This idea was part of the 2025 game jam ideas project.

Trains but in space

One Liner: Building the galactic wormhole network, one generation ship at a time, Trains but in space using wormholes.

In this game you are a mega cooperation that is competing with other mega corporations to build a wormhole network across the universe.

Story

In order to build a wormhole you need to quantum intangible two particles, then send one of the particles at relativistic speeds. When you get to a suitable distance you can use the two particles to build a point to point wormhole. The big issue is that the ships need to travel at relativistic speeds to get anywhere useful. So mega corporations build generation ships. The generation ships travel lightyears and generations distance. Their descendants are given a share of the profits of the new wormhole trade route once it opens up but only if they are first and only if the route is valuable.

Gameplay

Each round a new route card is revealed. The route cards have a source and destination, and the revenue per turn that they will produce. The farther away routes produce more revenue. (Euro style market)

Each turn the revenue that an unclaimed route will produce increases by one. Making it more profitable over time.

A player can claim a route by constructing one or more wormholes that link the source and destination together. Only the first player to create the link will get the reward. The route revenue continues every round (engine building). Each route is very valuable.

The player can build the generation of ships at any system that they already have a wormhole at.

Building and launching the generation ships is known information by the other players, but the destination of the generation ship is not known until it reaches its destination. This allows for multiple people to try for the same route at the same time only to be disappointed if someone else gets there first.

The built routes between systems are known information.

Prior art

  1. Ticket to ride - But instead of the routes being passed out in secret at the start, they are a euro style market.
  2. Pan-am - Buy planes, claim routes, and gain income each round from routes and airports. Similar concept but in space!!!