Spaceteam Will Soon Be a Card Game

Watching a group playing Spaceteam has to be incredibly bizarre for someone unfamiliar with the mobile game. “Increase Astral Synth to 6,” shouts somebody while another echoes the command, only to have someone else scream “Wormhole!” before everyone flips their phones in genuine panic.

It’s bloody brilliant and deserves far more attention.

Now, former BioWare developer Henry Smith has formed a team to redesign his mobile game into a tabletop experience. They’ve settled on a party-style card game to stay true to its roots, and are now turning to Kickstarter to fund production.

The good news is the project is already funded and is in stretch-goal phase. The bad news is they’ve gotten ahead of themselves and set some very high bars for said goals. Nonetheless, if all you care about is getting the game then a regular deck will cost US$20 (SG$29); a mature “Not Safe for Space” expansion deck is included at the US$35 (SG$50) tier. Manufacturing will be handled by Admagic, the company that produced the equally amusing Exploding Kittens and Cards Against Humanity.

A necessary reminder that crowdfunding is a risky investment and not a pre-order. Tabletop and card games have a far better Kickstarter history than videogames, but carry out due diligence all the same.

Alternatively, spend US$5 on the free mobile version and you’ll unlock everything: achievements, new modes, new outfits, new ships, and new panel skins. Just don’t count on it saving you and your friends from a terrible demise – damn those translator malfunctions!