportation-only cost is $67 billion dollars.

Plus, the clock is ticking. It’s only a matter of time before an asteroid hits the earth, causing an Extinction-Level Event. Of course, strip-mining fossil fuels will probably drive us to extinction much sooner, so we need to take to the stars ASAP.

But one does not just simply walk onto Mars. A multi-planet species will require a series of stepping stones.

The Stepping Stones that Will Take Us to Mars

An oasis is a rare fertile area in a desert that travelers use as a critical waypoint to restock, resupply, rest, and repair broken parts on their equipment. Like oases in the desert, a series of stepping-stone spaceports present a multi-purpose logistics network of safe havens, enabling human and robotic expansion into the hostile void.

A spaceport is a critical infrastructure waypoint that provides services for space vehicles. Plus, look, us nerds love Star Wars, read Marvel comics, and play Starfinder. Spaceports are cool. We’re going to imagine them rife with space pirates and defended by the Guardians of the Galaxy Space Force.

Destination Orbit

The International Space Station (ISS) is where we start. While the focus of ISS currently is support, education, and technology development, the future of ISS could be as a strategic spaceport.

Our first stepping stone from Cape Canaveral into low earth orbit (LEO) allows affordable equipment lifts by commercial partners like SpaceX. The next stepping stone beyond would then be a matter of in-space propulsion, which wouldn’t require the wasteful burn required to escape Earth’s gravity.

Then, advanced in-space propulsion, such as solar electric and nuclear propulsion, will open new possibilities. [This is just a primer. If you want to launch deep into any of these elements, please click through to the source research listed below.]

Destination Moon

The Inhumans already inhabit the moon in the city of Attilan and Cyclops of the X-Men now lives there, but they will just have to share space, because the Moon will serve as a critical stepping stone if humans are to achieve a Martian settlement.

Establishing a permanent human spaceport on the Moon will require the maximum possible use of local materials. The Moon’s lunar soil contains useful resources such as oxygen, water, silicon, and light metals, like aluminum and titanium.

  • Oxygen can be separated from the lunar soil for life support and to create rocket propellant.
  • Lunar soil can be used as radiation protection.
  • Lunar soil can be processed into solar cells, or bricks and glass for construction.
  • Research sites in Hawaii have simulated lunar soil with volcanic soil to create a water equivalent that would support a crew of 4 on the Moon.

Earthlings love to mine places into oblivion, so there will certainly be an appetite for setting up such a Moon spaceport for commercial opportunities.

Besides, the lower lunar gravity makes an ideal sending point if timed with the nearest point of the Martian orbit. The alignment of celestial bodies provides a wonderful opportunity for evil wizards to summon vile servants from the abyss, but it also provides a practical opportunity to lesson the fuel costs of space travel.

Destination Near-Earth Asteroids

Although most asteroids are made of boring ‘ole rock, some are composed of metal (mostly nickel and iron), and others contain large quantities of water. These valuable materials provide interesting opportunities for using Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA) as a stepping stone. If we could mine and process the materials on a NEA, we may be able to build space structures or use the materials to manufacture rocket fuel.

How do we do this? First, we use robotics. Potential asteroids we could target for NEA missions are more than 20 times farther than the Moon, so we’d need to learn to crawl before we walk.

Manned deep-space flights would require highly efficient in-space propulsion. And long-duration habitation capabilities would be necessary to protect the crew and provide all necessary life support.

Once manned crews arrive at a NEA, the crew will rely on mobile exploration modules and a comfortable research platform, both established via robotics. Then human-robotic interfaces will allow the crew to use robotic systems to perform a range of tasks and experiments to ultimately establish a spaceport.

Diagram from OASIS. Click to embiggen.

Destination Mars

Since the 1960s, the United States and Europe have launched more than 16 successful missions to Mars and are working on several new missions. But those are unmanned.

With current propulsion systems, it will take humans over six months to reach Mars, and due to available flight trajectories, astronauts will either have to leave within 30 days or stay on the surface for more than 500 days.

Either of those mission durations significantly exceed our demonstrated capability to sustain life in space without direct support from Earth. We’ve all seen Matt Damon in The Martian.

Even with incredible advancements in in-space propulsion and asteroid mining courtesy the the cast of The Expanse, it’s a heavy lift. But that’s why a series of stepping stones is critical. Each one builds competency and each one takes us a bit further to our ultimate destination.

