Moon Colony Bloodbath
- Players
- 1-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 4 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 90 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 14+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.1 / 5
- Year
- 2025
About the game
Moon Colony Bloodbath sends players to build humanity's first lunar cities using a shared deck that both builds and threatens their colonies. Each turn reveals one card from a communal deck of work, trouble, and twist cards, prompting all players to simultaneously mine, farm, research, build, or restock in response. Trouble cards introduce recurring disasters like power failures and hunger that recycle back into the deck once shuffled, forcing players to prepare for the same threats again and again. Designed by Dominion creator Donald X. Vaccarino, it's an engine-building game where your engine can just as easily fall apart as grow. The game ends when a colony runs out of people or the event deck is exhausted, with the most survivors declared the winner.
Hobbli's Notes
Moon Colony Bloodbath brings Vaccarino's card-mechanism ingenuity to a wonderfully dark sci-fi premise: building your colony's engine while also seeding a shared deck of catastrophes is a clever tension few games attempt. It's a newer, more niche release, so it hasn't been widely tested at our tables yet, but the shared-deck concept alone makes it worth a look for engine-builder fans.
What we like
- Shared deck creates a unique push-and-pull between building and disaster.
- Simultaneous action selection keeps all players engaged each turn.
- Recurring event cards add long-term strategic planning around threats.
- Strong pedigree from an acclaimed deck-mechanism designer.
Keep in mind
- As a newer, niche release, its long-term replay value is less established.
- Shared-deck disasters can feel punishing if colonies collapse early.
- 90-minute playtime with moderate complexity may deter very casual groups.
Who it's for
Suited to ages 14 and up, engine-building fans in groups of 1-5 who enjoy dark humor and shared-deck tension.
