We recently learned of ‘Expendable Employees‘, a game from Alexei Vella. It’s a rule-light, cooperative miniature skirmish game where 1-4 players assume the roles of employees sent by a company to scavenge dangerous exoplanets.
Collecting Scrap for the Good of the Company…
Upon reading the fluff, our Spaceship Graveyard terrain immediately sprung to mind for a table set-up! Each game is played on a 2×2′ to 3×4′ table with only 4-6 pieces of terrain, so we opted for our Fuselage Wreckage Set as these are chunky, break up line-of-sight easy to paint and help give a three dimensional perspective to the table!
What is Expendable Employees?
The gameplay involves several key elements:
- Mission Setup: Players generate an exoplanet and deploy their space hauler on one board edge. They then send their employee miniatures on missions to retrieve scattered scrap before darkness envelops the board.
- Objective: The primary goal is to collect as much scrap as possible while maintaining a profit quota. The bigger the pile of scrap, the higher the profit, but it also increases the risk of encountering hostile entities.
- Challenges: Players face various threats including scrap-possessive entities, unpredictable environmental conditions, and encroaching darkness. They must navigate these threats to survive and complete their mission.
Gameplay Mechanics:
- Scrap Collection: Scrap is dropped onto the battlefield by holding and releasing a handful of D4 dice from two feet above the table, simulating scrap falling from orbit.
- Entities and Hazards: Entities that can attack players may spawn from shadows and other hazards must be navigated.
- Rules and Role-Playing: The game has a lightweight ruleset, which includes humorous disclaimers from “The Company” about the dangers faced by employees.
Miniatures Agnostic
The game allows for any suitable miniatures to be used, although it offers STL files for 3D printing custom miniatures.
Overall, “Expendable Employees” combines elements of resource collection, survival, and cooperative strategy in a setting reminiscent of popular cooperative video games. Check out this game on Kickstarter now!
