SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

Explore our solar system to discover traces of life beyond planet Earth in SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence — a new CGE Eurogame for 1-4 players inspired by existing or emerging technologies and efforts in space exploration. Designed by amateur astronomer Tomáš Holek, SETI pays homage to planetary exploration, astronomy, the ongoing search for signs of life in the vastness of space, and efforts to understand the nature of life in the universe.

In SETI, players lead scientific institutions tasked with exploring and researching the galaxy in search of signs of life beyond our own planet. Finding extraterrestrial life is inevitable, with each discovery having a unique impact on the gameplay. You’ll need to carefully manage your resources across five rounds, as you work to make the biggest scientific contributions (and score the most victory points) to win.

How it plays

On each turn, you’ll take a single main action, as well as several smaller sub actions if you choose. Everything you do costs some combination of resources from your limited pool but using them strategically to complete objectives and get the most out of each turn can earn you big rewards.

To make progress towards discovering extraterrestrial life, you’ll need to conduct scientific research in different areas of the board. Each has its own corresponding gameplay mechanics, and each ties into one of the three distinct alien life signs needed to unlock a discovery.

SETI’s central board features a multi-layered rotating solar system that cycles frequently. From Earth, you can launch probes to navigate different spaces on the map, earning reputation as you fly to different planets. As different layers of the solar system cycle, they can impact location of some planets, potentially open up asteroid fields in your path, or even move your probe into prime position to get the most out of a future turn. Figuring out how to get things done with the right timing to minimize your resource spend is all part of the strategy.

Once you reach a planet you want to study further, you’ll zip over to the zoomed in view of the solar system. Here, you’ll have the option to put your probe into permanent orbit around the planet to get bonuses and resources. Alternatively, you can spend a little more resources to land directly on the planet surface (or send your probe towards a planet’s core, in the case of gas planets), earning victory points and earning a yellow alien life sign. It’s also one of several ways to gather data that can be processed in your computers back on Earth. Once you upgrade your probes, you can also land on moons, which have even bigger rewards.

The second key area path of study lies in the distant nebula situated along the outer ring of the central solar system. On your turn, you can spend a main action and some resources to use your telescopes to first study the sector Earth is facing, then study another sector of your choice based on the sector colors on cards available in the offer. This earns you more data that you can use later, and also lets you mark that you’ve researched there. When enough study goes into a particular sector (i.e. when it’s filled), a new exoplanet with the potential to hold extraterrestrial life is discovered. Each player who participated in that discovery gains publicity, and the player who made the most effort is credited with the discovery — marking the exoplanet, gaining a bonus, and potentially unlocking the second type of life sign needed for achieving extra-terrestrial discovery.

As you gather data, you’ll store it near your computer bank on your dual layered player board, which is where you’ll be able to process it to earn the third alien life sign. Your computer is essentially an re-usable engine you’ll build by slotting in upgrades over the course of the game. During your turn as a free action, you can place data down the line in computer slots to earn immediate rewards depending on what upgrades you’ve placed there. When you completely fill the computer up with data, it’ll reset, clearing it to be used again and earning you a blue alien life sign of your choice. Your player board also has slots for technology upgrades for your probes and telescope that can help you out substantially throughout the game.

SETI also features over 200 multi-use mission cards that you can play in different ways. All of the missions are based on actual real space missions, and they provide powerful effects to boost your scientific research efforts.

High re-playability with modular content

No two games of SETI are quite the same, since the position of the central rotating galaxy, starting cards, and randomized end game bonus options can all cycle to add variability to play. Extraterrestrial discoveries also bring a tremendous level of re-playability to the experience.

In every game, there are two (out of five total) randomized extraterrestrial species to uncover, and each adds a unique mechanic that layers onto the core gameplay. Players will work collectively towards unlocking these discoveries through their research, but in true Eurogame fashion, the winner is the player with the most victory points by the end of the fifth round. With lots of ways to earn points, there’s a ton of strategic potential to explore game to game.

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence launches at Essen Spiel 2024, arriving in the US at a FLGS near you later this holiday season. If you’re a fellow space geek, you won’t want to miss it.