The Waste of Parts

About this board game

The Waste of Parts is a cooperative strategy game for 1–5 players, with games lasting about 120 minutes, in which a crew guides a giant mech through a dangerous wasteland.

Each round, players control their Crew Members in a rotating, progressive order. They spend action points on essential tasks such as moving between rooms of the mech, attacking enemies, and extinguishing fires. Every Crew Member also brings unique, asymmetrical abilities that can provide valuable advantages.

At the end of each round, the game state advances through a sequence of steps. Enemies attack, while new enemy cards are drawn and placed according to the mech’s noise level. Players can also draw salvage cards, gaining equipment for their Crew Members or upgrades for the mech itself.

• Noise management: Powerful room upgrades may impose a noise penalty, creating a risk-and-reward decision.
• Scaling challenge: As the mech advances, more powerful enemy cards enter the deck.
• Scrap mechanic: Unwanted salvage can become resources, help repair the mech, or be used to search for specific card types.

When certain conditions are met, the mech advances according to its current speed. This gives the crew a shared objective while forcing them to balance progress, repairs, combat, noise, and upgrades.

The Waste of Parts is won when the mech reaches its final space. For an even greater challenge, players can continue with an optional victory lap using their current run.