2025 · Expansion for Base-game
Nucleum: Energy Research Institute
Adds eight new experiments and a set of patron cards that expand available objectives and powers. Players draft and develop experiment projects, allocate resources and funding, and deploy upgrades to advance their research. Patron cards provide persistent or one-time abilities that alter strategies and scoring, and integrate with existing modules for additional variability. Designed as an expansion, the content mixes with the base game and other official expansions to increase options for setup and player interaction without changing core rules.
- Players
- 1–4 best 3
- Playing time
- 60–150 min
- Age
- 14+
- Complexity
- 4.6 / 5
Where to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 7
- Plays logged
- 12
- Players
- 3h 19m
- Average play
- 27
- In collections
- 7
- On wishlists
- 1
- Pre-ordered
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
How many Experiment boards do we reveal, and how do we choose one?
Reveal one more Experiment board than the number of players. Choose in reverse player order, unless you’re using the Expert Variant (p. 2).
Can I play more than one Chaining tile in a turn, or use one to fulfill an extra Contract?
No. You may play at most one Chaining tile per turn, and you can’t fulfill an additional Contract that turn by placing Chaining tiles; fully resolve the Chaining tile’s action before playing the tile on top (p. 4).
Do Potential tiles count as Action tiles for Contracts and Milestones?
No. Potential tiles fill spaces on your player board but are not Action tiles, so they don’t count toward Action-tile requirements for Contracts or Milestones (p. 4).
Does the expansion change how many endgame conditions are needed?
Yes: in 3- and 4-player games, the number of conditions needed to trigger the Endgame increases from 2 to 3. It stays the same in 2-player and solo games (p. 4).
Can I use my Patron ability more than once, and when can I use it?
No; each Patron ability may be used once per game, by spending its listed VP cost. It may be used during your turn, subject to any timing specified for that ability (p. 5).
Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Nucleum: Energy Research Institute with Ludoya
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Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.