allboardgames.com
Parts Unknown box art
1999 Ranked #11,174

Parts Unknown

This economic game has shop owners stock body parts, set prices, and earn the most money from scientist demand. Shortages, surpluses, monsters, and riots change which inventory can sell and at what price.

Strategy Games Economic Horror Commodity Speculation Roll / Spin and Move

Players

4-10

Play time

Not listed

Age

10+

Complexity

1.9/5

Rating

6.02

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.4/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 3.8/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.2/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

Players are retail store owners who supply body parts to the local mad scientists. Viktor, a mad scientist, goes around window shopping.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

Players are retail store owners who supply body parts to the local mad scientists. Viktor, a mad scientist, goes around window shopping. Whenever he stops to look at a particular type of parts, a demand for that type of part is created; all the parts at the cheapest price get sold. If there is still a demand, all the parts at the next cheapest price get sold. This continues until demand is met. If parts sold exceed demand, a surplus is created, which may put an extra townsfolk back into the population. If the demand is not met, a shortage is created which will be filled by removing a townsfolk. Each turn, players get a part from their gravediggers, and can pay for more parts. Players can buy store shelves, and stock those shelves with parts, setting them to a specific, fixed price. If parts don't sell. the may be shuffled off to the "parts unknown" pile, which will automatically sell at certain times at a highly discounted rate. There could be, at times, a monster on the loose which scares off shoppers, getting them to buy parts only at the cheapest price, ignoring other available parts. Also, villagers might riot, which causes parts from the gravediggers to be more expensive. Player with the most money at the end of the game wins. Versions 1998 Cardstock version (Out of Print) Awards Origins Award Nominee: Best Sci Fi/Fantasy Board Game

Browse all classifications

Shopping

Where to buy

No verified retailer offers are available yet. The references below may still help you continue your search.

Unverified shopping references

Editions

Language and publisher variants currently recorded in the catalog.

Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
No editions imported yet.

Player resources

Rulebooks, player aids, FAQs, and solo resources.

No files imported yet.

Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
4–10
Best with
4–6
Play time
90 min
Age
10+
Complexity
1.9/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

1
James Ernest

Artists

1
Michael O'Connor

Publishers

2
Cheapass Games Truant Spiele

Linked items

No published linked games yet.