At GTS, Portal Games shared additional information for First Martians: Adventures On the Red Planet, its new digitally enhanced cooperative board game releasing in Q3.
Designer Ignacy Trzewiczek’s exploration and survival game was announced earlier this year (see “Three Portal Games Titles for 2016”). The game is built on the core of Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island, and pits players against a hostile environment where they can choose to concentrate on scientific discovery, colony survival, or open exploration of the planet in different gameplay modes.
Gameplay requires use of an integrated smart phone/ tablet app, which adds a dimension to the choices and consequences as players progress though the game. The app remembers choices from previous moves (or games) which may affect subsequent gameplay (such as using limited moves to mend a broken arm, patch a ripped space suit, or replenish limited water supply). The game can be played as a series of individual games or linked campaigns which build on each previous game experience.
The game is for 1 - 4 players, ages 10 and up, and individual games play in 60 - 90 minutes. MSRP was not announced.