Earth Gambit: Light
- Designer: Liana Manukyan
- Publisher: Honest Quarks Games
- Players: 2-10
- Age: 10+
- Time: 15-20 minutes
- Played with copy provided by publisher
Earth Gambit: Light is a social adventure game with extraterrestrials, hidden identities, and tough choices. In this game, you will play as the Aliens, the Scientists, or the Extinctionists, who each have very different plans for Earth and the course of the Earthlings’ science. Advance the science by playing science cards, stall your opponents by playing action cards, and share your research by passing cards to other players, but who can you really trust? Can you make the right choice if there is no good choice at all?
Time is limited, options even more so. Draw one, play one, pass one, and keep one for the future (if there will be one). Don’t think too hard, it’s not chess, it’s just the fate of Earth, that’s in your hands. Note: The game has elements of social deduction with hidden identities, but not a social deduction game per se. That’s why we call it a Social Adventure game.
For the past few years, Renegade Games has leaned heavily into their connections to G.I. Joe, Transformers, and My Little Pony. They’ve created RPGs and deck builders for each. However, after gaining control of the Avalon Hill (and Wizards of the Coast) backlog of boardgames, they have proceeded to re-release many classics – particularly the Risk and Axis & Allies lines of lightweight wargames. Recently, Renegade has started to mix and match their IPs to create an entirely new hybrid product. 2025 sees a G.I. Joe version of Axis & Allies and a Transformers version of RoboRally. There’s a new Axis & Allies set in North Africa and reprints of Nexus Ops, Risk 2210 and Risk Godstorm. Of course, all of the above is a moot point for many, as the one and only thing of importance in the Renegade booth was the display (and even games on offer) of the resurrected Heroscape line.
