/Incoming Transmission/ 10.09.2315: … Ares Inc. tasks you to capture and hold the monolithic mineral deposit in the moon’s gamma quadrant. Satellite scans suggest terrain hostile to bipedal transportation. You will find alien species, subjugate them, and mobilize them to secure the Monolith. Enemy forces to be met with extreme prejudice. Hold the Monolith at all costs… /End Transmission/

Corporate greed erupts into ferocious combat in Nexus Ops , the fast-based board game of lunar domination for 2-4 players. The year is 2315, and four megalithic corporations have all purchased “exclusive” mineral rights to an alien moon rich in rubium, the rare energy source necessary for all humanity’s most advanced technology. After the explorers who sold the mineral rights mysteriously disappeared, the corporations find themselves with only one means available to settle ownership of the moon–eliminate all contenders.

Today, we look at some of the ways Nexus Ops parlays corporate greed into fun and furious space battles.

Staking your claim

Each turn in Nexus Ops moves swiftly through six phases: Deployment, Movement, Exploration, Battle, Mining, and Draw. After players deploy forces and move them, exploring any new terrain, corporate forces wage battle to claim any contested tiles. Corporate troops have found means to draft the moon’s indigenous species into their service, and space-suited infantry stand alongside them as they face off with their rivals. These battles rage at the very core of Nexus Ops , as they earn you victory points and grant you the ability to seize valuable rubium mines, ensuring your ability to recruit more and stronger troops.

Uneasy alliances

Sometimes, however, it’s in the corporations’ best interests to form tenuous alliances with one of their rivals. When two corporations seek to break their opponents before turning against each other, the only viable response for the other two corporations is to pool their strength and fend off the assault.

Nexus Ops preserves the alternate four-player team rules from the original game. In this variant, the players of allied corporations sit across from each other, and the two teams race to acquire 20 combined victory points.

King of the Hill

In the King of the Hill variant, players gain greater incentive to seize control of the central Monolith. Any player who controls the Monolith at the end of his turn may choose either to draw the standard two Energize cards or to take one King of the Hill card, each of which is worth a single victory point. Solidify your control of the Monolith, and you’re well on your way to victory!

Alternate Two-Player Boards

Another of the game’s eleven variants introduces alternate board arrangements for head-to-head battles between two players:

• The Bad Neighbors arrangement forces two corporations to begin their exploration from nearly the same corner of the moon. Beginning in close proximity, players have new strategic choices to make about when to battle, explore, and secure terrain for mining.
• The Energy Dependence arrangement narrows the board to eight tiles around the central Monolith. With fewer places to explore or hide, corporate troops will be blasting away at each other from the outset.

/Incoming Transmission/ 10.10.2315: … Zyborg Technologies have launched a shuttle to Outpost Delta Five. The wealth of rubium deposits in that sector are unknown. Send troops to investigate. Preemptive strikes have been authorized. /End Transmission/

Get ready for fierce combat and covert operations when Nexus Ops blasts into a store near you. Coming soon!