A game of Helios Expanse places you in control of an interstellar civilization competing for galactic supremacy against its rivals You colonize habitable planets research technologies & build a military with which to wage war The civilization that colonizes the most planets emerges victorious & rules the galaxy Helios Expanse was inspired by a vision to develop a board game that provided a 4X play experience in under sixty minutes & the play experience was crafted to be as satisfying for the traditional 4X gamer as it is for the casual gamer This vision drove a specific set of design goals that would serve as the foundation for the game design First & foremost the game was created around the goal of being teachable in less than five minutes This specific goal drove a streamlined decision tree resulting in simple but tactical player choices turn to turn An emphasis was placed on player interaction to preserve the game play tension typically associated with a 4X play experience Ultimately this combination of foundational design goals (along with a few others) led to an actionmovement programming game mechanism that created just the right amount of tension turn-to-turn At its core Helios Expanse is a highly interactive game with simple but tactical decisions & cohesive working mechanisms