2–5 cadets build one shared mech and fight the same kaiju together — but each of you is quietly chasing an Independent Study only you can see.
Every session runs the same shared build and the same fight — but each pilot is quietly chasing an Independent Study the rest of the table never sees. You're all cadets in your final semester at the Academy, gunning for the same prize: graduate Valedictorian and get commissioned Captain on the spot.
Play parts from your hidden hand into a shared mech and pull weapons from a communal Arms market — all before the kaiju's countdown runs out. Hand management and nerve, not dice, decide what gets built.
Once the countdown ends, the build locks and the battle plays out largely on its own — initiative goes to whoever's faster, and every gap you left behind comes back to bite you.
An Independent Study only you know about. Complete it and you're one step closer to Valedictorian — even if the mech doesn't make it home.
A full game is filler-length — one class period, 2–5 cadets. Here's the whole arc.
Tactician, Brawler, Ace, Medic, or Saboteur. Draw your Independent Study, pick a kaiju, and keep both close to the chest.
Play parts from your hidden hand and pull weapons from the communal 3-card Arms market to build the shared mech — while the kaiju's countdown flips trait cards and closes in. Hold out for a better card, or commit and refill your hand.
The countdown hits zero, the build locks, and the finished mech fights largely on its own. Initiative goes by Speed — gaps in the build cost you dearly.
Independent Studies resolve independently of the fight — win or lose, completing yours makes you the star of the class. Play a campaign and those results roll into the Academy Grading Rubric — GPA scoring that crowns the season's Valedictorian.
Art, cards, and table shots are still in production — this is where they'll live.
Everything you need to run a full session, straight from a home printer.
No printer or extra players needed. Take the role of one Mech Lab Partner while 2–4 computer-controlled cohort members play the rest of the build station alongside you — full Assembly, the Kaiju countdown, and Battle, resolved according to every stated rule. A running log narrates each turn so you can see exactly how the rules played out, and note anything that felt off as you go.
Played a session? Tell us what worked, what stalled, and what you'd change. Every note shapes the next draft.
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