"Hurry to the ship! Twelve houses from our town have already burned down!"
In Evacuation, life on our planet is being burned away thanks to increasingly intense sunlight, so everyone is trying to move all the people and factories in their territories from the "old" planet to a new one — and they have only four rounds in which to do so.
You start the game with a full functioning economy, and over the course of play, you must dismantle that economy and move it. Income on the old planet shrinks over time, and production probably won't be much better until you establish yourself on the new planet and kick things into action. Resources can't be mixed across the planets, so you need to take special care with your planning.
To do this, you choose actions from the player board, with the expert variant adding cards to your hand that allow you to choose additional actions and combine them. Each action has its own value, and the sum of these actions is important for an "end of the round" bonus. Additionally, players move their markers along the orbital track based on the value of their actions.
If you can raise production of three resources to level 8 and have three stadiums on the new planet, you win. Otherwise, players compare scores after four rounds. Evacuation includes modules to add new play options.
NOTE: A community FAQ is available here to provide some clarity on Frequently Misplayed Rules.
- good game overall
- too many variants
- action cards can break the game
- point vs race mode divide
- unnecessary complexity
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- it's not even a game it's just like a story
- why is it there this is the game about inventions and this is basically telling me to make cutesy patterns with tiles
- the bane of my freaking life this horrible game
- I just want to feel like right I can do this I can do this
- just design one good game one good game one good mode
- why can't I tell you
- they just made them a lot worse
- it's a red flag to the game is going to suck
References (from this video)
- Tension from early-victory threats
- Strong designer pedigree
- Ambitious scope may demand careful playgroup management
- survival and relocation under pressure
- Societal collapse, evacuating to another planet
- tense, mission-driven
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- Resource track / engine pacing — Balance action economy as the economy deteriorates.
- Timed rounds / limited rounds — Up to four rounds to achieve victory conditions.
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- The theme seems fairly unique
- Looks adorable, looks really nice
- Stock market manipulation game
- two-player Co-op trick taking
- barista theme
- asymmetric guilds
- dynamic economic structure
- Malala-like system
- Tech trees
- the world is crumbling around you
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- 2023 was the greatest year in board game history for my tastes
- Conveyor belts are my favorite board game mechanism period
- This is a technological breakthrough for Games
- The greatest bag building game of all time
- Ode to the power and resiliency of Science and cooperation
- Wall-to-wall optimism and an Ode to the power and resiliency of Science and cooperation
References (from this video)
- Heard good things
- Still intrigued
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- I know the games I play. I know the games I love to play. And I know the games that I theoretically want to play but don't actually play.
- I need at least one of those two things in play - either high personal interest or good reputation
- Designers, reviewers, other people mentioned
- I'm going to be trying to be more mindful about reality as opposed to the desires that I have
- These tend to be less of a priority. Like occasionally I dive into an unplayed game that isn't a review copy, but more often than not if I'm diving into an unplayed game, review copies do take precedence
- I have so many euros I love and so many that I'm behind on
References (from this video)
- strong thematic hook
- cooperative play can be engaging
- evacuating civilization to a new world
- dying world due to solar radiation
- heroic, urgent survival
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — players work together to evacuate people and resources
- resource_management — balance people and resources to reach safety
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Quotes (from this video)
- Happy Birthday time for Grant.
- We love you so much.
- We are taking OVER THE WHOLE HOTEL.
- The Omaha Gaming Convention will be right here in Omaha, Nebraska.
- Meepleathon here we come!
References (from this video)
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Quotes (from this video)
- Terraforming Mars would be a pretty fascinating TV show slash book
- Arc Nova is honestly one of the best Euro games that's come out in a very long time
- Arc Nova is on Board Game Arena but in Alpha
- This is a climbing shedding game
- Darwin's Journey arrived yesterday and I'm very excited to play it
- Gloomhaven would be pretty cool I know there is a lot of extra media happening like there's a role-playing game I think they're putting out