In the near future, humanity suffers an existential threat in the form of a highly negative first contact with an alien race. The result is the Seeding – an alien invasion, but not a normal one. The invasion comes not in high-tech assault, but in a massive injection of foreign species, many only semi-intelligent. Westhope centers around the actions of eight main characters who, through your actions, attempt to survive and resist. Westhope is not simply a board game. It is a cluster of multiple games containing a common core mechanic called the Plan. For example, during a period the characters may be attempting to search for refugees over a wide area. They play a Journey mission. They search, evade or face enemies, working to survive while journeying over a large area. The next mission may be penetrating a facility, and they instead play a Tactical mission, where play style is more tactical RPG game with the Plan at its core. During Interludes, a specialized form of choose-your-own-adventure sets the characters and their allies on different paths, and pulls you into their lives so that they are far more than simply stats. Westhope will have nearly every style of play available. Its core is an ambitious campaign where you truly begin to empathize with the characters and their allies (and enemies). However, players can engage in separate solo, cooperative, or competitive modes in each of the individual board game elements. The campaign spans months and years, and expansions continue the story, some adding new board game methods to play. —description from the publisher