I've been following B+Up Games since Dragonlings (read my review), so I was happy to see another game coming from them. This time, we're heading into space to explore the solar system, collect resources, establish routes between worlds, and compete to complete missions before our opponents. As someone who enjoys roll and writes, especially ones that don't take up much table space, I was interested to see what Atlas Rush brings to the table.
If you enjoy planning several turns ahead, finding ways to work around unfavorable dice rolls, and occasionally getting in your opponents' way, there's quite a bit to explore here. Atlas Rush gives you plenty to think about, but beware you won't be able to accomplish everything.
What Is Atlas Rush?
In Atlas Rush, you choose one of four factions. Each starts in a different sector of the solar system. Your goal is to explore worlds, collect elements, build stations, and complete missions to earn victory points. The game uses a shared system map and two cards per player. Your faction reference card shows your starting location and explains your element abilities, while your Fleet card tracks your inventory and upgrades.
How to Play
Each turn, you roll two six-sided dice and use the total to find a route between worlds. You start from a world you've already visited and travel to a new one. The values of those two worlds need to add up to your exact roll. Crossing sector barriers increases the required total by one for each barrier. You can't visit the same world twice, so where you go matters. You might have a destination in mind, but if another player gets there first or builds a station, you'll need to find another route.
As you explore, you'll collect elements that let you adjust your dice. Resources are limited, and you'll need to decide when to spend them. You can skip moving and mark both dice values on your Fleet Grid instead, which gives you another option when your roll doesn't work in your favor.
Worlds have room for a limited number of trackers, with some holding more than others. Each time someone visits a world, they mark a tracker. You can build a station on a world you've already visited. Stations let you collect its elements, add its value to your final score, and block opponents from claiming available spaces.
Your Fleet Grid has upgrades you can unlock by tracing specific shapes as you mark world values. These include additional cargo spaces, points, elements, and the ability to destroy stations. Between exploring, managing resources, and working toward upgrades, you'll have to make tough choices about what to prioritize
Missions and Scoring
Public Mission cards give you specific objectives to complete for points. Only one player can claim each mission. Some of these objectives look pretty manageable when you first see them but getting everything to line up is another story. In competitive play, the game ends when every world has been marked by at least one player. Your final score includes activated world values, mission points, Fleet points, leftover elements, and stations. The player with the most points wins.
Game Modes: Competitive, Solo, and Co-op
Atlas Rush includes competitive, solo, and cooperative play. In competitive games, you're racing other players to claim worlds and complete missions. Solo and cooperative play introduce an alien threat that occupies worlds as the game progresses. The aliens spread across the map, and if they establish a presence in every sector, humanity loses. To win, you need to survive until all worlds are occupied and then score more points than the aliens. In multiplayer cooperative games, the player with the most points wins.
Who's This Game For?
I think Atlas Rush is best suited for people who enjoy strategy, like space, crunchy thinkers that enjoy planning routes and managing limited resources while figuring out which objectives to pursue, and or those who enjoy direct competition. If you're comfortable with games around the weight of Catan, you'll have a good starting point. I wouldn't recommend it as someone's first introduction to the roll and write genre.
The Bottom Line
If you enjoy roll and writes, direct competition, planning several turns ahead, and managing limited resources while figuring out how to make the most of your dice rolls, Atlas Rush might be right up your alley. To learn more about the game and suppor the project, check it out the Kickstarter campaign.
