About

[UPDATE 4/29/16: We will be relaunching in a few months, after we have built up some reviews and a mailing list. Please make just a small $1 pledge or email us at david (at) enzymegames.com to get onto the mailing list so that we can notify you when we have updates, reviews, and a relaunch date.]

[UPDATE 5/19/16: I feel like I should be calling these Captain's Logs, but oh well. Anyway, we have continued to look for manufacturing and shipping options, and I'm excited to say that we have learned about a new shipping option that improves things dramatically. When we relaunch, we will be able to offer the game with shipping included. No more paying extra. And that's GLOBALLY.

The starship FSS Polemus is on a multi-year voyage deep in unfederated territory when her captain passes away from a sudden, horrible bout of acute Galactic Mumples. In a sensible, mature society, command would pass peacefully to the next in line. On the Polemus, however, it's an all-out competition for whoever can take over the ship first.

Storm the Bridge is a 2-player card game (with the option for 3 players) in which you play as both a leader in charge of a party of crew members and, sometimes, as writer able to change the narrative. You will recruit crew members (some better than others), sabotage other players (all in the name of peace, of course), and fight for control of ship sections (sorry, no holodeck). Action is cut-throat, a well-played card can change the direction of the game, and in the end, only one leader will arise as the new captain of the FSS Polemus.

Example leader, section, and crew cards (prototype)

Each player has a leader card with its own influence and combat values, as well as a special ability that affects strategy. 2nd in Command Endago's combat strength grows as she recruits crew, for example, while Steward Bragga uses his acquisition skills to increase your default hand size. Your goal is to take control of ship sections, each of which also have their own unique abilities - such as the engine room's Conduit Access - which, if used wisely, can propel you closer to the ultimate goal of taking control of the bridge and using its special ability - Victory!

You can't win alone, however. Every good captain needs a good crew, and you'll probably be able to scrape one together as well. In Storm the Bridge, you have to use your influence to recruit members to your party. Like the leaders, these are not just counters or tokens; they are individuals with their own strengths, special abilities, and affiliations. Should you recruit Councilor Sessica for her high influence or grab [unnamed], the red shirt you can "accidentally" sacrifice for an attack bonus?

Early crew concepts

Half of the game happens with the action cards in your hand. There are two main types, instants and passives. Instants have one-time or one-turn effects: use Lucky Break to remove an unwanted passive, make an Impassioned Plea (+3 influence), or Boldly Go (draw a card from the top of the action stack and immediately play it). Or perhaps it's a Poorly Written Episode that prevents an opponent's crew member from using their special ability at just the right moment?

Passives work differently; they attach to party members and ship sections to modify them. You can beef up your best fighter by adding a Phaser (+2 combat) and Battle Armor (+1 combat), then make them Committed to the Cause so that they can't be stolen. Or you can give an opposing crew member Bad Breath (-1 influence) and Bad Aim (-2 combat) and fill their infirmary with Strange Fumes (-2 defense) so that it is a much easier target. In the figure above, Ensign Presley has bad breath (influence -1), but wields a bamboo cannon (+2 combat) and is genetically modified (+3 combat), and is now a decent fighter with a combat value of 5.

A crew member and a ship section with passives attached. Ensign Presley has gone from mediocre recruit member to a powerful combat member. Fastest character arc ever.

Unlike other games, you don't have to just sit and wait while the other person plays. Only the active player can recruit crew and attack ship sections, but any player can play action cards to change the course of the game. Sure, your opponent is trying to take your Engine Room, but you can sow Dissension in the Ranks to send their best crew member back to the stack or use a Show of Force to keep them from using that Earworm.

An example of a player's board

In the figure above, the infirmary has been captured by Morg's party. While it took 10 combat points to take, it is now defended by mechanic Dross, dishwasher Uul, and the hero of the hour, young but powerful Ensign Presley. Adding in Morg's defense of 6, an opponent will need an attack strength of 19 to overtake the section.

You refill your hand at the beginning of each turn, so you have every reason to use as many cards as you can before your next turn. That's right, you're rewarded for being as vicious as possible. Should you really use your Double Agent to steal a crew member from your opponent, then Scavenge the card back to do it again? Yes. Yes you should, because only one leader can become the ship's new captain. And in space, no one can hear your opponent scream.

Now that you've read about the overall gameplay, here are some more details on how it all works:

Table setup

You begin the game with an oversized leader card and (usually) five action cards. There are three phases to each player's turn: Reset, action, and redeployment.

The reset phase is a "house-cleaning" phase: A) you "disengage" any leader, crew, or ship section card you used previously so that you can use it again. B) You refill the "available crew pool" - these are the crew members you can recruit during your turn - and, if need by, cycle the oldest available crew member out for a new member. This ensures that the available crew can't become stuck. And C) you redraw your action card hand (usually five). These action cards are your hand until your next turn, so manage them carefully.

After the reset phase (which only takes moments) comes the action phase. This is where the core of the game happens. The active player can engage his leader and, later, crew members and ship sections, to recruit more crew and to attack ship sections. However, any player can use action cards to help or disrupt what the active player is doing. Any player can, for example, play an instant card to retrieve a favorite card from the discard pile, or increase or decrease a player's ability to recruit or attack, or play a passive that changes a crew member's stats, or a player's default hand size. But you have to manage your hand carefully, because you can't refill it until your next turn.

The last phase, redeployment, is a quick one. Once you have taken control of a ship section, you can put crew in that section to defend it. But, like your action hand, you have to be careful. The crew members must remain defending that section until your next redeployment phase.

Examples of each type of card: Leader, ship section, crew member, instant, and passive.

Future plans: Enzyme Games has several games in varying stages, from conceptual to draft and beyond. One planned future project is a Storm the Bridge expansion, The Droids You're Looking For.

Add-Ons: Add on extras by managing your rewards and adding extra funding without changing your reward level.

Add a second (or third or fourth...) game for $20 each, no extra shipping.

Add the swag kit (travel mug, journal, pen) for $25 to any reward level, or add individual swag: $13 for the travel mug, $11 for the journal, $3 for the pen.

Shipping: We are keeping shipping costs as low as possible. Many projects provide "free" shipping by including those costs in the reward price. We are choosing instead to add shipping separately.

Shipping the base game in the US is $5 USD. To the EU is $20 USD.