Deep Future (2016)

Overview

Humanity has inherited the stars, but humanity being what it is, the stars forever slip from its grasp. Even the First Sovereignty, which scattered humanity to a million worlds, has collapsed, consigned to oblivion. No one remembers what brought it about, whether a withering apathy, rebellions across its repressed worlds, or the impenetrable whims of the enigmatic, inhuman Xeno. Yet humanity is tenacious. There are always more fledgling civilizations ready to rise to the heights of power and culture, invent new technologies, and usher in a new millennium.

Deep Future is a card-driven board game for 1-3 players of empire and innovation spanning the rise and fall of the countless worlds of the galaxy. You will settle on planets, expand your influence across sectors, invent new technologies and rediscover old ones, and face challenges that threaten to tear your civilization apart as you try to achieve one of several paths to victory.

Deep Future is a “Make-as-You-Play” game, which means that the game starts with a few materials (a map, paper, index cards, and colored cubes) and the remaining components will be generated as needed during play. Each game will see the addition of new cards, which represent the worlds in the galaxy, the techs invented, and the lasting impact of previous civilizations.

The rules include tables and guidelines for creating new cards as needed, and this makes every copy of Deep Future an evolving galaxy. In addition, it means that each game inherits all components added or changed in the previous games. The galaxy’s content — its worlds, techs, and history — can grow endlessly over a connected campaign as players return to see what each new era holds for the future of humanity.