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🚀Payload: A Rocket-Themed Tabletop Game

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Campagne en cours Temps restant : 30 jours et 9 h (fin le 20/11/2026)

Fonds récoltés : 565 €

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Essentials 🎯

Quick overview: Video
Complete How-to-play: Video
Full Rulebook: PDF

Full Teach and Playthrough 🎲

3-player: Video
Solo mode: Video

Unpaid and Independent Reviews 👀

Text reviews on BoardGameGeek: Link
Video reviews on YouTube: Link

Shipping 📦

Free International Shipping
No extra duties/tariffs/VAT

Contact Info 📡

Email: hello[at]LiquidBird.com
Instagram @Liquidbird
Message here on the Kickstarter
Reply promised within 12 hours. All days of the week.

With more than 7000 educational science decks delivered to happy backers and customers all around the world, we are back with a thrilling tabletop game on the theme of rockets: Payload 🚀

More than 1700 backers have backed our Kickstarters and every single feedback has been positive. Today we are excited to show you something that we have been working on for more than 2.5 years.

Payload is a competitive tactical-strategy tabletop game for 1 to 5 players, with a playtime of 45 to 60 minutes.

You take on the role of a leader of a space company in a fast-paced and competitive space industry. You will be bidding for payload contracts, hiring engineers, upgrading rocket parts, and racing rivals to launch. Navigate a dynamic market where prices change with every purchase, and use unique Operations to gain an edge. With shifting opportunities, risky launches, and tough timing decisions, every play brings new challenges and strategies to explore.

1–5 Players | Age: 14+ | Playing time: 45-60 minutes

At the start of each round, the Weather Die is rolled. The Weather Die shows the weather at the launch pad for that round. Players take turns clockwise from the First Player.

On your turn: First, you may take any number of optional actions in any order. You may not repeat any optional actions. Then, you must take any two main actions.

Main Action 1: Buy a Rocket Part

Main Action 2: Hire an Engineer

Main Action 3: Use an Operation

Main Action 4: Launch your Payload

Optional Actions

Optional action 1: Move/swap one Rocket Part
Optional action 2: Sell a spare Part to Market
Optional action 3: Move a Junior Engineer

Optional action 4: Initiate a Bid for Payload

Endgame

The game end is triggered when:

All players successfully launch their second Payload OR
A player successfully launches their third Payload,
whichever happens first.

When the endgame is triggered, the active player completes their turn. Then the current round is completed so that each player has played the same number of turns. The game then ends.

Scoring

Each launched Payload scores points based on the tier of Payload launched.
Each basic Part you have scores 1 point.
Each upgraded Part you have scores 2 points.
For every 5 you have, score 1 point. Ignore any remaining money.
Every Engineer scores 1 point for every color-matching launched Payload.
Subtract 3 points for each unlaunched Payload.
The player who triggered the endgame gets 1 point.

The player with the highest total score wins.

Quick overview video

How-to-play Video

3-player Teach and Playthrough

Full Rulebook

Please find the full rulebook PDF to understand the rules of the game here.

Payload comes with a dedicated solo mode with hard and easy variants. You play against Tycoon, Earth’s richest space agency. The setup remains the same as the 2-player game, but Tycoon is not given a money tracker. Refer to the rulebook on pages 24-25 for details (or better check the full teach and playthrough below)

Solo mode Teach and Playthrough

Also, 1 x rulebook that includes the rules for solo mode.

Unpaid and Independent Reviews

It is impossible to design a game that everyone loves.

Honestly, it would be foolish for us to say that Payload is for everyone. Here is our honest view of the kind of player we think will enjoy Payload the most (or the least.)

You will probably enjoy Payload if…

You enjoy calculated risks: Prepare your rocket, manage risk, and decide when to launch.
You enjoy quick auctions: Judge what a Payload is worth and how much to risk.
You enjoy building toward a goal: Start with a basic rocket and improve it with Parts and Engineers while working toward a Payload.
You enjoy tight economies: Everyone starts with 15 money, so every spending decision matters. What do you buy or save?
You enjoy timing and indirect interaction: Launch now for points, or wait for a better rocket. Take a market card while denying an option to someone else.
You like rockets and engineering: If building a rocket, choosing Parts, hiring Engineers, managing launch risk, and choosing a Payload sounds fun, you might enjoy this.

You will probably NOT enjoy Payload if…

You want a realistic rocket simulator: Payload uses real rocket ideas, but it is still a board game. You will not be calculating orbital mechanics, fuel consumption, or real rocket physics.
You absolutely hate dice: There are dice in Payload, and sometimes they will make a difference. You have ways to manage the risk, but you cannot remove uncertainty completely.
You strongly dislike auctions: Bidding is part of the core experience. Even though some playtesters who dislike auctions to an extent that they avoid such games ended up liking Payload’s quick auction system. We know it will still be a deal-breaker for some players.
You want lots of direct interaction: Payload has interaction, but it is not built around attacking other players. If your favorite games involve stealing, attacking, sabotage, take-that, and direct punishment, Payload may feel too restrained.
You want either a very light or very heavy game: If you want a 10–15 minute game with very simple decisions, Payload is probably too much. If you want a 3+ hour heavy Euro with layers upon layers of systems, Payload is probably too little.

We designed Payload to sit somewhere in between. Our target is the Euro player who enjoys making meaningful decisions, managing a tight economy, taking calculated risks, and interacting with other players without constantly attacking them.

And if that sounds like you, we think you might have a pretty good time launching rockets.

You will find these icons on cards wherever color matters.

2.5 years. 250+ playtesters. 700+ playtesting sessions.

We are super grateful to all the playtesters for playing the game since the very early days. Both of us designers strongly believe this game couldn't have reached this place without the invaluable support from playtesters globally.

Also, we received immense support from rulebook reviewers. Thanks for the ton of comments you all left on all the versions of the rulebook. (One version of the rulebook had 100+ comments for changes!).

We have been designing this game pretty much in public. You can check our journey via the early versions of rulebooks uploaded on BoardGameGeek here,as well as various design changes on YouTube here.

100% Human-designed artwork

All artwork related to the game, rulebook, as well as this campaign page has been designed by Arjit Raj (a human!). The same person behind the 6 educational science decks and the Rocket Flipbook released on Kickstarter in the last 6 years.

All prices are final — no extra charges at your door. For orders from all countries.

Similar to our previous Kickstarter, we handle everything through Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) shipping. That means no surprise VAT, customs fees, or extra shipping costs when your reward arrives.

The price you see is the total price you pay.

If any sudden drastic changes in international laws/shipping regulations occur, I’ll keep you updated.

Welcome to this beautiful platform. Backing on Kickstarter is an easy process.

1. Click "Back this project", a green color button located on top of the page.
2. Choose the rewards based on the type and quantity of game you wish to order.
3. Choose the add-ons, you wish to add.
4. Check the country is correct in "Shipping Destination".
5. Choose your payment option and click "Pledge". Your payment method will be charged at the end of the campaign (November 19th)

NOTE: Your shipping address will be asked separately after the end of the campaign when the fulfillment begins.

Please do not hesitate to contact me (details below) for any type of query. I promise to reply within 12 hours.

Feel free to connect with us via any of the methods below.

Message me here on Kickstarter.
Message me on Instagram (@liquidbird.official)
Email me at: hello [at] liquidbird.com

I promise you that I will get your query addressed within 12 hours. Any day of the week. No exceptions. (Most likely you will get a reply within a few minutes).