Vantage – Open-World Cooperative Adventure Board Game

Explore an entire alien planet in Vantage, an open-world cooperative adventure game from Stonemaier Games and designer Jamey Stegmaier.

Your journey begins aboard an intergalactic vessel heading towards an uncharted planet. When disaster strikes and the crew is scattered across the planet, each player must explore their surroundings, discover locations, gather resources and uncover the secrets of this strange new world.

With nearly 800 interconnected locations, more than 900 additional discoverable cards, individual first-person perspectives and a huge range of possible discoveries, Vantage creates a sandbox adventure where every game can unfold differently.

Supporting 1–6 players, with games lasting approximately 120–180 minutes, Vantage is designed for players aged 14+.

What Is Vantage?

Vantage is a cooperative, open-world, roguelike adventure board game where every player explores the same planet from their own perspective.

Rather than moving around a conventional shared map, players build their own view of the planet using cards. Each location reveals new opportunities, characters, items and challenges, while your discoveries can lead to further locations and interactions.

The important twist is that players begin scattered across the planet. You can communicate with your fellow explorers and support them, but only you can see your current location and immediate surroundings.

This creates an unusual cooperative experience where information becomes one of your most important resources.

How to Play Vantage

Each player begins with a character, starting statistics and a location somewhere on the uncharted planet.

On your turn, you'll generally choose an action such as:

• Move to another location

• Look for something within your surroundings

• Engage with characters or other discoveries

• Help another explorer

• Take an item or resource

• Overpower an obstacle or opponent

• Depart and move on to a new location

Actions use your available skills and may generate challenges. You'll roll challenge dice based on the difficulty of the action, then use skills and dice placement to mitigate potential complications.

Importantly, you always succeed when performing an action. The challenge is managing the consequences — particularly your time, morale and health — while continuing to explore.

Why You’ll Love Vantage

• Explore an entire planet – Discover hundreds of interconnected locations.

• Open-world gameplay – Choose where to go and what to investigate.

• Every player has a different perspective – Information is personal, making communication essential.

• Huge discovery system – More than 900 additional cards can be discovered throughout the game.

• Cooperative adventure – Work together without having to share the same location.

• Narrative exploration – Storybooks provide passages and consequences linked to your actions.

• Roguelike structure – Your discoveries, choices and challenges create a highly variable experience.

• Solo compatible – The game supports a single player as well as groups of up to six.

• No campaign commitment – Vantage is a standalone game rather than a traditional campaign game.

Who Is Vantage For?

Vantage is ideal for players who enjoy:

• Cooperative adventure games

• Open-world exploration

• Sci-fi and alien-world themes

• Narrative board games

• Roguelike gameplay

• Exploration and discovery

• Dice-based challenges

• Games with large amounts of replayability

• Solo adventure games

• Story-driven tabletop experiences

It's particularly suited to players who enjoy the freedom of videogame-style open worlds but want that sense of discovery translated into a physical board game.

Explore Without a Fixed Map

One of Vantage's defining features is how it handles exploration.

Instead of revealing a traditional map, each player creates a 3×3 grid of location cards around their current position. As you explore, new cards reveal what lies around you.

This means the planet isn't simply a collection of spaces on a board. Your understanding of the world develops through your own discoveries.

Two players sitting at the same table can be having completely different adventures at the same time — and sharing information can help both of you make better decisions.

A Shared Adventure From Different Perspectives

Vantage is cooperative, but players aren't constantly standing beside one another.

You may be separated from the rest of the group by enormous distances. You can communicate, offer assistance and exchange certain discoveries, but your location and immediate surroundings remain yours to investigate.

This makes conversation part of the gameplay.

One player might discover something that changes another player's plans. Someone else might find a useful item or ability. Eventually, explorers can reunite and share what they've learned.

Discover a World of Possibilities

Vantage contains an enormous collection of cards representing locations and discoveries.

The current printing contains 415 large double-sided cards and 916 standard cards, alongside eight storybooks and the Book of Vantages.

The cards are numbered rather than shuffled, allowing the game to direct you towards specific discoveries as your adventure develops.

This gives Vantage its distinctive exploration system: your choices determine which parts of the world you encounter and which cards you discover next.

Challenge Dice & Skill Dice

Vantage uses two different types of custom dice.

Challenge dice determine complications generated by your actions. You then use available skills and dice placement to mitigate those complications.

Skill dice help determine the skills available to your character and contribute to your ability to tackle different situations.

As you explore, you'll acquire skills and boost tokens that can make future actions more effective.

Manage Health, Morale & Time

Your adventure isn't simply about discovering new locations.

