Mars Colony mob

[Ben Robbins]

I seriously want to throw down with some mass-Mars Colony.

It is far and away the best game I got at GenCon 2009, and that's not even considering that it's still an ash can. If you haven't heard the premise, it tackles very real world politics, social issues and civics reform as you try to save the fledgling Mars colony. Here's a big actual play report:

Green Corruption, Yellow Terrorism

The hitch is that it's for precisely two players, which makes it a tough fit for a con, but Ping and I were kicking around ideas to get a mob of people together, then spliting off into pairs. The rules are extremely clear and procedural, so it should be easy to brief people and jump into play. You can play through the whole thing pretty quickly -- particularly if Mars gets screwed -- so depending on the time slot you might be able to switch roles or partners and play twice.

Given the complexity of the plan, I'm leaning towards a scheduled slot rather than doing a pickup, but I could go either way. Has anyone else played it, or want to give it a try? I think there are 25 copies of the game in existence, and I have 2 of them.

[Caesar_X]

I'm down. I will kick it Outland-style.

[ping]

I'm in of course. There's just not enough Mars Colony in this world. I can help facilitate having played and possibly read not just one, but both of your copies, Ben.

[Eric J. Boyd]

I'd really like to play this, too. I picked up a copy from Tim, but have not had the chance to try it.

[Ben Robbins]

Eric: Sweet! Bring your book.

What do you guys think would be a good time slot? I'm tempted to put it up Friday night, since it might be a good big group icebreaker.

[Ben Robbins]

On second thought a better option is probably SAT-02. Everybody gets to try it, and if some people are excited to mix it up and play again we can spawn a pickup mob for SAT-03. New people who want to join in can be taught by the old people, etc.

[Susan]

Count me in for the Mars Colony Mob.

I'd been wanting to play this so last weekend I hosted an evening of Mars colony with six players (three pairs). Ben graciously facilitated. It certainly wet my appetite for more Mars colony. The game was fun, I liked how flexible the scene framing was and how straightforward the dice roles were. The parallel play worked well. We had super relaxed pacing and we still got through learning, snacking, and playing in under 3 hours.

I'll see you on Mars.

[Ben Robbins]

Hellz yeah, Susan. The more veteran Kelly's the better.

It's up on the schedule: SAT-02 massive Mars Colony game