Resources are dwindling. Overpopulation is destroying the planet. Time is running out. Elite factions are exploring the cosmos for a new home, new technology, new allies, or the resources needed to repair the plight of their damaged home world. With nothing left to lose and on the brink of madness, these warring Earthlings, equipped with deep-space warships with expansive cargo holds, will do whatever it takes to claim the glory for saving humanity...Before The Earth Explodes!

Before The Earth Explodes uses clever tactics and intuition to secure victory in 1 of 4 ways:

*Advance to the top of the Tech Track

*Colonize 7 new planets

*Destroy the opposing faction

*Meet a variable victory condition revealed during play

In the game, players choose actions simultaneously to determine their course of play. Using a Rock-Paper-Scissors-style of action resolution, a scout will attack an invading ship while an invading ship will damage an away party or a mining vessel while a mining vessel will defend itself against a scout. If a player is able to avoid taking damage they will get to carry out special actions based on the card played. These actions allow players to increase their technology level, encounter an ally ship, clone an opponent's ability, take control of a new planet, or mine for resources.

Before the Earth Explodes is 2-player space epic in a small package. Each game takes 20-30 minutes to play. The game was created by the prolific design team and members of Game Artisans of Canada, Daryl Andrews and Adrian Adamescu (Sagrada, Mine All Mines, and the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Showdown).

Game Setup:

Here's a basic rundown on how the game is played (see video above for more in depth overview!):

Players choose and reveal their action cards simultaneously.

At the beginning of this phase, players resolve the icons on the portion of the card with the image.

In Phase 1, players may gain ship cards, deal damage, and cancel their opponent's action.

As long as players haven't been dealt damage they may resolve their actions (on the bottom portion of the card) in alphabetical order.

Next, as long as they haven't been damaged, players may spend resources to colonize a planet. Planets provide one-time use abilities as well as move players towards victory.

In the final phase, resources, planet cards, and ship cards are refilled to prepare for the next round.

There are several paths to victory that require outthinking your opponent and being attentive and flexible to the changing landscape or the game!

Check out Jason giving an overview at Origins Game Fair:

As with every Green Couch Games title, we try to pack a big experience into a small box so you can easily get our games to the table with casual and hardcore gamer's alike!

We think Before The Earth Explodes is GREAT but don't just take our word for it! Check out this previews and other helpful links! (Please note that all pictures use prototype components and don't always reflect the final product.)

"The art is amazing. The feel of the game is super cool. It plays very fast. This has very tactical decisions to be made for an overall strategic goal." -Chris Kirkman, The State of Games Podcast.

"Before The Earth Explodes is a really fun, tight 2-player experience. Its mechanisms are simple and easy to manage, its table footprint is small, and its playtime is short – essentially the perfect combination of traits for a ‘throw it in your backpack’ game you can play anywhere you have a little bit of flat surface to claim. This one’s a winner." -Gameosity.com

Cloak and Meeple shares their preview here and strange things occur:

"I like that there are a variety of ways to win, even in this compact, quick-playing game. You really do get to pick which of the 4 Xs (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) you want to focus on—but you have to mix it up so that your opponent doesn’t guess what you’re up to." -Jonathan Liu, Geek Dad

"Before the Earth Explodes successfully fits a head-to-head two player game with conflict, the potential for evolving strategies, and an element of intuition into a tight, enjoyable 20-minute filler experience." -Married with Board Games

Check out their whole video here:

"It was a mind game trying to figure out what card you can safely play...Every action you take in this game feels enormous...It's great! It feels epic!" -Craig, Botch Cast

Listen to the full review at the 23 minute mark: http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/5583086

"Every time we've played this game we've gone and played it again right away...Green Couch Games just does an awesome job with these small box games!" -Draft Mechanic Podcast

Brian's Got Game share their thoughts on the game right here:

Brandon Kempf gives an overview on the What Did You Play This Week Podcast Thing. Check it out around the20 minute mark: http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/5593044

Tantrum House says "With so many ships and planets the game has immense replayability," Check out their preview here:

Check out this overview from Stephane and Tracy of To Die For Games:

Without your help, we wouldn't get to make all these great little games. Here are the options for getting on board to help make Before The Earth Explodes a reality. Hurry, before we run out of time!

At the Captain Level and beyond, your pledge includes a killer custom playmat for organizing your play area! These playmats are cloth with rubber backing and measure 12" by 18" and 1/16" in thickness. These will not be available in stores!

You can add-on one of our previous games by adjusting the amount of your pledge! The prices below include shipping. You can add this amount to your pledged amount and we'll collect information about the games you added at the end of the campaign. We'll also ship the add-on games out before Before The Earth Explodes, right after we receive the funds (about two-three weeks after the Kickstarter closes).

Here's the prices including shipping (which are cheaper than buying them from our webstore):

Before The Earth Explodes is available world-wide and all copies will ship from within the US! International Shipping fees will be added to your pledge level when you select your home location.

Added Shipping as follows:

Explorer Pledge Level: US-Included!, Canada-$5, Everywhere Else-$8

Captain and General Pledge Level: US-Included!, Canada-$10, Everywhere Else-$17

Note: International Backers will be responsible for any import fees, brokerage or delivery surcharges, or applicable taxes that may be levied after we have shipped your package. However, this campaign is CUSTOMS FRIENDLY. The low price point and small box for this game should not cause any customs fees for backers pledging for 1-2 copies. We have learned that shipping is a costly endeavor, especially with the recent rate increase in the US Postal Service, and we must try to keep our costs as low as possible to keep our games at an appropriate price point for when they hit retail.

We are saying THANK YOU to our early adopters on Kickstarter by offering the game below MSRP while covering the first $5 of shipping costs for all backers. We'll also be adding some extra content at no extra charge (when we reach STRETCH GOALS, of course).

We have plans to add value (STRETCH GOALS!) to Before The Earth Explodes that we think you will really appreciate. We plan to add value by upgrading components to make this cool game even cooler! We have several stretch goals in mind and we hope to hit them all! But know that just as with our previous campaigns, we won't likely be adding more just to add more. We believe that more isn't always better, especially if it holds up production and delays delivery.

That being said, we'll be listening closely to your feedback and ideas and will carefully consider all the ideas that comes our way.

Here's a peek at the first couple stretch goals! We'll announce more and funding thresholds as we get closer to funding!

The cloth resource bag is unlocked! Onward and upward!

Custom wooden tie breaker token is unlocked! To the cosmos!

At $9000, we upgraded to a box cover with Spot UV to help the awesome artwork standout even more!

Spot UV is a process that involves adding a varnish to specific spots of the printed material to draw the eye's attention and give it a super fantastic visual pop and added texture.

At $10,000 we'll have the game logo added to the cloth resource bag!

At $11,000, we'll increase the size of the player boards from standard sized cards to tarot sized cards!

If you've checked out the videos and read the reviews and still want more info, you can check out the Work-in-Progress Rules PDF RIGHT HERE! The rules are currently being edited and reformatted for clarity and to match the feel of the art and graphic design.

The rules are hosted on BoardGameGeek and will require a free account to download. But if you like games, BGG is the place to be so head over there now to get plugged into the world-wide gaming community!

Thanks for your pledge and for helping us spread the word! Sharing about the project on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Reddit, and other networks you are a part of goes a long way!

Here are some cool avatars to use on your favorite social media site: