Eminent Domain: Escalation (Kickstarter Special)
Board Game Geek Rating: 6.60
Board Game Geek Avg Player Rating: 7.81
Players: 2 to 5
Published: 2013
Content Notes: Kickstarter Edition of Eminent Domain Escalation Board Game by Tasty Minstrel Games. Includes Expansion and all unlocked stretch goals. Please note: unless otherwise stated paid add ons from the Kickstarter Campaign are not included.
Includes:
• 162 Cards,
• 35 Sculpted Fighters Spaceships,
• 20+ Wooden Resources,
• 32 Influence Tokens,
• 1 Game Board, and
• All Unlocked Kickstarter Stretch Goals.
Welcome back, Emperor. The time for unchecked expansion is over. Warmongers raise their flags over weaker empires, while civilized planets take shelter behind peace treaties. Brace yourself for rising tensions in this next chapter of Eminent Domain: Escalation!
EMINENT DOMAIN: ESCALATION is an expansion and require Eminent Domain to be able to play it.
Escalation is the first big expansion for Eminent Domain. In Escalation, you get:
- To play with up to 5 players.
- Different functions for the different ship models from Eminent Domain.
- New technologies and new ways to obtain technology.
- Scenarios that breathe new life into Eminent Domain with variable starting positions.
- Some direct conflict is introduced through 3 of the new tech cards.
Eminent Domain: Escalation is an expansion to Eminent Domain and the base game is required to play. The following video will show you both how to play and one reviewer’s opinion of Eminent Domain.
Eminent Domain: Escalation Rules ver 3.0 (Not graphically laid out yet)
Backers of Eminent Domain: Escalation will get the following in their copies of Escalation (This includes the stretch rewards unlocked):
- 15 Planet Cards (Civilized x6, Hostile x3, Bustling x6)
- 6 Start Planet Tiles
- 5 Fleet Tiles
- 32 New Technology Cards (Advanced x9, Fertile x9, Metallic x9, Diverse x5)
- 18 Scenario Cards – Abundance, Battlecruiser, Scientific Discovery, Spoils of War, Colony Ship, Knowledge is Power, Overseer, Streamlined, Biosphere, Arms Dealer, Destroyer, Black Market, Explorer, Scorched Earth, Artificial Intelligence, Fertile Ground, Imperialism and Warmonger.
- 28 Role Cards (5 Players Now Supported)
- 1 Player Aid Tile
- 2 Central Display Errata Stickers (Warfare icon, Survey Icon)
- 3 Errata Cards (Logistics, Abundance, Bureaucracy)
- PROMO PACK (FREE FOR BACKERS) – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Iconoclast & Double Trouble
- PROMO PACK (FREE FOR BACKERS) – Prestige Start Planet
- PROMO PACK (FREE FOR BACKERS) – 2 Utopian Planets
- PROMO PACK (FREE FOR BACKERS) – Military/Economic Alternate Victory Condition Card
- KICKSTARTER EXCLUSIVE – Foil Stamped Boxes with Digital Signatures
- 9-Planet Bonus Expansion
Eminent Domain has been one of my absolute favorite games ever since I first tested it in 2010. I liked it so much that Seth Jaffee made me a prototype copy for my birthday in June of 2010.
I especially enjoy the variety of unique tech cards, and how winning a race to a specific tech can lead to victory since there is only one of each.
Escalation adds 32 new technologies to choose from as well as methods to obtain them. Take for example, the technology, Wealth of Knowledge:
You can buy Wealth of Knowledge with 2 destroyers instead of paying 5 research symbols. Once in play, it will make your survey cards very powerful, opening up some new strategic lines of play.
Wait, what is a Destroyer? I thought all of the ships were called fighters? They were! Eminent Domain: Escalation, adds different meanings and powers to the different ship models.
Hundreds of hours of game play testing and development have gone into Eminent Domain: Escalation, and it is now ready for you.
During one of these play testing sessions, we were curious about the power balance of many individual tech cards. For example, we wanted to know if Fertile Ground was more powerful than the Weapon’s Emporium.
So, we played a game where we started with them, and scenarios were born. Scenarios are asymmetric starting positions where each player starts with a level 2 technology and a different and thematic starting deck.
Now we have 20 scenarios designed and tested.
We would love to be able to give you all 20 scenario cards, and you will be able to unlock them through stretch goals…
Developing, manufacturing, shipping, and delivering games is expensive. As we receive more funding, we can put more into each game box.
So, each time we cross another funding threshold as described below, then we will provide the corresponding upgrade to Eminent Domain: Escalation:
- UNLOCKED @ $25,000 – Eminent Domain: Escalation Funds
- UNLOCKED @ $30,000 – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Artificial Intelligence & Fertile Ground
- UNLOCKED @ $35,000 – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Explorer & Scorched Earth
- UNLOCKED @ $40,000 – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Imperialism & Streamlined
- UNLOCKED @ $45,000 – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Knowledge Is Power & Overseer
- UNLOCKED @ $50,000 – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Spoils of War & Colony Ship
- UNLOCKED @ $55,000 – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Battlecruiser & Scientific Discovery
UNLOCKED @ $70,000 – PROMO PACK INCLUDED (for sale later):
- UNLOCKED – PROMO PACK @ $70,000 – 2 Additional Scenario Cards – Iconoclast & Double Trouble +
- UNLOCKED – PROMO PACK @ $70,000 – Prestige Start Planet
- UNLOCKED – PROMO PACK @ $70,000 – 2 Utopian Planets
- UNLOCKED – PROMO PACK @ $70,000 – Military/Economic Alternate Victory Condition Card
- UNLOCKED @ $100,000 – All copies of Eminent Domain: Escalation and Eminent Domain pledged for through the Kickstarter campaign will have foil stamped signatures on the covers. (EXCLUSIVE TO KICKSTARTER)
- UNLOCKED @ $100,000 – All copies of Eminent Domain: Escalation which are pledged for in this project will have the mini expansion of 9-bonus planets included in their box.
- @ $130,000 – A supply of 3-Fighter tokens will be added to Eminent Domain: Escalation. These will help when managing supplies of fighters.
This expansion for Eminent Domain, which cannot be played without the base game, puts the following new tools at the Emperor’s disposal:
New meaning to the larger-sized ships in Eminent Domain.
Additional Role cards to support a fifth player.
Additional technologies, each with an alternate cost in addition to their normal Research cost.
A new category of technology (“Diverse”), requiring one planet of each type to research.
Optional scenarios for asymmetric starting positions and technologies for each player.
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