Destination Phobos

A spaceport on Phobos (one of the moons of Mars) will be similar to a base on the Moon with operational support, propellant manufacture and storage, and a port for transporting people to Earth and other spaceports. Interestingly, a surface transportation system cannot be used on Phobos; the gravity is extremely low. Instead, a “clamp-on” railway or “tethered” system would need to be implemented, giving us our first space trains.

Read More of our “Nerds in Space” Series

  1. Intro
  2. Establishing a Budget and Timeline
  3. The Stepping Stones that Will Take Us to Mars
  4. Traveling far.
  5. Establishing an outpost.
  6. Terraforming a home.

Sources

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Sovereign’s Chain Plays Lightly with the Brain https://nerdsonearth.com/2019/09/sovereigns-chain-board-game/ Mon, 02 Sep 2019 12:00:59 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=25596

Planets and stars align in this new space-themed release from WizKids! Nerds on Earth reviews Sovereign's Chain, a fast-paced card game.

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I’ll be first to admit that I’ve only seen My Fair Lady once. Growing up, my sister went through a massive Audrey Hepburn phase, which coincidentally, meant that I did too. Therefore, I sincerely apologize if my pun attempt in the title fell completely flat; Mrs. Hepburn deserves better.

But, alas, this isn’t an article regaling the discography of the star-studded Audrey Hepburn. It does, however, have quite a bit to do with stars! I recently had the chance to play Sovereign’s Chain, one of the newest releases from WizKids.

Designed by Robert J. Hudecek, this set-collection card game uses more brain power than you’d initially think. As if analyzing your own cards wasn’t enough, you’ll have to pay attention to the other players and react to their strategies as well.

Grab some breakfast (maybe at Tiffany’s?) and enjoy this deep-dive into the fast-paced card game, Sovereign’s Chain.

Setup for a two-player game

Sovereign’s Chain: Planetary Alignment

The premise of Sovereign’s Chain is that it’s a game played among mercenaries, merchants, and anyone else looking to pass the time with a game of skill and luck. But it’s not a game played on Earth; it’s played far in the future when there are seven star systems all interwoven in a diplomatic tapestry of life.

Players compete to create a set of seven cards, which make up their chain. I guess this makes all of us de facto sovereigns? Once someone’s tableau has seven cards, the game ends and scores are tallied. Whoever has the highest difference between the sum of the two suits of cards in their tableau is the winner.

That was a mouthful, but I promise that it isn’t as complicated as I made it seem.

You see, each card belongs to one of the two suits: stars or planets. As the game progresses, your tableau is going to have a blend of these two suits, and basically your goal is to focus on a single suit.

The catch is that you can play cards in your chain or in your opponents’ chains. And that, my friends, is where the real beauty of the game comes in; Nobody’s going to let you just waltz down easy street accumulating massive numbers of star suit cards. You need to fight tooth and claw while keeping your head on a swivel!

Staking Our C.L.A.I.M on Sovereign’s Chain

Components

I’ve been reviewing a lot of card games recently, which doesn’t usually give me much to drool over in terms of components. The nice thing about card games, however, is that they’re über-portable and can usually be played in smaller places.

Sovereign’s Chain comes complete with two serviceable decks of cards. The first is your main stack of suited cards that you’ll be using to craft your chains. A second, thinner stack is for the Event cards. These cards alter the game state and usually trigger an effect at the end of each turn.

Additionally, the game includes three different types of thick cardboard tokens:

  • Suit: These double-sided tokens denote suits, since certain cards don’t have an initially-defined suit. If a suit of a card changes due to another card, these are used for those as well.
  • Modifier: If a card changes the face-value of another card, these tokens can indicate a +1 or a -1 to whatever card they’re placed on.
  • Shield: These helpful little tokens will prevent cards from being targeted by other cards and effects. It’s Hexproof!

My biggest qualm is that I wish the storage was a bit better. As it stands, you have the two decks of cards sharing a partitioned space with a pile of tokens. Using a couple small bags will do wonders to keep things organized.

Can I just add that I LOVE punching out cardboard circles? Therapeutic doesn’t even begin to describe the serenity it grants.

Luck

Luck plays more of a role in the solo variant, although it’s still definitely present in the main game. You’re drawing a bunch of cards – what else would you expect?

