Experience the visually striking competitive card game for 2-6 players featuring the darkly unique paintings & drawings of Tyler Vance.
INCEPTION
“VOID: Records from the Frontier” booklet, volumes 1-3
From Booklet to Card Game: How Void the Frontier Came to Be
In 2021, I created a booklet called VOID: Records from the Frontier, a world-building exercise that paired my paintings and drawings with short text entries. These booklets slowly revealed an interconnected narrative. They depicted a world of frontier life, trucker culture, paleontology, exploration, and mystery.
There are now three volumes of Records from the Frontier. From their beginning, I envisioned creating a game to accompany the booklets, offering yet another way for people to engage with my work. In early 2022, playtesting began with a blank deck of cards. Since then, VOID: The Frontier card game has gone through multiple iterations, upgrades, and tests with several groups. I'm happy to say that it's ready to be unleashed upon the world!
THE LORE OF VOID: THE FRONTIER
"Good meetings on the frontage, Ontologist, Freighter, and Digger alike - Safe travels! Safe travels!"
-Ministerial Triad Sector of Communication, dedicated 5.01.743
The Frontier is a sparsely populated land of wide open spaces and a deep, mysterious history. It stretches along the edge of VOID – a huge expanse of barren, uncharted and dangerous terrain, into where only the most hardy dare to venture.
Recent major historical findings in VOID have created a rush of folks to the Frontier interested in discovery, profit or both. Among them are Freighters - tractor-driving couriers who know the land well enough to move goods and people through VOID.
In VOID: The Frontier, you play one of these Freighters, though your business is not exactly on the up and up. Mintscomm, the government who’s headquartered hundreds of miles away, claims VOID and the Frontier as state property, and strictly regulates all travel and commerce. You, on the other hand, sell your goods off the books in the illegal Specimen trade.
But Mintscomm has boots on the ground: Opers,the local agents who administer law enforcement. They’re perpetually on your tail, and even your rival Freighters will rat you out, so you have to take measures to outmaneuver them.
Hubs are the port cities within a network of stops along the Frontier, where Freighters can get a bite to eat and scheme with the locals. Here is where you can sneak into dark buildings along dusty allies to sell off your illicit loot.
Venture into VOID and unearth Specimens, garner Favors from the locals at the Hub, steer clear of Opers, compete with your fellow Freighters, and earn the most money from your sales to become the most successful Freighter in these parts!
HOW TO PLAY
VOID: The Frontier is a set-building card game where players collect Specimens, play Maneuver cards and Favors to help themselves or hinder opponents, and sell sets to gain points. The most points wins!
Game mechanics: Set collection, hand management, take that, simultaneous action selection.
Expeditions:
The game begins with three Expedition rounds, where players simultaneously reveal their chosen Route:
Travel to the Hub: Gain Favors from the locals to use later.
Venture into VOID: Excavate valuable Specimens.
Choose wisely! The more players who travel to VOID, the fewer cards each player will receive. This mechanic adds a strategic layer: where will your opponents go this turn, and how will it impact your success in gaining cards?
Players who travel to VOID are dealt VOID cards (left). Players who travel to the Hub gain a Favor by rotating their Favor counter card by one (right).
Each player can then play cards:
Specimens: Place them face up in your Warehouse (the area in front of you).
Maneuvers: Perform actions to benefit yourself or hinder your opponents.
The four Specimen types and their set values: Tablets (3), Idols (4), Fossils (5), and Monoliths (6)
Market:
After three Expedition rounds, three Market rounds begin, where players can perform certain Transactions including:
Sell Sets of Specimen Cards: Exchange the Specimen card sets you have collected for points. Specimens come in four types: Tablets, Idols, Fossils, and Monoliths, each with varying point values. The rarer the specimen card, the higher the point value of the set.
Cash in Favors: Utilize the Favors you collected during Expedition Rounds. These Transactions function similarly to Maneuver cards but offer more significant effects.
Hidden within the deck are Empty cards. When a player draws one of these, this excavation site came up short - no Specimens were found. Once a total of eight Empty cards have been drawn, it signals the end of Expeditions; this area of VOID has been depleted. The game immediately transitions to the final Market rounds, after which the game concludes and points are tallied.
Players add up the values of their sold sets, then score the remaining cards in their hand or Warehouse at a 2-to-1 ratio. The player with the most points wins.
Game End:
Empty cards - The game enters the final Market rounds when 8 of these are drawn.
Hidden within the deck are Empty cards. When a player draws one of these cards, they unluckily found nothing. Once 8 total Empty cards have been drawn in a game, it signals that Expeditions have come to a close; this area of VOID has been depleted. The game immediately moves to the last Market round, after which the game is over and points are scored.
Players add up all their set values, then score the cards in their hand or their Warehouse at a 2:1 value. The player with the most points wins!
GAME CONTENTS
VOID: The Frontier Includes:
130 Stunning Tarot-Sized Cards: Each card is coated with a UV protectant to ensure durability and vibrancy of the artwork.
Full-Color 12-Page Instruction Booklet: Easy-to-follow rules and guidelines in a sleek layout.
Premium Packaging: A sturdy 70 pt. box, printed on all sides with a custom logo insert, designed to protect your game and look great on your shelf.
The original oil paintings and charcoal drawings are beautifully reproduced on 130 tarot-sized cards.
2024 CALENDAR
March 23rd in Boston, MA:
PAX East at the Boston Convention Center. I will be demoing the game for all who want to play! From 2:00-5:00 pm at the Unpub booth in the Table Top area in Hall C.
June 1st in Worcester, MA:
That’s Entertainment Pop-Culture Emporium. I’ll be demoing the game for International Table Top day! 1:00-6:00 pm.
May 28th - June 27th:
Successful Kickstarter campaign! Thanks to all the amazing backers, VOID: The Frontier funded at 615%, raising $17,228.
June 22nd & 23rd in Providence, RI:
Oddities & Curiosities Expo at the Rhode Island Convention Center. I will be demoing the game at my booth and have a QR code to back the Kickstarter! Prints, booklets, stickers & original paintings will also be available.
September 21st & 22nd in Salt Lake City, Utah:
Oddities & Curiosities Expo at the Mountain America Expo Center. Copies of the game will be available! Along with prints, booklets, stickers & paintings.