The universe is about to collapse, and your final hope lies in an ancient mysterious artifact, the Ovoid. Whoever controls this "cosmic egg" can shape the birthing of the next universe according to their own agenda. Players are secret agents from a handful of surviving worlds, zipping from planet to planet in special “amnion suits” that allow for interstellar travel, space combat and planetary landings. Each planet has its own envelope of cards. When you arrive on a planet, you decide which cards you want to take and which to leave behind. Knowledge is the most powerful resource in the game, and being able to predict the cards your opponents possess at any given time is a powerful advantage as you build up a handful of weapons, tactical gear, vaults and traps, as well as cards that counter your opponents' cards. The best players will keep their hand fluid, constantly changing tactics while they search from world to world for the Ovoid or find a safe place to stash it. Balance your hand of cards, spend your turn actions wisely, and cleverly use your special alien powers to stay one step ahead of your opponents. When the Chaos Clock reaches zero, only the player who possesses the Ovoid will become master of the new universe. Gameplay Chaosmos is a hidden information strategy board game in which 2-4 players compete to possess the Ovoid, a card of singular importance. Chaosmos uses an open-world exploration system called "area-caching." There is no draw deck; all the cards are distributed amongst the players' hands and planet envelopes. Played cards go back to your hand after use except for single-use cards, which are discarded. The Chaos Clock counts down clockwise from 48 (36 for a shorter game), and each player's turn brings the Chaos Clock one step closer to zero. Gameplay Basics: • Players have a 3 action turn which they use to move around a network of star-systems and 10 planets. • Each planet has a corresponding envelope that contains the equipment cards that are on that planet. • Players land on planets to exchange cards between the envelopes and their hand, as well as battle other players for cards and control of the envelopes. • Along the way, players decide which cards to collect or use, and which to leave behind on planets. • Players attempt to obtain the Ovoid card and protect it (with brute strength, misdirection, and special equipment) from their opponents. Like any other card, they can carry it or hide it on a planet. • Weapon cards have corresponding counter cards that reflect damage, so players must adapt to their opponent's strategies in order to maintain a long term advantage. Playing effectively requires: • Choosing the right set of cards to carry, and adapting your hand over time as you gain new information • Reading your opponents' moves to figure out where they're leaving critical cards • Timing when to use your hypertokens to teleport for surprise attacks or to recover stashed equipment • Bluffing to prevent your enemies from discovering where the Ovoid is • Protecting the right planets with Traps, Vaults, or Bases, to prevent opponents from gaining access to them • Using other players' environmental toxicities against them to hide important cards • Combining cards tactically to amplify their impact •• Chaosmos also includes 6 game variants, including a victory point variant, team variant, counterfeit Ovoid variant, and campaign variant with upgradable alien powers •• Components 10 Planet Hexes 6 Wormhole Tiles 4 Asteroid Fields 1 Chaos Clock 1 Cosmic Pool 1 Void Tile 10 Alien Miniatures 10 Alien Sheets 10 Alien Screens 10 Planet Envelopes 1 Envelope Box 76 Equipment Cards 1 Rulebook 5 Tip Cards 4 Combat Dice 18 Hypertokens 4 Base Tokens 80 Landing Flags 3 Wormhole Tokens 1 Barren Planet Hex 1 Barren Planet Marker 1 Singularity Gate Hex 16 Planet Effect Tokens 10 Upgrade Tiles 48 Chaos Tokens
