Stellar Shift

A board game · made in 24 hours

24h Made as a 24-hour challenge for a Blackthornprod video.

Stellar Shift is a fast-paced strategy game where players pilot spacecraft and battle for dominance, not through direct combat, but by manipulating the gravity of planets and celestial bodies.

Physics is a bit of a challenging theme to adapt to a board game, but the main way I decided to implement it was to use gravity as your main source of movement. At first I thought of a Tetris-style approach where everything moves downward, but I felt that was kind of dull. So I brainstormed a bit and came up with a space concept. I could use planets and other celestial bodies to manipulate gravity in different directions.

Try the Shift Phase Play on Tabletop Simulator Watch the devlog

The tiles

Celestial bodies

Planets, moons, asteroids, stars and black holes. Each one has its own mass, which determines how hard it pulls things, and a directional arrow that tells you which way it pulls. They also have an energy value, which players can convert into power. I chose a square format so they could be used as tiles on the board, then digitally painted a celestial body for each of them.

  • Nadir Asteroid Nadir Asteroid Mass 1Energy 1 Pulls only from below
  • Zenuth Asteroid Zenuth Asteroid Mass 1Energy 1 Pulls only from above
  • Sinister Asteroid Sinister Asteroid Mass 1Energy 1 Pulls only from the right
  • Dexter Asteroid Dexter Asteroid Mass 1Energy 1 Pulls only from the left
  • Moon Moon Mass 1Energy 1 Pulls from every side
  • Blue Planet Blue Planet Mass 2Energy 2 Pulls from every side
  • Red Planet Red Planet Mass 2Energy 2 Pulls from every side
  • Star Star Mass 3Energy 3 Pulls from every side
  • Black Hole Black Hole Mass 4Energy 1 Pulls from every side

Try it

The Shift Phase

  • MassThe mass of a Celestial body will determine how many spaces the player is drawn toward it, while the arrows will decide what direction.
  • DiagonalIf a Celestial body has more than one direction you are pulled toward that planet diagonally until you reach a straight path with the planet and then are pulled orthogonally.
  • One arrowOnce you pass a Celestial body with a singular direction you are no longer pulled in that direction.
  • CollideIf you collide with a Celestial body you are defeated and lose the game.
A ship pulled diagonally toward a Blue Planet, then straight in
Pulled diagonally, then straight
A ship beside a Nadir Asteroid is not pulled, because its only arrow is underneath
No arrow on that side, no pull

Add a celestial body

    Player cards

    Ship components

    The player cards, which I called Ship Components, come in four flavours. To match the sci-fi look, I gave these cards a hologram-style HUD design.

    These cards are usually used to manipulate celestial bodies by adding mass or changing their directional pull.

    • Axis Shift
    • Mass Modulator
    • Directional Override
    • Kinetic Impact
    • Tractor Beam

    Power. Ships start with one power each turn. Additional power can be gained from power system cards. This power can be used to play cards or move your ship. The number on the inside of the hexagon is the amount of power needed to play the card.

    Game play

    How a round goes

    1. 1

      Set up

      At the start, players place their ships and a few celestial bodies on the map.

    2. 2

      Card Phase

      Then players take turns using cards and spending power.

    3. 3

      Draw Phase

      After both players have played they may then draw cards back to a total of 5 cards.

    4. 4

      Shift Phase

      Each celestial body activates one at a time, from left to right, top to bottom, pulling ships based on its mass and direction. If you get pulled into a celestial body, you lose the game.

    5. 5

      Celestial Body Placement

      Each player places a new celestial body somewhere on the board, anywhere 4 spaces away from any other player ship.

    6. ↺ The cycle then repeats until there’s just one pilot left standing, or flying, I guess.
    The board: celestial body placement zones in the corners, the center zone, and each player's starting square

    Play it

    Tabletop Simulator

    Stellar Shift is playable as a Tabletop Simulator mod on Steam.

    Get the mod →

    Behind the scenes

    The devlog