Heliopoly, the Space City

The board

Heliopoly is Gravitrek's first major settlement on Neterios — a property-trading game and a survival game at once. The objective is to survive and become the wealthiest settler by acquiring land and other assets. The city is laid out as a square grid that grows as more pioneers arrive, so land does not all open at once.

When you are eligible to play you roll two dice. Each die has as many sides as the city's current quadrant size, and that number expands with the city. You do not move in a line: you hop to a random X,Y coordinate. This is space, after all.

The City Council

Power in Heliopoly is not only money and plots — it is connections. The nine City Officials sit in City Hall. Draw one from the Fortune's Favor deck and you hold their privileges for as long as you hold the card. The moment another player draws the same official, the card and every advantage on it transfer. Musical chairs, played with City Hall.

Mayor Helio — no property tax in Heliopoly, immunity from jail, no hospital visits, unowned plots at 25% off, Air Rights Boost cards (+5 floors on what you already hold), and a share of Mr. Helio's Treasure (part of all taxes collected, paid to whoever lands there or holds the Mayor).

Sammy Buildmore (City Planner) — building costs 20% cheaper; Upzoning cards add extra floors and raise value. Nancy Ordinance — permits take half the time and cost; Fast-Track Approval cards instantly pass one city application. A construction permit from the Council lets you add floors to any building or land you already own. A business license is required to start mining or cultivating; you do not need one to buy a business that is already running.

Rory Kickback halves jail time. Tommy Twofold cuts property tax 20%. Mickey Cohan cuts legal fines 25%. Billy Cashwise pays an extra 10% when you pass Go. Harry Wapner halves legal fees. Sally Temptwell opens exclusive deals and discounts on purchases. Full powers sit on each official's page. The rules in one place: How Heliopoly Works.

Land, zoning, air rights

The City delegated land planning to an Automated Land Planner (ALP). Land release follows occupation: new plots open only after at least 75% of what is already out has been acquired, and the ALP spreads that release over at least 50 months so early owners are not drowned in inventory. New land is priced at the original basic price.

Each lot comes with air rights for 25 floors, and can host a building as high as 100. On purchase, 5 floors are available immediately for construction or sale; the remaining 20 release over 20 days. Air rights can be sold, bought, and transferred — so one building in five could stand 100 floors while the other four lots stay empty. Sammy Buildmore's Upzoning cards and the Mayor's Air Rights Boost add floors to what you already hold. Each floor spends a ratio of wood, glass, plaster, cement and steel; that ratio changes by neighborhood.

Land on a Tax Office space and you pay 10% of the value of your building assets and your air rights. Community Notices (green or red) are issued by the Council, the Mayor's office, the police, and the tax office.

What the city consumes

Nothing in Neterios stands alone. To put up a house or a skyscraper, each floor spends units of wood, glass, plaster, cement and steel — materials mined on Planet 65 (iron, gypsum, silica, limestone, clay, oil… sold on Helioswap and turned into drywall, cement, steel, glass). Food and energy come off Fertilius: robots farm there (no settler can live in that CO2), harvests feed Heliopoly, and food consumed counts as energy. Shortage of food speeds land release on Fertilius; shortage of minerals opens more of Planet 65's grid. Unbought farms and mines go to auction at Crypties, in this city.

Earn, spend, build, and the resources cycle back. Heliopoly is where it all gets used.