Return to the Angry Red Planet

Tim C Koppang has a sequel to Mars Colony in Kickstarter right now: Mars Colony 39 Dark.

Nope, it’s not just a new improved Mars Colony. It’s Mars Colony from the point-of-view of the rebels.

What’s different is that 39 Dark is a look at the colony from the people up instead of from the government down. Some number of years have passed since Kelly Perkins attempted to fix the colony’s problems. Things have not gone well. Now a protest movement, 39 Dark, has gained a lot of traction. No one can ignore them any longer. You’ll be playing as Lane Novak, the leader of 39 Dark, as he or she tries to take matters into her own hands.

Mars Colony has been a favorite ever since we picked up an early version at GenCon years back. I’ve loved it because it’s one of the few games I’ve seen that tackled real world issues of governance and civics. It’s also ultra-rare in that it’s a hard-hitting RPG designed for exactly two people.

Here’s a walk down memory lane of some of the amazing Mars Colony games we’ve played:

• Green+Corruption, Yellow+Terrorism — Our very first Mars Colony games with the original “ashcan” version.
• “Let’s see if they all start chanting and calling my name…” — Introducing brand new players to the temptations of high office.
• Go Play NW Mars Colony x8 — Yep, that’s sixteen people playing simultaneous Mars Colony games. I explained the rules to the whole room en masse, then people split into pairs and played.

I can’t wait to take it for a spin.