Wormholes: for logistics managers with a god complex.
Wormholes is an innovative and fast-paced game concept, in which three to five players compete to build the most profitable space taxi company. Money is earned by taking passengers from any planet A to B in the most efficient way possible. Distances between planets are covered using Wormholes, which are summoned by the player at strategic locations. As each player is only allowed to move three hexagons per turn and an average game lasts only ten turns, planning the route and strategically placing the Wormholes is crucial. A wrong move can cost you points at the end of the game.
As the game progresses, more planets are discovered and steps are used almost exclusively to place wormholes and jump from one wormhole to another. Naturally, this creates a complex network of connected wormholes throughout the game, which players may use in exchange for toll payments to the owner. Although passenger destinations are randomly assigned, the game is hardly based on luck. Unwanted passengers can be rudely dropped off on the nearest planet and exchanged for new ones. Moreover, players can choose to save sets (mass is cash) or earn all planets for extra points (gotta catch ‘em all). The player who has used their resources in the most efficient way ultimately wins the game.
Playing the game, by the way, is not even the most fun phase. The universe has no fixed layout; its creation is left to the players themselves by putting the sectors together like a jigsaw puzzle. Each sector has two different versions with different obstacles that can be placed against each other in different orientations. In the tutorial version, the game features a photon cannon that allows players to shoot themselves to the other side of the game ( like the queen in chess). In the basic version, this cannon is replaced by a black hole that teleports the player to any planet. Moreover, the game features additional wormholes, asteroids and a large sun with a magnetic field within which each orbit counts as only one step. Moreover, these sectors may be connected in any way possible, as long as it fits on the table. Do you like to play the tutorial and basic versions interchangeably? Pas de probleme! Feel like playing an elongated universe today? Supertoll! Do you envision the universe as a big donut? Walk your rounds nicely. Every round is different!
Both the theme and gameplay of Wormholes have pleasantly surprised me. It is one of the few games in my cabinet that I can explain to my parents within ten minutes, without sacrificing depth of complexity of gameplay. Moreover, the box fits in my backpack when I join other friends for an evening of gaming fun. Expansions are desired and will hopefully be announced soon.
