posted 11-17-2020 12:31 PM               

Apollo: The Board Game

The year is 1961, President Kennedy challenged the nation to land astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade. Now it's up to you to walk in the footsteps of NASA's pioneers and embark on the missions that made history. Play as Mission Control or an Astronaut. Both sides must work together and strategize to complete flight stages, overcome obstacles, repair the spacecraft, and keep communications clear. It is the team that determines if the mission is a success or failure.

Apollo is a cooperative strategy game inspired by the actual moon missions. Created in partnership with Buffalo Games, the box includes 30 cards in two mission packs with real mission facts approved by NASA. It also Includes an Apollo game board and a Gemini game board, 4 Crisis Puzzle Boards, 3 Control Boards, 23 COMM Tokens, 20 +/- Tokens, 12 Crisis Puzzle Pieces, 12 Dice, 5 Astronaut Markers, 1 Experiment Marker, 3 Alert Clips, 2 Mission Pawns with stands, a Comms Down Clip, a Player Screen, and a Player Turn Token (shown above with a selection of the cards).

Followers of Chop Shop will recognize the cover of the game box from our Apollo 11 poster which also exists as a t-shirt, sticker, button, and magnet. Several other illustrations created for the game have also been converted into stickers including: Gemini, One Giant Leap, and a pair of Earth and Moon stickers.

posted 12-05-2020 11:56 AM               

It’s interesting as the astronaut I genuinely felt kind of isolated and alone, not knowing everything that was happening with my spacecraft and relying on Mission Control to help and guide me. You’re just doing your actions to the best of your ability, trying to complete the mission objectives even though you only are looking at a small piece of the pie.

And as Mission Control you’re looking at the entire health of the ship as well as the goals for the mission, and you have to decide what’s important enough to share (as communication is limited and you have to spend a token to give ONE piece of info).

It’s a fantastic game. Especially with 2 players. I’ve heard it plays well at 3 as well. The wifey and I play it and it’s marvelous. It’s a nice challenge that helps break up the monotony of COVID life. Considering it’s available at Target too for $30 it’s a no brainer in my opinion.

If you’re unsure or on the fence I highly recommend going to YouTube and looking up videos for the game. As a board game aficionado I recommend watching Dice Tower or Rahdo videos as they’re considered the best two in the industry for their reviews (and for good reason).