For those of you that don’t care much for luck in your games, don’t let that drive you away. The fact of the matter is that there are only two suits in the game, so you’re never truly locked into a strategy. Especially since your opponents might start playing high-value cards of an opposite suit on your chain, which means you can just switch over to that suit. It nullifies their entire strategy!

Sure, there might be instances where you aren’t drawing anything you need, but at some point your opponents will experience the same woes. It’s just a part of the game, and it works well.

Aesthetics

Box art needs to grab your attention and pull you in. Books don’t necessarily need that, but it certainly helps to have a catchy cover. When it comes to Sovereign’s Chain, you’re talking about a game with a fairly-loose theme, so how is the presentation?

For a “generic” space game, WizKids nailed it. The box is thick and has an appealing amount of metallic texture accenting the planetary rings and stars. Who are those two figures in the shadows and what kind of shadowy dealings are being dealt?

The card art is striking, pronounced, and really helps give a feel for what each of the characters is capable of. Card layout is especially important in games using that component as a flagship, and these ones are cohesive and intuitive.

Oh, and the entwined ‘S’ and ‘C’ in the logo is genius.

Interest

People who enjoy trying new card games are prime targets to try out Sovereign’s Chain. And, quite frankly, anybody who’s familiar with basic card games is already decently equipped to understand the base mechanics of the game.

If you like constantly changing strategies, and paying attention to what other players are doing, this is also going to be right up your alley. Luckily, the suits are going to be easily visible unless you’re playing at King Arthur’s table.

Hidden information is another aspect of the game that I haven’t even touched on. Everybody’s first card goes face-down. If it’s ever brought face-up (which it will by the end-game), its effect is triggered immediately. Therefore, you have pieces of each chain that are completely unknown. You’ll need to weigh that information when determining which cards you play on your opponents’ chains.

In addition, the Event cards help create a unique game each time you crack open the box. These alter the game in a major way, whether they result in cards being flipped over or suits swapping. They turn things completely upside down, and it’s a riot.

Mood

Pure chaos.

I should just leave this section with that, but I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t add a couple more points.

Because players are playing cards all over the table, there is a certain level of tension that naturally develops when playing Sovereign’s Chain. People are going to get worked up!

The tension continues to increase as the game nears its end. Everybody is going to know when someone is close to ending the game, but because of the hidden information they might have reason to believe they don’t want to end the game yet!

Playing with the maximum of four people creates the most chaos – cards swapping chains, moving from one chain to another person’s hand, etc. It’s a wonderfully simple but complex decision-making game.

Sovereign’s Chain: Seeing Stars

Sovereign’s Chain pleasantly surprised me. The biggest hurdle for new card-based games is to come up with something unique among a sea of competition. I don’t have any numbers in front of me, but I’d bet my last biscuit that card games are the most common type of game launched. I’d even stand by that claim if you removed all “standard” card games like poker, war, and the like.

I wonder if Audrey Hepburn was a fan of card games. If she wasn’t, that would truly be a Roman holiday.

[Disclosure: Nerds on Earth was provided a copy of Sovereign’s Chain in exchange for an honest review.]

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Explore a New Planet with LANDER – An Upcoming Release by Intrepid Games https://nerdsonearth.com/2019/08/lander-board-game/ Wed, 14 Aug 2019 12:00:50 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=25460 Lander, a board game releasing in 2020.

Shoot off into space and get an early look at the upcoming board game LANDER.

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Lander, a board game releasing in 2020.

I didn’t sign up for many events at Gen Con this year, instead opting to let the winds take me wherever my heart fancied. One of the board games that grabbed my attention before the convention, however, was LANDER. So, I signed up for a two-hour block to learn the game and see what it was all about.

Much to my surprise, I was seated at the table with none other than Dan Alexander, one of LANDER’s credited designers. You could see the excitement and pride radiating off his face as he set the stage for the game. Now, I love space-themed games but I also know that they’re a dime-a-dozen nowadays so I wanted to see what sets LANDER apart from the rest. 

This review is based on the Beginner version of the game, which excludes more complex decision-making points in favor of learning the core mechanics. Keep that in mind as we explore the Kaimas-2 surface with LANDER.

The box is deceptive – you don’t actually have to play IN SPACE

LANDER: Expand and Upgrade

Lovingly described as a brainchild of Catan set in space, LANDER pits corporations against each other as they attempt to colonize and expand. Each player commands a crew that will develop skills and traits over time. As they get better, you’ll be able to successfully complete missions. Once a player reaches seven mission stars, the game is over.

