Numenera Leaps Into Skillbuilding Card Games Via Kickstarter

Lone Shark Games has announced its Kickstarter campaign for The Ninth World, a Numenera-themed skill building card game.

There are all kinds of ways to enjoy Numenera these days, from its original tabletop RPG to the upcoming video game and short film. But what if you want a quick Numenera experience that can be completed in a half hour? You might want to check out The Ninth World: A Skillbuilding Game for Numenera on Kickstarter. Developed by Lone Shark Games, this title condenses the Numenera experience into a competitive card game for two to five players.

Numenera is set a billion years from now, when technology has become almost indistinguishable from magic. Players take on the roles of explorers seeking artifacts from the ancient civilizations of our future, fighting various monsters and threats along th way.

The Ninth World reimagines this premise in the form of a skillbuilding card game. Much like Numenera, each player develops a starting character with skills which can be improved over time. Then the group chooses a Numenera region to explore, laying down cards to simulate the journey. (You can also explore “the Beyond”, which involves laying down randomly selected cards from each region.) From there, players can scout new locations, claim relics, meet NPCs, and fight monsters, gaining victory points for their efforts.

On top of that, The Ninth World has some impressive tabletop veterans behind it. It design credits include Paul Peterson, Boyan Radakovich, and Mike Selinker, whose credits cover everything from Smash-Up to the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Monte Cook Games is also lending their support to the project, while its graphics are produced by Shane Tyree and Numenera‘s artists.

“This is unlike anything we’ve ever done before,” said Mike Selinker, president of Lone Shark Games. “We’ve joined the worlds of RPGs and boardgames with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game and the upcoming Apocrypha Adventure Card Game, but now we’re bringing that inclusive vision to a competitive card game set a billion years in the future.”

The Ninth World‘s Kickstarter launches today, and it it’s anything like previous Numenera and Lone Shark Games campaigns, it will feature lots of great rewards for backers. Either way, if you’re a Numenera fan or just looking for a neat card game concept, The Ninth World should be worth looking into.