Wandering Galaxy Designer Diary
Fourth Entry
Running A Ship
One of my favorite things about science fiction movies, TV shows, and books, are the spaceships and the characters that work together to keep them flying. I like the gritty, lived-in ships with each crew member manning their station and relying on each other.
Regardless of which of the three campaigns you play, your ship will always be the Zephyr, an ancient freighter that’s had many owners. In Wandering Galaxy, each player is responsible for one or more of the six ship stations which represent the Zephyr’s various systems and functions, each required to run the ship and survive the rigors of space.
Here’s an overview of each ship station you’ll be controlling:
Station 1- Operations
The Operations player will keep track of the Profit and Threat. The Profit Dial tracks the funds you’ve earned toward paying for your ship. The Threat Dial represents the forces that threaten your chances of paying on time. In each game session, your goal will be to gain seven Profit before Threat Dial reaches seven.
Station 2- Navigation
The Navigation player will keep track of the Galactic Struggle between war and peace which can affect the value of trade goods and the kinds of encounters you’ll have while carrying out jobs. They will also manage your active jobs and the various color-coded waypoint rings which indicate where your active job is located on the galactic map.
Station 3- Logistics
The Logistics player will manage the ship’s Supplies, which represent the resources needed for day-to-day operations and expenses. They also manage the cargo tokens you can sell at planets and outposts for Profit.
Station 4 - Engineering
The Engineering player will manage the ever-changing Power Dial which is used to fuel various ship functions such as space travel. They will also keep track of Hull Integrity. If the Hull reaches zero, you’ll crash. Obviously, you want to avoid crashing as much as possible.
Station 5- Science
The Science player manages Life Support. If Life Support reaches zero, you’ll crash. Again, crashing the ship is less than ideal! Science also manages the science project tokens using the Research Track. When a science project token reaches the top of the Research Track, you reveal it, and gain its reward.
Station 6- Security
The Security player manages Ship Weapons and Special Devices. They also track enemy strength using the five dials lettered A through E.
Working the Ship
Each ship station has three Work The Ship options. When players are instructed to work the ship, they may resolve one option from each ship station they control. Working the ship is how you repair and replenish the ship, and prepare it for the rigors of space.
Making A Living In Space!
When you take on jobs, the Navigation player will place waypoint rings on the galactic map. These act as a guide to help you decide as a team, where to travel and which route to take. Once you’ve decided on a route, the Engineering player will spend the required power to move the ship along the space lane to the next location. Once there, you’ll enter the new location code into the app and have an interactive, narrative encounter. Often these encounters send you to pages in the location book where you will play out a mini adventure.
When you arrive at a location, the app will ask you if you have an active job there. If you have a waypoint ring at that location, indicating that a job can be resolved there, you will tell the app and it will guide you on an adventure where you can attempt to complete that job and make some tasty Profit! Some jobs have multiple steps, in which case you will be instructed to move the waypoint ring to a new location after completing the current step.
Completing jobs isn’t the only way to make Profit. Opportunity will present itself along the way and in numerous forms. Some of the myriad ways you can gain profit are hunting bounties, trading goods, collecting scientific data, helping those in need, pirating, gambling, and generally exploiting opportunities when they present themselves. You have to be careful though. Along the way, you’ll undoubtedly make enemies and have dangerous encounters, which might raise your Threat.
In the next article, we will talk about the location book pages and how encounters are resolved!