You must also manage three key aspects of your character:

Health – Keep yourself alive while dealing with hazards and encounters.

Morale – Maintain your character's ability to continue the expedition.

Time – Manage the limited resource representing the passage of time during your adventure.

These trackers give your exploration meaningful consequences without turning every action into a simple success-or-failure roll.

Main Mechanics

Open-World Exploration
Explore a huge interconnected planet without following a predetermined route.

Cooperative Gameplay
Work together, exchange information and support other players.

Narrative Discovery
Storybooks and numbered cards reveal new situations and consequences as you explore.

Dice Rolling
Challenge and skill dice determine complications and help resolve actions.

Hand & Card Management
Discover, retain and use a wide variety of cards representing locations, items and other discoveries.

Variable Player Powers
Characters develop different skills and capabilities throughout their adventures.

Resource Management
Balance health, morale, time, skills, boosts and other resources.

Solo Play
Vantage supports one player, allowing the entire world to be explored alone.

Games Like Vantage

If you enjoy Vantage, you may also like:

• ISS Vanguard – Cooperative sci-fi exploration with narrative elements and a large campaign.

• Sleeping Gods – Open-world cooperative adventure with exploration and storytelling.

• 7th Continent – Exploration-focused adventure with a large discoverable world.

• Earthborne Rangers – Narrative exploration and deck-building in a living wilderness.

• The Loop – Cooperative adventure with variable powers and escalating threats.

• Tales from the Red Dragon Inn – Cooperative fantasy adventure with character progression.

• Expeditions – Exploration, discovery and strategic decision-making in a mysterious world.

Game Information

	Details
Game	Vantage
Publisher	Stonemaier Games
Designer	Jamey Stegmaier
Artists	Valentina Filić, Sören Meding & Emilien Rotival
Players	1–6
Playing Time	Approx. 120–180 minutes
Age	14+
Game Type	Cooperative / Adventure / Exploration
Mechanics	Open World / Dice Rolling / Exploration / Narrative / Variable Player Powers / Resource Management
Theme	Science Fiction / Alien Planet / Exploration
Release	2025
UK RRP	£74.99
SKU	STM950
Barcode	850032180863
Language	English

The current UK distributor lists Vantage at £74.99 RRP, with SKU STM950 and barcode 850032180863. Stonemaier lists the game for 1–6 players, with a 120–180 minute playing time.

What's Included?

The current Vantage printing contains:

• 415 large double-sided cards (80 × 120mm)

• 916 standard cards (57 × 87mm)

• 1 spoiler pack of cards

• 8 storybooks

• 1 Book of Vantages

• 1 game board

• 20 custom challenge dice

• 12 custom skill dice

• 60 boost tokens

• 60 skill tokens

• 45 coins

• 6 time trackers

• 6 morale trackers

• 6 health trackers

• 6 location card holders

• Rulebook

The current Stonemaier listing identifies this as the third printing, meaning the current printing does not require the earlier errata packs.

Vantage FAQ

How many people can play Vantage?

Vantage supports 1–6 players, including solo play.

How long does Vantage take to play?

A game takes approximately 120–180 minutes.

What age is Vantage suitable for?

The recommended age is 14+.

Is Vantage cooperative?

Yes. Vantage is a fully cooperative adventure game. Players work together while exploring different parts of the planet.

Is Vantage a campaign game?

No. Vantage is a standalone open-world adventure game, rather than a traditional campaign that requires you to maintain a continuing character or save file between sessions.

Can you play Vantage solo?

Yes. Vantage supports 1 player, so the entire adventure can be experienced as a solo game.

How does exploration work?

Players build a personal 3×3 grid of location cards as they explore. New discoveries can lead to further locations, items, encounters and storybook entries.

Do you need to shuffle the cards?

No. The cards in Vantage are designed to remain in numerical order rather than being shuffled. This allows the game to direct you to specific cards during exploration.

Is Vantage suitable for fans of open-world videogames?

The game is designed around open-world exploration and gives players considerable freedom over where they go and what they investigate. Stonemaier describes it as a sandbox adventure where players can freely explore, discover and interact with the planet.

Is Vantage part of another Stonemaier Games series?

No. Vantage is a standalone Stonemaier Games title.

Buy Vantage from Roll The Dice Cornwall

Vantage puts an entire alien planet in your hands.

Explore unknown locations, uncover strange discoveries, develop your character and communicate with fellow explorers as you attempt to survive and understand the world around you. With hundreds of interconnected locations and an enormous discovery system, every expedition can take a different path.

Your planet. Your choices. Your adventure.