Super Motherload originally released as a video game alongside the official launch of the PlayStation 4 in November or 13. The arcade-style digging game featured a procedurally-generated world that required powerful upgrades and supplies for your mining pod to progressively dig deeper and with more efficiency. While it possessed interesting mechanics and satisfying strategy, the indie game didn’t really connect with the PlayStation audience and most people don’t even realize that the concept existed before its implementation as a board game.

But we are glad that Super Motherload was given new life in a different medium because this gem belongs on a table. Gavan Brown and Matt Tolman have designed a deck-building game that incorporates a tile-laying system, resulting in a wholly original board game that combines spatial strategy with deck management. Super Motherload is the first of its kind, and the addictive play can support 2-4 players. Accessible gameplay mechanics ensure that the tabletop experience will be smooth and enjoyable. It’s easy to pick up and harder to put down. For those that enjoy deck-building games, Super Motherload modifies that system in interesting ways. It will certainly entice players to explore all of the possibilities. Exhilarating card combinations, wily maneuvering, and a scrolling board all make for an engaging game night.

STORY

Mars. The very near future.

The Solarus Corporation discovered an infinite source of rare and precious minerals deep in the red crust. Resources that will end the energy crisis on Earth and fuel the deep space expeditions planned as population swells beyond capacity.

You have been chosen to lead an elite crew of Pod pilots who will delve below the surface of Mars in Solarus Corporation's first major drilling expedition. As a part of this maiden voyage, the corporation has agreed to let you reinvest any wealth you uncover back into training your Pod pilots, increasing their skills and efficiencies. Will you be remembered as the greatest Solarus Corporation employee in the galaxy?

A simple narrative and one that doesn’t distract from the delightful fun of deck-building.

GAMEPLAY 

Super Motherload only has a few mechanics. Gamers will appreciate the simplicity involved in learning the game.

Two to four players will command a crew of pilots, and they will take turns until all of the artifacts on the board have been claimed and the player with the most victory points is declared the winner.

Those turns consist of two actions. And those actions can be any combination of three options: drawing new cards from the deck, discarding pilots and drilling, discarding a pilot and bombing. Draw, drill, or bomb. Nothing else. 

The complexity, or diversity, of play originating from the minimal set of rules, though, is special. Drilling or bombing in the right places will reward players with higher yields of minerals, which are spent to purchase better pilots. The upgrades to the deck will increase efficiency and enable players to create stronger drilling maneuvers.

Achievement cards, major and minor, also encourage players to focus on particular actions that will provide additional victory points for endgame scoring. Major achievements are not replenished once taken by a player, but minor achievements are. The mechanic connects to the video game Super Motherload, and it develops an additional component that players must account for during their strategic planning.

Players aren’t excavating separate tunnels, though. Any player can drill or bomb from any existing empty tiles. That forces each drill team to consider their moves to avoid benefiting the other players. With two players, it’s easier to plan because only two outside actions separate your own moves (unless a player is able to chain together a stronger combo). Three or four players will complicate the process. The rhythm and the competitive intensity that the group desires will dictate the best number of players for Super Motherload.

The rulebook deserves mention. It is an exemplar of clarity, and players will be able to read through all of the guiding elements in the game within twenty minutes.

Super Motherload is one of the best deck-building games I’ve played. It’s easy to learn and fun to play. Not to mention the tile-laying system introduces a new element rarely seen in the genre. Spatial puzzles and successive deck upgrades create a memorable experience where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

VISUALS

The art of Super Motherload seems to maintain the arcade-style of the original video game release, but it’s suitable for the relaxed experience. There is no need for detailed miniatures or plastic tokens. The quirky characters that make up each pilot deck and the cardboard components all build an appealing atmosphere where gritty drill teams are sweating underneath the Martian soil, digging up minerals and artifacts.

REPLAYABILITY 

Easily a game that can be played numerous times, Super Motherload will be a different experience if you play with two players versus three or four. However, players might exhaust their interest in the game if it’s played too frequently. With small decks and four board tiles (albeit with reversible sides), there is a limit to what players will be able to do. An expansion that includes new cards, powers, and content would enhance the replayability.

WHAT IT COULD HAVE DONE BETTER

More asymmetrical pilot decks could have made Super Motherload a more memorable experience that would ensure player engagement over numerous playthroughs as they learned the intricacies of each unique drill team. And more cards, powers, and content (whether in an expansion or in the base game) would guarantee that the deck-builder was one that players would return to time and time again.

VERDICT

Super Motherload is a great game, but it may not possess the staying power as other popular tabletop games. If you’re a fan of deck-builders, then you should definitely consider this exciting twist on the genre. The tile-laying system makes Super Motherload stand out from the crowd, and if expansions were developed, I would easily recommend it over genre heavyweights like Splendor.