Sidereal Confluence Deluxe Resources

When Sidereal Confluence was being considered for publication, I suggested pieces like the ones below. However, they would be too expensive to produce in large quantities, and that expense might keep people from ever enjoying the game.

These pieces have the same colors as the original game, but the small cubes are replaced with diamonds, the large cubes are replaced with trapezoids, and the octagonal barrels are replaced with large hexagons. As a result, the pieces have the correct size difference to show their relative value. Three small diamonds can be put together to equal two trapezoids, which equal a hexagon. One of the biggest problems I have with new players is making sure they understand how valuable Ultratech (hexagons) are compared to the other sizes, and how a large resource (trapezoid) is equal to one-and-a-half small resources (diamonds). These pieces make it obvious.

When I first created them, I had them done in acrylic:

Contents:

  • green diamonds: 54
  • white diamonds: 54
  • brown diamonds: 54
  • grey diamonds: 26
  • black trapezoids: 28
  • blue trapezoids: 28
  • yellow trapezoids: 28
  • grey trapezoids: 18
  • large hexagons: 32

That is more pieces than the original set comes with, but that’s just how many I was able to get out of each set of acrylic. Pieces are 15mm on a side (except, of course, the long side of the trapezoids) and 3mm thick.

I’ve played many games with these pieces. They are easy to pick up and manipulate, and I find them more visually interesting than the ubiquitous wooden cubes.  At the end of the game. Players form their pieces into hexagons. Every hexagon is half a point. Easy to count and explain.

Then I contacted Print & Play Games, who had recently added laser-cut custom cardboard pieces to their list of services.  I created a file with art on the pieces, to make the game meaning of each piece more obvious. I admit that I still call them green, white, and brown, and I do not call them food, culture, and industry (and biotech, information, and energy), but maybe I will now.  I already call them Ultratech.  I like that these new pieces are easy to differentiate even from a distance.  They are really cool:

Given enough time, I should make my own set of Sidereal Confluence cards that use these shapes and icons.  Not to undercut WizKids, heck I own three copies of the original game, but to make teaching easier.

This set contains:

  • green diamonds: 62
  • white diamonds: 62
  • brown diamonds: 62
  • grey diamonds: 29
  • red diamonds: 62
  • black trapezoids: 32
  • blue trapezoids: 32
  • yellow trapezoids: 32
  • grey trapezoids: 21
  • large hexagons: 35