In Gravity Warfare, gravity is the enemy


Gravity Warfare board game
The board hovers above the table in Gravity Warfare!

How about playing a board game where the board floats above the table?

Playing Gravity Warfare you’ll almost get exactly that!

While it’s not technically floating in the air, the way it’s suspended it might as well be. Because as players place their pieces on the board, it will tilt, sway, and swing based on gravity.

The game board is a wonderfully balanced board that’s suspended with a focal point that’s attached to the board with a very strong magnet.

And the texture of the board and playing pieces hold the pieces in place on the board a lot longer than you’d expect.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

First let me tell you how to play Gravity Warfare.

 

How to play Gravity Warfare

Gravity Warfare is a game there players are trying to be the first to place all their pieces on the board or at least have the most on the board when the match ends. The game plays out over a series of matches until a set victory point value is reached.

To begin, players choose a color and take all the spaceship pieces of that color. Players then randomly select an Alien Leader card which will provide each player a unique ability they can use once per match.

Gravity Warfare board game
Each player gets a unique ability with their Alien Leader card.

Players can choose which side of the board they want to play on and take the die that matches that side of the board.

On a player’s turn, they’ll roll that die plus an additional die that indicates different types of spaceships. The player must then place one of their corresponding spaceship pieces on the section of the board indicated by the die result.

That may seem all well and good – if it weren’t for the fact that other players can first play Challenge cards from their hand to will make placing the piece more challenging. Each other player can play only one Challenge card per player’s turn. But that doesn’t stop multiple players from playing a card.

Which means a player may have to combine the Challenges while placing their piece.

The Challenges include things like stacking pieces, using chopsticks, placing while the board is spinning, or even not looking!

Now imagine trying to do 3 of those at once – placing a piece staked on top of an existing piece on the board using chopsticks while the board is spinning!

Gravity Warfare board game
Various Challenge cards can make it very difficult to successfully place a piece.

Let’s just say there are many situations that will cause pieces to fall off the board.

If a player causes 4 or more pieces to fall off the board, the match ends.

The match will also end if one player is able to place all their pieces on the board.

When a match ends, players score points for how they did during the match. The player who made the pieces fall will lose 2 points and the other players will score points based on how many pieces they were able to play – with the player who played the most getting the most points and so forth down the line.

If one player has reached the total victory points agreed on at the start of the game, they win. Otherwise, everything resets and players begin another match.

That’s the basic way to play the game.

But the rulebook also suggests a number of variations for game play as well – like playing in teams or even making up your own house rules.

Gravity Warfare board game
It can be quite challenging to place pieces with chopsticks.

 

Can the whole family enjoy playing Gravity Warfare?

Gravity Warfare is mostly a dexterity game with a super cool hovering board that’s going to attract everyone in the family.

While there are cards with text for Challenges, Events, and Defense, players can choose to play as cutthroat as they’d like. Which means even younger kids can join in the fun.

Or you could set a house rule that the younger players can only have a maximum of one Challenge card played on them during a turn. Whereas with the older players you can toss in as many Challenges as you’d like.

It’s totally up to you.

One of the things we really like about the game is how the spaceship pieces seem to grip the board. We’ve had some serious board tilting without pieces falling off.

Gravity Warfare board game
The board can tilt quite extremely before pieces start to fall.

That also means that every player is invested in the game during everyone’s turn. Not only can you choose to play a Challenge card on any player, but you’ll also be fascinated watching them trying to place their pieces. And we love it when a game can capture everyone’s attention the whole time!

Gravity Warfare is also very luck-driven. Sure players can choose when to play certain Challenge cards (or on whom) or when to use their Alien Leader special ability, but there really isn’t any strategy in the game. Players are beholden to their dice rolls to determine which pieces are to be where. Sure it would be nice to place your piece in a safe place on the board to make it centrally balanced. But that’s most likely not what the dice are going to let you do.

So if you’re looking for a fun dexterity game with a very unique, hovering board, then Gravity Warfare is your game!

Gravity Warfare board game
The dice tell you which ship to place and in which location.

 

What we hope for Gravity Warfare

First of all, we wish we could tell you where to buy Gravity Warfare in your local game stores. However, we can’t do that because it’s not yet published.

Gravity Warfare is currently being funded on Kickstarter. But the good news is that it fully funded in the first 7 hours!

Which means you can jump over to the Gravity Warfare Kickstarter page and pledge your support and you’ll receive your copy as soon as it’s published and shipped.

Gravity Warfare board game
Players can choose which side of the board to play on.

But what we really hope for Gravity Warfare is an improved rulebook.

Having reviewed hundreds of board games for almost a decade, I’ve been through plenty of rulebooks. And the Gravity Warfare rulebook will benefit from clarity and simplification.

So we hope that the funds from the successful Kickstarter campaign will also go towards a writer who can simplify the rulebook and make everything flow very nicely.

In fact, I really like the simplicity of the game play instructions on the Kickstarter page. Under the “Basic steps” section on the Kickstarter page you’ll find the simple rules – Start with an army of 6 pieces. Choose a random leader. Everyone is dealt 5 cards. During your turn roll the dice to find out which piece to play and where to play it. Now everyone can give you challenges to make it harder.

I wish the rulebook listed it out so simply.

That’s why we’re hoping that the final published version delivers a streamlined rulebook to you. Because we know you’re going to jump in on the Kickstarter to play this fun game with your family.

Have a great time with your Gravity Warfare!



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