Invaluable rules reminder
& player-aid.
Includes “a little help” expansion.
A band of adventurers sets out to visit the cities of Celestia aboard a small and vulnerable flying craft – which you put together 😁
There’s just enough room to squeeze them all on board at the outset of each new journey.
Oh – Celestia means “heavenly – of the sky”
At every city they visit, treasures can be collected. These range in value, and the more valuable ones are more distant from the craft’s take-off pad, which makes them more difficult to reach.
The goal – be the traveller with the greatest store of treasures.
The delightfully designed city cards show the value of treasures that lurk within,
waiting to be collected by the intrepid travellers.
This one’s got treasures of value 12 and some that are greater – hence the + sign.
They also show how many hazard dice must be thrown, in order to fly to the city.
Here, it’s three dice.
The journey will rarely be safe. Before each flight, the current Captain must determine (by throwing dice) what hazards lie ahead,
and whether they have the resources in hand to fly past the hazards to get to the next city.
So, for every leg of every journey, what hazards lie ahead
is a matter of chance.
Dealing with the hazards is undertaken with equipment cards. Travellers have a small supply of these to start the game, and they gently accumulate more as they explore.
This card shows the foghorn being blasted,
frightening off marauding birds.
But as well as the Captains being able to call on equipment to get the craft safely in air, fellow travellers also may have some tricks up their sleeves.
If things are looking a bit hairy, they may be able to let Captains throw extra dice, or re-roll them … and more.
It’s not all luck by any means.
At every stage of the flight, there are decisions to be made, as travellers seek to reach greater treasures, and to facilitate the flight when it suits them.
But they may start pushing others aside if they need to, with little regard for good manners.
During each trip, adventurers can try to pull out of the journey with a jetpack, or they can change the conditions that apply to the trip.
They may throw in extra hazards by calling up a disruptive gust of wind, or abandon another explorer in the city: ejecting them from the craft.
Really?
Would you go on an adventure with them?
What lies ahead?
The hazards to be faced include thick clouds, lightning bolts, killer birds, and pirates.
Having thrown the dice and ‘consulted the oracle’, Captains will know if they have the right equipment in hand to safely make the flight.
Equipment cards include these tools, some being in limited supply.
- compass ~ the only way to find a route through the clouds
- lightning arrester ~ enables the Captain to harness the energy of thunder bolts
- cannons ~ open fire, and put paid to pirates
- foghorn ~ hoot loudly to frighten off great flocks of birds
But before the Captain reveals whether it’s going to be within their means to succeed, all on board must choose whether to stay, or to disembark.
At best, they can see what the hazards are. They’ve not yet heard even the tiniest whisper from the Captain, but they might prefer not to take the risk.
After all, if the Captain cannot make it, the craft will crash, and all on board will fall to ground, missing out entirely on the chances of grabbing any goodies. If they jump out now, they can visit the city, and they can collect treasure.
They may disembark, and the Captain may go on to say it can be done – why on earth did I leave !!*!
Even if the Captain says it can’t be done, it may be in the best interests of passengers to come to the craft’s assistance, trying to help get it to the next city.
If they cannot get it past the hazards, the craft crashes. Nobody gets any treasure, as they all tumble to earth. Another journey starts then, so they’ll hope for better fortune next time.
As soon as a player earns treasure worth fifty points or more, and the journey that’s under way ends, the game ends. Along the way, fortunes will wax and wane, and winning may be far from a pushover.
- a good fun push your luck game
- you take your chances when somebody else is the Captain
- not too much time waiting for others to make their turns
- pleasantly thematic, which is ‘felt’ whilst the game’s afoot
- there may be a bit of bluffing
- and a little bit of nastiness (throwing others off the craft)
- deciding when to do what might not be always be easy
- not a lot of setting up – simple layout and nice cards
- very replayable