Players need to be focused on multiple fronts – the crew, the explored tiles, and the mission cards. One of your crew members is a Leader, which activated their special ability for as long as they command your crew. Don’t get too attached, though! Crew members can be stolen, swapped, and killed throughout the game so it’s generally a good idea to spread improvements amongst your crew.

The game also utilizes a modular set of triangular tiles that click together in a satisfying way to create the explored surface. Each tile contains a resource that will change based on the player’s upgraded stations on that tile. Mission tiles may require players to have a certain number of claimed stations or a fully upgraded tile of a certain type, so pay attention to what’s available.

Again, I’ve only played the “core” version of the game, so there are some mechanics that I didn’t get a chance to play with. One key takeaway is that it’s important to keep tabs on the other players to prevent them from winning out of the blue.

Staking Our C.L.A.I.M. On LANDER

Components

LANDER really shines with its components. The game might not even be released yet, but the presentation of everything is at the top of its class. According to the designer, the game is about 98% locked-in, although there is still room for changes.

Out of everything, the triangular tiles are a wonderful addition to a game centered around exploration of the unknown. Every time you play, the surface of the planet will be different. By locking together, you can ensure that things won’t be sliding around if the table gets bumped.

The little plastic stations are well-made, albeit a bit simplistic. In a similar vein, all of the cards serve their purpose as, well, cards. 

Something else to note is that the storage trays for the tiles and resources is important, especially for the exploration and resource-generation phases. Using cards instead of fiddly bits for the resources reduces the tactile pleasure but greatly decreases the amount of time it takes to divvy them up.

The explored surface will change every game.

Luck

Although it’s not a luck-based game, there are a few points in the game where having a bit of luck is important.

When you draw a random tile to place as a part of exploring the surface, you can place the tile anywhere you’d like. Some tiles are inherently better than others, which means you could consistently draw “bad” tiles while another player draws amazing ones. You can combat this by blocking them with your worse tiles, but that doesn’t make your surrounding area any more enticing.

There’s also a bit of luck involved with the initial crew members, as there are definitely more powerful leadership abilities than others. At the same time, it allows players to shift their strategy to cater to their current leader. Recruiting a new crew member also gives the opportunity to promote them to Leader, so you’re not completely locked in.

Aesthetics

I’ve already touched on this, but everything from the box to the components looks professional. Each of the crew members had unique art and identity to set them apart from one another, which is a nice touch. Similarly, the action and trait cards share the same style which brings a cohesive quality to the entire package.

My one qualm with the aesthetic is actually in the triangular tiles. Being a solid black, this kind of detracts from the theme. I understand that with the resource types being front and center, you don’t want to detract from that information or make it too “busy”. However, it would elevate the central playing area if it were done in a more thematic way.

Interest

It’s not hard to spot the similarities between LANDER and the games that influenced it. Catan is the clear comparison here. Other people have made comparisons to Terraforming Mars, which is more thematic than anything.

My favorite change implemented is in the negotiation mechanics. In Catan, trading is a primary fulcrum of the game but it also can take an insane amount of time to conduct meaningful business. With LANDER, there is a time element introduced to trading, as well as collateral, so that only serious negotiators are brought to the table. 

Anybody who really digs space themes, take-that mechanics, resource management, and “road-building” elements will appreciate this game. 

Mood

Due to the nature of the resource generation, players’ progress is tangible. On turn two you’re already going to be cashing in on tons of resources. By the time turn three rolls around, you’re going to be like that “Too Many Limes” guy, wondering how you’re going to manage so many resources!

That being said, the game could play the same with a wide variety of other exploration themes. It’s not to say that the space theme doesn’t work, because it definitely does, but I could just as easily be exporting a jungle or a forgotten island. 

You know what they say – “space sells”!

LANDER: Landing in Your FLGS

The Kickstarter isn’t launching until early next year, but the designers understand the gravity of making a commitment to a game that you haven’t played. For that reason, they’re employing a “Play Before You Pledge” campaign to give players a chance to test drive the game before making the investment.

Head on over to their Play Before You Pledge site to see a map showing locations of all 130 copies of LANDER waiting for you at nearby game stores. There’s one only ten minutes from me! Every store on the map should have a copy available to them as of August 14th. Just stop in and ask to try it out.

I’m excited to see how this campaign TAKES OFF! In the meantime, I’m going to sneak out of the house and play another round of LANDER!

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