Race to Kepler : A Deckbuilding Space Adventure
If you are not familiar with the realities of board game creation, it is worth stating this upfront: making a board game is incredibly difficult. Production costs are high, audiences are smaller than in video games, and each copy is usually shared by several players. You simply sell fewer units.
Because of that, whenever a board game project is announced, and especially when it comes with a visual identity as striking as this one, it deserves attention.
Race to Kepler is a deck-building board game about a desperate exodus. Humanity has destroyed Earth, and massive city-ships now race through space toward Kepler, envisioned as the next possible cradle for civilization. Each player assembles a crew, optimizes their deck, and pushes their vessel forward as fast as possible in a relentless interstellar competition.
What truly sets Race to Kepler apart, however, is its visual identity. Illustrated by Léonard Dupont, the game embraces a bold retrofuturistic aesthetic built around flat colors, sharp contrasts, and strong geometric compositions. The result feels both nostalgic and fresh, evoking classic science fiction imagery while remaining unmistakably modern.
This graphic approach gives the game an immediate personality. Even before understanding the rules, the universe feels cohesive, intentional, and visually confident.
Of course, as a Kickstarter project, I have not had the opportunity to play it myself, nor to assess the final production quality in hand. What can be appreciated already, however, is the ambition behind the project. Creating a board game today is a bold endeavor in itself. Choosing to do so with such a strong visual identity, and such clear aesthetic intentions, is even bolder. For that reason alone, Race to Kepler deserves attention, curiosity, and support. If you are sensitive to visually driven projects and to the craftsmanship behind physical games, this is one worth keeping an eye on.