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Xia: Legends of a Drift System
- 3–5 players
- 60–180 min
- Complexity 3.2/5
- 2014
- BGG rank
- BGG #22,739
- BGG rating
- 6.3
Escape Pods
2019
Rules assistance for Escape Pods
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–5 players
- 20–30 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.0/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for Escape Pods
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Escape Pods is a board game released in 2019 for 1–5 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Linus Garriga and its main mechanics are Memory, Grid Movement, and Pick-up and Deliver.
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About the game
Escape Pods is a game of spaceships and escape for 1-5 players of ages 10+. You are tasked to evacuate crew members from an exploding spaceship, taking them via pods to secure refuges on a nearby moon. The goal of the game is to rescue as many crew members as you can, taking them from the spaceship to the four shelters in some nearby moons. However, be careful: The combination of crew members in each shelter could make the escape not completely successful! Players will alternate their turns following the round in clockwise order. On their turn, a player becomes the active player. On each turn the active player can take up to two actions. To take an action, the active player must: Place one of their available action tokens on one of the activation spaces on their action cards, marking the action the player wants to take. If the chosen action does not have any free activation spaces (without a token), the player cannot take that action. Resolve the effect of the chosen action. This effect must be resolved in its entirety before taking a second action. After taking the two actions, the active player will take all their action tokens from the activation spaces for basic actions. In addition, if all three spaces for advanced actions (Board, Program, Pilot) have an action token on them, the active player also takes those action tokens. Players continue playing using the normal rules, until one of these conditions is met: There are no spaces left in the refuges, or There are no crew member on the pods beyond the barrier. As soon as one of those conditions is met, the game ends and players proceed to scoring. —description from the publisher
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- 2Tomatoes Games
Questions and answers
Escape Pods supports 1–5 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 Escape Pods is 20–30 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 Escape Pods for ages 10 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.
Escape Pods has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-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.
Escape Pods belongs to these categories: Racing, Science Fiction, and Space Exploration. Its main mechanics are Memory, Grid Movement, and Pick-up and Deliver. 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 Escape Pods are: Linus Garriga. 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 Escape Pods 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.