Launch Pad (card game)
Encyclopedia
Launch Pad is a family strategy card game
for 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up. It was designed by Melanie James and published by Stratus Games.
In the game, players construct various types of rocket
s and ready them for launch by advancing them through 3 phases of production (construction
, quality control
, and launch
preparation). Each rocket requires a certain amount of metal
and fuel
in order to be considered complete. An expert with the necessary skill set is required in order to advance a completed rocket to the next phase. Rockets can also be manned with astronaut
s and oxygen, be stamped with a quality certificate, and be placed under maximum security
in order to be worth additional points or be protected from action cards that could affect them.
The launch pad
, consisting of four game cards, serves as a variable game clock to determine the end of the game. The cards constituting the launch pad advance into the center of the table; when all four cards have advanced, forming a completed launch pad, there is one final round of play and the game ends.
At the end of the game, players score points based on the rockets they have built. The player with the highest point total wins.
Cards are made from a durable 350 GSM card stock with linen finish and are 63 by 88 millimeters in size. The instruction booklet is printed in full color and is 12 pages in length. The reference cards include a brief summary of game layout, setup, turns, cards and scoring.
Rockets are played initially in the Construction Zone, where they gather metal and fuel until they are ready for advancement to the Quality Control Zone and the Launch Zone.
a Rocket, stealing cards from other players' hands, drawing extra cards, salvaging any card from the discard pile, etc. Action cards are played by discarding them and carrying out the action specified on the card.
The player with the highest score wins the game.
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
for 2 to 4 players, ages 10 and up. It was designed by Melanie James and published by Stratus Games.
In the game, players construct various types of rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s and ready them for launch by advancing them through 3 phases of production (construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
, quality control
Quality control
Quality control, or QC for short, is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. This approach places an emphasis on three aspects:...
, and launch
Rocket launch
A rocket launch is the takeoff phase of the flight of a rocket. Launches for orbital spaceflights, or launches into interplanetary space, are usually from a fixed location on the ground, but may also be from a floating platform such as the San Marco platform, or the Sea Launch launch...
preparation). Each rocket requires a certain amount of metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
and fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
in order to be considered complete. An expert with the necessary skill set is required in order to advance a completed rocket to the next phase. Rockets can also be manned with astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s and oxygen, be stamped with a quality certificate, and be placed under maximum security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
in order to be worth additional points or be protected from action cards that could affect them.
The launch pad
Launch pad
A launch pad is the area and facilities where rockets or spacecraft lift off. A spaceport can contain one or many launch pads. A typical launch pad consists of the service and umbilical structures. The service structure provides an access platform to inspect the launch vehicle prior to launch....
, consisting of four game cards, serves as a variable game clock to determine the end of the game. The cards constituting the launch pad advance into the center of the table; when all four cards have advanced, forming a completed launch pad, there is one final round of play and the game ends.
At the end of the game, players score points based on the rockets they have built. The player with the highest point total wins.
Components
- 140 game cards
- Instruction booklet
- 4 reference cards
Cards are made from a durable 350 GSM card stock with linen finish and are 63 by 88 millimeters in size. The instruction booklet is printed in full color and is 12 pages in length. The reference cards include a brief summary of game layout, setup, turns, cards and scoring.
Game Layout
Each player controls an area containing 3 zones, each representing a different phase of production. The lowest zone (closest to the player) is called the Construction Zone; the middle zone is the Quality Control Zone; the highest zone is the Launch Zone. Each card contains a diagram that represents the zone in which the card is played.Rocket
Rockets are the main scoring mechanism of the game. There are 4 types of Rockets, each worth a different point value:- Observer - 6 points
- Explorer - 8 points
- Intrepid - 10 points
- Galactic - 12 points
Rockets are played initially in the Construction Zone, where they gather metal and fuel until they are ready for advancement to the Quality Control Zone and the Launch Zone.
Component
Components consist of Metal and Fuel cards. A certain number of each is required by each Rocket in order to be eligible for advancement to the next zone:- Observer - 1 Metal, 1 Fuel
- Explorer - 1 Metal, 2 Fuel
- Intrepid - 2 Metal, 2 Fuel
- Galactic - 3 Metal, 2 Fuel
Expert
Experts are required to be in place in a zone prior to Rocket advancement from that zone or to score full points at the end of the game. There are 4 different Experts:- Engineer - played in the Construction Zone.
- Inspector - played in the Quality Control Zone.
- Mission Controller - played in the Launch Zone.
- Jack of All Trades - takes the place of any of the others; played in any zone.
Action
Action cards allow a player to carry out a specific action, as indicated on each card. There are 13 distinct Action cards, which include actions such as sabotagingSabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
a Rocket, stealing cards from other players' hands, drawing extra cards, salvaging any card from the discard pile, etc. Action cards are played by discarding them and carrying out the action specified on the card.
Specialty
Specialty cards grant a player a specific ability or protection for as long as they are in play. They are played to the right of a player's zones.Bonus
Bonus cards offer additional points or protection for a specific Rocket. There are 4 different Bonus cards:- Astronaut - played with a Rocket in the Launch Zone; coupled with Oxygen, scores 4 bonus points at the end of the game; without Oxygen, incurs a 4-point penalty.
- Oxygen - played with a Rocket in the Launch Zone; allows an Astronaut to score points, but worth no points on its own.
- Quality Certificate - played with a Rocket in the Quality Control Zone and advances with it to the Launch Zone; scores 3 bonus points at the end of the game and protects the Rocket from the "Quality Check" Action card.
- Maximum Security - played with a Rocket in the Launch Zone; protects it from the "Sabotage", "Abort Mission", and "Vacuum" Action cards.
Launch Pad
There are 4 individual Launch Pad cards that form a larger depiction of a rocket on a launch pad when they are placed together. Launch Pad cards advance through each of a player's zones and subsequently are placed at the center of the table. When all Launch Pad cards have been placed together, each player takes a final turn and the game ends.Setup
Game setup consists of shuffling the game cards, dealing 6 cards to each player, and shuffling the Launch Pad cards into the bottom half of the deck.Turns
Each turn consists of the following steps:- Advance any Launch Pad cards in play in the current player's zones
- Advance completed Rockets (only 1 per zone); an Expert must be in place in the zone the Rocket is leaving.
- Draw cards until reaching the hand limit of 6 cards; 1 card may be drawn from the discard pile.
- Play as many playable cards as desired.
- Draw again up to the hand limit if all cards have been played.
- Discard as many cards as desired.
Scoring
At the end of the game, each player scores points based on the Rockets in his or her individual game zones.- Launch Zone
- Rockets score positive points as indicated on each Rocket card.
- If a Rocket has an Astronaut and Oxygen, add 4 bonus points to its value.
- If a Rocket has an Astronaut but no Oxygen, subtract 4 points from its value.
- If a Rocket has a Quality Certificate, add 3 points to its value.
- If no Mission Controller (Expert) is in play, subtract 10 points from the total score.
- Quality Control Zone
- No points are scored for any Rockets or Bonus cards in this zone.
- Construction Zone
- Rockets score negative points; subtract each Rocket's value from the total score.
The player with the highest score wins the game.