Quick answer
Polaris is a support-oriented gearloc who rewards planning ahead: lock in your party role before your first encounter, prioritize skills that match that role, and treat the Polaris expansion as an add-on that requires the Too Many Bones core game. If you are buying the retail edition, check that you already own the base game and have table space for the gearloc mat and dice.
What Polaris brings to a Too Many Bones party
Polaris is a gearloc expansion for Too Many Bones, first introduced through the TMB: Unbreakable Gamefound campaign. The retail edition includes one gearloc chip, 21 dice, one reference sheet, and one gearloc mat. Because Polaris is built around party support, the gearloc tends to shine when you decide early whether you are covering defense, enabling allies, or adding controlled damage. That decision shapes every skill and stat choice that follows.
The expansion is designed for 1 to 4 players and requires the Too Many Bones core game to play. If you are new to the system, run a few base-game encounters before adding Polaris so you understand how turn order, skill dice, and encounter pacing work. Polaris adds decision layers rather than replacing the core loop, so the base game remains the foundation.
Match Polaris to your party before you build
Build choices in Too Many Bones are party-dependent. In a two-gearloc game, Polaris often needs to cover a gap rather than double down on a strength another gearloc already provides. In a three- or four-gearloc game, you can lean harder into a specialist role because someone else can handle the missing piece.
A practical checkpoint: before your first encounter, write down one sentence describing what your party lacks. If your group already has strong single-target damage, consider a support or control build. If your group is fragile, prioritize defensive or enabling skills. This prevents the common mistake of building Polaris as a generic all-rounder and then finding no encounter where the gearloc excels.
Read the reference sheet before choosing skills
The retail edition includes a reference sheet and a gearloc mat, and both are there to reduce mid-game rules checks. Read the reference sheet before you commit to a skill path, because Polaris abilities often interact with timing, ally positioning, or dice results in ways that are easy to misplay if you skim.
A common mistake is treating the reference sheet as a one-time setup item and then ignoring it during play. Keep it visible. When a skill triggers, confirm the exact timing and target before rolling. This is especially important in solo play, where you are both the active player and the rules referee.
Decide your stat priorities early
Too Many Bones build options usually come down to how you split stat increases and skill dice. Polaris benefits from an early decision about whether you are the gearloc who acts first, the one who survives the longest, or the one who enables the biggest ally turn. Each priority changes which encounters feel comfortable and which ones feel like a stretch.
Checkpoint: after your first two or three encounters, review whether your stat choices are actually being used. If a stat increase has not mattered yet, that is a signal to either change your encounter approach or accept that the build is slower to come online. Do not keep investing in a direction just because you picked it at setup.
Practice one role before expanding
Polaris has enough options that it is tempting to try a new build every session. That slows down learning. Pick one role, play it for several encounters, and note which skills overperformed or underperformed. Once that role feels automatic, try a contrasting build so you understand the gearloc's range.
This also helps in group play. If everyone rotates roles every session, no one learns how the party actually functions. A stable role for Polaris makes the other gearlocs' choices clearer and shortens the time spent debating turn order.
Step-by-step: building Polaris for your table
- Confirm you own the Too Many Bones core game: Polaris is an expansion and cannot be played on its own. Check your shelf for the base game before you plan a session, and set aside space for the gearloc mat and dice. Checkpoint: if the core game is not on hand, buy or borrow it first.
- Choose a party role before setup: Decide whether Polaris is covering defense, enabling allies, or adding controlled damage. Write it down in one sentence so the whole table agrees. Common mistake: building a generalist and hoping the role becomes clear later.
- Read the reference sheet and gearloc mat: Walk through each Polaris ability once before the first encounter, paying attention to timing and targets. Keep both items visible during play. Checkpoint: if you cannot explain when an ability triggers, reread it before rolling.
- Spend your first stat and skill choices toward that role: Invest early in the stats and skills your chosen role actually uses. Avoid spreading picks across every option just because it is available. Common mistake: splitting investment so no ability comes online reliably.
- Review after three encounters: Look at which choices actually mattered. If a stat or skill has not been used, either adjust your encounter approach or accept the slower build curve. Next step: keep the build for two more sessions before switching roles.
- Lock the role for several sessions, then try a contrasting build: Stability teaches you the gearloc faster than constant experimentation, and it makes the rest of the party's choices clearer. Checkpoint: once the first role feels automatic, build the opposite role to learn Polaris's range.
Product facts
- Too Many Bones: Polaris (Retail Edition): Retail Edition of Too Many Bones: Polaris Board Game Expansion by Chip Theory Games. Includes 1 gearloc chip, 21 dice, 1 reference sheet, and 1 gearloc mat. Requires the Too Many Bones core game (sold separately) to play. You need the base game before Polaris is playable, and the included mat and reference sheet are part of the play experience, not optional extras.
- burncycle: The Specialists Bot Pack (Retail Edition): burncycle: The Specialists Bot Pack (Retail Edition) is a Chip Theory Games expansion that requires the burncycle core game (sold separately) to play. If you already enjoy Chip Theory cooperative games, this is a separate system from Too Many Bones and needs its own core box before it can hit the table.
- The Elder Scrolls: Heroes of Tamriel New Gameplay Bundle (Retail Pre-Order Edition): The Elder Scrolls: Heroes of Tamriel New Gameplay Bundle (Retail Pre-Order Edition) is a Chip Theory Games expansion bundle listed as a preorder with expected delivery on 2026-11-30. Preorder timing matters if you are planning a campaign or group schedule around a new Chip Theory release rather than buying something playable now.
