Pluto Demoted Day: Three Board Game Journeys Beyond the Solar System

Why is Pluto Demoted Day connected to space games?

On August 24, 2006, Pluto stopped being considered a full-fledged planet in the Solar System. The International Astronomical Union revised the definition of a planet, after which the former ninth world was classified as a dwarf planet.

For board games, this is a good opportunity to look at space from different perspectives. Where does humanity's known universe end? What awaits the first explorers beyond the Solar System? And what could the galaxy become once humanity learns to travel freely between the stars?

This time on Tabletopia, we have brought together three games, each of which approaches these questions in its own way. The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine sends a crew in search of the mysterious ninth world. Kepler-3042 shows humanity in an era when exploring distant planets has already become a reality. And Age of Galaxy takes players to a completely new galaxy, where numerous civilizations begin fighting for their place in the future.

The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine - where is the mysterious ninth planet?

Players: 2-5
Time: around 20 minutes

The story of The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine begins with an unusual scientific hypothesis. Somewhere on the distant outskirts of the Solar System, there may be another planet that humanity has yet to discover. Players become members of a space crew sent into the unknown to search for traces of this mysterious world.

The journey consists of 50 missions representing different stages of the expedition. The game is built as a cooperative adventure: the team must complete shared objectives, and the success of one member means nothing without the others.

At the same time, the crew cannot freely share all information. Players have to learn how to understand each other through their actions, gradually making the expedition more challenging.

Against the backdrop of Pluto Demoted Day, The Crew is especially interesting because of its premise. Pluto was once considered the ninth planet, while this game asks players to imagine that the search did not really end there and that another unknown world could exist somewhere beyond it.

Kepler-3042 - what will humanity become a thousand years from now?

Players: 1-4
Time: around 60-90 minutes

Kepler-3042 takes the story to the year 3042, when humanity is no longer limited to exploring its home planet. Earth nations have gained the ability to send expeditions to distant worlds, establish colonies and gradually become an interplanetary civilization.

Players take on the role of those who will determine the direction of this new era. Expeditions uncover unknown planets, technologies expand humanity's capabilities, and new colonies become part of a growing civilization.

At the same time, space in Kepler-3042 is not presented as a limitless frontier. Every expedition requires resources, and developing one direction affects future possibilities. The game therefore keeps returning to the question of the price of the next discovery.

Kepler-3042 also supports solo play. The solo mode offers five campaigns of four levels each, where players must complete sequential objectives and reach specific development milestones.

Ultimately, the game presents an entire era in which humanity gradually transforms from the inhabitants of a single planet into a civilization capable of living among many worlds.

Age of Galaxy - what happens when humanity encounters other civilizations?

Players: 2-4
Time: around 45-60 minutes

In Age of Galaxy, humanity is no longer looking at individual planets, but at an entire galaxy. At the center of the story is Silver Crescent, a newly discovered region of space filled with resources and mysterious relics. Its discovery creates new opportunities while simultaneously becoming a source of tension, distrust and aggression.

Players become leaders of their own alliances, usually bringing together three different factions. Each has its own characteristics, ideology and development opportunities, so the composition of an alliance largely determines its future path.

Now the story is no longer about a single expedition. Civilizations explore new systems, discover planets for colonization, develop technologies and compete for influence. Some rely on science, others on diplomacy, industry or military power.

Factions are chosen from a starting hand and form the foundation of an alliance for the entire game. Core factions unlock unique abilities and colonization opportunities, while ideology determines part of the alliance's future development.

Silver Crescent becomes a new arena for civilizations that are only beginning to understand the scale of the space that has opened before them. Here, simply finding a new world is no longer enough - civilizations must decide whom to ally with and what place they want to occupy in the emerging galactic era.