Orbital

About this board game

Orbital is a 2018 board game for 2–4 players, played in about 45 minutes, in which each player designs and builds an orbital station from triangle-shaped building tiles.

Set in 2073, the game presents a future shaped by critical global warming, melting polar ice, and rising sea levels. With life on Earth under pressure, humanity has turned to the stars and made orbital stations possible through a new triangle-based building technology.

Your task is to create a station that is as self-sustaining and profitable as possible. Your population needs houses, while those houses require energy, so every addition must support the station’s wider needs. Farms, gardens, and facilities also become part of the design you build.

Each available game tile contains between one and five buildings arranged in triangular shapes. On the central board, you choose the pieces that fit your plans best, then arrange them on your station to produce the most profitable result possible.

• Acquire triangular tiles containing one to five buildings.
• Consider each piece’s size and position when judging its cost.
• Build around population needs, including houses and energy.
• Use farms, gardens, and facilities as part of your station design.

The market adds an unusual financial choice: to reach the piece you want, you pay by leaving your money on the pieces you reject. Those funds do not simply disappear. If you later take a piece that everyone else rejected, you can collect a substantial amount of useful money.

With its spatial tile placement, changing acquisition costs, and tempting rejected pieces, Orbital challenges you to make every part of your station count and finish with the best design.