- BGG rank
- BGG #607
- BGG rating
- 7.2
Canvas
- 1–5 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.7/5
- 2021
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,919
- BGG rating
- 6.8
Afternova
2020
Rules assistance for Afternova
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–6 players
- 30–60 min
- 12+
- Complexity 1.7/5
For 3 players
Rules assistant for Afternova
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Afternova is a board game released in 2020 for 3–6 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Jeffrey Chin and Andrew Nerger and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trading, and Negotiation.
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About the game
A nearby solar system has been obliterated by a supernova. Now is your time to move in and extract the valuable resources from its unstable planets — but these jobs are too dangerous to do alone, so send in teams of Hired Paws and form uneasy truces with your rivals to come away with the best loot. Afternova is a strategic negotiation game for 3-6 players. Score victory points by collecting fragments shown on your blueprints to build ship upgrades. When a player completes 6 of blueprints, the game ends and the player with the most victory points wins. On your turn, you may either take 3 cards from the market or extract fragments from a planet. When performing a Market action, you can take any combination of Blueprint and Hired Paw cards. Blueprints are needed to score points, but they also grant special abilities. Hired Paws have different skill sets, so you'll need a variety of Hired Paws to Extract, or help other players Extract. The core of the game is negotiating during an Extract action. When performing an Extract action, you often don't have all the Hired Paws needed to meet the planet's requirement, so you'll likely need to team up with other players to split the work and the rewards. —description from the designer
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- GateOnGames
- Road To Infamy Games (R2i Games)
Questions and answers
Afternova supports 3–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Afternova is 30–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Afternova for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Afternova has a complexity rating of 1.7 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Afternova belongs to these categories: Card Game, Negotiation, and Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Trading, and Negotiation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Afternova are: Jeffrey Chin and Andrew Nerger. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Afternova as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.