Here’s an Aeon’s End inspired deckbuilding game about fighting space monsters

A deckbuilding game inspired by Aeon’s End called Astro Knights – set in an alternative future with aliens and monsters – is on its way.

Astro Knights takes place in a universe wherein star cores have been used to power spacecraft that can convert any fuel source into cosmic energy, at the cost of unleashing terrible beings from another dimension. With interdimensional monsters and robots destroying entire planets – and even black holes capable of eating whole star systems – a team of intergalactic heroes called Astro Knights have been assembled to fight against the invaders and save their universe from annihilation. Each player will take on the role of an Astro Knight and gain access to equipment and weaponry powered by star cores, which can also be used to perform an ultimate ability in times of need.

As co-op board game, Astro Knights sees one to four players teaming up to fight a boss character who must be defeated as quickly as possible to avoid them growing more dangerous. The longer the players take to beat their chosen boss, the more opportunities it will have to level up and improve its minions. To become strong enough to defeat their boss, the players will have to upgrade their decks using cards from the game’s supply, acquiring new weaponry and equipment that will give them the boost they need. Players do not shuffle their decks in Astro Knights, instead enabling them to set themselves up for effective combos in future turns. As players fuel their respective star cores, their card’s effects will become more powerful.

Astro Knights’ playable characters include an Earth refugee called Christina, a protective alien soldier named Gavriil, Toli, a healing diplomat, and a sharp-shooting android named Z.A.K. The players will be fighting against a roster of dangerous interdimensional enemies such as a sentient star called Furion, Architect 0-815, a rogue AI, and an enormous time worm named Continnua. Players win the game if they manage to defeat their chosen boss enemy before they all fall in battle.

Nick Little – a co-designer on the spin-off game Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, the legacy board game Aeon’s End: Legacy and the superhero inspired title Heroes Wanted – and Will Sobel are the co-creators of Astro Knights.

Indie Boards & Cards is the publisher responsible for releasing Astro Knights, as well as its main source of inspiration – Aeon's End – alongside several social deduction games such as Coup and The Resistance.

Aeon’s End is a co-op deckbuilding game that has players fighting against invading hordes of monsters from another world. As mages sworn to protect the city of Gravehold, the players must use their various weapons and spells to halt the invasion and defend the last remnants of society.

The Kickstarter campaign for Astro Knights is live until February 25th, with a pledge of $39 (£29) getting backers a copy of the core game in October.