PLANET LAB

2231 AD… Humanity has embarked on a full-fledged space migration plan, and you, as a scientist belonging to one of the four research institutions engaged in a fierce research battle, are involved in the “Human Settlement Planet Design Project”. Your mission is to create the longest-lived planet. The idea is to produce better simulation results than other research institutes at the once-a-month planetary research presentations.

To create a harmonious long-lived planet, you need to venture into space to collect materials, then conduct research to create the refined materials used to build planets. The key to creating a planet with a long life is to create a large amount of high-quality planetary materials.

Now, compete with your rival scientists to create the best planet!

What is PLANET LAB? Players repeat [Gather] and [Research] actions to collect space materials that are then researched to recombine into planetary materials. Various types of materials are required to make these "refined materials", but the rarer the material, the longer it will take to bring it back to the laboratory. If you are absent from your laboratory or take a break from carrying materials, a rival researcher might secretly come to use the materials you worked so hard to transport! Once you have finished building your planet, you can simulate the planet using your smartphone! The resulting planets will change depending on the combination of planetary materials used. Who can create the longest living planet? Determine the materials you need, predict your rival's actions, and sometimes sneak into their laboratories to obtain the best planetary materials!

— Description from the publisher (Translated)

PLANET LAB is a simultaneous action selection game in which players draft material cards in an effort to collect the right material sets to convert them into planetary materials. Higher-valued raw materials take longer to return to your laboratory - which can expose you to others using your materials for their own gain! Each round consists of a Morning, Midday, and Night activity. Your action selection takes place in the morning and based on your selected action, your Midday and Night action follow. The game ends when all the raw materials cards are collected and players assemble their planet simulation using their converted planetary materials.

The game advertises that this last feature (scoring of the planet) is done with a smartphone app; however, the base game can be played entirely without this functionality. If players DO use the application, the extended game play allows material cards to have a variable range of values, resulting in holding the determination of final winner until the very end of the game. The app reveals the winner by creating a hologram of each planet and then destroying them from last to second place. Only the winner's planet remains.