Poker meets strategy board gaming in Antematter, now on Kickstarter

BardShark is excited to announce that their first game Antematter is now available on Kickstarter. This game for 3-6 players combines elements of Settlers of Catan and Texas Hold’em allowing you to take control of a variety of different groups while you gamble, smuggle, steal, and grift your way to victory.

Antematter is the first and only poker strategy board game. 3-6 players enter a lore rich universe and take command of a unique crew of spacefarers, each vying to plunder, smuggle, gamble and bluff their way to supremacy. Featuring a blend of Texas Hold ‘Em poker and strategy gaming, Antematter is a true hybrid with something for everyone.
Players choose one of six crews to command. Each crew has its own deck of “crew cards,” which can be used in game to gain advantages on your opponents. Each round of play is divided into loot and poker phases. During the loot phase, players maneuver their three ships around the ever-shifting board, collecting salvage and cargo as they go. Once everyone has moved and looted, players have the opportunity to increase their stack of ill gotten gains in a hand of Texas hold ’em.

“Everyone likes a good story, so we spent 7 years making sure we got that right,” says Co-founder and President Aaron Moline, “but some people like board games, some like comics, some like video games or movies. We’re passionate about art and entertainment in all its forms, so we figured why not offer multiple platforms and let our audience choose.” Their world, called “The Engine Star Universe,” centers around the Conflux, a system of 6 planets orbiting the artificial star that gives the ESU its name. Hundreds of years ago, three human civilizations: the Malleon Empire, the Isan Free Peoples, and the Feron Legion – each believing they were alone in the universe – were inexplicably connected to the Conflux when three rifts suddenly appeared in each of their home systems. Upon discovering the Conflux as well as the existence of alien, human life, the Malleon, Isan, and Feron spend the next few hundred years in a colonial war of all against all. The Conflux now is a graveyard of imperial ambition. The last great war, still in recent memory, has left lasting scars on the planets and their people, and left all sides devastated. What exists isn’t so much Peace as a temporary cessation of hostilities.

After the war, the great powers receded, taking with them their influence and protection. The Conflux’s criminal fringe is now ruled by an enigmatic organization known as the Corner Booth. Against this backdrop, Antematter introduces audiences to 6 renegade captains and their crews as they jockey for position in the ranks of the criminal underworld. They’re all after something different, from the Malleon Privateers who are only interested in coin, to the Catallax Missionaries who seek the Booth’s connections to fastrack their research. “We’ve already got 6 factions, with dozens of major characters,” says Co-Founder and Head of Operations, Jesse Wood, “We don’t want a scenario where you can’t remember who’s who. I think the game is a really good way to get to know our characters by fighting alongside them. Each crew has a deck of Crew Cards featuring our characters. They’re used as abilities you can play, so you’ll see them over and over.”

If you enjoy Texas Hold’em or Catan make sure to check out the Kickstarter and stay tuned to Gaming Trend for a preview from our Lead Tabletop Editor and all your tabletop news.

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