The Martian Paperclip Protocol

Mars is under attack. The research station is mostly insured.

A turn-based tactics game played with cards on an 8×8 board. Build a deck, deploy troops, play support cards and time the station's cannon to stop attackers reaching the base.

You are not a war hero. You are a Bureau administrator, and your greatest weapon is organisation.

Play the free demo

Runs in your desktop browser. No download.

The demo needs a desktop or laptop browser.

Coming to Steam in 2028 for Windows and Mac.

How a battle works

Standard defence procedure, simplified for the public.

Numbers show range from the station. Kolonist emblems stand in for attackers.

Attackers come from every side. They close in a little further each turn, and they are after the station in the middle.
Your cards do the defending. Unit cards engage attackers within range. Support cards repair, push back, scout and occasionally blow things up.
The cannon is yours to time. It charges every turn you hold fire. Spend it early or save it for something large.
Keep the station standing until every attacker is dealt with. Units that survive can be promoted, and missions unlock new cards.

The tour of duty

Five campaigns, ten missions each. The free demo starts you at Station 15.

Station 15Marsagainst the KolonistsIn the free demo
Mining BeltMarsagainst the Martian Sandworms
Orbital UplandsMarsagainst the Ethers
DeimosA Martian moonagainst the Neo-Vandals
Production NexusEarthagainst the Capitalist Imperialist Dogs

Who is who on Mars

Everyone here is optimising for one thing. The Bureau's job is to get them all on the same form.

Concept art and emblems by Joel Etoe. Pencil first, paint later.

BlackStar Initiatives Bureau

That's you. Strength: organisation.

Ink sketch of the BlackStar research station — The station

Your staff

Commander Vale: Once a turn, a kill from her gets one of your used units back.
Visitor Liaison Officer: Receives uninvited visitors at short range.
Outreach Officer: Precision rifleman, providing outreach across the Martian approaches.
Workplace Safety Enforcer: Armoured, and corrects unsafe battlefield conduct.
Payroll Fulfilment Jet: Authorised to settle outstanding accounts in person.
Compulsory Arbitration Unit: Delivers binding settlements at long range.

Sketches pending approval.

Kolonists

Optimise justice.

Pencil sketch of the Hammer, a huge bearded man carrying a sledgehammer — The Hammer

Pencil sketch of a Sekuritat trooper with a riot shield and gas-mask helmet — Sekuritat

Pencil sketch of a kneeling guerilla fighter — Guerilla

Ink sketch of the Great Bear, a long-nosed attack craft — The Great Bear

Ink sketch of the Workers Jet, a boxy armoured aircraft — The Workers Jet

Ink sketch of the Means of Production, a machine on tracks — The Means of Production

Red-line sketch of the Kolonist base with onion domes and a pithead — Kolonist base

Martian Sandworms

Optimise rescue.

Pencil sketch of a multi-headed sandworm bursting from the ground — Multi-Headed Worm

Pencil sketch of a warrior sandworm rearing up — Warrior Worm

Pencil sketch of a coiled worm with a huge brain for a head — Giant Brain Worm

Pencil sketch of a worm spitting a boulder — Artillery Worm

Pencil sketch of a long worm being sick — The Vomiter

Pencil sketch of a worm tunnelling under the surface — Tunneller

Pencil sketch of a tall worm with an eerie face — Psy Worm Not in the game yet

Ink sketch of the sandworm nest, a mound with a cave mouth — Worm base

Ethers

Optimise supply.

Ink sketch of the KTY7105 walking mech behind an energy shield — KTY7105

Red-line sketch of the Mini Mech Suit — Mini Mech Suit

Ink sketch of the Mech Marksman walker — Mech Marksman

Red-line sketch of the Mega Walker — Mega Walker

Red-line sketch of the Nano Particle Hover Jet — Nano Particle Hover Jet

Neo-Vandals

Optimise acquisition.

Sketches to come. They took the pencils.

Capitalist Imperialist Dogs

Optimise paperclip production.

Pencil sketch of a Sealion Team 7 diver in full kit — Sealion Team 7

Ink sketch of the Star Spangled Hover Tank — Star Spangled Hover Tank

Ink sketch of Land of the Free, a spider-legged gun platform — Land of the Free

Ink sketch of the IPBM Drone, a missile beside a satellite — IPBM Drone

Pencil sketch of a sniper in a ghillie suit lying hidden in a mound — Ghillied Up Early design

Mars, painted by Abigail Blumzon. Eight passes over one landscape: pencil lines, flat colour, shading, sky, the BlackStar base, then a dust storm rolling in.

Coming to Steam in 2028

For Windows and Mac. Until then the demo is free in your desktop browser. Leave an address and the Bureau will write when there is news. It is understaffed, so not often.