Jens Drogemuller and Helge Ostertag have created a science-fiction successor to their hit Terra Mystica, called Gaia Project, which Z-Man Games plans to release later this year.

In Gaia Project, players are the leaders of would-be galactic empires, guiding their faction as they expand their influence over new planets, build critical structures, and develop advanced technology.  But, each faction has their own environmental requirements, forcing them to terraform planets that are unsuitable while making those planets less suitable to the other factions, or using highly advanced "Gaiaformers" to convert the most valuable planets.

The game is played on a modular, tile-based game board, allowing for increased variability of play.  It is designed so it can be played solitaire or competitively.

Gaia Project will include 10 board tiles, 1 research board, 7 double-sided faction boards, 1 scoring board, 134 tiles, 26 cards, 5 player aids, and 338 other markers and tokens.  The game is intended for 1 to 4 players, ages 14 and up, and takes between 1 and 3 hours to play.  MSRP is $99.99.

Terra Mystica was a hot item when it released at the 2012 Spiel fair in Essen, Germany, earning a place on the coveted Kennerspiel des Jahres "Recommended" list.  Z-Man brought the title to North America the following year (see "Z-Man Preps Essen Hit for Q1 Release").