Alien Artifacts

2017 · Card Game

Alien Artifacts

Players command an interplanetary faction, sending research vessels into uncharted space to expand influence and power. Each turn uses a small hand of dual-sided Resource cards; players choose one side of each card and may play only two cards per turn to pay for actions. Resources buy Ships, Technologies, Planets, or Trade goods. Ships enable combat with aliens to recover artifacts, Technologies unlock new actions and scoring options, and Planets supply ongoing resources. Cards have two faces—Logistics for persistent engine-building bonuses and Operational for repeatable scoring effects—so players decide which side to develop as their empire grows.

Players
2–5 best 2
Playing time
60 min
Age
10+
Complexity
2.9 / 5
3.5 on Ludoyafrom $45.79Science FictionSpace ExplorationVariable Phase OrderHand ManagementOpen Drafting

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Full stats in Ludoya
23
Plays logged
25
Players
1h 36m
Average play
15
In collections
1
On wishlists

3.5/10

from 5 Ludoya reviews

  • Benjamín Amorín7.5

    Good and original card game, fast turns and beautiful design

  • Evan2.5

    This is a space card game, where you get a player power, then hope the gods of flipluck grant you cards that work with your starting setup, and or give you ability cards that syngergize with other cards you've gotten. The graphic design is nice enough, the flow of play is ok. It's reasonably fast paced, and I can see how people might like it, but I just felt alternating frustration and boredom with it. For example, my starting setup wanted me to get exploration cards. None came up until halfway through the game. I wound up winning anyway because I just kept digging for what I needed, but the experience of getting there wasn't great. I'd try it again maybe but I don't think I'd ask to play it again. :star: Art, Iconography and components functional :nostar: Clever or interesting mechanisms :nostar: Reasonably low downtime between turns with mildly AP players :star: Multiple plays stay interesting :nostar: Low or mitigatable luck elements :star::star::nostar::nostar::nostar: Raw enjoyment

  • phoenix40312.5

    Turns are basically counting Numbers and doing one tiny, short action. Only Combat is a little More interesting because you get to draw another Card and eventually get victory Points or alien artifacts. Rest of the game is downtime. Luck can be important to get good synergies and the recources you need. Faction matters for gameplay. Clone faction turned Out to be very boring while Others where fighting and having fun. Rulebook is a catastrophe. Couldn't have played the game without watch it played video. This was the First game so might need another try but I'm not very excited to Play again.

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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.